Descend- Seeing Stars by Sean Oswald (the ebook reader .TXT) 📕

      Jay reached out with his mind. His PSI sight showed him the lines of power that formed the field and how time flows were modified. Moving those flows seemed so much easier with his increased skill levels. As he looked, he saw how the edge of the Tempus Fugit field caused the time flows to spin faster. He knew there was probably a scientific explanation for this, but for him it was just an ability that he had, and Jay was learning to play by ear so to speak.

      He began using his Temporal Manipulation skill to increase the speed of his field. He caused the edge of it to further accelerate the flow of time inside. Inside a dozen minutes had passed as they had been chatting, but at 125:1 that meant outside the field it had been less than six seconds out of the six and a half minutes allotted for the bubble. Jay pushed and strained at the field. It was like trying to catch a spinning top or coin without causing it to stop and then somehow moving his hands fast enough to accelerate the spin.

      Jay poured in PSI by the tens of thousands to the effort. By the time he finished he had drained ninety percent of his PSI pool, but the results had been nothing less than spectacular. He had managed through a combination of the massive amount of PSI applied and his much greater level of skill to create a 289,104:1 ratio. Effectively the remaining portion of the six and a half minutes were now the equivalent of three and half years.

      Fatigue settled in as it always did when he strained his powers in a new way. As he caught his breath and watched his PSI pool filling up before his eyes, he realized that he was starting to use a number of his abilities in conjunction without even thinking about it.

Iron Will had been running at a low level to allow him to stay focused. Hyper Accuracy had guided his manipulation of the field and increased the precision of Temporal Manipulation. PSI Sight let him see what he was working with and Evolved Adaptive Speed made both his reactions faster and allowed his skill levels to adapt more quickly. Surprisingly, he had even been channeling PSI into his Precognition as he scanned for negative results that might occur from any of his actions.

      He felt drained just from thinking about running all those skills at the same time. Yet somehow, he was doing it almost instinctively now. Perhaps this was a new stage of his evolution. While waiting for his PSI to be fully restored he looked at his status sheet and saw that he had gained another level up to two hundred and twenty, added a stat point to Formation and that all the skills involved had gained between one and ten levels.

      Apparently learning to work with multiple skills as well as trying new things was a superior way to advance himself. As he thought about it, the pieces fell into play. In the early days he had advanced his training as much as possible by using two or three skills at the same time. Then he had learned the value of fusion. This was a way of fusing his skills so that the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.

      “Earth to Jay,” Cecelia said.

      Jay opened his eyes and looked at her. His PSI pool was full which meant that he had to have been lost in thought for at least five minutes. He gave her his most charming smile and said, “Hi.”

      “I was starting to get worried there. You looked fine but weren’t moving at all. I was afraid to shake you but was about to because you weren’t responding to anything that I was saying.”

      “I was just lost in thought. I accomplished something new and realized that I was using a bunch of my skills at the same time. I think it may be an important step forward but for now we need to work on getting you refined,” Jay said.

      “Aren’t you even going to tell me if it worked? Were you able to add more time to the field?” Cecelia asked.

      “Yeah, but I don’t want you to worry. I believe I can end it once we accomplish everything we need to,” Jay answered.

      “Could you be any more vague. This must be what Mia meant about you being cute when you think what you did is going to upset us. Just spill. I am hardly gonna be upset about having more time with you to myself.”

      “Okay, so as far as I can tell, we have about three and a half years in here. I know that may not be ideal in a ten-by-ten space, but we will bring down the field once we get you ready,” Jay said.

      Cecelia was quiet for a moment and then a sly grin split her face. That was hardly the reaction that he had been expecting but her question made it more clear. “So wait, I am stuck in here with a guy who can not only make me stronger but is also hot and from what I’ve been told hot in the sack. It is sorta like we went away to a cabin and never wanted to go outside. But more than that, have any of the other girls gotten that much time alone with you?”

      “Uh, no. Not even close. I don’t think I’ve had more than a couple days alone with any one girl,” Jay replied.

      “Not even your wives?” Cecelia asked.

      “Not even them.”

      “So I see real potential here. Let’s just see how things go. Now you can start refining me and I don’t mind if you have to touch me