《I am Just a Broken Machine [Factory Builder Apocalyptic LitRPG]》 Chapter 1 On the day the world ended, I had just flunked out of college and was driving down a long, empty highway. The doubts and anxiety that I had accumulated over the years at the school finally flared, and I broke down completely, leaving me to pack up all of my things into my cramped two door sedan and set out away from society, away from humanity, in search of something resembling myself. In contrast to the bustling life on campus and in the city, the expansive forests held a profound stillness, an emptiness and quiet that resonated in the very heart of me. For the first time in years, I felt a sense of comfort as I sped down that highway, following the slow curves as the road wove between hills. Tall pines reached towards the heavens, rising and falling with the pattern of those hills, surrounding me in those rich browns and greens. Then the message appeared in front of my face.
System integration beginning. Welcome to the Great Game! Your integration will lead to your species and planet being able to reach their fullest potential, under the guidance of this system! More information to follow! we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry we¡¯re sorry
Pain followed. I struggled to maintain control over the car even as my body shuddered and writhed as I felt like my insides were boiling, my blood turning to steam as my very bones became as flame. Obviously, I was not able to maintain that control and spun off of the road, the front fender slamming into a tree trunk. My airbag failed to deploy as I bounced forward, my forehead cracking against the steering wheel, but despite that new source of pain, unconsciousness refused to come. Instead, I became even more aware of my body being ripped apart from the inside out. All around me, the trees began to glow with a bright blue, flowing out of the bark and the leaves. Looking down, I saw my hands were also glowing that same color and in a panic, I rapidly cast my gaze around, trying to find some explanation, some cause, but no reason came to mind. I couldn¡¯t think, couldn¡¯t even begin the process, until a scream ripped from my throat. Then just as suddenly as it began, the pain ended. Suddenly relieved of that sensation, I immediately blacked out. I had no idea how much time had passed while I was unconscious, but the sun was beginning to set when I finally opened my eyes again. Only then was I able to take stock of the condition of my car, and it definitely seemed worse for wear. The windshield was cracked, the engine clearly crumpled against the tree ahead of me, and the blood from my forehead was painted throughout the interior. Groggily, I pushed open the door and stumbled to my feet. The boughs of the trees formed a thick canopy, making the twilight even dimmer than it might otherwise be, and I immediately noticed that I couldn¡¯t see the highway. How far had I gone off the road when I lost control? Also, the trees seemed somewhat thicker and taller than I remembered, though my recollection could have been altered by that high level of pain, it was difficult to focus on anything after all. Then there was that message. I tapped a foot in contemplation and leaned back against the side of my car. There was no denying that I was a nerd, my gangly frame and unfashionable glasses were the most visible indicators of that, and I had watched my fair share of anime, so I wasn¡¯t entirely out of the loop of what that message indicated. Yet, that part of the end had me off-balance. Why was it apologizing? What was it apologizing for? Thankfully, the message promised more information, and hopefully that would come soon. Unless I had been passed out when the information came, which would put me on an off foot for certain. Fortunately my concerns were alleviated a moment later.
System integration complete. You may have noticed some changes and some discomfort during the integration process. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but it was necessary to adapt your bodies to the use of ergon. Ergon is the core of everything you can do in the Great Game! It is generated naturally by the processes of life and death, but only once it has been activated. Now that your planet is activated, your body will naturally produce ergon! This may be confusing, but fortunately the system will help guide you to maximizing your usage! we have doomed you as we have doomed ourselves
Instinctively I stiffened, expecting pain to follow after the appearance of the system message, but mercifully none came. Instead, I felt the quiet of the surroundings deepen, the weight of the knowledge that the world had truly changed and here I was, all alone with no one to share questions and ideas with, no one to theorize as to the meaning of these messages. No one to seek comfort with in the depths of this change. I thought briefly of Sam. It was interesting that the messages referred to what it was bringing as a game, though the idea of ludic structures made sense with my exposure to these sorts of things in fiction. Not that fiction was ever a perfect guide to reality, stories had to make sense, while reality rarely did. Stolen novel; please report. Maybe a change would be an improvement, and the idea of a game meant rules that could be understood, that could be analyzed. I could look for a winning strategy via application of logic to a base set of axioms, with the knowledge that those axioms were true, maybe this would be for the best. But then, there was that line at the end again, which filled me with uncertainties. Doomed.
We¡¯ve finished our analysis and are now able to offer you your first tool for playing the game! By thinking the word ¡°STATUS¡± you can call up your Status Screen! There¡¯s a lot of information there, but we¡¯ll help guide you as we go along! Go ahead and open up your Status Screen now! If you want to know more about any item on the screen, just concentrate on it! extinction is our legacy
I decided to simply ignore that unpleasant rejoinder and called up my status. Thinking on the word proved easy enough, I didn¡¯t even have to fully verbalize the word in my head, the screen manifested immediately after I considered the concept.
Name: Placid Wainwright
Level: 1 Paths Skills
Health: 100%
Erg: 10/10 Path Points: 0
Attributes Path Perks
Might 7
Coordination 10
Endurance 6
Intuition 14
Structure 18
Flow 12
I briefly scanned over the sheet, taking a notice of the disparity in the Attributes section. The top three were all physical traits, so I wasn¡¯t too surprised that they were low. Skimming over the fine details of each attribute, I saw that Might was about physical strength, while Coordination and Endurance were both pretty self explanatory. The bottom half, meanwhile, defied understanding from a glance, so I dug in a bit more.
Intuition: competency at coming to correct conclusions based on limited data Structure: competency at organizing one¡¯s thoughts and generate new information from the logical interrogation of known facts Flow: competency at processing erg, the doom of all who touch it
Before I could go into the details of the rest of the sheet, another system message popped up.
Don¡¯t worry, this is the last message before the official start! Further assistance can be found by thinking ¡°HELP.¡± no aid is enough in the face of what we have done But before that, think ¡°PATH STORE!¡± This will open the place to spend your Path Points in acquiring Paths and Perks related to them. These are necessary to survival in the game, so we recommend you do so now!
Path Store, The combination of words took slightly more work to fully verbalize, probably because it was a concept that I wasn¡¯t familiar with. Immediately, a window appeared in front of me, filled with a list of Paths and their costs. Before I could even begin digging into the list, an error message appeared.
[ERROR: This User Cannot Access Path St- Battle is coming. You have been Chosen. Seek the depths of the forest. We will be waiting. You will know the structure when you see it. It is your only refuge.]
¡°Okay, what the fuck,¡± I said outloud before bringing upn a hand to pinch my nose. This wasn¡¯t exactly going smoothly, though I still had no idea what was going exactly. I had a feeling I¡¯d realize the source of this fault before too long though. Before I properly recentered myself, another system message appeared.
The Great Game has begun! Your first challenge is to make use of your new Path and Perks to defeat your first monster! Success will yield you more Ergon which will raise your level! Raise your level to gain more Path Points to acquire additional Paths or more Perks! Failing to defeat this monster will result in your death! death death death death death death death
That was not good. Without any abilities, I¡¯d be reliant on my own natural physical prowess to handle whatever was coming, and considering what the screen said about my attributes, I wasn¡¯t particularly pleased about my odds. Maybe if I had a gun, but there were plenty of reasons for me not to have one of those before this. Which left only the advice of the error message, but who even knew where the depths of the forest were. As I drew my thoughts together, the sound of a heavy footstep drew my attention off to my left. There, watching from the trees stood a massive four-legged beast, about five feet tall at the shoulder, vaguely resembling a wolf. But it looked like its flesh had torn at the legs, revealing red, swollen muscle beneath, and the jaw of the beast had grown as well, pushing every feature of its face into a distorted grimace, the lips pulling back from the gums to reveal an array of razor sharp teeth, gleaming in the last lights of day. I couldn¡¯t move, caught in its gaze, until it lunged forward at me. Chapter 2 I just barely managed to jump backwards out of the reach of the snapping jaws of the beast. They caught on the air in front of me, and the saliva from its oversized maw splatted onto my shirt. Immediately, I snapped out of my hesitation and, while the beast was still recovering from that attack, I bolted forward, running past it, rather than wasting time turning around. While the beast busied itself with turning to give chase, I used the short lead I had to get as much distance as possible. No rational thoughts came to my mind, I was consumed by the primal fear of a prey trying to escape their ultimate end. I knew that if I stood and fought, I would be dead. No matter what weapon I could manifest from the surroundings, the sheer power of that creature was too great for me to counter, so my only hope was in my feet. Fortunately, I was able to dance over the undergrowth and sprawling roots, thanking my 10 in Coordination for that, at least there was one area of my physique where I wasn¡¯t totally lacking. Of course, this also meant that the obstacles weren¡¯t not particularly imposing, and the beast was able to maintain its chase with ease. Again, it lunged forward and I threw myself behind a tree trunk, causing the beast to once again miss, but I set myself off-balance. I flailed for a moment, trying to keep from falling, before reaching up and grabbing a branch to steady myself. For a brief moment, I considered trying to climb, to get away from the beast by seeking the heights, but I realized that I couldn¡¯t climb in time, not with my pitiful upper body strength. Instead, I used the momentum of grabbing the branch to swing forward, once again just barely avoiding the snap of jaws. On a conscious level, I didn¡¯t think about where I was running, but yet there was something in the belly of me urging me along a specific path. Soon, I darted through the trees and then slipped as the ground fell out beneath me. I found myself in a massive crater, and though I couldn¡¯t quite make out the exact size, it seemed elliptical in shape, like a teardrop carved out of the earth. Only a few hundred feet away, though, I saw a structure. If anything, it resembled some kind of futuristic office building. It stood three stories tall, with a broad, rounded form, with a slight tapering towards the upper floors, made of chrome and glass that reflected those last few rays of sunlight. Refuge. I spotted a door and ran for it with the last remaining bits of strength that my limbs possessed. The heat of the beast¡¯s breath battered at my back. I pulled on the handle and the door opened, before I swung around the handle, throwing myself inside and pulling hard on the interior handle. The beast scurried forward with a fresh burst of speed, eager for my flesh, and I felt time compressing, the rate of closing the door dilating to seeming minutes as the beast grew inexorably closer. Finally, I snapped back to real time as I brought the door shut with a faint crunch, as I trapped one of the beast¡¯s paws between the door and the frame. Still holding onto the door handle with all of my strength, I repeatedly kicked down onto that paw, leaning back so that I could put more weight behind the blows. Finally, with a faint whimper, the beast relented and pulled back its paw. With a swift motion, I slammed the bolt of the door shut and then collapsed down onto my back. Sweat beaded from every inch of my body as waves of exhaustion finally caught up with my ragged form. I breathed and felt like my lungs were furnaces, hot and heavy and bellowing in their hungry need for oxygen. My eyes shut slowly and I felt consciousness slip away from me with that new relief. Being knocked unconscious was not the same as falling asleep, it did not offer anywhere near the same sort of recuperation. Sleep, though, sleep was a boon, a panacea in a time of need, and as I slept, the exhaustion I had built up since the first system message began to wash away. How long had it been, though? It seemed almost like years had passed while I was unconscious, but that was not likely. Judging from the fall of the sun, it had to have been closer to an hour or two, and the chase couldn¡¯t have lasted more than fifteen minutes. Less than three hours for the world to end. Consciousness returned slowly, creeping back in from the corners of the world, my thoughts still caught in the murkiness of what had come to pass on a global level. For a moment before I opened my eyes, I entertained the notion that this was all some kind of delusion, a mental break brought on by the stress of leaving college. Then my eyes opened and I discovered that I was laying on my back in some kind of lobby, the morning light streaming in from the floor to ceiling windows that dominated the wall in front of me. Either it was all real, or I was in too deep to get out. In either of those cases, the most reasonable solution was to act as if everything was real. If this was a delusion after all, then I¡¯d need some help to get out of it, and there wasn¡¯t any sign of anyone offering help around here. Which of course raised the question of what exactly here was. The word echoed in my head, ¡°refuge.¡± Someone or something had offered assistance, but had also blocked access to the proper routes of power. I pushed myself to my feet, feeling a bit unsteady as I did, before taking in the rest of the lobby space. It was completely unfurnished, but the tile floors shined like they were brand new. This place had to have come with the system integration, perhaps even from space judging from the crater surrounding it. Had the system just dropped this place from orbit? Moving on from the floor, the only other things of note were a hallway in the back leading further in, and a staircase leading to the next two floors up. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Deciding to skip the stairs considering the ache still in my thighs, I opted to explore the hallway. The only lights in the building streamed in from the outside, so it was fortunate that the hallway ran along the perimeter of the building, but this did leave the rooms that branched off of it further in the darkness. As I explored, I found mostly empty rooms, and my thoughts began to drift. If the system had sent one monster like that after every human on Earth, then the death toll would have to be staggering. Unless the Paths offered incredible super powers, the very old and the very young would be exceedingly vulnerable, and each monster that didn¡¯t die added another to those roaming the world. Add to that the people who were caught unawares or who gained abilities that weren¡¯t as useful in a fight, and the situation was incredibly grim. Perhaps being out here in the wilds was a blessing, not a curse. Eventually, I passed the halfway point of the hallway and my thoughts were shattered by another error message.
ERROR: Chosen You have found this place of safety. Now your duties may begin, but first a boon. Path Acquired: Factory Manager Path Perk Acquired: Manufacturing I Path Perk Acquired: Gathering I Path Perk Acquired: Basic Combat Tools Associated skills gained
My head blared in a sudden headache, not as bad as the initial burst from the system integration, but enough that I stumbled backwards, catching myself on one of the windows. In that moment, I felt my awareness blossom, new concepts flowing together, forming ideas that I lacked the words for, new abilities cascading together into new combinations. For just a brief second, I felt like I could do anything with this new insight, before it faded to a simple migraine. I called up my status to see the impact of this change.
Name: Placid Wainwright
Level: 1 Paths Skills
Health: 100% Factory Manager Refinement 1
Erg: 10/10 Path Points: -20 Joiners 1
Foundational Facilities 1
Attributes Path Perks Mining 1
Might 7 Manufacturing 1 Sustenance Farming 1
Coordination 10 Gathering 1 Logging 1
Endurance 6 Basic Combat Tools 1 War Drill 1
Intuition 14 Battle Harness Proficiency 1
Structure 18 Battle Harness Customization 1
Flow 12
While the previous data upload had occured on an unconscious level, this new information was hitting me firm in the face. It was a lot to take in. Nine skills, three perks, one path, a cost of thirty path points, the message had said something about associated skills, so maybe each perk gave three skills? Figuring out the prices was a bit more uncertain, I had no idea what a path cost versus a perk, but considering that I was in the negatives, it wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d have to worry about for a bit. I tried to pull up a more detailed description of the paths, perks, and skills, but each only gave the same message, telling me to look for more information in the help section. I began to activate the help menu when another error message blared into my view.
ERROR: Chosen You have received the following Factory quest: Powering Up (1/?): Build an ergon condenser and attach it to the factory¡¯s power supply. Reward: Access to one factory facility of choice. (You may check quest status with command QUEST.)
Well, at least that quest would help to provide some hints as to what to do next, and having access to anything to help would be greatly appreciated at this point. Something, anything, to bring clarity to the current situation, to try to refine the chaos into sense. With that in mind, I opened up the help menu.
Welcome to the Help system! To find more information about your desired topic, simply use command HELP #TOPIC. help database is stored in node h47 new database entries can be added (indefinitely? -haven¡¯t found a limit yet) existing database entries can only be edited by creator or user with tier-seven access (so like one person great that¡¯s real helpful -listen it¡¯s something -yeah, if you can get that access -figure it out)
I blinked as I read the menu. At least the notes at the bottom were less of a downer this time. Chapter 3 As I considered the help menu, I found myself with an excess of choices, to the point where I did not know where to begin. I immediately discarded some of the broader questions about what was going on, I could look into those later. No, I needed to focus on immediate concerns, which meant things related to my class, my quest, and what it meant to be chosen. That last word had popped up too many times for it not to have some special significance. In the end, it was the promise of new facilities that made the decision for me. Help Ergon Condenser. In addition to a screen popping up, one quite full of text, a floating three-dimensional hologram appeared, slowly rotating. The image was of a hefty box with rounded corners and a large, crystalline orb resting on the top of it. Pipes ran down from that orb along the sides of the box, with smaller pipes branching off to enter the box. After spending my time studying the image, I turned my attention to the text.
ERGON CONDENSER Condenses atmospheric erg into a form usable by factory constructs and facilities. Type: Facility Construction Details Skill: Foundational Facilities Facility: Internal Processor or Assembler Materials: 4x Pipe Joiners, 2 Metal Ingots, 1 Focus Crystal Our first, and perhaps finest, invention, the most crucial tool to our plan. From this foundation comes the potential for salvation. Not only will this device enable the factory to function, it will be critical to managing the final steps of the plan. Make certain to deploy the condensers a sufficient distance apart. The system will guide to optimal distance, and though placing in shorter distances than that is possible, it may lead to shortages in atmospheric erg if done too frequently, which is the exact opposite of our intentions. Also, take care to protect the condensers from outside attack; they are highly fragile.
It was a lot more information than I expected, truth be told. The parts talking about a plan made my eyebrows twitch, knowing that they were somehow related to my status as a chosen. I was briefly tempted to go look into that state, but I persevered; I needed to know more about this mission first and foremost. Focus Crystal
FOCUS CRYSTAL Naturally forming crystalline structure found in ergonic material nodes. Can be used in processes and recipes that manipulate erg. Type: Natural resource Gathering Details Skill: Any Gathering 10% chance to be found in any successful gathering attempt why do i need so many of these!!!! this game has crap for balance
There were definitely different voices attached to these notes, different personalities, different people who had been working on this over who knows how long. Yet, it was in perfect English, despite that making no sense. The system had to be translating for me. I¡¯d probably need to get raw materials for the other components, so hopefully I¡¯d get a focus crystal in the process. Looking up the entries for the ingots and joiners, I discovered that the joiners were also made of ingots, and that I could make ingots from ore via smelting. They both listed an ¡°Internal Processor¡± as an acceptable facility, though, and that raised some further questions for me. Fortunately, the help menu proved helpful here as well. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. [INTERNAL PROCESSOR Universal ability to perform basic crafting processes on raw materials. More advanced processes required dedicated facilities. Applies a 80% Quality Modifier penalty. Yeah, I know how it sounds but no you do not have to eat the raw materials. Do Not Eat The Raw Materials.] Okay, that was the quest settled. All I¡¯d need to do is go out there and do some mining. Go out there. Where the beast was. I suppressed a groan and leaned back against the window some more. I was chosen, I had been called here, there had to be some sort of plan at work here, they wouldn¡¯t just leave me to hang at the first sight of a monster. And I did have those last three skills on my list. I resumed my search of the floor as I tried to pull up War Drill in the help menu. The system hung for a moment before returning an error. [ERROR: Signifier uncertain, clarify] I paused for a moment, considering how to make myself more clear. Then, in a flash of insight, I opened up my status screen and focused on the words on my skill list as I thought War Drill again.
SKILL: WAR DRILL Proficiency with war drill class weaponry. Allows user¡¯s ergonic signature to resonate with war drill class weaponry for maximum effectiveness. May tier up at level 100. A simple weapon, but also a tool, the war drill is what you will need to forge your place in the world, to fight against the things that the system sends against you. Stiffen your sinews and pierce your foes.
Okay, that entry was addressing me directly, right? ¡°Okay, fuck it,¡± I said out loud and tried to pull up the help menu for Chosen. Again, I got a signifier-uncertain error, so I thought of the word again while also holding the image of the previous Chosen error message in my mind. For a moment, my head buzzed with pain and I clenched my jaw until it passed. Instead of a screen, a hologram appeared in front of me, but not of an object, in this case it was a person. He was sitting in a long backed chair, dressed in a duster and jeans, with a wide brimmed hat pulled down to conceal his eyes. With his chest bare, I could definitely make him out as a ¡°he,¡± even before he began to speak with his low, rumbling drawl. ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re another of those poor bastards who got stuck with being chosen. It¡¯s not easy, never has been, never will be. Most of the people playing the game, at least those that survive the first couple years, can sit back real pretty and enjoy the protection of those on top. Not the chosen though.¡± The man rose slowly to his feet and paced towards me, before staring off past my shoulder. ¡°Nah, you got a heavier burden, because like the name says, you got chosen, some son of a bitch from an earlier iteration of the game set things up so that you, or rather somebody like you, would get tapped for some special destiny.¡± His lips curled up into a cruel grin. ¡°It¡¯s a shit destiny. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the negatives.¡± He lifted a hand up and numbered off his fingers. ¡°One, you can¡¯t ever drop the path you¡¯ve been stuck with. Two, you can¡¯t pick up an ¡®incompatible¡¯ path, whatever the hell that means. Three, you¡¯re going to get special quests and if you fail in them, there¡¯s gonna be consequences, and pretty nasty ones at that.¡± ¡°Now, it¡¯s not all bad.¡± He reached forward and somehow was able to judge my position precisely enough to put a hand on my shoulder, though I felt nothing from the hologram. ¡°Those that survive excel. See, I¡¯ve met more than a few chosen on my time, and it¡¯s not just luck, it¡¯s that it¡¯s lonely at the top, and we all get to know each other, sooner or later. And you¡¯ll probably be fine with whatever your path is, because otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have been picked. ¡°Perhaps more importantly,¡± here the hologram swiveled his gaze to look me dead in the eyes, ¡°the people I¡¯ve known to make chosen aren¡¯t the kind who are into death, devastation, and destruction. They¡¯re good people and the people they¡¯ve chosen have all been good people.¡± His expression faltered for a moment and he looked away. ¡°May they rest in peace.¡± ¡°May we all rest in peace.¡± With an audible click, the hologram halted and I found myself staring blankly at the space where it had just been. ¡°What. The. Fuck.¡± I probably needed to stop talking to myself, but maybe the world needed to calm down a bit. Something was deeply wrong with this system, and I did not have the mental energy to fully interrogate that right now. No, I needed to focus on my search and try not to think about anything. After all, the message that gave me my path only occurred after I had begun searching. No, no thinking. The interiors were still all but empty, save for connecting doorways, if all of those doors were open, the whole interior of the building could be connected into a single space. I even spotted a few trap doors on the ceiling, meaning that things could be brought down from the higher levels. If this place was a factory, it seemed that the whole space could be integrated together into one. Finally, my search came to a halt as I entered a room that was not empty. Instead, in the center was a dais, and attached to that dais was a framework support, and attached to that support was something that looked like a more compact version of the power-lifter from Aliens. Metal tubing formed an exoskeleton that I saw I could just slip into, with a slightly more cushioned interior that was just my size. I stepped forward and wriggled my way inside, feeling the perfect fit, the way it felt natural to wear, just like a natural extension of my body, despite its size and somewhat unwieldy appearance. This frame, this battle harness, would help keep me safe from the snapping jaws of the beast. It did lack any protection around the head, but that could be remedied with careful positioning. And attached to my right arm, located above the wrist and jutting forward, was the war drill. There was no other way of describing the conic bit and the motor attached to it. I could feel on an instinctive level the connection I had to the tool, to the weapon. I stepped free of the dais, lifted my arm up, and sent a surge of energy into the engine, feeling my erg resonate. The drill whirred to life and a grin broke out on my lips. Time for some revenge. Chapter 4 The beast was waiting for me as I re-entered the lobby. Its behavior was decidedly unnatural, considering how long I had spent searching the building, any normal predator would have gone looking elsewhere for prey. The system must have made it specifically to hunt me, giving it a singular will and focus, an obsession with taking my life. I flexed my fists inside of the harness and stepped towards the door, watching the eyes of the beast as its nostrils flared and saliva dripped from its jaw. I flung the door open and dashed forward, aiming to grab the beast by the scruff of the neck to allow for an easier follow up. It lept backwards, easily escaping from my reach. Despite the harness feeling like an extension of my body, I still had overextended myself, sending me off-balance. Fortunately, I managed to stay upright, but this left me exposed as the beast charged in at my left side. Its claws clattered against my harness and the extra weight did push me to the ground, pressing my side into the bare dirt, my cheek grinding down further as those snapping jaws moved closer and closer to my unprotected flesh. I tried to shove the beast to the side, but the harness failed to grant me any additional power, leaving me trapped with the drill beneath me. With a grunt, I managed to yank my left arm free from the weight of the beast and shoved my hand down onto its snout, trying to keep its jaws at bay. The beast pulled back for just a moment, enough for me to pull out my right arm and, more importantly, the war drill attached to it. In my moment of focusing on that, though, the beast lunged back and dug its teeth into my hand, cracking the bone, tearing the skin, and sending jolts of pain through my head. As I tried to pull my hand free, the beast shook its head with such force that my arm popped from its socket audibly, causing me to let out an ear-splitting shriek. In the depths of my pain, everything faded, becoming a washed out grey. Time slowed to a crawl, leaving me frozen between moments, with all sensation disappearing into that grey, leaving me with a moment to think, to breathe. It would be easy to give up, I knew that was an option lingering in the back of my mind, the option to give in like I had wanted to for so long. This was too much, this was too real, this was too hard, I wasn¡¯t good enough, they had chosen the wrong person. The drops of my blood fell in slow motion, forming tear drops as they distended under gravity¡¯s cruel wake. I was a fuck-up, always had been, and here was yet another sign of it, another failure, and perhaps a fatal one. No. The voice rose up from deeper places in my heart, thrumming for a moment with steely resolve. No. My voice spoke louder. I would live. I would fight. I would kill. I rolled and with all of my strength brough right hand around in an overhead arc, slamming it down onto whatever part of the beast I could find, its neck. It whimpered suddenly and let loose my hand as time restored to its normal flow, but the adrenaline was already doing its work in numbing my pain and reducing my world to the task before me. I let out another cry, this one of wordless bloodlust, and activated the drill. The whirring noise was joined by a brutal crunching as blood whipped out from the wound, splattering over my face and the harness. I stopped the drill and breathed out a breath I didn¡¯t know that I had been holding. After a glance at the body of the beast, I immediately looked away, finding my stomach flipping at the sight of what I had done, what I will continue to do in order to survive in this world. Instead, I just focused on trying to stand back up, but my left hand remained worthless to help with that task, doubling the difficulty. By rocking back and forth for a moment, I was eventually able to do a sit-up, lifting my knees and wrapping my arm around them to keep me steady. I inspected my mangled left hand and winced at the damage done to it, but the pain was now a distant thing, far from my thoughts as I took a more removed perspective. I tried to flex my bent fingers, but they didn¡¯t so much as twitch. Where was I to receive the medical care that I needed in this new world? How would this wound ever heal properly or at all? This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. My thoughts were interrupted by a flash of blue light that washed up out of the beast¡¯s corpse over my body. A brief surge of pain came with it, an almost imperceptible echo of the system integration. A system message flashed before my eyes.
Level up! +10 Path Points, Health and Erg restored! War Drill->10 Battle Harness Proficiency 1->10 the higher you climb, the harder the fall the fall the fall
A warm sensation ran through my left arm, bringing with it the relief from the lack of feeling. The bones in my hand set themselves as I watched, and the flesh knit itself back together. I gave another experimental squeeze of my left hand, and this time it tightened easily into a fist. A brief scan of my status screen showed that I had indeed leveled up, my skills had increased, and that I was still 10 Path Points in debt. Still, without this harness and the weapon attached to it, there was no way I would have gotten that level in the first place, so I didn¡¯t think too hard about it. My gaze slowly wandered over the crater, looking for any sign of life, but the space was utterly vacant in a way that felt distinctly wrong. Perhaps it was the arrival of the factory, perhaps it was the system integration, perhaps it was the presence of the beast, but something had frightened away all the creatures from this area. To my surprise, though, I did spot grass sprouts already beginning to push out of the dirt, soft and small and still struggling towards the sky. For a moment, my perception shifted and I became aware of the veins of blue energy connecting these sprouts to their deeper roots, intertwining with the air, with the dirt, even running through my body, creating an elaborate machinery of motion, pumping that energy, erg I suppose, throughout the world. This sense of cosmic oneness faded as my senses returned to normal, but I was still aware of the vague impression that it had left behind.
[Basic Skill Gained! Erg Vision 0->5]
Interesting. The system noting it as Basic probably meant that it was independent of the path system, and judging from the nature of the skill, likely a category for skills that everyone could make use of. I instinctively gained an understanding of how to activate the skill, I just had to look at things from a slightly different frame of mind, shift my thinking a small degree away from normal. Doing it willfully for the first time was a bit harder than I was expecting, like examining a particular complex math equation, having to wrap my mind around the intricate details. Then it all popped into place and I saw that blue glow around everything, the flow of erg around me, suffusing the land. The sense knowledge didn¡¯t come with a deeper insight this time, though, but it did help to map out the contours of the space around me. I turned to face the factory and saw it infused but inert, ready to be brought to life from a state of stasis, but only barely interacting with the erg swirling around it. I looked to my hand and saw a much intricate weaving of erg between my flesh and the harness and with the war drill as well, not a complete unity but something far more resembling it than any other interaction of erg. Once more I scanned the crater, and this time saw the ringing trees like a wall of erg, glowing much more brightly than anything within the crater itself, but sending small pockets of erg down into the crater like falling pollen. Then I spotted something underneath the surface of the crater, visible only because of the relative lack of erg in the dirt. There, buried beneath the ground was a vein of glowing material, not biological but still charged with energy, it had to be a vein of ergonic ore. I hurried over as fast as I could, my feet bounding slightly off of the crater until I came to rest directly in front of the ore deposit. There, I spun my drill to life, remembering its description as not just a weapon, but a tool as well, and began to dig, sending dirt flying as I carved out a space, carefully shifting the terrain to allow me to get to the top of the deposit. The hole widened and deepened slowly, but the effort felt pure in a way that fighting had not. There was a joy to this physical activity, to losing myself into the precision of digging a hole very well. Hours passed, but I eventually excavated the top of the deposit, while leaving a ramp to allow for exit back into the crater. I wondered for a moment about the lack of interference, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, I knelt down, pressed the tip of the drill to the ore deposit and set it spinning once again. Chapter 5 The drill dug in, its bits shattering the hard ore and sinking in further with only a small amount of force. After it was fully buried though, I found that I could not push the drill in further, but it continued to spin and more ore continued to speed around its grooves. I stared more intensely with my erg sight and saw, to my surprise, that the deposit was slowly decreasing in size as I continued to dig. I pulled back, withdrawing the drill and a system message immediately appeared.
Mining 1 1->12
I think I knew where my answers would be, and I pulled up the help menu for the Mining 1 skill.
SKILL: MINING 1 Allows the mining of surface level deposits no greater than Tier 2 in quality. Rate of mining increases based on quality of mining tools and level of mining skill. Ergonic materials mined are delivered directly into user¡¯s Inventory. Tiers up into Mining 2 at level 100. leaving this note in record of my achievement of cracking into this database entry; find me sparrows, if you dare
I was starting to get a bit blase towards these weird notes, though I couldn¡¯t help but try to parse the meaning behind this one. Ultimately, though, there was nothing to draw out except for pure conjecture, as seemed to be the case far too often. Perhaps, eventually, the little pieces would start to make sense, start to coalesce into a greater whole. For now, though, I had work to do. Inventory.
INVENTORY Tier 1 Battle Harness (equipped) Tier 1 War Drill (equipped) Tier 1 Ore x12 Focus Crystal x1
I considered my options. First, I could continue working this deposit for as long as I could. This would take quite a while judging from the rate of extraction so far and the amount remaining, I probably could mine it for days at my current rate, especially since it seems that the mining skill pulled material from the bottom rather than from the top. If I had to build an actual mine, this whole process would take an awful lot longer. Second, I could go and try to finish my quest. I had enough materials to build the condenser now, and getting access to another facility would prove quite illuminating. Still, leaving all of these resources untapped left me with a sense of anxiety over what might happen while I was away. Third, I could go exploring. There had to be more nodes like this around, and I could even start some logging, maybe even search out some basic seeds to start up a farm. I discarded this idea fairly quickly, I had no idea what sort of monsters had spawned into that forest, and I didn¡¯t have a pressing need for any of those resources. Except for that gnawing hole in my stomach, but I could ignore that for the time being. Hopefully. I would need to find water sooner rather than later, though. I could go without food for a while, but water was much more important and much more pressing. Suddenly, I remembered my belongings that I had left in my car. They would prove invaluable for the process of survival, and also for helping to keep my hygiene up. Yet, I couldn¡¯t quite remember which direction my car was in, and I didn¡¯t have any way to carry lots of supplies at once. I added finding a source of fresh water to my to-do list when it came to exploring, along with ¡°find my car.¡± These additions did raise option three a bit higher, but ultimately I decided that there was only one real option available. I returned to the lobby of the factory and found a seat on the floor, back against a wall. My instincts told me that I¡¯d probably be busy with this for a while, even as they whispered what I needed to do to begin. All I needed to do was figure out the magic word. Internal processor. My brain fuzzed as the command failed to achieve an effect. I frowned for a moment, considering my options before realizing that I was going too complex. Crafting.
Recipe Materials Facility
Refinement
T1 Metal Ingot T1 Ore x2 Smelter or IP
T1 Planks T1 Lumber x2 Sawmill or IP
Farming Seeds [Vegetable] x2 IP
Joiners
Hinge Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Pipe Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Screw Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Foundational Facilities
Wall x10 Metal Ingot x1, Screw Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Floor x10 Metal Ingot x1, Pipe Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Farm Plot Plank x1, Seeds x1 IP
Lounge Plank x5, Metal Ingot x5, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Smelter Metal Ingot x8, Pipe Joiner x6, Screw Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Sawmill Plank x8, Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler or IP
Forge Plank x2, Metal Ingot x8, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x6, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Assembler Plank x6, Metal Ingot x10, Pipe Joiner x8, Screw Joiner x4, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler or IP
Ergon Condenser Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x4, Focus Crystal x1 Assembler or IP
Filters
Show Only Have Skill Level Y
Show Only Have Material N
I concentrated for a moment on the filter by skill level and turned it off. The list of potential craftable items expanded beyond my ability to parse them all, causing me to shut my eyes firmly. I sent out a firm thought to restore the filter and felt a pressure escape from my forehead, allowing me to breath out a sigh of relief. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. First things first, I need to make some ingots. I scrolled back to that option and gave it a mental click, followed by another five, causing a queue to appear off in another screen to the side, showing the progress. A timer also joined that queue, showing that it would take approximately five minutes per ingot, which gave me half an hour to go and get some more ore. While I had just enough to make the ergon condenser, being able to make some walls would be incredibly useful. If I could secure even just the crater itself, I¡¯d be able to create an area where I could safely gather from that ore deposit until it dried up, as well as set up a farming area. I¡¯d still need to worry about getting water, but I could theoretically set up an irrigation channel from whatever water source I could find in the surroundings, making a little fort for me to test and develop my abilities, and create what I needed to be able to expand properly. I shifted the queue screen off to the side, so that I could glance at it out of the corner of my eye without it dominating my view and headed back to the ore deposit. While I knew that I would need some wood eventually, that was a lower priority in my mind, even below finding my car. That said, I was very curious what a lounge was like. My attention was soon diverted when I spotted the corpse of the beast. I had tried to keep the thing out of sight and out of mind, but it was there on my path back to the deposit, but it was not alone. A small flock of massive corvids crouched over it, pecking at the flesh and snapping up bits. The birds were at least three feet tall, with dark feathers, black with shades of purple. One of them turned to look in my direction, revealing that it had a series of eyes running backwards and upwards along its skull. It let out a warning caw, then returned to its meal. Content to leave them to it, I took a wide circle to avoid their feast while continuing my route forward. Eventually, I returned to the ore deposit and set to work while watching the queue tick down. As more ore entered my inventory, I set more of it into the queue, losing myself into the process of mining. The work was simple enough that it didn¡¯t require my active thinking, allowing my thoughts to drift, heading towards things that I hadn¡¯t wanted to consider before. The system had been around for multiple previous iterations. That there had been chosen in a previous iteration following paths created by people in an iteration before that proved that notion. Yet there was no sign of any of these previous iterations being intact. The Drake equation suggested that the galaxy should have enough intelligent life that we¡¯d have seen some sign of them by now, but if they had been killed off at some point, an idea known as the Great Filter, then that would explain their absence. What if the system was the Great Filter? What if every iteration of the system led to extinction? It would make some of the more depressed notes make sense, though the process of that extinction remained obfuscated. The notes related to my path seemed to point towards some kind of plan, and perhaps that plan was merely some kind of recording, or some way of extending life in the face of this great death that was coming, but it felt more significant than that. I¡¯d have to proceed further to know for sure, but I felt that what I had been chosen for was larger than I could fully grasp. That notion terrified me. I was not a strong person, I was not someone who could lift this weight. They should have chosen someone better, someone smarter, someone with a better work ethic, someone who hadn¡¯t crumbled under the first sign of pressure at every opportunity in the past. Sam would be laughing now, I knew it, looking at me in this position, knowing that I shouldn¡¯t be here, that I was going to doom us all. I could barely even kill a simple beast, and I absolutely couldn¡¯t bear to look at the horrible wound that I had inflicted. I was so weak, so pathetic. Maybe if I wasn¡¯t around any more, the path would pass onto someone else. No. There wasn¡¯t any proof or indication of that. I had to bear this burden because no one else could, even if I failed at every step, all I could do was keep going forward. I gritted my teeth and pulled away from the work of the mining, checking my inventory once again.
INVENTORY Tier 1 Battle Harness (equipped) Tier 1 War Drill (equipped) Tier 1 Ore x40 Tier 1 Metal Ingot x10 Focus Crystal x1
Mining 1 12->30
Okay, maybe I had been working for longer than I had planned. Chapter 6 Progress. I had to make progress. Building defenses could wait until I had created and deployed the ergon condenser. I briefly flickered on my erg sight as I returned to the factory, and nodded as I saw the increasing interactions between the erg of the factory and the erg of the surroundings. My current plan was to deploy the condenser within the factory itself, rather than outside of it. The factor would, naturally, be the safest place to hold something that critical, though obviously the safety would increase with layers of defenses. After that, I could see if I received any quests, and if nothing pressing showed up there, I would set up some walls and then go look for my car. With a plan of action in mind, I settled back in the lobby and opened up my crafting menu again. The crafting queue had emptied during my thoughts, and I considered whether it would be possible to have multiple internal processors. It¡¯d probably just be easier to build the facilities instead. First, I queued up the required joiners, which were crafted much more swiftly than the ingots were, taking about thirty seconds each. Despite the relatively short wait, the two minutes felt like an eternity as I watched the time slowly tick down. When it finally did, I immediately started crafting the condenser. The condenser would take a full thirty minutes to make all on its own, so I closed out the crafting menu and resumed exploring the interior of the factory after dismissing a notification telling me that I had gained a level in the Joiners skill. My last time through, I had only explored the first floor, leaving the upper floors a complete mystery. The second floor remained a mystery though. A single hallway led to a large, square room with a total of eleven doors on the various walls. I tried each door only to find them very securely locked, and since I didn¡¯t want to go around breaking this place just yet, I decided to leave it be. The third floor proved a more fruitful exploration, though I did have to wait for a minute or so after getting to that floor to catch my breath, my low endurance striking again. Too many stairs. The third floor split into two hallways from its landing, and one of them was filled with another set of locked doors. The second hallway though, had a bunch of locked doors too. However, the very last door was not locked. I swung the door open to reveal a surprisingly comfortably furnished room, with a plush red carpet, and walls painted the color of a clear sky. A desk was set against one wall, while a large bed was aligned along another, complete with very comfy looking bedding. What really caught my attention, though, was another room beyond this one. I moved in and swiftly opened that door to reveal a fully furnished bathroom. In a rush, I turned the sink on and marveled as freshly flowing water emerged. Immediately, I dunked my head under the faucet and drank my fill, finally letting out a contented sigh as my belly filled with water. Only then did I lift my head up to look at my reflection in the mirror, blinking as it was still covered in blood from my battle, and I was still adorned in the battle harness. I left the harness on for the moment, but took the time to slowly scrub off the blood and dirt from my face and hands. I¡¯d definitely need to take a shower sooner or later, but that would probably be best done once I had secured my clothes from the car. I did run my wet hands through my hair, slicking it back and revealing more of my angular face to inspection. No one would ever call me pretty, but I was fine with that, I had no need to be desired. A bruise was slowly forming on my right cheek, where I had impacted the ground, tender to the touch. Not for the first time, I wondered at my luck to be granted my opportunities. Not everyone was chosen, after all, not everyone had access to what I now had access to. Or what I had once had access to. I remembered my mother¡¯s words, repeated over and over again over my youth, ¡°to whom more is given, more is expected.¡± What were my expectations here? How could I ever hope to live up to them? The erg condenser was built. I returned to the lobby and inspected my inventory.
INVENTORY If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Tier 1 Battle Harness (equipped) Tier 1 War Drill (equipped) Ergon Condenser x1 Tier 1 Ore x40 Tier 1 Metal Ingot x4 Focus Crystal x3
Concentrating on the Ergon Condenser¡¯s entry in the menu, I felt something click and then a holographic wireframe of the condenser appeared before my vision. With a wave of my hand, I moved the hologram in and out; as it came into contact with a wall it turned from red to blue and rotated to press its base against the wall, clicking lightly into place. It took more effort to pull it from that position, but it eventually tugged away, turning back to red. Ultimately, I settled on placing the condenser on the ceiling, right in front of the opposite wall from the entrance. It wouldn¡¯t take up any extra space there, but would be instantly visible to anyone granted entry, a sign of the dominion of this place and its greater purpose. I concentrated again with the hologram in place and the actual device phased in, like a glass filling from the top down. A loud thunk resounded throughout the entire factory and lights began turning on, around the corners of the ceiling, casting the entire space into a pale white light, decidedly unnatural but in a way that spoke to the pleasures of modernity. Somehow, these lights coming on sent a wave of relaxation through me that came with it a sense of exhaustion. That bed sounded real nice right now.
QUEST COMPLETE Level up! +10 Perk Points Foundational Facilities 1->5 Please choose facility to activate: Library Store Cafeteria Processing Bay Research Lab
I tried to pull up help entries on those listed facilities but no windows would open while the system was waiting for my choice to be made. All five of them had some degree of appeal, and I could feel my stomach growling at the thought of a cafeteria. Food was going to become an issue sooner rather than later. But I had to be practical, I had to think long-term, and if there was anything that I was currently lacking, it was information. Okay I was lacking a lot of other things too, but a source of reliable information was what I wanted most at the moment. Library.
Selection made. Library opened on second floor. Knowledge is a wise choice, though sometimes what is truly necessary for success is to eschew wisdom and embrace recklessness. Only the truly reckless can hope to overcome when faced with the terrors to come, but it is important to know when to be reckless and when not to be, and there wisdom is the only true guide.
ERROR: Chosen You have received the following Factory quest: Power Supply (2/?): Create an ergonic condenser, secure it from attack, and attach it to the factory power supply. Reward: Access to one factory facility of choice.
I nodded as I received the follow up quest, putting it into the back of my mind for now. This would be relatively easy to do once the walls had been built, but it was still a lower priority than going and trying to find my car. None of these facilities would help much with that, and staying holed up would only lead to further stagnation. I needed to get out there and see what the world had to bring, sooner or later. I did queue up my remaining ingots to make Screw Joiners, and fueled the rest of my ore into making ingots, no reason not to be prepared as possible for making the wall. For now, though, I had a new task at hand. I rushed up the stairs to the second floor, feeling my heart beat out a steady rhythm as I reached the floor, before walking down the hallway at a more sedate rate. The lights on the second floor had a faint red undertone to them, casting the hallway in a more ominous glow than I had been expecting, but I cast that from my mind and continued on my way forward, anticipation welling up inside of me. When I reached the central room of the second floor, I saw that each of the doors had a light above them, one green, the rest red. I had only received five options from the quest but there were eleven doors here, there had to be more options that would open up as I further advanced down the quest chain. For a moment, my thoughts drifted to what other sorts of facilities might be available, but soon I shook my head and made my way towards the green door. Excitement welled in me for the first time in quite a while, the promise of something new, something potentially very helpful, sparking joy inside of me. A short hallway led from that center room to one illuminated in a more greenish light, clearly some sort of color coding was going on. Rather than having stacks and stacks of books, though, the room was arranged in a large circular structure, with the books only in the outside layer. The inside layer had desks with small screens and keyboards built into them. In the very center of the room, a short and bespectacled man stood, facing me as I entered. He cleared his throat audibly, but did not move from his position as he spoke. ¡°Good afternoon, young manager. Welcome to the library, I am the librarian and I¡¯m here to help you with anything you might have questions about.¡± Chapter 7 I blinked at the appearance of that hologram, the librarian. He seemed much more aware of my presence than the hologram that I had seen earlier in the help menu. No, this one seemed almost like he was present here, but that didn¡¯t make a whole lot of sense. ¡°You seem to have some confusion. Please, ask your questions and I will answer.¡± The hologram¡¯s voice was soft, but filled with understanding, a gentle warmth on his smile. After a moment¡¯s consideration, I strode forward and pulled a chair out from a desk. ¡°Well, let¡¯s start with the meta one then. What can you tell me?¡± I slid down to sit, leaning forward to watch the hologram, wondering if it would actually respond. ¡°Oh, well. That is slightly complicated.¡± The hologram pulled off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt in a thoughtful manner. ¡°I am unable to volunteer information not directly related to your queries. And there are certain topics which must be unlocked via your path before I am allowed to go into detail about them. Certain restrictions, you see, were a necessary component of my existence.¡± ¡°And what is your existence, then? You don¡¯t seem to simply be a recording, but,¡± I said. ¡°And no offense here, but you¡¯re clearly artificial in nature.¡± ¡°Oh, no offense taken. This body you see before you is indeed not the one I was born into. It is, in fact, a form of recording. You may have seen other holograms in your time studying the system.¡± He paused and waited for my nod before continuing. ¡°Those are snapshots, like writing down a missive. What I am though is.¡± He trailed off then, falling contemplative. ¡°Yes, I am the ¡®upload¡¯ of my mind into the system. If it helps, you might consider this to be my soul.¡± I shook my head slowly. ¡°Are souls real? I was never much of a believer in that sort of higher power business.¡± ¡°Ah, such beliefs were widespread amongst my people, but I never shared in them myself.¡± The hologram, no, the librarian, I had to remember that he was more than just a hologram, flashed me a grin. ¡°It is good to see that the manager is in line with my own way of thinking.¡± I perked up a bit at that, the use of a proper title, but put it to the mind for a moment. ¡°What do you mean by upload?¡± ¡°Ah, well, I was one of the engineers working on this project, and it was decided that someone would need to accompany the program to assure that the end user, the presumptive manager, would be able to maintain the plan to the utmost degree. It¡¯s a very complicated plan after all.¡± The librarian has a conspiratorial glint in his eye as he said that. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly confident you can complete it though!¡± He added very quickly, a brief expression of concern coming to his face. This was a very detailed hologram, very expressive, like a copy of a person before me. ¡°But still, we wanted to have someone on the ground to make sure that everything would proceed according to plan. And with the nature of what was going to happen to our world, there was no way that a living body would survive the transition.¡± I nodded, thoughtful at that. ¡°Because your people were facing extinction.¡± The librarian¡¯s eyes flew wide. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Just extrapolating from some of the system message notes.¡± I waved a hand idly, though I watched his expression carefully. His features smoothed to a mask of calm, but I could see the gears whirring behind his eyes. ¡°Okay, yes. Things were not going well for my world. My species. We weren¡¯t the first ones to suffer this fate though, though our hope is that we might be the last. And no, I cannot tell you how this extinction happened, that¡¯s something that¡¯s still locked.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°So you accepted this upload as the only way of survival, and now your mind is stored in the system?¡± ¡°Yes. The system is remarkably large in terms of its storage space, though there is no indication that it was ever intended for this kind of storage. Once individuals figured out how to add database entrance and from there how to code information into the language of the system, more complex options evolved in terms of what could be saved from iteration to iteration.¡± A small smile played over the librarian¡¯s features. ¡°And one of the key bits of information saved was how to save information.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± I leaned back and briefly scanned over the interior of the library, wondering how these physical items had been coded into the system, though ultimately that was more a curiosity than anything pressing. ¡°Institutional knowledge is key to any form of advancement.¡± ¡°Precisely!¡± I leaned forward once again, settling my elbows onto the top of the deck and holding my chin in my hands. ¡°So, this is how the chosen path you made for me was coded?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The librarian sighed softly. ¡°I know it must seem like an awful lot of work, but I can assure you that it is of vital importance.¡± ¡°What exactly is the goal of this path?¡± I spoke the question softly, wanting confirmation but already knowing the answer. ¡°To halt the extinction of all life on this planet.¡± The librarian¡¯s voice took on a somber tone then, and he looked off to the side. Now, for the question that had been burdening me since this all began. ¡°Why me?¡± I instantly looked off to the side, feeling heat in my cheeks, as I internally berated myself for my foolishness. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad question.¡± The librarian stepped forward, towards me, but was unable to leave that central-most ring. A chair appeared beneath him and he sat slowly, making sure his words were as careful as possible. ¡°The process we chose was fairly complex, there were a number of values we had to consider. ¡°First, a basic level of engineering knowledge, with higher levels being prioritized fairly highly. Second, a strong ethical framework, which was the highest priority of all. Third, proximity to an empty space where the factory could phase into being without harming other sapient life. And fourth¡­.¡± The librarian trailed off for a moment, before continuing in a softer voice. ¡°Luck. Sometimes, it just boils down to luck.¡± ¡°So, I was just in the right place at the right time.¡± ¡°No, your skills and your worldview are also instrumental to you being chosen. No, you may not be unique in possessing what you do, but what you do possess is enough. I promise you.¡± I looked down at my hands, the words hitting my chest like hammers. I squeezed my eyes shut and just sat there in silence for a long time, though I couldn¡¯t tell quite how long had passed. Finally, I cracked my eyes open again and looked back up to the librarian who had moved a distance off, staring into the middle distance. ¡°What should I call you?¡± He turned back then and tilted his head to the side. ¡°I think that ¡®librarian¡¯ will do for now. There are things you must discover first before I can inform you too much of my people, and my name is very much a part of my people.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I sat back up fully and considered my next question for a moment. ¡°I know I need to build some walls and another ergon condenser, which means I¡¯m going to need to tap that deposit fully. But also, I¡¯m going to need food very soon, and I don¡¯t really have any survival skills, which means that I¡¯m going to need to get to my car where I have some snack bars which can keep me going, but I don¡¯t know where my car is from here. ¡°Any advice?¡± ¡°Have you tried accessing your map?¡± The librarian raised an eyebrow and smiled in a kindly but still somewhat teasing manner. ¡°Map?¡± I frowned then thought the word. ¡°God damnit!¡± A large map popped up into my vision, almost all of it was blacked out, showing areas that I had not been or seen, but the entire crater was visible, as was a winding trail showing the path that I had taken from my car. I unpinched the screen to zoom in and saw that the map was largely abstracted, drawn in a watercolor adjacent style, but the factory was still clearly visible. Shockingly, so was the wreckage of my car. ¡°Okay, so what are the odds of this place getting attacked by monsters while I¡¯m away?¡± ¡°Wondering if you should build the wall first?¡± The librarian considered for a moment. ¡°The ergonic resonance of this place is still out of tune with the surroundings, though increasingly becoming less so. The monsters hunt by ergonic signatures, which means that this place should be invisible for the time being. ¡°But not forever. I¡¯d say perhaps a day before creatures come sniffing around.¡± I nodded and quickly stood. ¡°A day, that¡¯s fine. Plenty of time, so long as I don¡¯t run into any trouble.¡± I turned to exit, before pausing and turning back to the librarian. ¡°Can I store other things in my inventory besides things that I have created and gathered?¡± ¡°Just concentrate on them and will them into your inventory and they will do so. The process is also reversible.¡± The librarian¡¯s expression seemed brighter now that I was getting ready to actually do something. ¡°Okay, good. That should be everything I need to know for now.¡± I paused once again. ¡°Will you be alright here without me?¡± ¡°When the library is not in use, I fall into a state very similar to sleep. I will be fine.¡± He smiled and made a scooting motion. ¡°Go, your adventure calls!¡± I felt reinvigorated, with a plan of action ahead of me, a map to guide me, and the promise of something edible in my stomach by the end of it. I¡¯d definitely need to ask the librarian about the other facility options, especially the cafeteria, after the wall got built. In the meanwhile, I hurried down the stairs and out into the crater. After resizing the map¡¯s window, I swung it over to the side of my vision, letting it rest there out of the corner of my eye as I began the return trip to my car. Chapter 8 By the time I set forth on the road, the morning had turned to afternoon, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel the ticking of the timer in my head. The harness I continued to wear provided me with some sense of comfort, but an incomplete one. I remembered well the humiliation of my fight with the beast, and the difficulty of delivering that final blow. I had no desire to engage in violence again, but I had a growing fear that it would prove inevitable. For this reason, I kept my senses as I continue to walk, activating my erg sight in a hope that any monsters, or any other intruders, would show up more vividly to that vision. Everything alive was flooded with erg now, and those that had more were greater threats. With my latest level up, my flesh glowed even more brightly to that vision, almost as if though the erg inside was not just increasing in quantity but in quality, refining itself under the process of leveling up. My body remained the same though, but if I wasn¡¯t chosen, I would be gaining new abilities with every level up. I would be in the process of becoming something other not through a fundamental shift but through an opening of my path. In my case, though, those changes had already started. Maybe I would feel more different as the process continued, but right now, I still felt uncomfortably like myself. If my path had magically made me into a hero, someone powerful enough to stand against the evils of the hero, then maybe I¡¯d feel better. As it was, I could only feel my weakness, my flaws, my doubts, the thousand and one ways that I had messed up everything. I remembered Sam. I remembered intro to materials engineering. I remembered calc four. I remembered my mother telling me that I had to rise. I remembered the weight, the incredibly crushing weight, of the expectations that was before me. I remembered how I faltered then. The stakes were so much higher now. The trees seemed to loom in closer, the blue of their erg mixing with the brown of the bark and the green of the leaves. The path was so unfamiliar, despite having been walked before. I suppose I was distracted at the time, caught in a different set of thoughts. At least there was no sign of a beast now, I was safe, for at least some definition of safe. I wondered what things were like on campus now. With my car in its current shape, there was no way that I¡¯d be able to make the trip there, but I still worried about those that I had left behind. The friendships were not particularly strong ones, especially after I took on a hermitage and locked myself away from campus society, but they were friendships nevertheless. The campus should be relatively secure though. It had enough buildings to seek shelter in, and the population had enough battle ready people to help support those that were not. Which wasn¡¯t even going into the athletes, who were damn near professional level, and who could probably make good use of their new paths. These powers, they had to work better together. My powers were purely support in nature, but if I was able to provide weaponry for more combative types, we¡¯d all be stronger. I couldn¡¯t think on what was not, though, especially as the trees peeled back to reveal my car, where I had left it. The damage seemed consistent with what I remembered, though I moved in swiftly to check out the trunk. Fortunately, it had not been broken into, leaving my food and my clothes and really everything that I owned still intact. I remembered the librarian¡¯s instructions and concentrated on the supplies, imagining pulling them into my inventory. They disappeared in a blink of an eye. Checking my inventory showed that everything had deposited without any issues, which led my thoughts to wander. What was the size limit of what I could store? So, I turned my attention to the car as a whole, and concentrated more firmly on it. I could feel a strain growing inside of me and my brow furrowed from the exertion, my hand reaching forward as to grasp the vehicle. My vision and my reality focused down onto the car alone. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Finally, and here with an audible pop, the car disappeared. Then I realized that I had been watched during the whole process. On the other side of where the car once was, a group of six creatures were watching me. They closely resembled deers, except that their legs were twice as long, leading them to tower over me. As I noticed them, they as one bared their teeth, showing their mouths to be filled with sharp, carnivorous teeth. That just wasn¡¯t right. The deer-things charged in, galloping over the empty ground towards me. I could tell from their speed that I wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun them, and they were hungry for my flesh. Or maybe my erg? The librarian had said something- My thoughts were interrupted as one of the deer-things slammed into my torso, sending my frame off-balance. While the other five worked on circling around me, I leaned forward and centered my balance on the ground. The deer-thing in front of me moved in for another charge but this time I was able to bring my left arm up to block. It bounced off of my armored arm, dazed for a moment. A moment was all I needed. My drill whirred to life and I brought it forward as a hook at the deer-things head. The blood spray once again coated my face, but I turned away swiftly to see the other five prepared to move. Again, they moved as a coordinated group, knocking me back and forth as they rammed at me. This time, I was not able to recover my balance before their teeth latched onto my harness, tugging in every direction. The harness creaked under the assault and I kept swaying. I tried to swing with my arms, but teeth on them kept them from being able to control them. I threw my weight to one side, allowing the teeth to keep me from falling over, and lashed out with a kick at the forelegs of the deer-thing that had my right arm. The legs crumpled like matchsticks and it let out a cry of pain. With my arm suddenly free, I twisted my torso to bring the drill into the side of one of the deer-things holding my left arm. It released me and stumbled away, the blow having drilled a hold into the muscle of its shoulder, but not fatally so. With only three remaining with grips on me, I was able to throw my weight to the other side, sending two of the deer-things struggling to hold me tight. Meanwhile, I swung wildly with my right arm, hitting the remaining stable deer-thing with the side of the drill, causing it to bellow out as the bit twisted at the flesh. With that side now fully free, I set my foot into the ground and spun to attack the remaining two. Promptly, they released me and backed up. The four of the five survivors that could walk backed slowly away from me and I did the same, keeping my eyes on all of them. Seeing that they weren¡¯t going to attack again, and that most of them were in fairly bad shape, I stepped backwards down the trail that I came along. Once I was out of sight, I turned and ran, heading back to the factory. My speed couldn¡¯t last too long, not with my stamina where it was. I¡¯d definitely need to start up an exercise regime. Maybe one of the facilities left to be opened up was a gym? A few notifications blinked in the corner of my attention, demanding my attention, so I swiftly brought them.
