I was pleased to hear her feelings mirror my own. Her question brought my attention back to her. “ You bonding with Tony?” It was a valid question, and I slowly nodded.
"Yes, I have an option for a nonsexual bond. Even without superpowers, if I were to try otherwise, his wife would murder me. Then she would do it a few more times just to make sure I was dead.” Tony's wife, Tina, was scary. They had met in the military, and like Tony, from what I understand, a lot of her file was also classified. Plus, she had this look in her eye that literally spoke fuck with my man, and I will use your skull for a teacup.
Otherwise, yeah, she was super nice.
Rubbing my temples, I had to wonder. Perhaps ignorance would have been total bliss. Would we have been better off not knowing? Sadly, that answer would be a big fat no. It sucks; it really put a damper on everything. Sure, it's one thing to think about the end of the world. It is another thing to think of potentially wiping out more than eighty percent of the population. More so when we do it to ourselves and have house-sized bugs to contend with.
"Hey, Marie, think you can stock up on some RAID?”
The enslaved Latina looked at me for a moment before her beautiful laughter filled the air. She threw the meat on the skillet before turning to her with her big, bright smile. “ I will add that to the list, Mistress.”
Both of us getting a chuckle, I thought about it for a moment to go get Katie, but I knew she needed a few minutes to herself and would talk to me when she was ready. Ha, she was definitely better than me at that. I would avoid it for as long as humanly possible. As I waited while Marie cooked, I looked at my passive skill list. I had to filter out everything with a Rank 0. It was amazing how much partial information you pick up in a normal life. So I had a Rank 2 in [Basic Mechanical Engineering] and [Basic Electrical Engineering]. Guess doing all that extra reading and taking things apart with grandpa did have a quantifiable value.
"Oh shit. “ My laughter filled the kitchen when I turned into a giggle fit. It was then that Katie came back into the room, and Marie looked at me like I had lost my mind. “ There are actual Sex Skills. Like [Cunnilingus] is a Rank 3 and [Intercourse (Female)] Rank 3. It seems I acquired the skill [Intercourse (male)] Rank 1, so I think I figured it out. “ I then noticed Negotiation Rank 1, which I had gotten from my time talking with Namon for the contract, was also in the passive list.
"If you learn a skill from a Crystal, it appears in your Active slot if it is not full. But picking up a skill naturally or through another ability will go right into passive.” Good to know. Going forward, I will ensure I am checking out the passive list for anything interesting along the way.
Katie nodded, “That is good info to know. And yes, I am fine, Sara. I just needed a minute. After I talk to my father tomorrow, I will be staying here. He is going to demand I come home right now. When I refuse, then he will kick me out. At some point, I would like to hear your plan, though, Sara. My father is an asshole, and my mom is no better with her silence. Still, they are my parents, and if there is some way to give them a proper start.“She kissed me on the cheek, sitting down next to me as Marie started to dish things out.
The portal activated with Ameri stepping through with a big smile on my face. I was not happy about her running off like that. Now that I have had time to think about this whole situation, her running off to tell Namon took a potential bargaining chip away from me. It seemed she caught the last bit of conversation. “I might have a few ideas as well, Sara, if you would like to listen to them.” She took a seat back at the island with the smell of dinner filling each breath.
I really didn't need to think about that. “ Yes, sounds good. I'll be in my shop rooms most of the weekend, so when you have time, just find me in there, and we will discuss you running off like that as well.” The smile fell from her face at my words, and I think she just realized what she cost me. I was happy she didn’t press the issue. I had enough for today.
"Sara, “ Katie's attention moved to me.” You should move all of your sex skills to active when having sex if you can. I am sure that will make you more marketable as a Breeder. I know in a multiverse of humanoid beings, that has to be a thing. “
As we started digging into our meal, Ameri added in some information.” It is, and it is a very profitable profession, especially once you garner a reputation for success. I remember reading in your race description that you are compatible with most races.” She paused. “ This is so good, what is it?”
"Enchiladas, “ Marie looked at me first to make sure it was OK for her to eat at the island with us. 'Fuck, not used to that,' I nodded, and she continued.” I agree with Katie Mistress. It will only help us in the long run. “ This story is hosted at novelping.com.
"My cousin's niece. She is a breeder broker. When you are ready, I can introduce the two of you. She can explain things better than I can in that regard.”
Nodding at their words,” Agreed, but let us just table that till we get a footing in the new world.” Sure, the idea intrigued me, but I felt it was putting too much on my plate. So instead, I shifted the conversation.
"So I think I have a plan going forward. “ I saw all of them looking expectantly at me. I wasn't sure about this leadership role, but here it was sitting in my lap. “Tomorrow morning, I am supposed to meet up with Spring, who should have a new wardrobe for me. Then I want to at least start working on something for Marie to use in combat. Also, I want to start experimenting with my skills.” Pausing, I look at Katie,” Tomorrow, I think you should call your parents. I want to see if I can convince Tony to give me a non-sexual bond. Not sure yet what will work. I do have a few thoughts, though. The idea is that about a week before shit hits the fan, he can take his wife and your parents up to his cabin. Under the disguise of a retreat. His knowing what is going on will give them a huge advantage, and I am hoping with my bond we can keep in contact.”
Leaving that tidbit of thought, I saw Katie relax a little. “ After that. Ameri, I want you to work with Katie. Give her practice on how to fight a tank,” Ameri nodded in agreement to that idea.
"Marie, we can take care of your stuff over the weekend, as it seems you have some rewards. Start working on making potions. Don't worry about healing potions. We can get the common ones for free. “ I winked at Ameri, and she started laughing.
"I don't think Grandpa thought of that. He is going to be kicking himself for not limiting potions with your agreement.
