I was tempted to go for improved defense. I’ve seen a lot of damage done by pyromaniacal invasive entities. At the same time, wouldn’t it be nice to have some of that fire power working in my favor? A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

I cycled back through the options on the control panel and selected the Fuse function.

[FUSE

* SKILLS (fuse data cards onto eligible skill slots)

* EQUIPMENT (fuse data cards onto eligible weapons or armor)]

I selected the equipment suboption. This time three receptacles illuminated before me, surrounding the middle platform. I assumed the item to be fused onto would go in the center, but it remained unlit.

[Place a weapon or armor piece for Fusing]

I brought out my revolver and placed it on one of the waiting pedestals with a clink.

[Common Snubnosed Revolver detected]

[Insert a Data Card in the indicated depository]

I materialized the spinning Hellhound card and set it hovering in place in the adjacent spot.

[Common Data Card - Hellhound (Weapon / Armor) detected]

[Deposit Crystals for Fusing]

I placed my final remaining 10 Crystals on the third location. Hated to see those beautiful baubles go, but I appreciated the benefits they accorded.

[Begin Fusing process?]

Yes.

The data card dissolved. The Crystals melted into a brilliant aether. Even my revolver broke down into constituent particles. Another refulgent light overtook all, until at last my revolver lay in the center of the forge. It glowed, as if heated in a kiln.

[Weapon Fusing successful.

Hellhound +10% fire damage fused onto Snubnosed Revolver]

I tentatively reached out and touched the revolver’s handle. The red glow faded and, to my surprise, it was completely cool to the touch. I picked up the weapon and examined it closely. It looked no different than before.

I added it to my menu, dematerializing it, then brought it out again. In my hand, the gun briefly glowed a dark red upon equipping. The same color as the burning eyes of the accursed Hellhounds. But just as quickly, it looked like an ordinary firearm once more.

I opened my Equipment menu and checked the details.

[EQUIPMENT

* WEAPONS

* * SNUBNOSED REVOLVER (30 metabytes) - 20 damage output

* * * 5 / 5 .32 caliber ammunition (chambered)

* * * +10% fire damage (Hellhound) (10 metabytes)]

There it was. A little extra elemental kick. The fusion added 10 metabytes to my revolver, but I obviously no longer had the 10 metabyte data card elsewhere in my inventory, so my storage capacity remained unchanged.

I could test my improved piece out at the Armory’s firing range with the benefit of unlimited ammunition if I wanted.

I wondered if the 10% fire damage scaled if I were to upgrade my weapon. The breech-loading shotgun I had the brief pleasure (and displeasure) of using during the raid was level 2 of 10, and packed a considerable punch. That militaristic robot vendor at the Armory told me a little about weapon upgrades, but I would have to dig through my History to remember exactly what it said.

Well, I had nothing better to do just then. I opened my History and scrolled way back to read the exchange verbatim.

[MEMORY

* HISTORY

* * Supply Depot vendor said, “Take your sidearm. It has a damage output of 20. If you upgrade that gun to Level 10, you could reach a maximum damage output of 200! That’s some serious firepower!”]

Right. In exchange for a fee, upgrades to a maximum of Level 10 would have a direct multiplier effect on damage output. Logically, the breech-loading shotgun began with 40 damage output, multiplying to 80 with the upgrade. So then, would the fire damage scale in direct proportion?

I also wondered if / when I acquired a better weapon, was there a method to undo a fusion? Could I get my data card back? Would I have to choose between salvaging the revolver or the card? Or was this a permanent bond?

Furthermore, to continue my meandering thought experiment, if I had ten Hellhound data cards, could I fuse them all to get +100% fire damage? Were there limits to one fusion per item, or one type of fusion per item? Did different types or frequencies of weapons have different fusion limits?

