I’m reading the scroll about the Constructor only for a few minutes and realize this is not going to do. Not now. First of all, the scroll is long, like a whole weekend reading long.

It’s written as a tale of some fantasy land, maybe even this one here, but… obviously, it was written ages ago. It talks about LifeGiver, an object that they invented that can produce matter as if it is a 3D printer on a molecular scale.

And it talks about this queen who ordered it made, how it helped her rule this world, turning it from the LifeGiver to LifeTaker, and some weird flowers she cultivated in the fields all around. It says the LifeGiver needed them, that it ran on the juice of those flowers. There are no flowers here that I can see. Only energy.

I bet they learned how to make energy without those flowers. Wondering, how did they do that. How did LIP Corp get its hand on this fantasy-producing object?

Yeah, I could read that story for hours. But… it’s not what I’m after. It’s not giving me any manual on how this Constructor really works, how to tweak it, and how to get the most out of it. It’s just background info, written as a historical document. Written for the masses, not for an engineer who wants to know what is behind its shiny precious stones.

As interesting as it might be, I need to drop it for later reading.

So, I step to the Constructor. It’s time to get it busy working again.

“SAMS, what are my current holdings?”

[Holdings:

Dungeon of Blackin Mountain, River Green District, Planet Zylon Rich, Sector 23XL32nn2: 600,000 coins.

Souls: 0

Denizens:9

Equipment: PBO 40,000 coins

LIC Energy: 1700 units

Cash: 1,000 coins

Other: 0 ]

There are a few surprises there. First of all, the Present-Best-Offer of my dungeon is going up. I bet if I continue like that, it will not go unnoticed. And there I go.

I also have 9 denizens. I scratch my head, fingers counting, thinking if I now can't even count to ten.

“Can you list denizens?”

[Oollie pack: 1

Whitehead pack: 7

Human: 1]

“Oh, so young Sword Master Vania is still considered a denizen?”

[Yes, a denizen rule of soul transference implies. It’s binding until the time someone else’s harvests his soul or you sell his card.

Would you like to see all the denizen acquirement rules?]

“No, Not at this time,” I say and take his card out of the deck, looking at its transparent light-green glimmer.

I move my finger over it.

He is in good health. At sixty percent now. But what bugs me is Bonding. Still floored at 0. Damn. I don’t need to look at it.

“So, what kind of a bird's license can I purchase for 1,000 coins? Something large would do.”

I’m starting to be given options, and I swiftly select something that has power. Large. Raven category. Or an eagle.

It seems eagles are expensive. It seems everything is expensive these days. Inflation, they say. I say, a freaking highway robbery.

But, there is a ninety percent license discount for an endemic model to this planet called, Light Killer Eagle.

Stolen novel; please report.

It looks awesome. It’s actually not black. Its feathers are brownish and greenish in color. And with a discount, the price comes to less than 900 coins. I won’t even need to sell any of my energy to pay for it. But it does not have a language option.

Yeah, I can purchase one for an additional 500 coins.

I debate about that only for a second. I really need this bird to be able to talk.

So, yeah, “SAMS, sell as much energy as I need to, and use the proceeds to get me a license for one Light Killer Eagle. And, let’s not forget it. It needs to have a language option.”

Yeah. That should kick ass.

It should be done in an hour.

I go downstairs and watch how the pups are lying on top of Oollie, just dozing off, their father and mother a few meters away. I guess they are enjoying how fluffy Oollie is. Cannot blame them. If I could, I would just curl right there between the two of them.

Whitehead sees me right away, and gets up obediently, waiting for my instructions, but I let him be. He deserves some rest.

My only worry now is how to put the front gate back up, and he cannot help me with that.

When the hour is up, I go to meet my new creation at the Core. Oollie is behind me, following me now, together with two pups. Have not yet decided what to name them. They look so cute. They deserve good names. Whitehead follows us all from behind.

[Warning: The Constructor detected a production error of 1 percent.

Input required: Finish the construction or abandon the construction]

Damn, another mistake? It has not happened since I made Oollie. It does not say why. My BioMaterial Inventory is standing at the fixed 50 percent mark. I do not drain it to produce the LIC energy. So, what gives?

I can only guess.

It seems the Constructor has a problem building complex life forms. So what to do?

