Day 73

It took nine days before Oldren finally awoke from his slumber. Said awakening was done with no fanfare. In the middle of making lunch, the golden cart hosting all of our items gained a turquoise energy across lines within its frame.

As it powered up, the construct seemed to be gearing up for some grand transformation, disappointing us both when he just began melting into sludge. Lily narrowly spilled the soup broth as she scrambled over to collect our stuff from the rapidly liquifying cart.

It took another fifteen minutes before the mound of dull silver sludge began to shape itself. The process was very off putting. Instead of the usual mechanical transformations, the sludge just bubbled and formed into the relevant appendages.

Though it certainly didn't look like it at first. We both watched the pile nervously as we ate. When the pile formed a face with deep sockets and a frown that then melted back into the structure, Lily put down her bowl, proclaiming her lack of appetite and left the campsite.

If it wasn't for my fear of starving, I might have done the same. Only once the pile formed a bulbous head that actually stayed formed, did the rest of it actually begin forming something resembling a humanoid.

Limbs quickly erupted from the burbling mass. The metal gained luster as Oldrens features began to form, though differently than I remembered. When all was said and done, a young man in his twenties sat in front of me, naked and confused.

His eyes were an extremely dull grey. It was almost uncomfortable to look at. His hair was black and spiky, body thin and wiry. He was also much shorter than I remembered him being. I would have covered him in something if he even had any sexual organs. This version didn't even have nipples. It was uncanny.

A puddle of dull grey remained at his feet. His body crackled until his head snapped to the side, and he began breathing. Or at least making the motions for breath. He looked up at me, his expression unreadable.

"W-who are you?"

I was deeply unnerved. "It's Max. You know me, we met in prison, remember? Oldren?"

"Who's-" A change overcame him. "Ah." He looked down and smiled. "I remember now." The pool of liquid beneath him soaked into his body. He grew, his body becoming bulkier and larger. His face shifted to a more genericly handsome face, the same I had become used to seeing.

His hair slicked back and grew long, and his eyes turned bright gold once again. He stood, visually examining his body before forming clothes over himself. A black dress shirt and grey jeans, with white socks and red slip ons.

He looked at me. I looked at him. "Don-"

"I didn't see anything." I smiled. He reciprocated, then looked around.

"Where's Lily?"

"She got queasy at your little display and took a hike. She's coming back now."

"Ah, good."

Awkward silence stretched out as we stared at each other.

"..Anything you're willing to disclose about that?"

"..." He glared at me for a moment, before closing his eyes and looking to the side.

"All I'll say is, the guy you saw, is…" He was contemplating very heavily.

".....Someone I don't want to be anymore."

"We all have our own circumstances. I won't pry." I said. "However, if you ever want to talk.. About anything, I'm always open." I cringed mildly, but didn't take back my words. Oldren didn't seem to think the same, thankfully.

"You know Max, it's weird. You're so much younger than me, I feel like I should be bothered. But I'm not. I wonder why?"

"How old are you?"

"Twenty three."

Damn, this bitch is ancient!

"That's still pretty young. Only two years past drinking age!"

"In America maybe. I'm from the netherlands."

"Your british? You sure don't sound like it."

"Not everyone has the accent."

"Mmm… Yeah, I'm sixteen. I hail from the age-old kingdom of Texas."

"Ah, I see. Yall still use horses instead of cars?"

"Yep. Why do you think gun violence is so high? They keep building tiny saloons."

He smiled. The bushes ruffled and Lily emerged from the tree line, not that I was surprised. "Welcome back."

"Good to be back." She waved at Oldren, and he waved back.

"So," He clapped his hands together. "What's on the agenda today?"

"Some serious stuff." I said. I motioned Lily to come over and take a seat on the randomly strewn logs placed around the fireplace. She walked over without a word and sat right next to me, leaving not even an inch of space between us. I ignored it.

"Today is the training episode. Or the next couple of days, depends on Oldren, really."

"Oh, is today the day?" Oldren brightened. "The day for what?" Lily asked.

Me and Oldren looked at each other. "Oldren is finally going to make us some actual gear."

"Lily, I assume you have things you need to do. Me and Oldren will go material hunting." She nodded. I gestured towards Oldren, who followed me to the vast piles of animal parts. "Oh wow" is all he said.

"I read in some manga about this guy who infused monster bones into metal to make it stronger… Is that a thing here?"

"You.. did all this based on a hunch?"

"Ye. In my defense, there wasn't much else to do."

"You could have focused on your recovery."

"I already spent a week doing that. I was paralyzed too. It sucked, and I do not want to relive that experience. Now, will the bone method work or not?"

He squatted down and inspected the bones, glancing between his status and the piles. "Y~es it will! Interesting, I actually didn't know either. But, yeah, it says it's compatible. And now that the options there, I'm starting to get some new knowledge on how to process it all…"

He nodded, satisfied. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Oh! And before you start, I had this weapon idea…"

—

Now for my own project. Something I've been putting off for longer than I'd like to admit.

Trying out skill combos. Or more pressingly, testing my skills.

Before, I couldn't. They were pretty hard to trigger, the whole process wasn't very intuitive and was very restrictive. But now with the skill vault, I should theoretically be able to shove whatever skill I want together. I wonder if the system automatically makes them all work together, or if there'll be some duds.. Time to find out!

The main skills I've used so far have been [Wrecking Smash], [Cleave], [Penetrate], and [Overpower]. The last of which I haven't tested since its evolution.

[Overpower]!

My body becomes enshrouded in grey fire. I felt warmth as my body trembled from the influx in power. I frowned and felt my muscles. The increase was… disappointing. Unsure I punched a nearby tree. The bark splintered and shot outwards like buckshot, leaving a bite wound taking up around a third of the tree's base. The wood was white, and oozed a cloudy amber liquid.

I dismissed the skill, found the same species tree and punched it with my bare hands. Don't try this at home kids, my hands have adapted to be heavier and more durable. Though it still hurts a bit. My punch did a similar amount of damage. The height of the hole was smaller, but otherwise almost the same amount of bark was displaced. Though the tree didn't shake as much.

Wow. It's actually become worse, in the context of a standalone power up skill. Which is what it was when I first got it. I'm actually pretty disappointed. I was expecting the power to at least stay the same. This is the first time I've seen a skill downgraded by an upgrade.

I pounded my fists together and activated [Wrecking Smash]. Blue fire appeared at my elbows and rushed down to my forearms. It spiraled around my fingers and formed gauntlets, a blue bracket formed above my knuckles and slammed into place, completing the activation, all in a second.

Then I activated [Overpower]. I didn't even have to combine the skill like usual, the resistance I usually felt when trying to activate two skills at once was completely absent. Orange aura sifted in in the same manner. It flowed into the blue, combining seamlessly, only making the fire a bit more translucent.

The gauntlets swelled to easily three times their previous size. The aura formed wavy lines through the structure, almost like armored plates. It looked much more solid than before, like actual armor. Even my fingers were tipped and reinforced with the stuff.

I clenched my hands into a fist, forming the brackets. They slammed into place, noticeably thicker than before. The radiating fire from the bulk of the construct shuttered and dimmed, coalescing to the knuckles. Four spikes burst out of each one, piercing through the bracket and going through four inches or so.

I pulled my arms back and turned the construct around. This is sick! I whirled around and punched a tree. A crater formed as the vast majority of the bark slingshotted off the wood. The tree moaned and lurched before it caved and crashed into the forest floor.

Oldren: What was that!?

Max: Just me! Everthings fine!

Oldren: Alright…

Max: How's it going? Made any progress?

Oldren: Dog it's been like five minutes.

Max: Time flys.

Oldren: Uhuh.

Riveting conversation.

I scratched an itch on my head, the aura still active and the rest of my body easily phasing through it like air. I stopped and looked at the gauntlet. The hand was open. I closed my hand, and the skill followed suit. Open, close. Open, close. Again and again.

Woah, that's new.

Before, I could do whatever with my hands and the skill wouldn't react at all. It'd just keep the same fist no matter how I shifted my fingers. Now… I formed a thumbs up with the massive blue gauntlet.

Huh… I wonder if?

I stretched my hand outwards and swatted at a tree. Much to my glee, the skill connected and made the whole thing shake, some bark misplaced by the fingertips making a few shallow gashes on the trunk.

I guess that's what the skill meant by increased control. Hmmm, I wonder if that'll affect my other skills too?

…And it's still going. Does this skill not have a time limit anymore? A pulse erupted from deep within me, a little nugget of knowledge from [Spirit Drive] if I had to guess. Haven't gotten many of these since I upgraded the skill.

It says I'm wrong, by the way. Hmmm, maybe it only goes down when I'm in combat? Or maybe it just has a super long time limit? Or maybe it has a finite number of uses? [Spirit Drive] stayed silent. Fine, be that way.

I dismissed the skill. The whole construct simply vaporized, though it faded from the wrist up, letting the fists remain corporeal for that extra second. I then slowly unsheathed Dusk from my left scabbard. The blade dulled in the sunlight, its blade just as dark and sharp as I remembered, not a nick in its entirety.

I clenched the handle hard, and then activated [Cleave]. Yellow aura flowed up from the handguard and swallowed the blade in dull light. It reached up past the top of the sword, going further and further until it reached around nine feet upwards, all without adding weight.

The swords themselves were already three footlong, and almost a foot wide. Their sheer size being the reason all the monsters I'd dismantled were lacking in quality. I'll have to order a dismantling knife from Oldren once he's done with the armor. However long that'll take…

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

[Overpower]!

The animation was similar. Orange spread out from the guard and knit itself into the aura. This blade aura was different in appearance compared to the blue from [Wrecking Smash]. That one was fiery, while this one is more stringy, like fibers flashing upwards in a stream of golden silk.

That said, the size of the aura about doubled, including the width of the blade. The sword now resembled a true greatsword more than anything else. Compared to [Wrecking smash], the upgrade was a tad underwhelming.

With that thought, it was time to test its performance. I held it with one hand and swiped at a tree. I was bewildered. ??? Did the blade turn intangible? No resistance, and no mark. I squinted at the bark, and noticed an incredibly fine mark in the wood. The type regular sense wouldn't be able to differentiate.

No way.

I grabbed the handle with both hands and swung at a different tree. I aimed so that the blade would go through the entirety of the trunk. It slid through with minimal resistance. The tree stood still, then tipped after a gust of wind.

Bang!

I looked at the blade in awe. I swung it around a few more times. Eventually I noticed the blade seemed to bend mid swing. Keeping in mind my distance, I acted on a hunch and swung my blade at a tree just a few inches outside of my reach.

Once the swing was completed, I found the same type of thin score buried halfway through the tree. So I can make it reach even further? But is it an unconscious control thing, or is it based on momentum?

I swung around the blade for three minutes straight. I rolled it over my shoulders in a downward slice. Yellow energy flashed out like a whip and carved a thin line through a boulder, though this time small cracks rang out from the fissure.

Okay, so a bit of both. This is handy. Though no one else can see aura anyways, if I happened to run into someone who could, I can trick them with this since the extension only forms as I'm swinging. Neat. Still, this upgrade is underwhelming compared to smash. Maybe the effect is diminished the higher the tier of the skill? Smash is only two, but [Cleave] is three.

[Penetrate]! Red energy suffused my hands and arms. I lunged forward and punched one of the few untouched trees in the vicinity. My hand punched about halfway through, the area damage drastically decreased.

"Hhhfffff!" I hissed. "Ooooowwwwww!!" I clenched my hand as I cursed out the tree. [Penetrate] lost its usage restriction once it tiered up. I'd never tried it on something besides an arrow before now… and apparently for good reason. Fuck! It sucks hot ass.

I walked over to my bow and arrows. My supply had dwindled. If I had any arrows left before the trip, they were gone now. Three master arrows remained, their heads tipped with dull hexsidian. The dark stone shafts felt dusty and crumbly in my hands, the feathers in their fletching oily and drooping.

Yep, this is on its last legs. Honestly, it's a miracle they've lasted this long anyways. I grabbed one and clutched it in my hand. I felt the arrow suddenly sag from both sides. I opened my hand and the now two halves fell to the ground.

"Sigh."

I very carefully grabbed the remaining two arrows and walked back to the same section in the forest, with enough trees toppled over for a decent enough firing range.

I readied the ferrous reinforced bow and activated [Penetrate] while pulling the string back, the arrow already knocked. The same animation played out. Red energy surged from the fletching and coated the arrow, the energy dense like a laser beam looking more white while radiating red.

Transparent red fire enshrouded the bow and string, though it was much lighter than the glow of the arrow. A four pointed star appeared suspended half a foot in front of the arrow, each of its points disconnected from the center. It spun lazily in place, expanding as I pulled back the string.

I played with the skill a bit, pulling the string taut and then letting it rest. The red star would react in kind, spinning faster as the string went back, and slowing when the string slacked again. When I pulled it back and fully released, the skill seemed to sense my intent and the star reacted differently.

