Chapter 78: One Bottle. I’m Keeping That for Something Worse (Updated)

Liam opened the message and found several notes about the recording setup, followed by a reminder that she was still working on the recorder’s design. He sent her the saved video to examine, then called Megan. She had watched most of the stream and immediately started talking about one of the songs before he could explain why he was calling. Liam let her finish, asked whether she wanted to try writing something together, and heard her go quiet for a moment.

“You mean a song for us?”

“Yeah. You sing, I play. We’ll work on it together.”

“Okay. When?”

“Tomorrow.”

After the call, he contacted the organizer whose details had appeared in chat and asked about the paid performance. Before going to bed, he had a date to audition and a place to show up with his guitar.

Alexandra called Liam over to the workbench on Thursday afternoon and placed the recorder in his hand. They had been working in a small rented unit near Princeton, where Liam had installed the equipment he received from the system before bringing her in. She had spent the first hour examining the bench and asking what it cost, then forgotten about the question once she started using it. Now, after several failed tests and one replaced component, the recorder finally sat inside its case with the buttons fitted properly.

“Press the red one.”

Liam did as she asked, spoke into the microphone, then stopped the recording and played it back. His voice came through clearly, without the noise they had heard during the earlier tests. Alexandra took it from him and connected it to her laptop, checking the saved file before letting him test it again with the guitar. This time, she made him sing louder and move farther away. Liam followed her instructions while she adjusted the settings, pleased to see how quickly her expression changed when the playback sounded the way she wanted.

[Updated.]

[Side Mission Complete: Build a working electronic device from an original design.]

[Reward: Beginner’s Circuit Design Handbook.]

[AMPLIFYING THE REWARDS BY 10,000X…]

[NEW REWARD: Divine Circuit Library.]

[Explanation: A collection of circuit designs, fault studies, and engineering methods. Designs must be studied and built using suitable materials and equipment.]

Liam dismissed the panel long enough to help Alexandra finish the testing. The recorder wasn’t something they had invented from nothing; the individual components were ordinary parts, but she had designed their arrangement and controls for the functions she wanted. Apparently, that was enough for the mission. He waited until she left to buy food before taking out the reward. A thick book appeared in his hands, its plain cover giving him no idea where to begin. When he opened it, the pages displayed a list of subjects instead of ordinary chapter titles.

‘Power circuits.’

The writing changed beneath his fingers. Liam stopped moving and watched a diagram spread across the page, followed by an explanation he only partly understood. He turned back and thought about audio recording. Another set of pages appeared, this time showing circuits similar enough to their project that he recognized some of the parts. There were notes about noise, power consumption, and mistakes made during assembly. He reached for his notebook and copied one of the simpler examples, checking every connection before putting the book away. Alexandra could tell him whether it was useful.

[Updated.]

[New Side Mission: Sell ten units of your original electronic device.] [Skip for $2.]

[Progress: 0/10.]

“Where did you get this?”

Alexandra had returned with the food and found him comparing the copied diagram with her notes. Liam told her it came from a reference he had acquired with the equipment, then asked her to look at it before they changed anything. She read it while eating, put her food down, and went back to the bench. An hour later, they had a second version to compare with the first. The workbench made the changes easier to carry out, but Alexandra still tested them herself and rejected one adjustment when it didn’t suit their design.

By evening, she had written down the parts cost and the time needed to assemble another unit. Liam sent a short demonstration to the student whose laptop they had repaired, asking whether anyone in his music group would be interested. The reply came while they were packing up: he wanted to try it himself and asked what they would charge.

Alexandra checked her figures once more before answering.

“One hundred and fifty.”

Liam passed on the price and arranged to bring the recorder the next day. Before leaving, they ordered enough parts for the remaining units.

Liam’s audition had taken less than fifteen minutes. After hearing him sing, the organizer offered him a thousand dollars for three sets at a private event that weekend. By Saturday evening, Liam was standing behind the small stage with his guitar while Megan crossed out another line in her notebook. They had worked on their song between classes, but she still wasn’t happy with the ending. Liam watched her replace the last two lines, read them under her breath, then push the notebook toward him. He tried the words against the melody quietly and nodded before handing it back.

“This works. Leave it.”

“You said that about the last one.”

“This one is better.”

