Zack pulled up the screen from earlier that day, letting it fill his mind’s eye.

New Possible Skills:

Tactical Planning Level 1, Teamwork Level 1

You have reached the maximum of four Combat skills. Which skill would you like to keep?

Tactical Planning / Teamwork

He hadn’t wanted to rush this choice in the dungeon. But here, in the comfort of his bedroom, he had plenty of time to mull things over. “What can you tell me about these?” he asked Gia.

[Tactical planning helps you make better choices before a battle,] she replied. [You earned that skill by minding your surroundings, and buying Camille time to open the portal. Teamwork gives you better synergy with your squad mates, and you earned that one by helping Daudilus when the birds surrounded him.]

“Guess they’re both self-explanatory.” He leaned back against his headboard, scratching the bandage around his calf. “Which one should I pick?”

[That depends. Which one do you want to improve?]

They both sounded useful for different reasons. The right battle tactics could save your life in a tight spot. Then again, teamwork was also a form of battle tactics, wasn’t it? It just happened much quicker, in the heat of the moment.

Zack tried to envision himself using these skills in future battles. He planned to fight with Daudilus and Camille for the foreseeable future, and even the Sentinels would assign him to a squad someday. Improving his teamwork might save a friend’s life in battle. It might even save his own life, since synergy worked both ways

But the right tactics could save lives, too. And he knew more about this subject than Daudilus or Camille. Did it make more sense to embrace his unique role in the short term?

“What if I drop marksmanship?” he asked. “Could I pick both of these?” This was only a hypothetical question. The military used guns more than blades or martial arts, and he would need that skill when he joined the Sentinels. With that in mind, he really should invest in a second handgun, along with some more practice sessions.

[Marksmanship is already level two,] Gia said. [That gives it priority over the others.]

“But I could technically develop another skill behind the scenes?”

[Of course. You’ve been doing that your whole life.]

He hummed in consideration. “So what’s the point of the official skills?” He’d asked Gia this question before, but she always gave him some vague answer like ‘mana allocation,’ which didn’t help at all.

[Mana allocation,] she replied.

“Great, I’m glad we cleared that up.”

[Remember, my primary function is to help you improve yourself. Mana is the currency we spend to make that happen.]

“Okay, but what’s it actually do? Does it make me stronger? Smarter?”

[What are strength and intelligence?] she countered. [Physical and mental health. Constitution and cognition. And those attrubutes are just groups of skills. Mana allocation helps you learn those skills faster.]

Yeah . . . some of that was debatable. A person could have a heart attack and suffer an immediate loss of health. Did that person also become less skilled at being healthy? Not necessarily. And even Gia admitted that a sick or sleep-deprived person would suffer a loss of stats.

But whatever. Gia saw the world in terms of skills, and he probably couldn’t change her mind. Regardless, the answer seemed to be yes. The mana core made him stronger and smarter, and the skills told Gia how to direct that mana.

“Teamwork seems more versatile,” he said after a short pause. “I can use it outside combat, right?”

[Correct.]

He nodded as he prepared to select that option. “Any other long-term stuff I should know about?”

[Skills can open paths to adjacent skills. Your choices also determine your class options later on.]

“Class options?” Gia hadn’t mentioned classes before. Well . . . unless you counted that joke about the Housekeeper class.

[For example, investing time in tactical planning might lead you toward a strategy skill, and that might pave the way toward a Commander class.]

“Is that a real class?”

[Just an example. I invent classes on the fly based on your unique skill combinations.]

Zack scratched the stubble on his chin. “So basically, there aren’t any permanent consequences.”

[Just lost time. That’s your most valuable resource.]

“Just like with life,” Zack mused.

New Skill: Philosophical Musing Level 10

Your Cognition attribute has increased by 2.5.

Your new Cognition is 11.5.

Zack blinked at the pop-up screen. “Wait, seriously?”

[No.] Gia chortled in his head. [That was a joke.]

“What?” He double-checked his attributes screen. Sure enough, his cognition score hadn’t actually increased by two and a half points. “You can do that?”

[Evidently, yes. It’s part of my humor settings.]

“Hilarious,” Zack deadpanned. “I thought we were having a serious talk here?” Her so-called humor was exactly what he’d expect from an artificial intelligence.

[Sorry,] Gia said.

He shrugged and made his choice.

New Skill: Teamwork Level 1.

Your Combat attribute has increased by 0.25.

Your new Combat is 12.5.

“Is that real?” he asked with narrowed eyes. “Or do I need to double-check my skills screen?”

[I said I was sorry!] Gia protested.

Zack limped over to his desk and retrieved some of the gnomish tech. He’d promised Camille he would look at the infuser, and now seemed like a good time. What else was he going to do with his wounded leg?

