Ryan Carter grinned, watching Leonard Brooks walk out of the scanner room with a clean bill of progress. Seeing that kind of result on the first treatment was enough to lift his mood for the whole week.
With skills like his, he figured, he was never going to starve.
"President Brooks, go ahead and get up," Ryan said. "Work hard, keep pushing for better programs at Westlake, and maybe saving you won't have been a waste."
It sounded more like something an older mentor would say to a promising student, but Leonard took it without offense—if anything, he nodded solemnly.
"Dr. Carter, with medical talent like yours, you could teach. Imagine what the next generation could learn from you…"
Ryan cut him off with a small smile. "We'll talk about that another time. I'm just a software engineer right now. Teaching's not on my list yet."
Leonard chuckled but didn't press. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
By the time Ryan got back to his apartment, his roommate Greg was already asleep. Ryan showered, set his alarm, and decided to run through his nighttime mental training routine.
He didn't have the kind of expensive gear or supplements that could supercharge his recovery. So, he focused on what he could control—breathing drills, precision muscle control, and mental focus exercises. He'd burned a lot of energy in Leonard's treatment, and this was his way of replenishing it.
After two hours, he felt about halfway recovered. Physically, he was in excellent shape, but he could tell—his capacity was growing faster than his actual reserves. He needed more fuel, more input, to really level up.
Which meant finding new skills… and earning enough to pay for better resources.
Sunday was moving day. Greg had finally landed them a slightly bigger place closer to downtown, and while they didn't own much, the little things piled up.
By mid-afternoon, they had hauled the last box up three flights of stairs.
"I'm dead," Greg groaned, collapsing onto the couch. "And you… you just keep going like it's nothing. Didn't even break a sweat."
Ryan smirked. "You need more exercise."
"Says the guy who bought running shoes last spring and wore them twice."
Ryan chuckled. Two weeks ago, that would've been true—he'd been as out of shape as Greg. Now, thanks to his training and skill upgrades, his stamina was way past normal.
By the evening, the place was spotless. Ryan looked around with satisfaction. "Now this feels like home."
Monday morning, Ryan was up before the sun. He threw together a quick breakfast—eggs, toast, coffee—and left a plate for Greg before heading out.
It was his first day at Everstream Technologies, and he wanted to be early.
On the bus, he scanned faces the way he always did, checking for any useful skills to copy. Mostly retirees headed to the market. A couple of useful basics—beginner cooking, manual repair—but nothing special.
Then he noticed a man in his twenties sliding his hand into an older woman's purse.
Ryan stepped closer, brushing against the guy.
New skill detected: Pickpocketing (Beginner). Copy?
Copy. And again—this time stripping the skill completely from its owner.
The thief froze, suddenly clumsy. The woman spun around. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Within seconds, three other passengers had him pinned against the seat, shouting for the driver to call the cops. Ryan just slipped off the bus at the next stop, smiling faintly.
By the time he reached the building, he'd upgraded the stolen skill to Intermediate Stealth.
Everstream's office was on the ninth floor of the Riverside Tower. Without a badge yet, Ryan had to sign in at reception before taking the elevator up.
After about twenty minutes, the HR manager, Jenna Park, came out to walk him through the paperwork—ID badge, system logins, building access.
Then she handed him off to the head of engineering, Mike Hanlon, a stocky guy in his mid-thirties with a shaved head.
"Ryan! Glad you're here. Come meet the team."
As they made the rounds, Ryan's mental HUD lit up.
New skill detected: Programming (Intermediate). Copy?
New skill detected: English Composition (Beginner). Copy?
Ryan took both—he'd been decent at English already, but topping off never hurt. The programming skill was the real prize; four years of college hadn't gotten him anywhere close to that level.
They moved through the other departments, where coworkers tossed him friendly jokes.
"Fresh meat for engineering, huh?""Hey, new guy—got a girlfriend?"
Ryan smiled but kept his hands to himself. Copying skills required contact, and now wasn't the time to start shaking everyone's hand.
They were just heading back toward engineering when the door to the executive office opened.
"Morning, Ms. Lane," Mike greeted warmly.
Ryan froze.
It was her—the sharp-tongued woman who'd kicked him out of her way at the coffee shop two days ago. Except now she was in a sleek navy suit, hair pinned up, every inch the polished professional.
A flicker of recognition crossed her face. "You…"
Mike glanced between them. "Ryan, this is Evelyn Lane, our CEO. Evelyn, this is our newest developer."
Ryan forced a polite smile. "Good morning, Ms. Lane."
"Work hard," she said flatly, already turning away.
Back at his desk, Ryan exhaled slowly. Evelyn Lane. CEO of Everstream Technologies.
This was a coincidence… or maybe something more.
He looked toward her office door and made a quiet decision. I'm going to win her over.