War Drill 10->15 Battle Harness Proficiency 10->20 Erg Sight 5->15
I slowed my walking then, though I did keep my attention peeled to the side of the path, in case anyone or anything was planning on ambushing me along the way. Those deer-things didn¡¯t seem like custom-built monsters, they seemed more like normal deers that had mutated somehow. Their structures were still too similar to normal deers, just twisted and altered. I had read somewhere that deers would eat bones to provide them with nutrients that they couldn¡¯t get elsewhere, upgrading that aggressive to higher levels seemed perfectly possible. Most importantly, though, they didn¡¯t have the degree of recklessness that the first monster had. Here, they recognized when a battle was going to cost them more than they might potentially gained from it, and backed off. Thankfully too. While my wild flailing had done quite a bit of damage, I couldn¡¯t have kept it up for much longer. I didn¡¯t fight smart, I fought like a trapped beast, which, to some degree, I was. I couldn¡¯t continue being such a beast, though, I needed to master my instincts, I needed to train. I needed to find some way of actually fighting, or else I¡¯d die to the first real threat I came across. The best equipment could only do so much when face to face with things of that terrifying power. As my thoughts drifted, I opened up my inventory and searched through swiftly for one of my protein packs, then popped it out into my hand. I unwrapped the bar and dug into the weirdly clay-like texture of the bar. It tasted terrible, but felt so good in my stomach. I hated these things, but when going to the dorm cafeteria felt like too much of an effort, they were a god-send. Now, without the option of cooked food, they were what would keep me going in spite of it all. The thought of rest called so strongly then. All I had to do was build those walls and then I could actually rest. In anticipation, I sent two of my ingots to screw joiners, which completed with the speed of the other joiners. Then, I combine them with the remaining ingots to begin making the walls. I nodded at the progression bar, happy that it would be complete by the time I returned to the crater. Finally, I allowed my thoughts to drift away, my world reducing to the path, its surroundings, and the power bar filling my stomach. Chapter 9 The crater stretched out before me, and I marveled at the way that the erg had continued to flow down from the forests surrounding it. The green grass rose higher still, creating a sense of lushness in contrast to the previous sense of desolation. The factory still stuck out from the space, but that would be changing sooner rather than later, of that I was certain. I slid down the rim of the crater and landed on the soft grass below. For a moment, I wanted nothing more than to lay out and stretch amongst the blades, but I knew I had work to do first. First, I sent my ore to start processing into ingots, then opened my inventory and activated the walls from within. As with the erg condenser, I once again received a holographic wireframe which hovered in the air in front of me. I first tested the range to which I could extend the hologram, and it seemed that line of sight was the limit. With that in mind, I set to work. I painted slowly around the rim of the crater, laying down the walls, following the natural curve of the geography. Slowly, the wall began to take shape, forming a layer of protection between me and the unknown, untamed world beyond. I would need to build a gate at some point, certainly, if only to get access to the wood beyond. Plus, this ore deposit would only last so long, but I could simply build more walls to protect these expansions, and perhaps even link them up with corridors to assure safe transit. If I had access to some automation features, that would be even better. Being able to transport ore directly from their deposit into a smelter would speed up my throughline greatly. My planning was halted, though, when I realized that I had run out of wall segments, and I wasn¡¯t even half way through. The deployment interface was still active, though, and I continued to paint the wall, but with no segments in my inventory, no segments phased into reality. Judging from the percentage of completion, I figured that I only needed another thirty segments to complete the task. So, I slotted in another three screw joiners into the queue. From there, it was a simple matter to finish laying out the wall, then all I needed to do was wait for the queue to empty out. At the moment, I was still waiting for the ingots to finish smelting, so I followed with my whim and took a seat in the grass, feeling the soft green beneath me, allowing my body to relax into it, the weariness of my exertions sliding into memories and liberation from my pain. I felt the bruises forming on my sides from the fights with the deer-things, and felt at the components of my harness, testing their continued resilience. I wasn¡¯t a fighter, never had been. Given the opportunity, I would always take the coward¡¯s way out, seeking resolution through flight or fawning or just freezing up and hoping that I wouldn¡¯t get noticed. It worked fairly often, most people making threats were happy for obedience and compliance. I still had gotten smacked around more than once, though. I had never got hurt enough for anyone to care, but it had honed my desire to not get hurt again, which led to me being even more conflict averse. Yet, here I was, forced to fight for my own survival. These creatures would not back down if I gave them what they wanted, though it seemed that some of them at least were not particularly interested in fighting to the death, a small mercy. I could become stronger, though. I could hone my mind and my body, to become capable of opposing these more powerful forces. It would be so much easier if I could just find someone else to carry the burden of battle, but that was a very unlikely thing. I would have to learn how to be strong alone. At least I had the librarian to keep me company. The screws finished, emptying my queue, and I slotted in three more sets of wall segments. Each one took ten minutes to build, so I still had a long wait before I could finish the wall. Now that I felt a bit more rested, I walked over to the deposit and resumed mining while I began that wait. As the first set of segments ticked finished, I turned my gaze to see the holograms filling up automatically, draining the segments from my inventory to put them where I planned. Now confident in the inevitability of the construction¡¯s completion, I focused on gathering more ore while the remaining twenty minutes ticked down. As before, I made sure to turn the new ore into the back of the queue for smelting. Building a smelter would definitely be the first thing facility that I built once I had some material to spare. Finally, the last wall segment clicked into place, securing the crater and providing me with a complete sense of relief for the first time since this all began. I let out a breath and flung myself back onto the grass, just stretching out and enjoying the feeling of it beneath my fingers. Before I relaxed too much, though, I needed a shower. After a quick return to the bedroom, I unpacked my supplies from my inventory, putting clothes away and setting up a little shelf full of food. My computer got put into place on the desk, though I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d get any use out of it. Meanwhile, my textbooks got put on another shelf and I suddenly realized just how few things I actually possessed. I endeavored not to think too hard about it as I stripped out of the harness and my blood-splattered clothes. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The shower felt like heaven, the hot water hitting sore and stiff muscles and washing away the weight of my labors. I closed my head and leaned my forehead against the tile of the shower¡¯s walls, just luxuriating in the moment. A small dispenser built into the wall had some sort of gel, which I assumed was a shampoo and soap combination, so I went to town with it, lathering up my body and hair, before rinsing clean. It had been days since I last showered, thanks to my road trip not stopping in any place with them, so this felt especially needed. I dressed, picking out one of my favorite outfits, a red high-collared but short-sleeved button-down shirt and a pair of blue-green jeans. I tucked the shirt in and took a moment to fluff up my hair in the mirror, inspecting myself there briefly. I looked better than I had before my departure from college, my skin was brighter and clearer, my cheekbones more defined, and without the blood I look damn near presentable. As I put on my battle harness, I called up my status to see my growth.
Name: Placid Wainwright
Level: 3 Paths Skills
Health: 100% Factory Manager Refinement 17
Erg: 10/10 Path Points: 0 Joiners 11
Foundational Facilities 5
Attributes Path Perks Mining 43
Might 7 Manufacturing 1 Sustenance Farming 1
Coordination 10 Gathering 1 Logging 1
Endurance 6 Basic Combat Tools 1 War Drill 15
Intuition 14 Battle Harness Proficiency 20
Structure 18 Battle Harness Customization 1
Flow 12
Erg Sight 16
On the plus side, I was finally out of the hole in terms of path points. Next level up, I¡¯d be able to pick up a new perk, which would hopefully open up some new avenues of progression. For now, I needed to focus on completing that quest. With its completion, I might even gain another level, but I¡¯d at least gain another facility. I pulled up my inventory.
INVENTORY Tier 1 Battle Harness (equipped) Tier 1 War Drill (equipped) Kia Forte Koup (Broken) Tier 1 Ore x10 Tier 1 Metal Ingot x30 Focus Crystal x5
Good, I had enough to make the next condenser. I queued up the pipes, waited for them to finish, then started the condenser going. Then, I went out into the crater to survey for a good place to put it. With the condenser being built, though, I couldn¡¯t precisely judge the distance necessary for the condenser to be most efficient so I decided to examine the wall further. The wall was solid metal, steady and thick, approximately ten feet tall, and also descending into the ground. Building a second layer on top might be a good idea, sooner or later, a sufficiently large creature could simply step over the barrier. Judging from the transformations to the birds and the deer, stranger things were certainly coming. I couldn¡¯t help but feel some sense of mounting tension, some feeling that the world was going to get worse before this was all done. Shaking the thought from my head, I knocked lightly on the wall and concentrated on it further. Something clicked in my thoughts and a system message appeared. [Turn wall segment to gate? don¡¯t open it don¡¯t open they¡¯re waiting they¡¯re coming we] Yes. Despite the note¡¯s warning, I had to be able to get in and out. At the very least, I¡¯d need to get access to wood, and the trees were waiting right there. Part of me wanted to just head out and start logging now, but also I was really lacking in appropriate materials for the task. I looked at drill and shook my head, no way was this thing cutting down a tree. The wall segment blurred slowly, becoming hard to look at for a moment, before suddenly snapping back into full clarity, now with a large set of double doors built into the metal. I stepped forward and gave them a pull, the metal proving to be quite heavy, but the joints of the door were efficient enough to let even me open them. Perhaps my position as the creator gave me some special privilege here. The woods expanded, wild and deep, untamed now thanks to erg¡¯s boost. Humanity was on the back foot for a change, and perhaps that was for the best. The cruelty we had inflicted onto the world was without recourse and beyond forgiveness, our penance had to be paid in blood. How many had died already? Millions? Billions? How many monsters stalked the streets of our cities? Would anyone survive the horrors to come? I suppose it was my job to assure that they would, though I had no idea how I would from here. The ergon condenser pinged me as it finished building, and I stepped back in, shutting the gates behind me, before barring them shut to keep the dark at bay. Chapter 10 I activated the condenser from my inventory, and saw it colored green when it was placed too close to the factory. It could be deployed there, but that seemed to be the point of being too close. Slowly, I inched the condenser further and further away, eventually finding a spot about three hundred feet away where it turned to blue again. That wide distance would definitely limit my ability to place condensers, unless I begin a widespread sprawl throughout the local terrain. When the condenser finished deploying, a hum resonated through the air, vibrating in my skull until it faded into the background. I waited nervously until a system message appeared.
Ergon condenser connected to power grind Checking for security level¡­. ¡­. ¡­. ¡­. Security level sufficient QUEST COMPLETE Level up! +10 Perk Points Foundational Facilities 5->8 Please choose facility to activate: Store Cafeteria Processing Bay Research Lab Gym Pharmacy Survey Chamber
I really should have asked the librarian about my options before completing the quest. The options all continued to be appealing, but once more information was the greatest tool available. The more I knew, the more effective I could be. Survey Chamber.
Selection made. Survey Chamber opened on second floor. One thing we cannot know is the literal shape of this new world. Being able to expand our sight, to understand more of the space is the first step to being able to move from the abstract and the internal to the concrete and the external. Go forth, seek out the unknown, and learn what the immediate needs of your peers are.
ERROR: Chosen You have received the following Factory quest: Power Supply (3/?): Create an ergonic condenser, attach it to the factory supply. and install active defenses to protect it. Reward: Access to one factory facility of choice.
Active defenses? I¡¯d need to talk with the librarian to know what that meant exactly. In the meanwhile, though, I had other more pressing issues. First, time to access something that had been eluding me from the start. Path Store! A surprisingly small menu appeared before me.
PATH STORE
Purchase New Path 20 PP
Perks Factory Manager
Hm, 20 points for a new path didn¡¯t make sense, then a thought suddenly came to mind. I opened up a side menu with Help Path Store Path Costs.
PATH STORE COSTS - PATHS Paths cost the following Points: First = Free Second = 20 Third = 40 Fourth = 80 Fifth = 160 No user may have more than five paths at any given time. If you desire to change your selection, you must first remove an existing path. This is how they get you, ya know? First taste of power is free, then higher and higher. They WANT you to climb, to see what you couldn¡¯t see before. They want you to become powerful, and so you have to kill, kill, and kill to reach those heights. Lonely at the top because everyone else trying to get there¡¯s gone got.]
Well, that answered that question. I dismissed that window and then concentrated on Factory Manager in the Path Store window causing yet another to pop open.
FACTORY MANAGER PERKS
Perk Pre-Requisites Cost
Manufacturing II Manufacturing I, Gathering I 20
Gathering II Gathering I 20
Basic Production Tools Manufacturing I 5
Automation I Manufacturing I, Gathering I 15
Cooking Gathering I 10
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Choices, choices, choices. Cooking looked nice, but without access to a cafeteria or to a food supply, it wouldn¡¯t be too useful yet. Almost everything else was too pricey for me to afford, except for Basic Production Tools. I¡¯m not sure what exactly those were, but they- I interrupted my thoughts then pulled up another help menu.
PERK - BASIC PRODUCTION TOOLS Allows for the manufacture of tools relating to gathering and processing resources. Synergizes with skills granted by the Gathering and Manufacturing line, opening up new options related to them. Does not grant any new skills.
I concentrated on that perk and confirmed my selection. A brief surge of information flooded into my mind and I instinctively pulled up my crafting menu.
Recipe Materials Facility
Refinement
T1 Metal Ingot T1 Ore x2 Smelter or IP
T1 Planks T1 Lumber x2 Sawmill or IP
Farming Seeds [Vegetable] x2 IP
Smithing Hammer Metal Ingot x1, Plank x2, Screw Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Joiners
Hinge Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Pipe Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Screw Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Foundational Facilities
Wall x10 Metal Ingot x1, Screw Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Floor x10 Metal Ingot x1, Pipe Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Farm Plot Plank x1, Seeds x1 IP
Lounge Plank x5, Metal Ingot x5, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Smelter Metal Ingot x8, Pipe Joiner x6, Screw Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Sawmill Plank x8, Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler or IP
Forge Plank x2, Metal Ingot x8, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x6, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Assembler Plank x6, Metal Ingot x10, Pipe Joiner x8, Screw Joiner x4, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler or IP
Ergon Condenser Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x4, Focus Crystal x1 Assembler or IP
Mining
Pickaxe Mental Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x1, Screw Joiner x1 Forge or IP
Logging
Logging Axe Metal Ingot x1, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x1 Forge or IP
Sustenance Farming
Cook Pot Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x2 Forge or IP
Filters
Show Only Have Skill Level Y
Show Only Have Material N
The perk had only added four new items to the list, but judging from the description, it would continue adding new recipes as I advanced my perks and skills. Of these, the Logging Axe was clearly the highest priority, so I set the joiners forging, and once they were completed, started on the axe. Only half an hour, it would definitely be finished by the time I was done with the other thing I needed to check out. The next green light on the second floor was directly to the left after entering the central room. From inside, a short hallway led to a small room, this one illuminated in black, with a comfortable looking arm chair sitting in front of what looked like a crystal ball in the center of it. There was no overt guide here, but how the place worked seemed fairly clear. I sat down in the chair and leaned forward, planting my hands onto the orb. I expected an image to appear within it, but instead a hologram projected upwards onto the ceiling. In order to get a better view, I leaned back and the back of the chair leaned with me until I was supine, staring at those lights above. Slowly, they resolved from points of blue and green on the black into a coherent image. The image large resembled the map I could pull up on my own, but instead of the unexplored areas coming up in black, they appeared blurred. I could still parse out information from the blurred areas, getting an idea of the geography, but having trouble seeing the finer details. I zoomed out as I had with my map, reaching up and pinching. After a distance that I estimated to be about five miles out, the image blacked out, like my map. I spotted a rippling at the edge of that darkness though, and zoomed back in to examine the edge more carefully. There, I could see the unknown area slowly being pushed back, more blurred space moving in. The map was slowly expanding, gaining more information by the moment. As I further examined the map, I saw an icon off in the corner, resembling an abstracted human head and shoulders. Curiosity got the best of me and I clicked it. The map zoomed back out to show the entire mapped area, then a pulse rang out from the center, leaving little glowing dots on the map after the pulse passed by. I zoomed in as close as I could onto those dots, and while I couldn¡¯t make them out exactly, they did seem very similar to how the buried ore deposit had looked to my erg sight. If that¡¯s indeed what they were, this would turn out to be a very useful resource indeed. I made a note to ask the librarian about this as well. I returned my gaze to the map proper, zooming back out to try to gain an understanding of the space. The area was mostly forest, with the scar of the crater being all the more noticeable. To my surprise, the wall I had built appeared circling the crater, which did raise some concerns about my ability to develop this area. On the other, there probably wasn¡¯t anyone else with a survey chamber keeping an eye on things around here. The highway cut its way through the forest on its western side, continuing off of the map to the north and the south. The clearing where I found my car was quite a distance from the road, though, a full quarter mile or so, which only raised further questions. To the northeast, a lake was slowly being revealed, seeming quite large from the curvature of it. Rivers branched off from the lake, with a particularly large one heading towards and under the highway. My vision paused there. A weird mark, one that I couldn¡¯t quite make out, was on a spot near the intersection of that river and the highway. I zoomed in, trying to make some sense of that mark, when I realized it wasn¡¯t a mark at all. Instead, it was a jumble of buildings as seen from very far away. The location was a small town, practically a village from the looks of it, surrounded by clusters of debris. They had built a wall. There were people there, and they had to be alive. They had to be. Getting there would be a bit of a hike, but with everything settled here, I could make the journey without too much trouble. It would mean putting my quests on a back burner, but that would be worth it if I could find other people that I could be in touch with. I might even be able to get others to come here to help me, banish this loneliness, if only for a moment. First, talk to the librarian, then, head out. Chapter 11 ¡°You are absolutely not ready to head out now.¡± The librarian stared at me incredulously. ¡°Okay, fine. We¡¯ll do your plan.¡± I sighed and leaned back in my chair, folding my hands behind my head. ¡°But first, I have some questions.¡± ¡°Proceed.¡± The librarian¡¯s expression shifted to a soft smile. Despite his protestations of not noticing time away, he still seemed to be happy to have someone to talk to, at least as far I could tell. ¡°Okay, first things, what would you prioritize as the most important facilities to bring back?¡± ¡°Oh, that is a lot of possible answers. I would, though, suggest that you not wait too long for the Research lab,¡± he said. ¡°It is vital for allowing you to develop new crafting schematics, which will of course radically expand the things that you can do here.¡± ¡°Wait, so I can learn new recipes without having to learn new skills or perks?¡± I perked up at that, leaning forward again, the legs of my chair clattering against the floor. ¡°Of course.¡± The librarian flicked a hand and a book appeared in his hand. ¡°In fact, most of the books here are devoted to additional schema. Now, the ones you can learn are based on your skills and your perks, but you do not receive every schema immediately.¡± I reached forward to snatch the book out of the librarian¡¯s hand, but my hand just passed through it, bringing a smirk to his lips. ¡°Anyway,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯d like to learn some of these recipes.¡± ¡°Yes, that is the plan after all.¡± The librarian nudged up his glasses, his smirk turning mischievous. ¡°Your power is based on your knowledge, and that knowledge is most concentrated in your schema. And of course, we¡¯ll back that up with the theory that underpins it.¡± ¡°Sounds a lot like engineering class, but¡­ well I guess the stakes here are a bit higher.¡± I sighed then and ran my fingers through my hair. ¡°Oh, before we get started, I activated the Survey Chamber.¡± ¡°A good choice,¡± the librarian interjected. ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡± I smiled a touch sheepishly. ¡°And I activated this option that sent out a pulse, do you know what that is?¡± ¡°Oh yes, that¡¯s the resource scanner. It¡¯ll show deposits of ergonic materials.¡± The librarian began idly flipping through his book. ¡°Also, the data will transfer from the scanner to your map, so you don¡¯t have to write it all down. Very convenient, if I say so myself.¡± ¡°It was your idea wasn¡¯t it?¡± I said. He just smiled that mischievous smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get you started with some schema.¡± He seemingly plucked a page from his holographic book and feeded it down into the screen on my desk. That screen flared to life and I turned my attention to the information displayed. Unlike previous schema that I had discovered, which had been given to me by the system directly, this was much more complex. It didn¡¯t have a simple list of ingredients that I could smoosh together, instead it provided a list of material requirements and a complex diagram describing how they would all fit together. As I studied it, I slowly figured out the pieces would fit together, and how they could be derived from the components I already knew how to create. In my mind¡¯s eye, the joiners I could construct merged with ingots to form the broad shape of the structure described by the diagram. ¡°This is a war drill, isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked, slightly incredulous. The librarian nodded slowly. ¡°It¡¯s important for you to understand how to make the tools of war. Your path does not contain any perks that will provide a direct boost to your combat ability at any point, your strength in battle is going to be based entirely on your ability to develop new equipment that will help serve you in the field.¡± ¡°Okay, so research lab is definitely next.¡± ¡°Good.¡± The librarian seemed a touch smug, before feeding in several more pages into the monitor. ¡°Your strength also derives in large part from the variety of tools that you can use. While your current skill and perk set does limit that somewhat, if you study some of these schema you can activate a phantom skill.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Phantom skill?¡± I looked up from my study and blinked owlishly. ¡°That sounds awfully impressive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± The librarian¡¯s voice was deadpan. ¡°Phantom skills are temporary skills that can be made available by perks in your path that you have not unlocked yet. You can only have a limited amount, most can only have one at any given time but you might be able to have two. Still, the advantage can be significant.¡± ¡°How significant?¡± I said. In response to my question, the librarian fed in another page, this time causing the screen to change the display. I turned my attention back down and began digging through the description once more. This device was far more complicated, all the engine did for the war drill was spin an axle, one of the easiest things for an engine to do. Here, the engine cranked a spring, which was attached to a plate, and once that spring was fully depressed, fed in something. I scrolled through the description some more. The device loaded in a spike of some sort, like one of those large plastic tent stakes but far sharper and made fully of metal. From there, a simple trigger mechanism to release a lock on that plate to let the spring unload, which would fire the spike pretty dang far if these calculations were correct, and with enough impact force to do some real damage. I said softly, ¡°a ranged weapon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. From your stats, you are almost certainly not very good at fighting hand-to-hand. That may change over time, but having a ranged option would greatly increase your chances of survival.¡± The librarian slid in a few more sheets then claimed a seat. ¡°Your current skill set would not let you build or use them, at least not effectively, but if you learn this schema, it should trigger the phantom skill for them to develop.¡± I nodded and turned my attention back to the screen, trying to memorize every detail. ¡°The schema I¡¯ve seen so far, none of them have specified what kind of metal ingot they needed, and nor does this one. I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s not an oversight?¡± ¡°Very good, you¡¯re correct.¡± The librarian spread his hand magnanimously. ¡°You can, in fact, use any kind of ingot for these constructions, and different kinds of ingots will yield different results.¡± I paused then to look up. ¡°You¡¯re not just talking about different tiers.¡± ¡°No, I am not.¡± The librarian pulled out another sheet and slid it in. ¡°You can take a look at this next.¡± With a soft sigh I returned to my study, noticing the details of the spring and how it required special allowances in order to function properly. As I took in the precise angle and tensions requirements, something clicked in my head and I realized that a hinge joiner could be made to specification. Following that realization, a system message appeared.
Phantom Skill Gained Spike Thrower - 1 ghosts of ghosts of ghosts, haunting the remnants of a thousand dead worlds, and it¡¯s all our fault
Alright, cool, anyway. ¡°I got the phantom skill. Also, these system message notes are getting increasingly ominous.¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯ll do that.¡± The librarian pursed his lips. ¡°They¡¯ve been like that from the beginning, a relic of the Creators.¡± ¡°The Creators?¡± My interest was rapidly torn from the screen up to the librarian. ¡°The people who created the system. Now long dead of course, and the most mysterious of the iterations over all. I wish I could understand what their motivation for the creation was, what their plans were. But it¡¯s all dust now, all lost in the twisting mire of time and the passing of untold ages.¡± The librarian snapped his book shut. ¡°Move onto your next lesson, I suspect you¡¯ll find it interesting.¡± I flipped the screen to the next page that the librarian had entered and began reading.
¡°Not all substances are born of the same inherent nature, indeed most are not. When all existing attunements have been washed away, then there is purity. Purity is inherently weak, though, it is the most useless of attunements. It lacks strength, it lacks power, it even lacks flexibility. Its only advantage is that it can be molded with relative ease. Yet, it is so often the most commonly sought of materials, perhaps because it does not alter the nature of skills used through it. ¡°I say that this is cowardice on the part of our community. ¡°We must embrace the strangeness of this world we inhabit, this world that we must forge into our own. The number of attunements is nearly endless, but I have found the following to be fairly common: ¡°Earth, Fire, Wind, Water- Basic elemental affinities, despite their nature they rarely impact the core of the materials, but rather impact their attunement directly onto the acts performed with them. ¡°Light, Darkness, Space, Time- Advanced elemental affinities, while these do enhance the inherent nature of objects made from them, they also largely impact the nature of the object¡¯s effect rather than it itself. ¡°Wyrd- more experimentation required ¡°Memory- calls upon systemic storage of associated deeds, granting a significant competence boost to usage. ¡°Structured- results in highly durable objects with extremely predictable usage outcomes. ¡°Transcendent- the rarest of the ¡®standard¡¯ types, these unite with the user¡¯s path and identity to yield extremely individualized results, but ones that are significantly more powerful than they would otherwise be.¡±
I continued to read, fascinated by the article, scrolling slowly as to consume each word carefully to preserve my knowledge. Eventually, I came to a phrase that raised my eyebrows. I turned back to the librarian and asked, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this about Analyzing? The text is acting like it¡¯s something that everyone can do.¡± ¡°Hm, you should know how to do it already.¡± The librarian stroked his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Unless, the tutorial might be breaking down faster than we had feared. Do you have any sensory skills?¡± ¡°Yeah, I have erg sight.¡± ¡°Oh? Excellent, that is a very good one. So, you know how you can pull up more details about items on your status by concentrating on them? You can learn more about objects highlighted in your erg sight in the same sort of way.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I blinked a couple times. ¡°That sounds very convenient.¡± ¡°Extremely convenient!¡± The librarian beamed for a moment. ¡°But let us move on, to battle harness customization!¡± Chapter 12 I flicked to the next page and began to examine the schema on display while listening as the librarian continued. ¡°The battle harness is another of our greatest creations, though I did have no influence over the development of this one. It was designed to be used in conjunction with the factory¡¯s facilities, to provide a basis for growth.¡± I took in the librarian¡¯s words, looking at the diagram of the battle harness on screen. I could see the way the piping was united by screws and hinges in order to create the flexible framework that had protected me so far. It was fairly easy to see from the diagram the places where further additions could be made to enhance its protection, or mount other tools. My war drill served as an excellent point of comparison for these future developments and I soon found the design clicking into place in my head. I flicked over to the next schema and turned my attention even more focused on the diagram. It was simple, dead simple. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I learn this schema when I first learned the skill?¡± The librarian shook his head slowly. ¡°We knew that you¡¯d be receiving a bundle of perks and skills when you first received the path. This is a large quantity of information to be uploaded into your brain directly. I¡¯m sure you remember the pain of it quite clearly.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t as bad as the system integration,¡± I said. ¡°But I do remember it.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve discovered that additional information grows exponentially more stressful on the nervous system, and since we couldn¡¯t know the limits of your physiology, we erred on the side of caution. Even one more schema could have made the transfer lethal.¡± I blanched at that particular thought. ¡°Well, probably for the best then.¡± The librarian let out a small huff of agreement, and I turned my attention back to the schema. It was just a piece of metal, okay not just a piece of metal, but most of it was just a piece of metal. Now, that metal had to be curved into just the right curvature based on the location it was to be installed in order to maintain optimal defense, but that was something I probably could have calculated on my own. Well, with my laptop at least. The schema would provide the extra aid of automatically calculating the points where the plate connected with the harness, but again, that was something I probably could have done on my own. Then it occurred to me, this schema was not just teaching me this schema, this schema was also teaching me how to take my engineering knowledge and create schemas out of that. Seeing the process going this way, and knowing both ends of it, seeing the ways that I could reverse engineer the process became a glimmer in my eye. I¡¯d have to study a whole lot more schema before I was to that point, but it seemed entirely possible. Then I flipped to the next schema and had no idea how to reproduce it mechanically. With a sigh, I dug back in, falling into the steady rhythm of study, of expanding my knowledge. That night, I slept well. A real night¡¯s sleep seemed like a distant memory at this point. Even before everything ended, I rarely slept well. Now, I was almost certainly not doing enough exercise, not doing enough to burn off the day¡¯s energy, and I was eating terribly which didn¡¯t help, but there were plenty of extenuating factors further complicating everything. So, a comfortable bed, a clean body, a fresh set of pajamas, it all contributed to sleeping so well for so long, with the sun well near its peak by the time I stirred from bed. The rest of the day was spent on prep work. I had the schemas that I needed to know, but I needed more resources. First, I made a logging axe, which proved a simple enough task, I already had the resources I needed. Then, I left from the gate and chopped down a couple trees. The task took long hours, despite the trees I picked being relatively small. Fortunately, nothing interrupted the process and soon I had my inventory packed with lumber. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. From there, it was back to the mine. Time passed there in a calm, unthinking void, the simplicity of the labor allowing me to stay relaxed without getting too deep into my head. The mining gave me time to process the lumber, and I did briefly grumble about the lack of production facilities. When I got back from this trip, they would definitely become a higher priority. For now though, getting to see another human being rose higher and higher in the priority lists. The librarian was a perfectly fine person, but he was too devoted to the cause to have a real conversation with. I did eventually empty out the ore deposit, leaving a hole in the earth where once the rock had been. With nothing to fill it easily on hand, I left it be then returned to the survey chamber. It had the most comfortable chair, and I was going to be spending quite a while working on crafting. If I was a wiser person, I probably would have gone for a jog while waiting for everything to process. Instead, I stared at the ceiling, watching as more of the terrain filled in. It was surprisingly soothing, despite also being incredibly boring. By the time the crafting was complete and the custom bits had been added to my battle harness, the sun had set and I was growing increasingly exhausted. I made sure to fill my belly before I slept, with both water and food. The next morning I woke up quite a bit earlier, with dawn spilling in through the window of my room. I stared out at the crater, the place I had made home, for a long time, before dressing and strapping on the harness. As with my last journey, I kept my map open and just at the edge of my vision. This time, though, the map was much more expansive in the area that it displayed. I¡¯d have some hint of the terrain before I hit it, which would help if things took a turn for the worst. Fortunately, it was a short walk all things considered. While five miles was more than I was used to walking in a given day, it still wasn¡¯t entirely unviable, especially if I took my time and rested when needed. I had decided to not take the highway. The open space would be too much of a threat, I¡¯d be too easily visible. With my erg sight on, the trees formed a powerful camouflage that kept me concealed from prying eyes. It did, however, keep me from seeing threats in return, but I¡¯d rather we all miss each other than have us wind up in a fight that I probably wouldn¡¯t do great with. I was more prepared than for my last fight, but that wasn¡¯t saying much. On the other hand, I didn¡¯t have a path to walk this time. Instead, I had to slowly but surely carve my way through the underbrush and the overgrowth. My axe came in handy here again, liberally pruning back branches. I could have made a less disruptive path through the forest, but already I was thinking of future plans, of the potential of a road between the settlement and my home base, something that would allow for an easier transit of goods between the two locations. With walls along either side, such a passage could be made relatively safe as well. Of course, not everything could go smoothly, and so far this whole Great Game thing had been going far too smoothly. No lasting injuries, no real deviations from my plans, only a slow unfolding with no major twists. So of course, while I was making my way forward at a slow pace, I failed to notice the creature stalking me through the trees parallel to my path, at least not until it was too late. I didn¡¯t even catch a good sight of the thing until it was on me, bearing me to the ground, sharp teeth digging into my now armored harness, while claws began to tear away the plating. I saw red scales and yellow feathers, and those bright claws and teeth. A claw lifted and went for my face, I attempted to block its attack, but I was too slow, the claw carved its way through my soft flesh. With my arm free though, I was able to bring my drill towards the creature¡¯s side, causing it to leap away from my attack. Using that moment, I began to stand and with my attention briefly distracted, the creature charged again. This time, I didn¡¯t simply go down, I went backwards and tumbled over a cliffside that had been barely visible on the map. I bounced off of the walls of the cliff as I fell, which probably saved my life, turning gravity¡¯s energy into bumps against my armor, rather than just splatting me at the bottom. I hit the ground and felt something break, a leg maybe, or an arm. I couldn¡¯t tell through the haze of pain. I was able to roll onto my back though, and the armored harness provided enough support that the broken bone in my leg, it was definitely my leg, remained set. The armor would serve as a cast until the bone healed, another advantage of these preparations. I reached a hand up to my face, finding a long cut over my left eye, but the orb itself had just barely managed to avoid serious damage. I still couldn¡¯t see out of it, thanks to the blood and the light scratching making it painful to keep open. I looked up and saw the cliff looming, far too much for me to climb in my state. I looked to the side and saw a cave. In there, I could rest and hopefully heal up enough to find some other way out of this ravine. I pushed myself to stand and limped into the cave. When I saw the message it was too late, the entrance had closed behind me.
Welcome to your first dungeon! The Caves of Lost Arrays! Succeed by defeating the boss enemy at the end of the dungeon! Succeed will provide a variety of rewards! Defeat will will result in death! in death in death in death in death
Chapter 13 I cursed as I read the message and then leaned back against a wall of the cave. Standing was easy enough, but everything else seemed to drain my energy at a radically fast rate. Under the weight of my own body, I felt dizzy, I felt weak in the knees, weak in the shoulders. Beneath my armor, my body was becoming a mass of bruises from the fight and from the fall, and here I was, trapped in some new hell. I was not built for this. I was not a hero, not some all-conqueror warrior, I was a failure of an engineering student. Yet, I couldn¡¯t stop, I was on the rails of this destiny that had been foisted on me and there was no escape, no hope of absolution. So, I straightened my back and stepped forward towards the darkness. My erg sight at least let me see the contours of the space in front of me, the rock was rich with the energy, and as I moved forward, my map updated, showing more detail than I could see with my erg sight. With these combined, I was able to slowly creep forward in relative safety. The space around me narrowed down and down, twisting into a tunnel that I could just barely squeeze my armored frame for. I pushed forward and briefly found myself stuck, trapped between the walls of the tunnel. The pinch of stone kept me from even pulling back and my breath quickened in pace, my heart raced, and sweat beaded all of my frame. Then, in a flash of insight, I brought my drill to the offending bit of stone and sheared it away with a powerful spin of the bit. For a moment, the thrill of victory erased my fears and my doubts. Caves were terrifying, there was no doubt about that, but I was more prepared than most to handle the greatest difficulties here. I was prepared and I was powerful, at least against unmoving stone. I pressed forward, carving holes where I needed to, keeping my pace slow. This environment should not have been conducive for healing, but I felt increasingly better as I moved forward. My leg was still broken, but the bruises seemed to bother me less and my breathing stabilized despite the tightness in my chest. The occasional bit of gravel and pebbles fell as I drilled my way ahead, but the progress was made, inch by inch. Soon, I dropped from the tunnel into a large, spherical chamber. I immediately noticed ore deposits sealed beneath the stone, which had a slightly different color to them, somewhat greenish in comparison to the pure blue of everything else. Then, I noticed a long, curled form resting in the far half of the chamber. It wasn¡¯t a snake, it had legs after all, but the creature definitely seemed snake-like, with a long snout and a scaly body. I turned my attention on the creature and concentrated, performing a quick analysis.
MONSTER - Greater Cave Salamander Level: 5 Strengths: Speed, Strength Weaknesses: Lack of vision, weak underbelly
Trying to avoid a fight, I crept my way towards the exit, a tunnel off to the right. As much as that ore would be useful in providing access to new resources, I simply couldn¡¯t risk a fight, not in my condition. I winced at every creak of my armor, every impact of my feet on the floor, but I continued, eager to make my escape. The tunnel looked to be just narrow enough that the salamander couldn¡¯t squeeze in but I could. Then the salamander¡¯s head lifted and its nostrils flared and I realized that with my broken leg I couldn¡¯t make it in time to the tunnel. So, I turned and focused, bracing myself with my good leg and my right hand against the wall, while I lifted my left upwards, aiming the spikethrower installed there at the salamander¡¯s throat. Patiently, I waited for an opportunity to get a shot off, and soon the salamander lifted off of the ground, that huge body stretching towards the roof of the cavern. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I sent a spark of erg into the spikethrower and it launched the loaded projectile forward, whistling as it pierced the air. Just the moment before it was to lodge itself into the salamander¡¯s throat, the massive beast suddenly jerked its head to the side. The spike still scoured the salamander¡¯s neck, but it was far from a lethal injury. Glowing blood dropped from the wound onto the floor and the salamander bellowed out a hiss that made my bones vibrate. I let the engine of the spikethrower begin to load up another spike, before pushing myself away from the wall, trying to find another position to fire from. The salamander¡¯s tail lashed out, covering the entire space of the chamber and slammed into my side, pushing out my breath and sending me flying to the other side of the chamber, my body crashing against the stone. Immediately, the salamander lowered its body towards me, preparing to crush me or snatch me up in its jaws. So I activated the enhanced pseudo muscle fiber installed in the harness. Erg surged out of my reserves and into the enhancement, it tightened around my body like saran wrap, but I could feel the raw power in my limbs now, the pulsing might that I had gained. It wouldn¡¯t last long, but I was able to dodge out of the falling salamander and surged forward with my right hand. The tip of the drill hit scales and refused to enter any further, those scales far too tough by any normal means. Fortunately, the war drill was far from normal in this regard, armor penetration was its unique strength. It whirred to life and I added the force of the muscle fiber to it, my right arm bulging visibly before suddenly the war drill plunged in, carving a hole of viscera as my arm sunk elbow deep into the body of the salamander. The salamander writhed from side to side, and bellowed out a scream of raw pain. I pulled out my arm and allowed it to move away from me for a moment, watching as it continued to bleed from the wound. A sudden pulse of pain ran through my body, the fiber was starting to run out, and it would need several hours to fully recharge. The adrenaline of battle pulsed in my ears, I could do nothing but focus on the fight, on claiming victory, on pushing myself to my limits. I almost let out a bloodthirsty yell but just barely held myself in check. The fiber had that as a negative side effect, it tied directly into the endocrine system in order to maximize the effectiveness of the user. It was kind of a wonder how much pushing down everything besides adrenaline, even the cortisol that should be forming in this situation, affected the way that I thought about battle. That I was able to think in such detail about the effects of the fiber, though, suggested that it was beginning to wear off. The throbbing pain in my broken leg further enhanced that notion. I didn¡¯t have long. I jumped forward and landed onto the salamander¡¯s back, then proceeded to climb hand over hand up to the top of the salamander¡¯s head, my grip desperately remaining locked in place to keep me from being flung off. My left arm pulsed this time as I arrived at my destination, keeping me locked in place as I brought the drill directly down into the skull of the salamander. Its cry pierced my eardrums, but I couldn¡¯t stop. I only stopped when I felt the final dregs of my strength remaining. Slowly I began to fall from the top of the salamander and I just barely was able to bring the spikethrower in line with the makeshift trepanation and fired the spike into the injury. I heard it bounce inside. The salamander¡¯s legs grew unsteady, but it still turned towards me as I landed on my back, the pain and the exhaustion hitting me like a sledgehammer. I wanted to move, but I couldn¡¯t, I had nothing left in me. Saliva filled jaws opened as the salamander lifted its head to bring down onto me and I could only stare in a numb terror, knowing that I had done all that I could. Then, the salamander collapsed, sending a shockwave through the floor. I barely noticed as I stared at the eyeless head of the salamander. It let out a final, heavy breath before going still. In death, the creature was so quiet, so perfectly immobile, there was a raw sort of beauty in this new form. Erg continued to swirl around the corpse, before it suddenly drew out of the body and flooded into my body. My veins pulsed and my muscles spasmed beyond my control, the erg worked its way through my every system, restructuring me, reshaping me, returning me to whatever it thought was my ideal. My once broken leg snapped and spasmed outward, sending raw pain through my joints, bringing tears to my eyes. To distract myself, I opened up the system notification.
