She trailed behind Flint, as they walked through Florin’s night life. People relaxed at restaurants, enjoying the cool night air while the bars were just opening their doors for the night. She overheard two people discussing the rise in tea prices, and even heard women gossiping about so and so.

It was a strange experience for her. To her cities meant packed crowds, littered streets, and vagrants huddling in the alleyways. She saw a city guard in a bright purple vest, he met her eyes, and did something Seras had never seen from any law enforcement, he gave her a smile and let go about her business without any harassment.

“How would you have done it anyway?” Flint asked, breaking her out of her musings.

“Done what?” Seras asked, her attention now on the tall elfin man.

“How would you have ‘blown my head off’, that’s what you said when I approached you.”

“Oh” Seras said. “I couldn’t have, it was an automatic response.”

Flint glanced at her. “Is it something you could have done on your world?”

“Well yeah, my old guns packed enough power to obliterate any chrome doomed punk, to say nothing of a meat bag.”

“Meat bag?” Flint said accusingly.

Seras blinked, and for the first time she realized that the term may have been perceived as offensive. “Ah, sorry. That’s just what we called it back home. I guess I need to find a new way to describe people like you.”

Flint shook his head. “Back on topic, you said these gun things were like bows. I never heard of a normal bow that could explode a persons head.”

“I said they were like bows in the same way a sharpened stick is like a mighty spear. They both launch projectiles, but a gun does that at speeds impossible to watch with normal mark-one eyeballs. And it does so in entirely different ways.”

Flint raised his eyebrows. “How does it work them?”

“We ignite an explosive powder in metal tube, the explosion then pushes a slug out at speeds exceeding a thousand meters per second.”

Flint blinked “Is that right, did the measurements translate right?”

“I hope so, I don’t exactly have a good way of testing that.”

“Then why are you even bothering with the bow or scimitars? Just make one of your gun things.” Flint said with a pointed finger.

“Its not that simple. This world has literally none of the components I would typical use when building a gun. No micro circuitry or superconductors, no transistors, no primer, and no flesh shredding ceramic bullets. And that’s not including the precise machinery I’d need to actually assemble the thing.” Seras said listing things off with her fingers. “No 3d printers, no laser cutters, no diamond hardened drill tips, or rifling jigs.”

“I don’t know what any of that meant-” Flint began.

“Hence my issue.”

“- But I do know that there are a lot of steps between a sharpened stick and a mighty spear. Are you sure there isn’t something less advanced you could try and replicate?” He asked.

Seras paused. She blinked several times. And then her mind began to work at the possibilities. She had been highly experienced in advanced tech-guns, guns that used an absurd amount of circuitry and micro-electronics to enhance every aspect of a gun. From muzzle velocity, to recoil reduction. Smart bullets that could fly around corners and explode when they detect penetration.

But early guns had started off as little more than gunpower in a bamboo canister. How much of her experience could she apply to earlier gun iterations. As she began calling up her data on early guns a pop up appeared in her vision.

Would you like to access blueprint archives through outworlder racial trait ‘Blueprinting software’?

Seras made a mental affirmative, and a new window opened up showing Seras a large catalogue of various machines and weapons she had seen in her life. Seras realized that she had been ignoring a whole aspect of her outworlder abilities. She hadn’t even glanced at it after the first time she noticed her racial traits.

Stolen novel; please report.

But this opened up a whole world of possibilities.

Blueprints for cars, bikes, and guns were all laid out before her. And on top of that there were also a million other blueprints for mundane things like elevators, streetlight, or vending machines. They weren’t complete, not by a long shot. The power seemed to work via her own understanding of these things and how they worked.

“Well?” Flint said, breaking her out of her revelation.

“I… can.” Seras said, stunned by how dumb she had been. “But would a gun even be a good idea against monsters?”

Flint shrugged. “No idea, I only have your descriptions to go off of. But if they don’t then there’s a pretty simple solution.”

“What?”

He raised his eyebrows “Make magic guns.” He said as if it should have been obvious.

Seras frowned “Magic guns.” she deadpanned. “Is that even possible?”

“I’m not a magic craftsman, but we have things like magic swords, bows, and spears. I’m sure you can find some way to make it work.”

Seras was still skeptical.

“Look, its just an idea. Your crap with the sabers, I doubt you’ll find swords, spears, or bows any easier.”

Seras sulked “Dustin said I was improving with the sabers.”

