“Alright Lady and gents I think we should go turn in these quests while I integrate these traits I have stocked up. After that we can go kick in this Sledge fuckers teeth. Sound good?” I asked casually.

“Anything good?” Mordy asked interested.

I nodded “Got some elemental body traits from the Skags and [Pugilist expertise] and [Adrenal rush] from Brick. The elemental traits shouldn’t cause much change in me but I’m not sure about Bricks traits.” I said truthfully.

“I don’t feel any different than normal?” Brick said confused.

“That’s not how that works! I don’t steal the actual trait so much as make a copy of it for myself. The reason dead things turn to dust after I do my thing on them is because I take all the lifeforce out of them which makes them collapse as nothing is holding them together anymore.” I said slightly annoyed at having to repeat that explanation.

“So when’d you take my traits anyways?” Brick asked seeming to get what I said.

“When I gave you that vitality trait. I figured I may as well since the option was there.” I said with a shrug.

“Makes sense, I AM pretty awesome after all.” he said with a grin.

“How’s that [Pugilist expertise] trait work anyway? I thought you could only make copies of things that were innate?” Lil asked curiously.

“So you know how if you do something long enough that it starts to become second nature to you?” I asked and everyone nodded. “Well when it reaches that point it becomes literally carved into your body in the form of muscle memory which makes it a trait I can take a copy of. In a way it’s like I am taking someone elses muscle memory and turning it into my own.” I said frankly.

“That sounds really damn unfair. Like someone works their ass off for years to get good at something and you can just pick it up by touching them?” Mordy said with an envious tone.

“I never said it was fair, merely that that was how it worked. Besides it’s not like I suddenly get really good at something without practice so much as I now have a foundation to work off of. I do actually have to put in some effort to “digest” the new trait fully after all” I said with a shrug.

I meant it too as even after taking the [gun expertise] trait from Clay I wasn’t suddenly a badass gunslinger but had to practice to reach that point. The only difference between me and the person who I took the trait from in this regard was that I took a vastly shorter time to reach their level since I had a clear cut path to follow. The only exception to this as far as I had found was in [Eridian engineering expertise] that gave me actual knowledge on stuff rather than just vague feelings on how to do it.-

Anyways they agreed to let me take some time to integrate the traits before we fed Sledge his own teeth after turning in the quests. With that taken care of we walked back to the entrance of this area and passed through the drainage pipe leading to it and back into the main Arid badlands area. We grabbed the catch-a-ride there and digistructed us a couple of runners before driving back to Fyrestone. Naturally I was hanging off the side of Roland and Lil’s runner like a jabber in a tree to do so.-

“I really should put together a vehicle of my own for convenience if nothing else.” I said after shaking out the discomfort in my limbs from the ride.

“I don’t think we have the time for that.” Roland said sternly.

“If I have the parts it’d only take me a couple hours though finding parts around here is probably gonna be a pain in the ass.” I said with a sigh.

“What about that broke down runner you were working on earlier?” Lil asked and I shook my head.

“That thing’s missing parts which is sorta the whole problem here.” I said shaking my head.

“If it wasn’t ever going to work why were you messing with it then?” Mordy asked confused.

“You can learn a lot about something by getting into it’s guts and I was curious how the runners were designed. Even with the missing parts I was able to at least figure out how the things were made thanks to what’s still there.” I said casually.

I headed behind Zed’s after that and tossed out my house before making my way to the bathroom to strip in case this round of integrations turned messy. Ladon had been put in my house for the trip back to Fyrestone already so it was waiting when I opened the portal.-

I gave the elemental traits the go ahead nudge first since those were the easiest and shuddered all over as they clicked into the versions of them I already had. I then nudged the [Pugilist expertise] and felt the same vagueness that I had gotten from [Buzzaxe expertise] and [Gun expertise] shift into my mind while my muscles twitched as well. If I was back in my previous life’s body I might have already had the trait as I had trained in martial arts for years there but getting the trait now saves me the time needed to get back to that proficiency with this body.-

Finally however I was left with the [Adrenal rush] trait that I admit I was a bit nervous about.

‘In for a penny I guess.’ I thought as I gave the trait the nudge.

