Chapter 16: Ch 16 – Taking Shape

Night fell.

When light wasn't so abundant, Issac and Asphodel sat together on a wooden stump drinking water. Both of them were sweating, but the cold night breeze felt amazing on their moist skin. 

"So how long have you been here?"

Issac suddenly asked. He had only arrived the day prior, and she had left earlier than him from the farming colony. 

"This is my second year."

"Wait, second year?"

He was surprised. She looked at him with a tilted head. 

"Yea. I tested into the Mantle last year. I was 22 years old then."

"Oh... Nice."

'You're older than me by a year, huh?'

Issac tactfully retreated from the subject, not wishing to expose how he was younger. He didn't feel weird about it, only he knew he would get teased. 

"You know, I also tested straight into the rankings."

She suddenly smiled at him. 

"Really? What place?"

"98."

"That's only one better than me."

"Still better. I'm higher up now though. I've risen to rank 80. That means within a year, you have to catch up."

She nudged him with her shoulder, making him chuckle. 

"Oh, don't worry. You just worry about staying ahead. You'll need that headstart."

"Wow, such confidence. I woe the day you surpass me."

"Shut up."

He smiled and pushed back, causing her to laugh. She nudged him again.

"So what're your plans when school starts? Actually, you probably have no idea what goes on in school, huh?"

"Nope."

"Then feast your ears."

She straightened her back. 

"There are three main things we do during school. The first is obviously learning. You can choose any field you'd like to study, and many people specialize in certain areas. For instance, some people specialize in weapons development while others specialize in starship tech. Most dark technicians learn certain fields in Dark Physics to further their ability and allow them to work on mechs with greater power. After all, having clients is the best way to make money for your own projects or mechs. The stronger the client, the more money they'll make."

"Oh. Then I've got that part settled."

Issac thought of Anthony. He had already agreed to be Anthony's technician, so that was almost an exclusive client. It would also be a source of income for Issac to spend on his own mech and pilot suit. 

Asphodel continued.

"We're technicians, and there is still a lot for us to learn. You especially. You have amazing theoretical knowledge, but you lack the quantity. You need to familiarize yourself with all the different kinds of dark technologies, so when the time comes to build your mech, you'll know what you're doing and how to piece it together."

"True."

"At some point though, you'll hit a roadblock. You'll learn all you can for your clearance level. And to learn more, you'll have to increase that clearance level. For you, that involves earning prestige from your human intelligence administrators and spending said prestige to acquire special pieces of knowledge or tech. And there is one primary way of earning prestige."

"How's that?"

"Taking on missions."

Asphodel frowned a bit, seemingly not liking the idea of missions.

"Missions can come in all types. There are missions to clear out mutant hordes on other planets, perform reconnaissance in uncharted deep space, and even fight against each other. Our civilizations might be peaceful on the surface, but there are many skirmishes that happen on the borders and for mineral planets. There are definitely missions that involve joining certain military groups and fighting off either hostile parties or other races."

"Mm. You seem to not like missions."

"Cause I don't. I just wish I could stay home and do R&D. Unfortunately, the only other viable way to earn prestige is by spending time working technician jobs, and those jobs can take months to years. Taking on combat or mech missions are much faster, but it requires you to leave and travel around. Dealing with idiots is always fun too, especially when your life is in danger."

Asphodel grumbled and kicked a rock. It seemed she had bad experiences with missions. 

Issac nodded softly and pat her shoulder.

"Uh, it'll be alright."

"Hehe, thanks. Anyway, taking missions and studying are the two main things we do. The only other important things that go on are public and private events. Don't forget that as a generation ranker for humanity, you're a valuable asset. Don't be surprised if you get called on to help with private SSC missions. There's also the public events put on by the Mantle itself."

"What kind of public events?"

"Hm, well, last year there was a large scale extermination call. An entire planet was swarmed and overrun by mutant hordes numbering in the billions. They killed the entire resident population numbering almost 800 million. Everyone at the Mantle was called on to avenge the dead planet and wipe out the hordes."

"My god..."

Issac was baffled. 800 million people died? And to mutant hordes numbering in the billions? They were numbers he couldn't even fathom. 

"...Did they save the planet?"

"No, actually. To this day it still festers with mutants. In fact, there are rumors that we may be going back again. Look forward to it."

"Heh."

Issac let out a hollow chuckle. For a public event, it was pretty dismal. 

