The Game: Aether and Mind

I have never seen a treehouse on earth with my own two eyes, but I have to admit having one is pretty dope, especially when it was self-made. And Gerb's father was a pretty darn good hobby builder, although it did make me wonder why he was a furniture mover instead of an artisan or craftsgriffon

"And so Pomp Puncher threw his premium pompin' tastic punch against the visage of sir Vulgrom, also known to the criminal side of Argendake as 'Ze Zorstorer'." I read out loud a comic.

"PSST! Don't spoil it Star, I'm only at issue six so far!" Sugar Drop complained.

I laid on the ground atop my stomach, smiling to myself as Sugar, who laid in a similar position as I, lifted her legs and nudged me. Although in truth she just found my legs to be comfortable hoof resters I assumed.

"Come on, we bought those comics like a month ago, how are you still there?" Gerb replied with sass and shock, even throwing his comic onto the floor. Although his position, that being seated on a bean bag, made this action hard. Yeah, maybe I should've bought a smaller one instead of thinking about longevity.

"I mean, we also bought a whole bunch of books." Cairn Song said from the side with a pinch of confidence I wouldn't've expected him to have two years ago.

'Yeah, we bought those. Not like I paid 90 percent of the bill... Nooo.' I mused with false annoyance. In terms of finances, I am pretty set for my age, even aside from the sum of pocket money that I receive monthly, one that likely was higher than my annual earnings as a delivery guy extraordinaire, I had other sources of income too. My little pencil idea was successful, even if most of it had to be redone to be used by the public masses and not just one with access to Aether. The ownership of this patent: 'A piece of wood filled with a coloration rod inside' (Yes, that's what was written on the paper) ensured that if things didn't turn out well, I'd still have a comfy safety net.

I still have no idea what they used to compliment the coal’s aspect like it was some sort of very soft graphite, but still different enough to raise my eyebrows...

I also had a thing going on with the creation of art since it was much faster to level up than writing and having all those 'projects' in my room was suffocating. Although I hope that the demand for my art was due to my craftsmanship and not because of my title. Nonetheless, I tried to not flaunt either title or wealth, it was poisonous to one's mind, and my position as the host already was pushing my 'sense of empowerment to uncomfortable heights.

"Is that robo friend 2000? I thought they were sold out everywhere?" Sugar suddenly asked with interest and gained our attention. She pointed her hoof at an old and bumped robot you'd see in those ancient toy commercials. "Can I have it for a moment?" She pulled the toy towards her before receiving an answer.

Gerb shrugged. "Sure, knock yourself out, it's broken either way."

"How did you break it? It's made out of metal." Cairn Song asked, hopping down from his seat near the window.

"Hey, I didn't break it." Gerb said with a hurt tone, before crossing his forelimbs. "My dad sometimes picks up stuff ponies leave behind or throw away. I mean, do I look like I could afford that stuff?"

'Ouch, someone hit a sore spot.' I thought to myself, cringing quietly to myself while observing the displeased look on Gerb's face. Although I could sympathize with the lack of new toys, at least when I was young.

You are 9. The Game commented from the side, now I could understand why Gerb was so easily infuriated by accusations.

Cairn Song winced and rubbed his hoof while looking away for a moment. "Sorry." He said gently, while his ear flickered.

"Oh, don't take it so hard to the heart, just hit a soft spot." Gerb answered with a sigh, before rubbing his shoulder in return. His eyes fell onto me inspecting the toy.

"Yep, nothing is moving inside this things." Sugar Drop enforced the state of the robo friend 2000 while violently shaking the toy like a fish called Nemo.

"Can I try something?" I asked while taking the toy from Sugars aura, earning a confused, cross-eyed look. How interesting of a reaction.

"Come on Jerky, you're the last one who's got to ask for toys." Gerb said with an empathetic tone, making me believe he didn't mention my wealth, but rather my generosity.

I lifted the toy before my eyes, before deeply concentrating on the toy. The toy vibrated as its screws were all turned at once, and the parts were separated and laid in piles on the floor. Magic has become... I wouldn't quite describe it as an extension of my will, neither as something natural, rather a multi-function tool I'm quite well used to, but at times I forget to use it as well and stick to my hooves instead.

You seem to possess knowledge of this primitive electronic object. The Game noted with an interesting tone. How weird, I thought he had in-depth knowledge of my whole life.

'I've built a similar robot during school future day: We were able to visit one company for a day, and I chose a department store that specialized in electronics. I cut parts from sheets, welded, cabled, and all that stuff.' I mused in my head and smiled a bit harder. Curse that perk.

