Howdy friends.

First off, sorry for vanishing. Life gets in the way, as you know.

Second, I've done a bunch of rewrites on the Mecha Trash part of the story, about half of which is new. This is mostly because it felt like ass and just wasn't nearly as fun as the first arc, so I needed to fix things.

Third, sorry for the spam that's about to happen. I'll be posting the new chapters soon, but it'll appear out of order, and I'll need to move stuff around. Existing chapters that I've rewritten will be updated as well, but won't be in a new chapter post (to minimize spam). I suspect it'll take about a week to fully pick up where I left off.

I'll be working on all of this today (day of posting).

The content below contains spoilers for those just stepping in.

Changelog:

Mechanic changes:

Fixed resource gain from recycling.

Fixed XP gain. New algorithms set.

New Recycler skills: Compression 1-5

Reworked Mecha Frame skill tree.

Added ability absorption from consuming the hearts of certain creatures

Story changes:

Clarified things in the first arc, mostly about levels etc. Not too much changed.

Reworked Imsi's character development in second arc. Less on the nose and more subtle. This is adventure comedy, not drama.

Removed some sappy/emo chapters. Replaced with fun stuff.

Added Heist of the Cosmic Gem long chapter.

Added another sidequest progression long chapter.

Reworked some context around the Mecha Frame and recipes.

Changed Barnabas Jack into a hot lady instead of a hot dude. For the lols. He's Jessie Barnabas now.

TBD: Will rework third arc. Originally planned to have Nissan-based magic, but I'll be rewriting the whole ass thing. She might have tentacle magic instead. Not too sure yet.

Countless other small changes...

Skill Trees:

Note: This is copy-pasted right from my spreadsheet, so don't expect it to look too pretty.

lvl TRASH CAN: RECYCLER Sensory 2 Sight Sight+ Farsight Microsight 4 Hearing Hearing+ Full Spectrum Echolocation 6 Smell Smell+ Canine-Olfactory 5 Touch Touch+ Microfeel 8 Taste Taste+ Flavor Discernment 9 Manipulation 1 Manipulator arm 16 2 "2 arms 17 3 "4arms 21 4 "5 arms 22 5 "10 arms 20 + Emergency Power 12 Movement 1 Gyroscope movement 2 (better movement) 19 + Flashstep 14 Sensory+ Unlocks (+) skills 18 Mobility+ Unlocks (+) skills Speech(req.5) Recycler-based Phrases Efficiency 10 Efficiency 1 30% efficiency 11 (20% default) 2 40% 24 3 50% 25 4 75% 26 5 99% 27 Transmutation Transmute Compression 1 30% efficiency (20% default) 2 40% 3 50% 4 60% 5 75% Utility 3 Vend Paper 7 Metal 13 Alchemy 14 Complex 15 ALL (restrictions lifted) Mecha Frame base stats 50dex Safety Mode 50str 25vit Load-bearing 1 60kg Max Weight (50kg) default 2 70kg Max Weight 3 80kg Max Weight 4 90kg Max Weight 5 100kg Max Weight Stability Enhanced Gyros 28 Mobility Dagger cleats Grip Talon grips Climbing Climbing hook 23 Speech Drive Hardpoints 1 Arms 2 Back 3 Shoulders 4 Legs Hydraulic Limbs 30% Strength Flexible Joints 30% Dexterity Robust Plating 30% Vitality Workplace Safety Backup Alarm beep beep beep Flourescent Lining night visibility War Machine (incomplete)

base stats 25dex Turret Mode 100str 100vit Activation 29 Activation 1 Mecha Calibrator 30 2 Mecha Activator (activation: 10k each) Retrofit Mobility 1 +100dex 2 +200dex 3 +300dex Strength 1 +100str 2 +200str 3 +300str Weatherproofing +95% rust resistance Heavy Jacketing +50% water/lightning def