Chapter 4 : Sparks of Alliance

The construct's remains still smoked as Aiden sat beside it, prying open a secondary panel in search of more components. The scavenger unit had nearly torn him in half, but it also delivered exactly what he needed.

[Logic Matrix Synced – Temporary Boost to Fabrication Algorithms Enabled]

[Defense Module Unlocked: Arc Turret (Tier 1)]

With the help of the Matrix, he crafted a rudimentary turret. It rotated on a gimbal, scanning the mouth of the ravine with a low whir.

[Arc Turret Online – Passive Mode Enabled]

Aiden leaned back and exhaled. "One turret down, a whole fortress to go."

He stared at the sky, where clouds shimmered in pale violet hues. Somewhere above, this realm's version of satellites—or magical equivalents—could be watching. He didn't know the limits of the Arcanum's surveillance, but he wasn't willing to wait around and find out.

What he needed now… was information. Local, accurate, and human.

Which meant he needed someone to talk to.

Aiden didn't trust the Arcanists, but not every person in this world was affiliated with the Ley Academy or Arcanum Authority. There had to be independents—nomads, hunters, freelancers.

He activated a scan sweep.

[Scanning Radius: 3km]

[Detected: Heat Signature – 1.8km West | Campfire, Two Lifeforms | Status: Neutral]

That was a start.

Grabbing his modified bolt launcher and slipping a backup capacitor into his belt, Aiden set out.

The terrain westward turned rugged, with sharp ridges and thick bramble patches. He kept low, using terrain and magic interference from crystalized rocks to mask his approach.

Eventually, he crested a hill and looked down.

A campfire flickered in a shallow cave. Two figures sat close—a man with sun-bleached armor and a massive sword across his knees, and a woman dressed in light leathers, goggles perched on her head, inspecting a floating crystal.

They looked… normal. Adventurers, perhaps.

[Scanning…]

[Subjects: Mercenary-Class Humans | Gear Level: Intermediate | Magical Affinity: Low-Moderate]

[Allegiance: Unregistered | Status: Caution Recommended]

Aiden stepped into the light, keeping his hands visible. "Hello. I'm not with the Arcanum."

Both figures stood instantly, weapons drawn. The man narrowed his eyes. "Then who the hell are you?"

The woman pointed her crystal at him—it pulsed, then dimmed. "He's not registered with the leyflow. No signature. That's impossible."

Aiden held up his hands. "I'm not from around here. Long story short—some kind of tear dropped me into this world, and now I'm just trying to stay alive."

The man grunted. "You expect us to believe that?"

"No," Aiden said. "But maybe you'll believe this."

He pulled up his HUD and projected a transparent blueprint of the Arc Turret into the air.

The woman gasped. "That's… tech. High-tier, too."

The man lowered his sword slightly. "Who are you?"

"Name's Aiden. Let's just say I'm good at building things."

The two exchanged a glance, then nodded. The woman gestured toward the fire. "I'm Kaela. He's Brant. Mercenaries, mostly. We stay off the ley-grid. Your kind… we've only heard of in rumors."

"Rumors?"

"People born with strange powers. Devices that don't need incantations. Some say they're curses. Others say they're the future."

Aiden smiled faintly. "I'll take 'future.'"

They shared a meal—something roasted over the fire that tasted vaguely of chicken and moss—and Aiden explained, as best he could, how he arrived, what the System was, and his encounter with the Ley Enforcer.

Brant whistled. "You pissed off the big dogs on day one. Impressive."

Kaela leaned forward. "You said you've already built a base? With tech defenses?"

"Minimal, but yeah."

"We've got a problem," Kaela said. "A relic caravan went missing a few kilometers from here. The Arcanum claims it was wild beasts, but we think it was sabotage. Something's been stealing tech fragments."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Could be other technomancers."

"Or someone preparing for war," Brant added.

Kaela turned her goggles down. "If we pool our resources, maybe we can get ahead of this. You have knowledge. We have experience."

Aiden hesitated. Trust was still foreign to him—but he needed allies.

He nodded. "Alright. Let's work together. We'll start by scouting the caravan site tomorrow."

That night, Aiden returned to his base with Kaela and Brant, guiding them through the ravine. Kaela was impressed with the signal masking. Brant tested the turret's accuracy.

"This place has potential," Kaela murmured.

Inside the Base Node, Aiden set up extra sleeping pads and activated passive barrier mode.

[Alliance Detected: Allies Within Safe Perimeter]

[Temporary Buff Applied: Shared Sync – Crafting Efficiency +5%]

He watched them settle in, then sat by the core interface, sketching blueprints.

Tomorrow, they'd explore the wreckage of the caravan. But tonight, he planned.

Aiden pulled up his system's scripting window again and refined the turret's behavior tree, adding a line of logic to distinguish between humanoid and beast movement patterns. Kaela peeked over his shoulder, eyes wide.

"You're programming it in real-time?" she asked.

"Yeah," Aiden replied, tapping a few commands. "The logic matrix lets me do low-level adjustments without needing a compiler."

"That's insane," she muttered. "We use etched command-plates. Fixed rules."

"Well, in my world, we write our own rules."

Brant chuckled from his spot on a makeshift cot. "Remind me not to bet against you."

An alert flashed across Aiden's vision.

[Base Node Perimeter Ping: Inactive Mana Trail Detected | Residual Ley Signature Present]

He stood immediately, tapping the alert.

The system projected a faint, trailing aura outside the perimeter—someone had been watching. Recently.

"Looks like we weren't alone," Aiden said, grabbing his gear.

Kaela and Brant moved swiftly. The three followed the faint trail through a northern fissure in the ravine. It ended at a broken stone formation, where the grass had been flattened recently.

[No further signature detected. Trail ends abruptly.]

Brant examined the terrain. "Teleportation? Or cloaking?"

"Maybe both," Aiden said. "We need to finish defense upgrades by tomorrow."

Back at the base, Kaela offered to help refine the shielding sigils. She used a quill to etch augmenting glyphs directly into the Node's outer supports.

Brant reinforced the ravine entrance with a collapsible barricade of alloy and stone.

By the time the twin moons rose, the base shimmered with layered magic and logic, humming like a living thing.

Aiden sat back inside and opened his System logs.

[Alliance Sync Level: 2%]

[Node Rank: Tier 0.5]

[Blueprint Progress: Auto-Turret (Tier 1), Signal Relay, Pulse Sensor (WIP)]

[Primary Objective Updated: Investigate Caravan Wreck | Estimate: 2 Days Remaining]

He closed the interface.

For the first time, Aiden felt like he was no longer alone.

And in a world of sword and sorcery, that made all the difference.