Chapter 3: The First Steps

March 22, 2024

The bracelet hummed weakly on my wrist as I walked, its dim light flickering with each tap. The map was basic, hardly reliable, but it gave me just enough to keep moving through the city without losing my way. I kept my head down, slipping through the crowd, my thoughts focused on the web of information I'd begun to unravel.

As I scrolled through the local network, the sheer complexity of the data hit me. This world's "basic" knowledge was far more advanced than anything Earth had to offer. Concepts that would have taken years for the brightest minds back home were laid out casually, as if they were common sense. Engineering, quantum physics, theories on bending space-time, these were treated as elementary. They were the foundation of everything here, embedded in the everyday lives of the people who walked these streets.

I skimmed through an article on energy manipulation, a concept that seemed to power a lot of the technology around me. The equations were intricate, the diagrams far more advanced than anything I'd seen, but as I read, I felt something click into place. The words, the ideas, the technology, they just made sense.

More than that, I could see where the holes were, where the inefficiencies lay, and my mind automatically started filling in the gaps. New ideas and solutions flooded my brain, improvements forming as naturally as breathing.

I paused for a moment, blinking at the holo display in front of me. I had always been quick to learn, but this… this was something else. I wasn't just absorbing the knowledge; I was understanding it at a level I hadn't thought possible. The more I read, the faster my brain worked. It was like every piece of information I encountered slotted perfectly into place, giving me an even clearer picture of how this world operated.

But I needed more than just knowledge. I needed resources.

I pulled up a search on the holo bracelet, looking for ways to earn money, legally. There were plenty of jobs available, though most of them were low-tier work. Deliveries, maintenance, small repair tasks. Menial jobs that anyone with basic skills could handle. None of them required a high rank, which suited me just fine for now. I wasn't ready to draw too much attention until I had a better grasp of the social order here.

Still, the thought of working at the bottom irritated me. Back home, I'd always been content to work as a freelancer, getting by on my skills and staying under the radar. But here? The idea of starting from scratch, with nothing to my name, was almost unbearable. If I was going to survive, no, thrive, I had to rise quickly.

But first, I had to start somewhere.

I selected a simple job, repair work for a vendor on the other side of the district. The pay was meager, but it would give me just enough to buy the parts I needed. The bracelet I wore was old and barely functional, but if I could reverse-engineer it, I could rebuild it into something far more efficient. Maybe even something that could compete with the newer models everyone else seemed to be using.

I accepted the job and set off toward the vendor's location. The bracelet buzzed with a notification, showing me a more detailed route through the city. I glanced at the screen and started weaving through the crowd, my mind already focused on the task ahead.

The market became denser the further I went. Stalls lined both sides of the street, vendors shouting their wares in languages I was only just beginning to grasp. My ears caught snippets of conversations, and as I moved, I pieced together more of the language, mentally linking words with gestures and context. It was coming to me faster now. Each word added to my growing understanding of this place.

Eventually, I reached the vendor's stall. The man standing behind the counter was tall and thin, with metallic skin that gleamed under the lights. His eyes flicked over me as I approached, narrowing slightly as they landed on my holo bracelet.

"You here for the job?" he asked, his voice low but clear.

I nodded. "Yeah. I saw the posting."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of my appearance, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he handed me a small device, a power core, by the looks of it. It was cracked and flickering faintly with a dull blue light.

"Fix this," he said, setting it down in front of me. "If you can."

I took the device in my hands, examining it closely. The problem was obvious. A misalignment in the energy conduits, probably from overuse. The components were worn, but nothing beyond repair. Back home, it might have taken a few hours of work. Here? I already knew how to fix it.

Without wasting time, I reached into the toolkit on the table and got to work. My hands moved swiftly, disconnecting the damaged components and rewiring the core with precision. As I worked, I realized I didn't even need to think about it. The knowledge, the technique, it was all right there, accessible in my mind.

Within minutes, I was done.

The vendor watched in silence as I handed the core back to him. He stared at it for a moment, then glanced back at me, a look of mild surprise crossing his face.

"Not bad," he muttered, powering up the device. It hummed to life, the blue light glowing steadily now. "You're faster than most."

I shrugged, trying to play it off. "Just good at what I do."

The vendor grunted in response, reaching under the counter to pull out a small pouch. He tossed it to me without ceremony. "Here. Payment's in there."

I caught the pouch and opened it, counting the currency inside. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Enough to get what I needed to rebuild the bracelet.

As I turned to leave, the vendor called out after me. "If you're looking for more work, I might have some for you. Someone with your skills could be useful around here."

I paused, considering his offer. More work meant more resources, but I didn't want to tie myself down to one place. I needed freedom to move, to gather information, and to climb higher. Still, it was worth keeping in mind.

"I'll think about it," I said, nodding to him before walking away.

With the money in hand, I made my way back to the market. I scanned the stalls carefully, looking for the parts I needed. My mind was already racing with ideas, ways to improve the bracelet, ways to make it faster, more efficient. It wouldn't take much, just a few key components, and I could rebuild it into something far more useful.

I stopped at a stall selling old tech, scanning the items laid out in front of me. After a few minutes, I found what I was looking for, power cells, wiring, and a few other basic components. The vendor glanced at me as I picked up the items, but he didn't question me. A quick exchange of currency, and I was on my way.

With the parts in hand, I found a quiet spot off the main road and sat down, laying the components out in front of me. The holo bracelet flickered on my wrist, the weak light barely holding, but that wouldn't last for long.

I set to work, dismantling the bracelet carefully. The internal mechanisms were outdated, but the design was simple enough. I took out the old power cell, replacing it with a more efficient one, and rewired the entire device, making sure the energy flow would be smoother. I added a few adjustments of my own, things I had picked up from the articles I'd read earlier. By the time I was finished, the bracelet looked the same on the outside, but internally, it was a whole new system.

I slipped it back onto my wrist and powered it on.

The display flickered for a moment before stabilizing. The holographic interface was sharper now, faster, more responsive. I scrolled through the functions, testing the improvements. It wasn't perfect, nothing compared to the advanced tech everyone else seemed to have, but it was mine. And it was better than what I had started with.

I leaned back, satisfied for now. This is my beginning.

The next step was figuring out how to rise through the ranks. The old man's words echoed in my mind, and I knew I couldn't stay at the bottom for long. I needed more than just a rebuilt bracelet. I needed power. Authority. And to get that, I needed to keep moving forward.

One step at a time.