Alto had just finished reassembling the Fanwick-720 for the third time within the span of two days, he was beginning to feel bored with the exercise and was looking for something to push himself further.
The stress of continuously working on the mech design put him in a state of weariness, he took a few minutes to relax by his bed and recover his strength.
He brought up the mech designer protocol to see the reward he had gotten from reassembling the mech design. He asked the system what he could use the points for, he was still unsure of the limits of the strange device and if it could help him grow further.
[Creation points can be used to improve your stats, invest in your skills or purchase mech blueprint licences]
Alto took a brief look at his stats.
[Status:
Name: Alto
Level: Beginner Mech Designer
Specialization: None
Creation Points: 1056
Attributes—
Strength: 1.0
Dexterity: 1.2
Concentration: 1.4
Intelligence: 3.1
Endurance: 1.4
Creativity: 0.7
Genote Aptitude: F
Mutant Gene: 1.0
Skills—
Assembly: Beginner
Mechanics: Beginner
Metallurgy: Apprentice
Robotics: Unqualified
Computer Science: Beginner
Physics: Beginner
Biomechanics: Unqualified
Circuitry: Unqualified
Total Assessment: Trash]
Alto wondered what would be best to put his creation points into, since his intelligence was the highest of his stats he did not feel the need to increase it further. If anything needed to be improved upon he felt it would have to be his own set of skills.
While reassembling the Fanwick-720 he had encountered a problem with the circuitry, since it was an old model it should have been easy work but it did pose a problem for him.
Alto paused to think about the professors two other disciples, now that he thought about it. They were both capable when it came to the internal workings of a mech. From what he had covered so far the internal workings of a mech was what made the mech tick, he had seen Charles Vans brag over this fact so many times that he sunk in.
Alto wondered if it would be the best decision to spend his points on this. "Um mecha I would like to spend my creation points to learn circuitry."
The mech designer protocol brought up another screen.
[900 cp will be spend to learn basic circuitry. Does the user approve of this action?]
Alto did not have much of a choice, he knew it would be best to see how much he could push the limits of the mech designer protocol. Worst case scenario if it failed he wouldn't lose anything.
"But what if it burns my brain?" Alto asked the mech designer protocol but it kept to itself. "Yes, use the creation points to learn basic circuitry."
The screen of the system came up shortly after.
[Prepare for neural uplink]
Alto did not know what to do or expect, he opened up his mind as best as he could but nothing happened. "I'm not sure but how does this work."
Just then the feeling of multiple needles stabbing his brain from all sides was felt along with the hilt of electricity. Altos body exploded into pain as he cried out at the top of his voice and collapsed on his side. Every part of his body was pulsing with pain, he tried to stay in a sane sense but the images and symbols continued to flood his brain. It was like something was being forced into his brain forcefully.
The painful sensation went on for half a hour before his body started to relax, the pain was gone but his body still suffered from the backlash. Alto opened his mouth and immediately regretted it as it made his head feel heavy.
"Why does this have to hurt?"
The mech designer protocol responded to him.
[The entire experience of learning a specific field is fed into your brain in one moment, this will cause the user to experience discomfort. If the user's intelligence level were lower he could have suffered memory loss or died, likewise if the users intelligence were higher m, his mental attitude would be such]
Alto managed to comprehend the systems words to some extent, he had learned months of knowledge in half an hour putting all that combined stress on his brain. But one more thing was bothering him.
"Does that explain why I'm so hungry?" Alto asked as he sat up straight, one hand on his stomach.
The system responded.
[The metabolism of the users body burned at a much faster rate than expected]
Alto had not eaten anything besides the snacks he had kept in his room in the two days he had been confined to his room. His head still ached, it made it hard for him to think clearly at the moment. Still he wondered if this was the price he would have to pay for his newfound power.
Just as he was about drifting off into sleep he heard a knock on the door, Alto was confused. He had never received a visitor in his three years in the mech division, he doubted even the professor knew his room. He wondered if it would be right to let the person in, if they were here to see him maybe something happened outside. Or maybe they just had the wrong door.
Still the curiosity of who wanted to see him was biting at him, if whoever it was saw him in this state what would they think. Alto knew he must have looked very unkept and wild since his two days absence, he had not even had a bath since. But if he ignored this person he could just die there knowing no one would come by again.
As the knocking persisted Alto made up his mind to open the door but the problem was that he would have to get up which was not an easy task to do. The door was protected by a verification system that could only be activated by the resident of that room. Alto had another idea that just might work.
"Hey mecha, can you unlock the door for me?" Alto said in a weak voice slowly losing life.
The system did not respond, this caused Alto's head to spin. He wondered if it was delegating whether to save him or not, or perhaps it would say something like how this had nothing to do with mechs. Strangely the wrist comm beeped and the same time the door lock beeped to signify that it had been unlocked.
Alto did not have the strength to express his gratitude at the moment, all he could do was form a weak smile and say. "Thank you."
The door was pushed open slowly, Alto looked at the entrance to see who had come to visit him. His brain which was still aching tried to come up with a defense for his pitiful position but upon seeing the person standing by the door way he was greatly shocked.