Grey pressed a palm forward onto the Legendary Loot Box on the left. It broke apart, fissures of light separating out the three-dimensional jigsaw pieces until the entire thing collapsed.
In its place, what Grey could only describe as a premium Nexis Suit was hovering there.
It had the same shape as a usual Nexis Suit, a onesie of proprietary fabric that zipped all the way up to the bottom of the jaw. It covered the feet and toes completely, and if you wanted to take a piss, you’d certainly have to do a little jig to worm it off your shoulders and go bare ass at the urinal.
However, after that, the comparisons pretty much stopped.
A usual Nexis Suit would be a pretty much black, stretchy fabric. It would have lines that were almost rubber to the touch racing across its surface in what looked like circuitry, and this circuitry would be what interfaced with the system and connected with your Neural Frame.
This Nexis Suit, however, looked a lot more like an armor. There were metallic shingles that protected the elbows, shoulders, knees, and even the toes and feet. There was a metallic spine that Grey could see needle-like protrusions coming from on the inside of the suit. And, the circuitry wasn’t a black, rubbery substance anymore, but instead looked like someone had run thin copper strips across the entire thing.
Honestly, it was a beautiful piece, the sort a contemporary ballerina might wear during a performance. But Grey couldn’t help but wonder about the size and the Type issue.
Nexis Suits were supposed to be unique to every user. Even two people with the same Type might not be able to use each other’s Nexis Suits unless they also happened to be identical twins of the exact same body weight.
But they wouldn’t give them an item that was absolutely worthless... right?
’Who am I kidding. They do that all the time.’
Grey was practically the only one who could claim rewards without worry. Everyone else was biting their nails, hoping that the Loot Box they just risked their life for would come back with an item of a Type they could use.
Otherwise, they would have to risk selling it and hoping they didn’t get shafted by yet another Genesis Game mechanic.
"Grey, I—."
The hesitation in Amunet’s voice snapped Grey out of his thoughts and made him chuckle.
"You want it? Take it."
Grey had already noticed that Amunet’s Nexis Suit was damaged. She was only able to accept rewards because she had figured out how to manipulate her Nexis Suit like he had.
In fact, Grey was pretty sure that if people wanted to survive, that was about the only thing they could do. Nexis Suits were sturdy, but they weren’t indestructible. You were bound to tear it at some point, and then you’d be screwed.
"You..." Amunet was speechless. "... At least let me finish."
"It’s fine. I noticed your Nexis Suit was damaged, and as you can see, I don’t exactly need one. I found another item that lets me interface with the system."
Amunet’s gaze flickered and then she nodded. "Thank you, then."
—
Name: Axiom Nexis Suit
Rarity: Legendary
Accepted Type: Recursive
Rejected Type: Linear; Branching; Resonant
Description: A Nexis Suit of living memory. The strength of the Recursive Frame Type is in its staying power and flexibility. To train the same circuits again and again, and to benefit from the looping strength this produces. The Axiom Nexis Suit embodies this with perfection, bolstering familiar pathways and strengthening one’s Frame steadily and sharply.
Abilities: +50 Stamina. +50 END. Self Healing.
—
Grey read the description simply out of curiosity, and he got an unexpected boon out of it. It was vague, but he still felt he had a better grasp of what a Recursive Frame Type was.
It also made the Looping Necklace make sense as well. From what he could tell, this Axiom Nexis Suit had a lot of the abilities of the Looping Necklace, just a bit muted. After all, its main purpose wasn’t in any of that, but instead in the ridiculous boost to Stamina and END, and most importantly of all...
’Self healing... that’s huge. I bet this Nexis Suit is not only way more difficult to actually cut, but the fact that even if it is cut it can self repair is a game changer.’
Grey smiled. He didn’t mind that Amunet received this reward. The Stamina boost would be huge to him, but he bet his Stamina was about to get a large leap forward with his new Perfect Frame regardless.
’Let’s do this next one.’
Grey pressed a hand forward and the Legendary Loot Box on the right collapsed into motes of light and three-dimensional jigsaw pieces.
He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t what appeared. It almost looked like he was staring at a glass display at some sort of Neanderthal exhibit.
There wasn’t a caveman looming over him or anything, but there was instead a set of three items, all three of which were fashioned from teeth.
A necklace and two daggers.
The necklace was simple enough, a single worn leathery line looping into a ring on the back of a tooth that was about two or three sizes too big to fit into a human mouth. It was curved and sharp as well, making it seem quite canine-like.
The curved, sharp teeth of the twin daggers were also quite large... for teeth, anyway. For a pair of daggers, they were quite impotent.
’How could you even fight with that?’
Grey looked down at his palm. If he wrapped his hand around one of those, it would barely poke out what...? Three? Four inches at most? Fighting with those things would take a ridiculous amount of skill and leave no room for error.
—
Name: Relentless Fang Set
Rarity: Legendary
Accepted Type: Linear
Rejected Type: Branching; Recursive; Resonant
Description: The history of the Dark Kin is long and looming. In a distant past, they were no different from animals and beasts, roaming the earth, seeking out their next prey. The Relentless Fang is an echo of this past, lost history, and a reminder of the Beastial Aura that they once called home... a home that existed before they lost the concepts of balance and oneness with nature.
Abilities: ...
—