"Hello you there?"Suddenly, the voice of a young woman fills my head. I immediately stand up, preparing to attack. Shocked, I look at the strange space I'm in.
The floor is made of a thick jade, flashes of light coming and going with no walls as far as the eye can see. Small lanterns float around, a voice leaking through each one. There is no sun or moon in the sky, instead what appears to be a large leather book floating in the purple black sky.
"Em, Why are you doing that? It's not like you could fight back anyways." Suddenly a small naked Raigon woman appears in front of me. Her head reaches my chest, her pure silver hair sliding down her slender shoulders.
"What do you want?" I say cautiously. I'm still alive so theres a chance I can negotiate my freedom. While thinking of how best to deal with the situation she smiles, a house sized white lantern appearing directly above her head.
"Hey mommy!"
"Yes dear?"
"Can I please play with dad's tools. Pretty please."
Suddenly I hear a slightly childish sounding womans voice. Her tone is calm, her voice smooth as silk. Just like I remember. Looking at the floating lantern I see a child me playing with my still living mom.
"I know what you're thinking. I what you've thought. I just need to ask you to do something for me." She said while walking around, fading in and out of existence.
I hear her words but dont fully process them. Looking at my young self interacting with my mom I feel a sense of regret. What the hell is this woman?
"Well if you wanted to know you could've just asked. Hello hello my name is Aloe." Aloe says as she steps back with her hands behind her back. I say nothing. She continues to smile, doing a small twirl.
"What do you need?" I said while sitting on the cold ground. She shouldn't be able to hurt me. Even so I should take this opportunity to build connections. Suddenly, she frowns, smiling again after a few seconds.
"The old god of machinary created my lover, Soma. The bastard shut him down. When you can, please wake him up again." Aloe said with a fawning smile, a shadow of a man appearing behind her before vanishing a second later.
"Sure." I say with disgust. Holding someone's lover hostage. I guess that's an effective way to get what you want. Why do I have to deal with the old gods fuckery!
"Oh, I just remembered. The old god left his successor a message. Ahem, To my successor I give you piece of advice. We are weak. We are not gods in body. Any god could easily kill us."
"If you want to live focus on gathering knowledge. Learn to isolate your mid, learn to create weapons gods fear, learn to create life and when you've learned it all remember. We are not gods in body. We are weak and only through our machinary can we grow strong. Do not fall like I did."
"So mister successor make sure not to get cocky and plant a little trick in my lover. Okay?" She said with her shining eyes wide open, her smiling face pressed against mine.
Seeing her wide smile and squinted eyes I feel a chill run up my body. "Okay." I say with a hint of resignation.
"Alright, go back to sleep. Though make sure not to rest too much okay." Aloe said before waving goodbye.
"Okay." I said with clear fear in my voice.
Suddenly things go dark. My mind shuts down for what feels like seconds. I open my eyes and find Dai piloting the ship. He looks at me with his tired eyes. "Hey leader. I'm guessing these last 12 hours were nice." Dai said with a mildly concerned look.
"Eh, yeah. How far away are we from the planet." I said before I stand up, scratching my head and moving to Dai. "Should be another 120 hours or so. Well have to stop when we get there so the ship can regenerate the used fuel." Said Dai with a frown.
"Good. Go ahead and rest. I'll take over from here." I said while piloting the ship. Dai gives me a salute in response. He moves to the nearest wall, sits down, and begins to sleep. I wait a few minutes and check the system.
-Create a single Tier 1 Machine Using Knowledge From Any Starter Book.-
-Reward[Blue-Print{Tier 1 Energy Shield From Branch Of Choice}]+2,500c-
-Would You Like To Submit Your Mechanical Arm For Review?-
-Y/N-
"Yes." I said excited
-Scanning-
-Finished-
-Testing Durabilty-
-Finished-
-Testing Structural Integrity-
-Finished-
-Finding Flaws-
-Finished-
-Grading-
-Grading-
-Grading-
-Finished-
-Mechical Arm Support(Tier 1.2)/Power Source=Mana.]-
-Functions=Increased Mana Flow, Increased Strenghth(Minimal), Increased Precision(Minimal)-
-Durabilty=Low-
-Flaws=Resticted Mana Release, Low Durability, Restricted Spell Usage.-
-Mission Complete-
-Would You Like To Claim Rewards?-
-Y/N-
"...Yes." I say prepared for hell.
-+2,500c-
-+Blueprint-
Once again various different blueprints fill my head. From shields focused on defense to shields meant to reflect enemy attacks, even shields meant to restrict.
I immediately choose the energy shield with high reflective ability. Its durability is low and the mana cost is high but If I ever get an attack I cant handle I can always fling it back to my enemy.
A sharp digging and stabbing sensation fills my head. For my several minutes I'm unable to think. Thankfully, it comes to an end shortly. Immediately after waking up I check the mission list.
