Chapter 2: Grinding For Repairs

The flickering glow of the arcade machines cast long, uneven shadows across the worn carpet as Ethan took a step back, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Level Up Arcade was starting to feel… alive again. Not fully revived—not yet—but with each repaired cabinet, the soul of the place flickered brighter, bit by bit.

He took a deep breath, rolling the stiffness from his shoulders.

Six machines operational.

At least a dozen more to go.

[New Quest: Restore 10 Arcade Machines]

Objective: Fully repair 10 cabinets to a playable state.Progress: 6/10Reward: Repair Skill Level +1

That reward was worth it.

When he had first unlocked the Basic Repair Skill, it hadn't given him instant mastery—just foundational knowledge. The more he used it, the more experience he gained, and every repair felt smoother, more natural than the last.

A skill level system was built into the process. Each successful repair incremented a counter, slowly inching the skill toward Level 2. Unlike games where level-ups dumped instant knowledge, the system trickled new understanding into his thoughts, as if he was gradually becoming more familiar with the machines through practice, not magic.

Right now, his Repair Skill Level was 1.6. The closer he got to Level 2, the more intricate his repairs became.

And his next challenge was waiting for him.

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Ethan scanned the room and set his sights on the Galaga machine, tucked away near the back. He used to love this game as a kid, dodging waves of alien ships, hammering the fire button in a desperate bid for survival.

The cabinet had seen better days. The marquee light was dead, the screen displayed nothing but garbled pixels, and the controls felt stiff and unresponsive when he moved the joystick.

He knelt down and opened the back panel, flashlight in hand.

As soon as he saw the motherboard, a new notification appeared:

[Repair Skill Progress: 67% to Level 2]

His eyes darted to the capacitors on the board, a tip surfacing in his mind like a memory he had almost forgotten but not quite.

Check the capacitors for bulging or leakage.

Ethan squinted. Sure enough, two of the cylindrical components were slightly swollen—a sign they had failed over time.

He opened up his grandfather's old repair kit, retrieving a desoldering tool and replacement capacitors. The skill didn't immediately give him perfect hands, but as he carefully heated the solder points, he realized his movements were… more confident.

By the time he was done, the new capacitors sat securely in place. He reattached the board, powered the cabinet on—

And the Galaga title screen burst to life in a shower of vibrant, pixelated stars.

The mechanical clunk of the coin slot accepting credits made his heart race.

[Galaga Restored! +20 XP]

[Repair Skill Progress: 75% to Level 2]

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Ethan worked methodically through the arcade, one machine at a time.

The Donkey Kong cabinet had a jammed coin slot—he dismantled it, cleaned the gunked-up mechanism, and reassembled it. Simple fix.The Marvel vs. Capcom 2 machine had unresponsive buttons, so he swapped out the old microswitches for new ones, soldering them in place.A Metal Slug 3 cabinet had loose side panels, making the whole structure wobbly. He reinforced it with fresh screws and support brackets from the repair kit.

Each repair brought a new ping in his mind, pushing his skill level higher.

[Repair Skill Progress: 83% to Level 2]

[Repair Skill Progress: 90% to Level 2]

[Repair Skill Progress: 96% to Level 2]

Every fix felt more intuitive. He was learning by doing, and the system was guiding him—not handing him answers, but nudging him in the right direction.

And then, as he powered up the next machine—

[Repair Skill Level Up! 1 → 2]

The moment the notification appeared, his understanding deepened.

Not in an overwhelming, instant-dump way. It was subtle.

Like when you finally get the hang of driving stick shift. Like when muscle memory kicks in and you just know how to do something without overthinking.

New thoughts filled his mind:

Screen flickering? It might be a grounding issue, not just a power failure.Buttons failing randomly? The issue could be the PCB, not the switches themselves.Joysticks feeling stiff? Don't just replace them—check for microfractures in the mounting plate.

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Now, he stood before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles four-player cabinet—one of the arcade's crown jewels.

This machine had everything wrong with it.

The screen was completely dead.Two joysticks were unresponsive.The sound cracked and fizzed like an old radio.

It was the hardest repair of the day.

Ethan rolled his shoulders. Time to put his new skill level to the test.

Screen First. He traced the issue back to a faulty power connector. The voltage wasn't reaching the CRT properly, so he cleaned the contacts, resoldered a few broken points, and double-checked the voltage with a multimeter.

Screen fixed.

Joysticks Next. The issue was deeper than just the micro switches. With his new repair insights, he checked the circuit board traces under the controls. Two of them were damaged—barely visible hairline fractures.

He grabbed thin copper wire and carefully bridged the gaps, securing them with a fine-tip soldering iron.

Joysticks fixed.

Sound Last.

He had assumed it was the speaker until a new thought surfaced from his skill level-up.

Check the amplifier chip first.

Sure enough, the chip was loose. He reseated it, pressed the power button—

And the arcade-perfect TMNT theme song blasted from the speakers.

Quest Complete

[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Restored! +30 XP]

[Quest Progress: 10/10 Machines Repaired]

[Quest Complete: Restore 10 Arcade Machines]

[Reward: Repair Skill +1]

Ethan leaned against the machine, exhaling. He did it.

Ten machines.

Ten working, playable, fully restored arcade classics.

The system chimed softly in his head.

[Repair Skill: Level 3]

And once again, more knowledge settled in naturally.

He wasn't an expert yet—not even close. But he was getting there.

Looking around at the softly glowing cabinets, their screens waiting for players, Ethan knew one thing:

The arcade was coming back.

And he was just getting started.