Sry for the slow releases. Real life has been taking away lots of my motivation for writing (as well as time) so for the time being for both stories i will post every 2-3 days until this passes.(real life is such a bitch)

Sry but shorter chapter today because of reason stated above. hope you understand

I took my time to get the books. It was the first time I entered the town by myself. Without having to take care of Sasha I have the time to look around.

The town wasn’t large which I knew. Still many of these houses I pass are all virtual spaces. As I enter the main town area the variation becomes apparent since the houses were all the same.

I breathe deeply and feel a strange sense of calm. I kind of wonder how much I stored up before I let loose. I try to imagine my feelings and all I feel is calm. I think of the people I knew. My family made me happy, bulk made me chuckle, I was indifferent to the three elementals, victor and Greer and Annabeth I don’t know. I don’t know how to express what I feel towards her. It’s a mix of irritation and calm.

I still feel more irritation towards her because all she does is annoy and bitches about everything.

Still sometime strange.

Well I can think about it sometime later. I reached the books store anyway. I go to the reception and open the notepad. I pull up the list and then a new message to write on.

Nathan: ”I need these books.”

I push the notepad note with the list and he takes it like by the hand and looks it over.

Attendant: ‘Hold on a moment while I find them.’

I nod and wait. One by one the books flash and appear on the large desk in front of me. When he was done, 10 books was there costing a total of $500. When I paid the books flashed home.

I did a small bow to show my thanks and left. While on the way I passed a sweets shop and the urge hit hard. It's been a very long time since I had any so I go inside and come out with a box of nestle chocolates to share between those at home. Its tiny things like this that matter in the long run. You don’t know what you have until you don’t have it anymore.

I’ve tasted life in prison, depression, the emptiness of despair and know exactly what I have and what I don’t. The love of my family, a few good friends in Etheria, a fragile yet stable life in this virtual town.

I wonder how much I can build in that other world for Sasha. It’s really dangerous there and though she is having fun I wonder how long it will last. Eventually her censor will turn off and she will see Etheria as it really is.

I want to have a proper place for her to be safe before that.

Maybe the doctor's suggestion about making a town is a good one. Still, like hell I would manage it. I already have an idea on how to be village chief but not lift a finger towards it. It is rather simple, who is the best management clockwork. Obviously Rust. Of course I can’t pull him away from the town he manages but what I want isn’t him completely. What I want are his codes.

If I make new clockwork with codes from rust it would make a perfect management model clockwork. I would definitely tweak the bots since leaving them with the same personality would be to weird. Not too much though since I need that neat freak personality of his intact.

While I was thinking of all this I reached home and enter my space before going inside the house.

I could hear the loud talk of the girls. I put the box of chocolates on the table and knock on the door.

Nathan: ‘Sasha?’

Sasha: ‘Ah! Bro your back, come in!’

She shouted happily so I open the door and walk in only to see her bed covered in clothes. The floor was covered as well and in the middle of the room was Alex and Sarah who were holding Sasha’s clothes while looking to see if it looked good.

As for Sasha herself, she was wearing a long sundress; her hair was put into two tails splitting her hair while letting small bangs drop on the front.

I blinked a few times seeing everything before I suddenly stepped out slamming the door behind me before rubbing my eyes and breathing a few times and opening it again to see the same thing. Instantly I open the menu and search the setting and find the camera which would be similar to screenshots.

No camera actually appears by I could take pictures.

After taking a few pictures I walked out the door and looked back.

Nathan: ‘I bought chocolate, who wants?’

With that the three looked from one to the other before nodding and running after me.

The box didn’t last long and while we ate I attached all those pictures to an email and sent them to mom and dad. I didn’t know how to play with her like a girl so to see them like that was a bit of a relief.

I had already decided that a school was a must. We could also make a separate section so that it can help teach and train skills. My blacksmithing was still intermediate rank and my alchemy was as well. I haven’t done nearly as much as I would like with programming so it was still in the basic but almost intermediate rank and body construction was already half way through intermediate rank.

As the girls talked I thought of that unknown item as well. I wonder what that could be. The small strange ball that formed around it was to strange so when my curiosity hit its max I pulled out the notepad. If I wanted to talk in large sentences or ask in detail I still needed this.

Nathan: ”Hey do either of you know what that strange core that I created was? Suddenly a small glass ball formed around it after I finished making it and cooling it?”

Alex: ‘Never saw or heard about it from the others. Must be a new item, it's not supposed to be uncommon to discover stuff since many of the items that existed are long gone. Even new skill are possible to name.’

