Whatever that means...

John kept looking at that pop up for a couple of seconds and thought about what it meant. Update power pool? Wait, was this something the Deeper Pools perk was referring to? Could he get more 'power pools' than just Mana and Health? This was just too intriguing for John, so he hit the 'Yes' button.

The second he hit 'Yes', another popup showed up, this time a bit more lengthy in the amount of text on there. It was probably some kind of description to the power pool he would get now so that he would already know how to use it.

Welcome, Gamer
This book will simply act as a medium through which I can properly talk to you without using the stupid achievements and status messages. It will be a one-time thing, so expect me to berate you in those messages again.
Now, the reason why I'm giving you this book and the powers attached to it: You're going to need them. Things are happening in the world around you, nothing I can or want to interfere with, but things nonetheless. And you seem to be a constant in many of those things in the future. So you better be ready for it and not fuck up like you did just half an hour ago.
But for now, just do your thing, John Newman. Try to have some fun, get laid, get paid, drink some Gatorade. Make the best out of your weird situation.

Game on,
G.

P.S.: Sorry that it will hurt that much

G.? As in Gaia? As what will hurt? The new pool? This was confusing him to no end, it even made him doubt if he wanted what was coming for him. But the thing didn't give him the option to quit now, so the point was kinda moot. Maybe if he dropped the book it would cancel this process? Just as the thought crossed his mind, another pop-up... popped up and told him exactly what would happen if he would do so.

NEW QUEST
Make an enemy out of the primordial goddess that gives you your powers.
By putting down the book.

Success:
**** by instantaneous combustion

Accept? (Yes/NO, YOU FUCK NUGGET. AND DON'T PUT DOWN THE BOOK)

Wow... Gaia seemed to have a short temper... But then again, when you have to watch over the whole world and see to it that no one does anything stupid, one would have very little patience.

"Have you ever talked to Gaia?" he asked Mariana, still looking at the 'Quest' in his field of vision, unable to take his eyes off of it. The captain looked at him kinda dumbfounded, surprised by the question. "Me? No, never. I probably never was important enough to have any major role in any of her plans... Why do you ask?" "Because it looks like she has quite the mouth and is not shy of using it. She just... sassed me in a quest when I thought about putting that book down before I was done with it." At that Mary had to laugh: "Okay, note to self, don't bad-mouth or think badly of Gaia or she will tear you a new one. Good to know, there are so little ways to talk to a deity like that. Your power seems broken beyond belief... now finish up that book, you're gonna need some training."

Hitting 'NO, YOU FUCK NUGGET. AND DON'T PUT DOWN THE BOOK' on the quest and then ‘Next’ on the interface he was met with another wall of text:

New Power Pool unlocked: Edge
Edge is the manifested power of your will to surpass your own limits. Edge can be used to ensure critical hits on skills, fill up a percentage of your mana pool and various other uses unlocked later.
You have 6 Points of Edge, regenerating one point per day. These will not regenerate by a level up. You can, however, gain a point if you act in a way that shows your true character (whatever that may be).
Only once can a point of Edge be permanently used to save yourself from certain ****. You will regain 20% of your HP and MP, but the point of Edge will be gone forever. This is your one lifesaver. Use it wisely.

This was starting to get eerie… He gets a power boost, a lifeline, what else? Was his future really that dangerous? Also, he felt some kind of simple satisfaction knowing that he instinctively knew what he would get as a text, even if it was delayed by a personal letter. But wow, that Edge could get really handy if used right. Though the question was, what did the 'true character' bit mean? Was it just being himself or would it have to be something... specific?

Hitting the 'Next' button once again, he got another message, this one was a bit weirder, even for John.

Choose Upgrade:
Choose one 'cybernetic' upgrade. This upgrade will improve a certain part of your body beyond the capabilities that even your [Augment Body] could reach. These upgrades aren't cybernetic, but they will act as if they were technically augmented parts of your body. They will be unable to be further augmented by [Augment Body] and will lose their special ability if any effect suppresses similar effects. Cybernetic upgrades will be visible among your skill list and can be leveled up.

Choose one:
-Bioelectric spine
Your spine will be improved to carry signals faster from and to your brain. Your reaction times will be improved and your spine will be able to sustain more damage. Also, grants half the upgrade's level to END and AGI (rounded up). Level up through training.

-Improved hormonal glands
Your body will produce increased amounts of hormones with increased potency, meaning your bodily functions will be improved. You will also naturally start to produce a pheromone that will increase horniness in females around you. Also, grants half the upgrade's level to CHA, LIB, and STR (due to adrenal glands also being affected). Will level up over time, though very slowly.

-Transreceptive eye and subcortical transmitter
Your eye will be augmented with a reciever with which you can gain sight from machines and creature that have been bonded to you. Through the transmitter, you will also be able to send simple commands to these bonded subjects. Limit of bonded subjects that can be perceived at the same time will be equal to [Upgrade level]/5 rounded up. Maximum number of Bonds held at the same time is 2x [Skill Level]. Also, grants half the upgrade's level in INT and WIS. Level up through usage.

This was probably what Gaia meant when she said that it would hurt, and John was sure that these options each would hurt very much, and probably even different kinds of pain. But that pain was now something he would have to endure since he couldn't put down the book without bursting into flames.

So the question was now: What to choose? Each of these upgrades had their use that could help John in the future with the whole plan of 'survival'. The spine was pretty self-explanatory seeing as how it would simply help him with fighting better and dodging attacks. The hormonal glands were a bit contrived in their usage. John knew that almost everything in the human body was controlled and regulated by hormones, and improving these would probably improve most of his body. He also knew that feelings like happiness were triggered by hormones, so maybe his feeling of being happy would also be affected by taking this upgrade. And the pheromones were a nice idea, but it also sounded like a bad idea when every female in your vicinity would be horny... And the eye, well... that sounded very interesting, even though it was highly dependable on what 'bonding with something' meant.

That could either be slavery or simply a mutual agreement... and John wasn't really sure if he was ready for slavery yet, with 18 and all that... But the ability to have more sets of eyes than his own sounded like a really good idea that would make ambushes way harder and would make it easier to peek around corners with the correct creature or machine.

The boosts these things gave him also each sounded really good, but the INT and WIS boost seemed like the best combination, even if he really wanted that STR bonus to use the spear... but one day, one day he would be ready to use that thing and he would tear these streets apart!

After looking through every fight he seen and read in the various fantasy books and video games, he knew that he needed some kind of direction he would evolve into; now the question was, what would that direction be? As an answer to that question, John had one fight he kept looking back to and kept thinking about how badass both sides were: the fight he almost died in and barely participated in, the fight between the Valkyries and the Champions of Naktamun.

Now while John wasn't really a fan of necromancy or using dead people as an army, he liked the idea of having some kind of 'army' or at least group that he could fight together with. And not just let them fight like the Egyptians did, but fight with them; just like the Valkyries fought together. So in his mind, John saw himself as a fighter, that would also give commands to his friends and allies so that they could fight efficiently. Basically, he wanted to be a front-row general.

So, in the end, John chose the eye upgrade because in his mind that was the thing that would get him closer to what he wanted to be.

With that, he hit 'Next', and a searing pain in his right eye socket that went straight to his brain brought John down to his knees before knocking him out completely, overwhelming his senses with pain.