Looking at the overwhelming power of the two self-selected Gold Cards, Sol felt conflicted.
[Photosynthesis] seemed straightforward enough—just bask in the sun to grow stronger, with its ceiling being the very stars, the sun itself.
In terms of ability effects, it was equivalent to the innate talent of Kryptonian Generals, though still a step down from Superman's conceptual skills.
Although taking a hundred years to grow and acquire star-shattering strength looked long, with Sol's current body, living for hundreds or even thousands of years would be nothing more than passing the time.
And since the ability's effect was evolution of life itself, as the time spent under the sun lengthened, his lifespan would also grow longer and longer, until it equaled that of a star.
As of now, this was the highest ceiling card he had seen, aside from [Spirit Base - Yàn Shuāngyīng's].
Not a conceptual skill, but a pure statistical overload.
[Energy Absorption Lv5], on the other hand, was the power possessed by the Black King Sebastian Shaw, one of the highest-tier mutant abilities. He could absorb almost any form of energy, rendering him immune to any attack short of soul damage—even a nuclear bomb would only serve as his charger.
After thinking carefully, Sol still decided to choose [Photosynthesis], with its stellar-level ceiling.
No excuse—as the numbers were simply too terrifying.
Take pre-crossing Earth for example. Its mass was six sextillion tons, with immense gravity brought by that mass. To shatter Earth, at the very least another planet of similar size would need to collide with it.
To break a planet without conceptual or rule-based abilities, purely through physical strength, one would need at least a fraction of Earth's power—measured in sextillion tons of terrifying force.
And [Photosynthesis] only needed a hundred years of sunlight to steadily reach that level.
Spread across each day, that growth was equally terrifying.
Meanwhile, [Energy Absorption Lv5] was merely on par with a Railgun-tier ability. At its peak, it might reach Accelerator's level, enough to wipe the Earth's surface—but nothing beyond.
Yet his current strength was already at a continental-cleansing level, not far from surface-cleansing.
Perhaps just a few weeks of [Photosynthesis] would push him to that level.
Thinking this far, Sol decisively chose [Photosynthesis].
[Energy Absorption Lv5] might offer a neat mechanism, but compared to absolute numbers, it just wasn't appealing.
Just like Jing Yuan, a character with perfect mechanics—but poor stats means being shackled.
At that moment, as [Photosynthesis] merged into him, Sol immediately felt a world-shaking transformation in his body.
Sunlight spilling into the room was drawn toward him, nourishing his body into evolving him into a higher lifeform.
His genes were shifting toward an information state. A flicker of starlight shimmered in the void, under the sun's nourishment budding into a nascent Stellaron.
From then on, flesh and blood were merely Sol's external disguise—the sprouting Stellaron between reality and void was his true essence.
And in only a few seconds, his physical strength had multiplied several times.
Sol sensed something, and his mind drifted to the Divine Bodies of Super Seminary.
The 'Parvati' gene he had fused was no longer merely a genetic trait—it was embedded into the Stellaron itself.
If someone were to test his blood or hair, aside from superficial features, they would mean nothing.
Of course, his ability to control ice and snow wouldn't be lost—in fact, it would grow stronger under the Stellaron's blessing.
No, not quite. He hadn't connected to any so-called dark universe, nor was his power drawn from it. In many respects, he differed from the divine bodies of Super Seminary.
Shaking his head, Sol thought of a silver-haired beauty.
A trailblazer possessed by a Stellaron—that fit his current state more.
Though not a Stellaron infused with the power of an Aeon as in Star Rail, Sol's core was unquestionably an authentic Stellaron.
"So, what, I've become a Stellaron being too?"
Sol stood there in a daze.
Compared to those with Stellarons embedded in their chests, his body evolving toward an actual star was far more worthy of that title.
For a moment, Sol felt a restless itch.
He wanted to leap into the Star Rail Universe right now through the [Sea of Trees Shuttle] and meet his little sister of the same kind.
But reality kept him calm. Better to grow first—reaching the level of an Emanator before going wouldn't take too long.
The Aeons seldom meddled in mortal affairs, but their Emanators, who shattered galaxies, were certainly active.
Relaxing his mind, Sol checked his status panel once more.
[FGO Gacha System 1.0, at your service!]
[Host: Sol Mercer]
[Age: 22]
[Strength: A]
[Endurance: A]
[Agility: A]
[Mana: A]
[Personal Storage:Cosmic Cowboy Outfit (Boothill's Replica), Super Cat Treat, Infinite Ammo Enchantment Scroll, Ebony & Ivory (x2), Kawasaki H2, Burger Combo (x2), Snack Pack (x5), Favonius Greatsword (x3), Beastslayer Blood Spear, Spirit Sword, Imperial Thunder Blade…]
[Noble Phantasm:System Keraunos – Legend of Mankind, Advent of Lightning]
[Innate Skills:Photosynthesis, Unshakable Vajra, Fusion Gene-Emperor-class Honkai Beast-Parvati, Grandmaster Sword Mastery, One-Blade Asura, Dragon's Vitality, Hundred Ton Strength, High-Speed Regeneration, All-Vehicle Mastery, All-Weapon Mastery, Martial Arts Grandmaster, Electrodynamics A, Wisdom of Talent A—EX…]
[Conceptual Skills:Eagle's Ammunition, God of Gambling, Duality of Life and Death, Dodge.]
His basic stats had risen from all B to all A, already at comparable to top-tier Heroic Spirits in the Fate Universe.
And even then, [Photosynthesis] was still working.
In just a few minutes, Sol saw his Strength attribute gain an extra plus sign.
This meant his Strength had doubled.
Such was the terror of a Stellaron being—before reaching the ceiling, their growth was monstrous.