/~Contrario~/
It was still very early and the morning sun was low behind the frost-dusted towers of Irish Valley when Renn decided to drag me out of our dorms and toward the eastern ward where they had the Market Grid.
"Alright, rookie," Renn said with his face bearing that lazy grin of his. His hands were tucked behind his head like for him, this was just another day in paradise. "It's time for you to gear up properly. Tonight, we're having a real raid, not some baby simulation."
After we left the dorm and got to the market, we passed different glowing vendor stalls, NPCs and players were hawking everything possible from crafted drones to blades inscribed with runes. Different Neon sigils flickered over domed kiosks, they had listing prices in Starlos, the digital currency that ruled this world.
The shop Renn stopped at was called "Noix Forge", it was run by a four-armed merchant who looked like he was built out of brass and deep regrets. Renn leaned in leisurely over the counter, his fingers tapping a sleek interface before he spun it toward me.
"Take your pick rookie," he said. "But remember, quality over flash, you're not royalty. You've only got a few thousand Starlos from your welcome fund, but I bet you know this already."
The display categorized each gear by rarity:
- Rare – These looked Functional and Basic.
- Epic – These were Mid-tier with decent perks.
- Legendary – Mostly gold-framed, out of my league, and tagged with more zeros than I cared to count.
I browsed through the Epic Gear section, filtering for something specific...companion-class support units.
A pair of reinforced shoulder thrusters caught my eye....the "VectorJoints v2.8", was compatible with Stray's current build. Right below it, there was a new sensor module that promised upgraded field awareness and anti-blind counters. It wasn't flashy and paired with Stray, I bet it would keep us alive.
"I'll take these two," I said.
Renn nodded in approval, like a world-class mentor watching his young protégé finally get it.
"Oh, you could turn in the old set too," he added. "It might fetch you some good money."
The merchant eyed Stray's old and battered modules with disdain as if they insulted his forge just by simply existing. After scanning them, he tossed a measly 80 Starlos my way.
"I might've given more if these pieces of junk weren't half-melted," he grumbled in his husky voice.
Yeah, thanks. I'll log that under Things I Already Know, in case of next time.
As we stepped out of the forge and back into the light, I could feel it, it came from every direction.
The stares.
They felt cold, sharp, unspoken but that didn't make it less real. Players leaning against walls, whispering and pointing. The cursed One-Slot. The anomaly. The glitch in their system. I wasn't just different, in the eyes of every player, I was broken. Damaged goods just walking the system.
Somehow in that moment, it was as if I knew what they thought.
He'll slow them down.
He doesn't belong in the Valley.
Just wait till he dies and opens up a squad slot.
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to believe those words were just a construct of my own mind. I forced myself to look ahead and not around. Let them hate. I'll turn that hate into a driving force for myself.
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Jennifer's office reeked of war plans and obvious frustration. She barely looked up from the sketch before her as we walked in. Her screen displayed a ticking counter "Tournament Countdown: 288 Days" and the logo of the Ascension Code League showed faintly behind her.
She soon pointed to a projected map against the glass wall, with her brisk and business-like tone setting in.
"Minor Nova scout outpost near Crater-Four. We'll hit it at dusk. Soft target, but this should be ideal for sharpening team synergy." Her gaze shifted to me. "Especially for the new fella."
Renn then gave me a half-apologetic look but didn't defend me. It was as if he wanted me to earn it.
Jennifer continued, "Every mission we take from here on out contributes to our preparation for the tournament. Your performance tonight will go on your record."
Performance. Record. Points. Metrics.
This world didn't care about effort, just numbers and statistics....sad.
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By nightfall, we were on the field.
The raid team comprised seven members in total. We moved like a machine controlled by zeros and ones with myself being the rusty cog, out of sync and always half a second behind.
As we advanced, I misread a hand signal. I took the wrong cover flank. One time, when the enemy drones burst from underground, I stumbled over a command, and someone else took a hit meant for me. I just wasn't in place and regretted deciding to work as a team, I was better off flying solo.
"Damn it cock sucker, would your bitch ass stay in formation?" Arielle hissed.
My HUD was flooded with alerts at this point, chaos flooding the field, and then
Stray moved.
My companion had launched forward, intercepting a flanking drone that was about to shoot down Arielle, our healer.
In a quick motion, I sent Stray flying in that direction. Stray's arms reconfigured mid-strike, fatally damaging the enemy core.
The battlefield paused as I had ragged breath. It had ended. We won but somehow it felt like I didn't.
"psshh, that was a Lucky save," someone muttered behind me.
"Rookie Fluke, happens to everyone," Arielle added.
I felt they weren't wrong. But they weren't entirely right either.
I looked at Stray, his new sensor module was flickering faintly and glowing with promise. His frame was still dented, but I saw the start of something stronger beneath the surface and in that moment, I was glad I got that new sensor.
So did Renn. He clapped a hand on my shoulder as he leaned in.
"Next time, don't make the bot save you, you butthead."
I smirked, tired but burning inside.
"Next time, I'll save the bot."
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As we walked back under the rising twin moons of Irish Valley, a notification pinged across my HUD.
> Upgrade Path Unlocked
> Stray.EXE Potential Detected
> Sensor Evolution Tree Available
My lips curled into a weak smile. Let them call it a fluke and say all they want. Stray wasn't done evolving and neither was I.