Level up! +10 Path Points, Health and Erg restored! War Drill 15->30 Spikethrower 1->15 Battle Harness Proficiency 20->25 Battle Harness Customization 7->14 the higher you climb, the harder the fall the fall the fall
I just laid there, unable to move, despite technically being brought back to full health. The level up didn¡¯t erase the pain, didn¡¯t erase the knowledge that I had destroyed something wondrous for the sake of my own life. Yes, it was a trade I would make again, but I cursed the world, the system itself, for having force to make that trade. I wanted to stop, but nothing ever stopped. It all just kept going. Chapter 14 I slept after that, the world fading into a sweet oblivion without dreams, without thoughts, without anything but the mending of the parts of my body that no one would ever see. The flow of time seemed halted here below the ground, without sign of sun or stars to light the passage forward. All that I had was my own internal rhythms, and they had been thrown awry by the heat of battle and the draining of my energy. When I awoke, I ate and drank heavily, thankful that the corpse of the salamander did not rot in the same ways as normal animals. I tried to keep my gaze away from it, tried to keep my thoughts away from it, and the slowly fading erg of the corpse did make it slowly but surely become more a part of the background than something that stood out on its own. I imagined seeing it under the sun¡¯s light, pale scales and eyeless head, something that should not see the sky, but here it was part of the stone, part of the world. Dead. I couldn¡¯t afford to be wasteful, despite my desire to move on. I examined the deposits and found them to be water attuned ore, which made sense considering that amphibious nature of salamanders. This place had been formed around its affinities, bleeding out into the stone and the metal. My drill dug through rock to get me access to the metal and I mined the deposit until my mind went numb. Again, time disappeared, though this time the simplicity served as the meditative focus. Thoughts attempted to enter my mind, but I simply cast them aside, letting them bleed away into the surroundings while I continued to fill my inventory. I did let in wonderings about what water themed tools could accomplish, I knew that particularly concentrated streams of water could cut through material as firmly as a laser, but I didn¡¯t know if that¡¯s what it would impart to weapons made from it. On the other hand, it might be better at self-cooling. I saw the ways that this metal could be incorporated into internal systems, how it might make something like my drill more efficient, or able to spin at a higher rate without risking destruction. My mind wandered from the present task into ways that other elemental ores could be used in conjunction with different specific constructions, like using wind ore in the spikethrower and fire ore for the spikes themselves. By customizing each particular section of a piece of equipment, I could yield much more powerful effects than simply using the same kind of material universally. The schema lessons started making even more sense now. Only by having the fundamental understanding of why the things I made worked the way that they did would I be able to make this sort of fundamental level customization that was necessary to bring out their maximum effectiveness. I suspected that I would have struggled to internalize the schema to the degree that I did if I hadn¡¯t had my backing in non-system based mechanics and engineering, only through the combination of the two schools of thought was I able to achieve the results that I had. Slowly, I tapped out each of the deposits in the chamber. Each was significantly smaller than the one in the crater, and between the five of them, I wound up with only five ore. Since I had yet to discover any use for ore besides turning them into ingots, I went ahead and set them smelting in my internal processor. I gave a tentative surge of erg to the muscle fibers in my harness, testing that they were ready to be used again. Seeing that they had fully recovered, and finding myself in a better mood and a bit more energized, I made my way to the next tunnel. There was clearly something artificial to the construction of this place, it had to have been generated by the system. Which made sense, after all, it was a dungeon, and those things aren¡¯t exactly naturally occurring phenomena, but it seemed that rather than simply encompassing an already existing cave system, that this dungeon had been created with significant alterations. I even had a sinking suspicion that the entire dungeon had been built from scratch. These tunnels were just the perfect size to keep chambers separated after all, and the salamander was a perfectly balanced first fight. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Thus, it was with trepidation and care that I emerged from the tunnel into the next chamber. Here, I noticed earth themed ores buried in the walls, sticking out thanks to the faint sparkles of brown in the blue that they radiated. Beyond that, though, nothing really stood out to my vision. The room was a little brighter than the previous one, but that was about it. So, I approached the nearest deposit and began excavating the wall to get at it. I was interrupted, though, when a hand suddenly surged out of the wall from my left, wrapped itself around my throat, and then lifted me off of my feet. I kicked at the air, instinctively trying to free myself by throwing my body around. My instincts were not very good, I really should have learned not to listen to them. Once I realized to listen to my intuition, instead, I brought my drill around and carved through the decidedly rock-like arm that had grabbed me. It crumpled beneath the touch of the whirring bit and dropped me to the ground, just in time to see dozens of vaguely humanoid shapes emerging from the rock. They were formed from stone and were limbs joined together, lacking much in the way of a torso or anything in the way of a head. Despite that lack of a head, they seemed to identify my presence readily enough, and those stone legs didn¡¯t slow them down at all. While I rose to my feet, I fired off a spike, which punched through one of the rock-things, sending it tumbling into a pile of inanimate stone.Thankfully, they weren¡¯t that tough, considering how heavily I was outnumbered. I kept my left hand back to let it reload while bringing my right forward, using my drill bit to lunge at any of the rock-things that got too close, but they kept closing in. I was forced to back up to maintain that distance, and even then I stabbed at a few of the ones that got close enough that I could get an attack in without overextending myself. Then, they surged forward and I swung wildly, taking out a few of the rock-things, but there were just too many. I was shoved back against the chamber¡¯s wall when suddenly bands of stone emerged, wrapping around my torso and legs and my right arm, pinning me in place and keeping me from getting an attack out. Slowly the bands tightened, but my armor proved to be sufficiently resilient, at least for now. Meanwhile, the rock-things closed in and launched stony punches against my body and my face, bruising me and sending my head rocking back against the stone. I strained against the bands and the blows, trying to regain my freedom, but I could feel my armor slowly beginning to crack and I just wasn¡¯t strong enough. My left arm was not captured though and my next spike loaded into place. I would only have one shot, so I had to choose carefully where it was going to go. With all the force I had, I shoved forward with that arm, clearing a bit of space around me, before bringing the spikethrower up and aiming it at my imprisoned right arm. I let the spike fly forth and it shattered the stone before piercing through my armor and into the meat of the arm. A primal howl of pain escaped my lips, but I moved swiftly to tear apart my restraints with the drill. Then I turned my attention to the rock-things, who were closing back in. For a moment, reason fled me, fear fled me, doubt fled me, all that remained was the pain, from their blows, from my self-inflicted injury, from the gnawing in my guts, from my weakness, from my failures, all that remained was pain and I wished to redirect that pain outward. Shards of stone flew through the air as I fell onto the rock-things, dismantling them in a wild flurry of strikes, my drill echoing the chamber. They soon surrounded me again and held my drill at bay with dozens of hands, so I simply used my left hand to rip out the spike from my arm and use it as a knife to carve away these hindrances. I smashed and I broke and I savaged my foes, thankful they were not living things in the same way as the salamanders. No, these were constructs of the stone and all I had to do was kill and break and destroy and shatter them to pieces before my pain, let them understand what it meant to know decades of suffering, to know the world¡¯s ending, to know all the things that I had learned in the deepest crevices of the dark and preserved from world to world as it all fell apart around me, I had to make them hurt and hurt and hurt and hurt and- I pulled back then, knowing something was wrong, something was tearing at the insides of my mind and trying to use me as a puppet. I grit my teeth and found a center of focus inside of me, reminding myself of the simple things, the mortal things, the living things, the times spent beneath dappled trees in the arms of my lover, the long hours of study, the joys and the failures, the simple human things. I separated out myself from this other and grasped the other like a snake in my mind¡¯s hand. It writhed within my internal vision, then slithered free, slipping from my mind and out into reality. I saw the mental intruder like a cloud as it flew from my mouth, filling the air with luminous erg before slipping away, heading down the tunnel to the next chamber. The rock-things were thankfully still and I was able to regain my breath, enough to mutter out, ¡°what the fuck was that.¡± Then a wave of dizziness hit me and I flopped down into a seated position, the blows to my head assuring that I needed some rest. Chapter 15 I leaned my head back against the wall of the cave and wondered what exactly that thing in my mind had been. It seemed almost like some kind of spirit, a ghost from the past that had possessed me, if in a particularly subtle way, at least until I was vulnerable enough for it to wrest away stronger control. Those thoughts, those alien thoughts, had still felt like my own. I shuddered under the weight of that violation and closed my eyes tight. Briefly, I tried to touch at the memories of those moments when the control had been greatest, so I traced my thoughts backwards, trying to find the root of the changes. My lift in mood after the fight with the salamander was strange, I wonder if my use of the fiber had somehow made my mental barriers weaker, if only long enough for that spirit, that ghost, to gain entry. Now that I was aware of this presence, hopefully I would be more resistant to its presence in the future. Failing that, I simply had to develop a stronger self of self-identity and ego. Easy. With a heavy sigh, I dragged myself to my feet and began the work on mining out the deposits from the chamber. In spite of everything, I still had the work that needed doing, and if this would help make my next battle easier, then I had to pursue. As the first bit of earth-attuned ore entered my inventory, though, a sudden thought sprung into my mind. I cancelled the smelting of the water ingots as rapidly as I could, with a total of twenty-two ore returning to my inventory. Then, I smelted together one water ore and one earth ore, continuing to mine out the deposit while I watched the queue tick down towards completion. When it finally did, I claimed my prize: a T1 mud-attuned metal ingot. I had no idea what mud-attunement could do when used as part of a construction, but there was only one way to find out. I sent that newly forged mud ingot back into the queue to make a stack of mud-attuned ammunition for my spikethrower, which would take about five minutes to complete. I resumed my mining, knowing that my curiosity and joy of discovery were genuine things. Even in the darkest days of my time back in school, even when the weight of exams and projects and lectures was crushing me into a fine paste, I still loved the act of learning things, of expanding what I knew. Maybe if I had spent longer in the program, if I had stuck through, I could be making real discoveries, things that would have expanded human knowledge as a whole. On the other hand, the system integration would have happened either way. The ammo clicked finished and I turned away from mining to load in a mud spike into the spikethrower, energizing it to click the mechanisms into place. I then took aim at the far opposite wall and loosed the spike. It flew at about the same level of speed and force as my other spikes, maybe a little slower, though I hadn¡¯t done any formal testing of that so far. When it hit the wall, it didn¡¯t break the stone, instead it broke apart, into a viscous oozing mud that dripped down the wall. I closed the distance to the wall and felt at the substance of the mud, finding it very tacky and sticky, difficult to remove from my fingertips. Very soon after, though, it hardened into a rock-like consistency, with even the thin layer on my finger tips preventing me from moving them apart. Eventually, I was able to wrench my fingers apart, and the stone crumbled into fragments, while the mud on the wall remained rock-hard. I poked at it briefly, before digging in with my drill, revealing that it had about the same strength as the wall behind it, maybe a little firmer. I didn¡¯t know what function the mud-ingots could be used for elsewhere, but it would definitely be of extreme use here to tangle up enemies and leave them exposed for more extensive follow-up attacks. WIth that experiment complete, I returned to harvesting the earth-ore. It would probably not be especially effective if used as a weapon or even a part of a weapon, but earth-metal would be significantly more resistant as part of armor, and considering the shape of my plating, I could definitely use the upgrade there. While I worked on the mining, I set to work on another project that I had in mind. I started work on a cooking pot, but I made it entirely out of water-metal. Now, fire metal could have worked here as well as part of the base, but I had an idea that I had wanted to test, based on some of the things that the librarian had told me about. When the cooking pot finished, a system message appeared.
VARIANT CRAFTED This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Instead of a [Cooking Pot] you have made a [Unlimited Soup Pot]
A smile cracked my lips at the achievement. In the grand scale of things, it wasn¡¯t a particularly noteworthy accomplishment, but here and now, it meant the world to me. I had managed to do something distinct and new, something that added to the complexity of the world, that revealed new potentials. I pulled the new crafted pot out of my inventory and found it about fourteen inches in diameter, about five inches deep, with a rounded base and three small legs to keep it stabilized. Inside of the plot sloshed water, up to about the halfway mark. I poured out the water and watched as the pot refilled itself in a moment, faintly drawing on the atmospheric erg to do. This had to be how the water supply worked at the factory, using water-metal as a foundation for some sort of tank that would be kept perpetually full. This would be just as valuable while on the road, and from the name, I suspected that the contents of it would shift depending on what I cooked within it, allowing it to also serve as a consistent supply of food. Satisfied with the pot, I slipped it back into my inventory and returned to working on mining. Realizing that I had time to kill while I waited, I pulled up the path store, and went into the Factory Manager perks.
FACTORY MANAGER PERKS
Perk Pre-Requisites Cost
Manufacturing II Manufacturing I, Gathering I 20
Gathering II Gathering I 20
Automation I Manufacturing I, Gathering I 15
Cooking Gathering I 10
Advanced Combat Tools Basic Combat Tools, victory in 3 battles 20
That new option, along with its unusual prerequisite, drew my attention immediately. I couldn¡¯t afford it yet, but it might be the most important perk for my continued survival in the short time. And I did feel close to my next level up. I pulled up the help menu for Advanced Combat Tools.
PERK - ADVANCED COMBAT TOOLS For those factory managers that must also serve on the front line, this perk provides for skill and proficiency with important expansions in the factory combat toolkit. It emphasizes survival over offense, though sometimes the best defense is a good offense. Provides the following skills: Spikethrower, Helmets, Mobility Boosters May provide additional schema based on other perks and skills known. We did not make the factory manager to be a master of war, but we still understand that the world is filled with violence, especially with the system integration and the Great Game increasing aggression and driving beasts and worse to deeds of great evil. To return evil with evil is the greatest sin, but to survive in the face of it is a necessity if the plan is to reach fruition.
For a moment, I wondered why the previous perk I picked up didn¡¯t have any commentary with it, but it was a fairly simple perk, all things considered, and probably did not require any complex commentary associated with it. This one, though, this one was powerful and even though it was seemingly not perfectly in line with the activities that the path creators desired of me, something that I desperately needed. I was tired of being punched in the face! Still, I couldn¡¯t afford it yet. Automation I was enticing, but given my current circumstances, I had to go with the safer option. Hopefully I would be able to level up twice before I got back to the factory, which would let me get both Advanced Combat Tools and Automation I. At least by now I was done mining out the earth ore, and was able to get started on making the required armor plates. Further development would require me waiting until I had gotten more elemental ores, and judging from the pattern so far, I could expect air and fire in the next two chambers, though maybe not in that order. This awful wait proved an excellent time to have another meal and get in some additional shut-eye. Despite the regenerative powers of the erg, I was still wiped out. The sooner I finished this dungeon, the happier I would be. Yet, I had learned more about myself and gained access to some very useful resources. I probably could have gotten those resources more safely, but this was not a safe world and I needed to be prepared for the changes that would come with such alterations to the baseline fabric. I idly clenched my first before sleep came for me, releasing as I felt into that sweet void. A moment later I awoke, fully rested, and with no dreams or thoughts having intruded into my deep slumber. My armor had finished during that time, so I pulled it out of my inventory and set to work on replacing the plating on my harness, bit-by-bit. Compared to the dull grey of the unattuned metal, these plates had streaks of earthen-black, giving my armor a far more intimidating countenance. I checked my belongings once more before heading towards the exit tunnel, prepared for the next chamber in the dungeon. I fell into a steady rhythm, confident that I would be able to handle whatever awaited me on the other side of the tunnel, unaware of the true danger I would find there. Chapter 16 As I emerged into the third chamber, I quickly came to the conclusion that this space was fire attuned. I didn¡¯t deduce this from seeing the color of the ore deposits, but rather from the hundreds of miniscule embers hanging in the air. They glowed brightly enough to my erg sight that it disrupted my ability to see the rest of the erg in the chamber, like a bright light ruining my night vision. There was a raw beauty to the embers though, the way that they delicately bounced in the air, the warmth of their light. I felt drawn in, like the embers had drawn themselves around my heart like a hook and were slowly dragging me forward. The numbness felt deeply comfortable, like all of my worries were being healed within the warmth of this light, these embers casting their gentle, curing energy over me. I let out a heavy, but warm, sigh and followed the urgings inside of me. In the very back of my mind, a voice screamed out in concern. I simply ignored that voice and reached my hands forward to lightly cup one of those embers in my palms, feeling the warmth wash over me. My motion lightly tugged on the ember which sent all of the surrounding embers bobbing in a rippling response, heading towards the center of the chamber. Nearly invisible strands, which I could see now only in the shadows cast by my hands, wrapped around my arms, growing thicker and thicker with their binding, until I could not move them. Somehow, I didn¡¯t feel any worry, just the warmth of the ember flowing into me. More embers floated around my body and more strands wrapped around me, successfully managing to wrap me up, thanks to my dazed state. Slowly, a massive, bloated spider, with an orb-body ten feet wide and with mandibles that blazed bright, lowered itself from the ceiling and crawled its way along those nearly-invisible strands towards me. Its razor sharp legs danced delicately over those threads, carrying itself with a shocking grace for a creature of its size. It opened its eyes, ten on each side of its elongated head and all shining with an internal flame that matched the red and orange patterns of its body. I wondered how I had missed it, but in a distant way, like I might wonder at the coincidental shape of a cloud. Its mandibles opened wide and a scratchy, but human, voice echoed forth, resounding in my ears. ¡°You. Small, fragile, but fight.¡± I could see through the ember¡¯s glow to see the snake-form of the spirit coiled around the spider¡¯s neck, the spirit¡¯s eyes looking out through the spider¡¯s. ¡°You should surrender. I know how much pain you carry with you.¡± That force cried louder from the deepest parts of me, but I could only gaze onward. The spirit-spider hybrid spoke further as it drew in those last few feet towards me. ¡°I have seen it all, in the terrors of your heart and in the turning of realities and the death that always comes, always comes, always comes. The Creators were not mad, they were wise!¡± In the eyes of the combined being I could see it, the uncounted centuries of suffering, of having seen such things as would drive any being into the worst depths of their trauma, leave them unable to interact with the world in the same way as the innocent. ¡°No.¡± I croaked out the word, echoing that voice in my core. ¡°No!¡± The spirit-spider¡¯s voice rose to a scream and it smashed down, wrapping its mandibles around my neck. ¡°No? No. No. No?¡± ¡°I will stop it.¡± My voice wavered, there was no strength behind them but still, I had caught the attention of the spirit-spider. ¡°No. Stop it? Not possible. They¡¯ve always tried, always failed, always failed, and merely added grief unto grief.¡± ¡°I am¡­¡± I coughed in the back of my throat, the heat of those mandibles singing my neck, but the spirit-spider remained still. ¡°I am.. inheritor. Of something larger than me. Larger than you. There is room for hope.¡± The spirit-spider recoiled at those words and scurried back several steps along the thread-web. ¡°No. No hope. No hope! We are all always damned! Embrace the void!¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I flexed the enhanced muscle fibers and tore the strands from my arms. My lower body was still captured, the strands too tight despite my surge in power. The spirit-spider rushed towards me, mandibles bearing sharp, aiming straight for my next. Intuition flared in me and instead of moving to attack or dodge, I instead summoned my soup pot, turning it to catch the mandibles in the water. The spirit-spider screeched in agony and I saw the spirit slowly loosening its grip, even as the mandibles steamed and scorched, cold water hitting fiery chitin in a continuously billowing cloud of steam. I pushed forward with the pot and the steam stung at the spider¡¯s eyes, while the spirit fled from the growing pain and disorientation. I loosed my grip from the pot and then slugged forward with my right fist, bringing the drill with it. The tip of the bit lodged right behind the spider¡¯s head and began to whirr with increasing speed, but failed to find purchase. Still, the side of the drill scoured the chitin of the spider, until it finally bucked and flailed its head, hitting me with the pot with enough force to tear me from the webbing and send me flying towards the other side of the room. I slammed into position with a firm impact, but the new earth-metal plates absorbed the force of the hit, allowing me to quickly rise to my feet. As I did, though, the fibers deactivated and a wave of weakness passed over my body. The spider fully flung the pot off and began a skittering charge to me, but I was ready, firing off a mud-spike at the spider¡¯s face. Its now extinguished mandibles snapped at the spike, causing it to explode in a burst of that tacky mud, covering its mouth and eyes. I loaded up a normal spike next and ran forward as fast as I could. As the spider lifted its front claws to try to scrape off the hardening mud, I dropped and slid forward, scooting across the ground under the wide body of the spider. There, I punched up repeatedly with my drill, carving holes again and again into the underbelly of the spider, causing cracks to appear and spread through the chitin of the spider. It brought one of its middle claws down in an attempt to stop me, but I met the blow with my drill, sparks flying as metal met chitin. The force and mass of the spider pressed down on me and my arm, my body struggling against that raw force. I increased the power to the drill¡¯s engine and it spun faster, its whirring becoming a whine, even as the bit began to glow red from the heat and the friction of the contact. I was beyond terrified at this point, to the point that my mind was blanked by fear, leaving me only with that raw animal urge to survive. The engine¡¯s whine increased, but as it did, small cracks began to appear in the claw¡¯s chitin. It pushed down harder and I pushed back with every last bit of strength I had. Then the drill¡¯s engine exploded from the force. The drill itself ripped from my arm, shearing my armor in the process, before shrapnel scraped along my flesh, digging deep furrows into it. The spider¡¯s chitin shattered along with the explosion, shredding in an explosion of glowing red blood. As the spider fell to the side, I fired off another shot into one of the holes in the spider¡¯s belly. It twitched and lay on the ground, blood oozing from its many wounds. I halted for a moment, finding the curling body of the spider a pathetic sight. My right arm hung limply at my side and I had nothing left in my tank of energy. I really needed to find a way to fight more efficiently, more safely, but perhaps that was the nature of battle, to constantly break and be broken upon the wheel of conflict. Violence turns all things onto themselves, making monsters out of men. The spider managed to scrape away the stone from one of its eyes and stared at me. It no longer seemed a terrifying beast, no, it was a being in pain, slowly dying. I swallowed up my doubts, strode forward and took aim with my spikethrower. Something resembling understanding flashed through its expression and I fired a spike into the spider¡¯s eye, puncturing into its brain. I did not turn away from the violence that I did to its body, in my urge to relieve it of further suffering. The erg flowed into in a surge, rocking my body with pain, but it was not the physical pain that made me sob, chest heaving as I slumped down onto the ground.
Level up! +10 Path Points, Health and Erg restored! War Drill 30->40 Spikethrower 15->25 Battle Harness Proficiency 25->32 Battle Harness Customization 14->18 the higher you climb, the harder the fall the fall the fall
I stared for a long moment at the notification, before shoving it off to the side; I had no way of dealing with that information right now. Instead, I focused on pulling out the fragments of metal from my arm, wincing as each bit was torn free from my freshly healed body. I winced with each single piece that came free, and my hand and arm was a bloody mess when I was finished. I leaned back, staring at the ceiling as I fell onto my back. One by one, the embers faded from the room and the blue light of the erg returned to everything. So cold, that blue, no mercy, no hope, nothing but that killing urge. It would be easier to give up, let that spirit claim me fully, but I simply would not. As heavy as this expectation was, it had to be done, that much was clear. Hope. What a foolish notion, but it had to be my guiding star. I reached my left hand upwards towards the ceiling, then clenched it into a fist, allowing the blood to drop down slowly onto my face, painting me in its warmth. Hope. Only I could bring it, and if I had to baptize myself in blood to be the morning of a new dawn, so be it. Again, I cried in the dark. Chapter 17 I gave myself space to wallow, letting the pain of my body and my heart unite. There was no real place that my heart¡¯s pain came from, if anything it was derived from an absence rather than a presence. Yet, while I could feel the ragged edges of the hole, I couldn¡¯t truly understand its shape. Maybe it was just exhaustion, fatigue wearing down on my mental resilience, and letting that unyielding, unending pain surge from where I had struggled to keep it contained. Perhaps this pain was a healing thing, a cathartic release that would free me now and absolutely. Probably not. I would probably return to this place of pain, again and again, because this pain was a part of me, an indelible part that couldn¡¯t be healed with something so simple as magic, or whatever it was that this system ran on. Instead, I would continue to ache, continue to doubt, continue to reflect poorly on my decisions. All I could truly do was to come to a kind of detente with this pain. I couldn¡¯t feel pain if I was dead, after all. I didn¡¯t want to die, I really didn¡¯t. I wanted to continue, but I just wanted it all to be easier, though I knew it would never be again. Part of growing up. The crying actually helped, as weird as that might sound. Unlike the pain itself, the crying was a release of tension, a coming to acknowledgement that the pain was real, was something that was actually affecting my body. As the crying faded, I slowly sat up and opened my eyes once again. I could spot the fire ore in the walls, but more pressing was the still bleeding wound on my arm. I didn¡¯t have anything like gauze, so I did the next best thing and whipped up an armor plate to replace the one that had been shattered by my drill¡¯s explosion. At the very least, this would keep my blood on the inside, where it belonged. That basic maintenance of my body tended to, I got to the repetitive work of mining. While I lacked my drill, I had made a pickaxe as a backup tool, and while the mining was more intense using the pickaxe, it was still as emotionally clearing. As soon as I got enough ore, I started two combination ingots, one with fire and water, one with fire and earth. I could have tried one with the unattuned ore that I had in abundance, but I could tell according to my system instincts that doing so would only weaken the attunement of the elemental ore. It would be a viable option if I needed to stretch out my supply, but that wasn¡¯t a concern as of yet. The fire and water ores combined into a steam ingot. While I wasn¡¯t able to see any ways that I could use steam directly with my current schema, it gave me way too many ideas for what I could do with it once I had the research lab open. Steam engines were largely inefficient, thus them getting phased out for internal combustion engines that operated on fossil fuels. However, with this ergonic method of generating steam, it might well be able to fulfill those tasks more easily than fossil fuels could. The engines in my drill functioned off of pure erg, which was significantly more efficient, clean, and cheap than any other kind of power source that had been discovered on this or any other world. The librarian had shown me the math, and only anti-matter could match the efficiency, and was excessively expensive to manufacture, even with system help. The downside to erg, though, is that it required connection with a living erg source in order to function properly. Anything I made with a schema would have an innate connection to me, but I was limited by my perks and skills in what I could make with schema. If I could make a schema for a steam engine, probably with the help of an automation perk, then I could use that steam engine as a power source for non-system related machinery. This in turn would allow me to expand my repertoire of tools beyond what the system determined that I should be able to use. In short, I would need a lot of fire and water ore. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Meanwhile, the earth and fire ores combined to make a magma ingot and I knew exactly how I could use that immediately. I mined out a few more fire ores and got to turning them into magma ingots, which I then forged into screw joiners. These would serve as the head of my new and improved drill, while the casing for the engine I made from earth ingots. For the more delicate internals of the engine, I realized that I needed something that could absorb a lot more heat, to prevent a catastrophic explosion, so I made those components out of water ingots. I also queued up a stack of steam and a stack of magma spikes. I had a pretty good idea of how those would work in battle, and the extra firepower would pack the punch that I would need moving forward. With those queued up, I opened up the perk store and acquired Advanced Combat Tools. Again, the sudden swell of information pried its way into my brain, but that was countered with my knowledge of Spikethrowers transferring from being a Phantom Skill into a proper one. It seemed that the system did some of the work of holding the knowledge associated with skills, which might explain the rapid rate at which I was able to advance in them. Phantom Skills, according to the librarian, were held more in the brain of the user, thus why they were far more limited in number. By putting that burden back onto the system, I felt relief from a headache that I didn¡¯t know that I had. I pulled up the crafting menu after that and scanned for the new additions. Mostly, there was nothing new to the existing sections, though an intriguingly titled ¡°grapple spike¡± was added under spikethrowers, probably due to the addition of Mobility Boosters to my skill list. I went ahead and queued one of those up as well, requiring one of my planks and an ingot; I just used an unattuned ingot for now, air probably would be the best here and I still didn¡¯t have access to that element. Scrolling down further, I reached helmets. Here, there was just a basic helmet, which I immediately queued with earth ingots, and an air purifier. I had no idea what combination of skills led to me knowing that schema, but I wouldn¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouse and set that to be made with unattuned ingots. Finally, all that remained was mobility boosters, which at the moment was limited to climbing gear and a bicycle. Useful things, for sure, but I didn¡¯t see their power as advanced combat tools. This was another place where I¡¯d need to do some experimentations back at base. I still queued up one of each, using more of my unattuned ingots. By the time I had finished sorting all of that, my drill was complete. I removed it from my inventory and took a moment to marvel at the beauty that I had built to my exacting demands. The casing was the same grey and black coloring as my armor, making it match a lot better as I bolted it back into place on my arm. Meanwhile, the drill bit glowed faintly, speaking to the enormous power that it could bring to bear, and through all of that, the engine remained cool and frosty inside. With this new and improved war drill, the task of mining out the remaining fire ore proceeded swiftly and without incident. As I made my preparations to move to the next chamber, I gave the spider¡¯s corpse a long look, wondering again at the nature of this ¡°Great Game¡± that turned people into killers, all for the sake of survival according to the whim of some program created by a long extinct species. It was a cruelty. I strapped my helmet into place, a simple WWII looking one, and then examined my air purifier, which resembled a gas mask more than anything else. The next chamber was almost certainly air-themed, and while that might mean shearing winds or lightning bolts, it might also mean something messing with the air. I slipped the mask on, checking its seals, before heading forward into the tunnel to the next chamber. This tunnel widened out far earlier than the previous ones, making the transit far simpler. The chamber it opened up into was truly mammoth, though, outsizing all of the others by a magnitude. I suddenly felt swallowed up into that enormity, this grand voice that surrounded me, engulfed me. My erg sight at least got vision of the floor, so at least I didn¡¯t feel like I was going to fall at any moment. Carefully, I strode towards the center of the chamber, or at least directly across from the entrance, until the entrance fell out of the range of my erg sight and I was left without any markers of my progress, save for the quiet padding of my feet on the cave floor. Then I saw the ground rising up out of the darkness and crouched down a bit to continue my approach, seeing that rise come up to a flat top, and on that flat top¡­. A fucking bear, but one that was the size of a bus. And wrapped around its throat was that damn spirit that had been making this process far more complicated than necessary. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure where the air theming fit into the bear, but I knew that I¡¯d be in for the fight of my life. This was almost certainly the final boss of the dungeon, though, and after this, I would be able to get out free. I slowly crept forward, wanting to get in a surprise attack, maybe even finish off the fight with one blow of my new war drill. Inch by inch I drew closer, stilling even my breath to keep from awakening the massive beast, and until I got a few steps away. There, the bear opened its eyes. Chapter 18 The bear swatted downwards with its massive paw and I flung myself away, rolling down the rise to settle back on the cave floor. The bear¡¯s voice boomed, speaking with the spirit¡¯s intent. ¡°You! Why do you resist!? Can you not see?¡± I popped my head up to fire a mud spike at one of the bear¡¯s hindpaws, before ducking back down. ¡°Hope is a tenuous shadow, one that we must cling to,¡± I said. After checking my inventory briefly, I loaded in another mud spike and began resetting the spring. ¡°So many have tried before. So many have failed. Do you think that you are special?¡± The spirit-bear¡¯s voice roared through the chamber, bouncing off of the walls, but this distraction kept it from noticing the mud¡¯s imprisoning effect. I fired off another mud-spike, hitting the other hind hindpaw. The beast was so massive that the impact of the spike didn¡¯t cause much notice, and I wondered briefly if the mud would do anything to stop its motion. ¡°Well, I am a chosen, so that¡¯s a little special.¡± ¡°There have been chosen before, and there will be chosen afterwards.¡± The bear tugged at its bindings, a growl setting low. ¡°You will all fail, you do not know what it is like to see it again and again and again and again and again, unceasing, burning, consuming, destroying, until nothing is left but the void!¡± ¡°Maybe I haven¡¯t.¡± I conceded the point and considered my next move, really all I could do now was go for the skull, but it would surely see that coming. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t understand the scope of my path.¡± ¡°Path, path, path, what path do you dare to walk that might change the fate of all thinking life?¡± That brought me a brief pause and I peeked over the ridge of the rise once again, keeping track of the beast¡¯s motions. ¡°I¡¯m a factory manager.¡± I didn¡¯t know if the word would mean anything to the spirit, but maybe talking would keep it distracted just long enough. ¡°A crafter chosen? Hm.¡± The rage seemed to slide from the spirit¡¯s voice. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Even in that single word, though, I heard a sadness that knew no end to its depths. ¡°I may not know what you¡¯ve been through, but I have seen despair as well.¡± I straightened up slowly and stepped towards the bear and the spirit, though kept a fair distance away. ¡°Not on the scale as you, of course, but enough to know some part of having your heart torn with no respite in sight.¡± ¡°Then you understand why you must not fight, why it¡¯s all pointless, why you should just surrender.¡± The spirit-bear stared at me with its deep, heavy eyes, and I felt the weight of those words hit my shoulders with a supernatural force, bearing me down to one knee. ¡°No.¡± I spoke the word firmly, a rebuke of that notion. ¡°No.¡± I spoke with a fire that burned, even in the darkness of my heart. ¡°No.¡± I spoke with my pain intertwining with my willpower. ¡°No.¡± I spoke, crossing the void between us. ¡°No.¡± I said. The spirit stared at me for a long long time, before finally speaking anew. ¡°Very well. If you survive, then this will be worthwhile.¡± The spirit then unwrapped itself from around the bear¡¯s neck and then suddenly shot forward, burying itself into my chest. I shivered from the sudden presence, but I could tell that, unlike last time, the spirit was simply observing, rather than controlling. The bear roared again as it was released from the spirit¡¯s control and returned to its monstrous native instincts. There was no way that this bear had been a natural animal before, despite the general appearance, its presence here in the dungeon pointed to it being something artificial, something purely system-driven. Now, the system¡¯s drive in it told it to kill. Kill me, specifically. It surged forward but caught as its feet were unable to escape the hold of the mud. It pulled and roared in its frustration, and rapidly began to chip at its bonds. I quickly fired off a shot into its open mouth, the magma spike hitting the back of its throat and making it writhe in further pain. Its back suddenly split open and thousands of spores began to float through the air, emerging from the long vents that emerged, and I was suddenly very thankful for the air filter that I had equipped. I had come a long way since I had first started, and while I certainly had a long way to go, I had come to a greater understanding of my tools, and improved on what I had available. As the beast began to buck wildly, I fired off my grapple spike at its shoulder. The spike dug in deep and then the rope attached to it retracted, pulling me along with it. I jumped with all of my strength and the grapple pulled me in the rest of the way. The bear was still too distracted to notice me climbing up along its back, soon reaching its neck. Through my erg sight, I saw the place where the magma erg of my spike had lodged into place. Then, I lined up my drill and called upon all the strength of my muscle fire and pressed down, tearing through the iron-strong flesh of the bear, then through its layers of thick muscle and fat. Nothing sprayed out, because the wound instantly cauterized around the molten hot drill bit. As I reached the spike, the bear collapsed, unable to breathe with the hole in its neck. I stepped forward and put the beast down with a final blow, before sliding off of its side. The weight of the violence resonated in my core, but I did not let it overcome me this time. I had grown more powerful in more ways than one, and I could not go back now, despite the call inside of me to give up the bloodshed. I was thankful for that call in truth, because it kept me human, and meant that I would continue to look for strategies besides violence in the future. Hopefully there would be opportunities for those strategies to be used. The spirit rumbled in my chest, clearly exhausted itself, and I amended my thought: hopefully there would be further opportunities for non-violence in the future. I didn¡¯t know what this spirit was, but perhaps the librarian would be able to offer some guidance on that. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Instead, I looked around, wondering where I could find the air ore in here. I needed to complete that set after all, and see what combinations would emerge. The chamber was too large for me to get any sense of where the walls were, but I supposed that if I started walking in any direction, I would eventually find a wall. My thoughts, however, were once again interrupted by a system message.
Congratulations on completing [DUNGEON NAME]! You have done so well, overcoming such challenges. Your rewards are as follows: 100x Tier 1 Air Ore 100x Tier 1 Wyrd Ore 1 Level Up Additional Rewards based on path determining path now ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ unable to determine path ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Additional rewards unable to be determined, instead boosting most used skills. Mining -> 100 War Drill -> 100 Spikethrower -> 100 Battle Harness Proficiency -> 100
I blinked as the long message appeared in front of me, this was indeed a huge haul. This was my first step towards gaining true power. Another system message immediately appeared. [Beginning skill evolutions] Pain washed over me and sent me falling to my knees. My skull felt like it was being ripped apart until I collapsed completely on the ground.
Mining has become Advanced Mining +1 Endurance War Drill has become Armor Crushers +1 Might Spikethrower has become Ranged Weaponry +1 Coordination Battle Harness Proficiency has become Power Armor Proficiency +1 Endurance
I felt the blood running down from my nose and my ears and, yes, even my eyes. I really needed to try to avoid losing so much blood in the future, but I supposed it was inevitable in this particular course of business. The pain slowly faded to a dull throb and I rolled to lay on my back, closing my eyes for a moment, though I was certain that sleep did not capture me this time, just a brief passing of time to allow the agony to eke away. I pulled up my status screen.
Name: Placid Wainwright
Level: 7 Paths Skills
Health: 100% Factory Manager Refinement 47
Erg: 10/10 Path Points: 15 Joiners 28
Foundational Facilities 5
Attributes Path Perks Advanced Mining 1
Might 8 Manufacturing 1 Sustenance Farming 1
Coordination 11 Gathering 1 Logging 12
Endurance 8 Basic Combat Tools Armored Crushers 1
Intuition 14 Basic Production Tools Power Armor Proficiency 1
Structure 18 Advanced Combat Tools Battle Harness Customization 18
Flow 12 Ranged Weaponry 1
Helmets 5
Mobility Boosters 9
Erg Sight 16
Well, at least I was a bit less of a wimp now. I let out a wheezing laugh before I pushed myself back up into a sitting position, pondering what to do next.
DUNGEON CLOSING You have 4:58 remaining before the dungeon closes and you are expelled.
I nearly jumped out of my skin as the system message suddenly appeared. It seemed that I couldn¡¯t close it, so I just moved it off to the side so I could keep an eye on the countdown. I briefly scanned over those new ores in my inventory, and started making the air hybrid ores, not entirely sure what would come out of it. The Wyrd ores, meanwhile, were something I was deeply wary of. Nothing I had come across in the library so far suggested anything about their usage. I knew that Wyrd was something from Celtic beliefs, something about fate or oaths or honor or something. I really wasn¡¯t sure, which contributed to my wariness, and I¡¯d hate to bind myself to some unfortunate fate due to poorly using this rare ore. That said, I would also rather avoid wasting this potentially valuable resource. It was definitely something I¡¯d have to experiment with when I got back. Finally, I stood and brushed myself off. I was as prepared as I was going to get for whatever was waiting for me out there. The last few seconds of the timer ticked down and my senses fled for a moment as I was flung into a liminal space. I emerged a breath later, in a very familiar looking forest, but not in the location where I had been when I entered. I also found that there was a rifle pointed at the back of my neck. Chapter 19 ¡°Put your hands up. Slowly.¡± The voice was soft, but precise, the enunciation perfect to make sure the intent was clear. I complied. ¡°Good,¡± the voice continued. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you tell me why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°This is where the dungeon kicked me out, I swear.¡± The gun was placed against my neck, whoever was holding it had to know enough not to aim at my armor, which made them knowledgeable enough to be dangerous. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d find anyone out here at all.¡± ¡°Uh huh.¡± The voice sounded quite incredulous and I couldn¡¯t blame them. The coincidence of me appearing directly in front of another person was very probability bending. The system had to have played their hand here, though to what end, I had no idea. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to try another one.¡± ¡°I promise you, I am telling the truth.¡± I tried to make the sincerity bleed into my voice, keeping my hands high above my head. ¡°I know you don¡¯t have any reason to, but if you give me a chance, I¡¯m sure I can explain everything.¡± ¡°Where did Chad find you? Are you some kind of merc?¡± The rifle pressed in a bit tighter against my skin. ¡°Who the hell is Chad?¡± My voice squeaked, I couldn¡¯t help it, the fear of having gone through that dungeon only to meet my end at the hands of such a mundane threat bled through my nerves. Another voice called from off to the side, gruff but higher pitched. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth.¡± In a very soft voice, I murmured. ¡°It¡¯s not he.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± The rifle holder pushed forward a bit more and I leaned forward with the pressure. ¡°That¡¯s enough Artemis. This person said that they don¡¯t use ¡®he.¡¯¡± The pressure suddenly dropped and I fell to the ground on all fours. ¡°Plus, they¡¯re carrying the Vestige. Not sure what would happen if you killed someone who was holding one.¡± Vestige. The only thing that could be was the weird spirit thing that was currently buried in my chest. The rifle holder spoke up, a touch of embarrassment in her, Artemis¡¯, voice. ¡°You can get up. I¡¯m uhhhh sorry about that. Mistaken identity.¡± I rubbed the back of my neck and rose, slowly turning to face the two. The one with the rifle was tall and scrawny, an inch or two taller than me, with a hawk-like nose and scowl. The other was short, couldn¡¯t be more than five and a half feet, with pitch black hair shorn short and a rounder face, and body altogether. ¡°I think that we¡¯ve all been under a lot of stress since the system integration. How about we have a seat and talk about this like adults?¡± The two were also young, definitely had graduated from high school, but properly weren¡¯t able to drink legally yet. Artemis nodded and led the way off deeper into the forest, leaving the shorter one and me to follow along. The shorter one smiled up to me. ¡°You¡¯re right, there¡¯s lots of reasons for people to be on edge these days, and you don¡¯t even know the town that we¡¯re from.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear about it,¡± I said. I meant it too, curious as to what experiences the two had been through to shape them into their current state. ¡°I¡¯m Jen, by the way, my girlfriend up there is Artemis, she/her for both of us.¡± The shorter one, Jen, said, clearly leaving me to introduce myself next. I made sure to speak up enough for Artemis to hear me as I did so. ¡°I¡¯m Placid, they/them. And to be clear, I¡¯m not a mercenary. I¡¯m ah¡­ well, my Path is factory manager.¡± The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Haven¡¯t heard of that one,¡± Artemis said. She then pulled back some branches to reveal a small clearing with a limited set of camping gear arranged around a small pit. They took seats next to each other on one log, and I found a spot on another one. ¡°It¡¯s rare,¡± I said. Then I considered carefully for a moment, before deciding not to tell them that I was Chosen. ¡°It¡¯s a crafting Path.¡± Artemis rose an eyebrow at that. ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re geared out like someone out of spec-ops?¡± I laughed at that and lifted my arms to show my weapons. My spikethrower had been reloaded with its grapple-spike, making it look much more like a comic book grapple hook than a weapon of war, and my drill was simply that, despite it also being brutally effective in battle. ¡°I made all of this myself. Well, except for the framework that it¡¯s all attached to, I got that as a starter gift.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Jen straightened up, beaming. ¡°You must be Chosen then.¡± ¡°I¡¯m uh not sure why you¡¯d say that.¡± I felt a flush coming to my cheeks, I was never a good liar. ¡°Only Chosen get anything special in the beginning. Part of having an unique Path to go along with it, I guess,¡± Jen said. I palmed my face for a moment, before nodding. ¡°I wasn¡¯t exactly planning on spilling the beans, but I suppose it was better to know now rather than later. I would have rather known about it before.¡± ¡°Well, I only know because-¡± Jen began before getting a sharp glance from Artemis. I was at least socially savvy enough to put two and two together here, but I was even savvier in knowing not to bring it up. Instead, I deftly changed the subject. ¡°So, tell me about this town. I was actually heading out because I thought there was some sign of civilization this way, but something¡¯s telling me that it¡¯s not as civilized as I¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Damn right,¡± Artemis said. ¡°A bunch of people flocked to the town, hoping to find some sort of shelter there, and we did. There were a bunch of monsters that needed cleaning out, and we all worked together, at least the combatants did, to take them out and make it a safe area. ¡°Which was when Chad decided he needed to start swinging his huge dick around.¡± ¡°The same Chad which you accused me of working for?¡± I said. ¡°The very same. He decided that since he had the most powerful Path and the highest physical attributes and the highest level, that he should be one in charge.¡± Artemis scowled and turned her attention to the fire pit, moving forward to get it lit up, clearly a distraction for more painful memories. ¡°And he decided that him being in charge meant that he should get first pick of all the resources, the food, the clean water, the houses, the monsters. Everything.¡± ¡°That seems like a bad way of organizing things.¡± I leaned back and peeled off my helmet to gaze up at the overcast sky. ¡°I haven¡¯t thought of what I¡¯d do in that situation, but I already have a dozen better ideas than a tyranny of the strong.¡± ¡°You and me both,¡± Jen said. She reached forward and placed a hand onto Artemis¡¯ back, letting her focus on building the fire. ¡°So, the other big thing that Chad did was make the non-combatants work demanding schedules in order to receive access to food. Said that everyone needed to work, but some of these combatants are old or disabled or kids, they¡¯re not people who can keep up those hours, but Chad didn¡¯t let them off for that.¡± I scowled deeply, nodding in understanding. ¡°So, what did you two do to piss him off specifically?¡± ¡°We told him to go fuck himself,¡± Artemis said. ¡°Well, I did. Jen just agreed with me. Chad then kicked us out and said that if he saw us again that he¡¯d make an example out of us.¡± ¡°He was already making an example,¡± Jen said, her expression clouding for a moment. ¡°Telling the rest of the people in town that if they resisted his rule, that they¡¯d be at the mercy of the forest and the things that dwelled in it.¡± ¡°So,¡± I said. I had taken in the words, considered the details as they were presented, and allowed my intuition to extrapolate from there. ¡°When do we go and take down Chad?¡± Jen stared at me incredulously, but Artemis just snorted. ¡°You think we rolled over for Chad when we could have taken him down with just one crafter?¡± ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m hearing that you¡¯re going to need weapons, armor, maybe some additional assistance.¡± I fell quiet for a moment, considering for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s going to take time, and, frankly, I¡¯m not going to let those non-combatants stay under Chad¡¯s control for much longer.¡± I rose to my feet and turned up skyward for a long moment. ¡°If I make a distraction, what will you need to get them out of there?¡± ¡°First, we¡¯re going to need more of a plan than that.¡± Artemis leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest. ¡°And we¡¯re definitely going to need some of those weapons and armor that you were talking about.¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re right. We can¡¯t do this wrong or people will die.¡± I let out a breath and sighed softly before opening up my crafting queue and starting some things into it. ¡°You two can store everything you need in your inventory, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Jen. ¡°But I don¡¯t know why we¡¯d be leaving. This place is pretty secure and it¡¯s close enough to the town that we can scout it out.¡± ¡°Okay, so you know how I said I was a factory manager? I have a factory to go along with it.¡± I grinned at the stares from the other two. ¡°It¡¯s not very well developed yet, but with your help I¡¯ll be able to do a lot to expand its capabilities, and maybe work on developing specific tools to help with what we¡¯d need.¡± Artemis recovered her expression faster and turned it into a scowl. ¡°And how are we supposed to get there? You want us to march through this monster-infested forest?¡± ¡°Nah, give me like an hour and I¡¯ll have bikes for you both.¡± It really did feel good to laugh, and I got another chance seeing their expressions again. Chapter 20 ¡°I have some stuff to take care of in my status screens, might keep me busy for a little while,¡± I said. ¡°If that¡¯s alright with you two, of course.¡± Jen smiled bright. ¡°Yeah, no problem. Artemis will keep watch while I get things packed up around here. Ain¡¯t that right, Artemis?¡± Jen gave her girlfriend an elbow and Artemis rolled her eyes, before flashing Jen a playful smile and climbing up a nearby tree. ¡°Once we¡¯re somewhere more secure, we can talk some more about Vestiges, and this thing I got in my chest.¡± With that, I pulled out the hybrid ingots from my queue, taking a look at them briefly. Air and fire made lightning, less tame than electricity, but still very useful, especially in a combat situation. Air and water made ice, which as a cooling system would be more effective than water alone. For a moment, I regretted making my war drill with just water, but that drill was necessary to defeat the boss, so it wasn¡¯t a complete loss. I¡¯d definitely need some way to get more elemental ore though. Air and earth, finally, made a substance that my identification hung on translating for a long time, before finally returning as ¡°aerogel.¡± While I had never had a chance to actually work with the substance, I still had it come up in a materials lesson. Aerogel was the least dense solid possible, being over 99% air while still remaining a surface. It was also remarkably resilient for something as light as it was, and an incredible insulator. While I had no idea what to use it for now, knowing I had it in my back pocket would be incredibly useful. Next, I opened the path store and found no new options for me to spend my points on, so I went ahead and bought Automation I. Speed would be a priority moving forward and my internal processor just wasn¡¯t cutting it. While I definitely should build the rest of my foundational facilities, if I could push things even further, I¡¯d be able to have all of the resources I needed while also being able to spend time working on developing new schema in the research lab. The flood of new information was positively mild compared to the skill evolutions, and I rode it out in peace. Automation I gave me three skills: Automated Facilities, Automated Procedures, and Automated Tools. I decided to first examine my crafting menu.
Recipe Materials Facility
Refinement
T1 Metal Ingot T1 Ore x2 Smelter or IP
T1 Planks T1 Lumber x2 Sawmill or IP
Farming Seeds [Vegetable] x2 IP
Smithing Hammer Metal Ingot x1, Plank x2, Screw Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Joiners
Hinge Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Pipe Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Screw Joiner Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Cog Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Foundational Facilities
Wall x10 Metal Ingot x1, Screw Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Floor x10 Metal Ingot x1, Pipe Joiner x1 Assembler or IP
Farm Plot Plank x1, Seeds x1 IP
Lounge Plank x5, Metal Ingot x5, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Smelter Metal Ingot x8, Pipe Joiner x6, Screw Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Sawmill Plank x8, Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler or IP
Forge Plank x2, Metal Ingot x8, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x6, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Assembler Plank x6, Metal Ingot x10, Pipe Joiner x8, Screw Joiner x4, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler or IP
Ergon Condenser Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x4, Focus Crystal x1 Assembler or IP
Advanced Mining
Pickaxe Mental Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x1, Screw Joiner x1 Forge or IP
Mine Plank x8, Metal Ingot x2, Focus Crystal x2 Forge or IP
Logging
Logging Axe Metal Ingot x1, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x1 Forge or IP
Sustenance Farming
Cook Pot Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x2 Forge or IP
Armor Crushers
War Drill Metal Ingot x1, Pipe Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x4, Screw Joiner x6 Assembler or IP
Piston Fists Metal Ingot x4, Pipe Joiner x4, Hinge Joiner x4 Assembler or IP
Cracking Scythe Metal Ingot x6, Pipe Joiner x4, Hinge Jinger x4 Assembler or IP
Power Armor Proficiency
Battle Harness Plank x2, Pipe Joiner x6 Assembler or IP
Power Armor Core Battle Harness, Armor Plating x6, EPMF Assembler
Battle Harness Customization
Armor Plating Metal Ingot x2 Forge or IP
Enhanced Pseudo Muscle Fiber Plank x4, Screw Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Travel Heels Cog x2, Metal Ingot x4, Pipe Joiner x1 Assembler
Ranged Weaponry
Spikethrower Metal Ingot x4, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Spike Ammunition x10 Metal Ingot x1 Forge or IP
Grapple Spike Metal Ingot x1, Plank x1 Assembler or IP
Rifle Metal Ingot x2, Pipe Joiner x4, Hinge Joiner x2 Assembler
Rifle Ammunition x10 Screw Joiner x1 Forge or IP
Helmets
Helmet Metal Ingot x2 Forge or IP
Air Filter Plank x1, Metal Ingot x1 Assembler or IP
Mobility Boosters
Bicycle Metal Ingot x4, Screw Joiner x2, Hinge Joiner x2, Pipe Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Climbing Gear Metal Ingot x2, Plank x1, Screw Joiner x2 Assembler or IP
Automated Facilities
Ore Extractor Cog x6, Screw Joiner x4, Pipe Joiner x4 Assembler
Storage Sorter Cog x12, Screw Joiner x8, Piper Joiner x8, Hinge Joiner x8 Assembler
Automated Procedures
Erg Cable Cog x2, Piper Joiner x1 Forge
Conveyor Belt x10 Cog x2, Piper Joiner x1, Metal Ingot x1 Forge
Conveyor Splitter Cog x4, Metal Ingot x4 Assembler
Conveyor Merger Cog x4, Metal Ingot x4 Assembler
Automated Tools
Auto-loader Cog x4, Pipe Joiner x2, Screw Joiner x2 Assembler
Filters
Show Only Have Skill Level Y
Show Only Have Material N
The wash of information hit me like a brick as I slowly scrolled through the list. I would have to find some other way of filtering the list in the future, this was getting ridiculous in its complexity. Most importantly from the list, I realized that I couldn¡¯t keep relying on my internal processor anymore, I needed to build some more base facilities. I set up my queue to make two forges, two assemblers, a smelter, and a sawmill. To my surprise, the queue automatically queued up the joiners required, which would make this process a lot more convenient in the future. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The next thing that drew my attention was the Mine item, so I pulled up its help menu entry.
MINE Transforms ambient sub-surface erg into ergonic mineral deposits. Type of metal ingot used determines type of ore generated. Type: Facility Construction Details Skill: Advanced Mining Facility: Internal Processor or Forge Materials: Plank x8, Metal Ingot x2,Focus Crystal x2 Where the Ergon Condenser assures the sustainability of facilities and life, the simply titled ¡°Mine¡± is necessary to provide a continual source of raw materials. Like the condensers, they require a suitable spread over an area in order to keep from initiating redundancies, but this is far less catastrophic here, only resulting in reduced efficiency. Still, a wide variety of mines will be required to generate the variety of resources necessary for mission completion so commanding control over a large landmass will eventually become required.
