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[Received information packet (Common): Strange Science (Bleach). (Unlock cost: 500 OP)]
A complete academic course that grants access to a new scientific paradigm that treats the soul, spirit, and their manifestations not as mystical phenomena, but rather as measurable, controllable, and reproducible physical processes. You receive the fundamental knowledge that underlies the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, allowing you to apply the scientific method to the study and application of spiritual energy.
This packet introduces the three basic pillars of spiritual physics:
Reishi (Spiritual Particles): The quanta or atoms of the spiritual world. These elementary particles compose everything immaterial, including souls, spiritual bodies, Kido barriers, and the Soul Society itself. You learn to perceive, measure, and manipulate these particles as a new form of matter.
Reiryoku (Spiritual Power): The static energy potential of a soul. Analogous to battery capacity or mana in other systems, this represents the total amount of energy a soul can contain. You receive knowledge on how to measure, accumulate, and increase this potential.
Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure): The kinetic manifestation of Reiryoku, that is, the energy released at any given moment. Analogous to output power or amperage, Reiatsu exerts physical pressure on the surrounding world and serves as the measure of real power in battle. You learn to control and modulate your Reiatsu to achieve various effects.
Reishi Engineering: Physics of Spirit
An engineering discipline focused on manipulating spiritual particles (Reishi) and transforming spiritual energy (Reiryoku). You receive the theoretical foundation for:
Energetics: Studying the principles of collecting and concentrating free Reishi from the atmosphere, as well as creating devices that convert Reiryoku into other types of energy (electrical, kinetic, thermal) and back.
Materials Science: Mastering methods of compressing, stabilizing, and structuring Reishi to create solid spiritual materials. You learn how to form objects from them with predetermined properties, ranging from solidity to immateriality.
Sensorics: Mastering principles of detecting and analyzing Reiatsu. This includes developing sensors capable of tracking, identifying, and classifying spiritual entities by their unique energy signatures.
Ontological Surgery: Biology of Soul
A high-level bio-spiritual discipline that views the soul as a complex information-energy structure amenable to analysis and modification. Over time, you will master:
Analysis: Theoretical foundations of soul sequencing. You will learn to recognize its structural components (Chain of Fate, personality core, and so on), identify damage, innate talents, or artificial modifications.
Modification: Principles of editing spiritual structure. This includes knowledge of how to strengthen or weaken certain aspects of the soul, repair damage, or even add new functions.
Synthesis: Theoretical foundation for creating simple artificial souls (Mod-souls). You will understand how, from raw spiritual energy and a predetermined information matrix, you can assemble a primitive personality with one highly specialized ability.
I leaned back against the couch, a chill running down my spine. Every time, this system never failed to amaze me. Advanced technology was one thing, but this was something else entirely: a whole new realm of fundamental science that transformed mysticism into an engineering discipline. Even from the description, it was hard to imagine specific devices, but the potential was absolutely colossal. And then I remembered with annoyance that in my past life, I'd never gotten around to studying the Bleach universe. How many ready-made ideas and concepts I had missed!
But then the poisonous regret was replaced by cold, calculating excitement. In a way, this was even better. I wasn't bound by canon. My mind was free from the constraints of "this is possible, this isn't." A crazy thought flashed through my mind. In Bleach, there were sentient spiritual weapons, weren't there? Zanpakuto, I think. I had no idea how they worked, what they were made of, or what their limitations were. This ignorance was my main advantage. If I knew for certain that creating a living soul for a weapon from Reishi was impossible, and that forging an ideal vessel for it using my Entity Smith skill was heresy, I wouldn't even have attempted this. But now, now I didn't know whether this was possible. That meant I had to try. The synthesis of material and spiritual engineering. Wow, what horizons were opening!
Everything inside me boiled with impatience. I needed experiments, tons of them! Ideally, I'd lock myself in the world's most advanced laboratory for a couple of months and emerge as a god of this new science. But alas, peace was a luxury I couldn't afford. The longer I dragged this out, the tighter the ring would squeeze. Enough hiding. Time to go home. To meet my fears, or more precisely, their beautiful representatives, face to face.
I stood up, feeling an unprecedented surge of strength. I had Iron Blood flowing in my veins. I had a super suit hidden in my inventory. I had stimulators. And most importantly, I had confidence. Impenetrable, cold confidence in my newly acquired powers.