"There are other fun public events too."

"Really?"

"Mm. There's the Dark Gala, for one. It's an event where dark technicians come and display new or signature products. It's great for advertising. It also doubles as a festive event with shows and such. And at the end of the night, there's a ball for all the rankers of each generation. The event occurs at the end of every galactic year. It's quite fun, when you're not being hounded by idiots."

"You were hounded by idiots?"

"Yes..."

Asphodel let out a long sigh, rubbing her temple. Issac just snickered. 

"Well, aren't you popular? Must be nice having so many people at your beck and call."

"If that were all it is, then that'd be great. But they actively seek to insert themselves into everything I do. It's why I lock myself in my lab. It's the only place I can get peace and quiet."

"Hm, sorry, I wouldn't understand. I'm just a farmer boy from a planet nobody's ever heard of. You know, if you keep associating yourself with a nobody like me, you might just lose your popularity."

"Oh really? Don't tempt me too much. I might just have to use you and ruin my reputation. Building a wooden house, getting all sweaty and sticky, smelling like I haven't showered in days. That might just be the first step in a long series of bad choices."

Asphodel leaned over, making it seem like she was tempting Issac instead. 

Just as he got a bit flustered, she backed off with a smile. 

"Anyway, I think the day is over. I need to clean up. Do you need to use my shower?"

"I could, actually. I mean..."

Issac glanced over at the house. It looked more complete than the previous night, but it still had a long ways to go. 

She laughed. 

"It's no problem. I'll call a car."

With a few taps on her terminal, Asphodel summoned a flying car. The two boarded after Issac grabbed some items like fresh clothes, and they headed to her house. 

As she was ranked 80, she naturally had the 80th floating island. Upon arriving, he found that her residence was surrounded by a massive field of flowing purple grass. While glancing around him, Issac walked into the large, luxurious house that was comprised of cold metal and white marble. 

The entire interior was almost barren, hardly any decorations aside from the natural aesthetic. As he saw everything, he nodded inwardly while affirming his decision to build a wood cabin. He really didn't like such cold places. 

You are reading story Echelon at novel35.com

'I should add a fireplace into the home design.'

"I'll go shower first. If you really want to shower now, there's a guest bedroom with a shower. Otherwise you can just wait."

Asphodel spoke while walking upstairs, Issac glancing at her side profile as she did so.

"Which would you prefer I use?"

"...Well, mine is more comfortable."

She smiled, disappearing up the stairs. Issac smirked and walked around the house, waiting for her to finish. 

He checked the kitchen, opening up the refrigerator. He found nothing inside. He checked the cabinets too. All of them were empty, as if she had just moved into this house.

The entire place just felt empty. For several minutes, Issac wandered aimlessly, his feet being chilled on the cold stone flooring. 

"I'm done!"

At some point, Asphodel came bouncing down the stairs, her little bare feet tapping on the tiles. Issac saw her dressed in his shirt that she had taken the day she left the farming colony. It was too big on her, dropping below her shorts. 

"What's wrong?"

She tilted her head, seeing his brooding face. He looked at her with a little complexity. 

"You live alone here?"

"Yea. Well, the lab has turned into my actual living space, but yes, I'm the sole resident of this house."

"...Too big."

"The house?"

"Yea."

Issac rubbed his chin, looking at Asphodel's purple eyes that gazed into his. 

"...Should I make the cabin smaller?"

He mumbled as he pat her head, walking past her and up the stairs. She watched as he left to shower, wondering what he meant. 

After several more minutes, he came walking back down. What greeted him was the rich scent of food and the sight of Asphodel bringing food packages to the table.

"Oh, perfect timing. Come eat. My treat"

She smiled while unpacking large platters of various cuisines. Some were foods that he had never seen before, like one that flowed like slime. Another was purple meat that didn't look appetizing but smelled the richest. But there were also foods Issac recognized, like red meat steaks, pastas, elaborately shaped bread.

"I got some Aatrix and Human food. Just don't eat the slime. It would make you vomit."

"Right. Poisonous?"

"No, just not suited for the human digestive system. The Zandran can digest damn near everything though."

She spit out that interesting fact as they both sat down.

And as soon as he dug in, Issac didn't speak anymore. The food was lavish and horribly delicious. His hand couldn't stop scooping nor his mouth stop chewing. 

