"Good morning, Aidan! What are we doing today?"
Flora walked with a spring in her step to her mailbox.
She found an enthusiastic thank-you-letter from Ali Hawks.
Of course, he asked if she could lower the royalties for the SPP collision handling. She agreed to go from 15% to 13% for 2 000 000 Credits and signed the attached contract.
'Those CentralTank lawyers could cut a slice off Ali's toast.'
"Good morning, Milady! May I remind you of acquiring the pupil class or the bullet-points on your ToDo-list?"
"I already have a class. Technically two. I don't want to leave Evailyn."
"You don't have to change your class. You can connect the pupil badge with the champion badge."
"What? How? I believe we have to visit the Cetviwos Academy, anyhow. I'm still totally in the dark. Please remind me, what is missing for the quest to acquire 'Pupil'."
"Completing two more courses or workshops. Jiu-Jitsu or Wing Tsun would count as one of them."
Flora thought about the right sequence of action.
"Maybe we can combine the last course with something on my ToDo-List?"
* A Shopping- and Wishlist for the meeting with the lawyers
* B Experios: experiencing activities from the perspective of experts.
* B Research the standard HUD settings.
* B The advantage of having a pet and figure out if you can have machines like toasters as pets.
* B Research beginner tips, especially recommendation on what you should do shortly after you enter the Metaworld and before you enter the Cradle
* B- We need a robot arm for Aidan to help out
* C Find a way to hurt Flora
* C Find a way to train while doing other stuff
* C Build a generator
* C Test if it is really impossible to modify items from the shop
* D Bully Robby into letting Flora have a spin in a toaster.
* D Figure out a way to do magic in the training-coffin
* E The price of stamina potions
"I see the potential for workshops in handling pets, robotics, something helping me with building the generator and a flight course for spaceships. I know a bit about robotics because of the development of household appliances in the last 30 years. But I still don't get how they mesh electronics and magic, although I'm fascinated by it. So, please prioritize this in your search for a suitable course."
"I found a promising workshop, Milady! 'Electronics in Cetviwos for Earthling professionals'! You fulfill the requirement of having an A rating in electronics."
"Good job!"
"There are additional advantages. The Garage organizes the workshop. That's one of the most important factions for crafters in the sector mechanics and electronics. You can acquire valuable blueprints if you have enough reputation with them. And it is the second easiest way to get a pass for the 'Doom Moon'-Scenario."
"Great!" The name of the scenario was vaguely familiar. "Remind me why I wanted to do this scenario."
"It is possible to salvage tier 1 materials in it, especially robot parts."
Next, Flora and Aidan scheduled the tasks for the day.
Flora rolled her eyes, seeing that they planned every free minute until 22:00. Thankfully one of the activities was taking a nap.
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First, she beamed to the clan Riverstones HQ to print three more treasure chest 3x3x3m containers. Flora attended enough fairs to know that the second worst thing was, not to have enough room to stash all the freebies. The worst thing that could happen was not to get any offered.
From there, she ported to Jiu-Jitsu.
'Clowdy is still teaching the lesson! It's 8 a.m.! That girl needs a private life!'
After Jiu-Jitsu, Flora beamed to Trick Beach and completed the daily 'The trick is to clean the air' by exercising her front flips.
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Finally, she arrived at the Garage. The compound was a mixture between a junkyard and an airfield. Walking between rusty spaceships, vehicles, and robots, she reached the first hangar.
In front of a welded sign 'Tool-Loan', she found the pedestal to check-in.
Daily Quest: Repetition is the mother of learning
Description: Manafacture 25 times the same part.
Rewards: Reputation with the Garage
Penalties: None
Rating: E
Weekly Quest: Robo Melee
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Description: Build a robot to fight in the battle royal on Saturday Two.
Rewards: Reputation with the Garage and prizes for placement.
Penalties: None
Rating: E
"Robot Wars! I have always wanted to partake or even watch! Aidan, you have to remind me on Saturday Two!"
Immediately, Flora browsed the rules and especially the built rules. The Garage even provided materials!
"Aidan, you have to control my robot. Are you up to the task?"
"Of course, Milady. But it would be wise to train beforehand to get my vehicle control skill and aim up."
"Sure." Flora's thoughts flown already back to what kind of robot she wanted to build.
"Milady, the workshop is going to start in five minutes."
"Ow, burned toast and stale jam!" The thought to throw today's plan out of the window flitted through Flora's mind, but years of discipline kicked in. "Lead the way!"
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Flora vaulted over cars and slid under and on spare parts until she reached the school hangar. 'Good choice to learn free running. It's surely handy.'
The workshop was in a hall with workbenches on the walls. Flora chose a free one and got seated. Around a dozen other people had done the same as Flora. They were mostly American and Asian men. Fewer Europeans and Middle-Easterns because it was 5 o'clock in real life and men because it was electronics. In the last 50 years, more women had joined electrical engineering, but the amount still paled compared to males. When you added the mostly male technicians, the gender disparity got even more skewed.
