The kind where he has to explain some things

Once John heard the bathroom door close, he pulled up the messaging interface on his HUD to write some messages to some people. He knew that, by what they had said about their relationship, he had done nothing wrong in regards to Astrid, but it still felt like the right thing to tell her about the things he had done just now.

John [11:10]: Sooo… I might’ve done a goof just now. I’ll get straight to the point: I just created a Barrier, and there was a girl in it… and I had sex with her. I know we said that we weren’t that serious about this relationship, but I just want to be honest with you about what I did.

Astrid [11:12]: Okay… Not really that shocking, and I expected it to happen, but it still doesn't feel good… Can we talk about this later? Do you expect to see her around more often? Is she still in that Barrier? I would like to get my own opinion about her, at least.

John [11:12]: Yeah, we can talk about it later. Sure, I can bring her around at some point, and no, she’s not in the Barrier anymore. I’ll take her with me to the Fateweavers. I could come around to your family’s place after school and before I look into that Barrier at school. Is that okay with you? I would like to have Brun get her opinion as well.

Astrid [11:14]: No, I’m not mad, dummy. I expected it, and we did say that we keep our relationship pretty low. But I want to look at her first, and I want to talk to you about it. Also, that sounds good, I’ll by out of school by 2, bit of a slow day today.

John [11:16]: Alright, I’ll be around by that time then.

Kim [08:00]: Very well, I will help you with finding out what is going on with this Barrier. Are you available during lunch?

John [11:11]: Actually, I’m not at school today, or will ever be again probably thanks to the job offer I got yesterday. So I’d be more comfortable with looking at it after school.

Kim [11:15]: I did notice your absence... but working on this after school is acceptable to me. Do you think there is going to be fighting involved?

John [11:15]: With how my last couple of days went, I’d say yes.

Kim [11:16]: Then I will contact Kaen. She will not be pleased if there is a potential for fighting and she isn’t involved… She’s very prone to dealing with problems with her fists…

Hannah [08:42]: Alright, I will send the documents for your release from school to the headmaster.

Hannah [10:57]: Your bike is ready now. When can I expect your arrival?

John [11:10]: I’ll be around in like an hour or so. Also, I have something that I would like to have ‘checked’. I just found a girl inside a Barrier, I took her out of it, and now I just want to make sure everything’s alright. Could you check on her when I’m around. You’re more experienced than me in these matters, so I would like your input.

Hannah [11:15]: YOU DID WHAT?! HOW? That shouldn’t be possible! It’s crazy enough that you can take items out of your Barriers with you and make it possible for others, now you’re telling me that you can take Humans from them? I need to check this. Take her with you. Meet me in front of the building, I’ll be waiting.

Brun [09:36]: Duuuuude, that’s awesome! Getting some serious cash with that? Maybe you can take me out at some point then? ;)

John [11:12]: Thanks! Yeah, sure, but then I’ll take your sister out first :P Also, I might’ve done a goof... Are you at home today?

Brun [11:14]: A goof? And yeah, I’m not at the clinic today, might need to go around for some Valk duty tho, why?

John [11:14]: You’ll see ;)

Brun [11:15]: Not cool, man. Not cool. Leaving me hanging like that, now I’ll think about whatever it is until I find out. You’re a scumbag xP

John [11:15]: Who ever told you I was a good guy? :P

Just as John wrote his last message to Astrid, he could hear the bathroom door open again, and a moment later, his own door opened.

“These machines are amazing! Do they store the rain? But what are those pleasant smelling liquids on the side of that hard pit?”

Aloy stood in the door frame, but in the new outfit. She looked rather pleased with the clothes, but something was nagging her. “Oh, you mean the shower? No, we have a connected underground water system that carries water to all the households around town and carries the used water back to a sewage plant. And those ‘pleasant smelling liquids’ are probably shampoo and bodywash, they help to clean your body. So, are the clothes to your liking?”

Aloy nodded, “They are very comfortable, and I like how they feel. But how do these clothes protect me? Are you not afraid that something could attack you?”