After calling a taxi to the checkpoint, I walked through the deserted shipyard, rehearsing the upcoming conversation in my head. What would I offer S.H.I.E.L.D., and what would I keep to myself? Proteus was the foundation, my entry ticket, not even up for discussion. But that wasn't enough. To skyrocket my value, I would need to show them something more. But NZT? No. The pills were my personal trump card. One that could be played only once, and only when absolutely everything was at stake.
Returning to my apartment, I immediately sensed the changes. The subtle shifts I'd noticed last time had multiplied. Items moved by millimeters, the faint scent of ozone from hidden electronics, the feeling of an intruder's presence. I grinned despite myself. This was no longer a home but a high-tech terrarium where I was observed 24/7. I wouldn't be surprised if sensors in the walls were tracking my biometrics in real time. Pulse, respiration, hormone levels. Very much their style.
Fortunately, I'd prepared. Back in the taxi, I'd discreetly swallowed an NZT pill. My mind began to clear, sharpening to a razor's edge. They could monitor my body, but my main asset, my intellect, was now safely shielded. With that kind of chemical edge, I was ready for whatever game they wanted to throw at me.
Before I could touch my old smartphone, which incidentally wasn't even dusty, an obvious sign that amateurs had worked here without even bothering to fake abandonment, a noise from the street caught my attention. Squealing brakes, the dying hiss of escaping air, and quiet cursing. A small Ford had stopped in front of my building, the kind stereotypically driven by women. Well, "stopped" wasn't quite accurate. It had limped to a halt on a punctured front tire. The driver had apparently decided enough was enough.
And this driver, of course, turned out to be none other than the painfully familiar blonde, Yelena Belova. At the sight of her pretty face and figure sculpted like a classical statue, my brain involuntarily conjured images from a recent dream. I felt the blood, despite the iron control NZT provided, begin rushing to my groin. Well, at least it wasn't coming from my nose. And thank God for that. The reaction was natural enough. It would've been far more suspicious if there'd been no reaction at all.
The fact that her car broke down right on my doorstep was, of course, a complete coincidence. Naturally, she arrived at my door with every sorrow in the world etched across her face. I had to admit, she played her part well. If I didn't know who she really was, I might have bought the act. The doorbell rang, and I opened the door, not wanting to prolong the prelude.
"Oh, it's you..." she said sweetly, her eyes widening with perfectly calculated surprise. Give me a break.
"Yeah, it's me. The same guy who saved you from total humiliation a couple of days ago," I said, smiling as I accepted the rules of the game.
"What a coincidence! I never would have thought that in a city as huge as New York, something like this could happen! And imagine, right by your house, my tire finally decided to give out!" she chirped, batting her eyelashes.
"Yeah, stranger things happen," I answered, shrugging. "I assume you need help with the tire?"
"Yes! I realized back then that you're one of those reliable guys you can always count on," she said, giving me a smile charming enough to melt a glacier.
I nodded silently and followed her to the car. She opened the trunk and, bending over demonstratively, began searching for the spare and the lug wrench. My gaze involuntarily fixed on her backside, perfectly outlined by her jeans. She knew exactly that I was watching, and this fascinating, let's be honest, eye-pleasing spectacle dragged on for a solid fifteen seconds. Finally, finding the necessary tools, she handed them to me with a joyful smile and led me to the front tire, her hips swaying invitingly with each step. Yes, this would be the longest and most painful tire change of my life.
"Whew, finally," I declared, theatrically wiping sweat from my forehead.
Where did the sweat come from? The tire change itself was as easy as pie. But try doing it while a sultry beauty hovers at your shoulder, watching with bated breath, fascinated by every little detail, constantly whispering about what a strong, skillful man you are, essentially the man of her dreams. Try to concentrate when she accidentally touches your hand and her excited breathing tickles your ear. Try to maintain composure when you're a nineteen-year-old guy in the full bloom of puberty, and your body, even under NZT, reacts to such provocations tenfold.
"That was incredibly cool!" Yelena breathed out admiringly when the last bolt was tightened. She stepped in close enough that I caught the scent of her perfume, and said in a half-whisper, "Maybe you'll come to my place for a cup of tea? I live literally a couple of houses down."
Fuck. No! My brain screamed danger. Don't take the bait! You're above these base instincts! Inhale. Exhale. Control.
"Sorry, but I have urgent matters at home," I said, shoving the lug wrench into her hands. Without looking back, I hurried toward my house. Fortunately, no one followed.
