Asharub_Pervez

Raen Solis has never known comfort—only rejection, debt, and failure. Trapped in a crumbling apartment in the lower districts of Velden, he survives by doing shady game-boosting gigs and digital scraps, praying each day won’t be his last.

Then one night, a sudden power surge from his worn-down rig knocks him out cold. When he comes to, a glowing interface hovers before him:

[SYSTEM LINKED: SKILL SHOP INTERFACE]
Any skill. Any mastery. For a price.

The Skill Shop System Runs on Cash

The morning sun barely peeked through the sleek windows of Arkbound HQ when Saelyn entered, followed by a small team in suits—lawyers from a private firm she personally trusted. Their presence added a new air of finality. This was no longer an ambitious garage project. It was a company with weight, value, and vision.

The team gathered in the upper conference room. Documents were laid out, digital contracts waiting on encrypted slates.

"Let's make it official," Saelyn said calmly, sliding one across the table to Raen.

He signed with quiet focus. No hesitation. Korin and Lira followed, their signatures symbolizing not just legal ownership—but trust.

When the last slate lit up with confirmation, Saelyn smiled. "Congratulations. Arkbound Robotics is officially in motion."

With the formalities done, Raen stood, nodding to Korin and Lira. "Let's get to work."

The three descended to the lab floor below, where blueprints for NEAR v1—a raw metallic prototype of a humanoid builder unit—waited to be dissected, refined, and brought to life. The workstations were already humming.

Raen took the lead. "We're starting with the skeletal base. No fancy plating. No synthetic shell. We build this for performance first."

Korin checked the arm actuator designs. "On it. I'll start on the spine structure and servos."

Lira slid her datapad into place. "I'll prep the core logic architecture and calibration software. Just make sure I have power lines by noon."

Raen gave a rare grin. "Welcome to the grind."

Meanwhile, upstairs in the executive suite, Saelyn and Nyra—now Arkbound's co-founders—walked into the central office they would share.

"Feels weird," Nyra muttered. "Having an actual office."

"You're the one who pitched the expo idea like a CEO on fire," Saelyn teased.

Nyra grinned, then turned serious. "We need to talk about the future. Investors will come knocking, media too. If NEAR v1 works the way Raen claims…"

Saelyn raised a hand. "We control the narrative. No leaks, no early reveals. We operate in silence until the expo."

Saelyn glanced out the wide window, where the skyline gleamed in steel and glass.

"Arkbound isn't just robotics," she said softly. "It's the beginning of an age."

Back below, the sound of tools whirring, code compiling, and minds working in sync echoed throughout the building. A company had been formed—but more importantly, so had its purpose.

The First Stone