“Of course, he did. What he isn’t sayin is that you’ll never be great with them. You just don’t have the knack for’em.”

~~~*~~~

“-and then she showed me a version of myself if I had used the death essence and gotten the cyborg confluence. That’s about when the panic set in.” Seras said somberly as she finished explaining herself to Dustin.

They were in Dustin’s room back at the Inn, it was just her, Flint, and Dustin. Dallas had been sent out to fetch everyone and let them know that Seras had been found.

Dustin scowled “Now that’s just playin’ dirty. Of course, a version of you that took the death essence would be an abomination, it does that to everyone. Its antithetical to life, it’s an inherent corruption.”

“You don’t think I’m-” Seras began.

“-No.” Dustin interjected. “I don’t fully understand what you are, but I know you aren’t like that.”

Seras let out a breath she didn’t know that she had been holding. “Thanks.”

He didn’t ask any questions after that, and as the crew began to filter in Seras found herself slowly relaxing again. She didn’t know why she was so afraid of seeing the kindness of the caravan crew again, it was something she would need to address later.

For the moment she had more pressing issues. “So Petra. I hear your full name is Petracosta, why am I only hearing this now?” Seras said in a jovial voice as they were gathered around one of the bar tables.

The Leonid woman groaned. “Ugh, did Flint tell you that. Petracosta is such an old lady’s name. Petra is much cooler.”

Seras grinned “Hey I’m an outworlder, I have no sense of what is and isn’t old fashioned. But I think Petracosta is a nova name.”

Garrette, who was leaning his chair back, gave her a quizzical look. “Nova is like, your word for awesome right?”

“Nah” Seras said with a shake of her head. “Nova is for when things are better than awesome.”

“Well, what’s better than Nova?” Chase asked.

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here,” Frank interjected “We need to know what qualifies as awesome, and then what qualifies as better than awesome. Cuz’ there’s a lot of wiggle room in that definition.”

It was pointless dumb banter, but Flint was right about Seras holding everyone at arm’s length.

She had no idea how she would fix her soul/body disconnect. She didn’t know how she was going to get by in this world. She didn’t even know what she wanted to do with her life now. But this was something she could fix, the rest would come with time.

Seras pulled out the potent essence. She had looked up the kinds of abilities it gave and the sorts of confluences it made. Since her tech essence was an unknown to this world that didn’t help her as much as she would have liked. But what she did know was that it gave the user pretty potent powers. And something about that just… resonated with her.

“Whats that?” Petra asked.

“Potent essence, I think its time I finally finish what I’ve started. No more half measures.” Seras said.

Potent Essence, four-star rarity. An essence that grants the user the power of potency.

Would you like to convert into an appropriate form Y/N

Seras selected yes, and the table watched in stunned silence as the essence turned into a glowing crystalline shard bursting with untapped power.

She opened the slot of her neck and slid in the essence.

The potent essence didn’t hurt nearly as much as her tech or Metal essence, whether that was because she already absorbed two essences or something inherent in the potent essence Seras didn’t know.

She felt every motor, synth-tendon, and wire in her body with an acuity that should not have been possible. Moreover she felt them bursting with strength. The power settled into every part and wire of her body.

Potent essence has bonded with the speed attribute.

Your magic matrix has better integrated into your body. Your attunement with your body had increased. Soul/body Attunement at 7.5%. Increase the speed attribute to further improve attunement.

You have awakened the Potent essence ability Limit breaker.

Limit Breaker. 1: 00%

Ignores the innate suppression of rank disparity.

Then three shards emerged from Seras’s chest and spun around her. Then the shards overlapped with each other and a fourth shard emerged. This one was a metallic black with blue circuit like lines glowing with power.

Avatar Essence

Would like to absorb the Avatar essence. Y/N

No turning back now. With this Seras would become a magical being at the iron rank.

She accepted the essence. Instead of slide into her shard port the Avatar essence flew directly into her skull, sliding easily through her forehead. Seras’ head began to tingle pleasantly, and a warm comfortable feeling filled her limbs.

Avatar essence has merged with you Recovery aspect.

Your magic matrix has better integrated into your body. Your attunement with your body had increased. Soul/body Attunement at 10%. Increase the recovery attribute to further improve attunement.

You have gained the Avatar essence ability Bullet control

Allows for the control of fired bullets for a cost of mana, allowing greater aim and slight course correction.

Cost varies

Cool down: None

You have absorbed 4/4 essences and have progressed to iron rank. Advance all essence abilities to bronze rank to reach bronze rank.

Integrating aura sense 15%, 36%, 78% 100%

Aura senses have now been integrated, you can now sense auras.

Seras stood up and looked around the room. She had expected there to be some sort of backlash or need for recovery like when you slotted in new chrome. But Seras didn’t feel that way. She felt powerful. She felt amazing.

She looked up to see the horrified looks of everyone around the table.

“Did she just absorb an essence without a ritual” Chase asked.

“Yup” Frank affirmed.

“And now she-“

“Yup.”

“Everyone get back, take cover!” Petra roared as she scrambled out of her chair.

Everyone followed her lead.

“What are you guys…” Seras trailed off as a new popup appeared.

Advancing body to iron rank, purging toxins.

And then she felt her guts twist and growl.