I tried to concentrate, drawing clarity from my fragmented psyche on how best to spend my modest haul of Crystals. But my thoughts, my impulses, were a jumble of contradictions.
On one hand, bolstering my Essence and Resistance was the surest way to stay alive. If I got hit in the chest, and the attack was strong enough to bypass my armor and my lowest-possible score of 10 Resistance, a single hit could wipe out my 20 Essence in a nanosecond. I would shatter like glass.
The Volunteer currently known to me as Little Sadist had been able to calculate the Essence of the minotaur I fought, and I discovered ocular implants at the Supply Depot that could grant me the same ability. But was there a way to calculate the damage that monsters could dish out? Also, without any sort of head protection, would my current armor be useless against a headshot? Not that I was going to experiment and find out.
On the other hand, I never knew when one of the other statistical categories might come into play. My ultimate goal was not just survival, but to learn the truth and break free of this Sisyphean struggle. Antisoc wanted me to capture an invasive entity, alive, and bring it to them for study. Surely an operation like that, and bog knows what else they’d have me do in exchange for their assistance, required more finesse than mere fitness. More brains than brawn.
And yet, to make these 100 Crystals stretch, boosting some of my lower scores across the board might be worth it.
Frag it.
I blocked out any real or imagined outside influence tickling the back of my skull and made a decision.
I opened the Convert option on the Data Forge’s screen. The podium before me began to glow.
Deposit Crystals for conversion.
I counted out 80 twinkling Crystals from the chest and dropped them into the waiting indentation. It pained me to part with them, but I anticipated the benefits they would bring.
Begin conversion process?
▶ Do it.
A deep humming sound filled the space. The forge’s mechanical arms churned. The Crystals spun and broke, impossible brightness shining out of the spreading fractures. The multiple tubes of the device glowed with energy until only a cluster of floating motes of light remained, hovering above the central pedestal. One by one, they shot into me, and I absorbed the raw potential of their transformative power. I opened my menu.
UNASSIGNED VALUE: 80
First things first. I need to make room for the upgrades.
I dragged 40 Value to my Storage category and confirmed. The screen flickered, and my total storage increased, corresponding to a vague sense of an expanding cavity within me.
MEMORY
- STORAGE: 340 / 340 (380)
That left room for 40 metabytes of statistical category improvement, and 40 unassigned Value with which to do it. I chose Resistance, Adeptness, Protocol, and Probability, sinking 10 Value each into those stats. I pulled up my Statistics submenu to confirm the changes.
STATISTICS
* ATTACK
* STRENGTH - 20
* ACCURACY - 20
* DEFENSE
* ESSENCE - 20
* RESISTANCE - 20
* ABILITY
* ADEPTNESS - 20
* ENERGY - 30
* MOVEMENT
* SPEED - 20
* AGILITY - 10
* PROCESSING
* PERCEPTION - 20 (+20 from ocular implant)
* PERSUASION - 10
* PROTOCOL - 20
* PROBABILITY - 20
And just as quickly, I maxed out my soft data cap.
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MEMORY
- STORAGE: 380 / 340 (380)
Apart from my modification-amped Perception and the Energy required to activate my Clurichaun skill, I was turning out to be a real Master of None. I didn’t have a clear strategy for progression–not yet. I suppose I was still taking things one Cycle at a time.
I was worried about the low Essence, though. And let’s face it, my Persuasion was so low I couldn’t sell water to a beached whale.
Maybe a little crafting would give me an edge when I needed it most. 20 Crystals left. If I could forge another Tincture of Fortune, that would help me earn more Crystals, allowing me to get stronger, to get more Crystals, to…
Like I said, Sisyphus.
I turned back to the Data Forge panel, selecting the Forge option, then the Items option.
1 Schema recorded: Tincture of Fortune
Insert the raw materials in the indicated depositories.
Two of the podiums glowed. I removed one of my remaining two {common} fern flowers from my inventory and placed it on the first device. I removed my last vial of water and placed it on the other.
1 {common} fern flower and 1 vial of pure water detected. With your current Protocol and Probability scores, you will be able to forge 1-2 {common} items with a low chance of failure.
Interesting. I didn’t realize that I could possibly end up with multiple items off a single forge. My newly increased Protocol must have opened up that possibility. But I obviously could not turn a {common} material into an {uncommon} item. This wasn’t alchemy–turning base materials into gold. I had no philosopher’s stone.
Although in this world… hmmm.
I wondered how my current Protocol would interact with my {uncommon} crafting material, and whether or not a {common} result could come of that–a downgrade rather than an upgrade. Either way, my chances of failure were lower now with my improved Probability.
Deposit Crystals for forging.
I removed ten Crystals from the chest and placed them in the third and waiting receptacle.
Begin forging?
I selected yes.
Come on, Lady Luck. Magpie needs a new pair of tinctures.
Brilliant light cracked forth from all three platforms. Raw energy and data were sucked into the centrifuge, smashed and reformed. The glow grew brighter, and brighter, and brighter–until…
There was a horrible popping noise. A fizzle. Like the sound of an exploding lightbulb. An ozone stench.
Item forging unsuccessful.
10 Crystals, lost. 1 {common} fern flower, lost. 1 vial of pure water, lost.
▶ WHAT!?!
I slammed my fists against the forging platform. A red siren flashed overhead.
WARNING. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DAMAGE THE DATA FORGE.
I seethed, fingernails digging into the wood of the chest that now held my last ten Crystals.
Dram. Dram. Dram. Dram. Dram.
I gambled, and I lost.
Get a grip, Magpie. Control yourself.
I took several deep breaths, forcing my avatar to inhale and exhale the artificial air, trying to bring my artificial pulse back to normal.
I waited until the flashing red light stopped and the forge became accessible once more.
No more pure water. Only a fern flower and the coco de mer nut left, and a white linen cloth. I didn’t even know if any of those combinations would produce a result. The wise thing would be to use my final ten Crystals to increase my Storage. But I wasn’t in a wise frame of mind.
Gambler’s fallacy dicates that I would be less likely to fail a second forging attempt, since I had just failed. This was, of course, completely illogical and untrue. And yet I couldn’t escape the urge to roll the dice once more. It had its hooks in me.
Unclenching my fist, and I reached out and activated the panel again, navigating to the Forge Items option.
Insert the raw materials in the indicated depositories.
I wasn’t going to risk my sole {uncommon} material, plucked from the apothecary’s satchel of a violent, drunk leprechaun as it faded from irreality. I removed my last fern flower, placed it, then took out the swatch of cloth.
1 {common} fern flower and 1 white linen cloth detected. With your current Protocol and Probability scores, you will be able to forge 1-2 {common} items with a low chance of failure.
Low chance of failure. LOW. Come on.
Deposit Crystals for forging.
I counted out my last ten Crystals, setting aside the empty chest.
Begin forging?
I selected yes again. The process restarted, sucking in the cloth and the flower, and my beautiful Crystals. A whirlwind of light and chaos at the center of the pedestal pulsed and flashed. And then–
Item forging successful.
1 {common} Apotropaic Charm forged.
New Schema discovered.
The light faded, and in the center I saw a small cloth object. It was rhombic, with soft corners and a length of fabric that could be used to fasten the charm to something, or perhaps to wear as a diminutive amulet. I picked it up, and it had the faint rattle of dried seeds within the thin fabric pouch.
I concentrated, highlighting the item to access the details.
Item: Apotropaic Charm
Item Type: Consumable
Frequency: Common
Details: When worn, serves as a protective ward against evil spirits for 1800 seconds before disintegrating.
Size: 10 metabytes
Huh.