“Very unlikely is not the same as impossible. Language matters.” — Haqqani Arbitrage, Liability Intake Guidelines
The spinning had mostly stopped by the time I reached the stairs, which was the only reason I trusted my legs to climb them.
Comma never looked up from her feed.
As far as she knew, her brother had loomed over a bowl of softening cereal for a minute and then wandered off to be quietly strange somewhere else, and on most mornings that sat well inside her expectations of him. I let her keep that version of the morning and took the rest of it upstairs.
I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled the status into the air where only I could read it.
[A-Tier Attribute Subsystem (universe) — Initialized][Attribute Subsystem: Trine Concord — built for the Vesh’tri (trilateral; three of most things)][Error! Subsystem not compatible with species: Human][Calibrating... bilateral plan detected. Two of several load-bearing organs.]
[CARAPACE] (The part that moves things and gets hit — note: no carapace found, improvising)Wallop (Strength): 0/2Scuttle (Agility): 0/2Stubbornness (Endurance): 0/2
[THE CHORUS] (the thinking organ — note: danger, you have only one)Snap (Intelligence): 0/2Lock (Wisdom): 0/2Churn (Focus): 0/2
[Mana subsystem at the same level found (universe rating: A)! Merging attributes...][Error! Subsystem not compatible with Trine Concord — six mana attributes detected.][Error! Rule of three applies in the Trine Concord. Merging redundant inputs...]
[ICHOR] (the wet part)Stuff (Quality + Density): 2/4Steering (Control + Resonance): 2/4Stamina (Efficiency + Regeneration): 4/4
I read it twice.
A whole subsystem built for a species I’d never heard of, machine-translated down to fit a human who hadn’t applied for the position, every line labeled like the manual had been written for a slow child. The System had reviewed a clean corporate sabotage run by a tinkerer who’d set a Fortune 15 farm on fire from the inside and…
…had landed on Wallop as the official word for my strength. Carapace. Scuttle. The thing had looked at me and reached, first, for a bug.
My mana used to have six attributes. Now there were three, each of them wearing two of the old names stitched together. “Hey,” I said to the empty room, because there was no one around to catch me talking to my own soul. “Will I get turned into that… Vesh’tri?”
[Very unlikely]
I didn’t love that the most reassuring word in the sentence was the one doing the least work.
“Okay.” My eyes went back to CARAPACE, to the bug of it all. “And will I grow some… organ?”
[Unlikely]
I sat up straight. “Wait. Not very?”
The reply ran longer than the System usually bothered with, hanging in the air half a second before it finished scrolling.
[The System affects the soul. The soul affects the body. The soul is formless. Should it come to believe it is not human, the body will accommodate.]
I resolved, on the spot, and with feeling, to keep believing I was human. It struck me as the responsible position to hold. “So.” I steered us back toward ground that didn’t make my skin try to leave. “Is it because I killed a lot of bugs?”
[A-Tier Attribute Stone is randomly allocated.]
“Yeah, nothing is truly random. And what about my magic? My mana attributes got merged.”
[Correct. A better allocation of power was detected and applied.]
“But now I only get three.”
[No attributes were lost.]
“You’re very talkative today,” I said.
The System said nothing. “Um, so, now I have access to the full System?”
Silence.
“Can you talk?”
Nothing. Whatever had loosened its tongue closed back over it, and the box went mute and clinical. So I pulled my full system.
[Standard System][Personal Trait: Hoqalo][Level][Class] [LOCKED: Level 5 required][Attributes][Skills][Magic][Quests][Plugins]
[- Weekly report pending -][- Skill selection pending -]
“That stupid report again… Fine.”
-= Weeks since last report: 1 =-
[Plugins]Weekly pp allotment: 2.2ppWeekly pp used: 0.3ppNet gain: 1.9pp
“And for the skill…” I bit my cheek. “Every one of them is so underwhelming I just want to pick one and be done with it. System, I can’t take it back, right?”
[System shop locked]
I grinned at my wall. “Thanks for talking! Can you now define pp?”
Nothing. “Ugh, fine. I pick Mark the Drift.”
[System messages blocked]
“System stop trolling!” I channeled my inner Comma, being angry at it. It didn’t react. “Okay, I will click on every tab now! I haven’t gone through the entire System it in a while.”
The System kept silent.
[Personal Trait: Hoqalo]Description: Since the first sparks of the System, there have been those gifted not just with skill in battle, but with brilliance in creation. Hoqalo is the mark of such artisans, visionaries who forge weapons and tools infused with their very essence. Anything crafted by your hand may carry a power beyond the reach of others, but bound to your soul alone. To wield Hoqalo is to fight not only with strength, but with invention itself.
[Level]Level progress: 11% [SELECTED]Level: 2
“At least not level 1 anymore.”
