Chapter 2 - The First Salvage
The engine should not have moved.
The car had no battery, no fuel, and most of its wiring had melted in whatever fire had turned the cabin black.
Still, the crankshaft rotated one quarter turn.
Mason stepped back.
[BEGINNER RECLAMATION AVAILABLE]
[REPAIR ONE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTION.]
“Connection between what?”
A soft gold line appeared across the engine bay.
It highlighted a severed ground cable.
Mason laughed nervously.
“You want me to fix a wire.”
[THE FIRST STEP TOWARD IMMORTALITY IS OFTEN LESS CINEMATIC THAN ADVERTISED.]
Mason looked at the toolbox.
His father had owned three kinds of pliers because, according to him, using the wrong pliers was “how civilization collapses.”
Mason found a crimper, stripped the damaged wire, and used a copper connector from the toolbox.
The moment the connection closed, heat ran through his fingers.
Not electricity.
Something warmer.
Something that moved into his bones.
[REPAIR ACCEPTED]
[RECLAMATION RIGHTS ESTABLISHED]
[SELECT ONE TRAIT]
GRIP — Strength and tactile control developed through years of mechanical resistance.
HEAT TOLERANCE — Resistance to combustion, friction, and thermal stress.
ENGINE SENSE — Intuitive perception of mechanical systems.
UNFINISHED WILL — ???
Mason stared at the last option.
“Why question marks?”
[BECAUSE YOU ARE LEVEL 0 AND NOSY.]
“Fair.”
He considered Engine Sense. That could make him money.
Then he remembered dropping the transmission.
He selected GRIP.
Pain hit instantly.
Mason dropped to one knee.
His fingers cramped so hard they curled into claws. Tendons burned from wrist to elbow. His shoulders felt as if somebody had filled them with hot gravel.
Then it stopped.
[TRAIT ACQUIRED: RECLAIMED GRIP I]
[STRENGTH +2]
[CONTROL +3]
[SCRAP QI CHANNEL OPENED: RIGHT ARM]
Mason flexed his hand.
The world felt different.
Not easier.
More connected.
He could feel the texture of the wrench in his palm with ridiculous clarity—the tiny nick near the jaw, the grease inside the adjustment screw, even the difference in temperature between the steel head and rubber grip.
A panel appeared.
NAME: MASON REED
REALM: UNFORGED MORTAL
STRENGTH: 5
ENDURANCE: 4
CONTROL: 8
PERCEPTION: 5
SCRAP QI: 3/3
TRAIT SLOTS: 1/3
“Strength five?”
[AVERAGE HEALTHY ADULT MALE: 10]
Mason sighed.
“That feels unnecessarily specific.”
[YOU SKIPPED LUNCH.]
“Okay, Mom.”
The system did not respond.
Then:
[EAT SOMETHING.]
Mason laughed for the first time that day.
He picked up his father’s toolbox.
It felt lighter.
Much lighter.
On his way toward the fence, he passed the transmission he had dropped earlier. Todd had left it beside Bay Three to deal with in the morning.
Mason stopped.
He crouched.
He wrapped both hands around the casing.
Then lifted.
It came off the ground.
Not easily.
Not gracefully.
But it came up.
Mason stared at the hundred-pound transmission hanging between his hands.
A new notification appeared.
[ACHIEVEMENT: OBJECT OF HUMILIATION LIFTED]
[REWARD: 1 RECLAMATION POINT]
[BONUS CONDITION DISCOVERED]
[THE SYSTEM ENCOURAGES PETTY VICTORIES WHEN THEY ARE FUNNY.]
Mason grinned.
Then headlights swept across the yard.
Todd’s pickup rolled through the gate.
Mason was standing in the open, holding the transmission he had been fired for dropping.
Todd slammed on the brakes.
“What the hell?”
---
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