Damon's Ascension

[Psychic Shards (Enhanced) - Special Weapon.]

[Rank: B]

[Details: These are a collection of shards made from a special psionically charged metal that can be easily manipulated by mind related skills and abilities to form different weapons or to attack as it is. It has been infused with special dark matter essence that has granted it greatly enhanced power and speed, bringing it into the tier of divine items.]

"Well, congratulations Felicia. You have acquired your first divine item." Damon congratulated with a nod after he read the changes on the tool tip screen.

Felicia stood up and lifted the psychic shards with her telekinesis, looking at the formerly silver colored triangle shaped shards that now glowed with a soft black light with a smile.

"Yeah, but its only a low level divine item, the lowest level at the B rank." She said rather humbly, putting the shards away.

Nyros clapped his hands once, drawing the attention of the team again. The valet dressed female from before stepped forward, now holding a shimmering case filled with the translucent orange shards that pulsed faintly with light.

"These are your remaining winnings. Eleven Skill Completion Shards, one for each of you." Nyros began, his voice neutral.

He picked one up and held it between two fingers. "Each shard must be attuned to an existing skill. Once linked, it shall either awaken a new skill, preferably one that complements, enhances, or evolves the chosen skill… or it will enhance your previous skill, unlocking new powers based on the initial development. The result will differ depending on your choice and the nature of the original skill."

He offered a sly grin. "Of course, the more central and powerful the skill you choose, the more dramatic the evolution tends to be."

Damon stepped forward, taking one shard without hesitation as he studied it for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly.

'Empty Soul Palm,' He thought, making his decision with rapid calculation and letting the shard dissolve into his hand as it connected with the designated ability.

There was a momentary pulse that only he felt, like a fragment of himself being overridden and extended.

Felicia followed next. She gently took her shard, then turned to Damon with a nod before linking it to her Quantum Analysis.

As the orange glow faded into her palm, she took a deep breath.

The others remained behind, still deciding, while Felicia stood quietly, her expression thoughtful.

"This will be… interesting." She murmured.

Damon glanced at her and gave a small smirk. "We'll see who changes more after this."

Henry threw up his hands. "Oh what the heck! If you noble poison testers still have time to flirt, then we commoners should be fine."

Saying this, he also took a skill card and used it, his face warping slightly until he saw the result. The others saw this and shared looks, shrugging and eventually taking one each as well, using them on what they felt was their best skills.

"Well, what are you fellows waiting for? Lets see the magic in action." Henry prompted with a sly smile.

Felicia took the lead and shared her result with the group.

[Quantum Analysis - Mentality-Based Skill]

[Rank: SS || Stage: SS]

[Effect: This is an advanced analytical ability that enhances the user's calculative prowess to that of a mid-grade quantum computer, allowing them to simulate, model, and predict the outcomes of highly complex systems, events, and behavioral patterns. With access to quantum-level processing across multiple entangled states, the user can now process high-dimensional data with layered uncertainty far beyond Post-Chaos comprehension.

This skill grants the following sub-abilities and bonuses:

1. Enhanced Calculation: The user can rapidly analyze and calculate massive data sets, including combat patterns, elemental flows, spatial trajectories, and biological or magical phenomena. The processing speed is directly proportional to the user's Mentality stat and is now sufficient to parse and solve multi-tiered theoretical constructs within moments.

2. Battle Strategy Optimization: In active combat, the user can predict enemy patterns several moves ahead, adjusting their own positioning and output for optimal effect. Reaction lag is reduced to sub-conscious speeds, allowing the body to act on mental cues without traditional delays.

3. Probabilistic Foresight: The user passively gains an instinctual understanding of risk and success ratios for any action or decision. This directly amplifies all Mentality-based skills and abilities by 2.5x, stacking multiplicatively with other enhancements when present.

4. Data Parsing: The user can instantaneously process and extract relevant content from verbal, written, coded, or sensory input, regardless of language or format. The parsing system uses a heuristic logic matrix to prioritize useful information even in corrupted, compressed, or encrypted forms.

5. Tactical Computation: When activated in focused mode, the user can simulate up to 10⁶ (1 million) potential outcomes per second and discard unfavorable branches with near-zero energy cost. This simulation is so fast and deep that it can identify threats before they manifest and detect optimal escape or exploitation paths in real time.

