Chapter 8: Interlude - Shifting Shadows
--Unknown Secure Facility--
"Sir as requested, the progress report on the Project Alpha."
Receiving a thick manila folder with TOP SECRET written in big bold red words across the cover, an average-looking man dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans quickly and quietly flipped through it before tossing it onto his desk.
"Excellent, 80% of the first 5,000 users have already logged on to Ascension within the first twelve hours of launch and zero incidents thus far. Have we pin-pointed any outstanding users?"
"There have been approximately eighty users thus far who have breached level 30… There are a few other anomalies but the team has deemed it too early to decide their worthiness. Almost all of our 2,000 handpicked candidates are performing beyond standard levels though a handful are hindered due to the lack of gaming experience at this stage."
"Excellent, how about Project Omega?"
"All subjects were successfully convinced and inserted on schedule. All records and trails relating to the subjects have been erased and all surviving relations and connections have been informed of their deceased status. Project Omega launch was completed three hours ago, all subjects have been scattered in throughout Athal's final continent."
"And their progress?"
"All surviving subjects are beyond level 50 and progressing at an incredible pace… We have seen nothing comparable, furthermore their brain activity levels are rapidly increasing and gradually exhibiting unknown patterns.
Unfortunately, two of the subjects were... unfortunate in their starting placement and we lost them within the first five minutes of insertion. Our neurological team warns that further incidents were likely occur and we might lose subjects rapidly at this pace. They recommend re-instituting the neural dampeners as per Project Ascension."
Drumming his fingers on the desk, the man considered the recommendations for a few seconds before issuing his commands in a cold emotionless voice.
"No. Prepare additional subjects."
"Understood sir."
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Project Ascension File: Statistics & Skills
Attributes
Strength: The amount of physical force the body is capable of exerting, influencing physical attacks, carrying capability.
Dexterity: The fine motor skills of the body which affects skills reliant on technique or accuracy.
Agility: The nimbleness of the body which is primarily related to movements of the body and speed.
Constitution: The condition of the body which enables it to endure greater damage, physical conditions and directly affects the amount of health possessed.
Endurance: The combined ability of body and mind to persevere through challenging conditions, and directly affects the amount of stamina possessed.
Wisdom: The experience and understanding of the mind which enables better judgments and insights.
Intelligence: The learning ability and knowledge of the mind, which affects memory and learning.
Luck: An unknown factor which governs chance. (Luck cannot be increased by stat points obtained from leveling up.)
Advanced Attributes: *Insufficient Access Authority*
Attributes are determined by the system and awarded according to corresponding efforts made by the user, it has been noted that users with similar real-life capabilities will have an easier time developing their in-game stats to match with their actual abilities.
This was postulated to be due to their brains having already experienced that level of ability and naturally pushing towards it as a baseline. Interestingly, the reverse has also been found true that where subjects found their *Access denied*
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Stats (Real Life Relative Comparison)
0 – 10: Child (0-12 years old)
11 – 20: Teenager (12-20 years old)
21 – 30: Adult (21+)
31 – 40: Enthusiast / Local Contestants
41 – 50: State-level Competitors
51 – 60: National-level Competitors
61 – 70: Global-level Competitors
71 – 80: World Champions
81 – 90: World Record Holders
91 – 100: Legends
100+: *Insufficient Access Authority*
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Skill Tiers
1. Novice
2. Apprentice
3. Initiate
4. Journeyman
5. Adept
6. Expert
7. *Insufficient Access Authority*
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone