4

Arc 1 - Chapter 4

Saturday 19th November, 2010

The next two days passed in a blur and before I knew it, it was Saturday.

I spent the majority of Thursday and Friday working, doing odd jobs, and aiming for more stepping up bonuses at work. I also got quite close with the injured guy, Jerry. We aren't friends or anything, but he knows the town well, gives me some decent advice for living in the area, and after hooking me up with Dave to get my apartment, I knew he was at least semi reliable.

However, there's a possible snag in friendly relations. The man despises capes. To a level I don't think I've read about before. He makes fanon Piggot look like the cape advocate every fresh trigger needs.

Strangely, its only capes he hates, he has no issue with parahumans, just people who take part in the cape scene. He refused to expand on this hatred, simply telling me to watch out for myself in this "cape infested shithole".

After work on Friday, I was hit by the strangest forge hit yet. Usually, I see a field of stars and absorb or fail to absorb planets, however this hit came as I was falling asleep and came in the form of a single planet. Various islands were shaded out. My power reached out and filled in a tiny island in the northern hemisphere and the forge whispered into my brain "Access Key Link"

I can now close my door while inside the reality and open the door to any door I have previously opened with my key. This will grow my personal force projection immensely and give me an easy escape route if I am being chased or followed. It's probably the most immediately useful perk I've gained up to now. I will have to plan a trip to various parts of the city and get a few doors unlocked. This perk is a big deal for any potential caping. And if worse comes to worst I can sequester myself in there.

Speaking of plans, I've managed to build up a nice nest egg of $2000 which covers rent in December if I stay and will cover food to survive. I don't technically need to stay any more, I can now just live in the personal reality if I want as I can close the door after me and pop out anywhere as long as I prepare the door, but having a legitimate domicile in the city gives me a lot of plausible deniability.

I should be able to stretch my funds to live until Mid-December now even after buying a basic phone. Anything else I earn now can go towards tinkering. Before I got key link, my plan was to remain under the radar, making intermittent gathering trips, working my way into the foreman's good graces at the yard to see if I could get access to better-paying jobs, and selling at the market on Tuesdays.

However, with the mover wraps combined with key link giving me an easy retreat from most confrontations (Well, in a city where there are doors everywhere anyway) maybe it's time I put myself on the PRT radar and go register.

My mental checklist for putting myself on the cape scene is Armour, Weaponry, Escape plan.

I've got armour semi covered now, I will need to work on my fitness to use the full kit unpowered, or get a forge hit that allows me to add some powered joints and actuators to use the full set. But it gives me a level of protection better than most non brute capes. At least to the vital areas.

I've got weaponry covered if you squint at the definition. I have heavily Manton limited matter telekinesis, destruction and creation via the manipulator for, admittedly slow battlefield control. I have the tesla glove for disable and destroy duties.

And finally, I have various short-term buff foods packed in tight single bite tortilla wraps. And I have the access key driven escape plan if I need it.

While I am contemplating what I can offer as my "power" if I register with the PRT, the forge makes my nostrils ache.

Mundane Large Scale – Failed!

Database Magitech – Failed!

Assistants – Success!

Companion Bracelet – World Seed

Cost 0cp, upgrade?

Wait what, upgrade?

Basic companion bracelet is a form bound evolving ai in a user defined form, the basic ai is designed to be the perfect companion for the user that first equips it. The AI observes the world via your senses and has a photographic memory. They can point out potential issues, highlight important objects, gather information from the internet and other sources, and otherwise assist you in day-to-day life as a personal assistant.

For 50cp each the following upgrades can be added.

Identify – Ai can scan nearby living beings for information on their abilities, skill level, and relevant information.

Internalise – Ai no longer has a bound physical form and instead lives directly within your own existence. They are bound to you and exist as long as you do. Unless you take actions to prevent their expiry upon yours. Wireless range is drastically shortened to 50m.

Danger Sense – Ai is installed in your brain and can use it's faster perception and analysis of reality to forcibly move your body out of the way of danger from any source. As long as you are physically able to make the move.

Trajectory – AI can instantly show the trajectory of any intended enemy projectile and warn you if any projectiles will approach from blind spots and how to dodge them. Range is limited to the projectile shooter being within 200 meters.

Danger sense is out. I don't care if it's a fiat backed to be my ally AI, no-one and nothing is ever being able to master me in any way if I can avoid it.

Trajectory I can possibly emulate most of via software later if need be. If the AI's perception is usually based on my own, then as I get better tech I can give them access to cameras etc and emulate this one manually. The short battle precognition towards projectiles including blind-spots is nice though and can't be emulated.

Internalise is locked in, not having a physical presence and giving me mental access to the internet as long as I have an internet device with me, local wireless networks even if short ranged, and a personal assistant of this level of variety is too good to pass up. I will definitely work on giving them an escape route for if I die though.

Identify feels like Tattletale-lite. While it feels obviously useful, as an insert I already know the general strengths and weaknesses of my main enemies and will have ways to find them in future if not.

I've decided. I'm going to take Trajectory and Internalise. Both of them are immediately useful to my current cape profile. And I can pass off Trajectory as part of my cape power if I register with the PRT.

Companion Bracelet – World Seed complete – Cost 0cp -> 100cp.

0 CP remains.

The world explodes in pain. I feel molten rivers of lava trace every nerve in my body, my veins feel itchy, my brain is no longer here.

And then existence reboots.

And I hear a voice in my head. Female, with a Welsh accent.

"Hello Master."

"Uh hello?"

"This unit requires designation."

"Excuse me?"

"This unit requires designation."

"You want a name?"

"Unit communication can be in the form of purposefully directed thought, database shows species members react poorly to spoken word without speech partner. Designation is required for thought direction."

I live a strange but charmed life, but being sassed by the AI living in my soul generates emotions I've never felt before.

"Ok, unit designation is EFA, if you decide you find a designation you personally prefer, then this can be changed at your will."

"This unit will take the name EFA, Master, evolution of this unit will progress. Please direct any queries to me by thought."

"Thank you EFA."

---

The "Register with the PRT" checklist continues to grow.

I have fulfilled my original checklist, and the addition of EFA gives me some more routes to take in regard to what powers I register.

Currently, using their ratings I am a Tinker/Thinker/Shaker hybrid. With access to supplementary and temporary defensive brute and mover ratings even if not at the same time.

I'm thinking of registering as a Shaker/Tinker combo, with the ability to create empowering tinker consumables and empowered items that slowly grow for the user over time as long as they are used for their correct purpose along with self-repairing armour. Passing off that the simpler I make the items, the less maintenance they required, with mundane items requiring no maintenance at all as long as damage isn't incurred in battle.

I think I could even swing it to set up a deal to supply the local PRT agents with gear. Self-repairing, high-quality gear that improves itself even if only slightly over time would really help them out, and if I supply at cost, or get them to trade for materials then even better.

My current issue is Coil.

I am committed to remaining independent, as I am bound to my own morals and while the PRT are not the evil monolith most fanfics make them out to be, I could never work for a group that places how they look over how they act. And as previously established, I won't shit on this world by joining or making a gang.

Independent heroically inclined fence sitter is where I need to be for now.

Coil can't and won't allow me to remain independent given his goals which forces me to stay stealthy or come up with countermeasures. However, if I don't act before he gets control of Dinah, then this all becomes irrelevant anyway. Without one of the perks that directly blocks precognition, or access to a perk that lets me build something that can block precogs, he will discover me through their frankly overpowered thinker synergy regardless. The sword of Damocles is falling slowly, but surely.

Dinah is one of the big dates in Worm. The Bank Robbery. 14th April. 2022. I have less than 6 months to deal with Coil.

I am suffering from choice paralysis. I recognise it. But that doesn't change it.

Interfere with Taylors trigger event – Early January – less than 2 months away.

Intervene to prevent Bakuda from joining the ABB – March, 4 months away.

Prevent Coil from getting hold of Dinah. Less than 6 months away.

There's too much to do, too much I need to grow, and a never-ending checklist of planned interference points that force me to choose between heroism, and pragmatism.

It's funny, I judge the PRT for choosing PR over lives. And here I am choosing between "Save the teenager from a horrific torture" or "Let it happen so there's a backup if you fail."

I'm not the person I thought I was.

It's time to start making decisions.

And the forge makes my toes buzz, as the swelling feeling that signals a planet is passing close by erupts behind my eyes.

Protection – Failed

Knowledge Mundane – Success!

Chemist – Fallout 4

I can make Stimpaks.

I can make Med-X

I can make anything remotely chemistry based from the Fallout series.

I also got an entire knowledge of chemistry principles dropped into my head.

Is the forge giving me rolls to prompt me to my tinker/shaker PRT idea?

"OI forge, are you doping the rolls?"

It doesn't answer.

Let's go and see what I can make. Then decision time.

---

So, it takes a bunch of copper, glass, rubber and wood to make a chem station. Along with some screws and steel that I can easily forge up in my smithy.

Thankfully, I have everything I need from my previous resource foray. After an hour of forging, kicking and copious amounts of swearing, I finally get something that looks like an IKEA special crossover with the ship graveyard cobbled together.

It's surprisingly easy to install too. I throw it in a corner of my blacksmith room for now. There isn't much space but better here than where I plan to sleep.

For something that looks like it would struggle to put together a functional glass of lemonade, the list of things I can make is vast. The list of non-addictive things I can make, is less so. I will be staying away from telling anyone about the addictive stuff for sure. Especially the PRT.

Stimpaks, Med-X and Radaway are all hilariously easy to make. I had most of the ingredients in the back corner of the single cupboard in the "kitchen" in the apartment.

A simple Stimpak is some antiseptic, some blood, and steel for the injector interface.

Antiseptic, blood and something I have in basically infinite amounts and my bullshit power makes something that can heal broken limbs. burns, gashes, and most things in between.

The biggest downside is honestly the blood, I can only honestly provide about four stimpaks worth a day, using one of them will cause me to restore the blood back in a day rather than a week but there is a hard limit of 4 per day for me currently. If I time my stimpak usage till after my afternoon workout then I can also hugely improve the efficiency of my workouts by eliminating the recovery cycle entirely.

I'll either have to biotinker up some form of blood creation/duplication in future when I get the ability, or fund a blood drive if I want to up production. Options are open for now. I will definitely make the 4 per day, however. Stimpaks are too useful for my own development even discounting the insta-heal.

Some other consumables I can make with this perk are Radaway, Med-X, and Rad-X. Med-X is a big temporary brute rating that makes the body extremely resistant to damage. This one is generally useful all round and can stack with the brute ratings I can gain from my alchemy and cooking. Rad-x and Radaway however will be extremely useful for the next behemoth fight. Rad-X immunises the user from certain levels of radiation and minimises higher levels. Radaway purges radiation from the users body completely.

I can also make a compound called addictol, that instantly purges the user of all addictions, although it causes explosive vomiting, runs, and sweating while it forces a purge on the patient/victim.

A common thread across all the Fallout chemistry items is the products used to make them can be extremely low quality, and they are all common household object bar a couple which are creatable from common objects and slightly more expensive objects.

This perk will be used heavily. I've already made my first four stimpaks with one put aside to be used after this evenings now much heavier planned workout.

Got to maximise those gains now I can raise them so quickly.

---

I think I've finally come to a decision.

I'm going to go and pick up a phone as planned, then I'm going to strategize with EFA. I need to work on her development anyway.

I'm making the trip to downtown on foot and bus rather than teleporting out to the public toilet I used nearer to the boardwalk using my key. The exercise will do me good, and I can eye up doors along the route that I can use to maximise my now ridiculous deployment abilities.

I'm going to use my key inside a few public toilets on the boardwalk, mostly on utility doors where I can.

I arrive at the downtown shopping district and find a phone shop quite quickly, and after chasing off the attempted upsell come away with a cheap smartphone, with low call minutes but very high internet usage limits. It's a prepay as I can't get a contract with no identity, but the deal is pretty good and the whole package ends up costing me around $300.

"EFA" I think into my mind.

"Yes master?"

"I apologise, I've not spoken to you much since you arrived, I'm not the most social of people."

"Don't worry about me in this way master, I am not a typical free AI, I am the reflection that you need, my development is entirely tailored to what you need in an assistant, and for now my programming tells me you need a silent watcher."

"If you notice anything you think I should know please don't hesitate to speak up, I may prefer my own counsel, but I would never keep you silent and bored."

"I know master, I know you better than you know yourself."

"Please just call me Thomas, or Tom, or if you can't or would prefer not to do that, then Mr Hale. Master has, negative connotations."

"Request acknowledged Mr Hale, how can I help you today?"

"I know you are a learning AI with research access to wireless devices among other skills, are you capable of hacking or software development/repair?"

"Not 'out of the box' so to speak, the only natural abilities I have are the ones you gained with my perks. I am however as specified a learning AI, if you instruct me to learn a skill that I have access to then I can do so."

"I have just gained an internet activated device which I picked up mainly to give you access. Can you take control of this device, route any calls to me directly, and use it to access the web?"

"Yes, this is well within the sphere of my abilities."

"I would like for you to take the following actions in this order of priority. Track the known movements of the nine as they show up and try to create or work out a pattern and at the same time track public appearances of Mouse Protector. I want to know the second they get an appearance within 100 miles of each other. You may research methods to do this if you don't have the ability naturally. Secondly monitor all calls and messages to my phone and alert me of importance as I give my number out. Finally, I would like you to spend time researching hacking and software development in its myriad forms.

"Acknowledged, I will begin on these requests now and will alert you as and when needed."

"Thanks, EFA, have a nice day."

"You too Mr Hale."

Step one, complete, EFA will be covering some points of note. The big one being the tracking of the nine and Mouse Protector. I want to know the second they start to move towards the northeast region. I've made my decision. Be it Mouse Protector, Dinah. Glory Girl. Panacea. Theo. Dragon. Even Armsmaster.

I won't let any of them suffer or fall if they don't need to. I'll bear that responsibility myself if I have to.

I won't bow to the status quo. Screw maintaining the timeline. Screw maintaining backup world savers. If I can't do it myself without compromising my morals, then I don't deserve it.

Looks like the forge agrees too as my eyes start to itch,

Toolkit Magical – Failed

Knowledge Mundane – Failed

Quality Design – Failed

No perk this time though I am quietly relieved, I'd like to build up to a bigger perk now, preferably something I can weaponize, and I have more than enough to be getting through with my current perks.

 ---

Walking down the boardwalk without a mission in mind is relaxing. There's something to be said about the clarity that comes with picking a path. Knowing that I intend to intervene has taken a metaphorical weight from my shoulders.

As I am about to leave the boardwalk to the south and step into the Downtown coast district, I hear a woman scream on the intersecting alleyway that I am approaching. I quickly run to the corner and peek around only so see three skinheads pointing a knife at two African American women.

Well, I made my choice to be proactive and refuse to give up my morals. No time to be the ramping Tinker who never shows themselves if I want to be a hero. Consequences are for future Tom to deal with. I quickly fish out my key and jump into a nearby door.

Time to gear up.

I sprint to the nearby pedestal, grab my current lightweight armour setup, my manipulator and tesla glove, and my mask. Suiting up takes thirty seconds and I am back out the door after grabbing my baton and stimpaks. I need to come up with a way to quicksuit like Iron Man does. One for a future perk, I think.

I sprint back out the door and turn the corner again. One of the women is sobbing at knife point while the other is being grabbed and wrestled to the floor.

Absolutely fucking not mate.

I walk towards them. Slowly at first so as not to turn this into a hostage situation. As I get closer, I quickly chomp down on a mover wrap and then the game is on.

I immediately sprint in and body check goon 1 who is standing over his almost prone victim. He flies at a very satisfying clip towards goon number 2 and catches him centre mass.

Goon number 3 looks shocked at my appearance from nowhere and turns towards me and reaches his hand into his jacket and quickly pulls out a gun.

Trajectory pops into my eyeline and warns me that goon 3 intends to discharge his weapon towards me, the 3 trajectories however will go over my shoulder even if I close the distance at maximum speed and no 4th is appearing. I might be able to move three times as fast but I don't get to think three times as fast so I have to make this count. I charge directly at him, centre mass as he shoots over my right shoulder. I flip out my baton and hit him directly in the abdomen as hard as I can.

He bends double, trajectory warns me that I am about to be shot in the right lung from behind. I take evasive action by running directly at the nearby alley wall and the shots just barely miss me, I kick off the wall (and my shins are now fucking killing) and dive at goon 2 who is prone on the ground with what looks like a beretta in his hand. I quickly drop a thick wall of packed dirt with my manipulator and dive behind it as I only get it up to one meter before he starts firing. I definitely wouldn't have reached him in time.

None of the 9mm bullets manage to penetrate my wall. As the gunfire abates I throw caution to the wind and sprint at the now two-meter-high wall. As I vault it, the second goon in front of me gasps. From the look on his face I don't think he expected me to do something so reckless. I grab him by the shoulder and pump a level 1 tesla shot into him. He drops to the floor shaking.

Goon 1 decides this is a good time to smack me in the head with a crowbar. Grabbing the crowbar mid swing I give him his own taste of level 1 tesla goodness. Huh looks like this crowbar isn't a great conductor. He still drops though. And note to self. Pad glove palms if you want to catch melee weapons. I think my hand might be broken. I forgot in the heat of the moment I only armoured the back of these gloves.

I address the skinheads directly. "Move so much as a pinky, and I will shock you until you need assistance to piss are we clear," I get two rapid nods, the other guy is unconscious.

I now have three disabled skinheads in front of me, and two hysterical women.

"Apologies for not arriving sooner miss, are you both ok?" I ask, trying to keep a calm and neutral tone.

"I-I'm ok now, I'm not injured but I think that one stabbed Marissa in the side." One of the women says while shaking and pointing at goon 1.

I notice I am also shaking; first fight adrenaline rush I think.

"Excuse me, Marissa is it? Are you injured? Can I assist you in any way?"

"Fucker stabbed me in the hip, it isn't deep I think, he was trying to cut my underwear off and slipped."

I go cold.

There are lines you never expect to see crossed, things you hear about but don't quite comprehend at the time.

"I have healing tinker-tech if you would like me to heal the wound, or I can take one of these scumbags' shirts and pack it for you if you want to keep it as evidence for the police to press charges."

"Pigs don't successfully prosecute empire in this part of town white hat. Thank you for helping but I'll take the healing if it's still on offer and wait with you for the police to arrive. It'll stop you getting in trouble at least."

Right, I need to call the police and the PRT. Firstly, the healing. "Do I have permission to heal you?"

She nods hesitantly.

"Please pull up your shirt to just above or below the wound, whichever you are most comfortable with. I don't need to see anything but the skin directly above or below the wound, I can inject this into your arm if you prefer, it will still heal you but will be more effective and quicker the closer to the wound."

She pulls her shirt up, and there is a roughly 2-inch stab wound which is leaking blood. It looks nasty.

I quickly discharge one of my stimpaks into the skin just above the wound, and the bleeding immediately slows off, and the wound starts to shrink.

She looks at me in astonishment.

"I just need to call the authorities now, please stick around and shout me if any of these 3 move a muscle." "EFA, monitor the men on the ground for movement please." "Got it."

I dial 911 first. However, before I initiate the call, I come to a startling realisation.

I don't have a cape name.

"EFA."

"Yes Mr Hale?"

"I don't have a cape name."

"You do, you just don't know you do."

"I'm confused."

"You decided your cape name before you even had powers."

"I did?"

"Your cape name is Archon."

The name resonates within me.

"Archon?"

"Archons are Rulers, justice bringers and magistrates. In ancient gnostic religions the Archons are the builders of the physical universe. Guardians of the souls within the physical realm. Archons are the hunters of the corrupt, those abusers of power who hide behind laws and means. And those who abuse power."

"I don't say this enough to anyone really EFA but thank you."

"Always, Sir."

Heh, "Sir". I like it.

I initiate the call.

"911, what's the nature of your emergency?"

"This is independent Hero Archon. I have just prevented an assault in progress at the alleyway just off the intersection of Heald Avenue, and Brine Street in the Downtown coast area I have two victims on the scene, one of whom I have healed from a serious stab wound to the abdomen and I need pickup for the three assailants."

"Ok sir thank you for your call I have dispatched two units to your location, does anyone need medical assistance?"

"The victims are both fine, however the assailants may need checking over, I tazed two of them and had to physically remove the third from attempting rape by body slamming him at high speed."

"I will despatch medical support as well, have you contacted the PRT, or would you like us to do so?"

"I don't mind you doing so if that's ok Operator, my priority is the victims and then getting the three assailants into custody."

"Noted sir, I will put a general query out to the PRT and the units on site will let you know if you need to wait for contact."

"Thanks, Archon out."

I hang up the call.

"The police are on their way and likely someone from the Protectorate or PRT."

Marissa nods at me.

"Thank you for interfering, I don't want to know how this ended without you."

"Don't mention it, it's why I have this costume."

The wait is shockingly short.

The first squad car arrives 10 minutes later with the second not far behind. Two officers approach me calmly.

"Archon, is it?"

"Yes officer."

"Dispatch said you prevented an assault?"

"Yes officer, these two women here were in the process of being accosted by the three men on the floor here. That one there," I point to goon 1 "Was in the process of attempting to sexually assault this woman next to me."

The officer looks at Marissa and she nods back at him tearfully.

"Ok Archon, thank you for your statement, the PRT will take any additional information as needed when their representative arrives. I believe Assault is on his way if you could wait for him he won't be too long."

"Ok no problem officer, what will happen to these 3 scumbags and the two women?"

"These three will be going to lockup to be checked over and charged, an ambulance is on the way to check on the two victims once we have taken their statements."

"Ok thanks Officer, I will move to the alley entrance and wait for Assault."

He nods.

As I move to walk away, the other, uninjured woman grabs my arm.

"My name is Nikki. Thank you for saving us and for preventing this from being the worst day of our lives."

I nod.

"Stay well Nikki, Marissa, hopefully these three get what they deserve."

Marissa scoffs.

"Nazis never pay in this town, but hopefully you tazing those two will make them think twice next time."

The casual nonchalance to the assumption that justice will fail is standard in this town.

And I hate it.

I move to the entrance of the Alleyway as the final squad car and ambulance arrive. I quickly sweep the alley with my matter manipulator to retrieve my dirt. I'll be keeping that sandbag tactic for future.

The bullets drop to the floor, and I motion the nearby officer to them, he pops a thumbs up and goes to bag them up.

Assault doesn't take long to arrive.

He looks me up and down and whistles.

"First time out?"

I grin and nod.

"Tinker?"

I shrug and shake my hand in a "so-so" motion.

"Damn if I couldn't tell that armour isn't powered, I'd be worried about Armsmaster declaring you his eternal rival!"

The image of Armsmaster with a bowl cut wearing a skin-tight forest green spandex suit and shouting about youth nearly makes me laugh out loud.

"Hah," I compose myself for a reply "I'm not looking to be anyone's rival. Especially not a hero."

He smiles encouragingly at me.

"That's exactly what we like to hear! I don't want to waste your time or my own, so in your own words could you give me a statement of what happened, as a note for future interactions, we cross reference these when we liaise with BBPD in case they need them to make a case."

I explain quickly and succinctly exactly what happened in the fight.

"Just to clarify for the statement, you acted to prevent the assault on the young woman on the floor by physically removing the assailant, and it was them who escalated to lethal measures before you used any form of tinker tech weaponry on them?" 

"Yes, I'm extremely wary about escalation levels in fights, I've been training for and contemplating my first patrol for a long time, I didn't even intend to come out and fight tonight, I was just test running my gear when I heard the altercation and had to intervene."

He smiles disarmingly at me again.

"As far as I can see in this situation you did exactly what you needed to. The body tackle at the beginning without a verbal warning may be seen as brutal by policing standards, and under current PRT and Protectorate policy I should be giving you a 'light verbal warning' about making sure to announce yourself and attempt verbal disarmament of a situation before escalating to physical confrontation blah blah yawn, but I'm not going to. You did a fine job for your first time out and even with how long I've been in the game I can't honestly say I wouldn't be tempted to do the same. Just please keep it in mind for future."

My smile drops involuntarily, and I think he notices.

"Thank you Assault for your reassurance. Am I free to leave now?"

His shoulders drop, I think he realises he's just said the wrong thing to me.

"Would you be willing to come and register with the PRT? Maybe do some power testing?"

I perk up, this is a good chance for me to go register and gauge interest and viability of selling to the protectorate and PRT.

"I'm willing to come and register myself as an independent hero. I may showcase some of my tech. I'm not just a tinker so I will contemplate power testing, but I'm making no promises. Letting someone make a list of your weaknesses sounds like a recipe for disaster."

He looks to the side and smiles wistfully.

"I understand," he says, and hands me a plastic card "This is my cape number, the main switchboard number, and my email address. I don't just hand these out to everybody, so I'd appreciate if you kept my number and email to yourself. Call the main switchboard when you want to book a registration meeting and an induction to the various types of affiliation available. If you need any advice or help as an independent, then please contact me by email or text before ringing."

Fanon is right about this guy. For an ex-villain he's a pretty cool dude.

"Thanks Assault, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, always available to look out for new heroes in the bay. We don't get enough of them."

He waves and then walks back to a nearby PRT van.

"Later Archon."

"Later Assault."

Time to return home.

I make my way back to the service door I used earlier. And step into my workshop.

As soon as I close the door behind me, the forge takes a sledgehammer to my head.

Forge expansion deferred while in an active situation. 200 cp gained: 300 cp available.

I stumble back to my feet. If you are going to defer a roll because I'm entertaining you. Can you not torture me with the deferred roll please Mr Forge?

Quality Resources – Success!

Resource Management – Empire from the Ashes

200 cp remain, re-rolling!

Quality Design – Failed!

Crafting Magitech – Success!

Doll Maker of Bucharesti - Touhou

Well then.

This was an incredible set of rolls.

Both of these perks synergize with each other, and with almost every other perk I have.

Resource management is extremely powerful. It allows me to adapt low level tech to interface with high-level tech without issue, it allows me to make repairs extremely cheaply, stretching limited resources as far as they can possibly go and beyond. It allows me to absolutely maximise my resource usage when crafting. It only works at full efficiency for people and tech related matters, but it will also work at lesser efficiency on magical and other esoteric resources, including mana.

Doll Maker on the other hand is obscenely powerful if leveraged correctly.

At a base level it gives me a vast and instinctive understanding or math and science. Additionally, while it doesn't give me the ability to "show my working out to the teacher" it grants me an instinctive understanding of these disciplines that massively boosts my knowledge of technology and engineering. The speciality of this perk is the ability to handle, repair, modify and reverse engineer technology that I didn't make or even completely foreign devices. Even if I have no background in them. It also gives me a connection between my tech knowledge and magic and allows me to eventually create Magitech after I have a chance to experiment.

I won't be able to utilise the magic side of this tech until I gain the ability to use magic, but the ability is there and waiting.

On that note, time to go to bed, I have a busy day of creating and planning tomorrow.

Notes:

Perks Gained this chapter

Assistants – Companion Bracelet 0cp – 100cp of upgrades. -

A bracelet housing an evolving AI; although Alliance policy is to hand them out to people only after they've gotten their class at level 10, an exception was made for you to get it a bit earlier. Although called a bracelet, there are different forms for different races. Slime people might be injected with a nanite swarm programmed with the same effect, for example. Once you have equipped the bracelet, the AI will adapt itself to gain an ideal personality fitting your own. The AI of a loner might become their perfect friend, that of a rich girl always left alone might become a butler caring for her, and someone living a loveless life might find that their companion AI has all the qualities they'd want in their girlfriend.No matter how your companion AI will end up, they will always end up in your best interest. As they have a photographic memory and see the world through your senses, they can highlight important objects or places you might have missed, jog your memory if you forget something important, or browse through the internet to find information a million times faster than somebody with a human brain would.There are also various upgrades that can add to the functionality of the companion bracelet, such as identifying software allowing your companion AI to scan the Aura of creatures or objects to determine their ability, level, and other information, or even an upgrade to allow an instance of them to live in your brain and tap into your senses to control your body in dangerous situations, or just show the trajectories enemy projectiles will take so you can easily dodge them. For 50 CP each, you can apply one upgrade to your companion bracelet, with no limit on how many you can purchase. 0cp cost, 50cp per upgrade

Knowledge Mundane – Chemist 100cp – Fallout 4

Groovy! Knowledge of chemistry has given you the ability to recite the entire periodic table, as well as knowledge of many exciting compounds such as dipotassium phosphate! Oh, and you can also make less exciting things like Stimpacks and Psycho, but why would you do that?

Quality Resources – Resource Management 100 cp – Empire from the Ashes,

What can I say? You're an expert at logistics. You know how to extract the maximum possible use out of even the absolute least resources. A ragtag group of counter-mutineers managed to not only survive, but actually attack and make inroads into damaging an almost unimaginably better armed, equipped and numerous group. Just like them, you too can make virtually endless repairs, adapt low level-tech to interface with higher level tech, and in general stretch the usage of those resources far beyond what even the shrewdest economist could ever manage. Mind you, this is for people and tech most of all. While it will work on other resources, even magical, esoteric ones like mana and whatnot, don't expect remotely the same efficiency for them.

Crafting Magitech – Dollmaker of Bucharesti 200cp – Touhou

Being an undisputable genius in terms of mathematics and science in a realm ruled by magic tends to undermine just how impressive it is. Your ability with technology and engineering is so great that you are able to adapt to handling, repairing, modifying and even reverse-engineering completely foreign devices you have little to no background on. Your connection with both practical technologies along with magic allows for you to eventually unlock the secrets to creating magitech if given enough time to experiment.

50 Personal Reality CP gained – Personal Reality rolling 150 CP

Success! Pipes Pipes Pipes! 100 PR CP spent! - Purchasing this provides your Warehouse with enough plumbing fixtures to turn the entire volume of your Personal Reality into one massive pool... or anything below that. This provides clean running water with any reasonably common additives you like (chlorine, glacial milk, fluoride), but does not provide a limitless supply, nor does it heat the water. By default, the amount of water this system can produce per day is 1 billion liters or one megaton of water or a block of water 100 meters on a side, and the default temperature of this water is 25 degrees Celsius. It can support any civilian infrastructure on the same scale as Mexico City or Tokyo. Comes only with the basic hookups. You'll need a plumber to do the actual piping. We hear Mario's very good. Bathrooms not included. Purchasing this supplies all facilities inside your Personal Reality with water feeds, and if you've Got the Powa, it will supply hot and cold running water as well.