Tests proved that Magnus had overestimated the figure when he said thirty percent. Not one of the ninety-nine spells in this batch worked as intended. Even Hogg thought their effects were all wrong.
For example, a powerful Psyker specializing in telekinesis could crush an entire Space Marine squad into mincemeat with a wave of the hand, advance under a barrage of gunfire, and slap a towering Knight Mech flying. One-man armies weren't just a dream.
And then there was Mephiston of the Blood Angels, who was practically a cultivator. His abilities included, but weren't limited to, freezing time, cellular reconstruction, prophecies across space and time, and splitting himself into three. One psychic javelin could blast through a sixteen-kilometer-wide demolition zone, and he could cut loose against half a legion of Chaos Daemons. He seemed more like a Primarch than the Primarchs themselves.
Of course, Mephiston wasn't an ordinary man. He was one of the Imperium's few super-Librarians. But Hogg hadn't expected every member of Blackwatch to become a dragon!
Psykers used their souls to tempt energy from the Warp, then shaped it with their own psychic power and will to manifest extraordinary miracles. The Emperor himself had told Hogg that. Old Man Yellow might be a lousy person, but Hogg trusted him not to lie about this—especially with Magnus to back it up.
So Hogg had never planned to simply copy the miraculous art of psychic power. He knew his own people best: Psionic Energy and psychic power weren't part of the same system.
Blackwatch were different from other Psykers. They were more like mana-bar spellcasters, with Psionic Energy stored inside their bodies. They only expended it when merging with machinery or the Zerg, and resisting Chaos Corruption could practically be called a passive skill.
Leaving energy unused was a