Pain ripped through my kidneys and brain as my adrenal glands began to mutate alongside the formation of a “switch” to activate this new trait. It didn’t last long and thankfully didn’t cause any mess but felt really fucking odd to say the least.-

The best way I could describe it would be that it felt as though I had one of those morphine injectors they have in hospitals always under a “finger” in my head. Obviously the “payout” wasn’t morphine when pressed though but a big dose of that good shit. I tested it immediately and stiffened as my heart sped up and my senses sharpened to their limits. I lifted my hand and looked at my arm that had all the veins protruding up under the skin while my skin itself took on a red sheen as it flushed with blood and heat.-

I threw out a punch and marveled at the power behind it as the subconscious limit on my strength was removed by this false fight or flight state. 

‘So this trait lets me utilize my full potential for a short time but at the cost of my stamina.’ I thought fairly impressed with the trait.

In a way it was almost like my [Burn] aspect of my powers but only made the most of what I already had without temporarily forcing it all to it’s apex form. I thought about hitting the “switch” without end but I was smart enough to understand that if the adrenaline rush became commonplace it would force me to do something stupid to satisfy my addiction.-

Still with my integration done I grabbed a quick shower before getting dressed again and leaving my house while leaving Ladon inside. Much as I’d nothing more than to take it out all the time it both lacked a shield and couldn’t keep up with a runner. 

“Good news! Zed had a couple of Uncommon shields to spare that we bought off him for Bloodwing and Ladon!” Lil said as I closed up my house and put it away.

“That’s good, I’ll rig up a harness for Ladon and Bloodwing when we get to the mine.” I said with a thumbs up.

We loaded up in the runners at this point and headed for the objective on our HUD’s that was a small clearly ill maintained rocky wall with a thick triple layered door that needed a key to open.

“Everything you’ve faced up until now has been simple. You are about to face a real challenge in Sledge. Do not underestimate him.” The “Angel” said when we arrived.

“Promises promises.” I said with a chuckle and the rest also smirked.

I let Ladon out and used some rope to create a harness for the shields over it and Bloodwing’s chests with the shields sitting right in the center. Both critters sniffed at it curiously but after figuring out it wasn’t food ignored it which was a relief. Roland took out the “key” to the place and opened the way with the first layer lifting to show a sign written in blood that said “Piss off” before the final layer shifted to the side letting us in. 

“Lil scout ahead to make sure we aren’t ambushed please.” I said and she gave a sassy two finger salute before vanishing in a flash of light.

“You think bandits are capable of staging an ambush?” Mordy asked skeptically.

“Better safe than sorry right?” Roland asked and I nodded.

Lil reappeared at this point “A couple of bandits left as sentries but that was it, I took care of them while I was there.” she said casually.

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https://www.pa treon.com/user?u=81578854#:~:text=pa treon.com/pa treon_loskro

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Alexander Drake

Lifeforce: 210,191

Integrated Traits: [Gun expertise-Uncommon grade], [Clever mind-Rare grade],[Enhanced senses-Epic grade]X2, [Omega body-Rare grade]x4, [Supreme armored hide-Epic grade]X2, [Bone regeneration-Uncommon grade], [Corrosion resistance-Uncommon grade], [Energy projection-Epic grade]x4, [Superior vitality-Epic grade],[Flame breath-Uncommon grade],[Regeneration-Epic grade], [Disease resistance-Epic grade],[Amphibious lungs-Uncommon grade], [Thermal sensing-Uncommon grade], [Water resistance-Common grade],[Active camouflage-Epic grade], [Eridian engineering expertise-Mythical grade], [Efficient lungs-Rare grade]x2, [Fire resistance-Epic grade]X2, [Elemental body(fire)-Legendary grade], [Shock resistance-Epic grade]X4, [Energetic sustenance(shock)-Epic grade]X2, [Radiation resistance-Epic grade]X3, [Energetic sustenance(radiation)-Epic grade]X2, [True omnivore-Rare grade], [Biometallic bones-Epic grade],[Elemental body(shock)-Rare grade]X3,[Quick thinking-Rare grade], [Hyperflexibility-Rare grade], [Strong circulation-Epic grade], [Minor spatial awareness-Epic grade], [Buzzaxe expertise-Uncommon grade], [Siren(Phaselock)(Altered)-Mythical grade], [Pugilist expertise-Uncommon grade], [Adrenal rush-Rare grade]

Stored traits:

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep