A strange, crackling power emanated from the figure in the mechanical armor, a force so immense that it was difficult to discern its full form. The figure was a silhouette of a man in a mechanical suit, but the sheer, unbridled energy surrounding it was a testament to its power.

Among all the users seeing such a scene, Adam was the most taken aback, for the information his [Cursed Vision] had managed to glean was that the armor was a Rank-S item... In his entire life inside the system, he had only seen one other S-rank item without a user wielding it, because both Drake's sword and the cursed spear he himself borrowed from Malzaphir had their powers sealed, as they were not strong enough to control them.

The chilling phrase that the System had shown him in his second scenario, [Every S, and above, rank treasure can change the fate of a scenario.], echoed in his mind, and the reality of the situation began to set in.

How could Falk, who wasn't even a user, be in control of an item of such a high rank? The only plausible explanation, given the item's name, was that Sebastian had succeeded in the most difficult path of his Personal Subplot and had done something that should have been impossible... But how? How had it all happened?

To answer that question, one had to go back in time, before the current scenario had even begun, when all the members of 'No Name' had retired to their own rooms after the final shopping spree.

Sebastian entered his room with Falk on his shoulder. The room itself was a simple affair, featuring a bed and a bathroom, but the most important aspect was the massive workshop attached to it.

The workshop was a sprawling space, filled with all sorts of tools, forges, and massive, rustic machines that were working on various projects. There were also a multitude of blueprints scattered everywhere, on the walls, on the chalkboards, and on the desks. Sebastian walked slowly through the workshop, taking it all in, until he reached a small, worn-out chair in the center of the room. He sat down and let out a long, weary sigh. Falk flew from his shoulder and landed on a small perch before him.

"Are you alright? You look troubled."

Falk said, his voice a series of mechanical chirps and clicks. Sebastian rubbed his forehead and took a moment to respond.

"It's not that…"

He said, his voice filled with a deep, bone-shattering exhaustion.

"It's just that… I feel overwhelmed… I still remember the day I arrived in this 'system', or whatever it is. I thought it was all a dream, but before I knew it, I was thrust into one crazy situation after another. The battles… Oh god, the battles… They have scaled so much in such a short amount of time. I was even stabbed in the last scenario and almost died. Pirates, monsters, immortals, a crazy dragon lady... it all feels so unreal. And now a god I don't even know has given me a mission? It's laughable."

Falk listened intently, not interrupting at all. When Sebastian finished, he looked at his elderly friend for a moment before responding.

"But that's not what's truly bothering you, is it?"

He asked. Sebastian let out a small, choked laugh, leaning back in his chair, his face a mask of exhaustion.

"You're right. All of that… It's not what's truly bothering me."

He said with a sad tone.

"What I can't wrap my head around is myself, my attitude, and my aptitudes. For some reason, I've adapted to this environment almost immediately… I was never an adventurous person; I liked the monotony and tranquility of my work. I don't even remember ever fighting before; my entire life was dedicated to my craft, and that's why I ended up alienating my family."

As he said this, he looked up at the ceiling, his gaze lost in a sea of memories from years ago.

"But that's not all. I was just a clockmaker, a great one in my prime if I can say so myself, but still… Just a clockmaker. Yet, I am now building things like a literal cyborg with divine powers, like Mecha Sung Ja-In, things that should be impossible for a man like me. And yet, it all comes so naturally to me, and without any explanation."

Falk let out a small, almost affectionate laugh.

"Well, that's why others call us geniuses."

Sebastian laughed heartily at that.

"That's not true. I'm no genius. A genius is a genius from the very beginning, and I've only been able to do these things recently, without any real reason. I don't know why."

Both of them fell silent for a few minutes, with Falk not knowing what to say and Sebastian lost in his thoughts, the only sound the incessant work of the machines in the background. After a while, Sebastian sighed and got up with some difficulty, feeling a little pain in his knees. He was 61, and even with the physical enhancements from the System, he wasn't young anymore; one can't just win against time.

He made his way to one of his workbenches, followed by Falk, who landed on the desk. The desk was covered in blueprints and projects that he had yet to finish. Both of them analyzed the things on the table for several hours, but nothing seemed right. They were trying to complete the intermediate route of the Personal Subplot, which required the creation of a Rank A item, and while they had done it before, it was under special circumstances.

After a lot of deliberation, Falk spoke up.

"Perhaps we should use one of the two things I got from the Trade Nexus? The [My First Divine Engineering Set] and the [WarWorld's Instruction Manual], both S-rank manuals, could give us some ideas."

But Sebastian simply shook his head.

"Those things are too specific."

He said slowly.

"Especially the second one. It's a blueprint to build a literal combat moon to put in orbit. How would we even find the materials to do something like that?"

No, it had to be something smaller. But he had an idea; he had ten [Set of VoidSpark-Adamantine] that Falk had brought, a malleable and resistant material. He was sure that just by using that metal, the resulting object would at least be of Rank B, so aiming for a Rank A creation was not that far-fetched.

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They spent a few more hours drawing and making blueprints, finally settling on the design of a vehicle. It was not a grand thing, but it had enough qualities to be considered a Rank A item, or at least that was what Sebastian hoped for. The problem was the time. The next scenario would probably start the next day, and even with the slight temporal dilation that his skill, [Blessing of the Machine God], provided, he was not sure he would be able to finish it in time. He sighed and rolled up his sleeves, saying that it was time to get to work.

