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 echoed with the sharp, metallic rhythm of machines at work.

Raen stood at the center of the room, arms crossed, watching intently as NEAR-01 finished tightening the final bolts on NEAR-02's new motor core. Every movement was smooth, efficient—almost human in its awareness.

With a low hum, NEAR-02 powered back on. The blue lights on its skeletal head flared alive, systems syncing in perfect silence.

NEAR-02 stood, stepped forward, and gave a low whirr. Raen watched as NEAR-01 stepped aside, allowing its sibling to perform a full systems check.

It didn't hesitate. It moved with purpose, like a craftsman who had done this a thousand times. Its fingers reached into a tool bay, retrieved precise instruments, and began calibrating its own systems—flawlessly upgrading the second unit.

No wasted motion. No delay. Not even a second to 'think'... it just knows.

He uploaded a blueprint to NEAR-02's system. "Motor upgrade routine—level three," he instructed. "Continue task after internal optimization."

NEAR-02 paused for 0.2 seconds. A soft chime. Then it turned toward the next workstation and began replicating the motor upgrade for the next unit.

By now, NEAR-01 had started constructing another full bot beside it.

Click.Clang.Bang.No words. No hesitation. The two robots worked like they'd been born for it.

The team stood back in awe, watching.

"These things…" Lira murmured, "…they're not even slowing down."

"This is insane," Korin added. "They're like mindless engineers—pure function."

By evening, Raen gathered the team in the conference room. His voice cut through the stillness.

"We have two things we need to accomplish."

He turned to face them all. "First, we mass-produce these new motors. We can't rely on hand-crafted cores anymore. What we just saw? That needs to happen by the hundreds."

"Second—" Raen paused, eyes glinting, "—we're founding a new company. A child under Arkbound."

The words hit the room like a current.

"Arkbound Electric."

Nyra's eyes went wide. "You're serious?"

"We've developed a power source that runs for a year. We're not just robotics anymore—we're energy," Raen said. "Plan it. Register it. Get the paperwork done before the Expo."

Nyra gave a smirk and tapped her tablet. "I'll make it happen."

Raen turned to Korin and Lira. "Next project."

"We need you again—for something different this time."

Nyra raised an eyebrow. "Me? What can I do?"

"We need neural integration. Precision coordination at scale. If our bots are going to start managing their own tasks… we need the right tech."

"We need you to find a bankrupt company that used to develop neurochips—circuitry for machine-brain interface," he explained. "But we don't buy it yet. Just do deep research. Get us a quote."

"You want to turn it into another child company?" she asked.

Raen nodded. "We'll call it Arkbound Neuro."

In just a few weeks, Arkbound had gone from an idea in a dusty room… to a robotics company, an energy tech disruptor, and now—a neural systems pioneer.

And they weren't even at the Expo yet.

Mindless Precision