Shadara’s back hit the stone wall behind her. The panther woman held her arms up as her jaw flapped soundlessly.

I held up my hand. “Yes, that’s a lot, and I can explain. But I’d rather do it after we leave, away from here.” My eyes trailed onto the sphinx with a suddenly very hungry look in his eye. “Far away from here.”

“Forty thousand?” Words finally found their way through Shadara’s mind. “Can’t you use the same magic from before? What do shards have to do with any of that?”

I took a small step towards her. “Like I said, I’ll explain later. It’s just that there is a cost, and that cost is shards. My arms are the problem. I should be able to make it if I do this and use your magic.”

The beast woman turned her head to the sphinx that was watching me, his tail wagging. “Do you really think this will work? Our lives depend on it. There are no more second chances.”

Orange, why was it that when Shadara used her magic on me, I was able to see for the first time that my arms were unbalancing me?

The quickness attribute also helps determine the host’s mental acuity. Since her magic increased your quickness attribute by 207%, the host could identify such problems.

Two things. One, I thought we agreed no more calling me “the host.” And also, why didn’t you just tell me that was the problem to begin with? Also, while we’re at it, will upgrading my arms work at balancing me out?

We can only make suggestions based on your senses. And while we could have hypothesized such an outcome, such uncertain recommendations are not always for your benefit. The beast woman’s magic expedited the training we suggested you work up to, and we suggest that you still strive to reach that level so as to not rely on another.

I see what you mean by not relying on others. But I’m not losing another friend. However, you seem to know more about certain things, yet not at the same time. One of these days, we’ll need to figure out what exactly you know and what you need me for. But if this doesn’t work, what chance do we have of surviving the sphinx?

None. You will both be eaten. There is too much mana exuding from the creature.

Good to know. I turned to Shadara, who had stepped away from the wall. “Yes, it will work. Unless you have another idea. Do you?”

Shadara frowned. “You got me there. I’m guessing that sword arm of yours isn’t strong enough to cut the bars, is it? What about your gun?”

I pulled it out and turned it over in my hands. It does punch through a lot. It can punch a hole through my metal skin, and those bars are tougher than my arm blade. Orange?

Insufficient information.

“How many shots is an attempt?” I asked the sphinx.

With an even wider smile, he replied, “One.”

I put the gun away. “As powerful as the gun has proven itself, I don’t know if I can trust my life with it in this situation.” I walked past the sphinx and gave Shadara a quick nod towards said sphinx. “Upgrading my arms feels like the best shot we have.”

“But I saw how painful it was when you did that thing to your legs. Will it be just as painful?” Shadara held a closed fist to her chest.

I bit my bottom lip before sighing. “Yeah, it will. Thanks for reminding me.” Not that I’d forgotten. Each time has been rather unpleasantly painful. “Allow me to do this, and I will get us out. Trust me.”

Shadara’s eyes darted around. “I wish I had another idea. This seems too much like it won’t work. Why are you so determined to alter yourself?”

“Because I don’t see another option.” I held a hand out to the gate and then to the sphinx. “Since we can’t leave, our options are limited. Fighting our way out is out of the question, and going through another augmentation isn’t all that appealing for me either.”

“Rina, forty thousand shards for an upgrade... That’s a colossal amount. I need more than ‘I’ll explain later.’ This feels too big to leave unaddressed.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “What cost are we talking about? What exactly will this upgrade do?”

The sphinx rolled his eyes. “I don’t have all day. Either you take your chance soon or I will consider you forfeiting your attempt.”

“My arms are throwing off my balance, and this is the fastest thing I can do.” I hold out my hand. “It’s now or never.”

Shadara closed her eyes and clenched her fist as she held her breath. Slowly, she unfurled her fingers, revealing the small yellow crystal of a collection of shards. “This is against my better judgment.” She placed it in my hand. “I wish there was someone like Igzad here. He seemed intelligent and would likely have a better answer.” She grabbed my wrist without releasing the shards. “But if you say this is our bet, I find it hard to believe. If you’re willing to stake your life on it, then I will too.”

I looked her in the eye and nodded. She released my hand and took a step back. I took the crystal and pushed it into my chest. A slight warmth spread through me, and I saw the notification that I had received forty thousand shards. Orange?

Synthetic Tendons (arms) Level 1 Upgrade available: Cost: 21,960 shards. Synthetic Muscles (arms) Level 1 Upgrade available: Cost: 29,790 shards. Purchase?

Yes No

Yes.

A searing pain surged through me as the nanites within my arms broke down everything on the cellular level. The agony was familiar, the burning sensation spreading from my shoulders outwards as the augmentation process began. Shadara stood in front of me, tears in her eyes. She clenched her fists at her sides, silently witnessing my agony.

“This better not take too long.” The impatience in the sphinx’s voice reverberated through the chamber.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

I gritted my teeth because I knew too well what was coming. My arms were already looking weaker, and the metal skin drooped.

Synthetic muscle level 1 (arms) upgrade requires secondary input. Which specialization would the host decide? Speed? Strength? Durability? Flexibility? Control? Balanced?

The same as my legs, speed. And do whatever you have to do to speed this up. I don’t care about the pain.

Safety limits temporarily revoked. We suggest you sit down and not open your mouth.

A level of pain burned through as the twisting new muscles were constructed. It felt like they were scraping against the bones. Then the burning sensation flowed through my bones as I lost all control of my arms. They flopped to my sides as I fell to my knees.

I clenched my jaw as I groaned while tears poured from my eyes. The pain felt deeper, and it didn’t stop at my arms. It slowly encroached on my torso, constricting my lungs slightly. But I watched as the metal skin bubbled back to normal again as I felt the muscles completing their reconstruction.