Well, that one device would single-handedly solve a lot of my resource problems for more or less indefinitely, so long as I could find the space to plant them all. Still, I went ahead and queued up one for each type of ingot I could make. I wondered at the ores that would be created from the hybrid ingots, if they would simply generate the component ores or if they¡¯d generate hybrid ores, and from there allow for the construction of additional splices. I eyed the Wyrd Ore in my inventory, before reluctantly setting up a Wyrd Ore mine. Hopefully nothing would go wrong with using such an unknown material for such a foundational purpose. Suddenly, I remembered that I needed to build another Ergon Condenser, and queued that up. Wanting it to be done by the time I returned to the factory, I finagled the work order and got it slotted up to get started after the bicycles were finished. With that set, I added a few more items to the end of the queue that I thought would be useful. Despite requiring no physical effort, managing the crafting had got me sweating, and so I leaned back and let out a heavy breath, closing my eyes for the moment. A slow rain had begun to fall, soft drops falling onto my face, wiping away the blood and the sweat and the tears, the stains of my labor. I was not a hero, my exhaustion proved that much, but I didn¡¯t need to be one. I opened my eyes to watch Jen pack, her short and curvy body moving with a dancer¡¯s grace as she folded and sorted the limited belongings of her and her girlfriend. I just barely caught sight of Artemis in the trees, watching the surroundings with a hawk-like gaze that seemed to peer through all distractions and all obfuscation. These two were powerful, even if I didn¡¯t know how exactly, which did make me worried about how strong this Chad would be. He couldn¡¯t be allowed to continue as he was doing. I trusted Jen and Artemis with an ease that I knew emerged from my intuition, they were worthy of that trust, and I knew that they hadn¡¯t exaggerated the truth about the situation in town. I would need to work fast, for certain, but I¡¯d need to be precise, the stakes here may not be as grand as the entire world, but they were more immediate, more distinct. If I failed, then the blood of the innocent would be on my hands. I clenched my hands into fists, feeling the heat inside of my heart blossom. I would not fail them, I would simply not fail. Though the battles in the dungeon had left their mark, I had grown stronger from them, and I had access to a much wider selection of tools with which to be able to bring forth victory. With luck, I¡¯d have the research lab to further customize my resources. The bikes finished their construction and I called all three from my inventory, before rising to my feet and strapping my helmet on. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get out of here. We have work to do.¡± Chapter 21 The trip back to the factory was mostly uneventful. First, we cut west onto the highway, then followed the highway down to where I had lost control of my car. Fortunately, we were decently close to the highway, so that part went smoothly. There were more bumps along the highway, but they were literal bumps, plus the occasional blockage from fallen trees or oversized roots cracking the concrete. Seeing the effect of the system integration on the highway struck me more than the overgrowth elsewhere had. The depths of the forest were supposed to be overgrown and wild, after all, but the concrete and the asphalt, those belonged to man. But no longer, now they belonged to the green, pumping more and more erg into the atmosphere. Still, it was easy enough to dismount and head over any obstructions on foot. All in all, it took us only about an hour to make our way back to where my car had been. ¡°There¡¯s a path ahead of here, but it¡¯s not really bike ready. Should be about ten minutes by foot, though.¡± I packed my bike back into inventory and Jen and Artemis followed suit. I led the way along a now familiar path, while keeping an eye on my map to make sure that I wasn¡¯t getting lost. Directions had always been hard for me. Just as we were about to emerge from the foliage onto the base of the walls surrounding the factory, Artemis reached forward to place a hand onto my shoulder. She whispered, ¡°Monsters ahead. At least twelve, maybe as many as eighteen. Nothing too tough, but better safe than sorry.¡± Jen nodded firmly. ¡°We should be able to handle them.¡± My eyes widened at that, the two of them taking on eighteen monsters! It was ridiculous. ¡°I can support, this armor isn¡¯t just for show.¡± It really wasn¡¯t that my pride had been injured, okay maybe it was a little that my pride was a little dinged up. Artemis and Jen shared a look, before Artemis said, ¡°Alright, just stay safe, okay?¡± I nodded and pushed forward. There, pawing at the gate to the factory, were eighteen of those deer-things. Not too tough seemed about right, though all eighteen would have been too much for me by far. Jen curled her hands into fists, then punched her knuckles against each other. A surge of fiery energy surrounded her entire body, but focused mostly on those fists, crackling with untold potential power. This aura didn¡¯t burn her surroundings, but rather turned inwards, burning with an almost spiritual force. She jumped thirty feet up and I stepped back astonished. I glanced briefly over to Artemis but she had somehow disappeared. Jen fell with an audible crash that echoed through the forest, scattering the ranks of the deer-things and leaving a small crater of her own. Her aura immediately boiled into steam as she rose, flowing like water as she moved amongst the incoming blows of the deer-things, weaving her upper body alone to avoid the attacks. Then she slammed forward with all of her strength into a ferocious punch, launching with the power of a piston and sending the deer-thing flying. A group of the deer-things moved in to attack Jen from behind and I rushed forward, to try to intercept them. Before I even got halfway there, a series of bullets rang out, each coming from different directions and each downing a deer-thing. Around then, the deer-things noticed me and I fired off a spike into one of their foreheads, before pushing myself forward and bringing my spinning drill to bear. In an instant, it was over, the deer-thing all lay dead at our hands. I felt a brief pang at the sight of the corpses, but I banished the doubt with a shaking of my head. These were not natural beings and they would have eaten us if given even the slightest chance. When Jen and Artemis started putting their corpses into the inventory, though, I raised an eyebrow. Jen offered a grin, her body utterly spotless thanks to the aura of steam around her keeping the blood splatters at bay. ¡°What, you never do any post-battle harvest? No need for these things to go to waste, they¡¯re good eating.¡± ¡°Eat?¡± I glanced down to one of the corpses at my feet, and shifted it into my inventory. ¡°Do either of you have a cooking skill?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need a cooking skill to prepare basic monster meals,¡± Artemis said. ¡°Just gotta cook it like you would normal food.¡± She paused and peered at me more carefully. ¡°How have you been leveling up?¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± I found myself on the back foot and glanced between the two of them. ¡°Winning fights, completing quests.¡± ¡°And what have you been eating?¡± Jen added in then, turning her gaze fully onto me. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I felt a flush of embarrassment coming to my cheeks from the attention. ¡°Protein bars mostly.¡± ¡°What level are you?¡± Artemis practically jabbed at me with her words. ¡°I¡¯m level seven thank you very much!¡± I tried to hold my indignation in check, tried to maintain some degree of poise and posture. ¡°And what level are you two?¡± ¡°I¡¯m eighteen and Jen is nineteen,¡± Artemis said. I looked between the two of them swiftly. ¡°I¡¯m very confused, what does eating have to do with that?¡± Jen let out a sigh. ¡°Get us inside of this thing and I¡¯ll show you.¡± With a sigh, I nodded and opened up the gate, leading the two inside before closing the gate behind us. ¡°Welcome to the factory. Not much yet, and most of the good stuff is inside, but this is home.¡± I waved my hand over the surroundings when a system message popped up.
ERROR: Chosen Hidden Quest Complete Gathering the Chosen (1/?) You have gained the alliance of another Chosen. Additional bedroom opened on third floor. Choose facility to activate. Store Cafeteria Processing Bay Research Lab Gym Pharmacy
I immediately selected the Research Lab, knowing that it would be vital extremely soon to help with the planning operations.
Selection made. Research Lab opened on second floor. While we have made as many preparations, ultimately we will not know what you know, and what you can contribute to our plan. The Research Lab will be an opportunity for you to apply the knowledge you have of the world and the system to the problems you face, both immediate and long term. You are our hope, and we trust in you.
I really wished that the path makers understood how much pressure these notes were putting on me. Maybe if I talked to the librarian he could turn things down a bit, but maybe not. There was a lot about everything that seemed fucked up beyond the point of functionality. Before I headed inside, I first activated my mines and discovered that I could just barely fit three of them into the crater with maximum operating efficiency. I did so with the earth, fire, and air mines, figuring those three to be the most valuable in the immediate future. Next, I found a place for the third ergon condenser, nearly at the far opposite end of the crater from the factory. Unfortunately, the quest didn¡¯t complete there, so I became extra thankful for the hidden quest. ¡°Alright.¡± I turned to face Artemis and Jen who had been poking around at the crater, specifically interested in the ergon condenser deployed there. ¡°Let me show you to your room, then I¡¯m going to get some facilities set up on the floor, then we can chat about, well, a lot of things.¡± After they nodded in agreement, I led the way up to the third floor, a little jealous to see that they were not nearly as winded as I was. On the plus side, I was a lot less winded than I had been during my previous climb up the stairs. The newly opened bedroom was pretty clear, and while still fairly sparsely decorated, was still a lot better than sleeping out in a tent. From the way they gushed over the bathroom, I suspected that Jen and Artemis agreed. I left them to it and descended down to the first floor, spending my time setting up the foundational facilities. Part of me wanted to go right away and check out the Research Lab, but I knew that would be better served with more information from Jen and Artemis about the sort of things that they would need. These new foundational facilities were quite enticing though. They resembled cutting edge engineering tools, but only in the aesthetics. Most of the work seemed to happen inside of a viewing area with a clear lid, but the only input and output indicators were large holes on the side of the facilities, which seemed far too large to be practical. To test it, I pulled a couple pieces of lumber out of my inventory and tried to feed it into the input hole of the sawmill, to no luck. After returning the lumber to my inventory, I tried to add them to the sawmill directly from my inventory, which succeeded. Perhaps the input and output were for these conveyor belts I could now make. That would need to be tested later. I concentrated on the sawmill and a menu popped up, allowing me to choose a schema, though in this case, only planks were available. I selected that option and then activated the sawmill. It worked extremely quickly and five seconds later, it had produced a new plank, which I pulled from the menu directly into my inventory. Next, I canceled one of the projects from the end of my queue, and instead loaded up those materials and schema into the forge. Sadly, it did not work sixty times faster, as nice as that would have been, but it did work five times faster, which I was more than happy with. Finally, I removed another of the same recipe from my queue, and tried to start it up in the forge. It accepted the materials and added the production to the back of its internal queue. Satisfied, I stepped back and looked at my collection of machines, a grin coming to my lips. This would work very indeed to increase my productivity, and I could always increase further. The bottleneck was rapidly becoming materials, but even that might prove surmountable. My thoughts drifted to the new automation items and I queued up twenty-five unattuned cogs, wanting to have those ready as soon as possible to start working on that. With no sign of Artemis and Jen, I decided to move ahead with a personal project. I removed my battle harness completely, leaving me in the clothes that I had left the factory wearing, or at least what remained of them. Removed from my armor, I suddenly felt fragile in a way that I hadn¡¯t in a while. I also returned my helmet to my inventory, letting me look like a person for once. Next, I fed the materials into an assembler to make the power armor core. Hopefully it would prove a sufficient upgrade to countenance the cost. I realized then that I completely reeked. I didn¡¯t know how long I had been away, but it was long enough for me to really need a shower. Figuring that Artemis and Jen could use some more relaxation time, I returned to my room for a long and very necessary shower. Blood and grime washed down the drain as I leaned my head against the title, allowing myself to drip into that space of nothing, that calmness without thought or sensation. I breathed out and with that breath came the weight of my labors. After putting on some fresh clothes, I found Artemis and Jen waiting for me in the hallway. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get started. I have a lot of questions and I¡¯m sure you do too.¡± Chapter 22 ¡°Library is probably the best place to talk,¡± I said, ¡°it¡¯s the only area in here with more than one chair. Plus you¡¯ll get to meet the librarian, he¡¯s pretty cool.¡± Rather than expand further when seeing Jen and Artemis¡¯ confused expressions, I instead led the way down to the library. I gave the two of them a chance to marvel at the interior as I had, heading down to the center of the room to claim a seat on the front. The librarian watched on with an amused expression before turning towards me. ¡°Seems you have gained some companions.¡± ¡°They held me up at gunpoint when I was completely drained after finishing a dungeon. I like to think that we¡¯re good friends,¡± I said. The librarian looked aghast for a moment before narrowing his gaze at me. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re making fun!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not exactly incorrect,¡± Jen said as she moved down towards the center of the room, Artemis in tow. Both of them seemed less surprised than I would have expected. ¡°There were some extenuating circumstances though, and I think we¡¯re both on the same side now.¡± Jen glanced to me and I nodded with a smile. The librarian straightened up then and tugged on his vest to straighten it out. ¡°Well, very well. I wasn¡¯t expecting a dungeon around here, though, it¡¯s a bit early for their formations, unless-¡± He cut himself off and shook his head firmly. ¡°It¡¯s no matter, I¡¯m sure you have a purpose for coming here besides my ramblings.¡± ¡°Well, we need to assault a fortified enemy position and rescue some civilians from the grasp of an evil tyrant,¡± I said, earning another sign from the librarian. ¡°Of course, of course you couldn¡¯t just stay here and work on the factory.¡± The librarian huffed briefly. ¡°Well, I was never a tactician, but I do still retain some of my specialization in information transfer and analysis. Alright, let¡¯s go over the situation so that we¡¯re all on the same page.¡± Artemis went into the details about her and Jen¡¯s time in the town, of the abuses that Chad had heaped forward, and then began going into details about the layout of the town. At that, the librarian lifted a hand up. ¡°Open up your map if you will.¡± Artemis nodded, getting a telltale distant look of someone working with the system, a moment later her eyes widened a touch and she looked up to the librarian. He nodded and then her expression returned to normal. ¡°There we go,¡± the librarian said. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve shared the map with me, I¡¯ll upload it to the survey chamber so that we can all access it. Actually, one moment.¡± The librarian disappeared then and I blinked a couple times. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a first.¡± ¡°The map sharing?¡± Artemis asked. ¡°No, the disappearing. I was sure he was stuck here,¡± I answered. Then the librarian popped back into appearance. He said, ¡°There we go, I¡¯ve hooked up the survey chamber to the displays here.¡± With a wave of his hand, the monitors on the desks that each of us chose lit up, displaying a map of the region. The town was present and in a lot more detail than the original scans. I leaned in and used the monitor like a touch screen, zooming in on it. ¡°This is real handy, excellent job, librarian.¡± The librarian beamed while I continued to examine the map. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s some heavy fortifications around the area, and I¡¯m guessing that the non-combatants are being housed over here.¡± I pointed to an area on the screen with a bunch of tightly packed, cubicle-like rooms. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jen said. ¡°Live and work there. It¡¯s really really shitty, but the people there- they think it¡¯s their only option.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m assuming that they¡¯re not particularly mobile.¡± I frowned as I looked at the map again. ¡°We¡¯d need a truck, but an all-terrain truck, something capable of getting over the bumps and cracks in the highway.¡± My eyes brightened suddenly. ¡°Unless we just pave them over on the way over, then we could get by with a much more standard style of suspension.¡± ¡°Can you even build a car?¡± Artemis gave me a very skeptical look, but the librarian leaned forward, inspecting me further. After he completed his inspection, the librarian nodded. ¡°Yes, you have two skills that should synergize in the Research Lab to allow you to build a vehicle of that nature.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll start working on that as soon as this meeting is done with.¡± I ran my fingers through my hair briefly, considering the map once again. ¡°It¡¯d be easier to just go through the wall.¡± ¡°And how do you propose we do that?¡± Artemis asked. ¡°Those walls are tougher than you might think, they¡¯ve been reinforced by crafters to keep out monsters.¡± ¡°Well, then we¡¯ll have to use some system-amplified demolition tools.¡± A grin flashed across my features. ¡°I¡¯ll add that to the list of things to tinker with in the Research Lab.¡± I glanced back to the screen, considering. ¡°They know you two, they¡¯ll trust you two, unlike me, which means that I want to stay on distraction duty.¡± ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Jen looked over, concerned. ¡°Chad is nearly level thirty.¡± The librarian spat out his non-existent tea. ¡°Level thirty! This early into the integration! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Our estimations were off, outside of the margin of error.¡± He rose swiftly and turned away, almost as if gazing at a screen of his own. ¡°If the ergon levels are this high now, then, oh dear oh dear.¡± ¡°Librarian?¡± I rose as well, stepping towards the holographic man. ¡°You¡¯re freaking me out a little.¡± Finally, the librarian seemed to calm a bit, nudging up his glasses and turning to face us again. ¡°I¡¯m running the math and we¡¯re mostly fine, we should be able to complete the project, we just only have thirty years instead of eighty to accomplish our goals. It¡¯s a lot shorter, but we should be able to succeed.¡± The librarian straightened up further and looked me straight on. ¡°Continue with what you are doing, you are on the right path, I can promise you that.¡± I frowned a touch but returned to my desk, casting a final look of concern the librarian¡¯s way before returning my attention to Jen and Artemis. ¡°I, well, let¡¯s stay focused on the immediate plan of action for now. Chad may be level thirty, but I doubt he has access to my level of weaponry.¡± The two glanced at each other, before Artemis reluctantly nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll also be doing my best to avoid a straight on fight, so I¡¯ll need to gear up for that specifically. But, I¡¯m not the only one who is going to need a gear upgrade. You two might run into guards and you¡¯ll need to be able to take them out as quickly as possible while avoiding getting hurt yourselves.¡± ¡°You saw that we could handle ourselves pretty well.¡± Jen said with a grin as she flexed her hands into fists. ¡°Sure,¡± I acknowledged. ¡°But why go in at half strength? I know that time is a priority, but with the facility upgrades, I will be able to make things a lot faster than I would otherwise. Fast enough that it¡¯s worth the cost if it increases your chances of survival even a tiny amount.¡± I took in a deep breath then. ¡°But in order to properly upgrade your gear, I need to know how exactly you fight and what sort of gear you need.¡± ¡°Only piece of gear I fight with is my rifle,¡± Artemis said. ¡°I don¡¯t need any armor or anything fancy.¡± ¡°Your mobility does seem pretty high,¡± I said. ¡°And you seem to be relying on stealth to avoid getting in danger. Would something like camouflage help?¡± Artemis let out a soft ¡°huh¡± then went to look at her status screen, clearly digging into the details of some of her skills, probably even opening up some help menus from the time that she spent on it. ¡°Okay, camouflage wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°And what are your priorities for your rifle?¡± I leaned in a little, trying to look at the weapon she kept at her side. ¡°Range, weight, penetrating power.¡± Artemis ticked off the items on her fingers. ¡°I¡¯d rather have something semi-automatic than bolt action, but I can make bolt action work so long as it¡¯s still smooth. This thing has been serving me well enough, but it¡¯s basically a lightly modified hunting rifle.¡± ¡°Does it have any system upgrades?¡± The librarian said, looking over the weapon itself. ¡°Just the scope, which has been a big help to be honest.¡± The librarian nodded and nudged up his glasses. ¡°You¡¯ll see a large improvement in firepower with even a basic tier one weapon. It¡¯ll resonate more strongly with your erg, which will lead to it being better able to take on other erg-enhanced beings.¡± Artemis nodded slowly. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll leave it up to you, Placid, to see that I can keep up with Jen over here.¡± I nodded in return and looked over to Jen, quiet for a long moment before I finally spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re a Chosen.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question and Jen didn¡¯t didn¡¯t take it as one. ¡°Yeah,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ve shown me enough about how you work here that I feel like I can tell you how my own path works. I¡¯m a Vestige Binder.¡± ¡°A Vestige Binder!¡± The librarian¡¯s expression glowed with an exuberant vibrance. ¡°That is one of the most powerful of all Chosen paths!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I looked between Jen and the librarian for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t know what a Vestige is or what a Vestige Binder is, so how about we start from the beginning there.¡± The librarian nodded at Jen for her to explain, before stepping back to give a bit more room again. She said, ¡°Okay, so your librarian here, he¡¯s actually a Vestige, well sorta. He¡¯s more together than most Vestiges, normally they¡¯re just a part of a person, unlike the whole thing that is the librarian.¡± She glanced over to the librarian who nodded for her to continue. ¡°They¡¯re basically fragments of a person left over from a previous iteration.¡± Realization slowly dawned on me and I leaned forward again. ¡°That must have been the spirit thing that was making things hard for me in the dungeon.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Jen said. ¡°They come in all stripes and sizes, of varying degrees of hostility. I¡¯ve found that I can only work with ones that are cooperative, but most of them have ways of becoming cooperative, you just have to understand what their whole deal is.¡± ¡°And you gain power from these Vestiges?¡± ¡°More like, I borrow power from them. Right now, I can have up to two Vestiges active and I call upon their perks and skills to fight with.¡± Jen grinned a bit then. ¡°Learning how to shift them up is the real key for figuring out how best to fight with them.¡± ¡°So in terms of the breadth of your skills, the only thing holding you back is the Vestiges you have bound unto you?¡± I stared in pure astonishment. ¡°Yeah, basically.¡± No wonder Chosen tended to float to the top of the power in any given iteration. While my own abilities weren¡¯t especially suited for a battle, they were still extremely potent in terms of non-combatant abilities, and judging from what Jen was saying, she could do practically anything if she had the right combination of Vestiges in her service. Shaking away my awe at this power, I said, ¡°So, what sort of gear are you looking for?¡± Chapter 23 ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know really.¡± Jen looked to her fists again. ¡°I tend to rely on bare fist strikes, they¡¯re the best way for me to deliver my attacks. I¡¯ve tried some brass knuckles, but it seemed like they diminished the power.¡± The librarian flowed forward again. ¡°Do your attacks have any sort of elemental attunement to them?¡± ¡°Uhh.. yeah,¡± Jen said. ¡°Normally I combine my meteoric aura, which is pretty much entirely fire, with a flow-like-water technique as the foundation, and then call upon other abilities within either water or fire to extend my reach or do particularly potent blows.¡± The librarian nodded deeply and stroked his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Hm, water and fire, yes. Meteor technique you say? I assume that involves large leaps and falls?¡± When Jen nodded, the librarian continued. ¡°You could use some air attuned leggings, and to bring that incorporated into your overall fighting style, some lightning gauntlets.¡± ¡°I can build something called piston fists, would those work?¡± I said. The librarian nodded several times in quick succession. ¡°Yes, yes, that would be perfect! Oh it¡¯ll increase your fighting capabilities at least two fold!¡± Jen looked at me and I offered an apologetic shrug. She said, ¡°Well that sounds good to me.¡± ¡°Would you need any body armor?¡± I said. ¡°I know you¡¯re mobile enough by and large but if you get clipped by an attack it could go very poorly.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Jen began, ¡°my arms are pretty tough, they have to be in order to carry the full power of my punches, and my aura does a decent job of protecting the rest of me.¡± ¡°Decent isn¡¯t good enough.¡± I shook my head firmly. ¡°But, I should be able to make some light armor out of a fire attuned metal in order to protect your torso in unison with your aura.¡± Jen nodded and I leaned back thoughtfully. ¡°Anything else you think we¡¯ll need?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s available,¡± Artemis said. ¡°But something in a smoke bomb would be real useful.¡± ¡°If I can make a demo-bomb, a smoke bomb should be possible, though it¡¯ll probably be more of a steam bomb,¡± I said. ¡°Cool, cool.¡± Artemis steepled her fingers then, thoughtful. ¡°Comms. We¡¯ll need to be able to stay in touch.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a real good idea, and I think I have some ideas of how that could work, but I¡¯ll need to see if I can actually make them happen under the system.¡± I stood up then, brow creasing for a moment. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I think I should get to work.¡± ¡°Not so fast, Placid,¡± Jen said. ¡°First we need to get some food in you.¡± ¡°Oh yeah.¡± I sat down swiftly. ¡°What¡¯s up with the food?¡± ¡°Well, okay,¡± Jen took in a deep breath as she began, ¡°you know how you level up, right?¡± ¡°From defeating monsters and completing quests,¡± I said. ¡°I mean, those are things that get you level ups, but the way you level up is different. You level up by building up excess ergon in your body which then extends these sort of pathways that hold the ergon, allowing you to hold more and also to control erg in more complicated ways, which the system then systemizes into path points.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°Yeah, okay, that makes sense.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not the only way that you can extend your pathways. While killing monsters and performing quests extends and fills them simultaneously, leveling up your skills is another way of extending your pathways. But!¡± She lifted up a finger. ¡°And here¡¯s the important part, leveling up skills doesn¡¯t fill your pathways.¡± ¡°How do you know this?¡± I blinked once. ¡°From my Vestiges.¡± Jen shrugged. ¡°I wish I hadn¡¯t told everyone in town though, Chad would almost certainly be less powerful if he didn¡¯t know. I¡¯m surprised that the librarian didn¡¯t tell you, though.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. I shot a glance over to the librarian, who at least had the good graces to look embarrassed. He said, ¡°It would have come up when you had the cafeteria built, I didn¡¯t think it was necessary to go into too much detail about everything.¡± I extended my look at the librarian, before finally offering a nod of forgiveness. ¡°Anyway,¡± Jen said. ¡°You fill up the pathways doing your ordinary processes of erg generation, like breathing, drinking, sleeping, and eating. Normally this takes a long time, but if you eat something really dense in erg-¡° I interrupted. ¡°Like a monster.¡± ¡°Like a monster.¡± Jen nodded in agreement. ¡°You¡¯ll get a much bigger boost. With how fast everyone has been leveling up their skills, only eating monsters has come close to filling up people¡¯s pathways.¡± I considered for a moment. ¡°I wonder how that would interact with evolved skills.¡± ¡°What¡¯s an evolved skill?¡± Artemis asked. The librarian interrupted swiftly. ¡°You have an evolved skill already? What exactly happened in that dungeon?¡± ¡°Oh, as a reward for completion, it evolved four of my skills.¡± I said. The librarian¡¯s eyes widened for a moment, before he sat down in a suddenly present chair, letting out a breath. ¡°Okay, alright. You should eat something as soon as you can.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the best place to set up a fire?¡± Jen said. ¡°Probably outside,¡± I said. ¡°At least until I have the cafeteria opened up.¡± ¡°Yeah, makes sense. I can set up my fire pit out there and get some grilling going. Plus, these deer-things don¡¯t taste too bad, all things considered.¡± Jen stood up slowly then. ¡°Oh, and we¡¯ll talk about the Vestige you¡¯re carrying later. He doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯s ready to talk yet.¡± We all exchanged our farewells and I headed out of the library, crossing over to the entrance to the research lab. I swung the door open and followed its hallway over to a room of a similar size to the library, but here the outer circles were filled with desks like the library, but the center was a dais with a standing sketching table in front of it. I descended down to the table and placed a hand onto it, feeling it pulse in time with my own circulation, reaching a ready rhythm in tune with one another. My mind opened to the table and I envisioned the first thing on my list, perhaps the most complex of my potential inventions, the truck. Instantly, I realized that a truck was not what I actually needed, I needed a bus, more seats, slightly larger, nothing to prevent me from reinforcing the chassis. The chassis itself came along easily enough, it was just a case of metal. As I thought, the image of my design appeared on the table and as a hologram rotating slowly in the air above the dais. The rest of the structural elements, those needed an engine and there was no point in designing the rest until I had finished that. I waved the chassis off to the side and began working on the engine. The easiest method would be to create an ergonic engine, powering it purely by the erg of the driver. What this possessed in simplicity, it lacked in endurance, I could already tell the drain on the user would be immense, especially for a vehicle of its size. So, I went back to the concept of a steam engine, a simple turbine but with a relatively small amount of erg it would generate a considerably large amount of work, but that work would be spread out over a long period of time. Unless, if I expanded the size and number of turbines, I could even go so far as to put turbines for each wheel well, allowing for the driver to have an even greater degree of control over the motion of the vehicle. The turbines appeared as separate from the chassis on the drafting table, with lines showing their connecting points, but in the 3d display, they simply incorporated into the whole, being invisible from most angles. With a hand, I could rotate the display and get a better look at the turbine locations. I zoomed in briefly before nodding and returning to the default view. The concepts flowed with a surprising amount of ease, my mind remembering dozens of miniscule details that I had forgotten over my years of study, now brought to the surface with the aid of the system. Mobility Boosters definitely played a role here, and I could also feel the tug of Basic Production Tools strangely enough, but also more powerfully Automated Tools. The three skills combined to unlock new ways of looking at the design process that I hadn¡¯t previously considered, expanding the way that my understanding of materials and processes combined into the act of creation before me. My sense of self floated in a conceptual void, loosed from the moorings of my body and left to exist as a pure object of thought. Next, the axles slid into place, simple cylinders to help keep the wheels aligned, with cabling attached to a central driving column for the sake of allowing for steering. From there, I attached the central column to the steering wheel, and also keyed in erg receptors into the wheel itself, before tying those receptors back to the turbines. All the pieces clicked into place and hung in the air for a moment. I felt this enormous weight, a mental pressure pushing me down, trying to crush me in the wake of the realization. Finally, the epiphany broke and the design clicked forward. I let out a heavy breath of success and then set to work with furnishing the interior with seats, building the door and the door controls. I considered the windows briefly, before realizing that the aerogel would serve perfectly for that function, with the design even altering the opacity to make the substance more transparent. From there, the wheels are a simple matter, planks becoming rubber and wrapping around a hub connected to the corresponding axle. I finish up the design with reinforced walls and bumpers, and then infuse the drawing with a little energy, causing the hologram to move into life. The numbers flash and trail in front of my vision, showing pressures and velocities and force allowances and fuel efficiencies. From that, I tweak the turbines to be a bit more powerful, before finally finishing the design and clicking accept on a prompt that appeared. The schema formed in my mind and while the pain of the information forcibly being crammed into my awareness was palpable, it was not overwhelming. I simply breathed through it and nodded as the information appeared in my crafting menu. It required a lot of materials, but nothing I couldn¡¯t source from my inventory. With a heavy breath, I leaned back and, sweating a little, walked to a desk to begin recovering my strength. Despite the exhaustion, it felt good to be back at the design process. If there was anything I was good at, it was figuring out how to use the tools I had available in order to build what I needed. Ultimately, that¡¯s what engineering was all about, making the most effective and efficient tools using whatever resources were available. Being able to use that knowledge, that training, in this new space with its new tools and techniques, felt like a blessing that I should not be ungrateful for. The voice in the back of my mind whispering that I was going to mess it all up remained quieter than normal, for which I was quite grateful. I rose back to my feet and started working on a demo-bomb. The problem here was that none of my skills were a perfect fit; I pulled from ranged weaponry and basic production tools as they were the only ones with anything resembling a resonance, but it took more forcing than I liked to get them to begin singing properly. I understood the basic principles of a bomb though, and I knew how to make the casing, all I need was a simple pipe for that, albeit one sealed at both ends. The system relented and allowed the case to form. Before I could begin work on the internals though, a voice whispered from behind my ear. ¡°We need to talk.¡± Chapter 24 I spun around to locate the speaker but discovered no one behind me. The voice spoke, again seeming to come from behind me. ¡°No, I¡¯m not here physically.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± I relaxed a bit and walked back to a desk so that I could make sure that I didn¡¯t mess with the drafting table while I spoke. ¡°You¡¯re the Vestige.¡± The voice rumbled for a moment, in an expression that I slowly realized was affirmation. ¡°Yes. You may call Teldin, it is the closest approximation in your phonemes to my language. I¡¯d rather be called that than ¡®the vestige.¡¯¡± ¡°Alright, Teldin it is.¡± I let out a breath and settled a bit more into my seat. ¡°Are you going to explain why you were so hostile to me in that dungeon?¡± ¡°It is complicated,¡± Teldin began. ¡°But I will endeavor to explain as best as I might.¡± Teldin paused here, seemingly for effect, before proceeding. ¡°I am uncountably ancient, in large part because my memories have fragmented to a degree that I cannot remember the totality of my existence. I believe that I came into being sixty-five iterations ago, but I might have completely forgotten some. And I can¡¯t even begin to count all the years of each iteration. ¡°But the exact amount of years that I¡¯ve existed is ultimately useless information. Perhaps my existence before I became a Vestige might be of more use, but that is even more fragmented than the rest of my memories. You see, at the end of each iteration my lingering sense of self is damaged in the process of the world ending. I wish I could remember how the worlds end, but that is also fragmented more heavily than most. ¡°No matter though. You see, it is not just my memories that are damaged, it is my entire personality, my entire conception of self, that receives a heavy blow. And it seems that over the course of dozens of destructions, the pieces slowly ground down into fine vapor, leaving me as a creature of raw anger and despair, remembering only the death and the devastation but nothing else, nothing that might help to keep me sane. ¡°And yet in you, I find stability. I don¡¯t know what it is about you that makes me remember who I am. Perhaps it is some aspect of your Chosen path, perhaps it is some part of you as a person that resonates with me. All I know is that here, in your heart of hearts, I find succor, I find peace, and I find myself slowly knitting back together from the myriad fragments I had been broken into. Some pieces are just gone, lost to the winds of time, but the rest¡­ as I said, I¡¯m becoming more myself.¡± I nodded, taking in Teldin¡¯s explosion of words, processing them slowly. There wasn¡¯t necessarily a lot to unpack, but it was still a large amount of information to fit into the large understanding of the world. ¡°What pronouns do you use?¡± ¡°What?¡± Teldin¡¯s voice seemed a little surprised, then fell into a moment of thoughtful silence. ¡°Well, I am not your species, so I do not have the same relationship with gender as your species does.¡± ¡°My species has a more complicated relationship with gender than you might think.¡± I said with a wry grin. ¡°Fair enough,¡± Teldin said. ¡°I am distinctly not enough male or female in accordance with your species¡¯ conception of it, even if we apply the closest analogues from my culture. Nor do I exist in a place of neutrality. Hm. Perhaps the ey/em pronoun set might best describe my relationship with gender closest?¡± ¡°Ey/em it is. Do you remember much about your species?¡± ¡°You know, I remember less than you might think. I have these fuzzy recollections, but what I remember the most is my own position within my culture and my species, rather than the broad universal details. While I¡¯m certain you¡¯re aware of your symmetrical physiology, I suspect it¡¯s not something you define yourself by, for instance, as it¡¯s something that¡¯s largely shared across your species. You, instead, note the places where the symmetry is off, where one leg is longer than the other, or one ear lower.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°That makes a lot of sense. You know, individualization coming from a process of differentiation, of unique identities coming from places of distinction rather than places of conformity.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Teldin rumbled in agreement once again. ¡°I think that I just wanted to say hello at the moment and also, well. I need to apologize for my behavior in the dungeon. While I wasn¡¯t entirely myself, I was also partially myself.¡± ¡°I can understand that a lot.¡± I leaned back and sighed softly, turning my gaze to the ceiling. ¡°It¡¯s not hard for me to think of all the times where I have been at my worst and hurt people around me.¡± Sam¡¯s flashed in front of me, followed by a myriad of others that I had let down over the years. ¡°I wish I could apologize to a lot of them, so I¡¯ll start by accepting your apology.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Teldin¡¯s voice was rich with sincerity, before ey continued. ¡°I want to make it up to you, but I¡¯m not entirely sure how just yet. I do want to stay with you, that I do know clearly. Being in your heart, it is still helping, even if the improvements are smaller.¡± ¡°Yeah, no problem. Anything you can do to help, I¡¯d appreciate.¡± I fell silent for a long moment. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m still feeling overwhelmed. Like, I¡¯m doing okay mostly, but this is a lot of stuff on my shoulders. Fate of the world stuff, ya know? And I¡¯m not exactly hero material. I¡¯m a failure and a fuck-up, but my understanding is that there¡¯s no one else to do the work, and if it doesn¡¯t, then the results will be extinction, so I gotta do it.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Teldin said. ¡°That is a heavy burden to put onto anyone¡¯s shoulders, let alone someone so young. You¡¯re not wrong about the stakes, but the creators of your path knew what they were doing. If you are Chosen, it is because you can handle being Chosen. You might just need some more successes under your belt. ¡°How about this, I keep an eye on what you do and if I feel like you need any advice to make the right decision, I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds good.¡± I smiled, just a little, but it was a smile. ¡°Good, I should let you get back to work. You do have a time crunch, after all.¡± I heard a slight trace of amusement in Teldin¡¯s voice before ey went silent. Glad to have that settled, at least for now, I returned to the drafting table. Fortunately, my progress there was saved and I was able to get back into the design process for the demo-bomb. I gripped the sides of the drafting table firmly in my hands before diving into the thought-space of it. I threw myself into the work, trying to ignore the lingering doubts in the back of my head. The demo-bomb refused to easily cohere into a singular concept, refused to become the creation that I needed it to become. Instead, it burst into a thousand complexities, none of which allowed themselves to be resolved, resulting in a mounting chaos that flooded my consciousness. I had the real world engineering knowledge here, but my skills were failing me. I could do it though, I could bring it all into order. I began removing concepts that wouldn¡¯t aid me, I didn¡¯t need a timer, I needed a complex fuse, all I needed was pressure, and the best way of building pressure was steam. I just needed some way of sublimating the metal into pure steam, a radical transformation yes, but something within the limits of the system. The system could turn wood into rubber, it could handle this. Sweat rolled down my forehead in waves, but I ignored it as I thrust pure mathematics into the chaos, using it as a sword to part the waves of disorder and impose upon it a more complete understanding of the interrelationships of concepts. Finally it clicked into place and the schema flooded instantly into my mind, not giving me a chance to refuse. I think I blacked out from that, as the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor gazing up at the ceiling. But I had the schema. From there, the rest of the designs followed easily enough. The smoke bomb simply required a weaker hull and less steam than the demo-bomb. Less of an explosion, but still a large cloud released on demand. The camo cloak derived readily enough from the principles found in Battle Harness Customization and, strangely, Automation Tools, allowing it to automatically blend into the background. I developed a secondary version to serve as a cloak for my power armor, which was a much simpler job. Finally, I turned to the job of a communications device. This one resonated with my Helmets skill of all things, though in the doing I saw a potential evolution of Helmets where it focused primarily on sensory upgrades. I realized that resonance would work here quite literally for the construction as well, using air ingots that were ergonically attuned to one another so that they vibrated the same on both sides, carrying the sounds waves. Despite the design work getting progressively easier as I went along, I still felt extremely drained by the time I was done. So, I went upstairs and got myself some fresh water, before heading outside to see how the cooking was coming along. Seeing plumes of smoke and Artemis and Jen sitting happily around a fire, I smiled and let them be for the moment. Instead, I took out the last few items from my queue and arrayed out a series of farm plots along one of the long edges of the crater. That way they¡¯d all be conveniently close to each other, but also not get in the way of any external developments of the factory. With that job finished, I finally approached Jen and Artemis. ¡°Smells good,¡± I called out to announce my arrival. Jen looked over and offered a broad wave. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s almost done, you¡¯re just in time!¡± I flopped down onto a log, feeling the exhaustion work its way through my body once again. ¡°That research lab is no joke. I managed to get a schema for everything, but I feel like I just ran a marathon.¡± ¡°Then you must be starving!¡± Jen grinned and pulled a haunch off of rudimentary spit and set to carving it up on a neary tray. Once the meat had all been properly extracted, she piled a plate up with slices and handed it over to me, splitting the rest with Artemis. I drooled at the sight and the smell of the food, not realizing how much my hunger had built up since all of this began. How long had it been since I had eaten something that was actually food? I just couldn¡¯t remember anymore. So, I dug in with a relish and enthusiasm that was perhaps little less than proper manners, but I couldn¡¯t hold myself back. I devoured and devoured, filling my gut with the steaming meat. Once I cleared my plate, I fell backwards onto the soft grass of the crater floor with a satisfied sigh. ¡°Ah, now that¡¯s the stuff. I¡¯m going to get the freshman fifteen all over again if you keep up with that.¡± Before Jen could say anything, though, the system messages began popping up. Brief Hiatus Howdy folks! Schoolwork has caught up with me and I''m here without a backlog to keep me buoyed. I do deeply apologize to everyone for this slip-up on my part. To make matters worse, I''m leaving to go on vacation next week, and I will not be able to post chapters while I''m away. I will, however, be able to write chapters while I''m away. Indeed, I plan to use the vacation time to really dig into writing and make some serious progress while also building up an extensive backlog. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. To make up for this absence, I will be posting nine days of double chapters when I get back, so y''all have that to look forward to! Look forward to seeing everyone on the other side! An Explanation I know it¡¯s been a bit longer than I said I would be away for. It¡¯s been a bit of a journey getting from there to here, and i think y¡¯all deserve a proper explanation for the duration of this hiatus. Most of the responses to this story have been lovely and encouraging, even despite my lack of proofreading. Most readers have really enjoyed what I¡¯ve written, and that means a whole lot to me. Some readers, however, have been quite a bit more critical, and while some of them have been easy to ignore, some of them have been a bit harder to do so. The protagonist of this story is nonbinary. I am nonbinary. These facts are related, and so everyone complaining about ¡°pronouns¡± and other related issues in the story have also been complaining about my existence and my identity. As you might expect, that has been very difficult to deal with, and the association of those comments with this story have led to me feeling very uncomfortable continuing to write it. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. However, I have discovered some lovely queer stories here on RoyalRoad and some lovely writers and readers who are more encouraging of such things. Going forward, I will be taking a more stern stance towards deleting any queerphobic comments on my chapters. Going forward, I will be taking better care of myself when it comes to people saying these things about my story. Going forward, I will allow this story to be true to myself without allowing the disparaging of others to get me down. For those that have been supportive of this little story, thank you so much. It means more than you know. New chapter on Monday. Chapter 25
Level up! +10 Path Points Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Level up! +10 Path Points Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Level up! +10 Path Points Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Level up! +10 Path Points Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1! Personal Erg Storage Expanded +1!
My body spasmed as the erg surged through me, causing me to flop on the ground, before I finally let out a low, deep-bellied groan and shifted into a sitting position once again. ¡°That was intense.¡± My voice came out rough even to my ears, while the world seemed fuzzy around me. I soon found Artemis¡¯ hands on my shoulder, helping to keep me steady. ¡°Yeah, I can imagine. It¡¯s a fucking trip when you get hit by all that erg at once. How many levels did you get?¡± ¡°Four.¡± I coughed a couple times before lifting an arm to wipe at my mouth, managing to come away with mostly spit. ¡°Damn! That¡¯s more than I¡¯ve heard of before,¡± Artemis said, ¡°And I got to hear from damn near everyone back in town. What are you going to spend the points on?¡± ¡°Not sure. I could get a couple advanced perks, could get cooking, might look to see if there¡¯s any other paths that I could pick up.¡± ¡°Multiple paths can be very handy.¡± Artemis glanced around conspiratorially before taking a seat next to me. ¡°I have three of them. I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with Jen over there with just one, so I started thinking about potential combinations, figuring how to bring the strengths out of each path to cover the weaknesses of others. It¡¯s worked well so far.¡± ¡°Honestly,¡± Jen said, ¡°when it comes to her specialty, she¡¯s the best around.¡± Artemis looked over to Jen and offered a small grin. ¡°Yeah, maybe, but we don¡¯t have a lot of comparisons.¡± The exchange had the rhythm of a familiar conversation, so while they chatted, I opened up the path store. After selecting to purchase a new path, a massive screen opened up, full of options to select from. Unfortunately, all the ones I could see were grayed out, and I could tell that I couldn¡¯t pick them. Remembering what I had seen in the Chosen help menu entry, these paths must not have been compatible with my Chosen path, which was particularly picky when it came to that according to the librarian. Looking to the bottom of the screen, I saw some filtering options and quickly filtered out all unavailable paths. The list of paths collapsed rapidly, all of the grayed-out options disappearing, but still leaving a vast array of options listed, more than could fill even the massive screen in front of me. I scrolled slowly, scanning over the options. [Artisan], [Smelter], [Team Leader], [Shift Supervisor], [Data Parser], [Calculator], [Metal Worker], [Blacksmith], [Silversmith], [Whitesmith], [Alchemist], [Lumberjack], and so on went the list, all crafting and support paths. I frowned at the sight of them, knowing that none of them would be helpful in the upcoming operation. I needed something with a bit more punch. So, I returned to the filter list and took out all crafting and support options. In an instant, the list emptied out completely; I groaned softly. Artemis looked over and tilted her head quizzically. ¡°Not finding any good options?¡± ¡°It looks like all I have access to are utility paths, probably because my Chosen path limits my options.¡± I frowned and returned the crafting and support paths to the list and scrolled through them listfully. ¡°And I have no idea how being a Whitesmith, whatever the heck that is, would help with me making a distraction or getting people out of there. Maybe some of these leadership paths, but, well, honestly, I¡¯d rather not take on a leadership role anytime soon. Too stressful.¡± Artemis nodded in understanding, before leaning in, elbows on her knees as she looked me up and down. ¡°Hm, well some paths have multiple roles. You can add in a required role, and it¡¯ll show you all the hybrid options.¡± My heart surged with excitement as I went to the filtering options once again. There, I left the crafting and utility options untouched, but took a moment to study the other two: ¡°combat¡± and ¡°meta.¡± Meta might prove interesting to look over, but that time would probably be best spent on when there was more opportunity to just mess around with the system options. Instead, I toggled combat from a blank to a plus, and the list once again contracted. This time only three options remained, and I looked each of them up in the help menu.
PATH: FIELD ENGINEER Combat and crafting path. Specialty in building structures that alter the battlefield to the user¡¯s requirements, with a focus on defensive structures, including walls and traps. With enough time, it can create layered defenses capable of holding back forces of equivalent tier but of any scope. build all the walls you desire, they will not keep you safe when the wind stops and the breathe seizes from your lungs
This would be a very useful path for building defenses, which would help build up the factory, but the factory itself seemed in a good defensive position already. It would be far less useful for going on the attack though, and considering the reasons that I was looking for a new path, that ultimately cut it out from consideration. Perhaps if I had some points to burn at some point, but I lacked those at the moment.
PATH: DEMO EXPERT Combat and crafting path. Specialty in destruction of structures and material through specific targeting of weak points. Demo attacks rely on specific tools but yield exceptional results against stationary objects and support facilities. What this doesn¡¯t tell you is that demo attacks are way less effective against things that are in active use. I learned that one the hard way, but it makes sense, you can¡¯t disrupt the erg of owned equipment in the way that you can other stuff, and demo attacks rely on erg disruption as their primary driver.
Yeah, this one didn¡¯t seem quite right either. If I had failed to make the demo bomb, then maybe I might be more inclined to pick this one up, but I already had tools to take down walls. It might also show its strength against someone with a field engineer path or something similar, but from what Artemis and Jen said, it sounds like there¡¯s not a lot of overlap between the combatants and the crafters at their town. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. With that in mind, I moved to the final option.
PATH: THE FORGE THAT WALKS Combat and crafting path. Speciality in rapid deployment of crafted materials and integration of large scale construction into armor. Allows for the construction of higher quality armor and special armor mounted weaponry. Rapid deployment also allows for rapid on-field repairs if sufficient materials are held in storage. like the titans they walked and their songs were the songs of salvation, the last bastion between the oncoming storm of the system and those last few survivors, the line to be held, the line that would not break, the final, the greatest, the last o and yet they fall, and with their fall so falls our hopes
Yeah, that would do. With a mental command, I processed the selection and felt new knowledge flare into my mind, new concepts forming new connections, new circuits flaring into existence within the meat of my brain. Erg flowed along these paths as I grit my teeth and forced my eyes shut in an attempt to ease the pain of this transformation. A voice whispered in the back of my head, one I recognized as belonging to Teldin only after it was done speaking. ¡°Humans were not meant to bear the system or to process erg. To have this forced on you is a cruelty.¡± I could only nod in agreement, even as the pain slowly faded, leaving only a firm throb in the back of my head. As I opened my eyes, I saw Artemis and Jen looking on with concern, though Artemis¡¯ gaze also held understanding. I waved them off, not wanting them to be concerned for my sake. I was fine, all things considered. Besides, I had more things to look into via the system.
THE FORGE THAT WALKS PERKS
Perk Pre-Requisites Cost
Rapid Deployment I? None 10
Armor Platform I None 10
Armor Forge I None 10
I briefly looked up each of those perks in the help. Rapid Deployment increased the rate that I could deploy things from my inventory in battle, shockingly enough, the first level increased speed ten-fold. It had no skills associated with it. Armor Platform allowed for the attachment of larger scale construction than what my armor should otherwise be able to hold, but came with a sharp decrease in movement speed. It did, however, offer a skill that would counter this decrease. Finally, Armor Forge was more a skill holding perk, though it did offer a flat erg efficacy increase in the creation and usage of armor, with its skills focusing on armor of varying weights. After some careful consideration, I selected Rapid Deployment I and Armor Forge I. If I had some time to train up Armor Platform¡¯s skill, I might have gone with that, but with the limited time available, I simply couldn¡¯t afford the speed reduction. I could definitely see some advantages to its usage in the future though. With the purchases complete, I studied my status screen once again.
Name: Placid Wainwright
Level 11 Paths Skills
Health: 100% Factory Manager Refinement 47
The Forge That Walks Joiners 28
Erg: 20/20 Path Points: 0 Foundational Facilities 5
Advanced Mining 1
Attributes Path Perks Sustenance Farming 1
Might 8 Manufacturing 1 Logging 12
Coordination 11 Gathering 1 Armored Crushers 1
Endurance 8 Basic Combat Tools Power Armor Proficiency 1
Intuition 14 Basic Production Tools Battle Harness Customization 18
Structure 18 Advanced Combat Tools Ranged Weaponry 1
Flow 12 Automation I Helmets 5
Rapid Deployment I Mobility Boosters 9
Armor Forge I Automated Faciliites 1
Automated Procedures 1
Automated Tools 1
Light Armor 1
Medium Armor 1
Heavy Armor 1
Erg Sight 22
¡°Okay,¡± I said as I closed the screen. ¡°I need to get to actually making things, but that shouldn¡¯t take too long, all things considered. But also we need some rest.¡± Jen and Artemis nodded firmly at that. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re looking forward to having an actual bed to sleep in, too.¡± That brought grins to both of them. ¡°So, let¡¯s meet up in the morning. Feel free to make yourself comfortable in the meanwhile.¡± The three of us entered the building together, split after that, with the couple heading upstairs while I moved into the factory floor proper. I briefly scanned the space and considered the necessity of increasing efficiency via building more structures. I¡¯d need storage and conveyors and sorters and even more of the construction facilities. As the needs increased, I¡¯d rapidly begin to spill out of the space available on this first floor. I made a mental note to talk to the librarian about that at some point, but for now, I went ahead and set up queues on the facilities, setting the component parts to construction. As queues filled up, I took note and began building more facilities in my internal processor. By the time everything was properly humming along, the sun had begun to set, and while I knew that I should be using my time more productively, exhaustion had settled deep into my bones. This had been too busy of a day, too much work, too much social interaction, too many revelations and plans and pains. My bones were weary, and I couldn¡¯t keep my shoulders straight. By the time I left the factory, my hands had begun to shake and I knew that I just couldn¡¯t do anything else. So, even before twilight¡¯s end, I went up to my bedroom, stripped down to my underwear, and crashed on the bed. Sleep came fitfully, and when I was finally enveloped in it, I was haunted by nightmares. Chapter 26 I marveled at the way that the system was able to compress incredibly large objects into incredibly small spaces. Or, perhaps, it was that the storage space of my inventory was in some sort of pocket dimension that was sufficiently large, and that I was merely looking at the stored objects through a perspective lens that made the objects seem smaller when I examined them through the inventory system. Or, perhaps, it was that a stored item itself did not truly exist as an object, but merely the concept of that object was stored in excruciating detail, and the system replicated it from whole cloth when I pulled it out of my inventory. There probably was a help entry that explained the fine details of how the inventory system worked, honed over the course of all of those iterations to form some sort of transcendent truth about the nature of physics that I could only guess at. I really had no interest in delving into the system to find out, though; there was work to be done ahead of us. Jen and Artemis were waiting for me by the gates and I offered a wave as I approached. I hadn¡¯t slept well, and the signs of that exhaustion were writ upon my face. I knew because I had checked my face in the mirror before coming down, and the bags under my eyes were all the more prominent. The long hours of the night sang in my bones, the nightmares only barely remembered, the stress building. I had gained some understanding of what I was expected to do, but I didn¡¯t want to linger on it too long. I handed out the gear I had made and we went over the details of what we needed to do. The plan was pretty simple, all in all, I would break my way into the town square, while Jen and Artemis came around closer to where the civilians were quartered. They¡¯d blast a smaller hole and get everyone loaded on the truck, while I had eyes on me. Once everyone was out, they¡¯d send me a signal and I¡¯d get out of there as fast as I could and meet up either on the road or back at the factory. Simple. While Jen and Artemis got used to their new gear, I took the time to get familiar with my own. The power armor core hummed at the small of my back, hooked into my battle harness and sending thrums of power throughout the entire frame. After spending some time measuring this new power source, I realized that my various tools attached to the frame would be up to three times more powerful. Spending some time at the research lab last night had yielded an upgrade to the spikethrower that incorporated the auto-loader. I was eager to try it out, but a live fire test would have to wait. My drill, meanwhile, positively hummed with that fresh surge of energy, felt ready to break through anything. The rest of the power was channeled to my legs, where the travel heels were ready to deploy. The travel heels, as it turned out, were small wheels that could pop out from the heels of the harness¡¯ feet, and would allow for much faster overland travel. The artificial muscle fiber there was also enhanced, and the leg armor had been replaced with air-attuned armor plating, which would hopefully allow for even greater mobility. Finally, I checked my inventory one more time, nodding at its contents. I had off-loaded almost everything from it, I didn¡¯t want to have any hesitation in accessing the inventory, and keeping the list short and simple was necessary. With that set, I deployed the truck from my inventory, though really it was more of a bus, had to be in order to hold the dozens of people we were evacuating from the town. ¡°Either of you know how to drive?¡± I asked over to Jen and Artemis. The pair had changed out into their gear. Artemis wore a large color-shifting cloak that hid her lanky form beneath it and that blended in with her surroundings with surprising ease, making it hard to keep track of her as she seemed to blur when viewed anyway but straight on. Her rifle was strapped to her back, surprisingly normal looking for something of the system¡¯s creation, though it had a revolver cylinder instead of a more traditional clip or magazine. Considering the caliber of the bullets, though, it made some sense. Jen was less concealed by her new gear. Braces were strapped to her legs, in the light blue of air-attuned material, but with some rubber parts also incorporated, designed to help her jump and land with greater ease. Her arms were also covered in braces, which led to a set of brass gauntlets that fit neatly over the top of her hands, but had a tube on top, ready to spring on command. That tube would send a sharp spear forward, capable of crunching through most armors. Jen lifted one of her hands slowly. ¡°Yeah, I had my permit, which should be good enough. Not like we¡¯re going to be expecting any other traffic.¡± ¡°That should work.¡± I patted the side of the bus and looked out over the road that they would be driving down. ¡°Alright, I guess we¡¯re all ready to go then.¡± I bounced on my heels, trying to bleed out some of my nerves, as Jen and Artemis took their seats in the front of the bus. I opened up the back and took a seat on the floor. After a moment, the bus took off towards the town. The pace was slow compared to highway driving pre-system, but it was still far more restful than any other form of locomotion. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. This, of course, was when Teldin decided to start up a conversation with me. ¡°You are going into battle.¡± Fortunately I could communicate with the vestige resting in my mind via thinking very pointedly at em, rather than via talking. I¡¯m sure that Jen and Artemis would understand the process of talking out loud, but I had the feeling that this conversation would not be one that I wanted to share. ¡°Yes.¡± I kept my response simple as I tried to find some degree of calm. ¡°You are not prepared.¡± ¡°I¡¯m as prepared as I could be.¡± I frowned a touch and thought a moment later. ¡°But you¡¯re not talking about the sort of preparation that I have actually done.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± I frowned more deeply, the thoughts drilling into my mind, the nightmares that had haunted me. ¡°I don¡¯t know why people just can¡¯t be better.¡± Teldin¡¯s voice came a little softer in my ear then. ¡°Because the end of the world is a trial and a test. Some rise, some fall, some break, and some¡­.¡± Ey trailed off then, waiting for me to complete. ¡°Some are mended.¡± ¡°Some are mended.¡± Teldin repeated. ¡°But the trial comes in part from those who break under the pressure. Those who choose to believe that strength alone gives them the right to rule. The right to take command over the wills of others, out of some self-serving prophecy of the necessities of survival.¡± ¡°The right to rule derives from the consent of the governed.¡± The maxim came to me instantly. It was, in theory, the foundational principle of democratic modes of governance. That so many instruments had been installed in democratic states to deny that maxim proved not the failure of democracy, but the failure of states. Teldin¡¯s response, though, was a soft laugh. ¡°That is a very nice way of saying it.¡± ¡°One of our political philosophers came up with it, a refutation of the divine right of kings.¡± ¡°These men who claim to power do not have a trace of divinity to them, they simply have the gifts of this system, this wretched system that grinds us to the finest dust. They are tyrants empowered by power itself.¡± I nodded slowly, opening my eyes then heaving out a breath. ¡°Which is why I have to fight.¡± ¡°You are not the only one who needs mending.¡± Teldin¡¯s voice faded away with that and I drifted into further contemplation of our conversation. My head fell back against the chassis of the bus and I stared up at the ceiling. I might have to fight people today. I hadn¡¯t been in a fight since I was a kid, and that was just schoolyard tussles, not life and death. I looked to the drill strapped to my arm; I remembered the gorey mess it had made of monsters and I imagined it doing that to a person. A shudder of revulsion passed through my body and I shut my eyes again. Chad was essentially keeping these non-combatants prisoner and forcing them to perform labor for him, under the threat of external violence. It didn¡¯t really matter that he believed that he was justified in doing so, he was still keeping these people as, essentially, slaves. Violence to overcome slavery was absolutely justified, but perhaps he could be convinced by words alone that he was wrong, that some other way of doing things was viable. Yet, Chad had kicked out Artemis and Jen simply for speaking against him. Sure, the two could have been lying, but the pattern fit too well. I have read too many stories, both fictional and otherwise, about men thinking that their strength gave them allowance to do horrible things in the supposed name of security. Chad would see any question of his authority as dangerous to not just his authority but to the safety of all within the town. Hell, enough of the combatants were probably simple yes-men for Chad, thinking that he was justified in his actions and supported him full-throatedly. Hopefully, though, there were some amongst the combatants who could be convinced that Chad was wrong. If this was down to murder or be murdered on both sides, it would just be a bloody mess. I was just circling around the problem, though. I would certainly start with dialogue if the option arrived, but if that failed, I needed to be ready to escalate in order to enable the plan to continue, and I needed to not hesitate. From what Jen and Artemis had said, Chad was a very powerful combatant and the others were not much weaker. Any hesitation and they¡¯d tear me to pieces. Honestly, they were also probably strong enough that my drill wouldn¡¯t have as gorey of an effect on them as it did on monsters. And while it may have started with political philosophy, this ultimately wasn¡¯t a philosophical issue; the ethics were very clear here, I was eminently justified in doing violence in the process of freeing the non-combatants from bondage. The question here was more one of capability, of whether I could bring myself to enact violence against another human, even if it was the ethical thing to do. Before the ending of the world, it was not something that I ever had to worry about, as violence remained almost entirely in the hands of the state, with the cases where that violence was used by non-state actors being so rare that they weren¡¯t worth worrying about. Not that the state was above reproach, and its near-monopoly was concerning for a number of reasons, but that wasn¡¯t important now. What was important now is that I needed to allow myself to do this. I needed to quiet the roiling in my stomach that told me that what I was going to do was unconscionable. I needed to break free of the pre-apocalypse model of thinking I had been inculcated in. Sometimes the right thing to do was to punch a person in the face hard enough that they go down. I would do it. I had to do it. Artemis called from the front seat. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± I nodded towards her and stepped out of the bus, looking at the walls ahead. It was time, no more opportunities for questions. After taking a steadying breath, I pulled a demolition grenade from my inventory. Chapter 27 It took a few minutes for Artemis and Jen to get into position, when the crackle in my ear from the activation of comms let me know that it was go-time. The wall of the town stood directly in front of me, some ten feet tall, made of rough-hewn stone and piecemeal construction. It had a rushed, unfinished look to it, and with a naked eye I could see the weak points in it. Activating erg sight and those weak points became all the clearer. Parts of the wall had been built via a system-enabled crafting skill, but other parts lacked the sort of erg flow that such structures would possess, indicating that they had been built purely by hand. In the mad scramble to survive those opening days, it made sense to rely on whatever tools were available, but if they had a crafting team, surely there would have been enough time to fully replace the wall. Of course, coerced labor had no incentive besides fear to work harder than necessary, and perhaps Chad and his cronies did not understand the full implications of the wall¡¯s weakness. It probably also served sufficiently well against the less powerful monsters, and if a section collapsed, Chad could just force the workers to rebuild it. Still, the status of the wall helped enhance this opportunity. With a gentle lob, enhanced by the muscle fiber of the harness, I primed then tossed the grenade at one of the weaker sections. The resulting explosion was less loud than I had been expecting, cracking across the air more like a loud gunshot than an earth-shuddering KABOOM. The shockwave sent the wall around the targeted area shaking at least, and when the smoke cleared, a suitably sized hole appeared in the wall. I surged forward, not relying on my tools to increase my speed, just going at a sprint for the hole and popping through. On the other side, I found myself in a fairly open space. The gate where most would enter from was to the right, while buildings were arranged in a semi-circle in front of me. The buildings were fairly uniform in structure and design, but varied quite a bit in size, ranging from what looked like single room buildings to a broad, three-story building directly across from the gate. A few people milling about in the circle had turned to face my entry, and more were pouring out of that large building. I had, at least, managed my first priority of getting attention. Now, all I had to do was keep it. ¡°I¡¯m looking to speak with Chad!¡± I shouted to the gathering crowd. There weren¡¯t too many, all things considered, maybe fifteen or sixteen people. Actually, looking over the crowd, it was fifteen or sixteen men. All were dressed for battle, wearing mostly armor that appeared to be made from hides or leather, and almost all of them carried hunting rifles. A quick scan with my erg sight showed that all of those rifles were pre-system, but also that each of the men before me contained a significantly higher quantity of erg than I did. A large man -burly, beared, flannel-wearing- emerged from the crowd. The erg in him had a density to him that far out shone those of his peers. It had a texture to its flow, sluggish but powerful, like a landscape or a volcano, something inexorable in the way that it moved through his body. At his sides, he carried two large axes, held in loops, with his hands resting on top of them, his posture unthreatened but intimidating. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Chad.¡± His voice rumbled across the distance between us. ¡°Why¡¯d you blow a hole in my wall?¡± He had separated himself from the others, creating a distance that helped to elevate him as the others clustered around behind him, forming almost a secondary semi-circle within the half-ring of the buildings in order to further reify his position as the leader. If this had been intentional, I would have scoffed at the performative nature of the posturing, but with it being intuitive, I could only feel a bit sad for everyone involved, to be so busy jockeying for position that they could only turn themselves into tools of hegemonic domination. ¡°I wanted to make a dramatic entrance.¡± My own voice rang out clearly, as I pulled down the mouth guard of my helmet, leaving only that part of my body exposed. Chad laughed and threw his arms wide, a sneer plastered onto his expression. ¡°Well, here I am, and here you are.¡± His expression turned suddenly into a piercing glare. ¡°Talk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a thing or two about your rule here, and I¡¯m not a huge fan of how you¡¯re operating this town.¡± I met Chad¡¯s gaze steadily, despite my rapidly increasing heart rate. ¡°Though maybe I¡¯ve heard things wrong.¡± ¡°And who have you been hearing from?¡± Chad smirked, becoming a bit more relaxed. ¡°Anybody in town would have told me about meeting such an unusual character. Which means¡­¡± He trailed off and his expression twisted into a snarl. ¡°It must have been those -ladies-.¡± He imbued that word with enough venom that it had the weight of a slur. ¡°Yeah, you shouldn¡¯t listen to anything they have to say. They just don¡¯t understand how this new world works.¡± ¡°Well then, enlighten me.¡± I instinctively checked over my gear, ready for a fight to erupt at any moment, the tension in the air rising to solidity. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°¡®The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.¡¯¡± Chad stepped forward again. ¡°And in this time of monsters, we either kill or we die, and only the strong have the power to overcome the threats that we face. Those who cannot fight must be kept safe from the roaring dangers of the world, at all costs. It is my duty, the duty of all men,¡± he waved his arms to his cronies who let up a cheer, ¡°to stand as the first and only line between civilians and the horrors outside the walls.¡± ¡°¡±Much will be expected from the one who has been giveth much.¡¯¡± If he started with a quote, so could I. ¡°But just because you have a duty does not grant you authority.¡± I stepped forward as well, feeling the heat rise in me. My hands flexed, I understood for a moment why violence would ultimately be necessary here, he had fully justified himself in his actions. ¡°In addition to the responsibility to protect, you have the responsibility to listen and to uplift.¡± ¡°Listen? To those belly-achers? They refuse to do the work that is necessary for survival unless I bend them to the cause.¡± His hands moved to the handles of his axes, and his forearms, visible thanks to rolled up sleeves, flexed as his grip tightened. ¡°They would throw away all of our lives just to feed their need for rest! Without me, they would all be dead, and you expect me to listen to their complaints?¡± ¡°Your saving of them does not give you ownership of them.¡± Chad moved with a shocking swiftness, drawing his axes and charging across the bare ground towards me. The other combatants stayed back, watching, likely expecting that Chad would be able to defeat me easily, or otherwise not wanting to interfere. One-on-one was better odds than I was expecting. Feeling like I was going in slow motion compared to Chad¡¯s speed, I brought my left arm and began launching spikes in his direction. The rotor built into the improved spikethrower increased its rate of fire significantly, as did its purely ergon launch system, empowered by the auto-loader to pull ammo directly from my inventory as needed. Through my erg sight, I saw Chad¡¯s erg ignite, becoming clearly magma attuned as he surged forward, so I fired ice attuned spikes his way. Chad¡¯s axes swung with precise and rapid motions, knocking the spikes away with a shocking ease. It had to be some sort of perk to allow him to do so. As the spray of spikes continued, though, Chad¡¯s axes began to grow more sluggish, as the impacts with the spikes transferred the ice element into them, which interfered with his own erg attunement. One spike managed to get through the defenses, ripping along his upper arm, shredding the fabric but leaving only a welt on his skin. Then it was suddenly too late, Chad was less than a foot away and those axes had moved from defense to come hurtling towards my face. I deployed a wall segment between us and back pedaled as swiftly as I could. The axes hit the metal wall and, with a terrible wrenching noise, rended it apart, cutting through the metal before tugging away and shearing the barrier at chest height. Chad bellowed a curse before vaulting over the wall and continuing to charge towards me. I switched to mud spikes and aimed at his legs, a few managing to hit through his defenses and slow him just long enough for me to get another few steps back, though I was starting to run out of space. I sent my spikethrower back into inventory and replaced it with an earth-attuned buckler, the shield extending all the way over my hand. I was just in time as Chad barrelled closer, both axes coming down at me. Moving with all the speed I could muster, I lifted both arms to block, catching the axe blades on drill bit and shield. Chad bellowed again and increased the force behind his axes, driving me into the ground, his superior height and weight helping to overpower me. I fell to a knee, sweat covering my body. I was out-matched here, clearly, Chad was stronger, faster, and better trained than I was. The power of the system helped to even those odds somewhat, but even there Chad had an advantage. My gear was superior at least, but it wasn¡¯t enough. Victory was not attainable in this fight, but fortunately I didn¡¯t have to win, all I had to do was last. I deployed a demo bomb directly behind Chad on a one-second timer. It exploded and knocked Chad off-balance for just a moment, long enough for me to roll to the side, away from his axes. I scrambled to my feet and got back into a battle ready position, slightly crouched, arms lifted to protect me, ready to scurry if needed. Chad merely righted himself and allowed a smirk to play over his lips. ¡°Is this the best that you can do? This is your strength that you hope to match against my own?¡± He shook his arms, working the blood back into them fully. ¡°You are pathetic.¡± He wasn¡¯t wrong, but at least my poor showing kept the other combatants from interfering, helping to buy more time, the most valuable resource I had available. He didn¡¯t charge in this time, but stepped in slowly, measuring his pace as he stalked towards me. Teldin¡¯s voice suddenly hissed in my ear, ¡°NOW!¡± I sprung forward, aiming my drill not at Chad, but at his left hand axe. He instinctively brought the axe up to guard and I slammed the bit into the flat of the axe. My drill bit hit the metal, the whirring of the rotor increasing as I threw the power of my armor¡¯s core into the rotor, then burst with my muscle fiber surging it full of core energy as well, and managed to push Chad back the barest inch. He snarled at me, but then the axe blade shattered, spraying flecks of metal in every direction, lancing across his face and bouncing off of my armor. He stumbled backwards and I pulled myself up to my full height, meeting Chad¡¯s gaze once again. Chad spat onto the ground and grave his neck a slow roll. ¡°Alright. Maybe I have to take you a bit seriously.¡± He tossed the broken axe to the side and gripped his remaining axe more tightly. Chad inhaled deeply and his internal erg exploded outwards into the ambient energy around him like a volcanic explosion, the heat washing over me. Again, he charged. Chapter 28 As Chad charged, he switched his grip on his axe to a two-hander. As he reached about three feet away, he slammed one foot into the ground, coming to a sudden stop, and swung the axe like a baseball bat, aiming at the space between us. The erg around his axe grew even more viscous and his motions slowed, despite the straining of his muscles and his charge¡¯s momentum. Finally, he broke through some barrier and the erg bubbled in the air, flashing a blinding orange, then formed into a wide blade that shot forward directly at me. That blade of energy cracked against my torso, crunching in my armor around my rib cage, sending micro-fractures through the plating and punching all of the air out of my lungs. I wheezed and stumbled back a few steps, feeling that crushing weight digging into my body, before finally stabilizing. A single gash appeared in the armor, all the way across my front, but just shy of cutting through the material. Chad seemed surprised to see me still standing, his eyes and nostrils flaring in irritation. Then he pounced forward, covering the intermediate distance, his axe coming down from overhead. I lifted my arms up to protect me, angling my shield to catch the blow of his axe. Erg flared and Chad shifted a few inches to the right while still in mid-air, allowing his axe to curve around my shield and catch on the whirring bit of my drill. Sparks flew as the axe ground into the spinning metal, and for a moment, Chad hung in the air, his entire body weight supported by the connection of axe to drill. Then, inexorably, the axe slid through my drill, carving it in half before slamming into my arm, splintering the armor plating there and digging into my arm, only stopping as he hit bone. I screamed out in pain and yanked my arm away from the axe, the wound smoking and cauterized from the heat of the attack. The limb hung limply at my side, but Chad stared at me, incredulous. Under his breath, he muttered, ¡°How strong is that armor?¡± But after a moment¡¯s hesitation, he began to swing again. I deployed another wall to get some space between the two of us, but he sheared through the metal with ease. I deployed a floor segment directly above him, allowing gravity to carry it down. Chad defied my expectations by not trying to avoid the massive plate falling on top of him, but by cutting upwards at it. Axe met floor and there was thankfully enough resistance for it to be a stalemate. Pain flared in my arm and I clutched at the wound, the meat of my muscle split so fully and tearing further open with every slight motion. I switched out the broken armor plating there for a fresh set, and used that as a makeshift cast for the injury. I used the brief opportunity that the floor provided to catch my breath, to re-evaluate the situation. The other combatants still hadn¡¯t moved in, but their attention had shifted from confident to uncertain. No longer were they holding back because they knew that their leader would handle things with ease, they were holding back because they didn¡¯t know if they could take me in a fight. That said, I was essentially out of resources and therefore out of time. Chad¡¯s power boost from igniting his aura was too great for me to be able to counter any longer than this. Once he handled the falling floor plate, he would turn that power onto me and that would be it. I briefly scanned my inventory and switched my spikethrower back into use, preparing for a ranged battle, my only option for survival. Then my earpiece crackled and I heard Artemis¡¯ voice. ¡°We¡¯re out.¡± I breathed a sigh of relief, even as Chad finally tossed the ten foot by ten foot, half foot thick floor segment off to the side, wrenching his torso as he flung it to the ground. It landed side down with a solid thump, before tilting away from him and landing flat with a cloud of dust. ¡°I was going to give you an opportunity to join me, but actually nah.¡± Chad heaved his breath, glaring at me before once more striding forward. ¡°Just gonna kill you.¡± It was definitely time to get out of there. I popped out my wheels and turned towards the wall. Rather than go for the hole, I aimed up with my spikethrower and launched a grapplespike towards the top, waiting just a moment for it to catch. That moment was almost too much as Chad closed in, preparing another chop, but I sped my wheels, pumping power into my lower body as I suddenly sped across the space. Just before I hit the wall I let out a little whoop, then jumped up while throwing my weight backwards. The wheels caught on the wall and the grapplespike remained taut as I rolled up onto the top and lept over. Shouts sounded from behind me. The enhanced braces of my legs absorbed the impact of the fall. I threw my legs into a skating motion to increase the speed of my flight. I glanced back briefly, just in time to see six people standing on top of the wall with rifles aimed in my direction. The bullets bounced off of my armor shortly before I heard the crack of the fire, and more continued to come, but I was confident in my armor¡¯s ability to keep them from doing any real damage. I was less confident in the long-limbed but slender man that had poked out through the hole in the wall and who was gaining ground on me as I sped along the road. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. I quickly tapped my comms unit. ¡°Hey, I have a trail, seems to have some sort of speed-based ability. I¡¯m going to try to catch up, but if I can catch up, so can he.¡± Jen¡¯s voice came back. ¡°Understood. Sounds like Hank, he had picked up a runner path when things first started. Anyone else coming?¡± I risked a glance back over my shoulder, seeing this Hank continuing to gain distance, even as the wall became more and more distant, disappearing into sight. ¡°Looks clear.¡± ¡°Good.¡± A brief clattering sounded on the other end of the comms line, followed by Jen sighing. ¡°Artemis is on the damn roof!¡± Her voice raised to a shout, probably aimed upwards, at that last word. ¡°She¡¯ll provide covering fire when you get in closer.¡± ¡°Alright, see you soon.¡± I tilted my body to increase my speed around a curve, twisting along the path of the former highway. Soon enough, the wall itself was out of sight, and the bus was visible in the distance. I was gaining on it faster than Hank was gaining on me, but that meant that Hank would be able to catch up with the bus in no time if we didn¡¯t stop him. I couldn¡¯t see Artemis on top of the bus, but that probably meant that the camocloak was working to the desired efficacy, keeping her completely hidden at this distance. Or maybe she was using one of her skills; that made more sense actually. I poured all of my energy into my wheels, taking a skier''s position as I angled to close the distance as swiftly as possible, adding on another burst of speed. The whip-crack of another rifle shot tore through the air, though one much louder than the ones coming from the wall. It sped just over my shoulder and was answered a moment later by an agonized scream. I slowed my motion and spun around to see Hank fallen on the cracked asphalt, clutching at his thigh which was incredibly messed. Like, all kinds of fucked, I could see the bone and all. I hesitated for just a moment, before stopping my forward momentum. ¡°Jen, stop the van. Do you have any medics in there?¡± After sending the message through the comms, I walked over towards Hank, examining him further. The bleeding from the injury was slowly coming to a stop, but seemingly from rapid healing rather than from him bleeding out. Other than the pain, he seemed coherent enough. I kept watch as a young woman hurried up towards us from the bus. We didn¡¯t speak as she placed her hands onto Hank¡¯s injury, though she did glance up to me questioningly. After a moment I nodded, then I felt the erg flow in a far more peaceful way than I had experienced before. It cycled through Hank¡¯s body from the woman¡¯s hands, and he groaned out in pain, his eyes widening for a moment, before his head rolled back, eyes closing. He was still breathing though, and as the woman pulled her hands away, the injury was at least closed, there was probably still lingering internal damage. Artemis appeared over my shoulder, looking down at Hank. I only jumped a little when she spoke up. ¡°Are you sure about this? He¡¯s one of them.¡± ¡°For me, this isn¡¯t about us and them. This is about doing what is right.¡± I fell silent for a long moment, before motioning for Artemis to help me lift him up. ¡°We have to be able to show compassion even to our enemies. If we don¡¯t, then all we are doing is perpetuating cycles of violence.¡± I grunted as, working with Artemis, we slung Hank over my shoulder. ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong to shoot him. We aren¡¯t wrong to fight them. And if this guy starts shit, then we¡¯re going to have to do something about it. This, though, this is a moment for us to help heal some wounds. I¡¯d rather not have to kill everyone working for Chad, even if we have to kill the man himself.¡± Artemis gave me a long, studying look, before nodding curtly. ¡°How did the distraction making go?¡± ¡°I made a big distraction, also got my ass kicked by Chad. Dude is no joke with those axes.¡± She nodded again. ¡°Jen might be able to go toe-to-toe with him, but only with the upgrades you¡¯ve given her. He¡¯s a beast.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s going to be coming for us.¡± I said softly as we returned to the bus. ¡°He¡¯s not going to take this lying down, which means that I¡¯m going to need to beef up our defenses. Also, you two are going to need to be ready for a fight, because it¡¯s going to be us three against everyone that Chad has.¡± Artemis grinned and patted the barrel of her rifle. ¡°Well, you know what they say, ¡®political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.¡¯¡± At my sigh, she cracked out a harsh laugh, but one that suited her well. ¡°First Locke, then Gramicci, now Mao.¡± I muttered faintly to myself. ¡°And I think that Teldin might have been paraphrasing Demon¡¯s Souls? Though that doesn¡¯t make sense, how could ey know about that video game.¡± I let out a fluttering breath. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy once all of this business with Chad is wrapped up and I can just rest.¡± I arrived at the bus to find dozens of eyes looking at me, coming from a variety of faces of a variety of ages from all backgrounds. In those eyes, I saw expectations, hopes, doubts, dreams, all unfold from that sea into a moment of clarity. I lightly set Hank down onto the floor of the bus and took a moment to prepare myself. I removed my helmet and tucked it under my arm. My voice started unsteady but built into greater confidence. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Placid Wainwright, Factory Manager. I have a safe place for you, but one where you can be the you that you wish to be. Let us build something better together.¡± Chapter 29 Hours later, the bus had pulled into the crater. I had to pave the route from the road to the factory for the bus to make the way forward, but with the most healthy and well-fed people helping to cut down trees, the going went very smoothly, and we had the additional boon of a good quantity of lumber to work with in the factory. Jen and Artemis were able to keep a watch out for any incoming monsters, but it seemed that the large group managed to keep them at bay. From there, Jen and Artemis brought the still unconscious Hank up to a room on the third floor, all of which were now unlocked, and I configured a wall segment to keep the door from opening, trapping him inside for now. A group of three young mothers, who seemed to be part of a poly triad with four children between them. claimed one of the larger rooms to rest in with their kids, all of whom were younger than ten years old. Jen and Artemis set out into the surrounding woods to make sure that there were no other pursuers from Chad. The remainder of us piled into the library, the only space currently available that was set up for these sort of large scale discussions. It had readily fallen into a meeting room function, much to the amusement of the librarian. He watched quietly from the center of the room, keeping silent despite the occasional worried murmur coming from the crowd of gathered refugees, concerned about the presence of some kind of system ghost in their midst. There were twenty-five of them all in all, not including myself, the librarian, or the people that weren¡¯t in the room. Twenty-five new people, looking at me expectantly, as if though I had all the answers to all of the questions that they had. Maybe I did, but I certainly didn¡¯t feel any confidence in that idea. I had no particular desire to take charge here, but I was the factory manager, I was the one with the most knowledge and the most expertise about the operations of this place. Still, all of those faces, filled with concerns large and small, personal and political, I withered beneath them. Expectations piled upon expectations, spreading exponentially through me, like a kudzu consuming my flesh, dragging me down. In their gaunt features and haunted eyes, I saw my own failures both in the past and yet to come, I became aware in that piercing moment of everything I had failed to do, of every possible slip up. My breath quickened, my pulse grew rapidly, the room seemed to spin but I gripped the edge of a table to stay standing. Voices echoed in my ears, the organized sound dissolving into entropic noise as it flashed through my oversaturated nervous system. My vision narrowed down to points, staring at the front of the desk I was holding onto, and my hands shook. I don¡¯t know how much time passed while I was in this state, but when my senses resolved, I found the medic -whose name I had learned was Marlene- standing at my side, her hand on my upper arm. I felt the erg that she had sent cycling wandering through my body, bringing my biological response to this sudden stress back to homeostasis. The panic still bounced around in the back of my head, but I was able to find the strength to at least ignore it temporarily. I gave Marlene a nod of thanks and then turned to the gathered twenty-five. Briefly, that panic flared again, but I pushed it down as far as it could go. Not healthy, I know, but necessary. ¡°Okay,¡± I said. My voice was surprisingly steady, and the acoustics of the room helped me to reach everyone from my position at its center. ¡°First of all, welcome to the Factory. Things here will be a lot different from how they were under Chad, I can assure you of that.¡± That brought out some more pleased murmurs and I leaned into my pre-rehearsed lines. ¡°This meeting is to help establish what we¡¯re going to be working on here together. I want you all to have the freedom to do as you please. This includes the freedom to change your paths to whatever you¡¯d like them to be.¡± Those murmurs increased in volume, and I allowed them to. I spotted a person with shaved head and large, pretty eyes pull out a notebook and pen and start jotting down information. I made a note to speak to them once this meeting was over. ¡°But before you make any decisions, I want to go over our resources and our needs. While I fully expect you all to be able to make intelligent decisions, I also want them to be fully educated decisions.¡± I took in a deep, steadying breath as the group silenced and turned their attention to me. ¡°We can save questions for the end, because I¡¯m sure you all would like to keep this as short as possible so you can get some proper rest.¡± ¡°Alright, speaking of rest, we don¡¯t have enough rooms for everyone to have their own, and not enough beds for everyone to have one. First priority will go towards the young, the elderly, and the disabled.¡± I waited for a moment to see if there were any disagreements, and besides a scoff from a man who looked to be in his eighties, no one voiced anything resembling disagreement. ¡°We have a decent amount of space here, though, and I can always expand the walls with ease, so long as there are sufficient defenses.¡± I lifted a hand briefly then at some voices rising. ¡°Defenses will be talked about further below. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°We can expand and we can build more places to rest. I don¡¯t have any skills for making things like beds, though, so if someone here has more appropriate abilities for that, it would probably be best if they applied them for this function.¡± I noted the bald person increasing the rate of their note taking. ¡°That should cover for shelter. For water, we have erg powered taps in every bedroom here, and we should be able to replicate them for other spaces. ¡°Which brings us to food.¡± I took in a deep breath, finding the pace of the speech going a little too fast, but at least people were paying attention. It seemed almost like they had some degree in my confidence to cover these topics. ¡°So far I¡¯ve been living off of power bars and the occasional bit of monster meat. This is not tenable for me, let alone everyone living here. I¡¯m planning to open up the cafeteria as soon as possible, but I think we¡¯ll still need raw materials to actually make food. ¡°So, I¡¯m proposing that we dedicate at least fifty percent of our space to farmland. With some seeds, I can make farm plots, and I suspect we can find at least some useful seeds via scavenging in the surroundings, and I can also make seeds from vegetables which might be easier to find. In the meanwhile, we can continue to supplement our food with hunting. Fighting monsters will also help with anyone who decides to take on a combat path. Beyond that, I¡¯m a bit out of ideas.¡± I took a moment to scan over the newcomers. ¡°How about we have a meeting tomorrow, around 10am, with everyone who is interested in taking part in food production. I¡¯m not in charge, for sure, but I can act as a facilitator and coordinator until you all feel comfortable taking charge yourself.¡± There were a few scattered nods at that, enough that I felt comfortable moving to the next subject. ¡°Next, manufacturing! This I do know a whole lot about, and I would like to take an active role in mentoring and guiding those who pursue manufacturing-related paths. We have a wide array of facilities available, which will help increase the rate of production, and I can build more facilities as needed to match demand, up to the allowance of my ergon condensers, which are mostly limited by the size of the area that we have under control. So, anyone interested in manufacturing, talk to me tomorrow at, let¡¯s say, 2pm?¡± I noted some more nods from that, and I also noted the note-taker taking notes on who was agreeing. All the more reason to talk with them after this meeting. ¡°Which brings us to defenses.¡± I sat down on the edge of a desk, still facing the group. ¡°Defenses can largely be divided into three categories. The first two, I can theoretically handle, but the manufacturing team is more than free to help me. ¡°First, we have passive defenses. These are things like walls, ditches, barricades, and so on. Pretty simple to build and maintain, effective at keeping us from being attacked by opportunity hunters. Not effective at doing anything besides slowing down the more determined sorts though. ¡°Second, we have automated defenses. This doesn¡¯t just include things like automated turrets, but also things like traps. I don¡¯t have any schema for any automated defenses yet, but I do have the requisite skills and perks, and one of the advantages of this factory is a research lab where I can turn those potentials into action. I fully intend to use my free time to help design and deploy as many of these as I can. They probably won¡¯t be able to stop a truly top-tier enemy, but if we get attacked by a group, should be enough to keep the less powerful at bay. ¡°Third, we have manned defenses. These, I can¡¯t really do anything about except making sure that our combat path types are fully armed and armored. The power of combat paths¡­¡± I trailed off for a moment, looking to my injured arm, which was still bandaged at the moment. ¡°The power of combat paths would make mounted weaponry likely unnecessary except for paths that use that kind of equipment. We¡¯re better off making personalized equipment for them. But, that also means that we will need people choosing to take on combat paths. I won¡¯t be making that decision for anyone, but I highly recommend that you talk with your friends and family about what you want to do moving forward.¡± I briefly thought through my remaining notes for the meeting, before nodding. ¡°If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask now. If I have any future announcement I¡¯d like to make, I¡¯ll post them up in the lobby, so please check in there when you have any free time.¡± It seemed that everyone was a bit too fried still to have any questions, so people began slowly filtering out, in small groups and the occasional solo, probably jockeying for a bed. For the time being, I¡¯d trust that they could sort that out, and check in on things in the morning. The older man who had scoffed earlier approached me and offered me a hand to shake, which I did. His grip was firmer than I had expected. ¡°My name¡¯s Francis, I¡¯m a [Carpenter] which I suspect means that I¡¯ll be working on manufacturing.¡± I brightened into a smile, a genuine one, if a bit on the tired side. ¡°Oh, a wood-worker will be very nice, especially since there¡¯s so much lumber available.¡± ¡°Just want to say,¡± Francis said, ¡°that you don¡¯t need to worry about me being too frail. I may be old, ain¡¯t no denying that, but this system shit has me feeling forty again.¡± He smiled wryly before slapping me on my shoulder, on the side of my uninjured arm thankfully. ¡°I¡¯m going to go take a look at what you got going, so I¡¯ll have plenty of ideas for our meeting tomorrow.¡± I waved as he departed, but then was startled as the bald note-taker poked me in the side. With a wink, they said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice you staring at me during the meeting.¡± I, at least, had the good graces to blush before I started stammering. Chapter 30 They laughed at my embarrassment, but not in a mocking way, but in the sort of sense that they understood my tension and wanted to take at least a portion of it onto themself, to absolve me of my awkwardness. ¡°My name¡¯s Seren, by the way.¡± They extended a hand. I shook with more clamminess than I had with Francis. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really staring, I just noticed you taking notes, and I figured that someone keeping track of the information we had would be very useful.¡± They smiled and pulled out their notebook, examining it briefly before nodding. ¡°I have a [Secretary] path. Not ideal, but it has some real effective efficiency boosts when helping to organize people.¡± They let out a soft sigh. ¡°They had me keeping track of everyone¡¯s activities back in town.¡± I nodded slowly, having some inclination of what they had gone through, having seen the impact of living in that town on the people that had escaped. ¡°You know you aren¡¯t responsible for anything that happened there, right?¡± They looked up sharply and pursed their lips, before looking away and nodding. ¡°Yeah. Yeah.¡± Tentatively, I moved a hand forward and rested it on their shoulder. Seren flinched and I pulled my hand away, but they grabbed a hold of it and returned to their shoulder, offering a fierce smile. ¡°I know,¡± they said. ¡°But I don¡¯t feel it, not yet.¡± I nodded at that and gave their shoulder a squeeze. ¡°Do you want to change your path?¡± They looked up again, meeting my gaze steadily for a moment, before shaking their head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I do. The organizing wasn¡¯t the problem, the problem was the hierarchical power structure at play, especially considering the extremely high degree to which it was rooted in toxic masculinity.¡± I laughed brightly and nodded. ¡°God, those guys were real pieces of work.¡± My expression clouded for a moment and I glanced upward. ¡°No idea what I¡¯m- what we¡¯re going to do with Hank up there. I have to believe that at least some of Chad¡¯s followers were under similar pressures as you all, just in a different direction. If we can convince them to convert¡­.¡± I trailed off, a faint frown furrowing over my features. ¡°If we can convince them to join up with us,¡± Seren continued for me, ¡°then we gain while they lose, giving us a much larger net gain.¡± ¡°And we gain more defenders generally speaking. And we¡¯re going to need a lot more defenders if we truly want to expand.¡± I sighed and leaned back, closing my eyes for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t even know who all else is out there, but I do want to eventually be able to link up with all the survivors that I can.¡± I steadied myself then, straightening my posture and looking at Seren. ¡°According to what I¡¯ve learned, we have been set on the path to the world¡¯s ending, and I¡¯ve been given a mission to save us all.¡± Seren laughed again until I sent a glare their direction, at which point they just smiled warmly. ¡°It just seems like a lot to have on the shoulders of one person. Putting the saving of the world up to one person? That seems like it would end poorly, no matter who that person is.¡± I nodded mutely, feeling that pressure building once more in my chest, the knowledge of these expectations, the weight of what I had to do, the sheer daunting enormity of saving the world. My breath quickened, until Seren punched me lightly in my good shoulder. They beamed at me, and their eyes sparkled like the moon on a cloudless night, shining and brilliant and my whole world for just a moment.. ¡°Good thing you¡¯re not alone,¡± they said. Seren perched on the deck next to me and nudged my knee with theirs. ¡°I¡¯ll drop you in an instant if you turn out to be a raging asshole, but in the meanwhile, you seem like a pretty chill person. I¡¯ll help. Everyone here will help.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I want help.¡± I lifted a hand up as Seren started to argue. ¡°I want to work with people, I don¡¯t want them working for me. I want a situation where we can take part in this project together as equals.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a kind of helping, you know. Just a more co-equal sort of helping.¡± Seren flashed a quick grin. ¡°We all help each other and we all lift together.¡± I let out a heavy breath, before nodding. ¡°Okay. So. What do you think we need to do?¡± ¡°Well, the way I see it, we just need to keep information channels open,¡± Seren said. ¡°It seems like we¡¯re going to have three broad groups forming: the crafters, the farmers, and the defenders. We should have, at least for the time, nightly meetings with representatives from each group.¡± ¡°Yeah, that could work,¡± I said. ¡°I would want these meetings to be open to everyone, though. None of us are any more important than anyone else.¡± I paused briefly. ¡°Though, obviously if the kids show up, we should take into account the fact that they are children. Not to silence their voices, but to remember that.¡± ¡°Hey, kids can have some pretty out-of-the-box ideas.¡± Seren grinned at me again and I laughed, before conceding their point. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°That said, I would like a census.¡± I combed my fingers through my hair. ¡°People¡¯s names, what paths they¡¯ve settled on, where they¡¯re staying, and so on. That way we can help to maximize our ability to help each other.¡± I tapped a foot in consideration. ¡°Maybe a board in the lobby for people to post things that they need.¡± ¡°You should get some rest.¡± Seren said gently. ¡°You¡¯ve had the shit kicked out of you, you¡¯ve been on the road, and you¡¯ve been managing all of this by yourself since this whole thing started.¡± ¡°I need to spend some time in the research lab.¡± I shook my head to the side then glanced off out of the corner of my eye. ¡°And I have to clear these system notifications.¡± ¡°Fine, you do your thing, I for one am going to go take a shower.¡± Seren grinned again. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll use yours, it¡¯s probably unoccupied now.¡± I managed to keep the stammering to a minimum before calling out to them. ¡°Put a notice about group meetings when you have some time!¡± Seren called their agreement and soon enough it was just me left in the library. The quiet came with a calm that settled over my bones, resting deep in me. My shoulders slumped and I flexed my right fist. It still hurt, but Marlene¡¯s abilities were really quite impressive in accelerating the healing process. The system had always done a lot to change the ways our bodies worked, making us tougher and stronger, more capable of enduring the trials and tribulations of this world. I mentally clicked on the system notifications and they flared into being in front of my eyes. The first set was just a selection of skill ups, nothing particularly noteworthy. My armor related skills had gotten the most boosts, understandably because of how heavily I had taken a beating during that fight. The combination of the evolved power armor proficiency and my new armor skills from The Forge That Walks had definitely proven their efficacy in battle. Also, it seemed that my armor counted as Medium Armor, since that was the skill that had leveled up. My actual level hadn¡¯t increased, though a meal might be enough to change that, maybe a couple really good ones. We really needed to get the food growing as quickly as possible. With all of those notifications cleared, I turned my attention to the last one, glowing faintly.
ERROR: CHOSEN HIDDEN QUEST FOUND: Factory-Town (1/?) HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED: Factory Town (1/?) Select one facility to activate: Store Cafeteria Processing Bay Gym Pharmacy Advanced Processing Center Entertainment Center Command Center It is necessary that you not simply build up your resources and your allies, you must also strive to build a community. You¡¯re ahead of our schedule on that mark though, which shows a gracious and accepting character. These are the people who you must work to save. Grow the town, grow the community, bring in the peoples of the world. This place shall be an ark.
The lack of a level up concerned me somewhat, but it made sense that my growth would eventually start to slow, perhaps that meal had just put me over, or maybe this quest didn¡¯t contribute in the same way. Regardless, the options available were enough to fill out the remaining rooms, so I had a much better idea of what I was building towards. I didn¡¯t know the difference between a Processing Bay and an Advanced Processing Center though. I put that at the top of my look-up in the help list. In the meanwhile, I had to choose without any further research, and so it made sense to go with the one I had promised. The system accepted my decision and I heard a loud THUNK come from outside of the room, likely the door to the cafeteria unlocking. Before going to investigate that, though, I puzzled for a moment over the note attached to the system message. While it was theoretically possible that whoever had created this Chosen path was watching and altering notes based on my actions, it made more sense that they had simply prepared a variety of contingencies. If someone was watching me, they wouldn¡¯t have praised me so, they would realize how lost I was, how flailing I was, how everything was just random chance, rather than skilled action. I could probably ask the Librarian for some clarity, but considering his limitations in what he could talk about, I didn¡¯t feel particularly compelled to push at them. Besides, it would do me well to think about things myself, to not rely on external sources of knowledge when I had everything I needed already available. Things would be much easier if I had some understanding of what the ending of the world would look like. At least the librarian had promised decades, enough time for me to grow into my position, enough time for me to learn to have even a base level of competence in what I was doing. As it was, I could only hope that I wouldn¡¯t bring everyone down with me when I started drowning. The exhaustion hit me as I stood, but I knew I couldn¡¯t rest, not yet. If Chad¡¯s men came now, we needed to be ready, we needed the sort of weaponry that only I could make in order to stop them. Once I had finished with designs and manufacturing and deployment, then I could get some sleep. First things first, though, I headed across the main chamber to find the door to the cafeteria now lit up. Unfortunately, the cafeteria was lacking in any pre-existing food supplies, but it did have massive commercial ovens, griddles, refrigerators, deep-fryers, all a chef would need in order to turn the raw supplies that we gathered into something much more palatable. While the basic necessities of survival were important, having something higher to aspire to, something delicious to consume, that would help ease the burdens of our new life. A yawn ripped its way out of me as I briefly examined the seating area, dominated by large tables and smaller booths tucked away in the corners. All in all, a decently sized space, and perhaps one even better suited for a meeting room than the library, though I suspected that the librarian enjoyed the company. Satisfied with the new facility, I entered the research lab, prepared to get to work. Chapter 31
PROCESSING BAY Transforms materials into Essence, which can be then used for more advanced constructions. Type: Facility Construction Details Skill: Advanced Production Facilities Facility: Internal Processor or Constructor Materials: 4x Pipe Joiners (Tier 2), 2 Metal Ingots (Tier 2), 8 Floor Segments, 8 Wall Segments The Processing Bay is the key to opening up additional, non-traditional routes of construction. Once you gain sufficient proficiency in Essence generation and refinement, additional forms of crafting will become available. These other forms can be accessed more easily by other paths, and indeed seem to be reflection of certain mystical rather than industrious traditions. These individual practitioners may be good guides, but the factory will outshine their output a thousand times over.]
ADVANCED PROCESSING CENTER Binds refined Essence to equipment, giving them additional abilities above normal. Type: Facility Construction Details Skill: Superior Facilities Facility: Internal Processor or Constructor Materials: 4x Pipe Joiners (T3), 2 Metal Ingots (T3), 18 Floor Segments, 12 Wall Segments As powerful as this facility is, its true purpose is more of a delaying tactic. If this facility is activated and used to maximum efficiency, then it will be a relatively easy task to keep ahead of the horde of monstrosities that the system has prepared. This is the less likely of the two potential ends, but it must be defended against. This facility is unlikely to aid with the other potential end.
The basic descriptions of the two facilities were interesting, sure, but the really compelling stuff was in the notes. The materials listed also helped to offer a guide for the unlocking; I definitely needed to unlock the Processing Bay soon and maybe save the Center for the very end of the process. That said, being able to apply end-game enhancements relatively early in this unfolding of the end of the world had some appeal to it. Of course, the other options were enticing as well. An entertainment center would do wonders for morale. A pharmacy should be able to aid in the production of medicines, which would be vital considering the dangers of injury in this new world. A gym might be able to help me and the others to enhance our physical abilities, which had fairly obvious advantages. It was a big question, ultimately, and probably should be answered by everyone. A thought suddenly occurred to me as I entered the research lab, and I tapped my comms unit. ¡°Hey, Jen, Artemis, you remember the survey chamber? I was able to spot, albeit at some distance, the people in your town. You might be able to track Chuck and his men from there without having to be exposed to trouble.¡± A crackle and Artemis¡¯ voice emerged. ¡°Got it. Coming in now. No signs so far.¡± ¡°Good,¡± I replied. Then after another consideration, I added, ¡°Some of the folks around here might look to you two for advice regarding combat paths. I recommend being open and honest with them. No need to deceive them, but also don¡¯t discourage them unless they need discouraging.¡± With that, I turned my attention to the main device at the center of the Research Lab, taking in a deep breath as I approached. I recalled the pain of its usage the previous time, and reflected on Teldin¡¯s words about humanity¡¯s incompatibility with erg. The pain must derive, at least in part, from this incompatibility, from the changes that the system had to impose in order to get us to cooperate with the use of erg. I glanced briefly at my hand through the erg sight, seeing the swirls and flows of the energy beneath and through my skin. Just how much has erg changed us? I chose not to dwell on that deeply concerning thought and instead gripped the edge of the drafting table. My consciousness opened to the design space, the concepts of creation floating around in my head. I felt at the schema I had learned, the skills that I gained from the system, and the knowledge that I had possessed before integration. I tugged on all three components, pulling them into order, arranging them like a crystalline formation unfolding rapidly before my eye. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The enormity of the possibilities became aware to me and my head throbbed and the world pulsed as unbidden conceptualizations half-formed then dissolved into mist, the totality of my world becoming nothing more than a moment hung between decisions. The structures of my thoughts and my capabilities ground against each other in a metallic shriek, growing and plunging and twisting around in this space before me. The moment it became too much, everything stopped. It was like a safety switch had been pulled, bringing the procedure to a hard halt. I breathed out the tension in my body and floated there, allowing the pain to recede from my body. Part of me wanted to just play in this space, to see the things that I could make if liberated from the pressure of necessity. The rest of me knew that I needed to get to work. I started with the rifle. Artemis had shown the effectiveness of the weapon, though she also likely had skills and perks to upgrade said effectiveness. Still, compared to the nothing that my spikethrower managed against Chad, I¡¯d rather start with this. The auto-loader was an easy addition, snapping into its cylinder in the design of my mind. To fully run the thing, I added Automated Tools to the design and its complexity exploded further. First, the rifle gained a power requirement. I could run its erg through a person, but another option was presented; it could be powered via the erg grid that the condensers had created. I had an instinctive understanding of the power levels required, and if I wanted to deploy more than two of these, I would need a third erg condenser. Of course, deploying more than two of these ¡°autorifles¡± as the system labeled them would greatly expand the territory we could safely control. I wanted these to be truly automated, so I switched them to functioning off of the grid. Second, targeting options opened up. The basic option was to have them manually targeted by an user, which seemed in opposition to the whole ¡°automation¡± aspect of things. It did briefly occur to me that with the right perk from The Forge That Walks, I could mount several of these onto myself, and benefit from automated fire even if I had manual aiming. That wasn¡¯t the purpose of this particular iteration of the autorifle, though, so I pulled up the other targeting options. To my chagrin, they were currently blank, but that blankness was a space that I could work within, where I could sub-design a targeting system. None of my current existing schemas worked here, so I pulled on my skills. Automated Tools slotted in naturally, I wanted automated targeting after all. After that, I had to consider my options, not seeing any of my skills from my paths that really lent themselves towards this task. Then inspiration struck and I pulled Erg Sight in, which mixed and shifted with my pre-existing knowledge of thermal tracking. These components combined to form an erg tracking lens, which then slotted into the targeting option, locking into place for this design. Sweat rolled down my back from the exertion of the sub-design, but the autorifle schema was nearing completion thankfully. The stress was building and if it took too much longer, well, I didn¡¯t want to think about it. The next step was the activation mechanism. The two base options were to require manual authorization to fire or to be able to freely target incoming erg signatures. Neither of those were appealing and I¡¯m pretty sure the second was a war crime. So, instead I probed into the blank option once again. Automated Tools was the only basis I had to work with here, until I caught a lingering thread from the targeting system. I tugged on that and pulled up the ability of my erg sight to offer deeper analysis, that scanning ability that I so rarely used. With a grin, I combined that analysis system with the Automated Tools and then looped in an understanding of priority mechanisms. Pain flared, but it didn¡¯t keep from continuing as a command prompt appeared in front of me. I typed in the air and my fingers moved with the speed of thought, processing my conception into a proper list.
AUTORIFLE ACTIVATION COMMANDS 1: Neutral or friendly human sighted in line of fire: deactivate 2: Monster sighted - activate 3: Manual override - deactivate 4: Manual override - activate 5: Neutral or friendly human sighted: deactivate 6: Enemy human sighted: activate
This way, so long as no one was in the way of the autorifle, it would automatically open fire on any approaching monsters. In addition, it would also open fire on any incoming enemy person, but only if they weren¡¯t accompanied by a non-enemy. How the system could tell who was an enemy and who wasn¡¯t seemed slightly in the air to me, but the programming accepted it with ease. Finally, I could turn the autorifles on or off as needed. With this script uploaded, the autorifle was essentially complete, I could finish the schema and begin creating them now. Yet, it seemed like there were still some missing parts to it being finished. First, I put a bit of shielding in front of it, just slightly altering the armor plating schema to fit around the barrel of the rifle, making it harder to hit the main body, which had swelled far larger than the rifle I had made for Artemis. Finally, I wanted to place the whole thing on a swivel, so that it would act as a proper turret. This proved slightly more difficult than I anticipated, but ultimately resolved by combining Automated Procedures with Mobility Boosters, slotting in at the base of the rifle and providing a full 180 degree rotation both left to right and up to down. After reviewing the design, the schema, the details, I finally hit complete and the knowledge of the schema flooded into my brain, weaving its way through the circuits there, which I now realized had to be made of erg, that was the only way that it made any sense. As the schema fully completed and locked into place, I collapsed backwards, panting and sweating more than I realized. I glanced at my skin and realized how pale I looked. I needed to eat, but I didn¡¯t want to take from the dwindling supplies of the others. I returned to my room for some protein bars. There, a thought occurred to me and I looked in the mirror, examining myself once again. To the naked eye, I didn¡¯t look too much different, other than the haggards of exhaustion and stress. I needed a break or I was going to break, but the needs of this new community couldn¡¯t be ignored, nor the lasting threats around me. That wasn¡¯t why I wanted to look in the mirror though. I activated erg sight. My whole body was lit up in those blue pathways, tracing through my entire frame. The torso had the least amount of erg in it, interestingly enough, though some twirled around my heart and lungs and spread out through the rest of my body. Legs and arms had some, but my hands had a high concentration, heading down into the fingers. Finally, there was my head. My skull was riddled through with erg veins, leaving it incandescent. Chapter 32 I ran my fingertips through my hair and stared deeper at my reflection, descending into that fractally complex pattern of veins. The erg flowed and pulsed beneath my fingers, rising to meet the patterns in them, matching the sworls of my fingerprints, forming even more complex patterns within the completeness of my body, the unity of motion and thought flaring energy to life. I stared deeper and the world dug into itself, forming those reflections of energy and light and in that pattern, I felt the pattern of the world itself but on a smaller scale, repeating and echoing. There was a beauty to the erg, but it filled me with a terror that roiled out my belly, leaving me gasping in its entrancement. I tried to pull back, tried to deactivate my erg sight, but they wouldn¡¯t leave me be, they pulled me onward, into that coiling nest. A screaming panic rose in the back of my throat but no sound escaped as I fell into that world of understanding. Slowly I came to see the order of the erg, of the way that it rose and fell, the way that it pulsed with my breath, with my hunger, with my blood, entwining itself with everything that generated life in my body, the splitting of cells, the decaying of skin, the transformation of myself in every bleeding moment. Yet, despite the connection of myself to the exterior world, it was not the air that moved the erg, it was my act of breathing itself, though the air did contain erg. I watched the flow of that erg, breathed in and distributed through my body, even as my lungs bellowed out more air, air that was richer in erg than when it entered, as if though the processes of my body were merely a farm to generate more of that energy. I flexed my arms and the erg surged through them, until finally I pushed away from the mirror and forced my eyes shut. Even with eyes closed, I could still see the erg floating around me. I fell backwards onto the ground feeling it solidly beneath, and as I tore my eyes away from the mirror, I finally was able to bring my erg sight to an end. I cracked one eye open, glancing forward and letting out a relieved sigh as the world seemed returned to normal. Slowly I rose up to my feet and once again examined myself with normal sight. Somehow, I looked even worse, but yet I felt a sense that something had clicked into place, some unconscious realization that might help me as I went forward. A more important realization struck me though, that I needed a shower. Fortunately, my armor had kept most of the worst parts of the battle and the transit off of me, and so I was able to focus more on the luxuriating warmth rather than on actually getting clean. The water rinsed me bare and I found tension finally starting to seep out of my shoulders and my arms and my legs and my back and I practically melted to the floor as I finally was able to relax, if even for a moment. I wrapped myself in a towel and stepped out into the main room to get dressed. Seren was waiting for me, sitting on the bed, and raised an eyebrow as they noted my state of undress. ¡°Well, hey there,¡± they said. ¡°This is a little forward, but I¡¯m not complaining.¡± For the first time I was able to keep my stammering to a minimum. ¡°This is my room.¡± I was able to, at least briefly, maintain an air of serious critique. ¡°I should be free to be as naked as I desire in my own room.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, be as naked as you like. Again, I¡¯m not complaining.¡± Seren grinned at me. ¡°Those are some nice shoulders, after all.¡± I grabbed my clothes and stepped back into the bathroom, calling out from behind the closed door. ¡°I guess this repayment for my looking at you during the meeting.¡± It didn¡¯t take me long to get dressed again and I stepped back out, finding a chair to sit on. ¡°So, why did you stop by?¡± ¡°Just wanted to check in, see how you¡¯re doing. Maybe share a meal, do some chatting.¡± Seren winked at me, and I couldn¡¯t help but offer a shy smile in return. I grabbed a couple protein bars, tossing one over to them before unwrapping my own. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve been better. Been worse too. I finished off the design of the autorifles.¡± ¡°Autorifle?¡± I considered for a moment, then pulled up my schema list and called up the help for the autorifle. After concentrating for a moment longer, I flicked the screen over towards them, allowing both of us to read the entry.