[Attributes]Level progress: 0% [NOT SELECTED]LP: 0
CARAPACEWallop: 0/2Scuttle: 0/2Stubbornness: 0/2
THE CHORUSSnap: 0/2Lock: 0/2Churn: 0/2
ICHORStuff: 2/4Steering: 2/4Stamina: 4/4
[Skills]
Hoqalo: Soulwright’s EngravingRarity: — (Trait-based)
Description: After completing the creation of an object, you may bind it to your very essence, engraving your soul into its existence. The object becomes permanently linked to you, drawing strength and identity from your being. This bond cannot be transferred. Only the object’s destruction, or the deliberate renunciation of your essence, reversing the imprint, will sever the connection.
Activation: Whisper “Hoqalo” with focused intent while touching the object with your dominant hand.
Cooldown: None.
Warning: The binding process places strain upon the soul. Excessive use may result in spiritual damage.
Hoqalo: Echo of ExcellenceRarity: — (Trait-based)
Description: When examining an object created by your own hand, this skill reveals the item’s effective rarity within an unlocked appraisal area (Tago). The revealed rarity is determined by comparing the object’s overall performance, durability, and function against similar objects of the same category recognized by the System.
This evaluation reflects relative quality rather than absolute value and may change as the standards of comparison expand.
Activation: Passive upon inspection of a self-created item.
Cooldown: None.
Mana MeditationRarity: F (Junk)
Description: A foundational absorption technique that allows the user to accelerate mana regeneration by establishing an active circulation pattern within the mana reservoir. By guiding absorbed mana along a structured internal loop, the user creates a pressure differential that increases the rate of ambient mana intake.
Effectiveness scales with skill level and mana attribute development.
Activation: Manual. Requires conscious focus and a state of physical rest.
Cooldown: None. May be maintained as long as focus holds.
[Mark the Drift]Rarity: E (Knockoff)
Description: A fired projectile leaves a brief, visible mark of impact for the shooter. Drift, drop, and wind can be inferred from the marker but are not directly revealed.
Activation: Passive on aimed shots.
[Magic]Schools: [School of Utility — Level 1]
Mana Subsystem: Equation Mana SubsystemLevel: 1Known Runes: 3 ([Rune of Durability], [Rune of Piercing], [Rune of Force]) Known Spells: 1 ([Repair])
[Plugins]Plugin LP progress: 29%Weekly pp allotment: 2.2ppWeekly pp used: 0.3ppSaved pp: 38pp
[Incursion Predictor v39.54.2 edition 6]Status: ACTIVE | Level: 1/15 | pp weekly: 0
[Scavantis Dive Tool v1.6.1]Status: ACTIVE | Level: 1/1 | pp weekly: 0
[The Guild Connection v1.2.7]Status: ACTIVE | Level: 1/1 | pp weekly: 0.1
[Wayfinder’s Notes v1.1.13]Status: ACTIVE | Level: 1/1 | pp weekly: 0.1
[Incursion Control Corp Shard Plugin v1.4.1]Status: ACTIVE | Level: 1/1 | pp weekly: 0.1
I fell back against the pillow and watched the glow time out against the ceiling. Then I picked up my holoband and called Alice.
She answered on the second buzz. The holo resolved into the warm clutter of her dorm;a lamp turned low, a mug balanced on a stack of what was probably coursework she had no intention of touching. She’d traded the Aurelia uniform for a Syntavelli jacket left hanging open over a loose shirt, a miniskirt, and socks, one foot folded up under her on the chair.
“Dash!” Her face lit up. “You called. With your actual voice. Who are you and what did you do with the boy who texts like a hostage?”
“I finished the quest.”
She went still for half a second, then came up out of the chair fast enough to set the mug wobbling. “You finished it? The big one?” She barreled on without waiting for me. “That’s nova. That’s so nova. We’re celebrating. Tonight, I don’t care; we are putting food in front of you and making you sit still long enough to enjoy one nice thing—”
“Alice—”
“—and don’t,” she said, leveling a finger at the camera, “be Dash. Don’t say ‘I just want to sleep for a year’ thing. You owe us.”
I rolled to my side, being very content to stay in bed until tomorrow. “I don’t owe you anything.”
“You owe us for the Dewi stunt.”
“I didn’t pull a stunt—” I started, because my justification was my mind was full of that stupid mechanic and the op.
“You ghosted your soul healer.” She counted it off on her fingers, delighted. “She had to message me to find out whether you were still breathing. I learned what ‘stabilization window’ means, Dash. I had to look it up.”
She was right. That was the worst part. “…Okay. That’s fair. I’m sorry. I should’ve called.”
“You should’ve.” The scolding had already burned off, the grin back in its place. “Apology logged. So—bring your weapons.”
I waited for the rest of the sentence. It didn’t come. “Why,” I said slowly, “do I need weapons to eat dinner?”
