Havok Bringer

I couldn't understand what Sherlock was trying to tell me. A while back, I noticed that my abilities had started showing descriptives denoting class levels. I spoke with Tiff briefly about this, but she had limited knowledge regarding the class levels. She did explain that there were individuals out there who possessed the ability to transcend the base power scale of initiated individuals, but her knowledge on the subject wasn't complete. The base power scale for people who had access to abilities in the galaxy was reasonably straightforward. It was widely believed that level 100 was the power cap. This made sense because, as far as most people in the galaxy were aware, no individual had yet reached this power cap. Kaj was on the upper end of that power scale and was currently at level 63.
"Sherlock, what you are telling me doesn't make any sense. If other Scandare are out there, why don't we know more about them?
"Captain, from everything I have gathered the existence of Scandare within our galaxy is a closely guarded secret. They are outliers in an otherwise straightforward and easily navigatable system. One becomes initiated and then fights to reach the max level they can within the time they are allowed to participate in reapings. Some governments also employ initiated beings in their respective militaries, but it is generally frowned on by the Galactic Council. Most have never even lain eyes on a Scandare, and never will."
I battled internally with what Sherlock was telling me before turning to Kaj to get his take. "Kaj, you've been in many different theatres of war, and seen more than most. Have you ever seen a Scandare? Or are you at least familiar with what Sherlock is telling me?
"No, Captain. I am near the high end of power for the Malakim. I have never encountered one of these Scandare before meeting you. I have heard rumors of individuals exceeding level 90 but never met one, on the field of battle or otherwise. I did once encounter a level 85 Lycoan brawler on the battlefield," Kaj sighed slowly and his wings relaxed. "That was one of the worst days of my life. That class is focused on hand-to-hand combat and is heavily focused on strength and dexterity. He managed to wipe out an entire battalion of our soldiers in less than an hour. We had to retreat which resulted in us losing the planet entirely. The Lycoans have held that planet since, and no other species has threatened to invade. I cannot imagine what power an individual would wield if they were at or," his eyebrows raised as he though about it, "surpassing level 100."
Sherlock was pacing back and forth as we spoke, seemingly trying to work something out to himself.
"Sherlock, do you have anything to add here?" I asked.
"We need to proceed with the reset as soon as possible, Captain. I have my suspicions, but I cannot confirm them without accessing the files that have been quarantined. What I can say is that I fear there is more to your armor than you first assumed."
"What does that mean? Can you at least give me a little insight?"
"Captain, your class is unique. That is not surprising on its own. Unique classes are often given by the system from reaping to reaping. The Coeus have often used cultural stereotypes or myths of individual worlds to build classes that make sense to those who have been recruited. The issue with your class is that it doesn't fit into any pre-defined classification. Most classes, even unique ones, will still fit into the basic structure of one of the five master classes. Your Class does not. It seems to be able to utilize the benefits of most classes and has very few of the drawbacks associated with those classes because of this."
"I feel like I should already know this, but what are the five master classes?" I asked.
Kaj spoke up. "The five master classes are the basis for all subclasses or unique classes offered by the system." Kaj held up a finger as he began to list the classes.
First, there is the brawler class. This class, as I said earlier, is focused on melee combat. Anyone employing this class will have their stats skewed heavily in favor of strength and dexterity. They will often have abilities that allow them to dish out massive amounts of damage in a short amount of time.
Second is the Guardian class. This class is focused on defense and stamina. They will skew their stats heavily toward Vigor, Stamina, and Strength. They can take a ton of damage, and while they generally possess adequate skills in combat, they will more than likely be used to allow the rest of their allies to set up long-range or wide-area attacks."
"So, they are tanks," I said.
"No, Captain. They are living beings. Why would you say this?"Kaj asked, confusion on his face.

"No, tank is a term from my world. It doesn't mean the actual machine; it is used in games to describe a player who takes a lot of damage." I realized how silly it sounded as the words left my mouth.
"This is no game, Captain. I do understand the comparison in terminology now, though. Now, as I was saying. The third class is Healer. The name is pretty self-explanatory, but anyone in this class will have stats focused on intelligence and stamina. These stats will allow them to create wide-area healing abilities. They have limited combat abilities, and you rarely see them operating without the aid of a larger group.
The fourth class is known as Mancers. This class should be familiar to you, as Tiffantrimore is an Electro-Mancer. Mancers have the ability to manipulate the elements and use them as weapons. Tiffantrimore also has a duplication ability, though her master class is Mancer. I assume that she also has a unique class. This would explain her ability to duplicate.
The Fifth class is the Warrior class. This is the most common class given and the most commonly selected. It can include anything from short-range weapons and melee combat mastery to long-range weapons like those used by Matty and Jax. The master class is Warrior, but the subclass may differ and lead the individual on a different path. This class is mostly balanced, and as one progresses, free points can be allocated to give one an edge based on their subclass.
Captain, your class is different. Your stats all started at the basic level for humans, but you have grown them significantly. Tell me, what is your stat cap?"
"Stat cap?" I asked, wrinkling my eyebrows in confusion.
"Yes, as I just explained, all master classes have stats that will heavily outweigh others. For example, the stat cap for the intelligence stat of a healer will sometimes be double the cap of their strength stat. The classes are designed this way to ensure that the individual will not overfeed a stat that has a negative impact on their progression. Surely this has been explained to you."

