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 lab buzzed with soft beeps, welding sparks, and the occasional click of the prototype's movement. NEAR V1, a patchwork of scrap and brilliance, stood in the center of the room interacting with the team—its responses clean, its articulation smooth. Even with its crude shell, it moved with uncanny precision.

Lira laughed as the robot mimicked her wave with near-perfect timing.

"If we can make this thing from scraps," Korin said, crouched beside the bot, "imagine what it can do with real parts."

Nyra, arms folded, nodded approvingly. "It's… terrifyingly good."

Just then, her comm buzzed. A call. Raen.

"Hey," she said, stepping aside, "we were just admiring your junk monster."

Raen's voice was calm, but low. "We've got a problem."

Nyra's eyes narrowed. "What kind?"

Raen stepped into the lab a moment later, eyes serious, jaw tight. "Power. The robot's running on lithium-ion right now. With everything it can do, we're draining full packs in minutes. It's not sustainable."

A subtle chime rang out in Raen's mind.

[System Notification: New Skill Unlocked – Electrical Mastery]

He froze. The rest of the team watched as his expression shifted from concern… to awe.

"…Wait," Raen muttered, blinking. "What?"

He didn't answer. Not directly. His eyes glossed over as the system flooded his mind with schematics, formulas, and deep knowledge—circuit dynamics, alternative energy systems, advanced thermal batteries, and beyond.

"I just unlocked something," he finally whispered. "Electrical Mastery."

"Like… a skill?" Korin asked, stunned.

Raen walked straight past them to the robot. He yanked open the power compartment and began rewiring, rerouting conductors, stabilizing load cycles, and rerunning diagnostic patterns—all within seconds.

As he made the changes, NEAR V1 stood straighter. Moved smoother. A fine hum replaced the clunky whir of its joints. Its efficiency had doubled. No—tripled.

"This is beyond optimization," Saelyn said, stepping forward. "It's like he just rewrote the robot's entire power architecture."

Raen stood back, panting lightly. "It's still temporary. We need a new power source."

He walked to the digital board, drawing furiously, equations and structures pouring out.

"A system with high-density superconductive cores," he said, mostly to himself. "Encased in a self-cooling crystalline housing with dual magnetic stabilizers. Built from graphene-threaded carbon lattices. Energy drawn through an Aetheric Resonance Loop—"

"—A micro-reactor, of sorts," he concluded. "Size of a fist. Output lasting a year… with zero recharge needed."

The team stood in stunned silence.

"Did… did you just invent that?" Nyra asked.

Raen smirked. "It's not just robotics anymore."

He turned to face them, eyes sharp with realization.

"We're not building a robotics company anymore. We're building the future. Robotics, energy systems… who knows what's next?"

Saelyn's lips curled upward. "Looks like Arkbound Robotics might become something a whole lot bigger."

Power Surge