Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

the bubble to appropriate size, then stabilize more of the rim until it is fully sealed. Oh, did I mention while you are filling the bubble back up, your work on the rim is unraveling? And you also have to do it all in one shot. The entire thing will unravel if the rim isn’t totally tied off and sealed to itself. The tendency of the system is to equilibrate and without that rim locked, your bag will deflate.”

“What’s the next job after I do the rim, then?” There was a pregnant pause and Gus could tell that Nick was on the verge of dropping a joke that involved the unfortunate combination of the words ‘rim’ and ‘job.’ Cutting off any reply, Gus hurriedly amended, “Just tell me what’s next…”

“Remember those palm fronds; you are making a braid similar to that, only about a thousand times more complicated. There needs to be stress bearing knots every five weaves or so, like this.” Gus saw on his display a complicated movement of ether strands going over and under, then the knot. He’d been a Boy Scout, but this knot was something that would make a hardened sailor whimper. “I know it looks complicated, but the sooner you learn it, the more you can do. Let’s get to work.”

A while later, Gus had to take a break. The ‘simple’ knot was just the first step in an elaborate series of knots that, once completed, would tighten and secure the entire structure, each section supporting the next. His head hurt with the intricate lace-like threading of ether, with its complicated patterns. He made his way to one of the long couches in the atrium and crashed. There were so many new terms as Nick explained the complicated process. He did gain two levels to Ether Weaving though, bringing it to three.

“Nick, I need a break…” Gus dropped his focus and watched the small section of his weave unravel, each strand of ether flapping and writhing like an unmanned fire-hose. In a disappointingly short period of time, the entire weave was gone and the bubble deflated back into nothing. A growling stomach urged him to visit the cafeteria, get some more training to finish up the morning, then finish the weaving.

Entering the cafeteria, he was greeted by the Claptrap-esque waiter who acknowledged his presence with a wave of a tiny appendage and disappeared back into the kitchen. Instead of the small robot returning, a large hulking creature with multiple appendages exited the kitchen. Its serial designation of K4-Z was written in blue along its torso, much more noticeable than the other robots.

“Bienvenue to zee master of zee manor!” K4-Z belted out in an exaggerated French accent. “I see zat you now have Energy Absorption, zis is good! I can now prepare infused dishes zat will increase your stats. Instead of only preparing simple food, I can add specialized energy zat your Nth can use.”

“Whoa, I was not expecting that. Can you make potions that will raise health or stamina?”

“But of course! You will need to upgrade zee cafeteria with facility points to level two, zough. Zis will also increase zee effects added to meals and zey will last longer. Because zeese drinks all are refined energy, you can only use zem so often, however. You can add more effects in zee lab once you have zat unlocked.”

That would be a great addition to his repertoire. Gus had put many of the manor’s facilities on the back burner because he wasn’t a scientist, and he didn’t think he could get anyone to the island that would have the skills to use it to its full potential. Who knew what he could pick up by trial and error? Maybe he could slowly gain skills like experimentation and research and development, then build upon them. It hadn’t occurred to him until just now.

“Let me get you some food.” The large robot rotated and returned to the kitchen. While he waited, Gus checked the large backlog of messages that he had neglected since his huge battle in the jungle. He had leveled Polearms to six, Spear Mastery to six, Wreck-luse to level three, increasing the range to fifteen feet. Sweep the Leg had leveled to two, and the stun time increased to ten seconds. Chained Attack had leveled twice to four. He was just 200 XP away from level eleven, which he could easily make after training. His review was cut short by the waiter bringing a steaming plate of fish with some side that looked like cubed potatoes.

Gus was in heaven after the first bite. It was his first real meal with protein that wasn’t cooked over a crude fire and singed at the edges. After savoring the first couple bites, a buff indicator flashed across the display and a countdown timer next to a flexing bicep appeared in the upper left of his display.

+2 strength for 2 hours.

He ate everything, trying not to devour the meal too quickly. Despite it being only one plate, he felt stuffed after eating. Gus wondered if the energy infusion process made the food more filling as well as giving stat increases. Another notice popped as Gus pushed away from the table and reveled in post-feast bliss.

You are Well Fed, increased HP regeneration for 2 hours.

Perfect! He’d have to make sure he ate before training and before fighting the Dark Nth again. He was close enough to another level that he wanted to take out some aggression on some unfortunate pillowbots. His energy had been flagging after the battle and climb, along with the stress of how to protect the manor. After eating, he felt invigorated and his headache had begun to ebb. He was glad for the relief; it was going to be a long day and he had to hurry to get everything done.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Day 9 2:01 PM

1:09:09 remaining

Gus excitedly returned to the Foundry and retrieved his finished