BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

1152  A gift (1)

Erik's tent was... Well, for starters, calling it a tent wasn't accurate. It was basically a home he made. In truth, he created it for the three women, to give them the most comfortable space possible and one where they could safely make neural links, on which they were currently focusing.

It was just that the three insisted for Erik to stay there. For obvious reasons... Not that one could blame them...

Erik had built only one structure. It wasn't very big, but it was strong and well-made. The most important aspect of it was that the building was sturdy and comfortable. It could easily stand up to bad weather and keep the people inside cozy in the meantime. The house had roots, and it would be hard for storms to destroy it.

Erik used his Plant Master brain crystal power to make the vegetation grow into the shape of a house. He guided trees and vines to form the walls and roof.

The walls were made of twisted branches and thick vines, which made them strong but also looked natural. Leaves and small branches filled the gaps, keeping the inside warm and dry. The roof was made of tightly woven leaves that sloped down, so rain would easily run off.

Windows were just openings in the walls where Erik let fewer plants grow, albeit making vines dangle through it, so that if the three wanted some fresh air, they could still get it. Erik grew the furniture right out of the structure itself. He made beds from woven branches, shelves from curved tree limbs, and even a table that grew up from the ground with a flat top.

<I'm here…>

Erik entered. There he found the three women meditating, trying to make more neural links. It was just that, with that many, it wasn't simple anymore.

"HMHMH…"

Erik cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the three breathtakingly beautiful women who had been deep in meditation. As if awakening from a trance, their eyes fluttered open. They turned their gazes towards Erik. "Did something happen?" Mira asked. That was the first thing she always asked, courtesy of her many years as a mercenary.

"No… Well, yes, actually. The Chimaeric Demons found their servers."

"Great!" Emily said. "Finally, we might be able to see what these guys were up to!"

"Yes," Erik said. Mira observed him more. "Something is telling me you didn't come here for that."

<Damn, she misses nothing.>

Erik coughed. "Well, in truth, I don't. The reason I came here is that I have something to say to you, and only you. At least for now."

His face turned serious. "But know this: what I am about to tell you could turn rather problematic if someone finds out about it."

"You mean, to the point, someone would come and kill us all?"

Erik sighed. He was already picturing the situation.

"No, to the point that I will find millions of people under my window asking for a chance to speak to me."

Amber smiled.

"Doesn't this happen already?" Amber asked. "After all, you are pretty famous, and many people consider you the strongest human being alive."

"Not in history?" Mira teasingly said.

"I think we can safely say that is not true at all... Anyway, this time, things will be... worse. You see, during the last battle, I unlocked the system's last two powers, and... Well, they allow me to give brain crystal powers to others…"

The three women gaped at Erik, stunned into silence. Their eyes widened and jaws slackened as they struggled to process his words. They could do nothing but sit motionless in silence, trying to understand if Erik was pulling a prank on them.

However, all three of them were hoping what Erik said was true, all for the same reason. Amber didn't like to kill and always wanted something that would make her able to not do that. Emily could see the future, but these visions were often unreliable and had to be interpreted most of the time, and the power itself didn't have many combat-oriented usages. Even using it in a fight was insanely hard, to the point of being impossible.

Mira, instead, had a weak brain crystal power, and getting something on par with Amber and Emily was the bare minimum to stay with Erik or go to Mur. In truth, her condition often made her feel inadequate. If what Erik said was true and not a joke, she might be able to finally get out of that situation.

For different reasons, everyone wanted a new power, especially knowing they might have better chances on Mur, which were slim at the moment.

Mira was the first to break the stunned silence. "You can... share brain crystal powers?" "Yeah…" Erik nodded.

Emily and Amber exchanged quick glances, their expressions a mirror of shock and excitement. Mira was unable to talk, but just for a moment.

"Well, now I get why you said things would turn ugly." Mira already saw herself going to take a shower, only for someone to be peeping through the window for a chance to see Erik.

"That would be horrifying." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"What?"

"Nothing."

"So…" Amber said. "You came here because you want to give us some new powers?"

Erik nodded.

"I thought about what to give you on my way here and if you even wanted them. You want new powers, right?"

If they got something new, they might be able to go in a new direction.

"First of all, I should tell you how it works," Erik said. "I can only give you a power that I already have, and when that happens, I lose it. I guess the biological supercomputer sends you the DNA information from my body to yours and fixes you in such a way to accommodate the brain crystal power."

The three women nodded. They didn't understand how all of that worked—the technical part at least—but Erik's words were clear.

"Second, the new power will be parallel with your existing one, but they will share the same mana pool, your brain crystal."