Frowning at his mana, which had only regenerated to 24/140, Atlas moved on to the final two sections of his skill selection, both of which he'd gotten for rewards. He could only make guesses at the selections about to be offered to him, but Atlas was ready. Deciding that protecting his mind from outside influence—including that of telepathic directors who seemed to have an interest in him—was the most important, Atlas selected the mental resistance selection first. No one was going to control him, he'd make sure of that.
SYSTEM INTEGRATION SELECTION- MENTAL RESISTANCE (1):
OPTION 1: (RARE) THE UNBREAKABLE WALL (PASSIVE)- THE MIND IS A CASTLE AND EVERY GOOD CASTLE NEEDS A WALL TO WITHSTAND A SIEGE. THE UNBREAKABLE WALL REPELS THOSE WHO WOULD INTRUDE UPON YOUR MIND; EFFECTIVENESS OF THE WALL SCALES ON WILLPOWER
OPTION 2: (RARE) SELF-BUILT CITADEL (PASSIVE)- THE MIND IS PART OF THE POWERFUL TRINITY ALONGSIDE BODY AND SOUL, BUT IT IS OFTEN THE MOST UNDEFENDED. NOW YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO BUILD A FORTRESS OF UNPARALLELED STRENGTH CREATING A CITADEL ABLE TO REPEL THOSE WHO WOULD ENCROACH UPON YOUR INNER SANCTUM; CONSTRUCT A MENTAL DEFENSE THROUGH THE CULTIVATION AND APPLICATION OF MENTAL ENERGY; THE STRONGER THE DESIGN THE STRONGER THE MENTAL DEFENSE; CAN BE CONTINUALLY BUILT UPON; EFFECTIVENESS SCALES WITH INTELLIGENCE
Atlas narrowed his eyes at the two skills offered to him. Was the system… trying to trick him? There was no way that Self-Built Citadel was on the same level as the Unbreakable Wall, was there? The former literally required him to create his own defense! Even worse, it needed him to use a type of energy that wasn't on his status sheet. That wasn't even mentioning the Intelligence scaling instead of Willpower. The choice couldn't be any more obvious.
So why did Atlas hesitate? No matter how obvious it seemed, Atlas couldn't choose the Unbreakable Wall. It seemed like the stronger of the two; it scaled with his willpower; and it didn't need him to do something stupid like build his own mental defenses. It was just… easier. Too easy.
As soon as Atlas thought it, he knew it was true. He was willing to let the System handle the heavy lifting on many things, especially skills like Taunt and Healing Defiance. He didn't know anything about them, and in the end, they wouldn't change who he was by having something else handle them. However, when it came to the parts that made Atlas… Atlas, his mind and soul, he was simply unwilling to let anyone or anything else direct how it would go. I just can't do it, he thought as he selected Self-Built Citadel.
Atlas didn't expect much from the ability when he first selected, at least not right away, so when he felt something slam into place in his mind, he flinched in both pain and surprise. The next second the pain disappeared, but a feeling of covering remained, like a small shack now surrounded his mind. It wasn't a massive improvement, but it still felt far stronger than the nothing he'd had protecting him before, especially when he'd been expecting to have no protection until he floundered enough to figure out how to improve Citadel.
Pleased by the sudden development, Atlas allowed a small smirk to slip across his face before he focused on the final skill selection available to him. If he was being honest, Atlas had saved this one for last because it seemed the most nebulous selection he'd earned. Karmic Manipulation? For someone from modern America, Atlas didn't even really know what karma was, other than payback for doing things wrong and good luck for being a decent human being, but Atlas didn't think that the System was talking about that kind of thing.
Guess I should just do it, and I can find out, Atlas thought as he opened the selection.
SYSTEM INTEGRATION SELECTION- KARMIC MANIPULATION (1):
OPTION 1: (UNCOMMON) KARMIC INSTINCTS (PASSIVE)- ANYONE WHO SEEKS TO EXPLORE THE MULTIVERSE EVENTUALLY LEARNS TO SENSE DANGER WHEN IT APPROACHES. THOSE WHO DABBLE IN FATE AND KARMA TAKE IT ONE STEP FURTHER, DETECTING THE DANGER BEFORE IT APPROACHES; YOU BECOME AWARE OF NEARBY DANGER THAT WOULD RESULT IN NEGATIVE KARMA BETWEEN YOU AND THE SOURCE; DETECTION SPEED AND POWER SCALES WITH LUCK AND FATE
… Atlas blinked… and blinked again. He didn't speak a word, dumbfounded at the Skill Selection.
Is this a joke?
He simply couldn't believe that the skill selection that was part of a universal-first achievement could be uncommon! Atlas couldn't believe the bullshit the System was trying to pull, but he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths in and out to calm down. The now familiar sensation of a notification, similar to that of a pleasant cool breeze blowing against his brain, forced him to open his eyes, and he hoped to find the system had added another choice and that the previous option had been a mistake. His hopeful expression faded as he read the glowing screen visible only to him.
ERROR: DUE TO INTEGRATION LENGTH EXCEEDING EXPECTED PARAMETERS (UNCOMMON) KARMIC INSTINCTS AUTOMATICALLY SELECTED.
"Son of a bitch!" Atlas said as the notification flickered away, prompting the others to turn to him in concern. "The system just fucked me over and forced a skill selection," he said, breath heavy and eyes wild with his rage.
"Ah, I see. Unfortunately, all I can say is welcome to the Multiverse," Big A said sympathetically.
At the same time, Verian cackled like a mad woman. She then caught her breath and said, "Yeah, that's a right of passage kid. Ain't a single person in the multiverse who hasn't experienced the System's "tough love" a time or two, not the ones worth a damn anyway." Amaryllis simply nodded in agreement to the two.
"Lovely," Atlas said, expression and tone flat.
"On the bright side, we can finally move on to the last scene of what I'm sure has been an exhausting experience," Big A said.
What do you mean, last—" Atlas started, only to be cut off as a new notification popped up.
SCENARIO ENDING IN 5 MINUTES- DISTRIBUTING FINAL REWARDS