But before he could even move, a voice echoed through the workshop, a voice that both Sebastian and Falk heard, making them jump. The voice was kinda young, but it was hard to tell if it was male or female, almost as if it were a robotic voice.

"That is not appropriate!"

The voice said.

"No, no, no, that cannot be allowed."

Sebastian and Falk looked around, but they couldn't see anyone. The old man finally spoke, his voice filled with a powerful confusion.

"Who are you? Who's there!?"

The voice did not respond immediately, but after a moment, it returned.

"I am saddened to see that one of my most cherished disciples does not even recognize me."

The voice said. And with that, a massive gust of icy wind swirled around the workshop, sending all the blueprints flying. Sebastian had to hold on to Falk with all his might to not let him be swept away. After a few seconds, the wind calmed down, revealing a sphere of strange, glowing energy.

The sphere spoke with that weird voice that was both young and robotic.

"I am 'Mechanica Deus', the Machine God."

It said proudly, its form began to move like radio waves as it spoke.

"And a member of the Pantheon Eternal's 'Higher Pantheon' despite being a relatively young god with only a few thousand years."

Sebastian and Falk looked at each other, speechless. The sphere continued.

"I have never made contact with you before because… I don't know why. In fact, if I were to analyze it, you are an anomaly. You appeared out of nowhere among the few individuals who have my blessing, so I originally thought it was a bug, the first bug since my creation, but it wasn't. Nothing was wrong. It just… happened. I have been observing you ever since, and I have to say, I am very satisfied with everything you have accomplished in such a short amount of time. I am here to give you a hand, since the Personal Subplot you have received is something that also came to me out of the blue, and I know you are not ready for it. But at the request of my master, I will lend a hand."

Upon hearing this, Sebastian was overwhelmed.

"What do you mean by your master?"

He asked, his voice filled with a powerful confusion. The sphere responded immediately.

"I mean 'The_Absolute_Thinkerer', of course. One of the highest beings, or what some mortals know as a Patron."

Sebastian was speechless. The concept of a Patron was not alien to him, as he had heard his team talk about it, but he didn't know much about it. He just stood there, staring at the sphere… The god, understanding his confusion, continued.

"Don't you talk to the members of your own team? One of them is in the same situation as you, with the blessing of a god and the interest of the Patron he serves, though I must admit that my master and 'The_Hunger' don't get along, so let's not talk about that for now."

Sebastian swallowed, and with all the courage he could muster, he asked.

"And… What do you mean by 'helping' me?"

The sphere responded.

"Normally, making a direct connection with a user is extremely difficult, and only the highest-ranking followers can do so under special circumstances, much less in these safe spaces known as 'Lobbies'. But this time, my master, 'The_Absolute_Thinkerer', has spent a lot of 'influence points' to let me appear before you so I can help you."

Sebastian looked at Falk, and this time, the bird spoke.

"Why interact with us now? I thought these 'higher beings' had some sort of control over the system."

The orb was silent for a moment before it responded again.

"I recognize you... You are the human Isaac Volta, and even though you are not a user, you have also caught my attention. If you had just let your soul ascend after you died instead of trapping it in that automaton, you would have come to my doors, and I would have transformed you into a 'machine spirit'. What a waste... But it doesn't matter. The truth is that what I have in mind involves you as well, so I ask that you please take everything you need before we depart."

Sebastian looked at the sphere, his face a mix of confusion and awe.

"Depart? … Where are we going?"

He asked. The sphere responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You are going back to Isaac Volta's world of origin, of course. There are many other worlds far more suitable for you to work, but that is the only one you can go to at the moment. It is a world that has been devastated by war, but it is also a world that is full of things that can help you."

The old man was still a bit confused, and when he was about to ask again, the sphere interrupted him.

"Okay… I will make this very clear: My master has a peculiar interest in you as a user, and the fact that you are part of my cult and have awakened your Personal Subplot on your own has made him decide to give you direct help. This is a great honor, as only a handful of users in the entire system have the luck or ability to be recognized by an entity like him in such a positive way. Therefore, I will use my authority to transport you to the world you know as 'Steam and Steel' so you can work in a proper environment without being bothered."

Upon hearing this, Sebastian and Falk wasted no time and began to take everything they could—materials and tools they had to carry by hand, as the system did not categorize them as items to carry in the "inventory". As they did, Sebastian asked one last question.

"And how much time will we have to complete it?"

The sphere simply responded.

"You will have all the time you need."

There was no time for anything else. Before they could even feel it, the old man's eyes were blinded by a flash of white that was so intense it burned his retinas. He had to close them, and when he opened them again, he was no longer in his workshop. The familiar smell of old metal and the incessant whir of his machines were gone, replaced by the scent of ozone and the quiet hum of advanced technology.

No, he was in an office, a huge, formal office that was also full of mechanical things, but its cleanliness and order were commendable, a stark contrast to the chaos of his own workshop. The tools were all neatly arranged on their racks, and the blueprints were all filed away in their proper places.

Sebastian and Falk looked around, a bit lost, until a sound startled them. A loud clatter of porcelain hitting wood. They turned toward the source of the noise, and there he was... Sitting behind a large desk with a tea stain on it, as if he had just dropped his cup, was a man, not as young as they remembered, but a man they both knew.

The man at the desk had frozen, staring at the newcomers, his expression a mix of shock and utter disbelief, and the only thing that broke the uncomfortable silence was Falk, who landed on Sebastian's shoulder and said.

"Hey Thaddeus… You look well."

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