6. Information Detection: The user can now scan and analyze unseen energy signatures, ambient quantum fluctuations, and hidden systemic rules in their environment. This allows the detection of concealed enemies, illusion fields, hidden variables in combat, or tampering with physical laws within a localized space of up to 100 meters, scaling with Mentality.

7. Virtual Simulation: By entering a meditative or passive state, the user can project their consciousness into a fully modeled virtual space, mirroring the real world or theoretical constructs. This simulation can be used for training, experimenting with abilities, rerunning recent events for deeper analysis, or constructing theoretical tech and magic systems. Time ratio within the simulation is 50:1, allowing detailed rehearsal and review in seconds of real-world time.]

The group stared in stunned silence as they finished reading the description of Felicia's newly upgraded skill.

"…Okay, what the hell?! Did I just hear that right? A mid-grade quantum computer? You've basically become Google with legs!" Henry muttered, eyes wide.

Bane grunted softly. "More like a walking blacksite supercomputer."

Kyle leaned on his elbow and gave a low whistle. "I feel like I need a lab coat just to stand next to you now."

Felicia smiled sheepishly, but there was a trace of pride beneath her calm demeanor. "It sounds more dramatic than it actually is… well, maybe not that much more."

"Oh, please! You better explain that before Connor starts crying." Nicholas cut in with a chuckle.

"I don't cry. Though I am offended on behalf of all stealth-types who were hoping you wouldn't become Skynet." Connor said flatly, arms crossed.

Felicia raised a finger, signaling for a moment of patience. "Alright. Let me break it down in simpler terms. Think of this skill like I've been given the brain of a chess grandmaster… on steroids… who also happens to run the stock market and predict weather patterns with magic."

Henry blinked. "So… you're God?"

Felicia shook her head with a chuckle. "Not even close, but I can definitely help keep you guys alive a lot more effectively. Let me explain it piece by piece."

She folded her arms. "With Enhanced Calculation, you can basically see it as trying to solve a 10,000-piece puzzle while blindfolded and in a thunderstorm. Now imagine being able to do that in five seconds flat, while calculating how the wind would affect each piece."

"That's essentially what this is. If there's data - be it battlefield layout, elemental density, or even someone's heartbeat - I can process it."

The group shared a look and nodded, feeling like this one was easy enough to understand. It was a basic calculative ability, something which they all had experienced themselves as they raised their Mentality stat, but Felicia got it to a more insane degree.

Felicia continued. "With Battle Strategy Optimization, its even simpler. Do you remember that Sherlock Holmes movie where he has that fight scene in the underground ring? That's basically me now and what this ability does. My brain runs dozens of counters before I even blink in slow-motion where I predicts every move before the enemy even swings."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "So you're like that anime tactician who always wins by overthinking everything?"

"Exactly, except my simulations run while I'm moving and adjust for the slightest changes in the situation." She nodded.

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Discombobulate?'

Felicia nodded. "Discombobulate."

Marshal spoke up. "There is one called Probabilistic Foresight. Is it the same as Damon's Probability Manipulation, or is it in the same vein?"

Everyone looked over with interest, now understand how powerful Damon's ability was. If Felicia had even 1% of that power…

Felicia pondered and shook her head. "I'd rather call this a 'gut feeling' upgrade. Before, I had to think and weigh my options in terms of risk to reward but with this ability, I just know the best choice in any scenario."

"If something's too risky, I feel it and if something has a high success chance, I get that too. It's like a constant voice in my head going 'good idea' or 'don't touch that, stupid.' Also… any of my other Mentality-based powers get a power boost." She concluded with a shrug.

"Wait, how big of a boost?" Levi asked with alarm.

"Two and a half times baseline." Felicia replied casually.

"…You're kidding." Nicholas blinked with shock.

Felicia folded her arms. "I'm not."

"So you have an A grade telekinesis ability that scales off your Mentality - which is already your highest stat - and the Mentality value of the human race is already SSS compared to all species in the universe, practically unmatched."

"Then you have low level divine weapons in the form of psychic shards which are perfectly suited for telekinesis which can likely slice up composite armor from modern tanks and move as far as a kilometer away to behead an opponent…"

After saying all this, Henry paused and sized up Felicia.

"Should we start calling you Fairy Felicia, the Flying Sword Immortal?"