Sven's eyes flickered open, awakening to a surreal sight.
Before him, the once-devastated mine, ravaged by heat and the raw energy of Flux Energy, had undergone a mesmerizing transformation.
The entire area had been crystallized, resembling an otherworldly ice cave untouched by the bitter cold. The ethereal glow of the crystalline formations cast an enchanting shimmer across the scene.
With a slight groan, Sven lifted his heavy helmet off his head. Its surface still retained a lingering warmth from the intense heat it had shielded him from moments before.
As he surveyed the aftermath, his gaze fell upon his mining robot, a pitiful heap of metal and wreckage.
The majority of its parts had melted away, leaving only fragments that miraculously survived the inferno.
Frustration surged within him as he cursed his lack of financial means and mechanical prowess. Repairing or replacing the mining robot seemed an all-for-nothing endeavour.
Just as he dwelled on his predicament, a soft ding echoed through the air, capturing his attention.
A brilliant blue screen materialized before him.
A flicker of confusion crossed his face, momentarily mistaking the screen for his helmet's interface.
To dispel any doubts, he reached up and touched his face, confirming that his helmet was nowhere to be found.
His eyes scanned the enigmatic message displayed on the screen:
[Fix All (EX- lvl1): The power to fix it all, currently only able to fix all objects into new].
Under it, there was a series of ??????? obscured further details.
Sven, an avid gamer from Earth, recognized this as what it was.
"A fucking system!" He cursed, with deep emotions, only for then, to rage a little, he had been in this world for the past sixteen years, and not a good one to add.
"I guess I needed to die for the Magical cheat to appear, eh?", He shook his head in disbelief thinking how many lost opportunity's had missed him while he lived his life with care.
Fortune did follow the bold.
Eager to explore the potential of this newfound power, he tried various gestures and commands, attempting to activate the system using the knowledge he had acquired from countless hours spent in virtual worlds.
From the classical, System Activated! Shop! Gacha! Open sesame! And even some ninja gestures from his favourite anime.
Yet, despite his efforts, nothing seemed to trigger a response.
Frustration began to gnaw at him as he struggled to unlock the full extent of the system's capabilities.
Ultimately, resigning himself to the present reality, he closed the ethereal blue window with a swipe of his hand, pressing the imaginary 'x' icon that appeared in the corner.
Seeing the system close, he said again, "System", making the same exact screen appear.
At least he knew it worked, even if there was not much he could do with a screen that told him what his power did, but not how to use it.
Sven's eyebrows furrowed in frustration as he realized the system's reluctance to provide any useful information.
With a huff of annoyance, he resolved to put the "Fix All" power to the test.
His gaze landed on the pitiful remains of his mining robot, which resembled a mashed-up metallic mess more than anything else.
Approaching the wreckage, Sven dramatically pointed at the scattered debris and shouted, "Fix!" The surrounding silence was deafening, punctuating his futile attempt.
Undeterred, he delved into his imagination, striking superhero poses with exaggerated flair, and performed an impromptu ritual of arm-waving and darkness-summoning gestures.
"Fixus Rexus!" he declared, hoping for a miraculous response.
Alas, it seemed his incantations had fallen upon indifferent ears.
A glimmer of desperation crept into Sven's eyes as he clutched the half-crystalized lens of his mining robot tightly.
"Maybe if I threaten it?" he muttered under his breath. With a mix of exasperation, he glared at the broken lens and yelled, "You better fix yourself, or I'll turn you into a bird feeder!"
The absurdity of his threat caused a snort of laughter to escape his lips.
To his surprise, as if mocking his theatrical display, his head throbbed with a peculiar sensation.
He blinked in astonishment as the broken lens underwent a mesmerizing transformation. Pixels seemed to dance and reconstruct themselves until the lens regained its original form. Sven's laughter morphed into a full-blown chuckle, a mixture of joy and relief.
Eager to put his newfound power to work, he placed the repaired lens atop the square carcass of the mining robot, giving it a triumphant pat. "Alright, my metallic friend, let's give this another shot," Sven declared, determination glinting in his eyes.
Fingers poised, he commanded, "Fix!" While touching his mangled robot as if it was the finger of god.
Energy crackled in the air as the power surged through his fingertips, knitting together the shattered remnants of the robot into a pristine whole.
With a mischievous grin, Sven attempted to power up the resurrected mining robot.
He pressed buttons, flipped switches, and even resorted to palm-hitting it like a malfunctioning arcade game.
Unfortunately, his efforts were met with silence.
Glancing at the system tab, he noted the frustrating label of "lvl 1," as if mocking his attempts at full restoration. "Well, at least it's not a total 'fix' failure," Sven mused.
Setting aside the enigma of the inactive robot, Sven turned his attention to his immediate predicament: finding an escape from the mine that now looked like a crystalline labyrinth.
He scratched his head, wondering if he could simply wish himself out of this peculiar predicament. Maybe his mute System would have pity on him.
Determined to find a way out of this crystalline prison, Sven's gaze fell upon his helmet, a testament to the destructive forces that had engulfed the mine.
It lay before him, a charred relic of his narrow escape, its once smooth surface marred by the scorching heat that had ravaged its internal circuitry.
With a heavy sigh, he grasped the helmet, feeling the warmth that still lingered from the intense heat.
Hoping against hope, Sven pressed the power button, but the helmet remained unresponsive, its internal mechanisms reduced to mere melted metal.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, the realization that he would need to invest in new mining tech and how his meagre savings were going to take a deep new hole in them.
Summoning his fix-all power, he willed the helmet to be restored.
His head throbbed with an intense ache as the power surged through him.
After the headache passed, he shook his head, not really knowing why sometimes it hurt and other times didn't.
He guessed that it was something important to experiment with after arriving safely at his home.
He looked at the helmet.
The scorched exterior regained its lustrous sheen, and the melted components reconstructed into their original form. It was as if he had just unwrapped a brand-new helmet, untainted by the chaos that had consumed the mine. Yet, despite its renewed appearance, the helmet refused to spring to life, the once vibrant display now an abyss of darkness.
"At least I can sell it now" He muttered not understating why he was fixing things, but they didn't work.
Sven's disappointment was palpable, tinged with a hint of resignation.
Although his "fix-all" power seemed to possess limitations he had yet to comprehend, the restored helmet at least provided manual lighting.
The feeble glow emanating from the helmet's built-in lamps would be his guide in the oppressive darkness of the cave, a small comfort amidst the uncertain and treacherous terrain.
With his newly restored helmet adorning his head, casting an eerie glow upon his surroundings, Sven embarked on his arduous journey through the labyrinthine expanse of crystal.
Each step echoed in the cavernous silence, the weight of his predicament bearing down on him. The walls loomed on either side, their sharp edges reflecting the lights of the helmet into an ethereal bluish spectacle.
Every twist and turn seemed identical, the crystalline walls merging into an indistinguishable blur of icy blue.
Sven's hand reached out, grazing the smooth surface of the wall as he sought an exit. Frustration gripped him as he uttered the command, his voice resonating through the stillness of the cave, "Fix!"
A tremor ran through the crystalline structure, a seismic ripple in the surreal landscape.
The walls responded, fragmenting and crumbling as if yielding to the force of Sven's will.
The pristine blue crystals transformed, revealing the cold, unyielding metallic grey that characterized moon mining territory.
It was a temporary victory, a glimpse of progress, a less than five-centimetre progress.
Looking at it, he sighed. At least fixing the wall didn't hurt his head. In any case, he had some long hours of walking towards the exit.