There was still so much I didn’t know. Even after all I’d been through, I was only scratching the surface of how this world worked. I wish I could find and pigeonhole Camel, if he was sober, and pepper him with all my latest questions. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him around for a long time. Huh. It was that or another trip to an Information Kiosk. That Fancy Jack guy had been friendly, but I doubt he would be much use when it came to weapons advice.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Before any of that, I had to backup my data. With my luck, I would get hit by a hoverbike crossing the street and lose this precious fusion. I left the Data Forge, a couple Volunteers impatiently waiting for me to vacate, and traveled back to the Restoration Point.

I just left this place, and it doesn’t feel amazing to be back. At least the circumstances are different.

Welcome to the Restoration Point.

Volunteer 01001110 01101111 01100010 01101111 01100100 01111001

Your last backup was {0} cycles ago.

Would you like to backup your data?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

100 Crypt will be deducted.

I paid 100 Crypt out of my remaining 200 and climbed into the machine that wove me back into existence earlier this Cycle. I would need to take another bounty soon. A bounty that actually paid.

Please enter the Restoration Station to backup your data.

Into the suspended MRI tube I went. Maybe it was more accurate to think of it as a high-tech womb. A digital cocoon.

Your data backup has been successfully completed.

Afterwards, I checked the information panel to confirm the backup.

[DESIGNATION

* VOLUNTEER ID

* * 01001110 01101111 01100010 01101111 01100100 01111001

* ALIASES

* * MAGPIE

* COSMETICS

* * WAVY ASYMMETRICAL CROP (hair)

* * ALMOND (skin tone)

* MODS

* * NEURAL-INTERFACE AXIS PORT

* * * B3-9S7-C10K CHIP (10,000 Crypt storage)

* ROUND TABLE SMART INK

* 5% ARMORY DISCOUNT

STATISTICS

* ATTACK - (40)

* * STRENGTH - 20

* * ACCURACY - 20

* DEFENSE - (30)

* * ESSENCE - 20

* * RESISTANCE - 10

* ABILITY - (40)

* * ADEPTNESS - 10

* * ENERGY - 30

* MOVEMENT - (30)

* * SPEED - 20

* * AGILITY - 10

* PROCESSING - (50)

* * PERCEPTION - 20

* * PERSUASION - 10

* * PROTOCOL - 10

* * PROBABILITY - 10

SKILLS

* Clurichaun (10 metabytes)

* {empty}

* {empty}

* {empty}

EQUIPMENT

* WEAPONS

* * PUSH DAGGER (10 metabytes) - 10 damage output

* * SNUBNOSED REVOLVER (30 metabytes) - 20 damage output

* * * 5 / 5 .32 caliber ammunition (chambered)

* * * +10% fire damage (Hellhound) (10 metabytes)

* ARMOR (40)

* * HELM: N/A

* * BODY: BALLISTIC VEST (10 metabytes) - 20 defense

* * * PROMOTIONAL T-SHIRT (cosmetic)

* * ARMS: N/A

* * LEGS: TACTICAL PANTS (10 metabytes) - 10 defense (+20 storage)

* * * TACTICAL BOOTS (10 metabytes) - 10 defense

* ACCESSORIES

INVENTORY

* CARDS

* FRAGMENTS

* CONSUMABLES

* MATERIALS

* * 2 {common} fern flowers (2 metabytes)

* * 1 {uncommon} coco de mer nut (1 metabyte)

* * 1 white linen cloth (1 metabyte)

* * 1 vial of pure water (1 metabyte)

* MISCELLANEOUS

ECONOMY

* CRYPT

* * 100 (stored on B3-9S7-C10K chip)

* CRYSTALS

MEMORY

* STORAGE

* * 275 / 290 (310) (+20 soft storage cap)

* SCHEMAS

* * Tincture of Fortune (fern flower + pure water)

* HISTORY

STATUS

TASKS

* Remove Clurichaun from Private Residence in Royal Heights (Complete / Paid Out)

* Remove Hellhounds from MAR Station Service Tunnels (Complete / Paid Out)

>SUBROUTINES

* Assist Antisoc with Repository Heist (Complete?)

* Assist Serpents with Package Delivery (Pending)

* Assist Round Table with Warehouse District Raid (Complete)

* Apply to join the Round Table? (TBD)]