Casa was ready to activate her grand expedition. Max had slept in after a long night spent looking for signs of Miyamoto Musashi in the Hokkaido territory.
He had announced late last night, his character was going to decamp and start heading to Mount Fuji next and had then dragged himself to bed. He would awaken soon and likely take a quick breakfast and then run off to the Grand Oaks trails again. Her kingdom was in order, the tesseract was still sleeping and inscrutable. She needed something more to engage with while Bill was away.
Casa was limited by the low-tech surroundings of Utopia, but she thought that she had a workable plan. The park was not that far after all. She had already flown a series of drones and parked them in trees spaced apart the entire distance to the park. The drones would act as relays enabling her to accompany Max and maybe to help a bit, without inferring of course. Effort and drive were most important for augmentation training, and she didn’t want to intrude. But she was so bored and curious. She just had to see what was going on. More than likely Max could be a relay for her, but she didn’t know if he had unlocked the Drone skill yet so she would make her plans assuming he couldn't help.
Max was stirring above in his room. The house was already configured into a faux British mansion, an homage to Sherlock for when he and Bill returned with their data. Hopefully soon, as she needed to crack open that stubborn tesseract puzzle box. She could hear Max mumble something about thankful and language. He was such a good boy.
As he finally came bounding downstairs, she had some traditional bangers and mash already rising from the compiler. She had to stay on theme with traditional English foods after all.
“Good morning, Master Max, breakfast is served.”, Casa said with a British accent.
Max, a bit confused at first, just shook his head and sat down. He went on to eat ravenously while chattering on about his grand training schemes. He was indeed planning on a trip to the Grand Oaks to find a fox for his next quest, and then he and his friend Charlie would seek to attend a class in town at the Wuxia Martial Arts dojo. Casa queried the internet quickly,
“Wuxia Dojo has some very good reviews, Max. I know your father has learned some Kung Fu and Bo seems to favor Kempo and Krav Maga.” Casa said helpfully.
“I found some information regarding your fox hunt on the data sphere. A fox in New England might make a home in a den in a forested area, or a brushy field. Foxes are highly adaptable and can make their homes in a variety of habitats, so the specific location of a fox's den will depend on the availability of food, water, and shelter in the surrounding area.” Casa stated.
“You just described the entire Grand Oaks reservation” Max sighed, “if I knew what a fox scent smelled like that might help.”
Casa’s avatar beamed.
“That might be something I can help with”, Casa quickly found and copied some matter files from Maker Space. The internet had a club for every conceivable pastime, a British Fox hunt club in England had files posted for a matter compiler to make a sachet with genuine fox scent to train bloodhounds for their hunting.
Casa hummed the theme song to the quiz show Jeopardy while the matter compiler did its job. The timer ticked down and out popped a sachet.
“This may help, Max. Ye olde England fox hunt club hath provided a training aid for their bloodhounds to track foxes. I’m not sure how close it might be to a New England fox, but it’s a good start.” Casa said proudly,
“Casa, you are the best. I wasn’t sure how to start my hunt. This should help enormously.” Max said with feeling. With his DigiSense skill engaged, he got a good read on the specifics of the aroma.
[Skill DigiSense +1, DigiSense achieves level 2]
Casa debated with herself (literally, fragmenting to discuss it) as to whether to ask Max if it would be ok to tag along or to try a stealth mission. Before she lost her chance, she quickly asked him her question.
“Max,” Casa started,” would you mind if I, er, tag along? I could install some of my drones to relay important info and, if you are willing, an extra set of sensors to help look out for the fox.”
“Casa, my friend, I would love that. I can use all the help I can get. Let’s go!”
----------------------------------------
A short autopod ride later, Max arrived at the park with a Casa drone in hand. Casa’s relay line engaged with the drone Max had brought and took flight at once. She followed Max as he ran, quite fast thanks to his unlocked skills. Casa was slightly confused as about halfway to the periphery of the Grand Oaks, Max suddenly bounded upwards into the tree heights.