Slamming the door behind me, I let out a long sigh of relief. Through the window, I caught a glimpse of Yelena's Ford starting and parking two houses down from mine. Observation post deployed. Yelena was well and good, but I didn't need her. And as if on cue, at that very moment another car pulled up to my house. This time, an ordinary yellow taxi.
"Wrong address!" A loud slam followed, then the indignant but perfectly pitched soprano of a red-haired beauty. She stood at the driver's window, theatrically playing her part, clearly aware that two random visitors in a row looked extremely suspicious.
"I understand nothing! Right, not right! Big city! And anyway, you not pay!" the taxi driver shouted back in broken English, then gunned the engine and disappeared around the corner, leaving Natasha Romanoff blinking in surprise.
"How am I supposed to pay you when my phone died?" she shouted after him, but it was too late; the taxi was already gone. But who was close by, and whose house looked so welcoming? Of course, she turned and headed straight for me.
Theater of the absurd, I swear.
Again, the doorbell rang. Again, I opened the door. Again, on the threshold stood a charming beauty with emerald eyes in which, for a split second, I actually drowned.
"It's you!" Natasha exclaimed with the perfect note of surprise. "The guy with that silly joke!"
"Tell me about it." I shrugged. "So original. And yes, I have plenty more jokes lined up for beautiful girls. Each one sillier than the last."
"Sounds tempting, and such a coincidence really is something else," she said, deciding to try a different angle. "Unfortunately, I'm in a bit of a hurry. But my phone died. Wouldn't you know it?" She showed me the dark screen. "Can I charge it at your place for a bit? And maybe call a taxi from there?"
"Yes, no problem, come in." I stepped aside, inviting her inside.
Interesting. How would she steer the conversation from here? By her own account, she had little time, and an interrogation disguised as small talk was a delicate process that couldn't be rushed. Well, now we would find out. I closed the door and caught a glimpse of a curtain twitching in the window of the house where Yelena had parked. The show was beginning.
The sterile whiteness of the hospital room pressed on the eyes. The silence was broken only by the measured, lifeless hum of medical equipment. On the spacious bed, under the close observation of a dozen sensors, lay a creature only distantly resembling a human. A smooth, seamless body of mirror-polished silvery metal retained the outlines of what it had been before: one of the planet's greatest young minds, Victor von Doom. His eyes, devoid of pupils, were two bottomless wells of liquid light. They stared unblinking at the ceiling, studying spectra invisible to ordinary mortals.
This silent contemplation could have lasted forever, but it was interrupted by the quiet click of an electronic lock. Reed Richards bustled into the room. He wore a white lab coat and held a tablet, his eyes anxiously scanning endless lines of data.
"Report, Reed," came a voice from the bed, unnatural, devoid of emotion and intonation, with a quiet resonance of polished metal. Victor did not even turn his head.
"Everything is incredibly complicated, Victor," Reed said, exhaling. There was more helplessness than fatigue in that sigh. "I still don't understand how you even exist! You have no organs in the usual sense. No blood, no nervous system. Nothing of human biology remains in you."
"Transmutation." This was not a question but a statement of fact. For the first time, a hint of curiosity slipped through the metallic voice. Victor turned his head, and his glowing eyes bored into Reed.
"Exactly! Complete, right down to the atomic level! Your body is a single, integral living crystal. Sentient metal! And here..." Richards' voice dropped noticeably, filled with both pity and a scientist's horror. "This means you no longer feel anything. No touch, no pain, no warmth. Is fatigue just a word to you now? Fear? Physical pleasure? Phantom memories from a past life?"
"Flesh is weak," Victor said, nodding almost imperceptibly as if confirming a truth he'd long accepted. "My abilities? What are their limits?"
"Potentially, you're the strongest of us," Reed said, changing the subject with obvious relief. "Your body is made of a unique, self-healing alloy born from cosmic radiation. It's resistant to extreme temperatures, immense pressure, and capable of withstanding hits from large-caliber weapons. Even artillery strikes! Of course, this isn't Adamantium, but you have molecular regeneration!"
"All this is obvious. I feel it without your instruments," Victor interrupted coldly. "I no longer need to eat, breathe, or sleep. Electromagnetism. Tell me about it."
"Yes, of course! Electrokinesis and magnetokinesis. Your readings are comparable to the strongest metahumans on the planet."