"Giving a nod, we both shared a smile. I liked her. She seemed like she would be a good fit after all.
"Also, Marie, I'll need you to be there for Tony when he recovers. I think it will be much shorter for the System to integrate him. Bring him down, show him the layout. After bringing him to my lab. I am sure he will have things to say to me. Then Ameri can bring him to the shop and get him outfitted with basics. After that, the weekend and into next week will be all about training.”
Giving Ameri a glance,” Going to be relying on you to help us with that. You have the experience and training, so you have the lead. I want to hit the dungeon by next weekend. “ Seeing nods all around and dinner finished, Marie cleaned up.
I headed to the Master bedroom, pulling out the other non-legendary crystals that I had gotten. He didn't say anything about a limitation on the non-yellow ones, so I wanted to play it safe. I put two back and absorbed two of them.
Well, I guess that was the proper path. When I woke up, I was still in my clothes, but Marie was sleeping on one side of me, while Katie was on the other. I felt refreshed, like I had slept all night. Attempting not to wake either of them, I changed to a fresh t-shirt and sweats. Didn't need to confuse Spring with my System-made outfit. Just as I finished, Marie woke up, smiling at me.”I'll go start the coffee and make you breakfast, Mistress.”
Nodding, not thinking about it too much, I looked at my phone. Six am. I really hope this wasn't the new me. Then again, it gave me more time in the day to accomplish things. Everything seemed to loom overhead, everyday things becoming more real. “That is fine, I am going to finish up the last two rare crystals. Then I'm going to head into my workshop for a bit before heading upstairs.”
The skills didn't affect me as hard, which was good.
Grabbing one of the pump shotguns out from the locker, I headed into the tech workshop. My mind is buzzing with possibilities. Originally, I was going to just modify something for her to use temporarily, but it felt like a waste of time. As I started disassembling the gun into its pieces, Marie came in with my coffee and a plate. As I ate, I set my alarm for a few minutes before 9, so I wouldn't forget. Something told me if I got too engrossed in all of this, I would. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
With the shotgun completely disassembled, I found myself staring at it all, trying to get an idea of how to go about it. First, I had to remind myself that I had other means to make this. I had to account for the runes and also the fact that I would need to use a core. Then it hit me. I didn't have to do this from scratch. There had to be blueprints and other things in the system I could use as a reference. Sure, my skills provided me with basic knowledge, and I learned a lot yesterday. The facts were facts I was still very new to all of this.
Feeling my eyes go cross-eyed at some of the more advanced blueprints, I quickly dismissed anything that was above my level to design. Within a few minutes, I had two designs I was looking at. Both blueprints were from another Earth, which helped me understand what I was looking at. The biggest difference was the mana channels. In the only way I could think of it, you could add hard points to your creation. Once that was set, the hard point had to go somewhere, which was the channels. That made sense. It was also designed for actual ammunition, so the complexity wasn't too bad. Powered by a beast core instead of using firing pins, but still used levers and springs to manoeuvre the shell from chamber to chamber.
Searching through the different blueprints that were available, I had to wonder, am I going about this the wrong way? Was I just trying to force this shotgun idea for something to do? Something was telling me I should start with a smaller project, more within my skill level and knowledge. I looked at the time. I was going to be late, so I would just put a pin on this and deal with it when I got back.
I smiled seeing Spring again. She blushed a little, but there was no denying the desire coming from the smaller girl. “Hi, Sara. Got a lot of stuff for you.”
She seemed a bit out of breath as the doorman followed her with a large cart stacked with boxes, bags, and several dress bags.
"I am sorry it took so long, Sara. But I can't stick around. I just got the materials I needed to complete an outfit I am working on for a local cosplayer. She wants it by tomorrow. “
I was about to say it was fine, but stopped.
“Wait, can you do like armor ? “
She nodded at me, “Yeah, I work mainly with leather, but if you have other materials made to fit the design, I can work them in. Why?” Perhaps she would be worth bringing in.
"I will give you a call over the weekend. I'll get the materials for you. But I want a custom piece. If you can have it ready by Friday next week, I'll pay extra for it.” This might solve my armor issue. I had a design in mind, but it wasn't something I could do. I just needed enough time to put the runes into the outfit.
"It won't be cheap. You will have to cover my loss of income from my other jobs for me to do something like that. Otherwise, yeah, I could do that, especially if you supply the materials. I have all of your measurements, so I have them delivered, and we can discuss the base design. Why are you doing cosplay as well?” I saw a bit of excitement in her eyes.
"Something like that,” Giving her a playful wink, “ now go, I've got this. Something tells me I will love all of it.” Truth be told, I probably wouldn't look through it too much, at least not now. She left. I texted Tony asking him to meet me around six pm. As I was heading down the elevator, Tony sent a confirmation. It gave me plenty of time to hopefully get a skeleton gun together. I just had to keep remembering I had fucking magic.
When I arrived back downstairs, everything was quiet. Figured by now everyone was doing their thing as I set the portal to my room. Bringing up the tech bench interface, it had a link for the System store. Searching for kinetic bullets, I did find shotgun shells. After some serious searching, I found what was called [Alchemist Bullet]
Alchemist Bullet
This bullet is manufactured by Mage Tech. The casing has a basic explosive rune to safely discharge the fragile bullet without shattering it. The bullet itself has two spots for personalized runes for dispersal. It can safely hold up to a Rank D strength potion. Insert liquid in the back of the bullet. After insertion of the needle, it will harden automatically. This bullet is used for shotguns and can be configured for either scatter or slug shots.
I ordered a case of 100. It appeared on the workbench a minute later. Well, damn, that beats Smazon.