-Create 10 Machines[Must Be Done Alone And Parts Must Be Bought]-
-Reward[Skill{Extremely Dexterous Hands}.] 2,500c.-
-Progress=10%-
-Create 10 Tier 1 Machines From 3 Different Branches Of Production[Host May Choose Branch]-
-Reward[1 Apprentice Level Book] 5,000c-
...System I wont be able to afford materials. Is there another way to get some money?
-Host Can Sell Materials To System For Currency-
I look to the metal walls and wonder if I really should take some. No, it isn't worth it to damage the ship. I guess for now I'll just study as well as teach Dai and Mei. After thinking for bit I go to the system shop and by 3 books for 1,500c. They fall out of the system window, slamming the ground and walking Dai up.
'Introduction To The Laws Of Mana And How To Properly Use Mana', 'Intrduction To The Laws Of Psionic Energy And How To Properly Use Psionic Energy', 'Introduction To The Law Of Molecular Energy And How To Properly Use Molecular Energy'.
Ignoring the panicking Dai I grab the book on Mana and begin reading. Seeing this Dai looks at me with absolute dread. "Am I going to have to read this?" Dai says while pouting, clearly too lazy to do it.
"After I'm done. Go ahead and get some sleep for now." I said before I begin reading, Dai moving back to his corner to sleep. The moment I read the first word I'm immediately sucked in. For who knows how long I read. Making sure to fully process everything I re-read several paragraphs.
As I'm 3 quarters of the way through I feel someone tap on my shoulder. On my right is a bright and refreshed Dai. He offers me a rations bar. I hesitate but still take it in the end.
"How long have I been reading?" I said confused.
"A little over 7 hours. Is this one harder than the other one" Dai says with an extremely concerned look.
I guess it's harder. I'm unfamiliar with the laws of mana. The most I can do is strengthen my body and release some mana. I look at him and continue reading.
For 34 hours, without sleep I read. Dai or Mei come to check on me every now and then. Dai will mostly come in with food and ask some questions about the books I gave him and Mei.
Mei, for the most part stays silent. Seemingly trying to avoid Dai. When he's not around she may show up to ask a few questions. It looks like they both have no problem understanding the basics but have some issues understanding the different implementations of energy described by each book.
For the next few days nothing interesting happens. Ling'er will occasionally come to give me food. Everytime she will try to highlight her horns and behind. No matter how many times I tell her to stop she refuses.
Dai will occasionally come to beg for a break from the books I finished reading. Assuming he does decide to read he'll usually sit with me in the control room. Every now and then he'll try to start up a conversation about human culture. Apparently he saved quite a few novels and shows on his wristwatch.
I end up shutting down the conversation most of the time. Sometimes I'll just let him ramble while I look through the system shop for suitable blue-prints. Despite how cold I've been he seems to be quite attached to me.
Unlike Dai, Mei seems to be afraid of me. Dai, when he saw my arm asked if I would ever be able to make a mech and if I could teach him. Mei just silently stared for a few seconds before mumbling something about me being inhuman.
I just have a few casual conversations while waiting, confirming that I in fact, am working with puritan terrorist. Tension rises for a bit but Ling'er and Mei keep everyone in check. I also take the time to make another arm support for my naked arm.
Finally, after waiting for so long we find ourselves at our destination. Thankfully, the planet and supporting star are intact. The planet is small, as bit as the humans home planet. There is several times more land than ocean.
The planet is covered in several thick white clouds, the visible parts clearly covered in snow. There is a clear abundance of forest and rivers. Seeing this I immediately call for a group meeting so that we can all discuss whether we should land or not.
Things become heated, everyone suggesting we have Dai check. Thankfully, Mei says that she found several large drop pods with drones meant for environmental survalence. Unfortunately, after talking with everybody we still don't know how to use it.
After arguing for a few more minutes we finally manage to come to a decision. Everyone gathers in the pilot's room while I have the ship move to the clearest portion of the planet. Slowly we get closer to the northern hemisphere.
Looking down we don't see anything dangerous. The terrain looks undamaged and there are no signs of other visitors. We look around the area on the ship for any potential docking locations. We have some difficulty as this planet is vibrant with life, various plants and animals covering the ground.
Eventually we stop behind a large light brown mountain, crushing the shining purple trees below us as we dock. We each put on a stellar survival suit with oxygen and move to the exit, making sure to arm ourselves.
Going down the narrow metal corridors everyone's fear grows. Nobody leaves the group so far. Finally, after several minutes we stand in front of the bottom exit. While grabbing onto their suits and making sure they have enough oxygen.
Slowly the rectangular metal gate lifts up. A white light peeks through, sliding across the floor. Suddenly, we find ourselves standing in front of a large forest filled with seemingly sky high trees with thick claw shaped shining purples leaves.
Thick light gray roots sprawl across the black, fauna filled dirt. Immediately we all check for any potentially dangerous wildlife in the area. Thankfully, it seems that whatever was here was scared away by the ship. The air is breathable so we can make this our base.
"Hey leader, should we look for some intelligent life? Maybe they can show us what's edible." Dai said while taking a deep breath.