AUTORIFLE Autofiring rifle, has been customized with erg sights and programmed fire priority. Taps into local erg net for power. Type: Weapon Construction Details Skill: Ranged Weaponry, Automated Tools Facility: Assembler This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Materials: Metal Ingot x6, Pipe Joiner x6, Hinge Joiner x4, Cog x2, Focus Crystal x3 The most basic of automated defenses, but perhaps the most vital. The walls must hold, they must hold or we will all fall, the sea comes and it must break it must break!
¡°Those notes will never not freak me out,¡± Seren said softly. I agreed with a nod and reached a hand forward to take one of theirs, giving a squeeze. They smiled at me, then continued. ¡°But this seems real useful, if a bit resources heavy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to tap into the erg network pretty heavily too.¡± I leaned back in the chair and began rapidly devouring the protein bar. It had been too long since I last ate and my stomach growled as I took it down bite by bite. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to get food sooner rather than later. This just isn¡¯t sustainable.¡± I leaned forward again, resting my elbows on my knees. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what were you eating back in the town?¡± ¡°Mix of hunting, some gardening, and canned foods. We were running low when you broke us out, which you can tell by looking at everyone.¡± They sighed and laid back on the bed. ¡°Chad and his crew also got the most food, forcing us to ration pretty heavily, and we all gave up some food to make sure that the kids got enough.¡± ¡°That sounds rough.¡± The words felt so insufficient in my mouth. Sure, I had faced my own trials during the time since integration, but it sounded like they had faced so much worse. Of course, they probably did better than others considering how many people must have died. I wondered how many people were still alive in the world, and made a note to talk to the librarian about speeding up the Survey Chamber. My thoughts drifted back to campus, to my former friends, to Sam, and wondered how they were holding up. If they were holding up at all. The weight of it fell on my shoulders and I trembled under the thoughts, looking down at the floor. Seren¡¯s hands on my shoulders pulled me out of my thought spiral, and they tilted me back just a bit before crouching down to eye-level. ¡°It¡¯s a lot, I know,¡± they said. ¡°I don¡¯t know all the details of what¡¯s on your shoulders, but I do know that it¡¯s a lot.¡± They smiled gently as I nodded without speaking. ¡°I¡¯ve not been in this exact situation before, but I¡¯ve definitely felt overloaded in the past, and I¡¯ll give you the advice that my therapist gave me. ¡°Focus on one thing at a time. Don¡¯t make a list, don¡¯t try to think about everything you need to do, because that¡¯ll explode on you too quickly.¡± They grinned again. ¡°You¡¯re a worrier, I recognize that, but what you need to do is narrow down your focus and not worry about everything else. Jen and Artemis know what they¡¯re doing, and there are other folks here who can help with organizing. You¡¯re not alone, so don¡¯t try to do everything alone. ¡°One thing. What¡¯s the one thing you need to do next?¡± I pushed away all of my other concerns, not burying them this time, just setting them aside for the moment, and narrowed down on the one thing I needed to do next. ¡°Queue up materials. I want to deploy as many autorifles as possible, which will mean building them and expanding the walls enough to field another ergon condenser.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go queue up some materials then. No reason to worry about that other stuff until you have the autorifles finished.¡± Seren rose to their feet and offered a hand, which I gratefully accepted. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re being so nice to me, though.¡± Seren laughed warmly and pulled me up to stand. ¡°Well, the main reason is that you sounded like you meant what you said in the meeting, and what you said sounded good to me. Secondary reason is that you¡¯re cute.¡± I was stammering again as they led the way out of the room. Now that I was a bit more back in a stable mind frame, I noticed the numbers of people milling around on the third floor. There weren¡¯t too many in my hallway, but the other was much more raucous. Doors were left open and hammocks strung across the hallway, even as bedding was spread out to offer more places to rest. Everyone looked showered, and that made a massive difference in their appearance and disposition. I too could understand the value of such a thing, and so I smiled and waved before descending. Upon reaching the bottom floor, I noticed a few of the machines down there already in use, so I made a note to further expand facilities here. I also made a note to get some way of gathering from the mines automatically without having to walk all the way over to grab their output. Then I sighed and realized that I didn¡¯t have enough resources on hand, and walked all the way to grab the output of the mines. The autorifles didn¡¯t need any wood, so I was able to get by with just ore, sent into the smelter. For this initial patch, I decided to focus on making unattuned autorifles, messing with different elements could be a ¡°later¡± thing. One thing at a time, after all. While waiting for the ore to smelt, I grabbed a seat in the lobby with Seren. Before I could speak, my comms crackled and Artemis spoke. ¡°I got eyes on the town, no sign of them moving out, just some guards keeping watching and most everyone poured into the center. I can track their erg signatures with this thing.¡± I thank Artemis for the update and relayed the information to Seren. ¡°You¡¯ve cracked his aura of invulnerability,¡± they said. ¡°Doubts are going to start seeping in, unless he cleans things up. We might be seeing some other people trying to escape from his clutches, but we might also see spies heading this way.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk with everyone about this. Hopefully we can get some more defenders, and from there, be able to mount a proper defense of this place.¡± I rubbed the back of my neck and grimaced. ¡°He¡¯s real strong, like scarily so. But all he really has is that strength, and the strength of one person isn¡¯t enough to survive in this world. But it might be enough to destroy us.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to make sure that he breaks on our walls.¡± I started briefly as they quoted the system note and they flashed me a grin in response. After a moment, it sunk in and I found myself grinning in return. ¡°We¡¯ll keep fighting,¡± I said. ¡°So that the world might be mended.¡± Their eyes twinkled briefly with amusement. ¡°Umbasa.¡± Chapter 33 Seren and I talked into the evening, with me occasionally heading onto the factory floor to send materials from one processor to another, slowly grinding out the sheer quantity of materials I¡¯d need to finish the project. I also gathered up some resources to build some more smelters, since that seemed like the main production choke point so far, and considering the ubiquity of ore as raw material and ingots as ingredients, more smelters would remain necessary indefinitely. We didn¡¯t talk about anything important, not about our pasts or our futures, not about the pressure on all of us, or the plans that needed to be made. Instead, we talked about food and drink and massages and vacations and a thousand other little things that added up to much, but whose details were ultimately unimportant. We finally returned upstairs when the autorifles themselves were being assembled. The machines would run overnight and spit out a nice big stack in the morning. Hopefully there would be no attack in the meanwhile, because that would find us all quite unawares. We found the rooms packed with people, along with the hammocks and the makeshift bedding on the floors, and we crept quietly to my room. There, Seren paused with a faint frown etching onto their features. ¡°I should go downstairs, I guess, grab a couch in the lobby.¡± I froze there, standing in the doorway to my room, the enormity of the moment coming to crash down onto my awareness, pushing away the small things, to coalesce into the big thing. ¡°No.¡± My voice came cracked, and I felt the heat of a blush all over my body. ¡°Stay.¡± Seren looked at me wide-eyed, but not reluctant. They murmured briefly before I lifted my hand up. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the floor.¡± Seren nodded repeatedly at that, and we quickly stepped inside. I found a t-shirt to sling on, grabbed a pillow and one of the extra blankets, before curling down to sleep at the foot of the bed. I kept my eyes dutifully closed as Seren stripped down to their underwear and then covered themself up with the sheets. The next morning, light creaked in through the window with the coming of dawn, and I crept into the bathroom to prepare for the day, emerging fully dressed. Seren remained on the bed, the sheets now in disarray, snoring loudly. A smile flickered over my face before I stepped out. There was a lot of work to do today. Before heading down to the factory floor to check on the autorifles, I first took a detour to the Research Lab. There, I opened up the comms unit and made some configuration alterations. Specifically, I fused in Automated Procedures and incorporated my knowledge of chat programs, expanding the comms to include multiple channels of communication, along with a priority announcement channel. That way, people could have specific discussion groups, but also anything important could be broadcast to everyone. This expanded the materials from an Air Ingot to an Air Ingot and an Air Cog, but it was worth the cost. I then went down to the factory floor, collected the autorifles, and started up a total of eighty air ingots, only possible thanks to the returns from the Air Mine that I had sunk before the rescue mission. I¡¯d check in shortly and hopefully be able to start up the cogs and once both of those queues were complete, I¡¯d be able to give everyone a comms unit, which would be extremely useful in keeping open lines of discussion. While waiting for the ingots to process, I went back upstairs, stepping into the Survey Chamber to get an eye on things. I found an only vaguely familiar person sitting in the chair, but she smiled as I entered. ¡°Oh hey there, I¡¯m Sarah. You must be Placid, we¡¯ve heard so much about you.¡± A few things clicked as I stepped over to Sarah, offering her a hand. ¡°And you must be one of the moms. What are you doing on survey duty this morning?¡± ¡°Artemis needed someone to take over when she went to bed, and Yolanda, Tina, and myself aren¡¯t really going anywhere. Plus, I have those two to help pick up my slack if I¡¯m too tired.¡± She leaned back again and looked up at the projected map. ¡°This is important work.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said simply and turned my gaze up as well. ¡°They¡¯re not in the town.¡± The dots representing human erg signatures in Chad¡¯s settlement had scattered from the town, filling out the surrounding woods. ¡°They¡¯ve been out in the surrounding woods, not entirely sure what they¡¯re doing, but they¡¯re not coming this direction, not yet at least.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± I said softly. ¡°They must be doing something though. There¡¯s no reason to just abandon that defensive location.¡± ¡°They¡¯re still using the town as a center of operations. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re going out hunting, but they¡¯re doing a lot more of it than they used to.¡± ¡°Grinding for levels.¡± At Sarah¡¯s slightly confused look, I continued. ¡°They¡¯re trying to become more powerful as quickly as they can. This is good because it gives us time, and I wager that thanks to the factory here that we can grow more powerful faster than they can. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It¡¯s bad because with their head start, we might not have enough time to catch up.¡± Sarah sighed, lifting a hand up to pinch her nose. ¡°Well, the only thing we can do is all that we can.¡± I nodded slowly, taking that in for a moment. ¡°Mind if I take a look at the map for a bit? I want to check out a few things.¡± Sarah agreed and rose to her feet, stretching out her legs a bit as she did. ¡°I¡¯ve been sitting for a couple hours already, could use a chance to move around for a bit.¡± She started walking slowly around the perimeter of the room, as I took a seat. ¡°How are the kids adjusting to things?¡± I started my examination of the map by zooming in onto the crater, taking some time to figure out the best place to expand the walls. The north was decently clear, but I didn¡¯t want to clear closer to the town. The west, though, we had already cleared a path through the woods there, and the path I laid down would make for an useful initial thoroughfare. The space could make for a good farm or residential district. ¡°They¡¯re doing as well as you might expect.¡± She sighed softly. ¡°They¡¯ve been so much already, and that¡¯s even before all of this started. The divorces, the moving in together, that¡¯s already a lot of change for a kid, and they were so little when that happened.¡± I nodded and mentally noted the lines where I could most effectively deploy the walls, in accordance with the elevation of the terrain. The space might even be enough for some mines to be sunk. ¡°How long have you three been together?¡± ¡°Yolanda and I got together about eight years ago. My separation had been relatively painless, we both realized things about ourselves that made our relationship not really sustainable. Yolanda¡¯s had been worse.¡± I glanced over to see her face creased in the memory. ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk about it, if you don¡¯t want to.¡± I turned my gaze back to the map and pulled the zoom further and further out. ¡°No, it¡¯s just that he man, Jack, reminded me a lot of those guys following Chad. Wanted to be a big, macho guy, but ultimately just fell under the influence of whoever was feeding their testosterone.¡± A faint smile cracked her features. ¡°Still, it was nice to be able to be there for her, she¡¯s really just the sweetest person I¡¯ve ever met.¡± ¡°I hope I¡¯m not prying too much, but what about Tina?¡± As the map pulled out to its full zoom out, I watched as more spaces continued to be filled in, while marveling at how much had been added since I first built it. I pressed the ping button. ¡°Oh, well, about five years ago, when she was still pregnant with Ive, her husband just disappeared. We never found out what happened to him, but she moved in with us, supposedly until she got back on her feet, but one thing led to another and well.¡± She laughed joyfully there. ¡°I love them both so much, and the kids are so great together, it really was very nice. At least until the world ended.¡± I could only nod at that, while the map began to repopulate from the new spread of information. How long had it even been since the system integration? A week perhaps, two at most, but yet enough time for so many new social structures to come into existence. The vacuum of power was such a radical one that everything moved with it. ¡°The kids are loving it here though,¡± Sarah said, ¡°but they¡¯re already starting to want to get out and go exploring.¡± ¡°Well, as long as they stay within the walls, they should be safe. And I¡¯ll be expanding the walls soo-¡° I cut off suddenly as the map finished updating. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Sarah looked up as well, blinking at the sheer quantity of dots that had appeared at the map. I pointed up at one cluster of them. ¡°That¡¯s my old college. There¡¯s still survivors.¡± A breath caught in my throat. ¡°There¡¯s survivors.¡± I repeated, feeling my eyes moisten. ¡°I need to go down there, once we¡¯ve taken care of Chad.¡± My gaze moved out to all of the other clusters, all of the other places where people still lived, where people were fighting and struggling and striving. I wiped at my eyes and said, ¡°This is big news. This is a lot more survivors than I thought. More than I could have imagined.¡± I stood and offered the chair back to Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to think on this, quite a bit.¡± Sarah nodded to me and moved to reclaim her seat. ¡°If we can link up with all of these people, it¡¯ll mean the world.¡± Again I remained silent, the hope caught in my throat, my eyes growing wet once again. I could help them all, make up for my failures, I could do something to make these lives better. And if I was able to link everyone together, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t need to be in charge anymore, not that I was really in charge now. Finally, I nodded to Sarah and stepped quickly out of the chamber. I gasped for breath as the tension finally escaped from my chest and once more wiped away my tears, taking some time to steady myself there in the foyer. I considered my options carefully, before heading into the library. The librarian sat at his normal spot, leafing through books, and looked up as I entered. ¡°Manager, is everything well?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. Just, there¡¯s a lot more people alive than I expected. I have a big responsibility ahead of me.¡± I moved in and took a seat at the front row, taking a time to run my fingers through my hair, falling quiet for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s a lot.¡± ¡°It is, yes.¡± The librarian¡¯s voice was soft as he closed his book. ¡°Being chosen is not an easy thing, nor is being Chosen. You have continued to exceed my expectations though, and the expectations of the other planners of this operation.¡± I looked up, eyes wide. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing a good job?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The librarian laughed gently. ¡°You¡¯ve been doing a very good job. You have gathered allies, aided the oppressed, built structures, advanced your own understanding of the world. I know it can be hard to see the metrics, but you¡¯re doing very well on all of them.¡± I nodded again, once more taking the moment to find my center, to seek calm inside of myself. ¡°Okay.¡± I let out a heavy breath and looked up to the librarian. ¡°I have questions.¡± Chapter 34 ¡°First off, what happens if the factory floor grows too packed?¡± I met the librarian¡¯s gaze steadily. ¡°With all of the people here, we¡¯re going to start needing expanded facilities, and I¡¯d like for everything to remain coherent. Also, I might need to bring in conveyors from outside.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. All of the walls of the first floor can be removed,¡± the librarian said. ¡°There will still be support pillars, but that shouldn¡¯t get too much in the way. You may want to locate them first, though, so that you can build your factory around them, if you¡¯re interested in everything remaining suitably pleasant looking.¡± ¡°Oh, speaking of conveyors,¡± I sat up, ideas suddenly flaring into my mind. ¡°If I establish a mine outside of the walls, is there anywhere to bring the material inside of the walls via anything automated without taking down wall segments?¡± The librarian fuzzed for a moment, expression freezing. Before I could panic though, he nodded deeply to me. ¡°Yes, if you deploy a storage crate inside of the wall, it¡¯ll have a conveyor port on both sides, but only materials can enter those ports. You¡¯ll have more to worry about with monsters attacking the belts or the mine.¡± I frowned a touch. ¡°Are you doing alright?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± He paused briefly before brightening. ¡°Oh yes, the freezing. I was just doing a deep dive into my notes, making sure that I had found everything that was needed.¡± He smiled to me. ¡°Would hate for you to get bad information after all.¡± I nodded slowly and leaned back in the chair, looking upwards thoughtfully. ¡°Do you have schema for conveyor stuff in here? I have picked up the Automation perk, and while I could go and design my own, I figure for something that foundational, you¡¯d have something already made up.¡± The librarian grinned and picked up a couple books from an invisible bookshelf and slotted them into the machine before me. ¡°Good. One of the things you¡¯ll need to learn is that you must not do everything yourself. Your power is great, but it is multiplied by those who can aid you.¡± I turned my attention fully onto the screen and leafed through the schema presented: conveyor belts, mergers, splitters, storage, everything I would need to get the factory actually humming. My mind swirled with the possibilities here, limited, ultimately, only by space, for space determined the amount of mines and the amount of condensers, everything needed for this system to run. And with every bit of new power I could eke, so too would grow the space that our burgeoning group could control. I leaned back as the schema began to settle in my brain, the skills were already there, the schema simply slotted in evenly, only expanding the circuitry of my brain slightly, a few veins on a fractally smaller level. It more tingled than hurt, the first time for such a system alteration to not send me reeling. ¡°Oh, is there any way to upgrade the advanced facilities we have here?¡± The librarian considered carefully, before nodding. ¡°Yes, it is possible, but it will not be easy. You will need to learn the actual schema for these facilities, and then you can modify them with higher tier materials both in the process of construction and in their designs. You are quite a ways away from that, though.¡± ¡°Yeah, I looked up some of them in the help, and they need tier two and three materials. I don¡¯t even know where to find those, let alone how to use them.¡± The librarian¡¯s smile became a bit wan and severe. ¡°You will find those materials when the game reaches the next level. Hopefully you have time, but the progression of events is going so fast. It will be sooner than I like, of that I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s not ominous or anything.¡± I sighed again and then suddenly leaned forward, setting my forearms against the edge of the desk. ¡°Which reminds me, what¡¯s up with these system notes? There¡¯s a few that are clearly related to the Factory, and they seem to be updating based on my progress.¡± The librarian shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. We simply had run a lot of simulations, and wrote a lot of scripts to work from.¡± He sighed softly. ¡°The project head, she¡¯s the one who wrote most of them. Extremely clever woman, I always felt like she had some insight into the system that none of the rest of us possessed.¡± ¡°Could she still be out there as a Vestige?¡± The librarian frowned at that, taking off his glasses to polish them. ¡°It is possible, yes. Not likely, considering everything. But possible, yes.¡± I sensed a sore spot there, and decided against pushing it. Being in the librarian¡¯s good graces had been nothing but useful so far, and I had no desire to harm that relationship. ¡°I probably should get back to work.¡± I pushed myself up slowly. ¡°There is just so much ahead of us.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Please come by and talk any time.¡± The librarian smiled again. ¡°I understand that your time is limited, but I am glad to be of service in any way that you can.¡± ¡°You have, in more ways than one. I¡¯ll be seeing you soon, I¡¯m sure.¡± I paused by the door before I exited. ¡°Oh, is there any way to drain someone¡¯s erg or keep them from using their abilities?¡± The librarian frowned and shook his head. ¡°Not without killing them, I¡¯m afraid. That said, the erg has toughened your bodies. While being knocked unconscious would generally cause some degree of brain damage, you are now resilient enough that such a condition would have its lingering effects healed before they could compound.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± I smiled and waved before stepping out. After a quick runthrough of the factory queues and updating quite a few of them, channeling air ingots into cogs, and setting up the creation of storage crates and conveyors and the rest of the material I¡¯d need to fully automate this place, I headed to the lobby. It was time for the meeting with the food team. Ten people were waiting for me there, including Seren who smiled up to me as I arrived. ¡°Hello everyone,¡± I said. Looking over the others, it was a fairly eclectic group, people who would likely have never met or interacted if not for the great game. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you all here, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a lot of details we can hammer out. But let''s start with introductions, make sure that I¡¯m on the same page as everyone else.¡± Seren made sure to take notes as everyone introduced themselves. Most of their paths didn¡¯t stand out, though Ewen, a gangly young man way too tall for his youthful features, complained sheepishly that his [Butcher] path wasn¡¯t a combat one like he thought. Also, Ilyana who was barely sixteen, had [Tender of Soil], which apparently combined farming and landscaping into a single skill set which seemed especially useful. It was Karla though who took the lead in most of the conversations, though seemingly out of a place of respect rather than any sort of domineering social manipulation. She was an older woman, more bent than Francis but with as much fight as him. Her path was a simple [Farmer] but that was exactly what we needed, and it was clear that she had the pre-system experience to back up her system-granted skills. ¡°So,¡± Karla said, ¡°we should start with beans for the moment. Highly nutritious, can be prepared a number of ways, and can be grown very quickly. As we gain more space, then we begin to grow wheat. Everyone agree?¡± Murmurs of agreement sounded from the rest of the group. I nodded, seeing that everyone was on the same page, and that they seemed to be adapting well to the new circumstances. ¡°Good. I¡¯m sure you saw the sign posted in the lobby, but Karla, I¡¯d like you to represent the food production team.¡± She frowned a touch at that, before nodding swiftly. ¡°Tonight, right after sunset.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll leave you to it.¡± I rose to my feet and there was a shaking of hands as the meeting came to an end. ¡°I have every confidence in your ability to handle this, feel free to get in touch if you need any supplies, but otherwise, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll need me at your team meetings.¡± Karla agreed softly, before perking up. ¡°We will need lumber. We can convert it into mulch and seed beds, where we can plant the seeds we have in inventory. Beyond that, well, the system handles much, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have some tool requirements.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll leave a pile of lumber just outside.¡± I departed, Seren staying by my side as I deposited the pile from my inventory onto the ground just outside of the factory. While I made my way over to the western side of the wall, and the main entrance of sorts, I watched as the food production team went to work. Seren flipped through their notes as they kept my side. ¡°The [Butcher] probably won¡¯t have much work to do right away, and the [Rancher] won¡¯t be able to start raising livestock until we have a suitable source of feed.¡± They glanced up to me with a grin. ¡°He has some chickens stored in his inventory, though. Apparently living things can be stored that way, but only if they¡¯re considered equipment.¡± ¡°The system is weird.¡± I grunted softly and continued forward, pausing briefly at the gates. ¡°I¡¯m going to go cut down some trees until the next meeting, it won¡¯t be especially exciting work.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll just watch your big strong arms work.¡± They winked at me and I sighed before drawing my axe from my inventory. ¡°It¡¯s also strange,¡¯ I said as I began to chop. ¡°That it¡¯s so easy to pull equipment out of my inventory when I¡¯m out of a fight, but if it wasn¡¯t for my path perk, it¡¯d be significantly slower to do so in a battle.¡± The axe head thudded deep into the trunk of the tree, and I worked on carving out a wedge. ¡°How does the system even know when I¡¯m in a fight?¡± ¡°Has to be something with the erg, right?¡± Seren had opened their notebook and startedidly sketching as they watched me work. ¡°Makes sense.¡± I grunted and brought forth the axe again, even deeper this time. The axe caught deep and I couldn¡¯t budge it out, until the entire tree suddenly disappeared and my inventory filled with wood. ¡°Still weird, though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not denying the weird.¡± For a time, I focused on just cutting down more trees, slowly clearing the area that I would be installing the wall later. ¡°How do you think I handled the meeting?¡± ¡°About as well as you could, I think. You could have done more to engage the others and not let Karla dominate the conversation so much, but she wanted to talk, and the others didn¡¯t.¡± Seren grinned up at me from where they were now sitting, leaning back against a tree. ¡°But that¡¯s the way Karla is, and if anyone has any issues, they know how to find me at least.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I took a moment to wipe my brow before glancing upwards. ¡°Getting close to meeting time, and I want to run by the floor. You have any suggestions with this group?¡± ¡°They really shouldn¡¯t be too much trouble to handle. Just,¡± Seren paused briefly, ¡°just be careful with them. They¡¯ve all been through a lot, and they¡¯re fragile right now, whether they seem it or not.¡± I met their gaze steadily for a long moment, then nodded and turned to head back into the crater. Chapter 35 Waiting for us when we returned to the lobby were eight others. Francis was sitting off by himself, watching the chatter of the others. He nodded to me as I entered, which drew the attention of the other seven to me. They ranged in ethnicities and ages, much like the rest of the refugees. The winds of fortune had shifted all of their lives in those moments that had led up to now, and each bore scars upon their psyche which were visible even to me. ¡°Hello everyone,¡± I said. ¡°Welcome to the first meeting of the manufacturing team.¡± A small grin played over my features. ¡°Now, I do have a lot of ideas of what we could do, but I¡¯m not actually in charge here. Each of you can make your own decisions about what you do with your talents, but those decisions must be tempered with an understanding of the good of the community.¡± A middle aged woman, grey at the temples, lined around her eyes, spoke first. ¡°Well, I do want to thank you for taking us all in, we all feel a lot of gratitude for being allowed here. I¡¯ll say what we¡¯re all thinking, though,¡± she stood then and stepped towards me. ¡°What¡¯s this game you¡¯re playing? What¡¯s your angle?¡± I frowned a touch before glancing over to Seren who simply nodded supportively. I resisted a sigh and turned back to the woman. ¡°I think that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. May I ask your name, ma¡¯am?¡± The woman straightened, and tilted her head so that she could look down at me despite being several inches shorter than me. ¡°I¡¯m Edith.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Edith. I really want to get to know all of you, but you¡¯re right, I should explain some things before we get started.¡± I looked from her to the other seven. Most of them looked at me with a sense of uncertainty, while Francis glared at Edith¡¯s back. ¡°The way that Chad treated you? That was wrong. The way that the world had treated you before integration? That was wrong.¡± A heaviness hung in the air as even Francis turned to look at me. I continued. ¡°But better things are possible.¡± I straightened up a bit more, finding a confidence in my spine that wasn¡¯t mirrored in my guts. ¡°It may have required the ending of the world to free us from the old world¡¯s structures, but we are free to make something new, in a way that we were never able to before. ¡°Edith, you¡¯ve asked what my angle is, it¡¯s not a bad question, in truth. You see something that¡¯s too good of a deal and you start looking for strings. That¡¯s what we were all taught, from the way things used to be. From the way that society has taught us that we had to organize our living, that no one would ever give us a handout or even a hand-up.¡± I stepped forward and Edith took a step back in response. ¡°We can do things differently here.¡± Edith snorted. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of words to say not much.¡± I let out that sigh and then flopped down onto a seat. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I can say that would convince you that there¡¯s no tricks here.¡± I couldn¡¯t blame them, not really; looking at the situation from their perspective, being offered freedom and safety in equal measures without any strings attached seemed too good to be true. ¡°Alright.¡± I sat back up straight. ¡°Here¡¯s the plan. ¡°I have work I need to do, and I¡¯m going to go do that. I¡¯m sure you all have things you¡¯d like to do, or maybe you¡¯d rather do nothing and continue to rest.¡± I ran my fingers through my hair, closing my eyes as I gathered up my confidence further. ¡°If anyone asks you for help, if anyone needs something made, feel free to send them my way. But if you can build it with your own abilities, maybe consider helping them yourself. I¡¯ll be here this time tomorrow if anyone wants to talk about their plans.¡± Seren looked to me with a concerned expression and I shook my head. I mouthed the word ¡°stay¡± to them, and then headed into the factory floor. There really was a lot of work that I needed to do, shifting materials from machine to machine, setting up processes and moving them forward, iterating on material after material, running through my resources as I struggled to make manifest the things that were needed for this place to survive and flourish. There was a small part of me that felt a pang of anger at their refusal to listen to me, the inability of that group to understand that this was all for them. Yet, I knew it was more complicated than that, I understood that, and the labor wasn¡¯t exactly exhausting. All I had to do was walk back and forth and do some inventory management; the system made it all so simple. A part of me wondered how this all would work without the system but with erg, if the two could even be separated. With mundane technology, similar processes could be performed, but it would take a lot more time, a lot more specialized equipment, and a lot more programming of the machines. Here, all of that programming was stored in the schema, in the swirls of my brain. I rested my hand against one of the smelters, feeling its warmth beneath my fingers. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The primary reason that I stepped away, though, was that I realized that they needed space. While the food producers had a clear connection between their labor and the survival of the group, the manufacturing team had a much murkier chain of effect. That lack of clarity amplified by the lingering trauma of their experiences meant that they would respond negatively to any apparent attempt to direct them. These were not unreasonable people, but they were dealing with an unreasonable situation. So they needed an opportunity to rest, to recover, to find within themselves that understanding of their place in this new world. Being Chosen had forced me into a place, into a position within this world of ours, and had given me additional leverage to do the things that I needed to do in order to maintain that position. Tomorrow would be another day. Hours passed as I worked on the factory floor, moving from the early afternoon to the beginning of evening. I walked to the north facing wall and pulled a switch, causing the wall segments along that side to rise like a garage door, curling and sliding up along the ceiling, opening onto the fresh air. For a moment, I was caught there, in the sudden beauty of the evening, the bright sky slowly becoming darker, the fresh scents on the wind, the joy of a day well spent. My work was not yet done, though. I started by laying down three storage crates, evenly placed, along the northern edge of the factory floor. I aligned them so that they faced perpendicular from the original placement of the wall, and then hopped lightly on top of them. Each stood about two feet tall, but relied on similar inventory compression mechanisms as our in-built system, allowing them to hold far more than their size would suggest. From that position, though, I could spot the nearest of the mines, set right against the wall. My gaze drew a line from that mine to the farthest left storage crate and in that line, I set into place a long conveyor belt. First, the holographic image of my desired placement appeared, then I locked it into place with a confirmation command. The conveyor sections disappeared from my inventory and deployed almost instantly, only the barest fraction of a delay, onto the desired path. As the conveyor fully deployed, the two ends locking into place, it began to turn, pulling ore out of the mine and into the storage crate. The conveyor didn¡¯t move with any high levels of speed, but it did move, and that inexorable movement was more than enough to get the component materials to where they needed. I would need to test efficiency eventually, but even this would rapidly increase my pace of labor. The next mine required a bit more work to set up, as I had to jog a bit further out to get line of sight from that mine to the storage crate. Karla had already begun plotting out some beanstalks in my desired path so I lifted the conveyor¡¯s path upwards, enough that it avoided getting in the way of the stalks and also kept the path to the northern side of the plots, to keep my conveyors from blocking the sunlight. Some support struts had to go down, but I was able to attach them to the wall rather than disrupt the work below. From there, it was a simple matter to complete the connection. The third mine would be the hardest to do, as there was no way to get a complete line of sight between the crate and the mine. I started from the mine, heading out to the center of the crater, and start laying out the conveyor from there, sending support struts into the ground to allow the conveyor to not disrupt foot travel too much, with the struts spaced far enough apart to allow for ease of movement between them. As I worked, I noticed that I had gained a crowd who stared silently at the holographic displays that illuminated the slowly dimming sky. I kept the end of the path in mind as I slowly walked over towards the crates, continuing to draw the path in the sky above me, before bringing it down back to the ground and curving it around the factory wall. Finally, I hit the end into the last storage crate and let it complete. I still had some conveyor segments left in my inventory, but not nearly enough for what I intended to do next. Fortunately, I had more than enough lumber to get a bunch more segments queued up. As I was relaxing, a kid walked up to me, maybe seventeen years old, short, dark hair and eyes, a softness to their features that lent them an air of androgyny; they were dressed in threadbare overalls and a simple plaid shirt underneath. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s pretty impressive, sir.¡± I turned and stared at them. ¡°Don¡¯t, just don¡¯t, call me sir. I¡¯m only like five years older than you.¡± The kid laughed at that and offered a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m Terry. You got a minute to chat?¡± ¡°Uhh.¡± I took a moment to look at the timers on the machines. ¡°Yeah, I got some time. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°So, I took your advice to heart during the big meeting,¡± Terry said. I had seen them there, though they hadn¡¯t left much of an impression then. ¡°Dropped my [Porter] path, I mostly was able to carry around heavy things but it was increasingly exhausting. Not A Fan.¡± I was about to nod for them to continue when a crackle suddenly flared in my ear. ¡°We got incoming,¡± Jen said. ¡°Monsters, looks like the landbirds.¡± ¡°Landbirds?¡± Suddenly my memory went back to the thing that had attacked me on my way north, and driven me off the cliff. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Looks like a full pack, eight, maybe nine. I¡¯m on the ground now, but I have the newbies with me, might be too much for me to fight them off and protect them.¡± Artemis¡¯ voice appeared, sharp in a way that I had never heard before. ¡°On my way.¡± ¡°Same.¡± I instantly equipped my armor and fired the grapplespike at the top of the wall. I glanced over to Terry. ¡°Sorry, we can chat tonight, once this is taken care of.¡± I popped my wheels and surged forward, beginning the climb up the wall. Chapter 36 I perched at the top of the wall and gazed down, seeing Jen and three others clustered with their backs towards the wall. The other three were all taller than Jen, but more slender and clearly uncertain in their battle stances. From this position, I couldn¡¯t see any sign of the landbirds, until I activated my erg sight. The whole forest glowed, but the signatures of the eight monsters, stalking closer, glowed even brighter. I was still too far to properly scan them, but they definitely stood out clearly. ¡°Stay safe,¡± I said over comms. ¡°I¡¯m going to deploy some defenses.¡± Before anyone could respond, the lead of the landbirds surged out of the woods, leaping forward. Its colorful plumage contrasted with its almost reptilian head and those sharp talons at the ends of its feet. It slashed at Jen but she caught the blow with one gauntlet, before stepping in and launching a straight jab directly at the bird¡¯s torso. It pushed off of the gauntlet and darted back away from the blow. Before Jen could regain her footing, two more of the birds launched themselves at her and she was forced onto the defensive, as the five birds who had remained behind began to slowly circle around the four humans. I deployed two autorifles, channeling erg through the perk to make it function faster, causing them to instantly appear, mounted on the side of the wall. The rifles locked onto the signatures of the landbirds, the fire control system and the targeting system unifying in their functions to first target the monsters before looking for anything else. The air cracked as the oversized bullets slammed forward, each managing to find their target and causing two of the flanking birds to be pushed back, punctured holes in their sides dripping blood onto the soil. The remaining three instantly charged forward, each aimed for one of the untrained combatants. I switched out my grapplespike, relying on my right hand to keep me perched in place, and began spraying spikes down at the remaining three, though my aim was much worse than that of the rifles. A few spikes did manage to scrape against the sides of the birds, but they shook off the attacks and continued forward. Jen spun to face the attackers, only for the first bird to launch at her back. It drove its claw into her, but the cut rolled along her side, drawing blood but not puncturing deeply. Artemis¡¯s shots rang out, three in a row, and those three attacking landbirds fell, their heads exploding into pink mist with every thudding impact. Jen had grabbed the leg of the attacking landbird in her armpit, and twisted her body to throw it over her shoulder with an audible crack of bone. The landbird went airborne with a loud squawk and Jen jumped into an uppercut, her gauntleted fist slamming into the soft underbelly of the bird. The instant after the impact, the spike launched from the back of her gauntlet and speared in deep, drawing a spray of viscera. With a casual flick of her wrist, she flung the bird at the other two that had attacked her. Meanwhile, the autorifles had continued to fire, eventually taking down the two they originally targeted. With only two remaining, they turned to flee. One of the new combatants grabbed one of my spikes that had landed in the ground, holding it firmly in her hand before launching it with enough speed to break the sound barrier. It cracked into the back of one of the fleeing birds and it fell to the ground, though it was not visibly injured. Another of the new combatants called up a pillar of mud to grab the last bird, allowing the last newbie to flicker forward through the air and lash out with a pair of daggers, cutting through the bird¡¯s neck from behind, with a splash of blood. I switched back in the grapplespike and attached it to the top of the wall, before rappelling down to the ground on the outside. Before I had landed, Artemis appeared out of the shadows and rapidly checked Jen¡¯s wounds. Jen hissed at the touch of Artemis¡¯s fingers to her side, but murmured soft assurances to her girlfriend. Seeing those two taking care of themselves, I turned my attention to the other three, now that the one with the daggers had returned from the woods. ¡°Good fighting you all. I¡¯m not exactly an expert myself, but it seemed like you¡¯d be able to hold your own, at least one-on-one, against these things.¡± After some grumbled disagreements, the three introduced themselves. The one who threw my spike was Aria, a [Javelineer], looked to be about eighteen, maybe a year or in either direction, with short hair (practically a buzz cut), and sharp, piercing eyes. Stacey was a [Mudslinger], apparently a path that was rooted purely around erg effects on the elements, and while the same age as Aria, Stacey was shorter, with long hair that reached to her mid-back, and a smile that showed off the gap in her front teeth. Finally, Ty was a [Flickerknife], and he was tall, a bit older, with a lithe build and the sort of presence that made it hard to look away. They had all changed their paths after the meeting, though I gave Ty a side glance, wondering why someone with such an athletic frame had not chosen a combat path in the first place, why he had not been selected by Chad to join that circle of hunters. I briefly remembered Sarah¡¯s words about spies, but put it out of my mind as swiftly as I could. Jen and Artemis were here, they knew this group better than I did, and I knew I could trust them. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Once she was confident that Jen¡¯s wound wasn¡¯t too severe, Artemis started to lead the way back to the entrance. ¡°I would say that you need to be more careful, but this is about as safe as we can get. And we all need to get stronger, and fighting monsters is the strongest way to get there.¡± She glanced over her shoulder at the three newbies. ¡°Any of you get a level up?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Ty said. His voice was unexpectedly soft for a man of his size. ¡°Those landbirds are pretty tough, but they also give out a lot of erg.¡± Aria and Stacey nodded in agreement. ¡°Good,¡± Jen said, ¡°we¡¯ve talked about where to spend your points, you all know the best thing to do with your level up.¡± She grinned brightly as she leaned against Artemis. ¡°A few more levels and we¡¯ll be able to start really digging into some team plays.¡± Her gaze slid over to me then. ¡°Your turrets were pretty powerful, but your spikethrower is beginning to show its age.¡± ¡°Even with its improved rate of fire, it just doesn¡¯t have the penetration to go after anything harder than a deerthing.¡± I sighed and tapped at the weapon. ¡°The grapplespike remains a vital mobility upgrade though, and it¡¯s nice to have something suited for rate of fire. I think I¡¯ll need to make a mountable autorifle or seven, though, to keep up with y¡¯all. In the meanwhile, I need to focus on getting more turrets active on the walls. Having this place as a fall back base will be really handy during your leveling sessions.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Artemis said. ¡°I¡¯d rather not have to deal with this particular emergency again, and having a nice line of rifles in a row should help keep it from happening.¡± ¡°Oh, that reminds me,¡± I said as I pulled out the comms from my inventory. I handed one to everyone present, switching out the unit I had equipped. ¡°These have a multi-channel function, so that people can have whatever conversations they need to have. It also has an announcements channel, which overrides the others, so that people will know if an emergency happens.¡± I handed the remainder over to Jen and Artemis. ¡°Could you see these distributed? They¡¯ll trust it a lot more coming from you.¡± I left the combat pathers at the gate, let them enter while I went back to work on clearing the route for the wall. I still had some time before night fell, but there was a lot of work to get done in that time. It was a meditative effort, at least, allowing me to drift into the repetitive motions and empty out my thoughts. After the last few days, having a chance to not think about things was a small blessing. The hours had dragged on long, and sense fell away, becoming a blurring passage of space and time. Only when I finished the task did I realize that the sun had long set, and I had missed out on the first meeting that I had scheduled. It was fine, really, they almost certainly did a better job without my presence there. I was a stranger, and a strange stranger at that, someone with peculiar views and ideologies, and even more idiosyncratic abilities and resources. If I wasn¡¯t me, I wouldn¡¯t trust me. I shook the sweat from my hair, before pushing it back into something resembling order. Hunger gnawed at my stomach, but that was best ignored until food production got into full gear. We would all be going to bed hungry tonight. Instead, I brought up the wall construction hologram and began painting along the route I had managed to clear, before bringing it to a close, trapping in a fresh expansion of space. I let out a low, pleased rumble of a breath as the process completed. The satisfaction of managing to accomplish one of the more important tasks on my list temporarily assuaged the gnawing discontent in the back of my throat. Yet, the work still needed to be finished. First, I quickly added another gate on the far west part of the expansion, where the path had begun off from the road. Fortunately the path itself provided clearance for the next step, keeping me from having to continue to fill my inventory with timber. I sighted the ideal location for the next erg condenser and deployed it, the structure slowly coming into existence from within my inventory, rather than the instant click of most deployments. Rather than worrying about what exactly that meant, I instead focused on getting the connections between the condenser and the central power grid set up. Once they all clicked into place, the condenser hummed into life. With my enhanced erg senses, I could feel the barely perceptible tug of the condenser drawing in ambient energy unto itself. I exhaled a slow breath and took a seat beneath one of the still standing trees, turning my gaze up to the canopy of leaves and beyond, to the starry sky which seemed so bright, the visions of a world yet to come shining through that distant gloom. The peace was shattered with a system message blaring into life in my face.
ERROR: Chosen Quest Complete: Power Supply (3/?): Create an ergonic condenser, attach it to the factory supply. and install active defenses to protect it. Select reward: Store Processing Bay Gym Pharmacy Advanced Processing Center Entertainment Center Command Center
The choice here was anything but clear, but I knew in my gut what choice I needed to make. I stared at the list for a long while, feeling my doubts creep in once again, worry about taking too much control wearing at me. There was no opportunity for more information about the choice, though. I went with my gut. Chapter 37
Reward selected. Entertainment Center facility unlocked. Level up! +10 Path Points! Erg/Health restored Level up! +10 Path Points! Erg/Health restored
The rush of the level ups settled over me and I stared down at myself, watching as the erg ran through my system with increasing density, the glow increasing in vibrancy. I once more wondered at what I was becoming. Another system message blasted into my perspective.
ERROR: Chosen You have received the following Factory quest: Power Supply (4/?): Expand power grid to cover 1 entire region. Reward: Access to one factory facility of choice.
I¡¯d have to ask the librarian what was meant by a region, and just what degree of coverage was required, but that was a tomorrow question. For tonight, all I wanted to do was get some sleep. I probably should check out the Entertainment Center, but a weariness had settled into me, magnified by all of the doubts that flowed through me. What I needed to do before I slept, though, was deploy more of the autorifles. Fortunately, I was able to draw line of sight from my current location to the desired deployment locations, so I simply walked through the new expansion, shifting the contents of my inventory into even intervals along the wall. All in all, I deployed another twenty-eight of the autorifles, bringing the total to thirty. While it wasn¡¯t as much as I would ultimately like, it was all that the current grid could handle. Fortunately, so long as I continued to expand my area of control evenly, the area of deployment would increased quadratically, while the perimeter of the base would increase linearly, meaning that every new condenser would give me enough power to increase not just the raw number of autorifles, but also their density along the walls. I somehow felt even more drained after finishing that deployment and stumbled into the factory. The stairs were simply too far and the mere thought of climbing them a herculean ordeal that I swiftly banished from my head. Instead, I collapsed down onto a couch, face first into the cushions, and immediately drifted off into sleep. The nightmares were unusually vivid, the sounds of battle, of my campus overrun with monsters. My friends, my teachers, Sam, they all fought against the rising tide, but so many went down in blood and screams, screams that echoed even as I rolled off of the couch with a thud. I groaned and pushed myself into a seated position, glad to see that there was no one around to have observed my fall. As I made a mental list of the things that I needed to get done today, I made my way up to the Entertainment Center. At the very least, I could check out its status before I started delving especially deep into the work of the day. I briefly pondered skipping the afternoon meeting. It was entirely possible that no one would show up, but I figured that I might as well make a showing, and if no one was there, I could move onto other things. After that, I wanted to sink a couple more mines if possible and run them up to the factory floor. I also needed to get smelters running for all of those accumulated resources. Once all of that was settled, my next priority would be to help get the new fighters geared up as much as possible. If they had the weapons and armor they needed, maybe that fight would have gone much more smoothly. I also needed to expand the processing facilities in general, to assure that I had a ready supply of materials I needed, and I wanted to upgrade my own weaponry. And the food production team might be needing tools any minute now. It was not a manageable workload, but for the moment I was the only person who I knew was working on it. With a sigh, I pushed open the door to the Entertainment Center. The moment I saw the interior, all thoughts except for what lay before me slipped from my mind. While the other facilities possessed an aesthetic value above and beyond their pure utility, this place really was something else altogether. The facility was roughly divided into three rooms, one directly at the entrance, one with a door across from where I stood, and the final one off to the right. The first room, which was occupied by two of the moms, Terry, and Marlene, was a simple lounge or den, with large and plush armchairs. What drew my attention, though, was the bookcases lining the walls behind the furniture. I moved in and scanned over the titles, seeing that the selection was entirely fiction, ranging from Don Quixote to 19Q4. Which of course raised all sorts of questions, which I added to the pile to talk to the librarian about. I grabbed one book, a collection of short stories by Robert Chambers, and began to idly flip through the pages, finding that the contents matched up with my memories of them. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Hey, Cid! Can I call you Cid? Seems like the best nickname for you,¡± Terry said. I jumped at the sound, having not noticed them approaching me. ¡°Cid is fine. I prefer Placid, but Cid is fine.¡± ¡°Cool!¡± Terry grinned. ¡°I know you got a bit busy last night, but I do want to chat with you in a bit. I need something made.¡± I turned to face Terry fully and briefly went over the list of work that I had to, once again, before nodding slowly. ¡°Fine. Let me finish looking around here, then I¡¯ll come back and we can hammer out the details.¡± Terry gave a salute and I let out a faint guffaw in response, before they reclaimed their seat, leafing through their book, The Invisibles by Grant Morrison, apparently. With a shrug, I went to check out the room on the right, which somehow was a video game arcade. I stared in silence for a long time, looking over the machines, before simply shaking my head and figuring that there was a similar process at work as with the books. The four kids were playing various machines, one was playing pinball, two were racing each other, and the fourth was playing some sort of side scroller beat-em-up. A fifth person, who looked only vaguely familiar, was playing a game called CarnEvil, dual-wielding the pistols and firing with shockingly accurate aim. She was fairly short, with long black hair, wearing worn jeans, a black metal band t-shirt, and a pair of sunglasses. I decided to leave them be and went to check out the third room, which turned out to be a small theater. It was currently empty, but a quick examination revealed a projector in the back, allowing it to serve both for live entertainment and pre-recorded media. Judging from the rest of the space, there likely was a catalog of films and maybe even television shows that the projector could present. Something about this place caught in my mind, kept me from fully being able to move on. The presence of pre-system media was unusual, certainly, and something was tickling in the back of my brain about that, something that was moving into slow alignment. No, the strangeness here was something more personal, something in the arrangement of details in aggregate, rather than anything in particular. Then it hit me in a rush and the weight of it forced me into one of the chairs in the theater. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and I would go out to the mall with my parents. We¡¯d go to the movies, to the arcade, to bookstores, and it¡¯d be a fun day out with the family. But then I had to ruin everything, I had to become something so strange that my family could never understand me. Their faces flashed by me, my parents, my brothers, the smiles turned to grimaces, the disgust visible in them. I had betrayed them and their expectations, I had turned my back on everything they had set out for me, all of the work they had put in for me. I failed them and I failed myself and I couldn¡¯t forget that, I couldn¡¯t let that slip from my mind, even now, even with the world ending around me, I had to allow that guilt and shame and that pain to be a part of my soul. I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around my knees as I worked to keep my breath steady, I couldn¡¯t afford to let anyone see my weak. Slowly, the pain eased, the tightness of my chest faded and I was finally able to exhale fully, my body loosening, before I leaned back in my seat. I closed my eyes tight, squeezing out the surroundings, then allowed them to crack open inexorably slow, staring forward at the stage. It really was a comfortable looking room, wood paneling, smooth tile floor, those chairs that leaned back with the foot rest. I let out my breath once more, exhaling the stress that had built up, before slowly pushing myself to my feet. As I returned to the den, Terry and the gun girl were waiting for me. Terry grinned brightly and put their hand onto the girl¡¯s back. ¡°Hey, this is my girlfriend, Raven. She also needs you to make something for her.¡± I schooled my expression to a smirk, rather than a sigh. ¡°Sure, okay. I can find the time to work on this. Helping folks out has to take priority.¡± I brushed my hair back. ¡°So, what¡¯s up?¡± The girl - Raven - kept silent but glanced over to Terry. ¡°Okay, so Raven here has priority. She picked up [Pistolero] when she changed paths, but Jen and Artemis won¡¯t let her go train until she gets some guns.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be too hard to do, I can edit a rifle design probably into a revolver, maybe toss on an auto-loader to remove the necessity of reloading.¡± I furrowed my brow as I thought through the design process. ¡°What would really help would be if I could pull on your specific skill for the design, which-¡° A smile spread across my face. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to test it out.¡± Raven smiled slightly, though it came off as more of a smirk. Terry¡¯s expression remained bright, though. They said, ¡°I need a flute!¡± I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking through my schema and my skills, before shaking my head slowly. ¡°There is no way I can build a flute without help. I have no idea how they work, why they work, or really anything else about them. Let¡¯s head over to the Research Lab, though, I think we might be able to make this thing work.¡± A short trip across the foyer brought the three of us to the Research. ¡°Let¡¯s start with you, Raven.¡± I motioned to the central drafting table, before stepping in and grasping the edge. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she joined me. The design space unfolded before me, stretching wide in my mind¡¯s eye, tracing the patterns of possibility. I immediately called up my rifle schema and my ranged weaponry skill, aligning them as basic components of the design. It was incomplete though, I could feel that emptiness, that need for more information for the design to follow my whims and become what it was meant to be. So I reached out with my mind, feeling at the white void that surrounded me. A tentative presence pushed back against me, then flinched away. I kept the pulse of my mind¡¯s presence soft as I reached out, urging for a contact to happen in that quiet moment. The presence pressed back, and for just a moment, I felt the complexities of the mind behind it. She was a shy and quiet girl, made all the more so by the world¡¯s ending, but she was confident in her skills and fierce in her protection of her friends and the one she loved. She rejected the hidebound mores of contemporary society, choosing to become herself in a way that truly and uniquely hers. Then, slowly but surely, her skill slid across the barrier between selves, flying up to link up with the developing design above. Chapter 38 Both Raven and I were gasping as we emerged from the design space, though Terry was already at her side, steadying her while glaring at me. ¡°What the fuck did you do?¡± Raven leaned against them, eyes closed and a smile on her lips, while I raised my hands up in protest. ¡°The design table is draining, but she¡¯ll be fine. It usually takes quite a bit longer to get quite that exhausted, but we finished it, and that¡¯s what matters.¡± I pulled up the Help entry for the item and flicked it Terry¡¯s way.