"Hmm, so that's the flaw." I mumbled to myself, gaining the attention of my three friends who crept closer. I questioned how some devices could function when this country barely had any industrialization to speak off. However, I now had my answer and a new viewpoint on this world and chain of development: It wasn't that ponykind didn't have a drive for development due to Celestia's warding presence, they were just using a more lucrative path in the direction of arcane engineering.

"The power source, this crystal here, was cracked. By the looks of it the robot was thrown pretty hard." I said calmly while feeling only the faintest of emotions radiating from the object, which probably wasn't used much.

"Rich kid probably wanted it in blue or pink instead of grey." Gerb muttered with annoyance, and Cairn's emotions showed that he shared this opinion to some extent.

"Never took you for one hatin' the rich folk." I spoke with a feeble country accent, Gentle's family sends too many letters. I ignored this statement for the most part and held the broken item to my heart and pushed a tiny bit of Aether into the crystal, so as to not cause an explosion.

"Not to be mean or anything but, ehm, those living up there aren't really the nicest ponies." Cairn admitted with a crooked, somewhat unsure tone. "Of-of course that doesn't include you."

"Really? I haven't seen anything that bad." Sugar Drop said with genuine surprise, but I could only silently huff at the nativity.

"Yeah I wonder why..." I said a bit too loudly while listening to the crystal's cracks being sealed.

"Dad used to make furniture in Baltimare, then some rich colt bought the whole company and let go all the griffins, that was like half of the staff. 'Least that’s what dad told me." Gerb rolled his eyes, before looking at the parts which floated into the air and were slowly put back together into one toy. It was oddly satisfying seeing them all just flawlessly, fluidly fly back into their place.

"If helps any, I believe a big business like that was asking for financial support from the crown a year ago or so, but was denied. I haven't heard anything since, but maybe it went out of business." I said coyly, before handing the toy to Cairn Song. "Would you please turn that small switch on the back?" I couldn't test it myself, as that result couldn't tell me if the item would only work for me, or everyone.

"Uhm, should I?" Carin Song asked Gerb shyly, who seemed unfazed by the question. Cairn gulped and carefully put the toy on the ground, his ear flickered continuously like someone was telling him the toy was going to blow any second. With a flick of his hoof, the toy sprang into life and walked while making a torrent of noises.

For repairing your friend's toy and filling him with excitement, you receive 10 points of charisma.
For showing your craftsmanship, you've gained the job class [Crafter]

"Hey, it worked!" I exclaimed happily with saliva gathering in my mouth. It would be no overstatement to say that literal stars were shining in my eyes given the pounding of my heart. The possibilities were endless and a chance to gain equipment upgrades outside of loot drops was monumental, now all I had to do was get the smithing job and I'll be set for the hunt. Oh, how long 'till I could make a crossbow or even better, a bastard sword?

"Erm, where did Gerb go?" Sugar asked, pointing at the empty spot next to Carin Song, who jerked upon seeing his best pal missing. If one squinted they could faintly make out teeny-tiny puffs of smoke that once resembled the griffon's silhouette.

"Jerky!" Gerb called out with excitement from outside of the treehouse. Suddenly a great trove flew through the window, one which luckily was open at the time, with the pigeon griffin in tow. He opened the chest and heaved over his treasure with gleaming eyes and claws that dug into the wood. Excitement was the only emotion that fuelled this one. "We'll have a long afternoon ahead." His own body shook with excitement, causing his fluffy feathers to puff into a pillowy chest plate.

Looks like we won't have to only break and repair a singular item to level up this new class. The Game noted dryly but didn't sugarcoat that leveling this class would take some time.

I gave Gerb a soft smile, first as his radiating emotions warmed my heart, second, he was so damn fluffy when he was excited like the world's best pillow! Oh, and third cause it would advance my quest, that one also contributed to my smile, yes, of course.

And thus, I spent my afternoon repairing broken toys, however it didn't feel like a chore or grinding. It was quite enjoyable to show my friends how to put together all the toys and teach them a few things while also experiencing a hastily advancing sense of understanding for mechanisms and cooperating parts. It also revealed to me that intelligence didn't so much as make me 'smarter' as it allowed me to understand concepts better and more easily.

It was a pleasant way to spend my time... even when Sugar was constantly resting her head on my shoulder and making a tad too many compliments. Still, it was worth all the hassle to see a griffon go 'floof!'