Well, let it finish. And see, Oolllie did not come out all that bad. But, I will definitely need to get that Constructor to get fixed, especially for constructing live creatures.

As I get into the Core, there is a sight to see. The cocoon is huge! I watch in shock, going over the License Scroll to see if I did not get something right. But the scroll all the way down lists the flying creature as being one and a half meters tall, with a full wingspan of three and a half meters. That’s huge! I paid it no attention when I was selecting it and now that I see it, I wonder if that will teach me to read the fine print in the future. Should really start paying attention to the details. So, the size is not what’s wrong.

Makes me wonder then what Constructor messed up with.

Maybe it’s negligible. I mean, we are talking about a 1 percent mistake. How big can it be?

Now, looking at it, it’s almost the size of a small dragon. I can just put a tail on it, and pretend it is Drogo in his early days. Makes me wonder if I could actually build a dragon one day. But I have no time to think about dragons. The cocoon comes finally completely off and the biggest bird I thought could not even exist turns around and stares at me.

Then it tilts its head and stares at little Oollie and the pups next to me.

He is eyeing them and suddenly I’m not sure he is not going to eat them! Whitehead feels the same way, shows his teeth, and even growls. But that gets the bird even more interested. Its beak is so big it could devour Oollie in a single bite. So big it could probably carry Whitehead up in the air with only one of its claws.

It hops toward the Dungeon door and Oollie, and I have to step forward.

“Easy, we’re all family and friends here!” I say, but the bird seems not to understand me. What the hell have I constructed?

The eagle looks at me, makes a funny noise, and even goes for me with his beak. Not friendly. I step right into him, going at the same time to his Operating System, moving the ‘Submission’ and ‘Obedience’ buttons all the way to the max. Yeah, smart ass. I forgot to do that. Almost cost Oollie or one of the wolves their hide.

I really have to get my head straight. Can’t keep on making this kind of mistake.

Okay, so, I’m inside the bird right now, and look through its eyes, see each hair on the WhiteHead’s back, see so clearly even with the little bit of light around.

“Hi, people,” I say as I see my troops are all scared, two little pups hiding behind Oollie.

But, the strange thing is… The eagle does not say the words I intended it to say. Instead, it just cracks out the words of its own, “Furry fartknockers!”

It comes out so wrong that even Oollie frowns up and shows his teeth, hands lifting up ready to wrestle with the flying beast. But, I’m afraid, he would stand for not more than a slit second if the fight breaks out.

“Relax, Oollie,” I tell him, but the eagle says instead, “Wanna fight, wanna fight?”

What the hell is happening?

This is not what I paid for! I’m definitely getting a new Constructor.

“You’re going to behave, or else, I’m gonna snap your neck, you stupid bird!” I tell it, and the sucker answers me back. “You stupid, you stupid.”

Obviously, I need to teach this bird some manners.

I spread its wings, it cannot resist me, and I shake them and fly up, high up, straight into the ceiling of the dungeon.

It squeals like a hurt kitten. It hurts. I know. I feel his pain, but I don't care.

“Yeah, who’s your daddy now?” I ask it. “You want me to do it again?”

It does not say a thing, so I fly a bit down and back up against the ceiling.

“Again?”

“No, no, no… no, Master.”

“Mister Master to you, or else, I’m breaking your neck and plucking you free of feathers, and having a bird on a spit for a dinner tonight. Understand?”

“Yes, Master, yes, Master,” it answers swiftly in its cracking voice.

“Mister Master to you.”

“Yes, Mister Master, we will obey.”

“So, don’t you ever snap on any of your family here again, Get it???”

It says nothing.

“Get it Lights Out? Or do I give you lights out?”

“LightsOut gets it, LightsOut gets it, Mister Master.”

“You’re a part of this family. You're not like an estranged uncle who comes to a family meeting snapping at his little cousins, making fun of them, working his insecurities and problems through making others feel bad. Understand? You’re a loving, giving, protective big brother. And you will treat everyone with respect."

I surprise myself how tough I talked. Damn. If I could have been like that my whole life, who knows how far I would have made it.

As I look at the bird, the only thing that is inside my head is that now it's part of me and I'm part of it. And might as well enjoy it.

"Yeah, let's go out for a ride. See what the world around looks like. See what gods see when they look down at this place. And, by the way, I like your name. You’ll be LightsOut from now on.”