"Mutants," Doom cut him off again. "Call things by their proper names, Reed. This politically correct nonsense tires me."
"Hmm, yes, you're right. In short, this is unquestionably Omega level! And also, I didn't ask during the tests, but you see the world differently now, right?"
"Correct," Victor confirmed dryly. "The entire electromagnetic spectrum. From radio waves to gamma radiation. Furthermore, I can sense technology. Communicate with it. Like this."
He didn't move, but the lights in the room gradually dimmed, plunging it into near-darkness, then just as smoothly brightened again. The monitors flickered with static for a moment, then returned to normal.
"Technopathy..." Reed murmured admiringly, his fear forgotten. "Victor, your potential is limitless! With your abilities, we can bring humanity to a new level! Imagine what I'll announce at the conference..."
"No." The word cracked like a gunshot. Not loud, but absolute and unequivocal.
"But how can this be?! You always dreamed of a better future for the whole world! You fantasized about this expedition, wanting to expand the horizons of knowledge! You..."
This time Victor didn't interrupt Reed with words. He lazily raised his hand. The air in the room crackled, thick with the smell of ozone. A blinding whip of azure energy lashed from his fingers and struck Reed in the chest. Flash. Crack. The stunned Reed stood in the middle of the room, naked to the waist. His tablet, lab coat, and the clothes underneath had turned to ash.
Reed stared at Victor in silent fear, unable to utter a word.
"I knew your elastic structure would withstand it," Victor said calmly, holding his gaze. "Rubber, after all. My refusal is categorical, Reed. All I desire now is to return to Latveria and process what happened. I have no interest in conferences, empty speeches, or scientific discoveries."
"Y-you almost killed me!" Reed wheezed, finally coming to his senses, ignoring everything else.
"But I didn't. Though I could have. Consider this a visual demonstration of my position. I hope this time you heard me."
With these words, the massive metallic figure rose from the bed to its full height of two meters. Without saying another word, the creature that was once Victor von Doom moved toward the exit.
Victor von Doom was returning home.
Main Character Status
1. Basic Characteristics:
Physique: Enhanced, comparable to a medium-weak metahuman in passive mode, medium in active mode (Iron Blood system modification).
Wisdom: Average (New characteristic, primarily regarding the MC's thought process WITHOUT NZT buffs).
Intelligence: Very High (Master Clockmaker, Technological Modernization, Non-Mage Technology, Individual Armament: XCOM Philosophy, Entity Smith).
Loaded Knowledge: Intelligence Potion recipes, Muscle Stimulator, Protective Field Generator (from Arcanum set), Master Clockmaker information packet (also Arcanum), Technological Modernization (Terra Formars), Non-Mage Technology, Individual Armament: XCOM Philosophy, Entity Smith (Wakfu), Iron Blood (Princess' Coffin).
2. Temporal and Spatial Coordinates:
Current Date: Tuesday, daytime, September 29, 2015.
Time Since Arrival: 20 days (from Wednesday, September 9, 2015).
Location: USA, New York, Brooklyn, Bay Ridge.
3. Finances and Resources:
OP (Development Points): 50 (next Forge of Creation costs 800 OP).
Funds: Tens of thousands of dollars, but I need tens or even hundreds of millions for a lab and the influence to hold it all, so money is not the issue.
Valuable in Inventory: Chimera suit (main combat unit, not counting Iron Blood).
4. Technologies, Skills, and Items:
Unlocked:
Recipe: Intelligence Potion
Recipe: Muscle Stimulator
Recipe: Protective Field Generator
Recipe: Ash and Dawn Potion
Recipe: Fatigue Pills
Skill: Master Clockmaker
Skill: Technological Modernization
Item: Box of Magical Ore
Blueprint: Improved Extremis Formula
Information Packet: Risk of Disassembly
Skill: Non-Mage Technology
Skill: Individual Armament: XCOM Philosophy
Skill: Entity Smith (Wakfu)
Skill: Iron Blood
Locked (awaiting OP):
Item: Box of Magical Ore (Cost: 500 OP)
Information Packet: Ritualist-Optimizer (Cost: 100 OP)
Information Packet: Temporal Principle of Antimatter Manipulation (TPAM) (Cost: 900 OP)
Information Packet: Strange Science (Cost: 500 OP)
Remaining blueprints and recipes from Arcanum set (Cost: 350 OP with subsequent increases).
//=================//