I noticed both my energy and mana levels dropped more than when I upgraded my legs. And as the pain died down to a dull ache, I let out a choked sob.

Shadara kneeled next to me and wrapped her arms around me. “Is the pain worth it?”

Feeling the responsiveness in my arms, I gingerly hugged her back. “It has to be.”

She helped me to my feet, and I carefully and slowly tested the range of motion of my arms. They moved far too easily. But it wasn’t as bad when I altered my legs. I wasn’t flailing my arms with even the slightest command. Learning how to control my legs definitely helped here, giving me plenty of practice for this.

The sphinx glared at me as he leaned his face inches from mine. “Times up.”

A deep, rumbling growl was all the motivation I needed to turn and run towards the gate. Shadara’s hand brushed my side as I spun around, and I felt the world slow down.

I propelled myself towards the gateway. My arms moved instinctively, the upgraded tendons responding differently to my commands. As I sprinted, I could sense the subtle change—a newfound balance in my movements. As my arms pumped hard, I could feel my torso jerking with the force of each command as my legs churned one step at a time. My arms and legs moved in perfect sync.

The gate threatened to close. It lowered itself, but I could see that I was going to make it. I heard the grinding of claws behind me, but I didn’t look back. My eyes stayed locked on the goal. A goal that was slowly closing. The door was barely a foot open as I dove to catch it. Behind me, I also heard the sounds of something jumping.

As I slid to a stop, a metallic clang echoed through my ears as I felt the vibrations through my arms. The gate stopped, held open from closure by my forearm. The surrounding dirt kicked up as the sphinx landed over top of me.

I rolled over to see the open maw of the sphinx reaching for my neck. Reflexively, I punched at him with my other arm. The attack hit him square in the nose. He stumbled back and snorted, not out of pain but more out of discomfort.

“I passed,” I said, panting. “You’ll let us go.”

The sphinx shook his head, and his wings spread wide. “You merely stopped the gate. That is not a success.”

Shadara ran towards us. “No. You said the goal is to reach the other side.” She points to my hand. “Her hand is on the other side. Your instructions never specified how much of a person made it to the other side.”

The sphinx snapped his head and reared towards Shadara. She slid to a stop and held up her arms. But the sphinx didn’t do anything. He just glared at her for a minute. I tried to pull my arm out to help her, but the gate caught my wrist and bent it, pinning me. My arm blade was the only thing keeping my arm from snapping. But it also kept me from rotating my arm to slip out of the gate.

The sphinx folded his wings behind him and walked past my friend. “Get out of my sight.”

The disbelief on Shadara’s face mirrored my own. He’s letting us go? I panted, still pinned, but let the relief flood through me as the realization of success sank in. I stopped the gate. Thank goodness it was enough.

Shadara then saw my hand and sprinted over. She reached under the gate and lifted it over her head easily. Freed, I stepped on the other side of the gate. For a brief moment, a thought bubbled through my brain as time stood still.

Should she follow me? If I shove her, I might knock her back, leaving her on this floor, safely away from me. I know I don’t want to lose another friend, especially since I’ve only just met her.

I looked at her waist. One kick. It would be so easy. It would be for her own good, for her own safety.

A hollowness filled my body as I stepped in front of her. Her eyes went wide. I reached out a hand and grabbed her to pull her towards me. I pulled her in for a hug, holding on to her as tight as possible. The gate slammed shut with a loud bang.

If I did that, I would never forgive myself. I would be no better than Bark. She stays with me.

“I won’t leave you behind,” I whispered to her.

Shadara, surprised by my action, smiled and hugged me back. “Thank you.” She started purring.

We turned to look at the gateway, which then pulsed to life. An audible hum came from the stone archway that only got louder the closer we got to it.

A step away from the threshold, Shadara clasped my shoulder. “Rina, are you gonna explain what happened back there? And what exactly did you need forty thousand shards for?”

I licked my lips and rolled my head back. “What do you know about microscopic robots?”

“Huh?”

I turned to see the dumbfounded look on her face. A smile spread across my lips as I grabbed her hand. Without a word, I pulled her with me up to the fourth level of the Soul Nexus.

I don’t know what hellish nightmares await me on the fourth floor. But I am not alone. Not anymore. We will face whatever we have to together.

Name: Rina Lone Augments: Level: 22 Cellular Regeneration Agility: 220 Synthetic eyes: lvl. 2 Arcane: 150 HUD Power: 65 Epidermal plating (arms) lvl. 1 Quickness: 405 Epidermal plating (hands) lvl. 1 Resilience: 125 Arm blade (right) Toughness: 145 Synthetic tendons (legs) lvl. 1 Unassigned Points: 0 Synthetic muscle (legs) lvl. 1 Shards: 9337 Synthetic tendons (arms) lvl. 1 Synthetic muscle (arms) lvl. 1

Synthetic tendons (arms) level 1:

The host’s arm tendons have been replaced by a titanium-niobium alloy. The response time for actions in the host’s arms and hands has been significantly reduced. The host will also find a substantial increase in dynamic actions, such as punching or swinging. Attacks made with arms will receive additional scaling based on their quickness attribute.

Stat bonus: +10 agility.

Synthetic tendons (arms) level 2 available: 43,920 shards

Insufficient funds.

Synthetic muscle (arms) level 1:

The host’s arm muscles have been replaced with coiled metallic nanofibers. The host has chosen the speed specialization. The synthetic muscles now respond to electrical signals more efficiently, granting the host heightened control over their arm movements. The nanofibers are extremely conductive and will malfunction if exposed to excessive amounts of direct current.

Stat bonus: +20 quickness.

Synthetic muscle (legs) level 2 available: 59,580 shards

Insufficient funds.