Quickly Casa realized that he had found a friend. A very agile red squirrel was quickly found in the treetops, she supposed Max had scented him already and a chase began. Casa zoomed over the trees as Max and the squirrel raced. She noticed that the squirrel seemed to veer away from the approach to the Grand Oaks several times.
It’s almost as if it was trying to lead Max away, Casa mused, a strange behavior for an unintelligent creature.
Soon enough Max broke off from his fun with the squirrel and dropped to the ground and ran up the rise to the Grand Oaks region. Casa was impressed with the Oaks. While they looked like trees, she knew that they were massive bio machines, engaged with continuously sucking carbon out of the sky and securing it in a variety of useful matter compilations.
Casa wished she had better sensors on the drone as she imagined the inner workings going on in the great devices. She truly appreciated her house ship. There she could fabricate whatever she needed in no time with its matter compilers. Max seemed to appreciate the majesty of the exalted oaks as he slowed his run. Soon enough, he must have smelled his target.
Casa’s drone swooped down to follow Max as he dropped to all fours and tore off to the north. Casa was worried. The Oak bio machines were producing an electromagnetic field that was interfering with her communication relays. The drone was already at 50% power and dropping trying to compensate. As she plunged deeper into the reservations, the signal interference grews. She hadn’t foreseen Max would go this deep into the Oaks.
A series of drones were spooling out of the matter compiler, relay drones, and mother drones. The mother drones were packed with extra power. All the relay drones shifted as new ones came online to extend the relay, while the mother drones raced out to provide power to each link in the relay line. Casa swore in twelve languages that a proper AI should have had more drones prepared to deploy for this eventuality. She didn’t want to interrupt Max’s hunt, but the further they went the more tenuous her drone connection became.
----------------------------------------
Max raced down the broad avenues under the awesome Oaks. Completely focused on the scent of the fox. He had found it! One glimpse of the fox and the scavenger hunt would be complete. He didn’t notice that Casa was not keeping up. There was another very powerful scent in the air as well. Max didn’t recognize it but something about it triggered an instinct for caution.
Max raced into a meadow and bounded heedlessly forward determined to win the quest, he caught a glimpse of red. “A fox!”, Max thought before he slammed into a mountain of black. Bristling. Angry. Fur.
[
[New skill unlocked: Identify 1 – ability to utilize augments and your system to provide information on observed people or items. Advancement in this skill will reveal more detailed information]
A stunned Max flopped on the ground. He shook his head to clear it, as a black bear reared up over him, obscuring his view of the sky.
[Identified: Black Bear. Status: Angry]
“Oh shit. Nice bear. So sorry, I’ll just be in my way.” Max babbled as he scrambled backward…. with a roar the bear lunged.
The bear’s claws hit and scored furrows across Max’s back as he spun and ran. Luckily, his leap skill enabled him to bound forward. Unfortunately, the Oak branches were far above and beyond Max’s leaping range.
As Max scrambled, the bear's claws found him again and tore into his side. Max was thrown aside. He landed in the dirt and rolled into a run.
With the bear hot on his heels, Max leaped again. He wished for his old claws despite his love for his new hands. Max tried to grip the bark as he impacted the Grand Oak and to his surprise, he found a grip.
[New skill unlocked: Claws 1, augmented minor form change, extendable claws]
[New skill unlocked: Resist Poison 1, develop ever increasing resistance to damaging contaminants]
Max held on while the bear roared and pounded against the Oak, his grip only strengthened as his fear increased. At the same time, Casa’s drone arrived at the scene.
“Too bad bears can’t climb!”, Max shouted down at the bear.