It reminded me of Oldren's rail gun. Its rails levitated apart as they charged, more and more lighting crackling between them. Then, the gravity keeping them apart would shut off, the rails slapping shut before being forced open by the hyper propelled bullet exiting the 'chamber'.

The red star was similar. When I let go of the arrow, the star floated back together. Though when the arrow pierced through, the star sort of formed a + of red-white light like a flashbang.

The sound of an arrow tearing straight through full on trees was a unique one, a sound normal ears wouldn't catch over the whistling of the wind. It sort of sounded like styrofoam slowly being torn apart, but played at 20x speed and right next to your ears.

The arrow tore through three trees before it broke against the fourth, the head fully embedding into the bark and the shaft breaking from the rebound. No point in getting it. There's nothing to salvage. I grabbed my last one, and executed the skill again, this time in tandem with [Overpower].

The skill execution took about the same time as the first, two seconds. Red fire soaked into the bow, the fire solidifying over the frame and saturating into bright red, increasing the area by around four inches.

No energy coalesced through the string, it simply lit up with the laser like energy of the arrow, the area also increasing to match the bow's frame. The arrow itself also enlarged, slightly, though the main difference was its thickness and density. The energy seemed to be focusing on reinforcing the arrow as much as possible.

The whole thing was a solid inch thick at its thinnest, the arrow head quadrupled in width, spikes of aura grew symmetrical across the entire construct, like the solidified fire of the bow, though this was made of the white-red energy, glowing bright to all of my senses.

The piercing star about doubled in size, its core now connecting the four diamonds while leaving a hollow circle in the middle, presumably for the arrow to fly through, despite the aura having no substance. The star didn't react at all to me playing with the skill.

I let the arrow fly. The speed had about tripled, the sound different now, though hard to describe. Almost like paper tearing, but more course and groany. The arrow bored a much larger hole through five trees, stopping fully entrenched in the sixth tree, only a bit of its fletching sticking out.

Well, this has been productive.

Oldren: K im done organising. Now I need to take yall's measurements. Who's up first.

Max: How'd it go? Any good stuff? Potential combinations?

Oldren: Yeah.

Max: …Care to elaborate?

Lily: I'm ready whenever. Lily: Unless you wanna go first Max?

Max: Nah, I still have some stuff to do.

I waited for Oldren to respond, but he remained silent. The silent treatment? Or does he want to keep it a surprise? Or maybe he actually can't use anything and doesn't want to hurt my feelings?

I walked a bit closer to the camp and away from the destruction. I found a big tree with a perfect spot to sit formed by its roots. I snuggled into the nook, then opened my Sub-System.

Total reinforcements- 168 | Total Modifications- 15 | Total Combinations- 3 | Souls- 306 87 13

Small = Reinforcements, Exchange Medium = Modifications, Combination Large = Reconfiguration, Annexation

Absorbing Skeletal System 300% (1) Skull 150% | Spine 100% | Rib Cage 100% | Shoulder Girdle 100% | Arms 200% | Hard Hands 200% | Pelvis 100% | Vigorous Legs 200% | Soft Feet 300% | Ardent Muscular System 300% (3) Skeletal Muscles 200% | Smooth Muscles 100% | Cardiac Muscle 100% Nervous System 300% (0) Brain 300% | Spinal Cord 100% | Peripheral Nerves 100% | Autonomic Nervous System 100% Cardiovascular System 300% (0) Heart 300% | Blood Vessels 166% | Enriched Blood 100% Burst Vacuum Respiratory System 300% (2) Nose/Nasal Cavity 100% | Pharynx 100% | Larynx 100% | Trachea 100% | Bronchi 100% | Lungs 300% | Diaphragm 100% Primal Assimilating Digestive System 300% (2) Mouth 100% | Esophagus 100% | Stomach 200% | Small Intestine 150% | Large Intestine 150% | Anus 100% | Liver 100% | Pancreas 100% | Gallbladder 100% Excretory System 100% (0) Kidneys 100% | Ureters 100% | Bladder 100% | Urethra 100% Endocrine System 100% (0) Pituitary Gland 100% | Thyroid Gland 100% | Parathyroid Glands 100% | Adrenal Glands 100% | Pancreas 100% | Gonads 100% | Pineal Gland 100% | Immune System 300% (0) Lymph Nodes 100% | Lymph Vessels 100% | Thymus 100% | Spleen 100% | Tonsils 100% | Bone Marrow 200% Robust Integumentary System 300% (1) Skin 100% | Hair 100% | Nails 100% | Sweat Glands 100% | Sebaceous Glands 100% Reproductive System 300% (0) Testes 100% | Epididymis 100% | Vas Deferens 100% | Seminal Vesicles 100% | Prostate Gland 100%| The Gentlemen 100% Sensory Organs 100% (0) Eyes 200% | Ears 200% | Nose 200% | Forked Tongue 100% | Misc Structures: Demolishing Teeth 200% | Salivary Glands 100% | Thyroid Cartilage 100% | Epiglottis 100% | Sky Catalyst 100% | Condor Thumbs 200% | Tough Neck 200%