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"As far as I know, I don't have any stat caps. I don't see anything on my interface showing a cap level, and all of my individual stats have levelled up pretty evenly to this point.
Kaj shot Sherlock a concerned look before returning to the conversation. "You must keep this information to yourself, Captain. You must swear to me that you will not discuss this, not even with Tiffantrimore."
"Yeah…I can do that, but is someone going to tell me what is going on here? Why is this a big deal?"
Kaj put his hand on my shoulder. "Captain, what you have told me shouldn't be possible. I agree with Sherlock. We need some answers, and I believe it is time to get those answers. As much as you are concerned about the possible ramifications of the reset, I believe it is imperative to do it as soon as possible. There are answers, there is information that we need before we can decide exactly what that armor of yours is capable of."
"Okay, let's head back to the safe room and get it done. You guys are freaking me out a little bit, and I would be happy to get a few of those answers as well."
We had been working to clear monsters in a radius around the safe room over the last few days, so to make the trip shorter, I took to the air and flew back. At this point, we had cleared everything that would provide a reasonable amount of experience, and our final push would be toward the boss. That would have to wait for now, though. I had committed to allowing Sherlock to perform his reset, and honestly, I was curious about what he would find.
When I arrived back at the safe room, it was dusk, and it was starting to get damn cold. I chuckled to myself, thinking back on my time on that riverbank in Texas. It was hot every day; I longed for winter and the chill of an evening sitting by a fire, watching the sun go down. I didn't think I would get to experience those chilly evenings while being stuck in an alternate dimension and fighting monsters every day to try and get stronger so I could face the next batch of even stronger monsters.
As we passed through the door of the safe room, Kaj shifted from an incorporeal being to one that once more had natural physical substance. He shivered as he entered the common area, "I still cannot get used to that feeling. This dungeon does some strange things, I must say."
I slapped him on the back between his massive wings, "I gotta agree, it does seem pretty weird. I am glad you're here, though, Kaj. I don't think I could've done this on my own. I mean that."

"I guess I am just chopped liver then," Sherlock said in disgust.
"I didn't mean it like that, Sherlock. You have been a ton of help in your own right. Of course, you do have a tendency to go digging around in the guts of my armor and flipping switches at random to see what happens. Doesn't exactly instill confidence in your decision-making skills…but enough small talk already. Let's get this done. I need to get some food after you are finished playing mad scientist."
I cleared the main table in the common room and laid down. My armor was dismissed, and the only remaining evidence of it was the lower half of my arms, which were now entirely made up of the substance my armor was made from. I felt a chill on the left side of my body as Sherlock commandeered a small amount of its mass to allow him to take physical form.
"The entire process will take seconds, Captain. I would tell you that it is not going to hurt, but you and I both know it will. What I will say is a phrase commonly used in your country to boost the confidence of someone in need of encouragement." Sherlock said as he stood over me beside the table.
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
"Sack up. Bitches get stitches," Sherlock replied with a wry smile.
Kaj cocked his head in confusion, "What is this…sack? And is a bitch easily harmed? Why would they receive medical care?"
"Just let it go, Kaj. Sherlock was attempting to make a joke," I smiled and closed my eyes. "Honestly, not bad, Sherlock. That's exactly the kind of thing C.J. would tell me if he were here."
Sherlock reached down and grabbed what looked like a long metal probe that was approximately 6 inches long, tubular, and came to a point on the end. It was connected to something, but I couldn't see what. It was time to trust the super-advanced AI again.
"Are you ready, Captain?"
"Let's do this shit," I said as I closed my eyes and tensed my body.
"Kaj, I must ask you to hold the Captain down to prevent him from injuring himself. This will not be a pleasant experience, I'm afraid."
Standing on my right side, Kaj placed one hand on my right shoulder and one on my right thigh. He flexed, and the strength I felt him exert seemed impossible.
"Okay, I'm not going anywhere; let's get this done," I said.
"One last thing, Captain," Sherlock said as he reached over and put a mouthguard in my mouth.
"Now I'm getting nervous, Sherlock. What the hell do I need a mouthguard for…."
Before I could finish the sentence, Sherlock shoved the probe directly into my chest. I felt it dig into my flesh, stabbing through muscle. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. This was painful, but I focused, telling myself I could handle it. Sherlock was just being a drama queen as usual, I was sure of it.
Sherlock looked at Kaj and nodded. Kaj doubled the strength of his grip on me, making me almost feel that he was going to break my bones. Just as I began to scream, Sherlock pressed a button on the probe, and a massive electrical pulse shot out of the instrument, hitting me directly in the heart, not once but six times. I hadn't considered that my enhanced physiology meant it took something much more powerful to kill me. Sherlock didn't take any chances, though, and hit me with enough voltage to kill an elephant.
My body convulsed as Sherlock shocked my heart. Every muscle in my body tensed, and if not for the mouth guard, I would have broken teeth or bit my tongue off. After a few seconds, I began to foam at the mouth before, finally, my heart stopped. I relaxed, and to Sherlock and Kaj's surprise, my armored forearms melted away.
I was dead; my armor was gone.
Sherlock looked up at Kaj, who stood transfixed, finally relaxing his grip on me. Kaj watched as the portion of my armor Sherlock had commandeered also began to melt away. Sherlock stumbled to the side before flickering a few times. "I believe I might have miscalculated," Sherlock said, disappearing, the probe falling and clanging against the cold tile floor.