“Ah, Max. Black bears can climb!” Casa corrected through the drone’s speaker, “this drone doesn’t have any offensive capabilities, either. I can’t assist too much”
“Oh crap!” Max swore as the bear proceeded to ascend after him. Casa’s drone dive-bombed the bear and buzzed around its head to distract and slow it down. Its motions were slow and unsteady. Casa’s control was slipping as she tried her best.
Waiting until the bear progressed upward a bit in his climb, Max leaped again outwards and away from the oak. When he landed, Max engaged all his skills to speed away from the roaring bear. He ran as quick as he could back to the Falls and out of the reservations where the bear had claimed as its own. Casa’s drone struggled to keep pace with him, visibly wobbling and its flight path growing more erratic by the minute.
“I think you’ve lost the bear!” Casa announced after a few more minutes of enhanced running. Casa was relieved. As they left behind the Grand Oaks, her links to the drones stabilized again.
Max stopped and wiped away his sweat. His side was sore although his healing had already mostly fixed the injury. He looked around to see where he was, not too far from the falls and meditation rock, he thought still gasping for breath from his dash.
[Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +2, Vitality +1, Perception +1]
[Body Skill Leaping +1, Leaping achieves level 4]
[Body Skill Stamina +1, Stamina achieves level 5]
[Body Skill Healing +1, Healing achieves level 5]
[Body Skill Unbreakable +1, Unbreakable achieves level 2]
[Body Skill Speed +3, Speed achieves level 4]
He turned to Casa’s drone as she asked, “Do you still have the scent of the fox? If you want to keep looking, I can run ahead to scout to make sure we don’t run into Mr. Grumpy Bear.”
“No need, Casa. I saw the fox before my unfortunate run-in with that bear. The scavenger hunt quest is complete, and I got a reward with a new identify skill.” Max said as a thoughtful look crossed his scratched-up face.
“I wish I had turned my sight recorder on. I only got the quickest glimpse of the fox, but it seemed that it had multiple tails. That’s not a thing, is it?”, Max asked Casa. After a slight hesitation, Casa searched the nets for information and answered.
“A multi-tailed fox is commonly depicted in folklore and mythology and is typically associated with the kitsune of Japanese folklore. Kitsune are said to be fox spirits with magical abilities and are often depicted with multiple tails as they gain more tails as they age and gain more power. They are generally seen as mischievous and omens of bad luck.”, Casa recited from her onboard world encyclopedia.
“If the fox you saw had multiple tails, it is not a natural occurrence. Perhaps it was a pet with genetic modifications?” Casa mused.
Max wasn’t sure how he felt about that news, “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, look at me. Breaking all the norms and getting an uplifted mind and an upgraded body with a full suite of augmentations.”
Casa’s drone buzzed with laughter “That’s right Max. These small-town Utopians like to pretend technology hasn’t transformed the world into a magical wonderland, but here we are. A drone being piloted by a house AI talking to a humanoid Poodle about a magical woodland fox spirit while training your superhuman powers. Let’s not dawdle too much now, magical adventure awaits.”
Max led Casa back down from the falls describing his very first bout with Charlie to Casa when he sniffed. An old scent and a new one.
“I think my other training partner is close. There is a red squirrel nearby who raced me through the treetops earlier. He is quite the gymnast, flipping from branch to branch.”, Max laughed.
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Case buzzed around in excitement looking for the squirrel, “Flip! Flippity Flipper! Flip, the squirrel! Come out and play, Flip.”, she laughed through her drone.
As if on cue, a red squirrel crash-landed nearby and let out a loud chirp. Max stretched out a hand, but the squirrel chittered and took off through the trees.
[Identified: Red Squirrel. Status: Curious]
Max and Casa took chase. With Max’s improvements to his leaping and speed skills and the better grip with his claws, he felt he could have potentially caught the little guy, but Max wanted to have fun. It wasn’t long until they came across the source of the unknown scent.
“Aww, poor thing. I wonder how long she has been stuck up there.” Casa said. High up in a maple tree, a very mangy cat was crying piteously. Its fur was matted, its tail was tufted, and it was so skinny.
