"Trial, error… explosion. The holy trinity of invention."
---
The next morning, Kai stood in front of his workbench with black rings under his eyes, a chalkboard full of formula scribbles behind him, and a look that could only be described as engineering-induced mania.
He tapped his Modular Interface Band.
[Vitals Stable. Neural Load: 14%. Mana Flow: Clear.]
"Good," he muttered. "Because today we shock ourselves on purpose."
[System Alert: You have selected an Affinity Circuit Project: Lightning Element.]
[Warning: Misaligned lightning runes may result in neural spasms, memory corruption, or involuntary tap dancing.]
Kai squinted. "Was that… a joke?"
[Not if it happens.]
He cracked his knuckles and brought up the blueprint.
[Affinity Circuit – Lightning v0.1]
Type: Internal Mental Conduit
Tier: I
Purpose: Channel lightning mana into the Techno-Core via regulated conductor array
Required Materials:
Refined Copper Thread (x3)Mana-Stabilized Crystal (x1)Conductive Paste (x1)Arc Shell Plate (x1 – optional for insulation)
Runes Required:
[Sigil of Current][Sigil of Flow Regulation][Sigil of Core Link]
Minimum Rune Accuracy: 93%
He laid out the pieces carefully:
Copper thread pulled from the beacon coilA mana-stabilized crystal from his scanner's scrap compartmentConductive paste mixed with soot, ash, and distilled mana oilThe arc plate—fashioned from a broken frying pan—shaped into a curved headpiece
"Alright," he muttered, "today we take lightning and politely route it into my brain. What could go wrong?"
Step 1: Assembly
He connected the copper threads into a neural bridge, layered the crystal over it like a capacitor, and soldered the paste in channels along the edges.
Step 2: Engraving
He steadied the metal piece, chalked in his alignment lines, and began carving the first rune: Sigil of Current.
It was an angular sequence—sharp lines, split paths, forked branches. Flowing but fast.
He burned the shape in with a heated engraving tip.
"Spine stroke... twin forks... mirror arc—wait."
He hesitated.
There was a skip in the symmetry.
"Did I double-stroke the upper fork?"
He stared at it for a second too long.
Then shrugged. "Close enough."
He moved on to Sigil of Flow Regulation, etched along the inside of the plate.
Finally, Sigil of Core Link—meant to bridge the circuit to his Techno-Core in his mind.
This one required a focused channeling effort.
He etched it with slower precision, and as he finished—
[Rune Accuracy: 91.4%]
[WARNING: Critical Misalignment in Sigil of Current]
[Do you still wish to activate Lightning Affinity Circuit v0.1?]
Kai hesitated.
Then exhaled. "Yeah. Let's see what happens."
He strapped the construct around his head, closed his eyes, and focused.
Mana from the environment pulsed inward, funneled through the copper threads—
Then hit the misaligned rune.
Snap.
His vision flashed white. A sharp crack echoed in his ears. His limbs jolted.
The workbench sparked. His hair stood on end.
He fell backward, convulsed for a second—
Then lay flat, twitching.
[...System Observing...]
[...System still observing...]
[You done?]
Kai groaned from the floor. "Not... my best work..."
[You attempted to route raw lightning into your cerebral cortex through a rune you guessed was close enough. This was predictable.]
Ten minutes later, he sat up with smoke wafting from his sleeves, looking like he'd lost a fight with a storm cloud.
"Okay. Lesson learned. No shortcuts with lightning."
He peeled off the headpiece and inspected the rune. Sure enough—the upper fork had doubled back on itself, creating a feedback loop.
"Damn. It reflected the charge inward."
[If you survive all your mistakes, you'll be brilliant someday.]
Kai raised a hand. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
[I said if.]
He grabbed another arc plate and started again—this time triple-checking each angle. When he got to the Sigil of Current, he mapped it out on parchment five times first.
Then etched it with a hand as steady as iron.
Final alignment pinged green.
[Rune Accuracy: 94.8%]
[Construct Stability: Stable]
[Initiate Circuit? Y/N]
"Let's ride the lightning."
He closed his eyes, focused, and activated the circuit.
A soft hum started in his skull.
The Techno-Core diagram appeared again—this time with a new ring forming. Lines of white-blue light arced inward and latched onto one of the core sockets.
Energy trickled in—not a jolt, but a steady pulse.
Controlled.
[Lightning Affinity Integrated: 3%]
[Techno-Core Circuit Activated – Node 1: Lightning]
[Stat Boost: +1 Intelligence, +1 Mana Control]
Kai exhaled, sweat beading on his brow.
His fingers twitched—but with excitement, not misfire.
He grabbed a chalk stick and drew the sigil on the wall for the hundredth time—this time smiling.
"Alright, electricity. We're friends now. Mostly."
XP Gained: +10 (Affinity Circuit v0.1)
System XP: 20 / 150
System Level: 6
Later that evening, he stared at the ruined first attempt, still slightly charred.
He didn't throw it away.
He mounted it on the wall.
A reminder: no shortcuts in engineering. No mercy from lightning.
He looked down at his new construct and grinned.