John shook his head at that and changed into something more comfortable to wear, a pair of jeans and a wide t-shirt. “No, you don’t have to worry about attacks here. Nothing will attack you in this world. Which is also why I would ask you to leave your weapons here, it’s not that usual for people to carry around spears and bows by now. They’ll be safe here, and you’ll be safe with me.”

A smile crept on her face as he said that, “Okay, I’ll believe you. So, are we going somewhere?” As she asked that, she put her spear, quiver and bow on his bed.

He nodded as he stepped out of his room, letting her follow him down the stairs. “Yes, we will take a trip into town, I’ll show you some stuff around here, and then we will meet some people. After that, I’ll either take you back to your world or you can stay with me to help me with something. It might be dangerous though.”

She just laughed at that last part, “As if fighting four sawtooths wasn’t dangerous. I’ll see what happens today, then I can tell you if I’ll help you or not.”

As they left the house, they saw that the sky was still dark with clouds and it was still pouring down, just like it did this morning. John quickly headed back inside to pick up an umbrella, and then they were off to the next bus station.

Even though Aloy was both astounded and frightened by the idea of the public transport system, nothing interesting happened on their way to the bus taking them to the business district of the town. Their trip would take about three quarters of an hour, and the bus was empty as they entered. John took the opportunity to work on his daily goals and decided to Craft some stuff while no one was in the bus.

While he explained what he was about to do to Aloy, he looked at his Craft Menu to find out what he wanted to make:

Leather Gloves
Armor (Gloves)
+2 Def
Light Armor
Requires: 2x Leather

Plate Gloves
Armor (Gloves)
+4 Def
Medium Armor: Movement Speed reduced by 10% (only highest Armor class will be deducted from speed)
Requires: 2x Scrap Metal or 1x Enhanced Metal

Kevlar Gloves
Armor (Gloves)
+3 Def
Light Armor
Requires: 2x Carbon Fiber, Craft Lv.3

Hidden Knife Module
Material (Glove)
Can be used as a Material to create a bladed glove. Only usable on gloves. Can be enhanced.
Requires: 3x Enhanced Metal, 2x Superior Electronics

Possible Enhancements:
Infected Blood: Deal Bonus Damage against Vampires.
Vampire Fang: Gain HP when you deal a lot of damage.
Superior Electronics: Deal Lightning Damage on unarmed strikes.
Green Goo: Dye Item Green, 95% Chance of returning material.

Level of Craft not high enough to use specific materials in inventory

As John looked the options over, he immediately created the Module and used the Superior Electronics and the Vampire Fang on it thanks to a Crit with Craft. Once it was done, the bracers looked like a replica of a hidden blade from the Assassin’s Creed games.

Then he used the new Module to Craft again. The options were the same, except that each glove now also had a ‘bladed’ variant. In the end, John decided to go with the Kevlar Gloves because there was no reason not to go for the straight upgrade in terms of defense in comparison to the other light gloves.

The end result was this:

Bladed Kevlar Gauntlet of the Vampire Hunter
Armor (Gloves)
+3 Def
Light Armor
+5 DMG Against Vampires (Any Weapon)
+3 HP for every hit dealing 200+ DMG (Any Weapon)
+3 Lightning DMG (Unarmed Strikes)
+3 DMG (Unarmed Strikes)
Retractable Blade on the Top of the Gloves
Blades Deal an additional 5 DMG

Craft, Lv.4: New Modules unlocked, Quality improved.

Quest Progress: Work in Progress
Reach Level 5:
Craft (4/5)

Good, one step closer to the goal of at least one skill.

“So, can you do everything with your powers?” asked Aloy, which made John chuckle.

While he was at it, he used Extract Material on his old makeshift armor, resulting in 1 piece of Leather and a level up in that skill:

Extract Materials, Lv.2: Better chance to yield more Materials.