Sarah: ‘Even if we knew, we aren’t allowed to talk by contract.’

I nod understanding. Put simply it's new, not something the game producers expected to appear and simply was made by hands of someone. It’s similar to Sasha’s five ball turret, that wasn’t around until we made it.

I wonder what I can make from that thing. Maybe it can work as a strong catalyst for a magic weapons.

Well, after we talked a bit Sasha made us play some games with her before I had them go teach her some school related stuff. It was the main reason I wanted them here.

I go to my room and start reading some of the new books I gained as well as study the school materials I missed.

Soon the two came and told me they were leaving since it was late for them which I just waved goodbye to and went back to studying.

When the outside turned dark I was already tired so I jumped into bed after making Sasha go to hers after helping her clean up and then went to sleep.

That was just my first day and for the next four days it was similar. The main difference was that instead of the girls, it was the others who came over. I got bulk to come and met him for the first time. He is quite broad shoulders and looked like an athlete and a few years older.

He didn’t stay long since he was going to some dojo place to train so he went off soon after. It was only him though so I spent time with Sasha for the days and studied with her and exercised in the training rooms or went out. Though the new workshop did help us kill some time.

After all that for the most part the long days that seem to not pass finally reached an end when we finally went back into the game.

I opened my eyes in my ship and soon after so did Nova who was sitting beside me.

I yawned with both bodies before stretching my gears and heading to what I needed.

And what exactly was that, well to annoy Gaia and accept that mission to set up the towns. I did accept that and then I need to get a reduced number for my town for now.

Brock needs to grow fast so we can make a village on his back or else things will get cramped.

Brock left his whale floating some 10 meters off the ground. I jump on his right fin since it was closer down and free of debris below.

I send Asura who I know could last a few hits with her to negotiate.

The city was already awake but I could tell it was all NPC but every so often I could see the movement of players here and there. Most of them were probably others like me who can log in immediately.

I reach her house rather quickly and Rust was waiting as if expecting me.

Rust: ‘Just on time I see.’

Techno: ”Expecting me?”

Rust: ‘Yes actually, that draconian girl came here and said you were interested in making your own village inside the whale.’

Techno: Need to discipline her better so she can keep her trap shut. ”Ya, I was thinking of making a town for Nova’s benefit. She doesn’t have anyone her age so I was getting worried.”

He nods and gestures to enter. We go up to Gaia’s office where she is writing, a LOT.

Gaia: ‘Oh great, another headache.’

Techno: ”From the looks of it, I don’t need to do anything and just sit back and enjoy the show.”

She looks up and blinks a few times a bit started.

Gaia: ‘Is it just me or are you calmer and...Less aggressive?’

Techno: ”I was forced to see the person I hate the most and unloaded my rage in one burst. I let out a lot of steam and it left me light so I probably am a bit less aggressive when I don’t argue.”

She looks a bit before shrugging.

Techno: ”So do you already have everything set for my crew to transport the construction crews of the villages?”

Rust: ‘Not construction crews, the who village populations. We already checked and inside Brock’s whale body he can carry at least 2 village worth’s of passengers comfortably while your ship holds enough for 1 village. We will provide your village's worth of people after you come back. Another ships will travel with you to take the last gate’s villagers. When you're done return here to get the center villages people it's safer.’’

Techno: ”Safer?”

Gaia: ‘Yep, the central area of the scrapyard had some humans infiltrate and after a sometime they came back too strong to fight.’

Techno: ”They gained armor?”

Gaia: ‘Nope, they evolved themselves into half machines, cyborgs or androids depending how far it was changed. They seem to have a grudge towards clockwork because whichever ship that passes holding a single clockwork has been destroyed.’

This was rather annoying. Getting to the center means directly confronting a race that has been taking down a lot of ships. From the looks they also aren’t any bit shy on tech. I am having a foreboding feeling about this quest now.

Still I formally accept it and the official quest appears.

Mission: Four Gate Expansion

The leaders of the Clockwork Nation has put their trust in you to safely transport ships full of villagers that will set up new towns on the three other remaining gates of the clockwork scrapyard. The dangers they face would be rogue robots and possibly a new human hybrid race with clockwork.

Success requirements: Successful settling

North Gate: No

East Gate: No

West Gate: No

Difficulty: D

Failure: All villagers die, You die.

Reward: ???

I accept the quest and then leave to get supplies. I still need to wait for them to get the people ready and for the others to log in. While I'm at it I will buy some supplies and get scraps because I want to mess with that new core. It’s been eating away at me to figure out what that unknown is.

I quickly run around getting supplies before rushing back to the ship and start experimenting.