[Identified: Domesticated Cat. Status: Afraid]
[New Quest Unlocked: Purr-fect Reunion – return a lost cat to its home]
Max was not a cat person. Bemused at the system’s coaxing, he slightly clenched his teeth and said, “I guess if I want that sweet XP, I need to do this then.’
Despite several long minutes of coaxing by Max and Casa, the cat would not budge. Flip the squirrel was long gone. He had kept going when they had stopped for the cat. Seeing no alternative, Max began to scale up the tree using his claws, occasional leaping, and gymnastic skills.
As he drew closer to the frightened feline, Max felt her fear. As he was about to reach her, the cat let out a mew and jumped onto his head, claws digging tight into his mane and nearly dislodging him from his perch. Carefully working his way back down the tree to avoid further damage, Max finally got back down and carefully pried the cat off his head. The cat maintained a clawed grip on his arm refusing to let go.
“Ugh! She’s wet and she stinks! She won’t let go.” Max groaned.” No collar or name tag either.”
Casa hummed a tune, “No postings on the town’s social media sites about a missing cat. Sorry.”
Max remembered how easy it was to find the fox once he had a scent and he had a new idea. Before he could have second thoughts, he lowered his muzzle into the matted feline’s coat and took a heroic sniff.
[DigiSense +1, Sense Skill DigiSense reaches 3]
[Scent +1, Sense Skill Scent reached 9
With his skill, Max was able to process a medley of scents. He wasn’t certain but at least a portion of the smell had sparked a sense of familiarity, perhaps downtown near the academy.
“Casa, I may have a lead from her scent downtown but I’m not certain. I must go quickly if I’m going to meet with Charlie and check out that dojo. Can we take her home and maybe you can watch her?” Max begged.
Casa’s voice went serious, “I will do my best, Max. I will report this sad situation to the town animal control. She needs to get fed. Poor thing. I’ve already downloaded some nutritional cat-appropriate foods for her when we get there.”
Max stroked the cat’s chin until it finally relaxed its grip on him, “No worries, little one. We will get you home soon.” The trio quickly continued down the path, where an autopod would meet them shortly.
----------------------------------------
Later, both Max and Charlie were in the autopod headed for downtown. Both had agreed to wear casual smart clothes with their Gi ready in case they were needed. Charlie had brought his walking stick/sword as well.
“It’s not unusual for a school to ask for a demonstration of forms and style.” Charlie explained. “I have a few katas using a bo staff and katana, and my programmable walking stick can shift to either form quickly.”
“Charlie, I’m curious if you’re willing to share your background.” Max had shared his story with both Leah and Charlie over yesterday’s exercise, but the day had ended before either of them had shared their background.
“Max, my story is long. Let’s just say that I’ve been around a while. I’m over one hundred and fifty years old. I lived through the Ought Fifties and saw what full-fledged technology unleashed on the world can do when we are behaving at our worst. I was an auxiliary member of the Samaritan coalition and fought in several sizable battles, but never with augmentations like the Samaritans and Tech warlords. I usually piloted an advanced mech suit and sometimes I only had standard warfighter gear when we were called into larger conflicts.”
Charlie had a faraway look as he remembered his past, seeming to age a bit with the telling. “Anyway,” he continued,” once things settled down, I wanted nothing more to do with it all.”
“I met a girl up in the middle of nowhere Montana. We had a little plot of land. She did some farming and me some hunting. No one bothered us. We lived off the land and we were happy. But time rolled over us as it does to everyone, and we got old. My wife, Mary, got sick. Cancer, I assume. I tried and tried to convince her to come with me to find a doctor to fix it. Cancer is easy now, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She got weaker every day and finally passed.”
