"Were your brain replaced by a monkey?" Travis hisses, "Does that look like a Philip screw?"

Even as an undead, I could feel my blood pressure rising by the minute.

"BBBlllaarree!" The shrieking monster continues to blare. "BBBlllaarree!"

The Vutezal screaming its heads off certainly isn't helping the situation.

"Is this not what you're asking for?" I hold up the screwdriver. "They all looked the same to me."

"You need your eyes checked then," Travis holds up a different screw. "This is what it's supposed to look like."

Travis lays all the screwdrivers next to each other on the wooden stump.

"This is a slotted screw," Travis points to one of them. "Next is Philips, Pozidriv, Hex, and Torx. Do you see the difference now?"

Narrowing my eyes, I scrutinize the screwdrivers, examining each detail before turning towards Travis.

"Well, one of the screwdriver handles is blue, the other is red, and..."

"No," I groan, feeling the tentacles send a wave of facepalm over our bond. "The only thing I'm getting is a headache from my brain overheating and annoying tentacles bothering me."

Travis fixes me with a deadpan expression and crosses his arms.

"What are you even building anyway?" I ask, avoiding his eyes.

"A weapon, obviously," he answers, turning to his work. "It's supposed to be a bracelet that can turn into a blade with a button."

I raise an eyebrow, tilting my head to the side, and let my eyes wander. On the wooden stump lies a jumble of connected, mismatched parts.

"Right," I say. "I see."

Travis briefly flares out the hood on either side of his head.

"Okay, so it might not look like much now," he gestures to the pile of parts, "but it will get better."

Just then, a part falls off the lump of metal.

'Pik!'

It hit the stump, rolling near the edge. Disbelief and astonishment emanate from the tentacles.

"Eventually," Travis adds with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, then," I say, "Are you planning on enhancing the weapon? Like making the blade sharper?"

His work is impressive, but it's nothing groundbreaking. Maybe it would be better to buy a pre-made one considering how cheap they are... Ugh, I sound like Jack just now.

"Jack! We do not need more toilet paper!" Trevor grabs Jack's waist, trying to drag him away. "Our apartment is already filled with them!"

"It's on sale!" Jack remarks. "If we buy them now, we will save money! Or we could repurpose them to sell at a market!"

Liam stands beside them, observing from the sideline, rolling his broad shoulders.

"For once, I think Jack has a point," Lana says thoughtfully, flashing an evil grin. "I could think of a few relatives to gift them to."

"I don't think I could argue with that," Kim says with a kind smile, barely concealing a laugh.

"Not helping, Lana!" Trevor lectures. "And Kim, I thought you were on my side!" He turns toward me with a pleading look. "Beatrice, please, you're the only one I can count on. Help me—"

A tentacle pokes at me through the bond, while another taps me on the shoulder. I blink and rub the bridge of my nose. A pit forms in my stomach, accompanied by a burning sensation where my heart should be.

I need to stop dwelling on memories. They only bring pangs of sadness and grief.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Of course," Travis huffed, his voice tinged with offense. "I'm not about to build something just to have it be another copy among thousands of the same model. I'm adding a feature where the knife's damage is doubled, based on the user's asura." He deflated, rubbing a hand under his chin. "I just need to figure out how to do it."

How promising.

"Can I hold it for a moment?" I ask. "I want to examine something."

Several tentacles groan in protest at my words. The corner of my eye twitches, and I shove them out of the bond.

"Sure," Travis scoffs, handing me the contraption. "I didn't build it to break apart at the lightest touch."

As I turn it around, Travis's eyes flicker anxiously with my every movement. He tenses when I press hard on a joint.

Travis sure is bad at pretending he doesn't care, considering how hard he's trying

As gently as possible, I prod and move aside some parts. Wires protrude from several places, occasionally intertwining with each other. On a few plastic capsules, there are poorly written inscriptions.

Many of these asura seals are advanced in design but poorly constructed. Their only apparent function seems to be storing asura, nothing more.

"It's been a while since I've seen one, but are these Asura seals?" I asked, holding the device close to Travis's face and pointing at one of the inscriptions.