The first two sets passed without any problems. Liam played the songs they had agreed on with the organizer, taking short breaks while guests ate and talked. Some stopped their conversations when he began singing, while others moved closer to the stage with their drinks. He was getting used to the attention now, and the new Stage Presence skill helped him look at the audience without losing track of what his hands were doing. Before the final set, he called Megan up, adjusted the second microphone, and told the audience they were going to try something they had written together.

Megan’s first few words were quiet, but Liam kept the accompaniment simple and let her find her voice. Her singing still needed work, especially compared with her dancing, so they had written the melody around what she could sing comfortably. He joined her for the chorus, lowering his own voice instead of covering hers. By the second verse, she had stopped glancing at the notebook on the stand. Liam watched her smile when someone near the front began moving with the rhythm, and they reached the new ending without either of them forgetting a word.

[Updated.]

[Side Mission Complete: Write and perform an original song with Megan.]

[Reward: Basic Songwriting Skill.]

[AMPLIFYING THE REWARDS BY 10,000X…]

[NEW REWARD: Divine Composition Skill.]

[Explanation: Mastery of melody, harmony, rhythm, and musical arrangement.]

The panel appeared as the applause started. Liam stood beside Megan and bowed, keeping his attention on the audience until they were off the stage. Only then did he notice how differently he remembered their song. He could hear where a second instrument would help, where they had repeated a phrase unnecessarily, and how the ending could lead more naturally out of the chorus. He didn’t tell Megan any of that while she was still smiling over their first performance. Instead, he helped pack the equipment and went to collect the agreed fee.

[Main Mission Complete: Earn $1,000 in fees from live performances.]

[Reward: Recovery Drink.]

[AMPLIFYING THE REWARDS BY 10,000X…]

[NEW REWARD: Divine Recovery Elixir ×1.]

[Explanation: Removes physical and mental exhaustion. Does not reset daily skill limits.]

‘One bottle. I’m keeping that for something worse than a long evening.’

Liam put the payment away and carried the guitar outside while Megan called Clara to tell her how it had gone. The new skill made him want to work on another song immediately, but he also wanted to get home before Megan decided they should listen to the recording in the parking lot. He opened the trunk, secured the guitar case, and was reaching for the driver’s door when another notification appeared. This one had nothing to do with music.

[New Main Mission: Win a sparring match against a higher-level opponent without using weapons or God Tier Reversal.]

Liam read it twice, then looked through the window at Megan. She was still talking excitedly into her phone, completely unaware of the thought that had just occurred to him.

‘No. Clara first. At least she already knows what I can do.’

He got into the car and waited until the call ended.

“Tell Clara I want to train with her tomorrow.”

Before they started, Liam checked Clara’s status again. The numbers had kept rising since the morning she reached Level 14, although the early rush of whole levels overnight hadn’t continued at the same pace. Each new level needed more EXP, and they spent much of the day at different universities. Her passive was still working whenever they were together. The eleven Divine Points she had saved back then were still unspent, alongside the points earned since. She wanted to learn what her body could already do before choosing where to add more, and Liam had agreed to leave them alone. Looking at the difference between their current attributes, he was beginning to regret suggesting a match.

Clara had Liam on the mat before he finished trying to catch her wrist. She hadn’t used any technique he recognized. She simply grabbed his arm, pulled him off balance, and followed him down before he could recover. Liam lay there for a moment, looking up at her pleased expression while she held his wrist beside his head. They had rented a private training room for the morning, and he was already glad nobody else was watching. When she finally released him, he sat up, rubbed his shoulder, and pointed toward the marked boundary around the mats.

“Again. This time, going outside counts as losing too.”

“Can you use the cape?”

“Yeah. Everything except weapons and Reversal.”

The second round lasted longer, though it ended with Liam stepping outside while avoiding her. Clara was faster than him, stronger than him, and quite happy to remind him of both after he had spent so much time explaining her abilities. He tried meeting her strength during the third round and immediately regretted it. Even with better positioning, he couldn’t hold her when she decided to pull free. By the time they stopped for water, his shirt was sticking to his back while Clara looked as though she had only warmed up.

‘If I keep trying to overpower her, I’ll be here all fucking day.’

Liam changed his approach when they started again. He used the cape to move himself instead of trying to resist every pull, keeping his feet close to the mat while Clara followed him. Twice, she caught his sleeve, and twice he had to give up ground before she could secure her grip. He watched where she placed her feet, gradually moving toward the boundary until she began trying to cut off his escape. When she finally stepped across to catch him, Liam pushed himself sideways with the cape and pulled her arm in the direction she was already moving. Her foot landed beyond the line before she stopped.