I sat up from the workbench, wiping my brow and setting aside the soldering iron that I had been using. Next to me, Dana walked up and inspected the weld, giving a satisfactory nod of her head. “Not bad, it looks like you’re getting the hang of this.” She praised, picking up the metal joint that had just been finished.
“I still think it’d be faster to use a spell.” I chuckled with a shake of my head. Given that everyone present had an energy body, we didn’t need certain standard safety equipment like visors. Even so, I was still wearing thick leather gloves to prevent myself from getting burnt.
“Maybe, but you wouldn’t have learned anything like that.” Dana smiled, walking over to the side and placing the part together with the rest of the components that had been crafted thus far. “Look at it this way, now we just have to put everything together, and you’ll have finished your first machine all by yourself.”
She wasn’t kidding when she said that. Every screw, nut, and circuit board was something that I had personally designed or built under her guidance for the last month. While the end result was nothing incredibly fancy, it was an achievement that I felt oddly proud of. “I swear, if we went through all this trouble, and something’s the wrong size…”
Dana let out a light laugh when she heard me grumble. “Oh, that would just be amazing. Let’s find out, shall we?”
I nodded, taking a deep breath and focusing. Red energy swept out from my fingertips, touching each individual component that had been laid out before me. Gradually, these pieces began shaking, before being dragged up into the air. This was an energy that Dana had taught me to produce, something that became critical for high level engineers.
While I couldn’t say that I was particularly high level yet, this energy allowed me to cut down the assembly time. All I had to be able to do was multitask enough to control the individual parts. Thanks to my previous training methods, that was something I was more than capable of.
The machine that I was constructing was a computer, but one in the style of computers made in my old world. In this world, the closest comparison would be the old Desbar systems, before they began integrating magical engineering into their technology. Granted, this computer that I made would not be very powerful, but it was still something that I made.
As the piece fell into place, the newly made joint creating a swinging door to open the case, I felt an odd sense of satisfaction. Even if this had taken me all month to reach this point, I did not feel like the time was in any way wasted. I learned different techniques from Dana, Tsubaki, and even Lifre. I spent time helping around the base that we were constructing, and they taught me anything I needed to know. For the last month, I was able to be just another person spending time with my friends.
Engineer has leveled up!
You have learned the level 50 Engineer ability: Blueprint!
Scholar has leveled up!
You have learned the level 100 Scholar ability: Mental Archive!
I clenched my fists, my smile turning into a full grin when I saw the messages appear in front of me. The ability ‘Mental Archive’ was a system-enhanced memorization ability. Any student growing up in my world would have learned this before graduating from their education, but it had eluded me for so long. This was due to me not having spent enough time descended in and actively learning within my world.
The archive was also the cornerstone of many unique abilities throughout history. There were legendary mages that used it as a spell repository, alchemists that used it to store their formulas, and even warriors who used it to memorize the fighting styles of their opponents. Now that I had access to this ability, I would be able to shape how I wanted to use it as well.
As for the other ability, it was somewhat related. The ‘blueprint’ ability was a system for engineers, allowing them to save blueprints that they created. This blueprint wasn’t saved to their memory, but rather to the system itself. Thus, an engineer could always look through their list of blueprints to re-examine them.
“Take it that means you got it?” Dana asked with a knowing grin. She was aware of what my true levels looked like, so it was easy for her to guess by my expression that I had finally crossed the threshold.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“All thanks to you three.” I nodded my head, reaching down to ruffle her hair. She let out a startled shout, flailing her arms to knock away my hands before we both let out a hearty laugh. “How are the other two?”
Dana calmed herself down with that question, letting out a deep breath. “I think Lifre’s really going to miss having you around. Tsuba’ll be okay, but just remember to come back and visit again when you can.”
I nodded my head again. This was the last day that I planned to stay in the world for now, so the two had gone off to prepare something special both in the game and in reality. Meanwhile, Dana kept me company to help me finish up my final projects and make sure that I didn’t end up spying on them.
“I should be able to be around more often from now on. Maybe not all the time, but it should at least not be decades between visits unless something comes up.” I promised, Dana’s smile growing a touch wider when she heard that.
“I’ll be sure to hold you to that.” She chuckled, looking at the computer. “It’s a shame we couldn’t get to make the shuttle before you left. Still, that’s something to look forward to when you get back.”