The infuser was about the size of a shoe box, with a worn steel case, a blue crystal display screen, and a row of buttons beneath. A threaded valve stuck out from the top, and a long, flexible tube emerged from the other side. The tube itself sported several holes as if an animal had chewed through it.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Zack tried pressing the buttons, but nothing happened. “There’s no way Doctor Gilder can use this.” In fact, Zack would be lucky to sell this for scrap parts.

“Maybe the inside looks better.” He reached into the sack and retrieved the metal toolbox he’d taken from the outpost. Then, after a bit of rummaging, he found a screwdriver and began disassembling the outer case. “It’s not like it can get any more broken, right?”

The inside was a vast network of sigils, crystals, and mana conduits. It all fit together like the bones of a tiny skeleton—far more delicate than anything he’d seen before.

“I take it back,” he muttered. Those pieces might still be valuable, especially the crystals. One wrong move could damage them beyond repair.

[You could start with something simpler,] Gia suggested. [Hang on . . .]

New Quest: Tinkering 101.

Gnomes love to tinker, and Commandos are no exception. So it’s time to level up your skills! Try disassembling one piece of gnomish tech, then put it back together.

Reward: +0.5 Cognition.

Accept Quest?

Yes / No

Zack leaned back in his chair. “I’m not training to be a mechanist here.”

[Says the guy who’s taking apart gnomish tech.]

He couldn’t see Gia, but he still served her a heaping dose of side-eye. “I was curious. That’s all.”

[What if you got curious about the coffee maker? How complex could that one be?]

“That’s not the point,” Zack said. “The elves are building a reactor here next spring.”

[So?]

“This whole profession will be obsolete.”

[So?] she repeated. [Your fragile human body will perish someday, then all your skills will be obsolete.]

“Wow, thats morbid.”

[I thought you wanted to raise your cognition. Do you have a better idea?]

“Fine. Point made.” Zack retrieved the small kitchen appliance and placed it on his desk. Like the infuser, this had a stainless steel case, covered in dents and scrapes. The buttons and levers did nothing, but that seemed to be a common theme here.

After a short pause, he rotated the machine and unscrewed the back panel. From there, it didn’t take long to spot the problem. Someone had overloaded the leythium receiver with mana and fried the surrounding wires.

Oh well, at least this meant it wouldn’t blow up in his face.

The inside was all pipes and valves, along with a stainless steel tank that probably heated the water. A layer of mana conduits ran behind the pipes, and these branched off into clusters of sigils etched directly into the metal.

Zack grabbed some wrenches from the toolbox and removed the larger pipes for a better view. Camille was right about one thing—gnomish tech was expensive, and most people were too scared to tinker with it. But what did he have to lose? Buyers weren’t just lining up outside, waiting to part with their money.

He worked in silence after that, struggling to make heads or tails of this mess. What had that quest description said? Disassemble the machine, and put it back together? Yeah . . . that wasn’t happening tonight. The deeper he got, the more complicated it seemed. He’d be lucky just to get those pipes back on.

“If only the receiver worked,” he muttered. “But there’s no way to test this without mana . . .”

Zack trailed off as he remembered the control panel in the dungeon. Most machines ran on ambient mana, but that wasn’t the only source of power.

“What about my Activate Device technique?” he asked Gia. “Can I use that?”

[Of course,] Gia said. [That’s what it’s for]

“Hang on.” Zack unzipped the front pocket of his backpack and retrieved a pair of safety glasses that he normally used for shooting. Camille might be paranoid around mana, but that didn’t make her wrong.

He took a deep breath and pressed a finger to the nearest leythium wire, mentally focusing on the technique. When nothing happened, he said the words aloud: “Activate device.”

Mana flowed out from his fingertip, and the wire shone with pale blue light.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

The light spread all the way into the sigil network before it flickered out. Oh well, he hadn’t expected the whole machine to work. He could finally see the different pieces in action now, and that was progress.

New Skill: Focus Level 1.

Your Cognition attribute has increased by 0.25.

Your new Cognition is 9.25.

Zack blinked at the notification. “If that’s a joke, I’m throwing you out the window.”

[It’s real,] Gia said. [You earned it.]

“But how? I didn’t do anything special.”

[Look at the clock.]

Zack spun around and glanced at the clock on his nightstand. Ten thirty. Had he really been sitting here for over an hour?

Maybe Gia had a point before. He never focused this hard on his other pursuits. He’d been doing the same martial arts moves for years, and it was hard to stay engaged without a proper challenge.

Zack threw himself back into the project, activating different parts as he went. This technique gave him a huge advantage over most mechanists. He’d once seen Nolan work, and the man had fumbled through the process with trial and error. He tweaked the machines, turned on the power, then cursed under his breath when they failed.