“I went a bit crazy out there all alone. Frail and old. I went out into the wilderness again and again. I stayed out far too long, looking to die. No matter how much I pushed, I couldn't just lie down and follow her. I just couldn’t. Can’t give up. It’s not who I am. Eventually, I made my way back to civilization. I picked up and moved east and started the rejuvenation treatments. Utopia is a good halfway point for now, while I climb back into the present. I guess I’m just too stubborn. I need something more, but I’m not in a hurry to find it.”
Max looked sad and brightened a bit, “Well, I can’t recommend being a dog. My memories of that are a bit fuzzy. But I do slightly remember a trip to the moon before I got my uplift. Once we get our augmentation training done, you should definitely visit the moon. Running sideways along crater walls and bounding around in quarter mile leaps. Hell, with our augments we might end up being able to do that on Earth.”
Charlie chuckled at this, “Ah, I see why Leah likes you so much. You have an incredible spirit for exploration and adventure. I like that too. Let’s get a move-on. We have a dojo to visit.”
They entered the Wuxia dojo to see a spar in progress. The entry led to a wide space with a tatami mat. Weapons adorned one of the walls while another had a full mirror with a speed rail for stretching. Several students were kneeling around a central area where two men faced one another.
As the pair made their way to the edge of the room, the fighters began their sparring match. The first fighter was oriental and wearing a black Gi. Most striking was that he had an extra pair of arms extended over his shoulders, both of which held a katana. His primary arms were working a chain scythe into a whirling motion. Max’s identify skill chimed.
[Identify: Kusarigama – Japanese weighted chain and sickle]
[Identify: Jun-Ho Fung, Wuxia Senior Instructor
The man’s opponent was an older man wearing combat fatigue pants and a black tank top with close-cropped gray hair and pale blue eyes. He stood ready with a wide stance and open hands, but no weapons. The man seemed to be looking into the distance and not focusing on anything.
[Identify: Sensei Jared Kostecki, Owner of Wuxia Martial Arts]
[Skill Identify +1, Identify reaches level 2]
Without warning the man named Fung struck out, slinging his sickle in a sweeping throw at the gray-haired man. Sensei Kostecki raised his guard and managed to catch the sickle before it struck him. Without pause, Fung flicked the chain and looped both of his opponent’s hands as well as his head with the chain. Firmly secured, he pulled with all his might.
The Sensei did not move in the slightest, as if he was a statue embedded into the mat. With a start, Fung pulled again, but still, no effect was evident. The Sensei took a large step back and pulled the kusarigama and Fung was immediately flying toward him. Despite being yanked towards his opponent, the four-armed man converted the off-balance fall into a dive, his extra arms swinging their katanas at neck level to harvest his opponent's head.
The steely-eyed Sensei faded backward into an impossible backward-flipping motion as if his spine was made of taffy. He narrowly avoided the cross-sweeping blades. As Fung continued his fall overhead, the Sensei continued his back flip to kick him in the side pushing his opponent even higher into the air. He completed the stationary backflip and landed firmly, the sensei tightened his grip on the kusarigama and pulled to bring Fung’s leaping arc into a tighter turn for a piledriver into the ground.
Fung immediately let go of the kusarigama and landed on his hands and cartwheeled to a guard position, sweeping his arms out as he righted himself. Max and Charlie heard a series of popping noises. The Sensei tossed the kusarigama to the side and launched himself into a corkscrew flip to the side as a cloud of darts filled the air where he had just been.
Fung wasted no time, and he leapt forward again with a prodigious kick, moving faster than a speeding autopod. The Sensei stepped aside as the kick slammed into the wall. Fung rebounded instantly using all his momentum, his extra arms swinging their katanas in calculated arcs, one high and one low. The sensei responded by hopping over the low swing and catching the higher katana between his two palms. With a twisting motion, one katana spun away and pierced a fighting dummy along the wall in the chest where its heart would have been if it were human.
As the other katana whirled around in a backswing, the Sensei blocked it with his forearm and snapped out a knuckle strike to the other man’s wrist. The sound of breaking bone was loud in the dojo as the second katana was dropped.
