Weapons of Mass Destruction

When I come back, bloodied, and tired, but satisfied, I find everyone packing. Some of us are collecting food and hides, while others are making sure we will take enough water to last us for a while and gather all useful stuff.

The decision is unanimous.

Rather than waiting for the Cinderbear to appear once again, everyone prefers just moving somewhere else in hopes he won't find us.

I agree, even though I am unhappy about that. It's a smart decision, but it still feels sour, as if I am leaving behind unsolved problems. Cinderbear is terrifying, but I want revenge before the 1st-floor ends.

"Tess, can you keep a watch over me for a few minutes?" I instantly find the girl by her mana signature.

Hearing something in my voice, she doesn't ask where I went and what I want, and just nods solemnly.

I enter the bus and move to the last seat, the seat I sat in when we got here.

I breathe in. Let's see.

"Trait," I say.

Be advised: humans are limited to three Traits.

Available traits:

Enhanced Mana Heart (Passive)

Augments the user's natural mana pool and regeneration rate, allowing for longer and more sustained use of mana-based abilities. This passive trait enables the user to cast more spells and maintain their magical abilities with less downtime, providing a significant advantage in extended battles and outside of them.

Regenerative Tissue (Passive)

The user's body gains the ability to regenerate tissue rapidly, accelerating the healing of wounds and reducing the impact of injuries during combat. This trait not only helps the user recover from injuries more quickly but also ensures that they remain in peak fighting condition, even in the most grueling of encounters.

Mana Circuit (Passive)

Integrates a network of mana channels throughout the user's body, optimizing the distribution of mana and amplifying the power of their mana-based abilities without additional mana consumption. This enhancement allows the user to draw upon their mana more efficiently, resulting in more potent spells and abilities while reducing overall mana expenditure.

Adaptive Resistance (Passive)

Temporarily and gradually adjusts the user's resistances based on the types of damage they receive, allowing them to become more resilient against recurring threats over time. As the user encounters different forms of attack, their body learns to adapt and develop natural defenses against those specific damage types, providing a growing advantage in combat.

Mana-Infused Vitality (Passive)

Considerably strengthens the constitution by using user's mana to bolster their natural vitality, resulting in a drastic improvement in overall health, stamina, and recovery rate. This infusion of mana into the user's body grants them increased durability and resilience, allowing them to endure more punishment and recover more quickly from damage.

Mana Sensitive Skeleton (Passive)

The user's bones become highly sensitive to mana, allowing them to channel and store mana within their skeletal structure. Additionally, this heightened sensitivity enables the user to better detect and sense mana within their own body and the surrounding environment, increasing their awareness of magical presences and activities.

Efficient Mana Conversion (Passive)

Increases the user's proficiency in converting their mana into different forms of energy, such as thermal, kinetic, or electrical, granting them a wider range of abilities and techniques in combat. This mastery over mana conversion allows the user to adapt their abilities to suit the situation at hand, providing a versatile and unpredictable fighting style.

Spell Diffusion (Passive)

This trait allows the user to diffuse a portion of incoming magical attacks, scattering the energy and reducing the overall impact on the user. This ability is especially useful in battles against magic-wielding foes, as it weakens their power and provides a defensive advantage to the user.

Reinforced Musculature (Passive)

Strengthens the user's muscles with an infusion of mana, granting them increased physical power and the ability to perform feats of strength beyond their natural capabilities. This trait not only enhances the user's offensive capabilities but also allows them to perform impressive physical feats that may be useful outside of combat.

Kinetic Channeling (Passive)

Enables the user to channel their mana into kinetic energy, allowing them to enhance their physical movements and attacks. This trait provides the user with the ability to perform faster, more agile, and more powerful physical actions, making them a formidable force in close-quarters combat.

Wow, that's a lot.

I expected a few traits, and here we go, 10 of them and even with descriptions!

What the hell? Who are you and what did you do to the system we all knew and hated?

I'm not complaining, just curious.

Also, any new skills for me? You know, I find it unfair as some people started with diamond spoons up their throats.

Just look at Tess! At this point, the stones she throws with her [Psychokinesis] feel more dangerous than bullets, and Sophie is there walking through the forest while manipulating monsters not to see her until she stabs her spear up their rear ends.

Look, I'm not ungrateful, but maybe, maybe one OP skill?

Just one.

…

Yeah, I thought so, screw you too! It's not like I wanted something from you or anything, stupid!

Now, back to traits. They look amazing, all of them. Unfortunately, I can pick only one, but in the future, there will probably be more opportunities, as it's said humans can have 3 of them.

Does that mean that there are different beings than humans that can get more or fewer traits?

Probably? But that's a problem for tomorrow me.

For a start, I read over them a few more times and try to think of all the usages and which one could be the best not only for immediate growth but also helpful to my growth in the future.

Enhanced Mana Heart (Passive) One mystery is solved. The thing that gives all of us mana, regenerates it, and collects it is called Mana Heart. It's either somewhere within my heart or my own heart changed into one. Either way, I like this one, and it seems like a strengthened version of it.

Regenerative Tissue (Passive) This one sounds really good too, as it would help me to heal from wounds faster than just increasing my constitution. But still, I like the first option more.

Mana Circuit (Passive) This is a serious contender for the first spot. Darn, I already know that I will have a hard time deciding which one to pick.

Adaptive Resistance (Passive) This one is meh. Sure, it sounds good, but I'd rather something that will allow me to end the fight faster.

Mana-Infused Vitality (Passive) Similar to Regenerative Tissue.

Mana Sensitive Skeleton (Passive) Something I got thanks to my [Mana Perception]? Not bad, but I still like Circuit and Mana Heart more.

Efficient Mana Conversion (Passive) Sounds interesting, but it's a trap! I'm sure I can learn to convert mana into different forms on my own, and now I even have hints. Hahaha. So thermal, kinetic, electrical, and probably much more. But let's start experimenting with these three.

Spell Diffusion (Passive) Good, but I need something more versatile and something that can increase my damage.

Reinforced Musculature (Passive) This one is probably from my continuous strengthening of my body?

Kinetic Channeling (Passive) This one is also a no.

So that's it. It's either Enhanced Mana Heart or Mana Circuit.

Which one should I pick?