I have a lot of souls to spend. My goal this time around is to fix my nutrient problem. While my healing ability is pretty good, it comes with some serious caveats. I have to eat a ton to keep myself stable.

First of all, let's get all the boring stuff out of here. Dense, strong, vitalic, healthy, protective, efficient, yeah yeah I've seen it all before. Let's get to the juicy stuff!

Despite all the powerful and exotic upgrades, my mind kept wandering to the annexation page. Despite my attempts to focus, the temptation of the side track was too strong. I mentally taped the button.

A new page opened up, and it was extensive.

Interestingly, not only were the parts displayed, but packages as well. Like amazon but more gruesome.

Venom Gland - Organ - Mouth, Nails, Eyes - Component :Produces and stores venom Cost: 2 L Bundles: Fang hollowing, 3 M | Forcipules 1 L Modifications T1 Expand T2 Expand

That one is among the more mundane. There's every gland you could think of, followed by their injectors and modifiers. Concentration and even firing glands, like nozzles and extending tubes.

'Tentaciters' create a moderate aura around the user, capable of producing all kinds of effects, starting with a small boost to vitality. A smaller, more personal version called 'biodes' that exude a small area of effect contained within the body, beginning with a similar positive biological impact as its larger cousin.

I was actually fairly interested in these. Among their lists of modifications were tons of healing and empowering effects. If I placed a few dozen of these evenly across my body, I could take care of my healing problem. Though my nutrient deficiency would persist.

Hmmm… This might work!

Nutrient Sac - Organ - Intestines - Accessory :Stores and purifies nutrients for later consumption Cost: 4L Bundles: Nocker 4L | Acid Gland 3L | Acid Concentration Gland 5L | Modifications T1 Expand T2 Expand

I'll attach two of these on the sides of my intestines. As the food is broken down into nutrients, the vitamins and what not will be absorbed and stored in the sac, 'Purified', and piped directly into my healing factor.

I'm not exactly sure what it means by 'purify'. This sub system isn't very specific, unlike the main one. I'm guessing it'll compress and strain it for its purest components?

Something else catches my eye. In the list of bundles, separate from the various acid glands.

What's this?

Nocker - Organ - Intestines, Stomach, Nutrient Sac - Accessory :Enriches resources into denser and higher quality components Cost: 2L Bundles: Nutrient Sac Expand Modifications T1 Expand T2 Expand

I see… It's a sort of band that wraps around an intestinal tube. The inside is like this screen of complex cytoplasm, that rips away nutrients and compounds it into a denser and higher quality form. I'm just narrating the little video that's attached. Then the components surf through the intestines until it would reach the nutrient sac, which would suck it up and enhance it further.

It's not a perfect upgrade, as it can only focus on one article of food, letting the rest slip away as it purifies one chunk. But that can be fixed with modifications. Originally I was going to get two nutrient sacs, but that's already ten out of thirteen, so whatever..

< Reconfiguration Recommended >

What does that do again?

< {Reconfiguration}- Reconfigures the body to work with all new additions and modifications to a perfect degree, completely removing any dissonance between any new additions. Stabilizes DNA, preventing any negative mutations and removing chronic defects, essentially purifying the bloodline. Use is recommended after any Annexations. Cost starts as 1 Large soul, and multiplies by 10x after every use. >

I watched an animation off to the side. It had an x-ray view of a body, most likely mine, before any annexations, modifications or reinforcements. A little pulse ran through the body, making it shutter and vibrate. Organs began squirming, bones shook and muscles throbbed.

They began to move, some parts just phasing out of existence while the innards reshuffled, folding in and around themselves and refined into a more dignified shape. Arteries and nerves were forged and connected, sinew and connective tissue rattled and slithered to slightly different locations. It was a gross, but extremely fascinating process.