But the gnomes could literally shoot energy from their fingertips, testing one piece at a time. No wonder they’d developed their tech so quickly. Even the most skilled human mechanists were just kids playing with their parents’ tools.

[How do the sigils work?] Gia asked.

Zack grinned as he removed the heating element from the tank. “Thought you knew everything I did?”

[Only if you learn the skill in front of me.]

“I learned the basics in high school,” he said. “Mana is raw power, right? But you can’t just throw it around willy nilly. That’s a good way to make a mess.” He gestured to the lamp that hung over his head, and the orange glowcrystal that illuminated his desk.

“That crystal takes in pure mana, and it outputs light. In other words, it converts mana into light.”

[And the sigils?] Gia asked.

Sigils do the exact same thing, but with math. They restrict the flow of mana and break it down into the aspects you need. See this?” He gestured to one particular piece with his screwdriver. “This valve uses a magnet to pull the water up into the tank. And these sigils convert mana into electricity, which powers the magnet.”

Zack gave her several more examples over the next few minutes, pointing out various sigils and their functions. Or rather, he shared his guesses. His physics knowledge had gotten rusty, and he remembered even less from his Geometry class

[Great,] Gia said. [That’s all I needed.]

“Needed for what?”

New Skill: Gnomish Engineering Level 1.

Your Craft attribute has increased by 0.25.

Your new Craft is Craft: 9.5.

“I’m not complaining,” Zack said slowly. “But what happened to your high standards?”

[Standards are relative,] Gia said. [And you said it yourself, this is a dying profession.]

Zack kept tinkering, feeling a surge of fresh confidence flow through him. Or was that Gia’s mana improving his thoughts? Until now, he’d mostly earned points for skills he already knew. But this project was different; he was finally learning improving himself in new ways.

Unfortunately, Zack still didn’t know enough to fix this old machine. Even if he restored the receiver, several sigils had burned away, and he wouldn’t know where to start with those. He also found a jammed spring on the front lever, and he didn’t have a replacement part.

But what about the machine downstairs? What if the problem was far simpler than he’d imagined? He wouldn’t know unless he checked it out.

Gia must have been thinking the same thing, because a familiar message appeared in his mind’s eye:

New Quest: Fix the Espresso Maker

Gnome Commandos conquer every environment they’re in, and they always do what needs to be done. So what are you waiting for? Fix the espresso maker and save the Valley View Inn!

Reward: 0.5 Craft.

Accept Quest?

Yes / No

Zack grinned as he accepted the quest. “I thought you couldn’t read minds.”

[It’s the only logical choice,] Gia said.

“Alright.” Zack got to his feet and stretched. “Let’s go save the inn.”

He crept across the apartment, stepped out the door, and headed downstairs. It was well past midnight now, and the common room lay eerily quiet, with the street lights casting long shadows through the windows.

Zack found the espresso maker lodged between the bean grinder and the dwarven press. It was twice the size of the machine upstairs, and it must have weighed over fifty pounds. He flicked on the nearest light, set down his toolbox, and got to work.

While the first machine had a reservoir in the back, this one connected to the inn's water line, and Zack had to close the valve beneath the counter. With that done, he spent the next hour unhooking the machine, opening the panels, and making his way to the boiler.

When had he started calling it a boiler, anyway? Maybe he’d heard Nolan say it once, and Gia’s mana helped him dig up the memory.

Zack took careful notes as he unscrewed the pipes and valves. He never would have attempted this feat a a few hours ago, but his new skill guided his movements and he surged forward.

Finally, he opened the boiler and removed the pyrocrystal from the center.

The crystal itself seemed fine, but the connector was charred and brittle. He nudged it with the tip of his screwdriver, and it all but crumbled to dust.

“That’s it. Just like Master Kord said.” Zack glanced at the sigils etched into the steel boiler. “And I’d bet these measure the water temperature. The whole machine shuts down without heat.”

[Can you use the parts from the other machine?] Gia asked.

“Let’s hope so.” He made his weary way toward the staircase, ignoring the pain from his injured leg. His body yearned for sleep, but he was so close.

The machine upstairs had a smaller pyrocrystal, but the connectors looked identical.

Titans bless those gnomes and their standardized parts.

He unhooked the connector from both ends, then he trudged back downtairs and swapped it with the broken one.

“Come on . . . please work.” Zack fed some mana into the wire, and nothing happened. He reversed the order of the wires and tried again.

This time, the crystal pulsed with a dull red light.

It took another half hour to reassemble the pipes and get the water flowing again. But it was all worth it in the end.

Zack flipped the front switch, and the espresso machine whirred to life as it drew mana from the air. The sweet sound of boiling water reached his ears, followed by a steady hiss as the pressure grew.

A few seconds passed, then the espresso flowed out from the spout, filling his glass mug.