Quest Progress: Work in Progress
Reach Level 5:
Extract Materials (2/5)

“No, not really, I’m actually pretty weak in comparison to others. My powers just seem to be a lot more versatile and able to do things a lot quicker than others can do.” Even though he was in his casual wear, he quickly equipped his new gloves, which were a mixture of dark grey and black kevlar going up to his elbow with ward plates covering any flat surface. “See these gloves, for example. Right now they seem to be pretty much the best thing I can do, especially with the materials that I have with me and with my skill. A master in the art of making armor and similar things would likely make a product that is a lot better, but I just made them in a matter of minutes.” As he had put them on his hands, he immediately felt a connection from them to his brain, as if they immediately responded to the same thoughts his HUD and his Bonds responded to.

The redhead looked at the newly created gloves with fascination as John unequipped them. “So you barely know your own powers?”

John nodded to that. It was pretty much true. Sure, he knew what he could do right now, but even then he didn’t know all the recipes he could use with his various crafting skills. His combat was more ingrained into his mind, and he actually knew how to do these things now, just as he did with Parkour. When the skill seemed to involve his physical body, then he would get knowledge about it, but when it was something more mind-related, then it simply… worked. It was a bizarre circumstance that John had yet to understand.

But it was something he was sure that he would come to understand at some point.

The rest of the bus ride was filled with John explaining to Aloy the concepts of his world and how the Abyss worked. As John was about to tell her about the Fateweavers, they arrived at the bus stop just next to the Sullivan tower. The bus hadn’t filled much during the remaining ride, and only a handful of people exited with them. It was a Thursday noon; most people that usually had to get off here did so some hours ago to work away in their little cubicle.

Now, John was here to get everything set up for his new workplace as well, but he was likely not going to be stuck behind a desk.

As they went up to the entrance of the tower, John just had to marvel at this thing. The Sullivan tower was the biggest building in the Business district with roughly 50 floors, each one rented to one or more companies to supply them with workspace. The building was rumored to be one of the most secure buildings in the town, apparently no one had succeeded to break in yet. Now that John knew that the Fateweavers had a headquarter here, it made a lot more sense.

Hannah was already standing in front of the building, impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for them to arrive. Surprisingly, she wore an outfit that was highly similar to the one she wore yesterday, with a black skirt showing off her slim legs and her high black boots. As he saw her, he asked with a smile, “So I assume the Weavers don’t have a dress code?” to which the goth just rolled her eyes.

“You’d think that I get used to that joke, but it annoys me every time someone says it. No, the Fateweavers have no dress code, yes, I like wearing things like these, and no, you’re not funny. Anyway, is this her?” Quickly changing the topic, Hannah’s swerve made Aloy take an uncomfortable step back.

“John, what does she mean ‘Am I her’? What’s going on?” She turned to John with a concerned look that was showing a lot of tension.

He immediately tried to calm her down, “Relax, she won’t do anything to you. I’ve talked with Hannah about how I found your world and how I just want to check if there are any differences between you and us. She’ll do nothing to hurt you, right, Hannah?”

Hannah raised an eyebrow at that but responded, “Yes, he’s right. We just want to see if there are any nominal differences in your body in contrast to our world. It’ll be a quick check, nothing bad. You will do it alone though, since John has other matters to attend. Is that alright? You can, of course, oppose this quick check, but then we can not allow you inside.”

Torn between the options, the redhead finally nodded and said, “Fine, I’ll do your test.”

“Excellent,” said Hannah, and they immediately were surrounded by shattering glass as they entered a Barrier.

“Really? Entering a Barrier straight in front of the building, in broad daylight? That sounds like a bad idea.” John was highly surprised by the action, so much so that he barely noticed the scenery around them. Then again, he just crafted something in a bus, so he probably wasn't one to judge...

“As if the Fateweavers wouldn’t put up enchantments around the tower making it secure to enter and leave. To other people on the outside without the Master’s Eye, it looks like we just entered the building and went into an elevator. So, let’s go and get you to your bike, and you to the check.”

Now that John had an explanation for why she would do something like that in broad daylight, he actually noticed the area around them. Gone was the monolith of glass, reflecting the dark sky, it was replaced by a helix made out of black obsidian taking about the same space.

“Welcome to the Springfield HQ of the Fateweavers, the Blackspire.”