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Planets within the Milky Way have now been enveloped within the ever expanding territory of the Ether Cycle. All planets will now become influenced by the phenomenon named Ether and will be forced to undergo the basic evolution. This evolution will also affect most species within the planets. Humans who fail to evolve will mutate into Aberrations. Humans will be given an Ether system that allow them to see their bodily statistics. One can grow stronger by killing an opponent, whether human, beast or Aberration and plundering the Ether within their body, this Ether will be distributed amongst your attributes depending on the Class you will choose. The power system of The Ether Cycle is in the stages of Stratum. From the 1st Stratum up to the 9th, featuring Lower, Middle and Late Stages in between. One’s cumulative Attribute points will determine their level in the Stratum scale. This then leads to the choice of Classes. Your Class determines the powers you shall obtain after your first evolution and the distribution of Ether to your attribute whenever you absorb the energy. You can select a Class and its skills with Etheric Karma. This is the calculation of the amount of deeds done towards you or what you've done to others. This will be calculated based on how much influence your deed affected the world. This Karma can be calculated into Positive Karma and Negative Karma. Which type of Karma would you like to calculate your Ether Karma with? Note that the Classes obtained with Positive Etheric Karma are geared towards normal morality while Classes obtained with Negative Etheric Karma tend to give their holders mentalities that move away from morals. _ Orion nodded as he read the words before him. Everything was the same as it had been. Back then he had chosen to obtain a class with Positive Etheric Karma and had chosen a B graded Class that granted him the power to manifest and control lightning. He was about to do the same when the golden colored holographic panel suddenly flickered, producing sentences that confused him. _ Error! Error! Forced Recalibration… Upgrade sequence has been launched by UNKNOWN. System Reboot… 1%... 5%... 16%.... 48%... 71%... 93%... 100% Reboot successful! _ Orion watched with shock as the panel disappeared before reappearing with a different color, depicting a bright crimson color that displayed itself to his widened eyes. _ True Ether System launched! Class has been predetermined! Congratulations, Host has gained an X Grade Class, Void Lycanthrope! Host has gained two active skills: Werewolf Transformation and Dark Manipulation. Host has gained two passive skills: Transcendent Regeneration and Void Sight. Note: Host can only gain one more active skill and two more passive skills unless manually awakened. Note: With the True Ether System, Host has the ability to store Ether points which is the tabulation of the Ether gained from your opponent, also giving you the ability to distribute them among your attribute however you like. Ten Ether points will increase an attribute by one point. Begin Evolution? _ Orion’s eyes widened to the absolute extreme has he saw this. This was mind breaking! The implications of this True Ether System meant that his path towards power would be even easier than he thought. This was because normal humans only had the ability to gain attributes by plundering the Ether of other beings, and this was done in a manner heavily reliant on the Class one had chosen. Which meant if a person had chosen a battle related class, he would receive more of an increase in his Strength attribute than in the rest and if he had a mage related class he would receive an increase in his Ether attribute. But Orion had the ability to decide where to place his power! He had the ability to be a battle oriented warrior while also having the same amount of Ether as a mage oriented one! He would need to absorb much more Ether than the normal person did but the payout was absolutely worth it! “Huuu.” He exhaled and reread the screen before him then focused on his class. Orion wasn’t an idiot. He could guess that whatever was happening to him had to do with the mysterious but powerful wolf like being he had met before his death. His eyes flickered for a while before finally settling on the System panel again with a cold gaze. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever comes at me, I’ll take it head on. Begin Evolution!” Orion’s breath hitched as a sudden pain dug deep into his soul. He had experienced this once before, but even if this was the second time the teenager felt the pain was just as bad as the first time, if not worse. Thankfully, his experience allowed him to grit his teeth and not release a sound as his body changed from the inside. It felt as though someone had opened up his body and begun pouring lava into his heart, allowing it move all around his body. Yet, Orion simply took all this in and simply let out occasional grunts as he knew the consequences. Letting out a loud noise right now would really be detrimental due to the upcoming appearances of Aberrations. Finally, after what seemed like years, Orion felt the pain stop, allowing him to let out a held breath. Calming himself down, he glanced around to make sure he was