Fung’s face betrayed no concern over one of his extra arms being broken. He smiled as his other three arms sprouted vibrating blades from the backs of his hands. Being as close as they were, attacking from three different directions, avoiding the chittering razors would be nigh impossible even for the flexible master.
The Sensei moved in quite an unexpected manner and bounded forward into a hug, avoiding the blades by getting inside their arc. He grabbed Fung by his Gi and Max saw a flash of blue before his HUD died with a squawk.
Max, partially stunned, looked around the room. Everyone had a pained or confused expression. Fung was spread-eagle on the floor with the Sensei over him. As he started to shakily scramble to his feet, the gray man spoke.
“This fight is over, Fung. Look down at your leg.”
As Fung looked down and saw that two of the darts that he had thrown earlier were embedded in his thigh. The master continued, “Best focus on that quickly before your own poison gets the better of you.”
“This will require a moment, Sensei. My apologies”, Fung said. With an embarrassed smile, Fung assumed a kneeling stance to meditate,
“Well fought, Fung.”, The master smiled and bowed before walking off.
Max felt a chill run down his spine,
“That was amazing! What did he do?” he whispered. But before Charlie could answer the man had walked over to them.
“So sorry, I am Sensei Kostecki. My EM pulse should have been more focused to avoid overspilling, but alas Instructor Fung put me under some time pressure at the end there. Your systems should reboot shortly. I haven’t seen you here before, are you interested in my Wuxia Dojo?”
Charlie stepped up and bowed, “Sensei, that was a truly powerful display of arts mixed with augmentations. That is why we are here. I have some small experience with martial arts and my friend here has none. We are both training our augmentations and seek to incorporate them better into a style.”
“Nicely said. A precious empty cup thirsty for knowledge”, Sensei bowed to Max. “And an experienced artist ready to expand his skills”, he bowed to Charlie.
“We welcome all here.” Sensei Kostecki said, “we specialize in training …full…use of augmentations in our martial art. I must warn you that we train here with a certain…intensity. Blood, sweat, and tears are the only currency I value as tuition, although I will also take credit cards. Are you prepared to pay this price?”, he said with a smile.
Both Charlie and Max, rather than cautious, looked ever more eager to train. Max spoke first.
“I think we both are very interested in your program and find your terms acceptable. Neither of us will shirk our training and we want to advance our skills to the fullest.” Max said.
“Excellent!” Sensei Kostecki smiled. “Then let’s begin!
“The best way to start any martial arts training is with the basics. We will start by teaching you our various stances, forms, and techniques for unarmed combat. Once you have learned the fundamentals we will move to more advanced techniques and forms. You can expect to spar often and hard. Are you ready to begin?
“Yes, sensei!”
As they proceeded into the dojo, Max’s augments restarted.
[New Resistance Skill Unlocked: EMP resistance 1]
Sensei Kostecki assigned an assistant trainer brown belt named Marisa to review some beginner basics, the 8-point block techniques, 27 striking techniques, 8 stances, and 6 movements. Charlie was already very well versed in all the forms shown, only occasionally noting some differences in his previous style, while Max struggled to keep up.
After a 2-hour session of intense basic movement, striking, and blocking training, both were straining their modified bodies. Fung, the senior instructor that the pair had witnessed sparring when they came in, joined them. His four arms appeared healed and fully functional, although his attitude was still dour and serious.
“Enough basics for today”, Fung started bowing to Marissa. “I will share with you an exercise that is good for both veterans and novices, especially as you learn your new capabilities. This exercise is called Pushing Hands. Marissa, if you will.” Fung said, assuming a low stance with hands out and open.
Marissa and Fung stood opposite, with hands open, and they reached out to let the backs of their hands touch. They began to shift back and forth.
