Crawling over the heap of mining robot gave Tapper pause. If he could access emergency protocols on the vehicle, could he do the same thing with Drillbert without starting up its 'Mine Tapper to Death' program? It was a massive risk, assuming he could even find the port, but the two complete pairs of legs lay there unused filled Tapper with envy. So why not just borrow one? If the miners wanted their property back, he would gladly return the units and pay them market rate for the rental.
That was all the justification he needed and a green wireframe vector suddenly highlighted the robot's body, the same way it would appear for plants and bugs. Only instead of feeding him information on how to use this robot in potions, Tapper instead felt the expectant energy of something waiting for an answer. And the question asked by no one, without words, was whether he wanted to claim the loot?
Because he touched it. Tapper was suddenly innately aware that being the first to reach a slain enemy allowed him to lay a claim, collecting everything from their money to their gear and possessions. With the proper training an adventurer could even harvest the corpse itself for quality trade goods and magical reagents, and right away Tapper also knew that he lacked those skills for this particular corpse. That felt normal, and casually accepted by Tapper with the same ease as everything else downloaded from the strange information library.
For a moment Tapper paused to ponder why this split existed between the system and the information library. The former acted like an external program and required manual reading, but Tapper could usually call up those messages for reading whenever he wanted. The information library was the polar opposite, illegible and uncontrollable but downloaded directly to his long-term memory.
With a shrug he thought in the affirmative to the looting question and the body flashed a strange yellow color. It started to disassemble itself, joints and connectors popping loose in rapid succession, even the welding job merging the two pelvic units together tore apart with a distressingly loud shearing sound. When it ended a pile of individual robotic limbs lay where was once a robot, much easier than trying to work out the manual releases by himself!
Now, the only thing stopping Tapper from dragging a pelvic unit over and slotting it in place was… himself. A warning message blared that it was a violation of the terms of service for a robot to modify itself without permission from a proprietor, freezing the robot's arms in place. I am not modifying myself. This is a temporary repair that does not alter my function and will allow me to fulfill the orders of my proprietors. Tapper sent the silent command into his own processor, not sure of where to direct it but hoping that his mundane internal systems would respond the same way the strange pop ups did. He could sense the command bounce off a logic gate that likely came from the terms of service so he said it out loud, like a proper command given to him. "I am not modifying myself. This is a temporary repair that does not alter my function and will allow me to fulfill the orders of my proprietors. The squeaky mouse gets the wheel!" The mental pressure lifted and granted Tapper the freedom to align the pelvis to its new, definitely temporary, home.
It wasn't a compatible fit. Of course it wasn't, his line of bartending robots never came with actual legs, how could he have been so oblivious? A feeling of anguish bubbled up and threatened to overwhelm Tapper, all these false starts and setbacks were not the sort of challenges that his model was equipped to endure. One hand subconsciously drifted upwards to his other shoulder and grasped the plastic bag tied there, toying with it and letting the white noise of soft crinkles soothe his nerves. It also held a bottle of regeneration potion that by some miracle had survived the fight, but the important thing was the bag. He always kept it on hand, and it never failed to center these burdensome emotions when they threatened to spill out of control.
The tide of emotions broke and receded, allowing Tapper to notice something. It was faint enough to initially overlook while his emotions sucked up all the processing power, but on the very edge of his sensor readings a new fork of incoming data appeared and vanished when his body shifted. Wiggling a bit more showed multiple different data inputs similarly blink in and out, all of them originating from his exposed pelvic attachment slot.
The legs! He could feel the legs! It was just the physical latches that weren't compatible, so while he could interface he just couldn't hold a stable connection. Rifling around the cabin for options, Tapper found a first aid kit under the dashboard that contained a few medications, all long expired, and a small roll of all-purpose tape. It was not very aesthetically pleasing, but by the time he had used the entire roll the legs were definitely technically attached to his torso. Now came the real challenge of actually making and maintaining the data connections.
The fact that Tapper could even conceive of this idea showed just how far he had evolved from a mundane robot, but he would never dare to admit it. The only way any machine was ever designed to interface with other incompatible machines was through the Universal Service Port, and that was to be under the strict supervision of their proprietors or a licensed technician. But the crystalline wires that ran through his body were compatible with a USP at any point as per regulations, so the wires themselves should always be compatible with each other.
He couldn't control the port-seeking process directly, but with enough concentration he could fool the sensors into thinking that a USP was waiting right below his torso. The wires automatically split apart at the closest point and snaked themselves out of any gaps to find the port, the ultrafine wires giving his underside a fuzzy blue glow. All it felt like to Tapper was a general numbness and if no port was found the wires would reconnect themselves just fine, so he pressed the pelvic unit into place and switched focus from the processor to the nebulous energy in his chest. The energy welled just like when he was getting ready to cast a spell, but instead he took the point of energy and pushed it into the legs. It took far more effort than doing the same through a proper universal port, but a single point of incoming data appeared within his perception and held steady.
