Author’s Corner: Hey guys! Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Yeah… not much else for me to put up here…

After leaving the Skill Master’s Guild, I once again summoned Yin and Yang to accompany me as we went to a local store for robots called Deus Ex Mechanics. Just from hearing a name, I already pretty much knew what to expect… only one race could ever have such a bad naming sense. On the way, I decided to take stock of my status now that my level had gone up, down, up again, and back down. It’s just a roller coaster of experience!

NameFalenel HulettRaceHalf-Elf(Woodland)TitlesVengeful Heart, Amateur Brain SurgeonFame400Level 264%ClassDruidAdvanced ClassXeno-ShifterDeityMalthanHealth260/260Health Regen0.43Mana960/960Mana Regen2.16Strength15Wisdom120Agility21Intelligence96Dexterity22Charisma15Vitality26Luck20Points Remaining0Earth 13%Fire 11%Wind 11%Water 12%Lightning 11%Light 11%Dark 12%Plant 12%Void 11%Metal 11%Magnetism 10%Plasma 10%

Sweet, sweet mana regen. Oh how I love that stat. It might not sound like much, but to a class that focuses on using magic with low mana costs, two mana a second is pretty good. I might be able to hold out against other characters my level now. Though, I still wasn’t sure what the special characteristics of the other classes would be.

“Ah, well I can help a bit with that!” Celeste spoke up next to me with a smile. “I did some basic research in case you ran into any. Obviously, I didn’t go into the advanced classes, because of the sheer number, but I did learn the basic characteristics.”

Before I had the chance to ask her to, she continued. “Most classes have some special form of magic that shows their classes’ power. For instance, rogues are able to use low level illusions to hide from sight and trick enemies with ease, despite not devoting much training to their mana. As they grow higher leveled, their stealth techniques improve to cover various other sense types, as well, such as Aura Sight.”

“For a fighter, they are capable of using their aura in a different way than most magic casters, with a technique known as ‘fighting spirit’. This is only usable during the rush of actual battle, but is a very powerful skill. They are able to convert their mana, health, even the buffer of their aura into extra power for their attacks. However, an opponent killed by fighting spirit will often leave behind more experience to make up for this usage and help them grow faster. Since they don’t specialize in as many skills as most classes, the buffer of their aura is a valuable fighting resource.”

“A hunter will often have one or two trained pets to help it fight, as well as possessing some of the tracking and stealth skills of the rogues. Unlike your animal companions, a hunter’s pets are kept as items, and he must train them over time without the aid of a mental bond. However, they do not have to take part in the fighting to level up, because their soul’s strength will always match that of the hunter.”

“A priest is as hard to fight as a druid, since you have to know what deity they represent. A priest following a water god will have vastly different magic than one following a fire god. However, they will generally all gain a series of magic based on their patron. A fire god’s priest might be able to turn into a flaming avatar, or throw fireballs at you while buffing teammates, for example. Their magic also costs almost no mana, as they draw their power directly from a higher being.”

“A knight would be like a melee priest. They get many of the same powers, but are focused more towards frontal combat and don’t get the buffs. Again, their magic costs nearly no mana. Mages are the only race that require a substantial mana pool to function. As you know, they are masters of various types of casting, and are considered the experts in magical combat.”

“You already know about druids, so I won’t explain those. As for merchants and craftsmen… well, they aren’t really made to fight in the first place. I’m sure they probably have some combat-oriented advanced classes, but the base class is purely noncombat. They even gain levels by completing their class duties, such as performing trades or creating good items. This is a special feature unique to those classes, which others couldn’t get even if they trained for it.”

I raised a curious eyebrow at that, but we were getting closer to the store. Then couldn’t someone just pick one of those two classes, then learn another class’s skills to have the best of both with little effort?

“Not really… In exchange for the ability to grow through crafting and trading, those two classes have a much harder time increasing combat skills, due to their auras not being compatible with them.”

I nodded my head slightly as we entered Deus Ex Mechanics. All along the four walls of the wide shop were mechanical bodies hanging up on hooks. Starting from the most absolute basic being to the left of the door, they grew more and more lifelike as they progressed in a clockwise manner, until the body to the right of the door looked entirely human.

“Hello, and welcome to Deus Ex Mechanics! We put the gods in the machines, how can I help you?” I was actually surprised by the man standing at the circular counter in the middle of the store. I had expected it to be a human, honestly. However…

“Weren’t you at the implant store on Gallen 4?” Indeed, it was the same looking stone golem with green eyes that had appeared when I got the implant to put Celeste in my head… on a different planet.

“I assure you that I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” The golem said in an exaggerated manner. “I have worked in this store for years. Maybe you met my brother?” I had the sinking suspicion that I would somehow encounter this man any time I was buying something for Celeste… regardless of how impossible that was. “Anyways, you have the look of a paying customer, my favorite kind!”