“Because I’m going to ask Ceci if she knows anywhere dangerous.” She said it the way other people said ‘anywhere nice’. “She keeps a list. Probably. Okay, gotta go—bring the big gun!”
The holo blinked out before I could ask which one she thought was the big one.
I reluctantly rose from my bed and let out a yawn. “Fine…” I whispered to myself. I’d stop by The Guild on the way; they owed me money, at least I could treat the twins now. Well, if Ceci picked nothing too outrageous.
I walked into the situation room in my full gear. Coilgun across my back, the revolver at my hip, the sword’s scabbard knocking my calf with every step, the hoodie dry despite the heavy rain outside.
Naiche looked up from his book to take in the small arsenal I’d brought to a paperwork meeting.
He nodded at the chair across from him, Regina’s chair, boots-on-the-table chair, empty now, and went back to the page while I unslung the coilgun, leaned it against the wood, and sat.
“I read your report,” he said. “It’s thorough, which I appreciate, because the part I most needed to understand is the part we didn’t plan.” He turned a sheet of magic paper a quarter-turn against the grain and lined it back. “There was no second job in the brief, Dash. You went down to spoil a nutrient line and came back up having staged a corporate espionage.”
“Yeah,” I admitted with a groan. “It was… messy.”
“Can you please go into detail?” Naiche adjusted the paper again.
“Sure. It wasn’t the plan until it had to be.” I leaned forward. “Natty got me in, but getting in left a mark she couldn’t un-leave. Their runner was already walking toward it. There was no version of the night where Bhavsar didn’t find out somebody was inside that building. So the only thing left to decide was what they found out.” I spread my hands. “We got a few days of people standing around a beige box, very upset about data nobody actually took.”
Naiche set his pen down.
“You improvised under the clock, against a top-tier runner, and you walked out with the building facing the wrong direction.” No nodded approvingly. “That’s good work, Dash.” He made one tick in a margin I couldn’t read upside down. “I’m flagging the door on Regina’s file, by the way. You found a Palistra phoning home; she’ll hear about it from me.”
She failed the scout mission, that was true, but she was also his girlfriend. “Okay,” I said, and didn’t feel like pushing it more.”
Then he slid the sheet across the wood.
[Contract: BROWNFIELD][Status: Finished][Payment: ¢10,000][GP: +1,000]
“That’s great!” I smiled at him. “Anything else?”
“No. I’ll deal with Regina myself, thank you for understanding.”
I was glad I didn’t have to suffer my sword being in an awkward position any longer, so I rose and wished him goodbye.
Now, the twins.
The rain had chased me across two districts and given up the instant it hit my hoodie, which shed every drop while the rest of the East Corporate District drowned.
SMB11 waited at the end of the street, a hundred-odd floors of gray brutalism with one stripe of Scavantis orange burning up the corner through the downpour.
The plaque at the base still read 11.
The twins were under the entrance overhang, dry, in stylish Syntavelli, and looked like they were to be photographed near something expensive.
Alice saw me first.
She was standing still, hands folded in front of her, wearing a small, serene smile that belonged on a recruitment poster for well-behaved Luna youth. My stomach dropped a floor. I had a baseline for Alice, and that baseline was a firework. Alice, holding still, hands folded, radiating calm, was a civil-defense siren. Beside her, Cecilia was smiling too. Two tells, side by side, pointed at me.
“Okay.” I stopped just short of the dry patch, rain still drumming the permacrete at my heels. “Before either of you says a word. Why here?”
“Why not here?” Alice’s smile didn’t budge. “It’s where we met. It’s sentimental.”
“You told me to bring my weapons. You told me Ceci was finding somewhere dangerous to eat.” I hitched the coilgun strap, and it clanked against the revolver. “And then you picked the building with the food court that runs on an exposed power line. Floor 72?”
Alice discovered something fascinating over my left shoulder and gave it her full attention. Her hands stayed folded. The smile held, strained at the corners now. Cecilia, though, looked right at me and let her smile open another degree.
“We have two options,” she said. “We can go up to Floor 72, and we’ll buy you the best noodles in Tago, exactly as I promised. Or we can dive a green shard and clear it for our license upgrade.”
The rain filled the space where my answer should have gone. I got as far as opening my mouth; somewhere in there was a reasonable question about why option one required me to show up armed for option two —
“UPGRADE.” Alice’s hands shot into the air, the serene act gone between one breath and the next. “Upgrade, green shard, today, right now. I have been waiting—”
“Alice, I—” I started.
“—and don’t you dare say noodles.”
I looked at the two of them, dry and grinning under the only shelter for a hundred meters. I gave up.
“Am I even qualified to upgrade?”
Author's note: Okay, this is either first chapter of a book 3, or the last chapter of book 2. What do you think? Also, what do you think of attributes, is it cool? Bad? I wanted something unusual, but now I'm afraid it is too weird >_<