Once it was done, the video drifted to a before and after. It was a noticeable difference. Then the numbers came. Unless the system was lying, the new body was 30-60% better than the old one. Not even more efficient, just better.

That was the only explanation I needed. However, before I could hit the 'buy' button, a warning appeared.

< Warning: Annexations will be applied while the user is in deep sleep. This state will be modified, effectively hibernation, facilitating a large amount of nutrition to operate. >

< Current nutrient stores are insufficient to achieve this state. >

Why put me to sleep? I've gone through the pain and discomfort of reinforcements and modifications just fine.

< Human brains are not built to handle the environment hibernation mode will save it from. Being conscious may jeopardize the operation, and cause repairable, yet agonizing damage to the users body. >

So basically I'll freak the fuck out and damage myself in the process. Gottcha.

I close the tab and switch back to my status, a rectangle now appearing to the left side with my shopping list detailed and the price right next to the purchase button. How nice.

I got up and shimmied over to camp. Oldren and Lily were talking while drawing shapes in the ground and sky. Oldren stopped when he saw me and gestured for me to come closer. As I did I glared at the material piles, some of them drained and all of them moved in some way. I smiled in satisfaction.

"Sup." I said.

"So! I did in fact manage a few decent alloys with your bone collection. However, I'm going to need a lot more of a couple different things. And time. At least, if you still want the highest quality armor?"

"Obviously. That works for me, cause I gotta go hunting either way." I said. "What were yall discussing?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You didn't hear?" I smiled in response.

"I try to keep an ear closed, for privacy's sake." I lied. I just wasn't paying attention.

He nodded. "We were discussing her armor." Lily chipped in. "I was going for high mobility and dexterity." I nodded. "Makes sense."

"Oh, turns out Oldren can't use magic." Lily said. Oldren looked annoyed.

"I mean, we already knew, didn't we? His status doesn't have a lick of magic related stuff. What's your element?"

He sighed. "Metal. And before you ask! It's a super low affinity. That's why I didn't bother."

Me and Lily shared a look. "Affinity?"

He looked resigned. "It's like the effectiveness of an element. How closely aligned you are to it. It's on the same scale as conditions, minor-major."

He continued. "You can kinda see it in someone's eyes, their color will look less vibrant. Even grey eyes like mine, which are already dull, look lifeless compared to a normal affinity." Lily cocked her head to the side, producing a questioning look. After all, Oldren's eyes were currently gold, not grey.

"Is that why you've changed yourself so much?" I blurted out. Rude but also for Lily's understanding. The surroundings gained a slight tension. Oldren glared at me, but I held my neutral look and locked eyes with him. He blinked and looked to the side, then down. Lily watched silently.

Now regretting what I said, I re-worded the question. "Did you change your eye color because of some magical racism?" I'd definitely read a story like that. The corners of his mouth twitched. "..Something like that. It's not a huge deal in this world, but having a minor affinity is rarer than having none at all."

"It's not all bad though. You probably don't know, but elemental affinities have some passive effects. My body is slightly harder, and more heat resistant. You're nature, so you'll probably heal faster, and Lily…"

He stared at her. "..Are you water? I've never seen such a deep blue color. No it can't be…" He looked at me. "I'd think it's just a super high water affinity if it wasn't for the silver flowers."

"I'm pretty sure her's is space, though I have no clue about affinity." He squinted. "Space? Huh, didn't know that was a thing."

"I thought you knew all the lore from your espionage days." He shrugged. "Must not be common knowledge. I only know the eight. The normal fire water trope, and then metal, nature, ice and lightning."

So that's nine.

"Can we get back on topic?" Lily said, breaking the short silence. "Ah, yes."

I got a ping from the clan concord.

"Max, here's my grocery list. No particular order, and it doesn't matter if the parts come back in pieces or not, I just need a large quantity."

"On it." I sauntered off into the tree line as Oldren began his measurements on Lily again, though I felt his eyes on my back linger for an uncomfortable amount of time. Intent wafted from his form, but it was so complex and unsure of itself I had no clue what to make of it.

We haven't exactly been together very long, so I can't really form an opinion about him just yet. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Another ping sounded in my head as Oldren posted another grocery list, easily adding four more hours of work.

Alright. I smashed my hands together and took off running. Let's get this over with!

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