“Ah… yeah… I’m looking for a Deus Ex body for my companion.”

The golem nodded his head quickly. “Yes, yes, good! I make all of my products personally, and can guarantee with 98% certainty that there is nothing wrong with them.” He then spoke the next part so fast that, if not for having enhanced ears and a computer living in my mind, I wouldn’t have been able to understand. “Warning,DeusExMechanicscannotbeheldresponsibleforanylossoflimb,life,sanity,blood,brain,heart,oreyesduetoamalfunctioningmachine. Buyatyourownrisk.”

My eye couldn’t help but twitching at that. However, there was not another store to buy a Deus Ex body at in the system, unless I went back to Gallen 4. And knowing my luck, I’d meet this stone man once again there! “Fine, fine…”

Meanwhile, Yang had detached herself from my arm to wander around the store, looking in awe at the various robotic bodies. Underneath each one was a price tag, but there was no description of their abilities, just a cosmetic difference between them. I wasn’t too surprised by this, since Celeste had told me about how all Deus Ex started out with a basic set of abilities, no matter what type of body they had.

However, each robot appeared slightly different, in more than just their complexity. Some had fox tails and ears, others had dragon scales, some were short and wore a maid dress… There were male models, female models, models with weird tentacles for arms… Looking at one just a few from the left of the door I looked at its price tag and saw that it was for two gold and ten silver. “Do I have to buy the soul gem separately?”

The stone golem nodded with a smile full of loose gravel. “That’s right. Not everyone wants to buy the two together, so it’s just easier to keep them separate. The gem is thirty-five silver, or one gold to be fully charged.”

I considered buying the gem fully loaded to save me some time, but I also needed to get the upgrade that would let her communicate with the companion bracelets. When I asked, the golem assured me that he did sell them as well. Though it wasn’t quite the same, as it was built to connect a robot body with the bracelets, rather than from one bracelet to another. If I wanted to get all of that together, it would cost me three and a half gold, which is a bit more than I had at the moment.

I could probably sell some of the items that I got from Legion, but I wasn’t sure what all of them did yet(such as the tech armor). Once I had a bit of time, I should go through it all and identify things. “I’ll just take the empty gem, then. And this body.” I pointed a thumb back to the one I had chosen. It was a very basic form with pure white skin that only covered the face, torso, hands, and lower legs. Otherwise, the internal mechanisms were protected by some kind of glass or clear plastic. Its ‘muscles’ were glowing blue just beneath the surface, and it had large blue eyes. Its chest was feminine, with distinct bulges, but could not be considered large.

“Ah, excellent choice! One of my favorites, that one.” The golem said with a smile. I suddenly had an urge to choose a different model, but figured that was just my paranoia acting up. “I’ll assume that you want to include the wireless connection to the bracelets at purchase and upload the AI, correct?” When I nodded my head, he smiled a bit wider. “Excellent. Please come right this way.”

He pulled the body off of the wall, and carried it over his shoulder as he walked towards a back room. In this room there was a large table for him to lay the robot down on and ‘operate’. All he really did was unscrew the back of its head, and put a small chip into it before reattaching. “Alright, good to go. Just place the bracelet against it for a few seconds and she should start right up.”

I nodded, and did as instructed. There was a low beeping sound, before the robot opened its eyes and quickly sat up. “Did it work?” I was a bit concerned that something was wrong, since Celeste didn’t answer me, but instead turned over to stand up. However… my fears were truly unfounded, because within a few moments of awkward silence… she had started to do the robot. The dance, I mean.

Where did she even learn that? After a bit of time watching her dance, the golem had started clapping happily, while Yang merely watched with a confused expression. As for Yin.. I wasn’t really sure where she had gotten to, but she wasn’t in the room. “This body is functioning at peak efficiency.” The new Celeste said in a robotic tone. “Hold, please. Testing..” The robot’s voice gradually changed. “Testing, testing.” Soon, it matched the same voice she often used to communicate. “Yay, it worked!” She pumped her hands up excitedly as she managed to get her voice to work right.

“That’s good..” I said with a slight sight, handing the money over to the golem shopkeeper, and he handed me a dull blue gem. “So how do I use this when it’s full?”

“Ah, for that, you’ll just need to open up her chest and put it in her heart. Don’t worry, the gem itself isn’t important once she has the soul in her. In fact, it turns to dust once the soul is finished being extracted. From that point on, you’ll have your very own Deus Ex!”

I nodded my head again, and walked back out to the main store room with Celeste and Yang. Yin appeared to be lazily sitting by the door, just waiting to get out of here. Our new robot companion, seeing this, let out a slight grin. “Guess she isn’t impressed.”