The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 23: Brand Identity (3)

Jason stared at the items on his desk that had taken him a few days to create. Not only had he made the two new Primals, which were now designated as SDW: Primal 002, but he had also completed the Utility tool that he planned to sell. He had held off on spending his PP so far just in case he managed to gain more from these two things.

However, it was not meant to be. Syssie had evaluated the new Primal as only being worth one copper credit more than the original. Which was what Jason had assumed anyway. It was still an F Rank, so there was no PP there. His Utility tool, the Multi-Purpose Hand Crank Tool or MPHCT for short, also gained an F Rank evaluation.

However, Jason could not be more pleased with it. It was a straightforward handheld tool. Its compact nature allowed him to switch out the end of the device for different sized drill bits, screwdrivers and spanners. Tools were really cheap around Highrise, so he managed to purchase and modify enough for ten copies apart from his own.

Syssie had evaluated it as being worth around six copper credits. Considering the materials used to make it only cost him three copper credits, he could essentially look forward to gaining thirty copper credits of pure profit! In the end, after selling everything and buying a few daily essentials, Jason would have one hundred copper credits! Which was more money than he had ever seen in his life!

'I could even exchange them for one iron credit.' Jason's eyes gleamed as he thought about that. He had never seen an iron credit due to the area he lived in. Let alone a silver or gold credit. Each one was worth one hundred credits of the lesser currency. Jason could not imagine what anyone would have to spend a gold credit on.

'Alright, since I didn't gain anything, I may as well spend my PP now.' Jason sighed as he navigated his interface to the skill tree. 'What should I go for?'

"Do you want my advice again?" Syssie smiled at him from her usual place on his bed.

"Sure, as long as it's something useful for right now." Jason had to admit that he was a little lost when it came to his needs with the skill tree just now. He had node what synergised well with each other or could help him reach higher grades in his creations sooner.

"Hm, well, that depends. What's your next move? Are you focusing on earning money, making equipment, better tools, or do you want to branch into something else?" Syssie tapped her cheek while she pondered over what she should advise him to get.

Jason flashed an odd look towards the carefree AI before considering the matter himself. 'Armour will be a must at some point. However, working with metal is a complete pain in the ass for everything I'm doing right now. I need an easier way to join metal together. All this creating holes and clips in it to hold it together won't take me much farther.'

"I see," Syssie said while nodding her head. "That's quite a good thought. I doubt there's much left behind by the old world that could be useful for that at this point. So I know just the skills you need!"

Jason jolted in his seat because Syssie's reply to his internal thought made him remember that he had no privacy with her. 'Damn AI! I wonder if I can create something to stop that in the future. Or at least limit it.'

"That should be possible." Syssie nodded while not caring that she invaded his private thoughts again. "Now, do you want to hear my suggestions or not?"

"Alright, alright. Go for it." Jason waved his hand in the air as if he did not really care.

"First, you'll want to grab Basic Biology and Basic Chemistry from the Science tree. They're ten PP each. Then I'd recommend getting the Basic Science Scanner upgrade for five PP from the System Tree." Syssie sounded quite serious for once, which only made Jason question her choices even more.

"What use will those be when it comes to working with metal?" No matter how he thought about it, he figured the Armoury tree or Mechanics one would be better.

"Trust me. If you pick these three, you'll be able to earn money faster, create decent beginner armour, have a better way to work your metal and even have access to starting down the route of a healer as well." Syssie wagged her finger at Jason in a way that got on his nerves.

"Do I get a refund if you're talking crap?" Jason replied, hopefully.

"Sorry, kiddo. No refunds here. But trust me, ok? It'll definitely work!" Syssie had a broad smile on her face as she turned to stare at him.

With a heavy sigh, Jason followed her suggestions, spending all of his twenty-five PP in one fell swoop. At that point, both he and Syssie began to groan in pain as they became paralysed. The information flowing into his brain made it feel like it was a dam that was about to burst open. After the first two skills ultimately entered his mind, Syssie began to moan with pleasure as the System upgrade began to work.

This caused Jason to curse her all over again. 'Seriously! Why does she only get good feelings when it comes to the stuff related to the System? How's that fair!' Jason continued to grit his teeth as he struggled to deal with the pain. By the time it was over, his sight was a little blurry as his body tried to adjust to its return to normality.

"Fuck me! Isn't there a less painful way to do this?" Jason felt exasperated as he slammed a fist on the desk.

"Probably, but not for us right now." Syssie panted with her flushed face causing Jason to swear heavily.

"Alright, let's take a look at what you've conned me into." Jason frowned as he finally calmed down and turned his thoughts inward to make sense of his new knowledge. "What the fuck!"

Jason gasped, as the newfound knowledge flew through his brain. It seemed like the two science skills worked the same way as his melee schematic skill. Except, it let him see the possibilities just now and tag what he needed to make it to his scanner! The items began to appear in his interface to allow him a better look at them.

There were things like Basic Antidote, Basic Wound Salve, Basic Compressed Biological Gas and Basic Adhesive Creation. There was plenty of other valuable stuff like how to create chemicals that could be used to treat animal hide to make it tougher and so on. However, the first load of items were all things he needed without realising it!

The Basic Antidote and Wound Salve were self-explanatory. However, what really interested him was the Biological Gas entry. It detailed how he could place plants' cuttings with specific properties into a sealed container before pouring a chemical over them. Then, once he shut the lid, the chemical would destroy the plant cuttings and create a compressed gas that could be used to create a high-temperature flame!

Jason was utterly astonished by this revelation and even wondered how nobody had discovered it yet! The only problem he had with it was whether or not it was actually too advanced and would possibly draw attention to him.

"You can just say you found a way to apply heat to the metal to make it easier to shape. As long as nobody sees how you do it, you should be fine, right?" Syssie cut in with her two cents. "Also, now that you've got this, I'd definitely recommend Basic Welding from the Engineering tree later."

Jason felt his jaw go slack as he considered the possibilities. Syssie was right. As long as nobody witnessed his creation method, he would be fine! It was not like he was going to sell the compressed gas itself. Jason immediately tagged the item with the help of his new Basic Science Scanner upgrade. Now, he would get a notification whenever the scanner picked up any items or plants with the necessary properties.

Jason then proceeded to have a field day as he tagged even more items that he wanted to make. This was especially true for the adhesive. However, he was unsure how strong that would actually be, but it could potentially be more helpful in creating utility items for now. Jason's eyes began to sparkle like a child that just got into something that it should not be anywhere near.

"Looks like I'll definitely have to go back outside the town now! Alright, Gramps, enough with leaving me alone already. We've got work to do!" Jason's grin resembled that of a demon's.

Meanwhile, Harry, who was fast asleep in his own room, suddenly had a nightmare. His body broke out in a cold sweat as he was treated to visions of Jason whipping him while making him work like crazy. Despite the horridness of the dream, Harry could not help but have a solitary thought during his nightmare.' Thatta boy! Got to work to earn them credits!'