"Yes," Travis replied, "They're a bit shoddy since I don't have much experience with making them."

"In that case, I don't think it will be wise to use them," I hand Travis the contraption. "The ones you used can only use the asura store to boost its damage. It would require the wearer to charge it first before using it. The amount of asura needed is also quite costly."

Travis frowns as he takes the device, turning it over between his hands.

Not everyone can spare Asura for charging up a weapon. Dangers can lurk everywhere, depending on your location.

"There is also another problem I spotted," I continue, "While advanced asura seals can be useful, they can cause problems if you have no idea what you're doing." I point to one of the capsules, "The inscriptions you used make it impossible for the asura to flow into the blade. The device might also explode if the amount of asura or the asura potent sends is too much."

Travis frowns even harder, slightly flaring out his hood.

Oh shoot, was that too much? I've become so comfortable that I forget he's a cobra—those creatures are quite prideful. Criticizing a project he's invested in might have actually angered him. This was meant to be a distraction, not something that got me killed!

"What do you suggest?" he asked, tweaking a few parts of the device. "Not that I need it. I can still figure it out with or without your help. It's just helpful to hear other opinions."

Blinking my eyes several times, I scan his face. Travis only flicks his tongue and deflates his hood.

It seems like he's not too upset about me criticizing his work. Would it be safer to continue, or should I stop?

"Well," I glance at the device, "I suggest you get rid of the capsules."

They are also useless due to their small size, and there are other ways to achieve what Travis wants.

"You might want to use some kind of absorbers," I suggest. "Have the device focus more on weaving the asura into a basic foundation along the blade, and then proceed from there."

Shrugging my shoulders, I stand up and stretch.

"Sometimes the easiest way to control asura and achieve what you want is to establish a basic foundation," I say, rubbing my shoulder. "This holds for many asura users as well."

Travis eyes the device in his hands before placing it on the stump.

"You seem to be very knowledgeable in this kind of stuff," Travis states, staring me down. "Do you by any chance know how to do asura seals?"

"No, I only understand how asura works," I wave at him dismissively. "It's mostly basic stuff."

I can still smell the pages of books I spent my days poring over when I was younger. Life at the academy in Crystal City might have been harsh, but at least I had the chance to read to my heart's content.

"Well, you clearly know more than most," Travis stands up and regards me thoughtfully. "You spoke more from experience rather than reciting something from books."

"Wow, you seem to know so much about asura!" Trevor gushes, poking his head over my shoulder. "Can you help me? Some of my teammates are having trouble controlling theirs."

'Klik!'

"Oi, Beatrice!" Travis snaps his fingers near my face, interrupting my thoughts. "Jeez, where did your mind go? It's only been a few minutes."

"Sorry," I apologize, looking to the side. "Just reminiscing."

I thought distracting myself with Travis's project would keep my mind from wandering.

"Ahh, I guess you didn't hear what I just said," Travis mutters, "I want to ask if you want to work with me on this and future projects."

"Hey, Beatrice, thanks for the help! We couldn't have done it without you!" Trevor smiles as he walks beside me. "I see that you haven't got a main team yet. What do you say about joining—"

"Thank you for the offer, I'll have to think about it," I say, starting to walk away. "I have a lot of things going on in life right now."

'Brrzz!'

Pausing in my steps, I swivel my head back. The flaps of the tent next to Travis open, revealing a tall, bluish lizard that crawls out and stands upright.

"Travis?" The lizard asks, covering up a yawn. "Are you staying up late again?"

"Everything's fine, Iss," Travis reassures, pushing the lizard toward the tent. "Don't worry about it; just go back to sleep. I'm about to finish up, anyway."

Iss glances up at me and rubs his eyes furiously.

"Who is that?" Iss asks. "I don't think I've seen her before."

"She's just a friend," Travis insists. "I just need her help with something."

Travis turns toward me, mouthing something silently.

What is he saying?

One of the tentacles slips past my guard and into my side of the bond, promptly poking me with a 'get moving'.

"I have to go now," I say, slightly lowering my head. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Iss."

With that, I hastily make my escape.