After she said that, Dana brought a hand up to cup one ear, a common gesture to indicate that someone was receiving a mana communication. Once she lowered her head, she gave a small nod. “They’ve gotten everything ready now. Before we head over, let’s sync up.”
I gave a small nod, the message clearly having been given in reality as well. Before I even had the chance to reach for the button, I felt the rush of memories from the other side. In reality, Dana was helping me to train my divine abilities, finding new combinations that we could use in the future and testing their effectiveness.
No doubt my ‘self’ in reality would be pleased to have the new levels transferred over. Still, neither side of ‘me’ knew what Tsubaki and Lifre were up to, as they had been quite tightlipped about their plans.
With the knowledge that they were finally done, I left the workshop where I had been staying to finish my training. Looking around, I saw no trace of the missing girls. “Where are we going, then?”
Dana simply grinned, holding her hand out to me. “It’ll be faster to teleport there.” She said, to which I nodded and placed my hand in hers. In an instant, darkness enveloped us both, and we were transported to another part of the world. When we appeared, I saw that we were standing in the shadow of a great mountain.
However, when I turned to face this mountain, I was left dumbstruck. The ‘mountain’ behind me was a massive tree, a pine tree specifically. Though, it was one that stood over a kilometer tall, higher than any natural tree that had existed in my world. Additionally, the tree was decorated with countless spherical bubbles, each of which contained an image.
In some of these images, I was sitting around with the others and watching a show or movie, in others we were having a meal. Some we could all be seen playing games, and others we were working. Some of them were from reality, and some were from the game. No two spheres held the same image, and there were rows of lights connecting them.
When I stepped back further, I saw that there were four large figures at the top of the tree, standing around its highest point. It was easy to recognize these figures as myself, Dana, Tsubaki, and Lifre.
“It might not be Sheawynn, but Aurivy let us know that this was a tradition where you came from.” Dana spoke from the side, and I glanced over to see Tsubaki and Lifre standing with her. That’s right, the spheres were simply giant ornaments, and this was a Christmas tree…
The higher up I looked in the tree, the more recent the memories. At the base… I wasn’t even in some of them. For instance, there was the scene where I first met Tsubaki as the representative of the beastkin, and near that same ornament was the scene where Tsubaki met Dana.
“Don’t get worked up yet, boss. This is just the start.” Dana promised with a grin. “You just had to pick a month to descend where we don’t have any major holidays, so we had to go asking Aurivy about all the big ones from your old world. We’ve got a big day planned for you, mister. On both sides of the digital sea.”
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I looked out at the massive Christmas tree, adorned with all of our shared memories. Tsubaki and Lifre had created this on an isolated world they had discovered during some planar travel research. It was obvious that Lifre used the tome I gave her to create the tree itself, while Tsubaki decorated it.
“Big plans?” I asked curiously, looking towards Dana, who nodded her head.
“That’s right! We might not be able to exchange presents, but we can have a big feast, and spend all day watching movies.” I could tell that she was particularly excited about that last part. Most likely, I would be playing different types of games with everyone instead.
Listening to their plans, I simply gave a chuckle, more than happy to agree to it. From the faint scent lingering on Tsubaki, I knew that she had likely spent all day preparing the food. “Well, let’s get to it then.”
As soon as I said that, Dana’s shadow extended into a portal, through which numerous dark figures appeared. They carried tables and chairs, some with plates and bowls filled with food. Turkey, ham, casseroles… how many recipes did Tsubaki learn for this
I couldn’t help but be amazed at the effort put into this celebration. Most of these recipes likely didn’t exist in this world, and Tsubaki would have had to find replacements for major ingredients, working with Aurivy to reproduce things as accurately as possible. Still, the fragrance was definitely a holiday feast, and I found myself moving towards the table almost automatically once it was all set up.
“Well, then there’s just one last thing to do.” Lifre spoke up with a playful grin, the other three all looking at each other with knowing smiles. They clasped their hands together over their chests, and turned their heads to look directly at me.
“Thank you for all the time you’ve spent with us.” They said in unison, causing me to blink before they finished with… “Amen.” It was only then that I realized that they were ‘saying grace’. A sudden laugh escaped me, and I held my stomach while shaking my head. It was… not incorrect the way they did it, but it was definitely not quite the same.
Still, this was the first true ‘Christmas’ that I had celebrated since becoming a Keeper. Spending it like this… didn’t feel bad at all.