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Okay, he could do this. Basically just splitting the current plan, putting 3 points of mana into both the legs and the vehicle per rest cycle and seeing what reacts first. The patient pop up started to flash back and forth between opaque and transparent and Tapper mentally sighed. He tried to run a word search as the tried-and-true method to dealing with pop ups, but this time there was absolutely nothing that had anything to do with bartending, drinks, or hospitality. Then it stopped blinking and stared at Tapper until he had to calm down with the bag.
To quote Proprietor Phanya, change to the change. Power up an ancient machine and hope it helps him, illegally connect to an unknown limb, and make the first true decision of his life without any context by manually reading the options like an organic.
He could do this.
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[ARMAMENTS]
[The strongest knights in the shiniest armor are both the pride of the kingdom and invaluable members of the front line. Armament heroes focus on the tools of their trade above all else, opening up new uses for their gear both in and out of combat. They are the only class to start as a novice in all weapon and armor levels and have unique ways to specialize, including knowledge in keeping everything in tip-top shape. Take pride in leading the charge atop your noble steed, tally-ho!]
[BODY MASTERY]
[Never worry about tools breaking by focusing on the one tool that truly matters. Raging barbarians and stoic monks alike all know the importance of sculpting flesh into magic, using their mana to push their bodies past any mortal limitations. Specialize into either avoiding all damage with the grace of the flowing river or standing firm and letting enemies dash themselves against you with the might of a mountain. Either way, these heroes are only at their peak without any weapons or armor getting in their way.]
[INDOMITABLE]
[All immovable objects will crumble under the unstoppable force. These heroes know how to tap into a primal energy that allows them to both dish out and absorb impossible amounts of damage, sometimes falling into such a deep trance that they temporarily become something monstrous. This can be a zen-like state or pure frothing fury, but when a goal is selected it is pursued beyond the edge of the world.]
[COMMANDER]
[All the training and all the toys in the world can't help you without a little grit and gristle, m'boy! Sliding down rails in a swordfight, bouncing arrows off walls, tripping up a thug before they blink, those are all tricks that come with experience. And directing your people, knowing who's got your back and who needs your help most, are tactics you won't learn just working on yourself. If the people need to look towards someone when the siege walls come down, it's going to be you.]
[THIEVERY]
[With barely a whisper in the night, the thief has entered the noble's bedchambers and left with the prize jewels in their pocket. The only guard that was unlucky enough to notice received a blackjack upside the head for his troubles. Thieves are masters of subterfuge, stealing away into the night to deliver deadly blows from the shadows with the grace of a falling leaf. Or learn the secrets of blending in with a crowd, disarming any would-be pursuers with your wits. No matter what, no lock or pocket will be safe.]
[BARDISM]
[A cocky smirk and the right tone of voice can move mountains, and when that isn't enough bards know just the right frequency that can shatter eardrums. Bards have their own kind of magic, playing music so well they can enchant friends and blow away enemies, but they aren't limited the way actual spellcasters are. They are the heroes that can decipher ancient tomes and talk down dragons, or be so enchanting that the elements of sound and light bend to their whim.]
[FAMILIAR]
[Any adventurer's best friend will be their pet, but some heroes take that connection to a spiritual level and can work in tandem to an uncanny degree. A familiar is a secondary character that straddles the line of full sapience, acting on its own and understanding complex commands from their partner. This is the difference between a soldier that rides a horse and a knight with their beloved stallion, or the difference between a ranger that likes cats and a ranger that has a standing contract with an astral jaguar.]
[SURVIVAL]
[The resolute tracker, the shifty cutpurse, and the dashing archaeologist all share one piece of vital knowledge: life is tenuous, and the best defense is constant vigilance. These heroes excel at all things traps, both setting and disarming traps in the untamed wilds or the urban sprawl, and stalking their prey with no way to escape. Extra skills and extra luck both ensure that these heroes always have a Plan B—even if they have to make it up along the way.]
[FULL SPELLCASTING]
[Embrace the Weave and fully give your soul to the aether, strengthening your spellcaster class and closing off other paths toward strength. You will lose out on most feats that improve your physical body, but your capacity to cast spells will be unmatched.]
And, that was it. Tapper tried to read all nine options, forgot what the first ones were by the time he finished, read them again, and entered a sleep cycle. After a second round didn't improve his memory, he decided to only read one entry over and over, only entering a sleep cycle once it was fully written to his memory before moving onto the next option. In all he used 20 sleep cycles for a total of 82 hours, but Tapper couldn't rush the process. He had no choice, the fuel tank of the vehicle seemed endless and when the legs stopped accepting mana he couldn't even test them without unplugging himself from the port. So he read the ten options again and — wait.