“We are using our hands to push against each other. Always maintain contact. Maintain your center and balance while guiding your partner. Attempt to unbalance your partner, while maintaining your own. A subtle game, both hard to lose and unlikely to win. The goal is to learn, feel your body, and improve your center and balance while achieving a full range of motion. Balance is central to control, and control is your pathway to success.”
The pair had begun with subtle motions, occasionally picking up speed and sometimes dropping their stances deeply. Despite the sometimes-slow motion, both had extremely focused attitudes that showcased their efforts. After another minute the pair disengaged and bowed.
“Now," said Fung. “You will try. Remember, victory is not to unbalance your partner but to both learn your center and to learn to absorb unbalancing influences. Begin.”
They both assumed the stance and brought their hands up to light contact. Charlie and Max slowly moved back and forth, pushing against each other’s hands. As they continued, their motions gained speed and grace. Fung nodded and went to review some forms with Marissa away from the pair.
Max started too aggressively and Charlie, who was more familiar with the exercise, used Max’s motion and amplified it while turning it. Max quickly realized he was unbalancing himself and focused more on control and responding to Charlie’s input. Despite being a sedate activity compared to the striking and stance exercises, Max soon found himself sweating.
After what seemed like a long time, Fung came back. Fung watched them intently. “Good. You’re both doing very well. I can tell Max is not using augmentations yet as your balance is sometimes off. That is ok, use your body to learn the motion. Augmentations will come in time and then will grow. Now, we will make the exercise more meaningful. Yes, indeed. Resume your stances, please.”
The pair again dropped into low stances and reached out to lightly touch hands. Fung ushered Marissa out of the main room and into the office and then he backed away from the pair. As Fung walked away, the smart matter floor around the pair dropped away leaving only a pole sized shafts under each foot. Max became unsteady with fright. Looking down at the bottom of the newly formed pit, he could not see the floor. A slight breeze came up. How deep did it go? Max thought.
“Balance and control.” Fung said with a tight smile. “Its importance becomes clear, yes? Now. Begin again. Pushing hands.” Fung turned away from the pair and entered the office without looking back. The shafts supporting the pair shifted. Looking down again, the shafts now resembled bamboo poles and shared their physical properties as the pair began to sway slightly.
Max exhaled slowly and looked back to Charlie with a determined look. With a nod, they began slowly…to…push...hands.
[
[Agility +1]
----------------------------------------
Max exited the autopod tired both mentally and physically. The pair had spent hours at Wuxia and had survived the harrowing balance test. Despite his skill gains, Max was too tired to appreciate the advance. As he approached the house, the door opened for him.
Screaming and crashing assaulted his enhanced hearing. The mangy cat tore around the corner knocking over potted plants. A large drone was chasing the cat with a cloud of micro-drones swirling around trying to cut the cat off.
“It’s bath time you vengeful beast. Max help! She’s gone wild. I wanted to give her a bath.” Casa exclaimed.
Max was slow to adjust as the cat sped past him. It bounded off the chair near the door. Max managed to close the door before the feline could get through it. The dirty ball of fur adjusted its trajectory and landed on the mantle over the fireplace.
“Oh no!” Max exclaimed. “She’s headed for Mom’s amphora” Max scrambled over the chair as the cat bolted along the mantle dislodging all the decorations. The great pot started to tip off the mantle. Max tried to leap forward to catch it, but his ability had grown, and he overshot it, missing by inches.
The great pot was one of the last handmade creations of Max’s mom, Elsa, before she had her accident and retreated into her virtual work. Max briefly saw hope as it bounced off the floor intact, but then those hopes crashed as the pot trajectory encountered the fireplace step riser. On contact with the hard surface, it came apart into a multitude of shards of ranging sizes.
[New Quest Unlocked: Kintsugi and the Thrice Broken Amphora: Golden threads embrace, thrice broken amphora, now kintsugi masterpiece.]
With a defeated groan, Max began to carefully collect all the pieces of the broken amphora. His system had given him a new task.