still safe before speaking out. “System Window.” _ Name: Orion Russell Age: 17 Class: Lower Stage, 1st Stratum Void Lycanthrope Ether Points: 0 Health: 100% Ether: 100% Strength: 30 Constitution: 50 Agility: 40 Etheric Power: 35 Intelligence: 40 Perception: 50 Skills: Werewolf Transformation (Active) – Level 1 Grants host the ability to transform parts of his body into that of a werewolf. Can only transform 20% of Host’s body. Drains Ether depending on the usage. Dark Manipulation (Active) – Level 1 Grants Host the ability to create and control darkness as a weapon. Can be reshaped at Host’s will. Drains Ether depending on the usage. Transcendent Regeneration (Passive) – Level 1 Host’s regeneration factor has increased to a new level, ordinary injuries will be healed immediately while Ether caused injuries can be healed at a moderate pace. Drains excess nutrients within the body before Ether consumption begins. Void Sight (Passive) – Level 1 Grants Host the ability to see through the materials of the world through the void. Allows Host to see the system statuses of other beings. Added abilities include night vision and far sight. No Ether consumption. _ Orion read through all this before clenching and unclenching his hand, feeling the new found strength filling him from within. He then glanced at the exit of the building while his enhanced hearing picked up on screams coming from the other side. “Let’s begin shall we?” ***** Orion stepped out of the building, he had suffered under the relentless attacks of the rats within this building before and he had no intention of doing it again due to how troublesome it was. Looking at the weird looking humans before him, obviously these people had failed their evolution and became Aberrations. Basically, they had all transformed into mindless humans with only the intent of killing filling their minds. He was on guard immediately because he knew what was coming, it was either kill or be killed and he wasn't going to lose any chances. At the same time, another set of humans appeared within his vicinity, two guys and a lady, though these three seemed normal. From their expressions it appeared they had already adapted to the quick changes occurring around them. This surprised Orion as it usually took a while for this to happen, which meant they had to have an above average will. He was about to leave the area to them when the lady amongst them revealed a gun and accurately shot the two Aberrants. The mutated beings fell to the ground as though their strings had been cut and a weird golden energy flowed out of their body and was sucked in by the woman. She revealed an ecstatic expression as she felt the influx of energy empower her. Only after a few seconds did she finally calm herself, staring at the rest of the Aberrants with a greedy glint in her eyes. Orion immediately raised his guard as he watched this happen. That precise shot wasn’t something a normal civilian should have been capable of, and she didn’t look to be a cop or the like. Anyways, he didn’t hope to find out whether his guess was right or not. But just as he was about to leave, a loud squeak resounded from behind him. ‘The fucking rats!’ Unfortunately, Orion wasn’t given time to think much as a resounding gun fire echoed in the street. The teenager quickly reacted by bringing his arm to his face to shield it and immediately after, a sense of pain invaded his brain as a bullet sunk into his skin, thankfully stopping at his bone. ‘Not even gonna talk huh.’ Orion grit his teeth. He was now sure that the group before him were definitely not saints even before the world had changed which would explain their fast adaption to such a brutal environment. ‘And her aim is frightening, her Class must focus on Perception.’ His thoughts were cut short as the two men ran towards him with ferocious smiles plastered across their faces, a knife coated with a weird purple energy in the hands of the guy on the right while the guy on the left had a khaki colored energy engulf his fists. With bloodlust coursing through his veins, Orion activated his Werewolf Transformation skill. His pupils suddenly shifted, turning into wolf-like slits while his fingernails extended to become sharp claws, his compact muscles underneath his arm also tensing with newfound strength. Just this simple act seemed to drain about 60% of his Ether but Orion gazed at his three foes with a calm and collected gaze. He was ready. He was ready for his first fight after his regression.Latest Chapter
Rewards
As Orion had predicted, Kayden and Avery easily won their respective battles, easily earning their spots in the Inter-organization competition. The three of them had then been led to the Pack’s vault, allowing them to pick any two treasures within its wide expanse of choices.Avery displayed no extreme reaction looking at the treasures, she had been to the vault before due to her family status after all. She was, of course, happy to pick treasures, but she didn’t show too much surprise looking at the place that marked the boundless riches possessed by the Blood Claw Pack.Orion and Kayden, on the other hand, had their jaws dropped looking at the sheer amount of riches displayed before them. Orion got goose bumps as he felt the multiple 2nd, and even 3rd, Stratum auras some of the items within the vault released.Yet he could only allow frustration etch at his soul as he realized all those weapons and equipment were meant for Pack members at the Gamma status and above. Gritting his tee