BIG IRONS The Big Irons are dual-linked heavy revolvers, with attached auto-loaders to increase the output and prevent the need for reloading. Type: Weapon Construction Details Skill: Ranged Weaponry Facility: Assembler Materials: Metal Ingot x4, Pipe Joiner x4, Hinge Joiner x4, Cog x2 Justice rolls through the empty town like a lost hero, a lonely knight errant, with the big irons upon their hips, to rain down from above and bring forth an ending to those who oppose the retribution of wrongs.
Terry frowned as they looked over the description and glanced over to Raven who nodded, that smile still on her lips. Then, Terry let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s get to it then.¡± They let go of Raven and stepped in, placing their hands onto the edge of the design table, looking over their shoulder at me. I drew in my breath and moved in, taking a grip as well and opening up the design space once again. I immediately probed for Terry¡¯s skills, and found their presence relatively swiftly, their eagerness for this to be done working in conjunction with my own desires for this to be finished combining into a swifter union of minds. I felt at their excitement, their youthful energy, their drive to push forward against it all, to become the greatest that they could be. I allowed that eagerness into the space and set to work. The work proceeded fairly simply from that point, with Basic Tools serving as my skill basis for the construction and Terry bringing in a Flute Proficiency skill to merge with it. Together, we instinctively honed the design, perfecting it by smoothing off the rougher edges and creating something with a lingering power, something that would endure and still maintain its precise sound. With the design finished, we once again disengaged, though this time it was Raven who supported Terry. ¡°Alright. Good,¡± they said as they recovered. ¡°This should do the trick, yeah.¡± I nodded slowly and took a breath, once more steadying myself. There was definitely a rush with using the design table, but that rush came with its own exhaustion, but even that exhaustion had a certain thrill to it, the weariness that came with knowing that work had been done and done well. Now, all I had to do was actually make the things. The flute proved to be decently simple in terms of materials, just a pipe and two joints. I could get everything put together before the meeting this afternoon. ¡°Did you get a comms unit from Jen or Artemis last night?¡± Terry nodded. ¡°Yeah, they passed them out to everyone.¡± I took my time in scanning through the channels, searching through them carefully. ¡°Okay, looks like channel 12 is empty. I¡¯ll get back to you sometime before my 2pm meeting, just keep tuned into that and I¡¯ll let you know.¡± The two headed out then, likely returning to the entertainment center, giving me a chance to fully recover my breath. As I did, I switched over to channel seven on my comms. Francis¡¯s voice emerged first, ¡°I still think that you¡¯re being too hard on the kid, Edith.¡± Edith responded swiftly, her voice sharp. ¡°I think you¡¯re being too trusting. You gotta remember what happened the last time we trusted someone.¡± Francis grunted. ¡°Yeah, but this kid has proven themself at least, haven¡¯t they?¡± The comms were silent for a while then, as I went down to the factory floor. When I started up the smelters, Edith finally responded. ¡°Yeah, maybe a little. But you have to admit it¡¯s a little suspicious that he¡¯s being so open.¡± ¡°That they¡¯re being so open, Edith.¡± I didn¡¯t recognize this voice, she spoke with a certain weariness. ¡°Placid uses they/them pronouns.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Edith said with a sigh. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. Even if I don¡¯t trust the kid, I can still respect who they are. Least I can do, really.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Thank you,¡± that third voice said. I felt a little bad eavesdropping on the conversation, but I didn¡¯t let that bother me too much. I opened up my construction view, and discovered that I could move around the facilities that I had created with relative ease, and so I began setting all of the smelters directly across from the crates. Then, I connected each of the crates to one of the smelters. It might not be the optimal efficiency, but it would work to increase throughput. I followed this up by setting another trio of crates to each of those smelters, assuring a steady supply of ingots. Edith¡¯s voice broke the silence of my labor once again. ¡°I don¡¯t get why they didn¡¯t show up to their meeting last night, either. They had gone out of their way to arrange everything and then no show? Doesn¡¯t make any sense to me.¡± I collected some of those freshly smelted ingots and set to work, making them into the sub-components I¡¯d need for both the Big Irons and the flute, while also queueing up further of each kind of base sub-component, so that I could move onto building the rest of the infrastructure I was planning. ¡°You don¡¯t know why?¡± Francis¡¯s voice carried a heavy sigh. ¡°You scared the damn kid! Why would they show up to a bunch of ingrates?¡± I let out a heavy breath and focused on the task ahead of me. The prickling of the back of my neck at this earnest conversation happening without them knowing I was listening grew with every moment. I probably should have just turned off the comms, or changed the channel, or even just said that I was listening. ¡°Ingrate? It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not grateful, it¡¯s just that-¡° Edith began. The third voice came in again. ¡°Yes, I know. The strings. You keep bringing up the strings. We may have only been here two nights, but I¡¯m not seeing a whole lot of strings. And Jen and Artemis have spoken up for them. And it¡¯s not like they have the personal power to do anything if we decide that we don¡¯t like the arrangement.¡± ¡°Okay but-¡° Edith tried again to regain the lead of the conversation. This time Francis interrupted. ¡°But nothing. Next time you see the kid, you apologize.¡± I switched off the comms then, my heart thudding, hoping that I hadn¡¯t crossed some major line by my eavesdropping. It was wrong, I knew that, but still I had done it out of some desire to understand the others better, to see where I could fit into the broader strokes of this new community that was forming here. They all had bonds, forged from their mutual trauma, while I was just some privileged outsider trying to tell them how to be. The queue popped and the finished Big Irons and flute appeared in my inventory. I switched to channel twelve and sent a quick message to Terry and Raven, telling them to meet me in the lobby. When I arrived in the lobby, though, I found Seren waiting for me, hands on their hips. ¡°You know you had me worried,¡± they said. ¡°I just let the time get away from me.¡± I waved off their concern and took a seat in one of the padded chairs. ¡°Plus, I figured that folks would probably do better without my presence at the meeting.¡± Seren sighed heavily and took a seat across from me, reaching over to take one of my hands into both of theirs. ¡°Most people here trust you. What Edith said, well, I won¡¯t deny that it¡¯s not been in the minds of some people, but not the people who¡¯ve gotten to know you. Who have gotten to see you as a person, rather than as this figure leading rescues and giving out speeches.¡± They gave my hand a firm squeeze. ¡°Plus, I had to lead the meeting with you gone.¡± Their nose scrunched up at the words. ¡°I hate leading meetings.¡± They laughed, I laughed, and some of the tension melted between us. ¡°No, you¡¯re right, I definitely should not have put that responsibility onto your shoulders.¡± I offered them a small smile, before looking down at our hands. ¡°What Edith said, well, it made sense. There is no reason to trust me, not after what they¡¯ve been through.¡± I looked up then, looking into Seren¡¯s eyes. ¡°What you¡¯ve been through.¡± They released my hands to reach up and cup my face. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of reasons to, from everything I¡¯ve seen.¡± Seren leaned in slowly and a flush rose on my cheeks, but I didn¡¯t pull away. Then the sound of steps echoed through the room as Terry and Raven rushed in. Then the front door swung open and Edith and Francis stepped in. Seren and I instantly pulled away, but it was too late, we had been spotted. No one said anything though, which was better than the alternative. I first turned to Terry and Raven, pulling their items from my inventory and handing them over. ¡°There, you should find these suitable for your needs. Let me know if you need anything else.¡± Edith blanched a bit as Raven twirled her new revolvers, but the pair exited swiftly, leaving the room once again silent. Edith broke that silence by clearing her throat. ¡°I. Well. I would like to formally apologize for my behavior at yesterday¡¯s meeting.¡± She didn¡¯t say the specifics of what she was apologizing for, and part of me wanted to completely brush it off. ¡°Apology accepted.¡± Sometimes the most important part of the process of moving forward is allowing an apology to happen. However, I had no particular desire to linger on the subject. ¡°What work have you been up to?¡± Francis spoke up, leaning forward. ¡°Been working on small stuff, mostly. Trellises for the beanstalks, new clothes for everyone, some more beds -like you suggested-, some basic farming tools. Started up a chicken coop this morning, over in the expansion.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I went over my mental list of things that needed doing, started crossing off a few things there. ¡°Alright, yeah, very good.¡± I took a beat to shift the conversation. ¡°It sounds like I didn¡¯t need to tell you all to start helping each other.¡± Edith sniffed but then nodded. ¡°It was good to hear, though, that you wouldn¡¯t be prioritizing the fighters.¡± I let out a laugh at that. ¡°No, the fighters are important, but what¡¯s really important is getting everyone¡¯s bellies full.¡± ¡°That reminds me,¡± Seren said. ¡°You missed the feast last night. Ai had found some mushrooms and Ewen carved up a bunch of those landbirds.¡± My stomach let out an aggressive growl at the mention of food. ¡°I probably should go eat something. I kinda skipped eating yesterday, but I suppose with the landbirds, there should be enough meat to go around.¡± ¡°I think there¡¯s some stew in the refrigerator cafeteria,¡± Edith said. ¡°It¡¯s nothing complex, but having a [Chef] make it somehow has the system add in seasoning and spices.¡± I nodded and rose to my feet. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head to the cafeteria. I think we have a lot of things to talk about. And I¡¯m starving.¡± Chapter 39 The cafeteria was busier than I expected, with over twenty people present. Jen and Karla were sitting at one table and motioned for us to join them, which I did swiftly. ¡°Well, I guess I got here right in time for the lunch rush.¡± I took a seat and glanced around for a moment. ¡°So, do I go get a bowl myself or is there some other procedure?¡± ¡°Believe it or not,¡± Jen said, ¡°but you¡¯re a bit of a local celebrity. Someone will bring a bowl by.¡± ¡°Plus,¡± Karla spoke up then, ¡°we do have a subject that we were not able to cover at last night¡¯s meeting, without you being present.¡± Seren slipped down and sat next to me, their leg bumping against mine. ¡°Things did go mostly smoothly.¡± They glanced over to Edith briefly, before looking back to me. ¡°I think we¡¯re all on the same page about getting everything set up as quickly as possible.¡± They took in a slow breath. ¡°And we all know that Chad is coming and that we need to get ready for that right now.¡± ¡°So,¡± I said, ¡°what didn¡¯t you get to discuss?¡± Karla opened her mouth to speak, but at glares from both Jen and Francis. She snapped it shut. Jen said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat first, then talk about business afterwards.¡± Fortunately, we didn¡¯t have to wait long, as Ewen came out of the kitchen with a large tray, full of steaming bowls of soup. The lanky [Butcher] set down the tray and distributed bowls and spoons to the now quite full table. I glanced around to see others having relocated to nearby tables, to listen in on the conversation. I decided not to speak but instead ate a spoonful of the soup, making sure to get a bit of the meat, which was tender enough to melt in my mouth. I closed my eyes and allowed the flavor to wash over me. After who knows how long with only protein bars and that one piece of charred deerthing, this was like a revelation of flavor, sparking my taste buds, allowing me to luxuriate in this raw, joyful sensation of a good meal. I set down my spoon and then looked up to Ewen. ¡°My compliments to the chef. This may be the best meal I¡¯ve ever had.¡± Ewen grinned and offered a quick salute before heading back into the kitchen. Before I could continue eating, though, a system message popped up in front of me.
Level up! +10 perk points, Heath/Erg restored +1 Erg Capacity +1 Erg Capacity to feast is the only pleasure we have left, to devour and consume, to tear apart everything we have around us and stuff it into our gullets like the ghouls we have become
I deliberately ignored the system message¡¯s note, and went right back into digging my way through the bowl. It really was quite satisfying in ways that went beyond the expanding of my erg, it was also a warmth in my stomach, a memory of satiation. Everyone else was silent as they ate, as well, surely lost in their own recollections, their own shadowed experiences playing over in the sensation of this simple but satisfying soup. It was not perfect, there wasn¡¯t enough materials present to really make a perfect soup, but the mushrooms were chopped so fine that they practically dissolved into the broth, and the seasoning was perfect, bringing out the flavors of the broth and the poultry. in ways that complimented each other in the best way possible. Even if I wasn¡¯t half-starved, this still would have been a restaurant quality dish; in my current state, I simply couldn¡¯t imagine any finer meal. My erg seemed to agree with me, as another system message popped up as I finished the meal.
Level up! +10 perk points, Health/Erg restored +1 Erg Capacity +1 Erg Capacity Level up! +1 perk points, Health/Erg restored +1 Erg Capacity
I settled back as I felt the changes of the level ups wash over me, working their way through my system. As I looked at my arms under the erg sight, I could see the channels of energy in them expand and grow, forming these elaborate loops through my limbs that connected up with the tighter channels of my hands and fingers. I glanced up and at the others at the table, seeing each of them with even tighter and more expansive patterns of erg channels in their bodies. All of us were changing, becoming something other than what we once were, but in that change came an ever-growing strength. Even once everyone had finished eating, no one spoke. No one wanted to broach the topic ahead of them. I was about to take the lead there, but Edith spoke up first. ¡°We need to talk about our prisoner,¡± she said. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°You mean Hank?¡± I asked. Nods were provided as answers and I sunk my head for a moment, expression thoughtful. ¡°Yeah. I know what I want to do with him, but also my plan might not work.¡± Francis surprised me with his swift response. ¡°We should just kill the bastard. He was one of Chad¡¯s right hand men, and there¡¯s no way that he¡¯s going to reform. We gotta get rid of him before he becomes a greater threat.¡± Numerous voices from the on-lookers joined in agreement with Francis. ¡°We definitely should keep him imprisoned until we¡¯ve dealt with Chad,¡± Karla said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we need to execute him, but no way should we let him out while we have an enemy preparing to assault us.¡± This brought louder agreement from the onlookers. ¡°Is anyone feeding him?¡± I asked, my mind reeling as I took in the opinions. ¡°Denying a prisoner food feels like a war crime, and I¡¯d much rather we not do war crimes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the Geneva Convention is in effect anymore,¡± Edith said with a smirk. I slammed a hand down flat onto the table. ¡°Just because there is no force to enforce being moral doesn¡¯t mean that we should just forget the lessons of our past.¡± Edith shirked back at the loud noise and some confused glances were passed among the onlookers. I took a deep breath before continuing. ¡°Has he been fed?¡± Ai, the [Forager], who had been working in the kitchen, stepped out and nodded to me. ¡°He¡¯s not been eating as well as the rest of us, but I¡¯ve been making sure that hasn¡¯t been starving. He has the same access to running water as the rest of us, and his room is nicer than a lot of us have access to.¡± She folded her arms across her waist and leaned against the doorframe separating the eating area from the kitchen. ¡°Okay.¡± I tried to find that calm in my center. ¡°Okay, good.¡± Seren placed a comforting hand onto my shoulder and in the warmth of that touch, I felt my center resolving itself more coherently. I was not alone here. ¡°I understand that you all have doubts about him. I understand that he has done terrible things.¡± Loud murmurs erupted from the onlookers and I raised a hand to bring them to silence. ¡°I still think that we should talk to him. If nothing else, Chad maintains a huge numbers advantage, sixteen to seven. While we do have the defense advantage here, bringing the numbers to two to one would be a significant shift in our edge. Like you all have said, Chad is coming, and we have to be as ready as possible.¡± ¡°Now listen, kid,¡± Francis said. ¡°I know you want to see the good in everyone, but not everyone has good in them. You weren¡¯t there, you didn¡¯t go through what I did. He¡¯ll try to trick you, try to make you think that what he did is more easily forgiven than it actually is. I appreciate that you want to avoid bloodshed, that you want everyone to work together, but some folks are just garbage, through and through.¡± ¡°The end of the world broke everyone, in ways large and small,¡± I said. My voice fell soft, just loud enough to be heard. ¡°I¡¯m not denying his deeds, I¡¯m just saying that maybe he was coerced as well, not to the same degree as you all, but to some degree. To some level, he wasn¡¯t fully in control of his actions, because of his fear, because of his doubts, because of the suffering inflicted by this new world.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying he was just following orders?¡± Edith sniffed loudly. ¡°No,¡± I said, ¡°that¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying at all. What I¡¯m saying is that perhaps now that he¡¯s under different circumstances, his behavior will be different. I¡¯m not asking you to forgive him, I¡¯m asking that you allow him to be useful.¡± As more murmurous disagreements exploded, I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ll bring Seren, they¡¯ll take notes of everything that we say, and then we can discuss that conversation tonight.¡± That brought some silence, before I continued. ¡°And if it turns out that he¡¯s lying to me, or if you think that he¡¯s not sincere in what he says, or hell, if he is utterly unrepentant, then we can talk exile. Or execution.¡± I shook my head slowly. ¡°Definitely agree that if we don¡¯t all,¡± I repeated the word with emphasis, ¡°all agree that he should be let out, then he doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, kid,¡± Francis said, but he held no further disagreement. The crowd kept their silence, but was caught in this sort of collective electrification of anxiety, their trauma manifesting in this moment of communal freezing. Picking up on the mood, I rose to my feet. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done now.¡± I looked down to Seren who nodded in agreement and rose to their feet. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to join you all for tonight¡¯s meeting. Having a good meal in my stomach has definitely gone a long way in giving me the energy to stay up.¡± There were some scattered chuckles at my poor attempt at a joke, but I ignored the rest of the group as much as I could, instead offering Seren a hand and helping them to their feet. We were soon out of the cafeteria and heading up the stairs towards the third floor. While we ascended, Seren caught my sleeve. ¡°Listen, they¡¯re not entirely wrong about Hank.¡± Seren said, meeting my gaze steadily. ¡°He¡¯s not a good guy.¡± ¡°Did you know him at all before integration?¡± I leaned my back against the stairwell wall, my focus intent on them. ¡°No,¡± they said, ¡°none of us did really. He mowed lawns for some of the richer people in the area, but he didn¡¯t talk much. He went to high school with some of the others, but according to them, he was quiet back then too.¡± ¡°He do any sports?¡± ¡°Yeah, he ran cross country.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± I ran my fingers through my hair. ¡°Imagine this, you¡¯re quiet, but you¡¯re successful in high school, dude was probably a great runner, and may not have talked much in general, but probably would have had a lot more respect from the other runners. Then he gets out of high school and he¡¯s a nobody, doing manual labor for people who think they¡¯re better than him. ¡°Then the world ends, and he¡¯s powerful again. Powerful enough for the rush to get to his head, for him to not listen to his morals and instead listen to the guy offering him even more power.¡± ¡°Nice story,¡± Seren said, ¡°but even if it¡¯s true, it doesn¡¯t forgive his actions.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I said simply before giving their shoulder a squeeze. ¡°But it might be something to work from.¡± I straightened up again. ¡°I need you to make sure that he¡¯s not trying to sell me a false bill of goods, you know far better than I do what he did.¡± Seren nodded silently, then we both stepped into Hank¡¯s room/prison. Chapter 40 Hank didn¡¯t look great. He didn¡¯t even look up as the door to his room opened, instead remaining splayed out on his bed. His stubble was growing in thicker and his clothes were dirty and worn thin. A hole remained in his pants from Artemis¡¯s shot, and the flesh beneath was bruised purple. Worst of all were his eyes, that haunted look in them, like someone who had lost everything and knew that it was all his fault. I motioned for Seren to take a seat but remained standing as I shut the door behind me. I kept my distance for now, though. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ve officially met. I¡¯m Placid Wainwright and this is my factory.¡± Hank looked over to me, his head rolling to the side on his pillow. ¡°Fuck off.¡± His voice croaked out, rough and unsteady. ¡°Well, I should have expected that.¡± I sighed and pulled over another chair, sitting down next to Hank and his bed. ¡°I¡¯ve been told that your name is Hank. Is that correct?¡± Hank nodded. ¡°Okay, good. That¡¯s something.¡± I glanced over to Seren briefly, who was busy studying their notebook. I turned back to Hank, trying to meet his gaze, but his eyes flickered away as I did. ¡°Have you been treated well here? Has anyone tried to hurt you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been fine.¡± Hank rolled his head back up, staring up at the ceiling. ¡°No one has said anything to me. Not even Ai when she brought my banquet.¡± He motioned over to an empty bowl resting on his desk. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s something at least.¡± I glanced off to the side myself. ¡°I was going to ask if you¡¯re doing alright, but you¡¯re clearly not.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m doing just fine!¡± He let out a laugh that sounded more like a hacking cough. ¡°Just enjoying my staycation in this pleasant little abode, has everything a person could ever need.¡± He murmured something under his breath that sounded to me like ¡°better than my old apartment though.¡± ¡°How do you feel about the stuff you did for Chad?¡± His expression went still then, face freezing in the middle of a sneer before turning into an intentional blank. ¡°I did what I had to do in order to survive. We didn¡¯t all get some fancy place handed to us, some of us had to fight and scrape for every inch. We don¡¯t all get shit given to us.¡± I didn¡¯t respond, but simply kept my own face blank as we made eye contact finally. He grunted, then continued. ¡°Sure, some of it sucked.¡± He jerked his head to the side, trying to break that eye contact, but it lingered. ¡°Sure, okay, I didn¡¯t like doing it. But I was just-¡° ¡°Just following orders?¡± I let out a heavy breath from my nose, as that fire began to ember in my belly. ¡°Yeah!¡± Hank shouted and then pushed himself into a seated position. ¡°You would have to, if you were in my position. Surrounded by monsters on all sides, needing every edge you could to hold onto just in order to make it another day. And then you have these fucking wimps who couldn¡¯t stand up in a fight, and you¡¯re trying to make them useful and they refuse to listen and you gotta make them useful, or else all of your friends are going to die and it fucking sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do.¡± I nodded slowly, taking in Hank¡¯s words without judgment or bias, just letting them sink into me. My gut roiled in disgust, in a desire to see vengeance done, to find retribution for the evils that this man perpetrated. I didn¡¯t listen to my gut, though, this was not the place to allow instinct to guide me, I needed to think rationally, I needed to figure out all of the angles. ¡°Sounds like a rough job,¡± I said. ¡°Yeah.¡± Hank buried his head in his hands. ¡°Yeah, it fucking sucked. He made me get the people who tried to get away, and bring them back. For their safety he said. Sometimes had to take them down in order to get them to cooperate. Do you think I like punching old ladies and kids?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know what you do and don¡¯t like.¡± Hank looked up with red, moist eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not a fucking monster, okay? I know you all think I am, but I¡¯m not. I¡¯m fucking not!¡± Hank¡¯s voice lifted into a shout, then cracked as he seemed to sink into himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I realized that he was in a very vulnerable position here, and while it could have all been a plot, I wanted to hope that it wasn¡¯t. ¡°That¡¯s good, I promise. If you had liked what you were doing, then this conversation would be over. But, you seem like someone with a conscience who was in a rough position, and had to make some rough choices, and you made the ones you thought best.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Hank said. ¡°They don¡¯t get it though, I don¡¯t think they ever will. Probably want me dead.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Right now, this isn¡¯t about what they want. It¡¯s about what you want.¡± I leaned in closer to him, resting my elbows on my knees. ¡°What do you want from your life now?¡± Hank was quiet for a long moment, but then began to cry, quietly, the tears carving a path down his unwashed face. ¡°I want to run. I want to move. I want to be free. I want to be safe. I want so many damn things that I¡¯ll never get.¡± ¡°If we let you go, will you go back to Chad?¡± He straightened up at Chad¡¯s name, almost like he had been slapped, before loosening his posture. ¡°Nah, fuck that guy.¡± I glanced more to Seren, before setting my jaw and looking back to Hank. ¡°What if I wanted to get the rest of Chad¡¯s men out from under his thumb? Would you be willing to help with that?¡± ¡°Some of those guys suck as bad as Chad, but the rest of them.¡± He trailed off into thought. ¡°They deserve a chance to get away too, you know.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I rose slowly to my feet and put my chair back where it was before. ¡°I can¡¯t make this decision on my own, but I¡¯m going to talk with everyone else tonight. I trust you, though.¡± Hank stared at me for a long moment, before finally nodding and laying back down. Seren rose to join me and we both stepped out. I locked the door behind us and nodded at them to follow me as I led the way to my bedroom. Within, we took seats and I fell silent, letting my thoughts work through me. ¡°So, how are you feeling?¡± Seren asked softly. ¡°I¡¯m surprisingly okay. Still kinda processing, you know?¡± I offered them a gentle smile and took their hands into mine. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprisingly okay.¡± They offered me a quick grin. ¡°Really though, I¡¯m doing alright. That¡¯s more than I¡¯ve ever heard Hank say before, though, he¡¯s normally so quiet.¡± ¡°Maybe quiet with you.¡± I let out a heavy breath. ¡°But I feel like he¡¯s the kind of person that¡¯s more outgoing with his friends, but who keeps his circle of friends real small.¡± I squeezed Seren¡¯s hands. ¡°And now he¡¯s feeling the sting of feeling abandoned. He must have been friends with some of Chad¡¯s guys, those people he wants to liberate from his control. ¡°I honestly think that he doesn¡¯t care for Chad, not anymore at least. That grief, that anguish, it felt real to me in a way that-¡± I cut off, looking down. ¡°It felt real to me.¡± Seren nodded, seeming to understand some of what I was talking about, some of the pain that was reflected in my eyes. We didn¡¯t speak of it, but they nodded in understanding. ¡°I think you might be right. Now we just need to convince the others that you¡¯re right.¡± I frowned deeply. ¡°They are going to be hard to convince, but it is worth doing. Hell, even if we only buy some time, that¡¯s better than signing him up for execution. Even if we can¡¯t find some way to let him help us, then we can at least show some mercy.¡± We remained in that space, silence, hand-in-hand, for an extended time, allowing the minutes to stretch out in that space of peace and quiet. Here and there, one of us would feel an impulse to move, signaled by a tightening of grips, but it would fade sooner or later. Eventually, they said, ¡°I don¡¯t think now is the time, really.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I smiled a touch sadly, but nodded. ¡°We got too much on our plates right now. Maybe once things finally calm down, once there¡¯s some stability, then we can see what we are.¡± Seren smiled, far more brightly than me. ¡°Yeah, that sounds very good to me. We can keep this for now, though. You¡¯re nice to spend time with.¡± I flushed before laughing and slowly standing, only then releasing their hands. ¡°I should get to work, hopefully burn off some of these nerves. It¡¯ll help me get ready for the meeting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to prepare my notes and make some copies for everyone.¡± They tilted their head to the side. ¡°Did you know that there¡¯s a printer in the Research Lab? I can scan in hand-written stuff and it¡¯ll print it out all typed.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Never knew it could do that. Good to know.¡± Soon I was back on the factory floor, getting prepped for my next development push. First, I made mines for the other three attunements that I had access to. While the basic elemental ores weren¡¯t super interesting to me, I was deeply interested in the potentials of the Wyrd attunement. I sent all of that ore into different smelters, collecting the ingots as they popped out. The first set of ingots went to make a Wyrd Mine. The second set of ingots I fashioned into spikes. For all that the spikethrower wasn¡¯t really carrying its weight anymore, the spikes were still the best ways for me to see the use of an attunement in battle, and from there I could design other testing for its usage. I only made a couple sets of them, I didn¡¯t want to burn too much of this stuff if I didn¡¯t need to. I headed out into the western expansion to do my live fire testing, as there weren¡¯t really that many people moving around out there, and those that were kept to the cleared areas. So, once I was carefully sequestered away within the trees, I took aim and fired off a Wyrd spike. The spike didn¡¯t look much different from a standard spike, but had more of a bronzeish appearance in contrast to the steel of the standard. It also didn¡¯t do anything when it hit into a tree, thudding into the mass of the trunk. I considered for a moment, then an inspiration hit me. Wyrd was all about destiny and fate, things which were more humanistic rather than naturalistic. So, I spent some time building a simple dummy out of sticks and twine, setting it up against a tree as a target. It had a vaguely human shape, and when I looked at it, I felt this sensation that I could assign it the concept of being an enemy. My mind clicked and the designation fell into place. My skull throbbed suddenly as I felt new erg patterns flowing to my forehead. I gripped my head firmly in hand, rubbing the heels of my palms against the pain, but it continued to mount and mount, until something burst and the erg flowed like a river released from a dam. Chapter 41 The world blanked and I came back into awareness later, knowing that time had passed, but not knowing how much. I pulled my hands away from my head, revealing my palms stained red with where they had touched my forehead. The pain was gone, yes, but the erg around me felt thicker somehow, more tangible, as if though I was stuck at the bottom of a still lake. I could push through it, but everything felt slower. [General Skills Unlocked: Diplomatic Relationship Management Erg Manipulation I] I blinked away the notification, but pondered those new skills. The first one, Diplomatic Relationship Management, felt awkward in my head, like it was not something I was meant to have. Yet, that must have been what I had used to designate the target dummy as an enemy. That second skill, though, that was even stranger. It felt more natural to my body erg¡¯s circuitry, but yet it pressed and it pulled at my channels in ways that they weren¡¯t really ready for, sending the occasional jolt of pain as I pushed too hard on the skill. Eventually, I realized that this skill was the reason for my sluggishness and I willed its effect to end. The air thinned suddenly and I nearly dropped to the ground from my lack of buoyancy. Part of me wanted to continue playing around with these new skills, but a glance up at the now setting sun told me that I had less time than I desired to get that practice in. If I missed a second meeting, then that would look much worse for me, and I still hadn¡¯t tested out the Wyrd spike against an actual enemy target. I took aim with the spikethrower once again, bringing my aim up against the target, and loosed a single spike. I winced as I realized that I mis-aimed, my shot going wide. In mid-air, though, spike¡¯s path curved visibly. Instead of going wide, the spike wound up punching straight through the torso of the dummy, pinning it to the tree. This homing ability was certainly promising, but it seemed a bit lacking for a concept as broad as Wyrd. Though, if homing was the ability granted to Wyrd ammo, perhaps there was something to the attunement that lended it the ability to bend towards a required end. Further experimentation would have to wait though, as the sun continued to set -bringing the sky the vivid purples of twilight- and I really couldn¡¯t afford to be late. I stored my gear and returned to the main area, thankfully arriving in the lobby before too many other people had arrived. Apparently word that there would be discussion about Hank had spread widely, which led to nearly everyone being present in the lobby for the meeting, overloading the seating and leading to people sitting on the floor and standing against the walls. The center of the lobby was devoted to the representatives: Karla, Edith, Jen, Marlene, and myself. The rest pressed in close, eager to hear our arguments. Seren started by reading the notes from our talk with Hank, keeping commentary out for now, but simply reciting the text of the conversation. Before the discussion could begin in earnest, they did bring in their commentary, offering their perspective on the conversation from having seen it first hand, and how they felt about Hank¡¯s words and actions. Then the arguments began, quiet at first but with an increasing fervor, with the onlookers tossing in their commentary as well. Honestly, it was chaos for about half an hour. Those that had been held under Chad clearly had this tight tangle of emotions from that time, which was only now beginning to slowly unravel thanks to the comforts of the factory, and that unraveling fueled the energy of the discussion, using the debate as an outlet for the pains that they could not voice. I did not attempt to steer the conversation, merely acted as a stabilizing presence, the inanimate carbon rod of this nuclear reaction. Once that initial burst of emotion was expended though, then the true conversation could begin. The usual arguments surrounding capital punishment were played, the consequentialist versus the deontological debates, the right to life, the danger of the accused, retribution versus restoration. For many people present, these arguments were entirely new, but for me, they were things I had thought long and hard about throughout my life up until now, that I had honed on the internet into sharp blades. In the end, the matter was settled. With the subject of Hank resolved, to some degree of satisfaction, most of the onlookers left the lobby to pursue their own labor or rest. The remainder of the meeting turned to practical matters that lacked in the ideological fervor of the previous debate. Thanks to Sahar, a [Painter], we had a map of the area around the factory, out some distance. The map was a truly massive construction, its long edge covering the short edge of the lobby floor when rolled out. After the issue with the conveyors and the farm placement, I wanted to make sure that similar issues didn¡¯t happen in the future. We divided up the map into areas for specific projects, plotted major expansions of the walls, designated routes for conveyors and for transit. From there, we moved onto a discussion of necessary equipment for every team, drawing up lists of needed materials for that equipment. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Finally, we received an update on Chad¡¯s activities. It seemed that his group was still maintaining their patterns of combing through their surroundings, not making any direct movements towards the factory. Content that we still had time to prepare, we broke the meeting for the night. I did what I had needed to do for a long time and went up to the Entertainment Center, picked up my favorite book from the collection there (The House of Leaves) and sat down for a long read. I almost didn¡¯t notice Seren coming in and sitting next to me. They had acquired a copy of The Wizard of Earthsea and read quietly with me. Both of us were engrossed in our books, and the comfort of each other¡¯s presence. Eventually, they leaned over and rested their head on my shoulder, but beyond that, the stillness and the joy of the texts was more than enough to sustain us as the hour grew late enough that sleep beckoned. The next week passed in a blur, as the internal conflicts were smoothed beneath the mill of the necessary work. The first bean harvest was a radical success, the stalks growing at a prodigious rate thanks to erg and system assistance, yielding another, even more sumptuous feast. The new fighters had taken to hunting in the surrounding woods, so there was a ready supply of meat to go along with the beans, which supplemented berries and mushrooms gathered by Ai. After the first bean harvest, the fields continued to expand, growing more and more varied in their foods. A large expansion was added to the south of the crater, set aside specifically to be an orchard, with Kayla (an [Orchardist]) setting to work on planting a large number of trees. While the first harvest there was months away, the promise of apples and oranges was enough to whet everyone¡¯s appetites. With new expansion also came new mines and another two erg condensers, which helped to increase the number of autorifles deployed. The manufacturing team largely put their weight behind the farming team, but a few helped me out in getting the fighters prepped. Everyone got armor, despite their complaints that they didn¡¯t need any. Still, using largely air ingots and focusing on my Light Armor skill provided sufficiently light-weight gear for everyone that provided at least some protection from attacks. Unfortunately, this armor didn¡¯t benefit from my Power Armor skill, but it was still better than nothing. Everyone¡¯s weapons got upgrades, even the freshly built Big Irons, thanks to my insights into the Wyrd. My spikethrower got retired finally, replaced with a dedicated grapple hook launcher system, one launcher permanently deployed onto each side of my hips. My power armor system generally got a complete overhaul, especially since I picked up a few perks to help in the coming battle. Indeed, everyone devoted time and resources into leveling up. While the non-combatants wouldn¡¯t be able to do much, they at least were able to help create higher quality gear and defenses. The stress slowly began to increase as the days passed, the uncertainty of when Chad would attack rising in the back of everyone¡¯s mind. As we slowly ran out of things we could do to prepare, the meetings grew increasingly terse. More people spent time in the Entertainment Center, trying to find something to fill the waiting besides worrying. Terry had taken up putting on impromptu flute performances, and I had given Sahar permission to paint murals on the walls, adding brightness to the rather stark interior of the factory. It was then almost a relief when the message came from Sarah that Chad¡¯s men had gathered up and were heading our way. Judging from their rate of approach, we still had about two hours before they arrived, but the defenders moved into position anyway. We had long discussed our plans for how to handle this attack, those discussions having gone long into the evening earlier in the week. It seemed that Chad was planning his attack to arrive at noon, likely thinking that with his newfound strength, he would have no need for stealth or subterfuge. The additional visibility would suit our plan just fine. The defenders moved into position on the top of the extended and raised walls, looking down at the forest to the north, looking for any sign of approach, despite the wait ahead of us. I looked over each of those standing with me. Jen wore her braced greaves, her steam-powered gauntlets (which now went to her elbows), and a light breastplate of that blue air metal. Artemis had her armor on beneath her camo-cloak, and kept her rifle out and ready, the only major difference there was a bronze sight that had been added to the rifle¡¯s top. The new fighters were mostly attired in similar armor to Jen, except for Stacey who wore a set of robes inlaid with delicate fibers fashioned from focus crystals. This robe synergized with the staff that she carried, allowing it to enhance her erg attacks. Ty, meanwhile, had ice attuned daggers, wanting to be able to counter the greatest threat of the enemy group. Raven¡¯s Big Irons hadn¡¯t received much of an alteration, but she did have a wide stock of different elemental bullets and the barrels had been replaced with air metal in order to enhance accuracy at a distance. Finally, Aria has a massive quiver of javelins, of varying elements, strapped to her back. Using a new skill I had gained, the quiver would be able to return javelins to it after they were thrown. Then there was me. To an outside observer, my setup looked the same as it had been during the rescue mission, save for the lack of my spikethrower. My armor plates had been reforged though to take advantage of my increased skills, and my drill had a completely reworked internal design, despite it appearing the same on the outside. The most important changes to my loadout, though, were still hidden. I needed to be able to have some surprises up my sleeve, and the autorifles would serve well enough as an opening volley for the coming battle. The wait extended and extended, until Sarah¡¯s voice crackled in our ears. ¡°Contact in ten minutes.¡± I activated my erg sight and gazed off into the forest, seeing those bright signatures approaching with a growing speed, moving from a march to a jog. I gripped the palisade in front of me, the coming of the battle flaring such conflicted feelings in me. ¡°They¡¯re almost here. Everyone ready?¡± As the other defenders nodded, I toggled the designation of the attackers to Enemy. Chapter 42 As the enemies completed their approach, most of them sticking back into the trees, with only Chad stepping forward, I kept the autorifles intentionally deactivated. There were words that needed to be exchanged before the shooting started. Chad bellowed out at us. ¡°I¡¯ve come for what is mine! Return my people, all of them, and I¡¯ll let you live.¡± He pointed up at Jen and Artemis. ¡°I mean those two, with the all of them. They¡¯ve betrayed me and they must pay the price of that betrayal.¡± His face split into a wide grin as he stared up at me. ¡°You can stay. You may be some kind of hippy pansy, but you were just fighting for what you believe in. That¡¯s fine. Just give me back my people and I¡¯ll leave you be. Maybe we can even become friends.¡± I turned my attention away from Chad over to others clustered in the forest. My voice wasn¡¯t too loud, but that is part of why I had built an amplifier into my helmet. ¡°I will accept individual surrenders at any time. Simply cross your hands behind the back of your head and do not initiate any further violence. If you do so, you will be considered a neutral under my fire control system.¡± ¡°What the fuck you talking about?¡± Chad yelled louder, his face becoming red. ¡°My boys are loyal, they¡¯re not going to surrender.¡± His grin grew wider and I could see (under my erg sight), his aura flaring into life, even brighter than it had been during the last fight. It was clear that he had not wasted his time since. ¡°Because we¡¯re going to win.¡± I glanced over to the other defenders and spoke softly into the comms. ¡°Anything you want to say to him or them? I¡¯m ready whenever you are.¡± The other defenders shook their heads, except for Jen who shouted back down to Chad. ¡°Fuck you, asshole!¡± A grin came to my lips. ¡°Well said.¡± I activated the autorifles. The autorifles whirred as they shifted into active mode and sighted their targets. They opened fire with a series of loud chunks sounding the shots, cracking through the tree cover to slam into the Chad¡¯s men hiding in the woods. The men proved tougher than the landbirds, but the rate of fire of ten autorifles pushed several of them into defensive positions. The ranged defenders on the wall let loose with their attacks. Mud rose up to encase the legs of the attackers, with javelins and bullets falling down onto those stuck, their attacks doing quite a bit more damage than the autorifles, blood flashing in the air from the impacts. The counter-attack was thankfully staggered on account of the volume of fire pouring down from the walls, but they came with startling power. One of the attackers ripped an entire (albeit small) tree out of the ground and flung it at us with full power, forcing all of us to take shelter behind the palisades. Bullets cracked out from the ground, though fortunately they just bounced off of the wall. Another attacker called up large stones from the ground, levitating them in front of himself before projecting them up at the wall, the great speed leaving dents in the defenses. Another called up a massive sheet of ice along the top of the wall, and we scattered away from its formation, even as it crystalized into sharp edges, then exploded outwards in a series of spikes. Fortunately our armor protected us from those spikes, but it was a close thing. I switched the primary targets of my autorifles to those two using erg attacks, and glanced over the palisade to see them taking heavy damage from the hits, retreating back from the front line as blood dripped from them. Chad shouted something that I couldn¡¯t make out over the sounds of the battle, and one man stepped forward, going to one knee at Chad¡¯s flank. I frowned and retargeted all of the autorifles towards that man, but Chad pulled out his axes (having a brand new one in addition to his surviving axe) and flicked away the incoming bullets. ¡°We have to take that guy out !¡± I practically screamed in panic over the comms, but by the time that the others turned to face that man, it was too late. A massive fissure ripped through the ground, heading from him to the walls, which shuddered under the impact before wrenching apart, the metal shearing as it twisted into a crack in the wall. Chad called out ¡°CHARGE!¡± and the attackers surged forward, heading for that crack. I took just one moment to recover my breath. ¡°Ty, Jen, head to the crack. Artemis, Stacey, Raven, support them. Aria, watch my back. I¡¯m going down.¡± I then switched to another channel and said simply, ¡°It¡¯s go time.¡± I activated one of my new perks [Remote Access] and formed a connection with where I was standing to the Entertainment Center. Within the Entertainment Center, Terry began to play their flute, and as the music moved through the air around me, it flowed into the erg, swirling it and bringing with it an aspect of alacrity, granting increased movement and attack speed for all friendlies who were able to hear it, and I had already designated everyone in the factory as Friendly. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Ty flickered and appeared in the ranks of men heading for the crack, slashing at one from behind before moving to another position to continue his attack, moving swiftly enough to avoid being readily targeted by attacks, but also failing to do anything more than chip damage to his targets. Jen, meanwhile, jumped up and seemed to hang mid-air for a moment before slamming down with a blazing aura of her own, kicking Chad firmly in the chest and pushing him back as she took a defensive position in the crack. I didn¡¯t have time to pay any more attention to the others though, as I vaulted over the palisade, falling like a rock into the ground below. As I fell, though, I switched out my equipment, channeling a bit of erg to increase the rate of deployment. My armor went from medium weight plating to a heavy shell, more copious than should otherwise be able to fit on the frame, giving me a newly boxy appearance, like I was completely engulfed in interlocking shields. Mechanical arms extended up from my back, up and over my head, with an autorifle appearing mounted on each arm. My left arm had switched out from having a hand at the end, to becoming a fully incorporated weapon, resembling a large caliber shotgun. Finally, my helmet fully engulfed my head now, and I relied on erg sight goggles to peer outwards. My first target was the brute who had tossed the tree at us, who I locked onto with my erg sight and began blasting away with my autorifles. The coordinated fire did significantly more damage than the automatic ones mounted on the wall, and blasted holes through his limbs, though to my erg sight I could see his energy remaining stable. He let out a bellow of his own and charged at me, his body surrounded by some sort of momentum enhancing aura. I didn¡¯t try to dodge, there was no way that I could have moved fast to get out of the way, instead I just hunkered down and continued to fire. I took aim with my left arm, bracing it with my right before letting loose. A canister spun out from the barrel, splitting open mid-air and releasing a swarm of tiny spikes, in a precisely calculated ratio of elements. The spikes hit firmly into the charger¡¯s torso, dead-center, and melted his outer layer of skin and erg, before a surge of lightning rushed through his body. He didn¡¯t stop running, though, making contact and slamming me back into the wall. I didn¡¯t feel either of the impacts, my armor plating so thick that they completely absorbed the attack. Instead, I realigned my aim and opened fire with another canister directly into the side of the charger¡¯s head. He fell, a hole bored through his skull. I looked away from the corpse at my feet and took a moment to recollect myself. ¡°Surrender and you will be treated well. We have no desire to cause undue violence, but we will defend ourselves to the best of our ability.¡± I strode forward towards the trees, where more of Chad¡¯s ranged attackers were, holding back on my fire for now, waiting for some response now that Chad was busy. A large rock chunked against the side of my helmet, but my armor was strong enough that it bounced off without effect. A voice called out, ¡°Why should we trust you!? You¡¯re fucking killers!¡± Another cried out in echo. ¡°Yeah! Like you did with Hank!¡± One of the men moved a large tube from his back into a firing position. Only after he fired did I realize it was a rocket launcher, and a Tier 1 one at that. I shifted the target of my autofiles to the rocket and let out a spray of bullets which managed to send the rocket off course, crashing into the ground next me and exploding in a brilliant orange that sent me stumbling. I switched my comms to another channel. ¡°Now.¡± More attacks continued to come my way, but I countered them with more bullets when I needed to and just tanked the hits when I could get away with that. After seeing what happened to the charger, no one wanted to get too close and so they kept at range, which I was content with. If I was keeping this group busy, they weren¡¯t harassing the group keeping Chad busy. Then a new voice came up from on top of the walls, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°They¡¯re not actually that bad of people.¡± Hank stood at the top of the wall, leaning on a cane to support his still healing leg. ¡°Uhhh they¡¯ve actually treated me pretty well, considering how I treated them. Like before, you know. You should listen to them! They¡¯ll listen to you, if you do.¡± Confused expressions covered every one of the attackers before me. They glanced between Hank and myself, and then one at a time, they put their hands behind their heads. I toggled them to neutral and looked over to the mass gathering by the crack in the wall, starting to walk over in that direction. Both Jen and Ty were surrounded, though Jen was handling that better than Ty. Artemis saved her shots and fired specifically to deflect Chad¡¯s incoming attacks, allowing Jen to maintain her footing, despite being so overwhelmed. I took my aim at the men surrounding Ty and opened fire, tearing holes through the attackers, forcing them back and giving room for Ty to flicker to safety. That group took in the rapidly shifting circumstances and backed away, not taking the surrendering posture, but removing themselves from the battle enough for me to focus the automatic rifles onto the attackers around Jen. With the additional help, Jen laid out a couple of the men attacking her, using well aimed punches and knocking them to the ground. I had barely done anything, but I could still feel the exhaustion in me, this violence fraying at me. The flow of the battle shifted, the remaining attackers fell back, leaving only Chad in the fray. Chad growled and clacked his axes together, his body shifting and swelling, bubbling from within as his muscles grew in size, splitting open his shirt. ¡°Okay. Again and again, you fucking freaks stand in my way.¡± His grip tightened as his forearms bulged. The power of his presence caught us all, trapping us in place. ¡°Enough games!¡± Molten heat rolled off of him and he slammed one axe forward with all of his strength. It shattered through Jen¡¯s defenses and the blade lodged itself in her chest. Chapter 43 Chad ripped his axe backwards and an arc of crimson blood sprayed through the air, captured in the rays of the sun and glinting over the battlefield. Jen stumbled backwards, reaching a hand up towards her chest, her face growing pale, before her legs buckled beneath her and she fell to one knee. Chad prepared for another swing, but was interrupted as Ty darted in and stabbed one of his daggers deep into Chad¡¯s side. The larger man growled and swung back with his other axe, but Ty flickered through the blow and appeared at Jen¡¯s side. I switched back to battle comms and called out. ¡°Get her to Marlene, now!¡± Ty nodded in response and grabbed a hold of Jen, before flickering away with her, into the base. Shots rang down from above, from the array of ranged defenders still on the wall. Chad¡¯s axes blurred as he deflected each incoming blow, but was pushed back inch by inch. He growled out towards his onlooking followers. ¡°Get in there you cowards! They can¡¯t fight all of us!¡± A bronze javelin flung down through the air, weaving around Chad¡¯s defenses and lodging firmly through his thigh. He cried out in pain and pulled back one axe, his attention clearly focused on the wall. A bullet from Artemis carved a ragged path along Chad¡¯s neck, spewing a spray of molten blood that cooled into an armored layer of obsidian over the wound. A pair of shots from the Big Irons thudded into Chad¡¯s chest, but flattened against his toughened body. Then Chad flung forward with the axe and a crescent of fiery energy shot forth, smashing into the wall, first crunching it inwards, then pushing further, causing the entire thing to begin collapsing. Mud flowed up and surrounded the defenders still there, allowing them to slide down on the safe side, but now it was just me and Chad on the outside. I hadn¡¯t had the time to even feel anything, let alone think anything more coherent than the plans that we had set into motion before the battle had even begun. Now, it was back to another duel, the sort of situation that we had wanted to avoid in the first place, all I could do was hope that my new tools would do what was necessary. While Chad was in recovery from his ranged attack, I poured all of the energy from my power core into my autorifles, which greatly increased both their rate of fire and the force of the bullets. I also made sure to switch out to ice bullets, wanting to counter Chad¡¯s natural attunement as much as possible. Indeed, he flinched under the rapid fire of the bullets, further still as the wall mounted autorifles joined in, targeting Chad exclusively and leaving him dealing with a volume of fire that he couldn¡¯t fully block. So he didn¡¯t bother blocking. The bullets from the fully automated autorifles simply bounced off of him, though I didn¡¯t let that dissuade their rate of fire, each of those impacts, no matter how small, would in theory add up by draining the energy of his defenses. My personal autorifles at least briefly dimpled his skin before the bullets fell to the ground, seemingly no more powerful than an airsoft pellet despite the constant cracks of breaking the speed barrier. I connected my thoughts with the [Manual Condenser] attached to the frame, just above the power core, and set it whirring to life, the drill-like device serving much the same effect as an ergonic condenser, but only viable for relatively short busts and funneling that energy directly into the core. It would take some time for its build up to full functioning though, and Chad had already recovered from the new stream of attacks coming his direction. His legs flexed into the ground and then he lept at me, tearing the earth as he took flight, his twin axes aimed for my helmet. I quickly switched the ammo of my [Flechette Shotgun] and free aimed at Chad. Thankfully, the Wyrd canister did its work and angled its position just right for it to open with the ideal dispersal distance, slamming that swarm of ice spikes dead center into Chad¡¯s chest. The impact stole his forward momentum as the ice attunement sunk into his erg. With my erg sight, I could see a layer of his energy slough away from the hit, and I fired another canister the moment that Chad hit the ground. His reaction speed was intense, though, as he flung his axe that very instant, carving through the canister. The axe continued forward and smashed into my shotgun. The force behind the impact shredded the plating over that part of my arm and tore my shotgun in half. My bone wrenched under the force and my arm fell limp to my side. The pain felt like it was happening to someone else. The wash of adrenaline in my blood kept everything distant, made it seem like this entire fight wasn¡¯t entirely real, that it was just some game that I was playing, a Great Game perhaps. Blood dripped down from the wreckage of my arm, pooling on the earth beneath it. [Health 73%] I kept the display in the upper right hand corner of my sight, keeping that detail as just a number rather than anything with real weight behind it. I couldn¡¯t think about it, couldn¡¯t allow my mind to fully process everything I was doing, and everything that was being done to me. If I faltered for even a moment, I would be lost. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. My continually ramping [Manual Condenser] continued to pour more energy into my autorifles, increasing their rate of fire with every moment. Chad was building up another long range strike, but I could see the impact of each bullet, chipping away at that erg that surrounded him. That was my only goal now, to see that aura reduced to nothing. He released that crescent of energy and it slammed into the set of mechanical arms attached to my left shoulder. I spun to the side from the impact, a moment before the arms snapped, sending three of my autorifles to the ground, deactivating them as they were cut away. Even the sound of half of my weaponry clattering to the ground failed to resonate in the core of me. All that was here was the progress before me, and all that Chad had done in cutting away half of my autorifles was allow me to pour twice as much energy into the remaining three. As he began charging up another ranged attack, I knew that I should try to dodge or block or otherwise prevent him from taking the remaining autorifles, but I simply couldn¡¯t find the urgency to move in me. The other three autorifles fell just as easily as the first three and I stared down Chad as he charged towards me. I poured a bit more erg to deploy my anti-Chad drill, ice all the way through, save for the internals which were made of steam metal, giving it additional power. He arrived just at the moment as the drill appeared, seeming not to notice until I stepped in and buried the bit into his chest. All of the excess energy from my core and my condenser went directly into the drill and I pressed further forward. I didn¡¯t realize that I was yelling until the sound echoed in my skull, so lost was I in the dissociation brought by the highs of cortisol and adrenaline, reacting with my own damaged psyche. I hated this, I hated fighting, I hated killing, I hated that I was in this situation, I hated the system that made this possible, I hated Chad for giving in to his fears and his anger and his own moral weakness, I hated Chad, I hated that I had to kill Chad. I hated me for putting myself in this situation. The bit whirred as it churned erg. Chad bellowed as he pushed his erg back. He was stronger than me, but my tools combined with my skills were just enough to create an equilibrium with his skills alone, so it came down to erg expenditure. He increased his. I increased mine in response, pulling on my internal supplies. His defenses were pulled into the spiral of my drill, like the event horizon of a black hole. I flared my muscle fiber and added more strength. He held his axe, mid-swing, unable to move forward, frozen at that moment of impact. [Erg 8/25] I was burning through his erg faster than I was burning through mine, but he had more storage than I did, vastly more, and I felt the decline building in my limbs, the power faded from me, even as I continued to pour more in, trying to empty my entire circuits into him, to stop him at long last. [Erg 5/25] Finally, his words began to press in through my haze. ¡°Gonna fuck gonna murder gonna crush you piece of shit gonna gonna god why does it hurt so much you weak!¡± They probably wouldn¡¯t have made any more sense if I was more cognizant of my thought process, but the intent was clear. His axe drew closer to me, just a barest fraction of an inch. [Erg 1/25] My energy was gone, I was on my last dregs, but I couldn¡¯t stop, I couldn¡¯t stop. I poured out the last contents of my veins and pushed harder. A burning, ripping sensation cut through my body and I screamed my throat bloody, but I kept pushing.
