Uhg, I hate looking at this sheet. Having so many aspects of myself broken down into such a sterile sheet makes me feel like an unimportant NPC in a game. Hell, I honestly don't know that I'm not! Maybe everything before the System activating was background lore/prequel to a game that someone or several someones are players in. Or maybe it was someone installing a total overhaul mod on a game in the middle of a run. Hell if I know! But the overly game based nature of the system points towards either a video game or one of those dime a dozen uninspired audiobooks my dad loves so much. Almost makes me wish I'd paid more attention to his attempt to talk about them, maybe I'd have gotten some kind of hint about where things are going. If I see some tween with a sword I swear I'm going to pound him flat.
Come on Joe, push past the existential terror induced by the surety of the very shape of reality being brought into question for the second time this year. You've dealt with stuff on this level before, just push it down and let it trickle out in small manageable drops until you're ready to fully come to grips with it. Suppressing, and out of mind for the moment.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Alright, what to use this token on to make room for Dielectric Breakdown?
...
Well the most immediately obvious option would be to fuse together Lunge and Leap, but I'm not certain that's the best idea. Yes the two would likely mix nicely to make a good mobility/attack ability, but there's no guarantee that I'd be able to chain the resulting ability into itself the way I do Lunge and Leap which could actually result in me losing offensive striking power, as well as my ability to drunkenly fly. Not that I ever used the ability, I might be immune to fall damage from using Leap, but my terror of heights made sure I never enjoyed the experience of rocketing through the sky. Hrm, a non-zero chance I might lose that in the fusion. Let's just put that as a 'maybe' and look at other possibilities.
...
You know, it might be a good idea to try fusing my traits. Meshing Grappling Strike and Constrict together sounds like something worthwhile. I might even be able to select a new trait or slot one of my abilities into the opened slot. Even if I can't, I'm pretty sure what's going down at the iron mill is probably a boss monster so I'd get a proper fusion token and be able to go ahead and mix Myoelectric Mutagen with Dielectric Breakdown then and there and be able to choose a new trait when I evolve again. That certainly sounds like a win to me.
System, use the minor fusion token to fuse Grappling Strike with Constrict.
–Critical Error: Traits cannot be fused or swapped until reaching Adult Status–
What? You mean everyone is stuck with four basic traits that they can't do anything with until they hit level thirty five? That's some special kind of BULL SHIET! Who the heck looked at that and decided that was a good idea!? 'Direct control over evolutionary forces' Satan's castrated cock!
Hrrrm, I was really looking forward to giving myself some limbs or something.
What other good fusion options do I have? None that are immediately obvious from fusing my current abilities together. Fusing Bunker Down and Leap might result in some sort of twin impact meteor strike, which would certainly be cool as heck, but I've kind of already bookmarked Bunker down to get fused with Respiring Mutagen to make a really powerful fortifying passive. Hmm.
Actually, fusing a couple mutagens has some tempting possibilities. Respiring with my Wolfram might result in that stamina recovery being constant, or reduce the stamina cost of all my abilities. Throwing Flexibility into the mix and there's some other interesting possibilities. Respiring suddenly being active even while moving? Wolfram becoming streamlined and easier to move in? Myoelectric building charge faster or directing it better? Fossorial... Dig better?
Actually, what would happen if I mixed Fossorial with Wolfram? Would I be able to dig through defenses? Probably not. I just don't see mixing a movement mutation with a defense somehow resulting in an offensive one. Mixing Fossorial with respiring would probably just make me recover faster underground, and Myoelectrical would, what? Make me a better grounding rod? That one just doesn't seem like it would mix well, should probably just keep it book marked to try fusing it with aquatic when I evolve to try for something really neat.
I probably shouldn't mix Wolfram or my Bloodline with Myoelectric though, that would likely render me continuously electrified which might render clothes and carrying passengers problematic even if it might be a potent defensive upgrade.
Fusing a Mutagen might actually be the better answer and then fusing in Dielectric later, despite it being such a juicy looking ability. Still, any good potentials for mixing that bad boy in with my current abilities? What would even happen if I mixed it with Prehensile Tail? Would it grant shocks originating from my tail the resistance penetration? That could be useful considering the massive weapon my bloodline had slapped down there, mixing the 75% damage bypass with another 90% damage bypass would be a shocking surprise to say the least. Though that would be something of a one off surprise, not like a giant slab of sharpened metal is something most people would judge to be a minor threat, so while it would be powerful, I'm not certain it would be useful.
Leap or Lunge then? . . . The only thing I could possibly see from mixing Breakdown with either of those is either adding a generalized damage bypass to them, which would certainly be useful, especially considering the cataclysmic force Leap seems to be capable of putting out when mixed with a downward Lunge or three. Though again it raises the point of making an ability that seems capable of one shoting all but the most of people and monsters even more powerful. True I am aiming to bring down some very big fish and Jorge has shown that people can get very big and tough, but the more I dwell on it, adding the damage bypass to only one of my attacks seems a bit of waste when I probably should use a proper token to mix it with Myoelectric Mutagen to simply make electricity innately bypass defenses.
Which still leaves me struggling with four potentially good to great options to sort through. All of them have their advantages and I find myself struggling to pick, so I go to an old reliable in situations like this. Assigning each option a space in my mind I twirl a mental finger and begin the ritual chant.
Eenie meenie minie moe
What combination does he land choose?