Grim Future
Now that Orion was freed from the weird trance he had been placed into by invoking that dark brand, he realized how unnerving his thoughts had been. That was different from the urges caused by his werewolf instincts. Those emotions were much more primal and cold. Destruction merely for the sake of it, as though he were following the orders of a force of nature.‘Add that to the list of things I should be wary of then.’ Orion let out a frustrated sigh before his eyes focused on the unconscious red haired teen sprawled across the ground. Mayne seemed to have fainted the moment he noticed Sarah had come to his rescue. Not everybody could look death in the face and remain calm after all.Orion’s eyes left the unconscious demi-human, noting the multiple cracks that surrounded Sarah’s feet, though they now seemed to be patching themselves. He regulated his breathing, glancing at her before bowing slightly. “Thank you for the save. I don’t want to offend any higher force due to such a mist
Brand of Darkness
Orion stared numbly at the blood running down from his arms due to the repercussions of the two punches he had unleashed with the help of the dark brand on his fur. A hint of confusion sparked within his emotionless eyes, as though he felt he should be feeling something while looking at his blood soaked fur. ‘Later.’He threw the matter to the back of his mind. Or more accurately, a torrent of cold darkness within his mind snuffed out the thought. The battle in front of him should have been what he should worry about.The dark brand on his fur flashed, influencing the self-healing capabilities of the cells from his fingers all the way to his elbow. As for the injuries past that, his natural healing could take care of that. His limited Ether and understanding of his [Dark Manipulation] skill couldn’t handle reaching out to his entire arm.The moment his bones snapped back into place, Orion burst into a dash once more. Unfortunately, the wait had been enough for Mayne to recover from hi
Primal Darkness
Orion thrust his claw forward, tearing at the air before him while a layer of darkness coated his attack. His sharp claws had just sunk into Mayne’s skin when the latter’s instincts finally forced him to dodge backwards explosively. The former grunted when he saw this and quickly clawed at the empty air. The crowd had just begun to wonder why when multiple sudden crescent shaped dark energy waves launched off his swiping claws and shot off towards the escaping Mayne.The demi-human reacted quickly, coalescing a fire barrier that stopped the majority of their crescent energy waves. The few that passed through, cut through his skin like butter, letting large amounts of blood spill onto the ground.Orion, on the other hand, paled as he felt the Ether leaving his body faster than a speedster on steroids. The strain of maintaining that wave of dark energy without any link to his actual body was so immense he had almost fainted. ‘Note to self, experimenting in the middle of a battle is a
Mayne
Orion walked down the arena silently, ignoring the stares focused on his movements. His hands massaged his headache while his head throbbed with pain that seemed to increase by the second. Controlling that many attacks all at once had been too much for his brain, especially with his low intelligence attribute.Not to mention the sudden release of his suppressed emotions. Something felt wrong about the last outburst though. His werewolf urges were always primal, wanting to wreak havoc for the sake of his almost never ending hunger. Those emotions he had felt back there were much more… visceral. Like he had to destroy only for the sake of destruction. As though there was no need for any specific method. He just felt the urge to kill and acted on it.Orion shivered as he looked back at his performance, a bit scared of his own self. Still, he had a competition to finish. He would think of all that later. He had to make sure to win this first. ‘Once I’m done here. I’m definitely buying a
The Shocking Dark Element
A wave of shock swept the multiple spectators, even the higher echelons of the Pack revealed surprised expressions as they saw this. An affinity of darkness was just too surprising after all. Even back on Earth with the Ether system, individuals with affinities like darkness and light were much too rare.Naturally this rarity increased exponentially in a world like Echilim. "You wanted to see what I could do.” Orion didn’t care about their shock though. He controlled the tendril holding onto Elena with his mind, pulling her towards him as he readied his fist. “Here it is.”Before the demi-human could recover from her shock, Orion’s powerful punch smashed against her cheeks, almost knocking her canines out.That punch completely woke up the stunned Elena. She struggled against the tendril the next second, tearing it away only to notice multiple more tendrils stretching out from her shadow to grab onto her arms.She gritted her teeth and roused her Ether, conjuring a gale of sharp wind
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