WARNING EXPENDING PERMANENT STORAGE the last the last, oh god why am i doing this, why must this be done, feed the hungry, feed the world, bleed me, bleed every last inch of me, make the world bleed for the sins it has done, make me bleed, make me the holy one here in this final moment, please, please, let me, let me i have to do it, no one else can it is for the children
The veins themselves collapsed under the weight of the pushing, and they were threaded out through my drill. Chad¡¯s eyes went wide and he attempted to pull back, but it was too late, he was as caught in this brutal moment as I was. My health plummeted and I laughed, bitter and manic, as the last bits flew from me. The condenser suddenly snapped, bursting in my back, digging shards of metal into me. I wavered and Chad finally stepped back, staring at me, paled, shaking. [Health 03%] I fell to a knee, then lower, unable to keep my body upright. I coughed and blood filled my helmet. Chad strode in, gripping his axe with both hands, then swung it down at my head empowered by every last drop of erg he possessed. In that last moment, I tilted my head up to look at him, to look in his eyes as he brought this game to a final end, to grant me the peace that I had longed for in those darker days. Some voice fluttered in my heart, something distant, something that I had never really listened to before, but a voice that spoke with thunder. I knew then, as I watched that achingly slow progress of my death coming towards me, that I wanted to live. That despite it all, I really wanted to live. I laughed. A bullet collided with the side of Chad¡¯s axe, causing him to stumble to the side, the blow going awry. Then two more bullets sang through the air, warbling and shifting. They caved in Chad¡¯s skull with an explosion of blood that splattered over me. Shouts from familiar and friendly voices echoed in my ears, but the words were mush. [Health 01%] [Erg 0/5] Everything resolved to a grey haze, before drifting into a comforting dark. Chapter 44 I awoke, covered in sweat and bandages (but nothing in the way of clothes) in my bed. One eye was covered in those bandages, while my left arm was fully covered in a cast. I tried to move, but my body simply wouldn¡¯t allow it, I felt like I was one massive bruise. Before I attempted to move again, Seren was at my side, gently pushing on my shoulders to keep me still. They said, ¡°Marlene says that you need at least a couple days bed rest. You got fucked up pretty bad out there.¡± I nodded and attempted to talk, but found my throat unresponsive. Seren swiftly got me a glass of water, which I drank from gratefully. They then offered me a spoonful of soup, which I drank vigorously. Even that small sip worked its way through my erg veins, rebuilding them marginally, but restoring a bit of function to my wreckage of a form. ¡°What happened to you?¡± They asked as they claimed a seat at my side. I nodded towards the soup and they slowly fed me another bite. As the warmth settled in my body, I found the strength to speak, my voice still raspy. ¡°Fucked myself up, really. Pushed myself too hard, but, hey, we won.¡± ¡°We did.¡± Seren said the words solemnly. I frowned and it pulled on muscles that I didn¡¯t know could hurt in ways that they did. ¡°How many did we lose?¡± ¡°Jen is still recovering. Stacey used her magic thing to create a temporary bandage out of mud, otherwise she would have bled out. Fortunately, Marlene was able to stabilize her.¡± They fed me another spoonful of soup. ¡°Won¡¯t be doing any strenuous activity for a while, though.¡± ¡°The others?¡± ¡°They¡¯re fine. Artemis is a bit, well, understandably upset about Jen¡¯s condition,¡± they said, ¡°but I figure that she¡¯ll be fine eventually. Everyone else got some minor scrapes and bruises, but they¡¯re pretty much patched up already.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I leaned back and closed my eyes. ¡°Chad¡¯s men?¡± ¡°Five surrendered and are under supervision. Five ran off after Chad died. Six died.¡± ¡°Including Chad?¡± I said. Seren nodded at my question and I closed my eyes thoughtfully. ¡°Six dead. More than I wanted.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s not like they gave us much choice in the matter.¡± Seren¡¯s voice had taken on a bitter edge, and I looked up with concern. They shook their head and offered a conciliatory smile. ¡°I just don¡¯t like seeing the people I care about being hurt. If they had been less assholes, maybe this whole situation could have been avoided.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I felt tears slowly welling in my eyes, though I wasn¡¯t entirely sure why. ¡°Yeah. Fuck.¡± The tears began to flow more freely then, streaming down my cheeks. ¡°Sorry, I just. This whole thing sucks. The whole ¡®why¡¯ of it all is nonsense, the inability of people to simply be better. And the fact that I had to do what I did.¡± I trembled as much as my muscles would allow. Seren¡¯s gentle touch to my cheek brought me back to the moment and I stared up into their eyes for a long long moment. Finally, they said. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s done, and you¡¯re okay. I¡¯m okay. We¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°I knew that Chad would have to be taken down. I wish I hadn¡¯t had to kill him, but he had allowed his ideology to poison his psyche to a point that reason wasn¡¯t an option.¡± I sighed so hard that my chest hurt. ¡°But his followers, I had hoped to reach them, to prevent this from becoming a bloodbath.¡± ¡°Five of them are here. The five who ran, they might come around eventually.¡± Seren¡¯s reasoning was wrapped in a gentleness that brought relief to my aching bones. ¡°Five of them are dead. Can¡¯t bring them around ever.¡± I swallowed and closed my eyes again. ¡°But. I guess. That¡¯s the world we live in now.¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be.¡± They caressed my cheek again. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be.¡± I echoed. ¡°Let¡¯s build something better.¡± Seren said with a bit more fierceness than I was expecting. ¡°Let¡¯s stop this from happening again.¡± I nodded as firmly as I could. ¡°How are the five that joined up adjusting?¡± That brought out a soft laugh. ¡°They¡¯re all apparently buddies with Hank, and they¡¯re working with him, the fighters, and Tina of all people in getting more incorporated. It seems that they don¡¯t feel right talking back to a mom. Right now, she has them doing some manual labor to get adjusted to living here.¡± ¡°Speaking of, how¡¯s the wall doing?¡± I attempted to sit up, but swiftly gave up on the effort. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Good,¡± Seren said. ¡°Karla has taken lead there, and with everyone working together, repairs have gone really smoothly. Everything else has been going well, too. We had our first grain harvest this morning, and we¡¯ve already made some bread.¡± My stomach grumbled. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s been years since I¡¯ve had a good loaf. I feel like that would really hit the spot right now.¡± ¡°Marlene has you down for liquids only right now. She did some sort of full body scan, and said that until you can stand, it¡¯s soup only to eat.¡± ¡°At least it¡¯s good soup.¡± I offered them a small grin before settling back down. ¡°How long has it been?¡± Seren hesitated for a moment, before speaking softly. ¡°Four days.¡± I half expected myself to panic, but I didn¡¯t. The revelation of time¡¯s passing made sense to me, I was just grateful that the erg made me resistant to the kind of long term damage that such a coma might have had on a person pre-system. ¡°Cool.¡± My eyes slowly drifted closed. ¡°Think I¡¯m going to catch a quick nap. Things haven¡¯t exploded so far, they probably won¡¯t if I get some more sleep.¡± If Seren said anything in response, I didn¡¯t hear it, having already drifted off into the depths of sleep. The next time I awoke, I was strong enough to make it down to the cafeteria with the aid of a cane. I also was able to put some clothes on, which helped to conceal the still healing bruising and the occasional tremble in my limbs. On the plus side, Marlene was waiting for me there, and cleared me to have some bread with my new serving of soup. The fighters had done a great job in keeping the larder full of fresh meat, and we even had our first eggs available. The bread was surprisingly filling and went a long way in speeding my erg recovery. The conversation around the tables was kept light, even with a few of Chad¡¯s former followers handling food service. The throbbing wound had been exposed, but the death of Chad was a strange sort of medicine, reducing the pain of the moment, and transforming it into a space of potential healing. That said, no one wanted to poke at it too much. So instead, the conversation moved to subjects of food yields, of the need for additional processing tools (needs that were already being handled by the manufacturing team), and of the small gossip that appears whenever people gather together in numbers. I spent some time chatting idly with a man named Brian, who it turned out was Edith¡¯s son. He seemed happier than most to be reunited with the group, and willing to make the amends necessary. I realized slowly through the meal that despite the subdued environment, that everyone was doing alright. Despite being out of commission for as long as I had, nothing had fallen apart, the structure of the community remained intact. I ate and I listened, not contributing much, but emptying multiple bowls of soup and going through practically a whole loaf on my own. I was still somewhat hungry when I finished, but it was a pleasant feeling to be so fully suffused in that warmth of satiation. Artemis was waiting for me as I exited from the cafeteria. She said, ¡°We need to talk.¡± At the sudden widening of my eyes and paling of skin, she let out a laugh. ¡°Nothing bad. Just, Jen isn¡¯t up for leaving the room just yet, but she has a plan that she wants to run by you.¡± I nodded in understanding and we went up to Artemis and Jen¡¯s room, Seren continuing to follow along, which Artemis didn¡¯t seem to mind. In the room, Jen was slowly going through a series of stretches. They seemed like tai chi, but I didn¡¯t know enough to say for sure. When we stepped in, though, Jen brought her exercise to a close and took a moment to brush away the sweat from her brow. ¡°Oh hey. Glad to see you up and about.¡± She flopped down on her bed and the rest of us took seats nearby. ¡°I heard that you have some plan you want to run by me.¡± I leaned in, resting my elbows on my knees, studying Jen carefully. She seemed fine, mostly, though didn¡¯t seem to be breathing as deeply as she might otherwise, and winced with the occasional movement. ¡°Yeah,¡± Jen said. ¡°So, I got my ass kicked real easy back there. Sure, I held my own for a while, but when Chad turned his full energy on me, there was nothing I could do.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not your fault,¡± I began. Jen interrupted me with a shake of her head. ¡°Yeah, I know. He was strong, way stronger than any of the rest of us. We got lucky that nobody died.¡± She glanced at me, almost as if expecting me to disagree. When I nodded, she continued. ¡°Yeah, we had a lot of contingencies ready, and that showed your power. What I need to do is figure out how to maximize my own power.¡± I frowned, leaning in a bit further. ¡°You¡¯re already way stronger than the rest of us, Jen.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m Chosen.¡± She smiled, but it didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°And you¡¯re not a combat Chosen, so you¡¯re not really a valid comparison, but look at what you¡¯ve built here, what you¡¯ve done. I should be able to do similar things, but for fighting.¡± ¡°So, what is your plan?¡± I took in a deep breath, having some idea of what she was going to say. ¡°I gotta get out of here. There¡¯s plenty of protection available here, you have a lot of defenders, you have a lot of defense. People know what they¡¯re doing,¡± Jen said. ¡°And you don¡¯t need me around.¡± ¡°I want you around,¡± I said quietly. Jen laughed at that, an earnest laugh that ended with a wince as she rubbed her collar bone. ¡°Yeah, I want to be around too. I¡¯m not going to go away forever.¡± ¡°But you need more vestiges.¡± ¡°But I need more vestiges.¡± Jen agreed, and glanced over to Artemis who took a seat next to her. ¡°Once I¡¯m up to full condition, I want to hit the road, and try to find more vestiges for me to bind. They¡¯re out there, waiting for me, but they¡¯re not going to come here.¡± There was no denying the truth to her words, though I did spend some time trying to find an appropriate counter argument in my head. Finally, I shook my head, a smile on my lips. ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll design a vehicle for you to use. Something in an ATV.¡± I offered her a quick grin. ¡°I want you to be back as quickly as possible.¡± Artemis and Jen both nodded at that. ¡°I have plans of my own,¡± I said ¡°and sadly they won¡¯t be able to wait for you to get back. Fortunately, I think these comms will be able to work over a long range. Which is good, because I¡¯m also planning to get out of here for a while.¡± I looked between Seren, Artemis, and Jen, before finally resolving myself and speaking the thoughts that had been brewing in my head for a while now. ¡°I need to go back to my alma mater.¡± Chapter 45 After that discussion, I took a tour over the facilities on the factory floor, and then out into the rest of the crater. The wall indeed had been repaired to quite a significant degree, honestly it looked better than it had before the fight. Plans for further expansions filed into the back of my mind. It would give me something to do while I recovered enough to be able to use the Research Lab properly. I would also need to build a vehicle for my plans, and I would need to put together a team to head out, one that would leave the factory with enough people to see to its defense in the absence of Jen, Artemis, and myself. Fortunately, the new recruits seemed like they were being incorporated well, and most of them were ranged attackers, which would make them ideal with defending from the walls with the aid of the autorifles. Food development was coming along well. A trip to the western expansion showed the chicken coop thriving, with a whole mess of chickens pecking at grains, while the [Rancher] looked on with pride. I would also need to see what I could do about getting a ¡°region¡± under coverage from erg condensers; the battle had convinced me of the necessity of a pharmacy. My thoughts were interupted when a series of system messages flashed before me.
ANNOUNCEMENT Isolde Straum is the first player to reach level 50! As a reward, she will receive a bonus to upgrading or merging her paths. The next 9,999 players to reach level 50 will receive that same bonus! Good hunting! The first ascension is perhaps the most important, but it is rarely the most powerful. If you can survive to 100, there¡¯ll be another one waiting for you there. Be careful. Be safe. Stay alive. Things are about to get worse.
ANNOUNCEMENT N/A Your world will bleed, as ours have. The memories of your pasts will be stolen. The pain of your birth into existence will be rendered as a cosmic drama, then a cosmic tragedy. The doom comes stalking from the mists. Look to the stars and see all the dimmed lights of dead worlds. You will join us.
ANNOUNCEMENT Congratulations on completing the first phase of the Great Game! The second phase has begun! You might see some familiar imagery invoked with some of the new enemies you will face. Do not worry, this is intentional. Tier 2 raw materials will begin spawning! The game continues. The third phase is coming. They bear the faces of our killers, they shout the slogans of those that have dragged us through the mud for generations. They are the worst of us reflected in the worst of it. I¡¯m going to kill them all.
I swayed for a moment under the sudden intrusion, but after reading them all, looked over to Seren. ¡°We need to talk to the librarian.¡± ¡°Full meeting?¡± At my nod, they sent out a message through the announcement channel, and we all hurried up to the library. Practically everyone was waiting for us when we arrived, with only a handful trickling in after us. The new recruits, the kids, Jen and Artemis, everyone had arrived for the meeting. The librarian paced nervously in his alcove at the center of the library. ¡°I take it you saw the messages?¡± I asked as I took a seat towards the front. The librarian nodded and his gaze went distant for a moment. ¡°Yes. Yes. I¡¯m not sure if I was supposed to see them, but see them I did.¡± He took a seat as well, but clearly was bleeding off nervous energy. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what that N/A message was about. The closest we¡¯ve been able to tell is that someone forced an empty announcement message into the queue in a previous iteration, purely to convey that note. No idea why they would do that, though.¡± The rest of the room mirrored the librarian¡¯s nervousness. We had no idea what was coming, and the only person who did was a wreck. It did not bode well. ¡°So, the big details,¡± the librarian started softly. ¡°So far, the monsters you¡¯ve fought have been altered versions of native animals. In some cases radically altered, and absolutely strengthened by the erg and by the system, but still just animals, and altered rather than created. ¡°We¡¯re going to start seeing entirely fabricated beings now. Entities drawn from myths and legends of this planet, albeit altered to fit the mold of the system. Fortunately, these mythic beasts will be largely located in dungeons, though the number of dungeons will begin to steadily increase.¡± The librarian took a moment to clean his glasses. ¡°You¡¯re going to want to work on clearing dungeons as much as you can, if only to prep for phase three. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°And no, I can¡¯t talk about phase three, not yet at least.¡± The librarian sighed and settled back in his chair, gently gripping the arm rests. ¡°Jen, you¡¯ll especially want to seek out dungeons. Vestiges are very often used as the core, the grit around which the pearl forms.¡± ¡°I will spend some time working on a dungeon finder,¡± I said. ¡°It should be doable with the skills I have, though I might need to pick up some perks to complete the design.¡± Ty spoke up from near the back of the room. ¡°What do you mean by mythic beasts? Are you talking, like, dragons?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what a dragon is.¡± A faint smirk played over the librarian¡¯s expression. ¡°For whatever reason, I don¡¯t have access to the Legends and Literature database, and that¡¯s what the system is going to be pulling from. If your peoples have stories of these ¡®dragons¡¯ as terrifying beasts with high levels of destructive power, then certainly they¡¯ll be included.¡± More questions emerged, naming specific creatures that the librarian couldn¡¯t speak to. Eventually he lifted a hand to bring silence to the room. ¡°Pretty much the only thing that you shouldn¡¯t expect as a mythic beast is anything as smart as a human. The only sapient minds that you¡¯ll find in the dungeons are the vestiges.¡± ¡°That implies,¡± I said, ¡°that we¡¯ll be running into sapient monsters elsewhere.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the librarian let out a heavy sigh. ¡°They¡¯re going to be trouble, because they¡¯ll be active out in the world.¡± The librarian slowly scanned over the faces present before standing, beginning a slow pace. ¡°The truth is, that the system will have plumbed your history for the worst monsters in it, the worst human monsters that is, and will use their iconography and ideology as a basis for groups of near-human monsters. ¡°The high level of inter-human conflict that occurred here will serve as a detriment for the spawning here. These sapient foes exist more as a goad to force players to work on their tactics for fighting each other, and since we have proven our ability there, that part of the test will be deferred.¡± ¡°But they¡¯ll be a present threat elsewhere,¡± I said. I frowned as I shifted in my seat, thinking to other places, to the other dots on the map. ¡°I wonder how many places we¡¯ll be dealing with that escalation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bad news either way. Either the communities have been killing each other, or they¡¯ll be facing the monsters,¡± the librarian said. ¡°And these new tiers are no joke. I highly recommend doing everything you can to tier up your equipment before going into battle.¡± With this new update, the group set to work on developing new plans, new training schedules, new exploration cycles, new gear to be made, new materials to discover. Even according to our most generous estimates, it¡¯d be a week before anyone would be able to properly depart. Fortunately, this would provide time to focus on skill development, and for me to slowly rebuild my shattered erg channels. The discussion dwindled as we worked through the immediate steps that needed to be done, and the group split up to get to their individual work. As we did so, the librarian called at me to stay, and so I returned to my seat at the front of the library, with Seren joining me at my side. The librarian gave them a brief glance before turning their attention fully onto me. ¡°I have gained some permissions in what I can tell you about,¡± he said. ¡°But some of what can be told is a bit on the disturbing side. Undue spread of these details could lead to an undesirable mass panic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said. I shot Seren a brief smile and took a hold of their hand, giving a squeeze. ¡°I¡¯ve come to trust Seren very deeply. Before we get into that, though, can you tell me what constitutes a region?¡± ¡°Ah, your most recent quest?¡± At my nod, the librarian continued. ¡°If you are able to establish a network of condensers up to that town that Chad had used as a central base, then that should be sufficient to qualify.¡± After a moment of quiet, the librarian finally spoke again, in a far meeker tone than I was used to. ¡°Look up [The Ends] in the help system.¡± I frowned, then did so.
HELP - THE ENDS The means by which the game could come to a close. Victory Defeat
Instead of a traditional system note at the end, a hologram appeared, as when I had looked up The Chosen way in the beginning. Here, though, there were many people, many faces, all looking up to a central speaker who had some sort of digital white board at the ready. The speaker was entirely featureless, a blank face, and glowed with an amber light that suffused their non-skin. They were dressed in a similar manner to the librarian, but spoke with a far more authoritative and rough tone. ¡°Thank to the work of those whose presences I have stored here, we have managed to delve deep into the history of the System, of the Great Game, and the iterations that predate us. I leave this record here, in the hope that it might bring you salvation.¡± The speaker tapped the white board and it switched to a display, showing an eagle eye view of a massive fortress, being swarmed by thousands of monsters. Most were quadrupeds of various sizes, but there were fliers mixed in with the number and massive lumbering bipeds slowly ranging in closer. ¡°This is what we believe to be the intended fail state of the Great Game. If the client species is unable to keep up with the rate of increasing power of the monsters generated by the system, then they will fall in battle. From everything our research has determined, this is only the end of ten percent of all iterations. Certainly something to be avoided, but I¡¯m sure you have ideas already of how to do so.¡± The speaker tapped the screen and it switched displays to show a lone swordsman, gasping for air, standing in front of one of those giants from the previous display, but surrounded by dead and withered vegetation, emaciated beasts and people alike. The world displayed was almost grey, and the grass turned to dust underfoot. ¡°The other, far more common, ending is this. The System continues to ramp up its power, but pulls more and more on the atmospheric erg in order to power its creations. It drains the world dead of energy, and in doing so, starves the blood of all living things. ¡°In its greed for ever increasing growth, the System chokes all life from the world.¡± Interstitial Seren and I sat on my bed, sorta numbly staring off into the middle distance. After a long moment, they finally spoke. ¡°So, that¡¯s the end of the world?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I blinked a couple times, trying to rouse myself out of the vision that we had been shown. The sheer enormity crushed down onto my shoulders. The librarian said that we¡¯d be able to talk more in depth about the plan at the end of phase two, but for now, all I could do was allow that deep moment of realization to rest in my belly like a coiled snake. ¡°Want to talk about it?¡± Seren rested their head on my shoulder. I let out a pained, little laugh. ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Want to have sex?¡± ¡°Gods, yes.¡± *** TEN WEEKS LATER Jen drove the [All-Terrain Vehicle], while Artemis held the [Vestige-Dungeon Finder] in the back, offering the occasional navigation advice. She really was the perfect back seat driver, only offering advice when Jen really needed it. The two of them had been tightly in sync for as long as they knew, even before Artemis went by Artemis. Jen wasn¡¯t as interested in her back then, but since becoming Artemis, well there was no denying that her girlfriend was gorgeous. Tall, long hair, fierce eyes, those cheek bones, Jen couldn¡¯t keep a grin off her lips at the thought of her girlfriend. She still had to focus though, they already dipped off of anything resembling roads and were showing the power of the enhanced suspension and massive wheels in navigating this otherwise unnavigable terrain. Of course, the distraction offered by the ghostly figure hovering at Jen¡¯s side added to the difficulty of the driving. Still, Lenny (he claimed his name was something with way too many syllables but the first two were Lenny so Lenny it was) wasn¡¯t that bad of a guest, not compared to some of the others. Thon was quiet, sure, but Lenny¡¯s quiet wasn¡¯t the quiet of the others. Lenny wasn¡¯t quiet because thon wasn¡¯t all there, thon was quiet because thon was a quiet person. When thon offered advice, Lenny was to the point and extremely coherent, hell more coherent than Jen sometimes got after after a long fight, with the exhaustion tearing at her limbs and bringing her into that point where nonsense was like sweet water. ¡°We have trouble up ahead.¡± Lenny spoke with a thin, cold tone, and an accent resembling something mid-Atlantic, like one of those snootier New Englanders. Not Bostonian, no that was too low brow for Lenny. ¡°What kind of trouble?¡± Jen kept her voice low, not because she didn¡¯t want Artemis hearing her conversations with the ghost (that cat was already way out of the bag), but because Jen didn¡¯t want to get her girlfriend too worried, at least not until it was time to get worried. ¡°Group camped out, right by the entrance.¡± Lenny said. Thon didn¡¯t bother to lower thons voice, no real point to it. Jen glanced over briefly, frowning. ¡°Human?¡± She needed to keep her eyes on the road, but going too long without some attempt at eye contact just felt rude. ¡°Yes.¡± Jen nodded and spoke up for Artemis. ¡°Got some players in position by the entrance.¡± ¡°Friendlies?¡± Artemis tore her attention from the scanner and over to the route ahead. She flipped down her erg sight goggles, a god-send those were. ¡°No idea. Probably best to assume they¡¯re not.¡± Jen glanced up to where Artemis was perched. ¡°Low and slow or shock and awe?¡± ¡°Time is a precious resource.¡± Artemis grinned suddenly. Jen knew that Artemis loved to act like she was mostly concerned with efficiency and precision, but she also knew that it was an act. Artemis loved the excitement, the adventure, as much as everyone. She just didn¡¯t think she was allowed to. Time to provide some of that excitement. ¡°Got it, babe!¡± Jen slammed her foot down onto the pedal and the ATV accelerated over the rolling ground, smashing through the forest with the aid of some pinpoint turns. Thankfully Jen had access to Red, who had a [Driving] skill that she could pull on to make this task much simpler. There wasn¡¯t much left to Red, he was full of holes both visually and mentally, but that was fine, she was still able to call on his skills to do what she needed doing. A particularly sharp turn had the ATV almost tip over: key word- almost. Jen let out a satisfied whoop, while Artemis grabbed onto the roll cage yelped in a way that was very fun to hear. Jen gave one last turn and took her foot off the gas, allowing the ATV to drift across the remaining distance to the outskirts of the camp. Artemis remained behind, using the roll cage as makeshift cover. Jen hopped out of the driver¡¯s seat and strode up to the motley looking crew gathered around a fireplace just in front of a massive cave mouth that rose out of the ground like the hippo head in Aladdin. Jen put her hands on the hips and addressed the gathered. ¡°Howdy folks! I gotta get in that dungeon, and I¡¯d much rather it not become a whole thing. So, how about we sit and have a talk?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. *** Leo Standish hid in the narrows between dormitories, stalking the largely unpatrolled portions of the area, doing his best to keep his profile to a minimum. He had been keeping out of things for the last couple weeks or so. The fights with the monsters had been rough at the beginning, but his combination of skills helped with both the initial fights and with the building afterwards. He glanced at the three paths on his status screen, a faint grin coming to his lips. [Improvised Weapon Fighter] He had gotten that one immediately. After doing some studying into the path allocation system, he determined that he had qualified less for any sort of combat training, and more that one semester he was part of an improv team on campus. The team had collapsed thanks to three of the members getting into a whole thing. It was a fucking mess, but still had yielded Leo his only combat path. Its primary power allowed him to pick up anything that was weapon shaped and let him use it as a weapon, and a system-integrated one at that. He had his trusty claw hammer at hand, which had saved both his life and dozens of others during those initial days. [Handyman] This one had come pretty easily, a response to his work back of house for the theater. It let him repair and maintain all kinds of gear and facilities. It also gave him access to the [Rough Fit] perk, which let him use materials that wouldn¡¯t otherwise be valid when he was fixing shit. The group he had been running with had dismantled a lot of junk around campus, and thanks to [Rough Fit], he was able to turn that junk into valuable repair materials. [Intern] Honestly, he still wasn¡¯t sure why he had gotten this one. He guessed it was because he was still undecided on his major. As a super-senior. Still, it had proven its use, allowing him to copy skills and perks from other people, albeit at a much lower degree of power and only one person at a time. He mostly used [Intern To] with medics. There were never enough medics to go around, especially with how things had gotten. Leo tried to not think about the current state on campus. He knew that he should still be working with one of the groups that he had hung with before, but they all had holed up, refusing to do anything about the new attackers. Sure, the new attackers were scary-tough, and scary in other ways to boot, but someone had to do something about them. If they weren¡¯t dealt with, well- His internal monologue was interrupted by a sudden scream, coming from the nearby courtyard. He reflexively let out a ¡°fuck¡± before running off in the direction of the sound. As Leo rounded a corner into the courtyard, he saw two of the pigs pushing a young man up against a wall. The pigs were more pig-people, but it was easier to call them pigs, especially since they wore police uniforms. They also stood eight feet tall, with round builds, pig-pink skin, and twisted snouts. Oh, and they all carried guns, snub-nosed revolvers that could blast through all but the toughest of humans with a single shot. Fortunately, the pigs lacked in perception, and had failed to notice Leo as he entered the courtyard. One of the pigs began to frisk the young man, who Leo thought he recognized from the West Court defense group, which didn¡¯t make any sense why he was out this way. Unless the dude got kicked out for some reason and was looking for another place to hold up in. Leo held back another curse as he began to sneak closer to the pig not involved in the frisking. The other pig held its revolver out, aimed at the back of the kid¡¯s head. That pig growled out, ¡°If you fucking move, I¡¯m going to put a bullet through your head, you hear me!¡± Leo knew that this was all play, some sort of bizarre programming that made this new generation of monsters play out their roles in a shadow of the atrocities that had once visited humanity before the system came. Leo had never had any love for the cops, and for good fucking reason. He had even less reason to put any trust into these pigs. He pulled the hammer from its resting spot in his belt, and willed his erg through it. The perk [Improved Improvisation] activated and the hammer grew from a small carpenter¡¯s tool into a proper maul, with a four foot long, metal-reinforced haft. The head of the hammer was only slightly bigger, but design to puncture rather than purely smash. He gripped the maul with both hands, the grip perfect, and then swung away. Fortunately, before he had left the Cafeteria gang, he had [Intern To]ed someone with ambush skills, and they acted a power multiplier as Leo slammed the hammer¡¯s head into and through the pig¡¯s skull, doming it with a single blow. The frisking pig turned to me in shock as I grabbed the downed pig¡¯s gun. Before the remaining pig could draw its revolver, Leo threw his hammer with full force, hitting the pig firm in the chest and knocking it back. ¡°Fuck off, cop!¡± Leo shouted as he switched his erg to the revolver, shrinking it down to fit in his grip, while also filling him with knowledge of how to properly aim. The pig had dropped its own gun and began to build up to charge at Leo, while he settled into a shooter¡¯s stance, feet shoulder width apart, both hands on the gun as he brought it up to aim. If the pig got him, he¡¯d be smashed into pieces, but the gun¡¯s relevant skill also filled Leo with a strange calm, an inner peace that he channeled as he fired three rounds dead center into the pig¡¯s chest. It stumbled backwards, its forward momentum arrested, and then Leo aimed up just a hair and fired another three rounds into the pig¡¯s skull, sending its brains splattering onto the back wall. A system message popped up as Leo collected his hammer and the second pig¡¯s gun.
Level up! +10 perk points, Health/Erg restored
The kid was staring up at him wide-eyed, wet-jeaned and Leo let out a soft sigh. ¡°C¡¯mon kid, let¡¯s get you somewhere safe. The cafeteria should still be a haven for people.¡± The kid nodded several times, but Leo was interupted by another system message.
ATTENTION As one of the first 10,000 to reach level 50, you are eligible for an improved path merge or upgrade. Please select your desired option now.
Merge Leo¡¯s eyes went wide as the paths listed on his sheet disappeared and a new one appeared in its place. [Master of All Tools] Book 2, Chapter 1 The RV rolled down over the terrain, the roads growing smoother and smoother as we drove closer to town. I was busy reviewing reports from the factory, with Seren sitting next to me, their gaze intent on me, or at least on my shoulders. We sat in the living section and I was busy drinking a cup of coffee, one of our more recent additions to our stockpile of consumables. Gathering II was already showing its benefits, allowing for herbs to be transformed in the process of harvesting into a new, known, form of plant of the same general category. It seemed that coffee beans were close enough to mint under the system. Well, that nearness was less a matter of the system and more a matter of the erg in the materials. Though the details remained unclear, a long discussion with the librarian as well as my own experiments had yielded some interesting revelations regarding the nature of perks and skills. The last ten weeks had mostly been about study and some limited experiments. Even now, my erg levels weren¡¯t back to normal. A quick glance at my status showed that my capacity was still stuck at 16, despite the work of repeated erg boosting meals and the continual cycling of energy through my body with the aid of the manual condenser. Still, it could have been much worse. That I had reports to look over was the result of one of my last inventions before leaving. by combining the comms units, my Remote Access perk, and some truly arcane knowledge I had acquired before integration, I had been able to make a [Fax Machine]. The data used by the fax machines was propagated through the erg fields of the planet, making it more viable than older, wired, transmission systems. It wasn¡¯t as good as a chat program, but that sort of instantaneous text-based conversation seemed beyond what we were capable of at the moment. Still, the schema for the [Fax Machine] had been spread, and whenever anyone was planning for a long term expedition, it was easy enough to provide that team with one of the machines. The latest report had come from Artemis, who was still away from the factory with Jen. Apparently they had come across a group of refugees from Seattle, and according to them the situation in Seattle was declining rather rapidly. After finishing their current dungeon, Jen and Artemis would be escorting the refugees back to the factory. Seattle would almost certainly require some degree of intervention, but we weren¡¯t ready for that yet. The town had grown over the course of the last ten weeks, other refugees fleeing from the approach of the new second phase monsters, clearing out former safe spaces and sending people fleeing for whatever security that they could find. Ty¡¯s short-range teleportation abilities allowed him to act as a scout and a first contact specialist, helping to bring more people to the ever-expanding walls of the factory-town. This also had delayed the process of my current plans, but at least things were largely settled down now. I had firmly requested that Seren remain behind, to help act as a bureaucratic glue for the growing community. They had just as firmly disagreed with my request. They were right though. I looked over to them, and offered a smile, before flipping over to the next report. The combat threats awaiting for us were likely significant, but it was even more likely that the emotional dangers of reuniting with my peers or (worse) finding them dead would be a weight that I couldn¡¯t handle alone. For the more violent threats, well, that¡¯s what we had brought Brian along for. Brian wasn¡¯t that intimidating to look at, with a round face and large, youthful looking eyes, and a build that was on the skinny side of average. That said, he had a defensive path that he had honed over his time in service of Chad and later during the training sessions that the combat pathers had taken part in, not to mention the occasional rescue operation where he had proven instrumental in saving dozens of lives. Now, he could do more than just protect himself, he could also project shields over those he was in battle with, both to protect and to remove enemies from the battle. He was driving at the moment, having pulled this shift when we broke up the trip before leaving. Everything was continuing to go smoothly back at the town, thankfully. The opening of the Pharmacy had greatly increased the quality of life of the refugees - allowing them to get back on their feet rapidly - and helped to heal up those who were still recovering from the trauma of what we were now calling the Time of Chad. In addition, while most disabilities no longer required medical treatment, the pharmacy provided whatever necessary for people to continue to become their most ideal selves. Plus, the nutrition supplements greatly increased training efficacy. With the growth of the town¡¯s borders, we also received a fresh boost to ore income, and the factory floor was almost entirely full of smelters to handle the incoming excess. Perhaps when I got home I¡¯d re-order the structure of the floor, but for now, well, I turned my gaze up to look out the window, seeing landscape that was just familiar enough for me to realize that it was wrong. The forest had cleared out into rolling hills on the path towards the university that I had called home for so long. Yet, the details were slightly off, a hill¡¯s angle dented here, a sunken pit there, small things that added up. Four years into the program, and enough failed courses that I had at least two more to go. A flurry of relationships (platonic and otherwise) that had also seen more than my fair share of failures. Substance abuse. Insomnia. A thousand other flaws that had torn at my bearing over those seemingly short four years. My hand found Seren¡¯s and I squeezed, my eyes shutting tight in a doomed effort to banish those concerns. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Hey, you should get a look at this.¡± Brian¡¯s voice came from the front of the RV and I scrambled between the seats to sit next to him up front. Ahead, the campus loomed, larger in my chest than in my eyes, but again, the differences between the reality and the memory was clear, and that difference was enough to pull me directly into the present. ¡°What the hell.¡± The campus was in ruins, most of the buildings torn down into piles of rubble, only a handful remaining standing, with smoke billowing up from here and there. We were still too far away to see all of the details, but the side facing the highway had suffered massive damage. I remembered the campus being surrounded by a small forest to help keep the outside world at bay, but there was no sign of those trees, leaving everything exposed. ¡°I¡¯ll take us in,¡± I said. ¡°Get ready to shield us if needed.¡± Brian nodded and we switched seats. With my hands on the wheel, I felt my erg connect with the variety of machinery built in the vehicle. In addition to several next generation autorifles, I had installed several erg batteries, a mobile condenser, and some other combat equipment to help assure that we could hold our own, regardless of the circumstances. Brian, of course, would also be a force multiplier. He had just recently hit level 43, not enough for his first parth evolution, but enough to assure that he had a lot of power to bring to bear. All of my path points since the fight with Chad had been sunk into utility perks, which would hopefully prove their value before too long but wouldn¡¯t be much direct assistance in battle.. I turned off of the main street onto the campus proper and as I crossed that barrier, I felt an electric tingle over my body. The threshold felt significant in some way that I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on, even as my stomach flipped in memory of previous returns to the campus, of coming back from whatever place would call me home to the familiar pathways and places. The map that we had drawn up from Survey Chamber data showed three major clusters of people on campus. One was over in the dorms on the north side of campus, one was set in the main academic cafeteria pretty close to the center of campus, and the third was established in the labs clustered in the south-east. From the patterns of rubble blocking the roads through the campus, the cafeteria seemed the easiest location to arrive at, so I set my route correspondingly. A large pile of rubble forced me to take a detour, but I knew that I¡¯d be able to cut back relatively soon and arrive at the large commons set out behind the cafeteria, where students would often eat their meals when the weather was nice. Flashes of memory hit me with every moment, half-formed visions of my past melting back into themselves with every occurrence of a new thought, none ever resolving into solidity, but forming into a stormy slurry of recollection that gnawed at my innermost self. My hands tightened on the wheel and I forced myself to remain present, despite the pressure of the past threatening to pull me down, to pull me into that unceasing current of my failures, of the harm that I had done to those around me, to the terrible things that I sought absolution from every day. I took a sharp turn around the library and the commons came into view. The open green was set with buildings on three sides. On the south was the library, on the west was the cafeteria, and on the north was the English department¡¯s main building. The road I drove in on was on the east side, leaving us somewhat exposed as we came into sight of the large group camped on the green. Six ten-foot diameter sea urchins were lined up in two rows, one near the northern edge of the commons, one near the southern edge of the commons. In between, six figures sat upon their mounts, attention fully on the cafeteria. These giant lobster-mounts stood at ill-ease, their twelve-foot long bodies covered in a deep blue carapace and a layer of crystalline barnacles. Their pincers stood at the ready, practically vibrating at the desire to smash and break. Flanking the riders were four vibrantly colored crustaceans. At first glance, they resembled lobsters but after a moment I realized that strange coloration and their elongated eye stalks meant that they were likely based on mantis shrimp, at least if I remembered that Oatmeal comic correctly. They were much smaller than the mounts, too, closer to the size of a large dog, and instead of pincers, their front legs were lifted up and fused into a cannon-like bore. Most bizarre, though, were the riders. They were roughly humanoid in shape, but were covered in coral, with particularly dense patches forming into the shape of breastplate and morion. Their faces, though, their faces had an almost stone-like appearance. Upon closer inspection, I realized that they simply had an exo-skeletal mask, though one that had an armored appearance as well. Separate plates covered their cheeks, their upper jaws, their lower jaws, and there were even circular disks of bone over their eyes. Their teeth jutted from those jaw plates: a long line of razor sharp incisors on the bottom jaw and a pair of crushing fangs on their upper. The six riders were arranged in a V, the point facing the cafeteria, and they hadn¡¯t seemed to notice us yet. Indeed, their attention was fully on the cafeteria. Looking carefully in that direction as I slowly brought the RV to a stop, I saw people -humans- gathered inside of the building, looking out with expressions that were unreadable at this distance, but I could nevertheless feel a palpable terror washing over from the building. The rider at the front of the V called out in a voice that was strangely human, but also raspier than I was expecting. ¡°O, ye heathens who cluster and cower, who hide amongst the broken edifices of your peoples. O, ye weak ones who deny the power of The Tide Ashore. O, ye who seek mercy and absolution. Join with us, worship the True God Oceanus, and you shall know our glory.¡± The rider lifted a hand and the cannon-shrimps scuttled forward. ¡°Otherwise, face ye doom here and now!¡± Book 2, Chapter 2 The lead rider dropped their hand and the cannon-shrimps locked their legs into a crouched position, stabilizing themselves on the ground. A deep pressure built in the surroundings, I could feel the erg being pulled inward towards the creatures and I activated my Erg Sight to observe the process. The cannon-shrimps¡¯ torsos swirled with energy, drawing in the ambient erg around them, their segmented bodies lighting up in even more brilliant colors down their lengths as they charged up. Then the energy surged forward from their bore-limbs, forming a massive sphere of attuned erg that flung across the distance, heading towards the cafeteria walls with starling speed. While I couldn¡¯t make out individual details at this distance, I was able to see the people clustered by the front of the cafeteria scatter away from the attack, but they weren¡¯t fast enough. The attack¡¯s propulsion unfolded in slow motion, as I realized that there was nothing I could do, that these people would die. Unless. I glanced briefly over towards Brian and saw that he was ahead of me. Glowing, translucent barriers, suffused with erg, appeared in front of the cannon-shrimps¡¯ projectiles, and that immense force splashed off to seemingly no effect. ¡°Demo attunement,¡± I said. ¡°Highly effective against objects that aren¡¯t under the influence of a person.¡± I reached up and pulled down a visor that was set in the roof above the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°It functions by disrupting the erg inside of the object, but for whatever reason, the system can¡¯t manipulate erg that belongs to a person, whatever that means.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve spotted us,¡± Brian said. ¡°Yeah. Well, let¡¯s give everyone a good show.¡± I slipped the visor on and called back to Seren. ¡°Stay safe back there, things are about to get hot.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s always hot when you¡¯re involved.¡± Seren quipped, but they also took cover in a reinforced niche. ¡°Both of you be careful too.¡± Brian stepped out of the RV, punching his fists together. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. If these things can punch through my defenses, you¡¯ll have plenty of other things to worry about.¡± I activated the visor with a surge of erg, pulling up the targeting array of the autorifles, all five of them working on an unified targeting function. I could switch to automated targeting, but manual targeting allowed for the autorifles to benefit from my skills and my ability to charge them further with increased erg input, benefits that were not applicable with automated targeting. I briefly glanced at my skill list, spotting one skill in particular. [Ranged Weaponry - 39] The skill had risen very slowly, despite it being used significantly in both construction and battle; I suspected this had to do with it being an already evolved skill, and the threats that I had faced not being significant enough to trigger a faster rate of improvement. The system wanted us to face increasingly high threats, to push ourselves into higher and higher levels of danger in the pursuit of that advancement, which would only push us further and further onwards. It wanted us to be in these perpetual cycles of struggle and tribulation, but I just couldn¡¯t figure out why. Brian had strapped on his gauntlets and bracers, more armor than weapon (though he was impressively apt at using his defense as an offense). His recent choice of a second path had given him some more attack options, but he was still lacking when it came to mobility. That was fine, in most battles he was the anvil. Here, though, he would be the shield, the front line for the enemy to crash onto. Didn¡¯t make it any less funny when he jogged around the front of the RV to meet the enemy, full of power but leisurely with his speed. My attention was then caught up in said enemy. The large size of the mounts meant that they had very wide turning radii. One, the rider who had spoken before, pulled off to the side, keeping attention on both the cafeteria and us, as the other five turned fully and began to clatter over the commons towards the RV. The four cannon-shrimps turned as well, and through the erg sight I could see them preparing for another attack. The leader called out, aiming their voice so that it bounced off of the walls of the buildings that surrounded the commons, giving it an ominous echo. ¡°You seek to subvert our most holy of tasks! You low ones, you crawling creatures of the dirt, you fallen demon-children, you seek to undo our work and this shall not stand!¡± I deployed the autorifles immediately. These ones weren¡¯t stored in my inventory, but rather in containers built into the roof of the RV, allowing for others to make use of them in a pinch through the visor. The new generation was slimmer, but thrummed with their potential. They were built entirely from tier 2 ore, and the power of that enhanced ore resulted in a halo of erg around the autorifles, visible even to the naked eye. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I set my targets on the cannon-shrimps and let loose, the chambers turning with each precisely calibrated shot. I was glad that the aiming system wasn¡¯t manual, that it simply followed after my targeting designations and determined the exact line of fire from those details, performing the calculus of the exact right position and disposition necessary. Two bullets caught one cannon-shrimp and it ripped in half, the excited erg in its torso rendering its body more volatile than it might otherwise be. The other three resisted their own injuries, and managed to let loose another burst of demo-fire before follow-up bullets from my auto-rifles finished them off. Their attacks, however, splashed just as weakly off of the side of the RV as they had off of Brian¡¯s barricades. I¡¯m not entirely sure why, but something about my path made it so that the vehicles I made were considered my equipment, and thus were resilient against demo attuned attacks. I suspected that the cannon-shrimps had other attunements available, but were following some sort of undetectable instruction or programming to determine which attunement that they would use. The amount of power that those things could bring to bear would be truly terrifying if they used a more impactful element. Fortunately, this group of them would not be a major threat, though judging from the numbers we were expecting, this was only a fraction of what these new monsters had available. Even as the cannon-shrimps were firing, the lobsters and their riders were charging with an increased speed and steadiness, having formed into a V once again, facing the RV. Brian arrived just in time and stepped into the first approaching lobster, bypassing its pincers and building up his momentum. His arm and hand became covered in a barrier aura, the erg around his limb becoming brighter and more rigid. He swung forward and with a perfectly time punched slammed the lobster in the side of its head. The personal barriers that Brian used were ideal for this function. On the inside, they were soft and pliable, forming a cushion for his body, while on the outside they were as firm as stone. In effect, it was like he was wearing a boxing glove for himself and a pair of brass knuckles for his foe. Except, it was even more than that, because these particular barriers were also reflective in nature, meaning that Newton¡¯s third was reversed thanks to the strange properties of the erg, and the full impact of the sudden break in momentum from both sides was applied twice to his opponent. And considering the speed and mass of the lobster, well. The lobster flung to the side, lifting off of the ground and spinning twice in mid-air, dislodging its rider in the process, before they slammed into the ground in a disordered heap. The other riders brought their lobsters to trot, slowing their approach as they lumbered massive swords from their backs. Each of the four remaining carried greatswords, all the greater for their own personal size, shaped similar to a crab claw, with the sharpened edge on the inside of the curve. I targeted all five of the autorifles onto one of the riders. The bullets cracked out and slammed into the armored torsos of the rider. I probably could have aimed for head shots, but judging from how heavily armored their heads were, that might not have been any more effective. The body shots were also more reliable, and I turned some of the stored energy from the batteries into the autorifles, increasing their rate of fire to faster than they could maintain if I wanted greater precision. Each impact sent coral chips flying off from the breastplate of the rider, and would have knocked them backwards if it wasn¡¯t for their tight grip on their reins. At least all the rider could do was focus on remaining mounted. The other three, meanwhile, closed in slowly on Brian who fell into a defensive position, holding his barrier enhanced arms up to protect his face. The lobsters tightened a circle around him, keeping him pinned in, while their riders descended, circling him as well and preparing to strike. The armor of the rider I was targeting began to regenerate, the coral filling in the gaps that I had blasted away, but though it was hard to read their expression, I could sense a growing concern from the rider. After a moment¡¯s consideration, I switched from neutral bullets to magma bullets, which smashed in with slightly less direct force but with a lingering, molten heat that kept the armor from regenerating. In a panic, the rider began to tear away the lingering magma from the bullets, but the loosening of their grip sent them knocked off of their mount. Another spray of bullets and they were out of the fight, at least for now. Meanwhile, one of the others had circled around behind Brian and went in for a wide swing at his back. He glanced over at the moment and just before the impact increased the power of the barrier behind him, catching the descent of the blade and holding it still, even as he stepped backwards and launched an elbow into the rider¡¯s stomach, sending them clattering backwards against their mount. I turned the autorifle fire onto the other two in the lobster circle, pouring down shot after shot at them until they finally broke ranks and took shelter behind their lobsters. Seeing the rest of their fighters incapacitated, the leader of the group unsheathed their own blade, somewhat narrower sword, but covered in thousands of rough scales like shark skin. ¡°So, ye ones have proven your worth to die at my hands!¡± Through my erg sight, I could see the energy pulsing around the leader of the riders, swirling and churning before flaring into a dark blue aura, significantly more powerful than the previous aura of this kind that I had seen, Chad¡¯s. I sucked in a breath, preparing for a protracted battle as I sensed that power and its enormity compared to what Brian and I had access to. The leader let out a shout and brought their mount to a charge, blade held forward as a lance as they made their way straight towards Brian, the lobsters and their riders scattering to leave him exposed. Then five shots rang through the air, blasting through the leader¡¯s torso, exploding the coral and causing five gouts of gore to spray out. A sixth shot fired, punching straight through the leader¡¯s forehead, despite all of that armor, caving it around the force of the impact. I looked up to the source of the shots, seeing a man in tattered clothes standing on top of the library, a snub-nosed revolver in hand.