Bro, I'm not an Undead!

One sweep between the six options, and Skullius immediately knew what the correct choice was. There was contention for sure, and if he really tried to bend his manner of thinking, he could see some of the other options working well for Beyrmir, but on the whole, there was no changing his mind.

'Draughtknight doesn't work,' thought Skullius, and the representation of it in his senses vanished. 'Or maybe I'm getting biased against Classes since reviewing Grim's new powers.'

In any case, the Nullmancer thought it was too… basic. He couldn't envision Beyrmir as a super-skilled knight that could control three kinds of winds, each with its own unique properties; and it had nothing to do with the fact that Beyrmir's default form was a giant, draconic being. If he wanted to, Beyrmir could take a shape best suited to the Class, but that would defeat the point of what Skullius wanted for the Apostle.

In essence, the Valiant Draughtknight was too offensive and too limited to draw forth Beyrmir's full power.

Skullius placed Gigant Ace in a similar category. It was slightly better, being a Mutation rather than a Class, but it too was basic. It would grant Beyrmir a unique gigantification ability that, when applied to massive, abstract, or tangible matter, would bond them together with the Apostle, giving him full control over them. The capacity of influence Beyrmir could exert would depend solely on his mental strength, however, as according to what Skullius understood about the Mutation, everything had a capacity to resist.

'Does this mean Beyrmir could become like Void – a massively colossal entity that has a stake in pretty much everything?' Skullius considered the idea but concluded against it. This was something Beyrmir would be capable of in the distant future, he imagined – a future that was, as of yet, not guaranteed.

The next three options were close contenders.

'Bug Eater is even more offense-focused than Valiant Draughtknight, but at least it also gives defensive properties… eventually,' thought Skullius, puckering his lips.

He'd seen Bug Eater firsthand through Unnio-Lak. The giant, humanoid piece of paper had demonstrated the immense firepower the Class had when defending the Universal Purge Banner right before his eyes. Admittedly, the Class' name was rather misleading: Bug Eater wasn't a Class that allowed the user to eat bugs; it gave the user the ability to conjure a wide variety of bugs that would spontaneously manifest right where the user directed, regardless of distance. The attack was virtually impossible to dodge, and the greater the skill of the user, the more vicious and gluttonous the species of bugs they could summon.

The bugs could devour anything whole in a matter of seconds, and depending on the progression of the Class, the matter they fed on would serve the user in a range of ways, primarily investment. As far as Skullius understood it, the user could create a system like Apexis' from the potential energy stored from whatever was eaten, where they could manipulate any concept to their benefit by expending the potential energy.

'At higher stages, it even works on isolated attributes, like stamina, cooldowns, time, and so much more. Real handy,' thought Skullius. 'It can even affect Consternals. Expending a massive amount of built-up energy, I – or Beyrmir, rather – could accelerate time in my view, getting a glimpse of the future.'

…But it was too inefficient. The amount of resources required for a feat like that was almost impossible to imagine. Apexis' demands for resources to activate his abilities (Focused Null Life Ota) were more merciful than this.

'If it was only a matter of expanding Beyrmir's range of powers through a Mutation or Class, this would undoubtedly be the best choice. As it stands, though, Bug Eater can't provide Beyrmir with a definite and quick route for a Trait.'

And that was why Skullius considered Bruin Cleric next. As a support Class, it was magnificent. The properties it offered stuck with him, even though he knew he couldn't grant it to Beyrmir.

Bruin Cleric provided the user with seven enchanted items, each with a different flavor of healing qualities: a staff, a frost-lathered feather, a large mushroom, a dried root, mistletoe, a leaf, and a small, well-decorated bottle.

The means of healing he found absolutely enthralling among them all was that from the mistletoe. Carrying it around for a certain amount of time would saturate an individual with so much life energy that everything of theirs – even their Inverted Prevalence – would be restored from previously accumulated damage, and, as Skullius had heard, all forms of damage-inducing concepts would forget how to harm if the user was the target.

'But still…no. We can do without this. The Adaptor Gene should suffice for the Troops and Stars, and Focused Null Life Ota should serve well for the Apostles when it comes to defense,' thought Skullius.

Crowning Emerald had appealed to him as a Mutation because it had the possibility to recreate what the Warmoth had done: the three auspicious dimensions – the Bosom, the Treasury and the Vault.

It granted the user the ability to generate and manipulate a kind of emerald that harvested nutrients from anyone it caught. Like Bug Eater, as long as the user wished for it to ensnare something, there was no stopping it. It practically didn't exist until it appeared over its target, and given enough time to drain the nutrients from the enemy bodies, it would begin the noble work of constructing an exclusive dimension for the user, a dimension with properties that matched the common characteristics between all the victims.

If the user only caught, say, Void Users with the emerald…

'It could, in theory, extract their powers and create a dimension that gave Beyrmir access to abilities similar to Void Users,' thought Skullius, conflicted. 'But a Mutation like this fits Araeyn more than it does Beyrmir. Could I convince that rebel to get something like this if it ever pops up as an option for him?'

Skullius also thought Gigant Ace would be perfect for the Authority of Dimensions, but that was neither here nor there.

His choice was set. He granted Beyrmir… the Magni-engine.

The physical contact between Apostle and Nullmancer allowed the action to proceed just as quickly as when the guidance field facilitated functions of the sort.

The droning and chugging sound of something mechanical and hoarse resounded from deep within Beyrmir's body. It was all a deception, though. The Magni-engine was no mechanical construct with pistons and metal chambers. It was like an extra organ, complex, intricate, and high-powered, buried deep within Beyrmir's body. It swallowed his source, incorporating it into itself.

Four quirks became available for use and could be toggled one by one, or used simultaneously with virtually no cost or strain: Ingest, Compaction, Throttle, and Release.

Beyrmir's body – through his Racial qualities – was connected to an extradimensional space through all the scales over his body, which elevated his potential with the Magni-engine. He could Ingest through all those scales, pulling any or all kinds of non-living matter. His targets would find it incredibly difficult to resist because of the sheer power of the pull he could exert.

Compaction crushed any matter he Ingested – even attacks – with enough force to diminish their size and effect – if it was supposed to be harmful – a hundredfold or more. Throttle used the Compacted matter to generate a range of internal augmentation attributes from something as simple as heightened speed to something as complex as Skill rank. It all depended on the nature of Ingested matter. There was practically no limit to the variety.

Release would allow Beyrmir to facilitate external targeting by expelling the materials he Ingested or by creating a series of long-ranged attacks through Compacting and Throttling.

A fitting Mutation with immediate benefits – great versatility, offense and defense – as well as room to grow.

But best of all…

"You already know what your Trait will be, don't you?" said Skullius.

Beyrmir knew indeed. He could already feel it budding as his Racial abilities and Mutation melded together.

"Yes, my liege."

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