And it was when he had gone through about half of each main dish that he became full. And when both of them were done, Asphodedl simply grabbed everything and tossed it in a trash bin. 

"How wasteful. How much was that food? It tasted expensive."

"Expensive?"

She almost scoffed in response.

"I could buy a machine that can perpetually cultivate enough food for billions, let alone a small meal like this. There's no such thing as expensive food."

"I suppose..."

Issac just shrugged. Technology had advanced far. Making food was no longer an issue even for the poorest people in the galaxy. 

"So? Gonna go back and camp out?"

Asphodel couldn't help the chuckle as Issac flinched. He forgot that he still didn't have a home. 

But he did have Anthony's house. Just as he was about to say so though, she waved. 

"Just kidding. Go ahead and take my guest room. It's not like I need it."

"...Alright."

Issac smiled, seeing no need nor want to reject. 

Like that, he set himself up in her guest bed. It was horribly cold when he pulled back the sheets though. It obviously hadn't been touched in years, or at least the house had been built. 

"Congrats. You're the first one in this bed."

"Knew it."

He smirked, and before long, both of them went to sleep

......

...

The following morning, Issac woke up as the sun turned yellow. After taking care of his morning rituals, he left the guest bedroom and found food waiting for him on the table, along with a bed-headed but still beautiful Asphodel.

His blurry eyes focused on her as she waved. But the two were without words until breakfast finished. It was only then that they headed out. 

Asphodel was going to help him today too. 

"Three more days until orientation. Wonder if I can get the bare bones finish on this house before then."

Issac mumbled while the flying car touched down on his island. The two didn't daly as they went to work.

Issac laid down the last of the support beams, establishing the last of the divisions. Now, he could run piping to the right places, stream electrical wire through the house, and put up the walls. 

Issac was in charge of running pipe, and Nifty handled the wall paneling. The floor of the house was lifted off the ground, allowing him to run the pipes up through the floor. He cut any holes that he needed to, slipping the pipe in and extending it to poke through. 

And with Asphodel's help, pipe was laid much faster. She sat up top while Issac worked from below. She saved him much effort while guiding the pipe through, making sure it went to the right places.

Meanwhile, Nifty worked faster than both of them putting up walls. By the time noon came around, Issac and Asphodel barely finished piping gas, water, and sewage while Nifty had walled the entire place. 

"Alright cat, go ahead and work on the roof. Cut panels for the base, and use the shingles I bought for the finisher. We'll do wiring."

After taking an afternoon break, Issac handed out the final laborious task. Roofing a house was definitely one of the hardest jobs in all this. He was glad Nifty was there to do all the back breaking work, though he still got in a good workout. 

Asphodel was especially worn out. She obviously hadn't done much of this time of work. Her hands became tender, forcing her to wear gloves, and she became self conscious as sweat poured from her body. 

They both kept working though. By the end of the day, Issac was able to finalize everything while Nifty also got most of the roofing done.

For the first time, the house looked like a house. It was quickly coming together. 

"Nifty is seriously efficient."

Asphodel couldn't help but gawk. The cat controlled the pilot suit to its utmost efficiency. It cut the wood panels that it needed and carried them up to the roof with a single bound. It then scattered them around with inhuman strength, screwing them in one by one as if rushing to complete the job. 

Compared to Issac and Asphodel who spent minutes trying to hand each other strips of wire, it was scarily fast. Without Nifty and the pilot suit, this house would have taken weeks or months to build, and that was with constant, all day work. 

Now though, it was only the third day, and it was taking shape. The pieces were being filled in, and Issac happily placed an order for all the things that would fill the house. 

Insulation, a heating and cooling unit, plus all the different fixtures and furniture that would occupy the space. He needed cabinets and counters for the kitchen, lacquer for the wood flooring, rugs for the living spaces, and more. 

Without even looking at the price tag, Issac ordered everything he needed. His parents had sent him a large sum of money, and everything he was buying was dirt cheap. Compared to expenses for mech equipment, this was nothing. 

It was later into the night that everything was delivered. Asphodel watched as a dozen drones dropped off all kinds of supplies, boxes, and furniture pieces off right outside the house. Instead of getting overwhelmed though, she got excited. They were actually filling the house now. 

She looked forward to it.

 

You can find story with these keywords: Echelon, Read Echelon, Echelon novel, Echelon book, Echelon story, Echelon full, Echelon Latest Chapter