Flora had studied engineering for automation technology and industrial design. Both had more women, especially the last.
During the workshop, she got often reminded of her studies, especially all the things she had forgotten since then.
The level of the lesson was definitely more like AC than DC and a good amount of MC, magical current. It alternated between kindergarten and 'I used this everyday' 'I should know this.', 'I definitely knew that once.', 'I never heard of it.', 'This makes no sense.' and 'I'm pretty sure, that's impossible, even with magic.'
Everyone did the practical part of the workshop in their own time, with the instructor making his rounds to help out. That meant Flora did 25 times the exercise while the others did it once or twice. 'Free materials and a nice quest. I would be stupid not to use the time.'
Of course, she didn't notice that the other students started to sweat just from looking at the speed of the telekinetically flying components.
At the end of the workshop, Flora was, at the same time, more confused and more enlightened. At least she now knew more ways to power a toaster than including a socket for nock connection.
The most common way to power handheld tools were mana-plates. You dumped some mana into a disk, and transformers converted it to electricity. The mana dissipated fast. You had to reload them around every 10 minutes, depending on the quality of the plate.
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Back at home, Flora was thankful that she had scheduled a nap. Too much new information taxed her brain. Immediately after entering her bed, she fell asleep.
"Milady, it is time for the scenario."
"Five more minutes!"
"Milady, it is about time for the scenario."
"Five more minutes!"
"Milady, if you don't start the scenario in the next one minute and twentyone seconds, you will be late for Wing Tsun."
"Alright, start the scenario, dear."
Scenario: Groom the Doom Moon
Description: The Doom Moon, the most significant technological enterprise of humankind, needs capable technicians to keep it running. But will the terrorists interfere?
Type: Crafting / Survival
Duration: max. 5h, average 4,6h
Requirements:
- Mechanics, Electronics or Smithing > 15 OV
- referral from the Garage or the Magetech Institute
Restrictions: Only some of your mana-skills will work. Click to show.
Level-Cap: 25
Rating: A
Price: 10 VirDias
Flora's vision turned grey, and a resonant voice read the appearing text:
"Your colleague and friend Jake invited you to dinner together with his wife Elena and daughter Hope, to convince you of joining him on montage on the Doom Moon."
Quest: Enlist as a technician on the Doom Moon
Rewards: none
Penalty: Scenario stops
Difficulty: E
Then she found herself sitting on a dining table with two adults and a toddler still clutching her duvet.
"Open the hangars. Here, the H-Fighter comes!" Jake coaxed his daughter to accept the spoon with mash.
Quickly, Flora put her blanket away and checked her clothing. She was still wearing the pink leisure suit, in which she went to bed and felt underdressed. Thankfully, the couple was dressed casually as well. Jake wore a lumberjack shirt and spotted a blond bird nest instead of a hairstyle while Elena donned a summer dress and had her dark brown hair in a ponytail.
"The pay is excellent, the forepeople are okay, and we can work on the hugest project ever! Alright, the higher-ups are a bit on the stiff side, but I practically never encountered them." Jake showed off his dimples as he grinned at her.
"You forgot to mention the terrorists! I am frightened by them. They proclaimed that they want to destroy the moon before it is finished."
"Dogs who bark, don't bite, love. This will be my last tour. You'll see, I will be back before you know it."
'That idiot jinxed it! Never say, it's your last tour!'
Flora felt uncomfortable in the middle of this lovely family. She felt manipulated to like them by the game and hated that it was working. Dimples, who could resist dimples?
"I agree. I want to work on the Doom Moon." Flora tried to cut the conversation short. She fought to withstand the big blue eyes of the adorable toddler without breaking out in cooing.
Fortunately, her vision turned gray again, and the story-teller read some more text: "A few weeks later, you travel to the Doom Moon in the company of Jake."
Now, Flora found herself at an airport. She watched the grown Hope standing on wobbling legs until Jake finished kissing his wife.
"Daddy will be back soon! Take good care of your mommy while I'm away, honey."
The toddler nodded with adorable seriousness and got another hug an kiss from her father.
Flora and Jake waved one last time before entering the gangway.
After entering the shuttle, she sat on a window with Jake next to her.
Instead of rolling across the field, the shuttle catapulted into the air, pressing Flora in her seat.
First, Flora watched the airport getting smaller, then the land. Next, they broke through the clouds, and she could see the curve of the earth. Finally, the familiar blue globe was getting smaller, as well.
Fascinated, she stared at the distant planets and stars.
"Prepare for the jump into the hyperspace!" The captain's voice announced.
The stars transformed into streaks of lights, and they entered a glowing tunnel. Then they pulled out of it, and Flora got the first view of the Doom Moon. It looked like a grey ball with concave dents in it.
Flora had seen this shape before on television.
'Heaven help us! I signed up as a technician on the death star!'