8 Research and Development

[New material synthesized: {Water}]

[New Skill Discovered: {Alchemy lvl.1}]

[This skill works much like the manufacturing skill in allowing you to do experiments within the system interface and experimenting with recipes as well. Further level ups reduce the margin of error on chemical conversions and make the conversions more efficient, though you will still need to use known chemical processes to separate compounds for now]

Kaz smiled, this made the next part a lot easier. He pocketed his chemistry lab and opened up his alchemy menu and a virtual table appeared within it.

'So my equipment is necessary here huh?'

[For experiments, you still need to process a material before the system can automate it.]

'I see, luckily the dirt and dust contained a lot of carbon, so this next step won't be hard.

Kaz then put silica into the glass box instead of rust and began the heating process again while introducing methane, only this time for the silica to disappear and a gas to form which Kaz promptly put into a container. Kaz didn't have to worry about the heat within the system and immediately went to the next step where he filtered the gas through water, long chains of silicone polymers began to form.

[Skill Level up: Alchemy lvl. 2]

[A new material has been synthesized: {Silicone Rubber}]

Kaz had a wryly grin on his face as he read the notification. Now this would be very useful for the future in the creation of many items, including rubber tires for his bike.

'Time to make this ride smooth, I feel like this start has been made purposely hard by the system.'

[The process of selecting a new planet did have a challenge in mind, if you are able to overcome the obstacles you are facing here, it will help you a lot more in the long run.]

Kaz silently sighed, not knowing how much the system is actually helping him, thinking about the few times it let him be introduced to dangerous situations such as the first time he absorbed knowledge, or when he touched the nexus crystal, or just the entire fact he was reborn onto a completely abandoned planet.

[The system has your best interest in consideration upon and decisions enacted.]

"Can you stop responding to my thoughts unless I directly address them to you seeking a response? I would at least like the illusion of privacy."

[I will take that into consideration and try not to make comments on thoughts not seeking guidance from me unless I have important information regarding the thoughts.]

Kaz slightly hung his head defeated but set the matter aside and pulled up his bike blueprint. The influx of knowledge on the topic of chemistry has also broadened his understandings of more components as well, so when he began to edit his blueprint, he took some alloy compositions into mind that would best fit a sprint, used silicone rubber on some joints to lesson noise and to protect some parts of the bike such as the brake line and the sprints. He also covered the handles with the rubber before finally designing the tires and covering the seat in rubber as well as a few other components.

'Now let's see how much better this thing is!'

Kaz finalized and recorded the new bike blueprint and then finally manufactured it. Just sitting on it before peddling he could tell a difference. He started to pedal and tried out the new gear system he implemented. He could see some areas that still needed improvement but this was a big start. Kaz, satisfied at the current luxury he was experiencing, decided to try something out with the nexus crystals he had been collecting. Upon bringing the crystal out he stared at it for a few minutes, trying to probe his senses into it and seeing if he could absorb the energy from the crystals again. After trying for a few minutes he was successful and could feel the energy seep into his pores.

'My wisp count went up!'

His nexus wisps now were at 16, he managed to collect 5 more wisps from this crystal. Kaz then manufactured a steel bar and tried to extend the energy to the bar. It was a lot harder than absorbing it, as he still wasn't very good at controlling how he used it let alone controlling it outside of his body, but then another idea struck him.

Kaz took out another crystal and adjusted the steel rod so that it could fit into the base of it. Since he had difficulties moving the energy out from his body, maybe he could manipulate it if it was already outside of his body. Kaz began to experiment with absorbing it through the steel treating it as a medium. He then tried to change the path of the energy so it would flow longer and longer with each attempt. After flowing the energy he then attempted to loop it back to the path and found that he was able to circulate the energy within the bar causing it to glow a faint violet color.

Kaz decided to manufacture a metal dummy and wanted to attempt to test the qualities of the rod in this state. He tried to extend the energy through the entirety of the rod at any given time to have it completely covered then swung at the metal target.

KLANG!

A huge dent appeared and metal was bent in every which way, but the rod was unaffected, visibly that is. The hit caused some of the energy to dissipate, requiring him to pull more energy out of the crystal. After this test, he pulled out other objects with joints and axles to see if he could use the energy to control them, which he somewhat could do but it was inefficient. He then took out a piece of iron and attempted to shoot a blast out of it, but it only sparked a bit, but then he noticed something after he set it down to the side. Iron dust within the dust was sticking to it. He had inadvertently created a magnet by aligning the atoms with that burst of energy, then another idea struck him.

He began to get to work, first, he opened up his alchemy station and began making a nickel battery, which was the best he could work with for now. Then he attempted to move the energy from the nexus crystals into the battery, and he was able to charge them! He was ecstatic, he immediately used his resources to fashion a quick electric motor using the magnet he had made, some copper wiring, and other materials then wired the battery to it, and it began spinning, but a little too fast and it fell apart.

'This energy dissipates quite a bit when I try to store it in a battery, only leaving behind trace elements, but this little bit can not only fully charge the nickel battery, but the charge is so strong that the voltage is too high for the motor. Kaz continued to experiment with the battery, the motor, creating other components to limit and control the voltage to raise and lower the motor speed until he finally managed to perfect the motor and recorded the blueprint. He then updated the bike blueprint again and was able to create an electric bike that could transport him a lot faster.

[Skill Evolution has taken place.]

[Due to your experimentation, you were able to comprehend and create a complex machine beyond the scope of the {Manufacturing} skill which in turn has become the {Fabrication lvl. 1} skill.]

[This skill allows you to implement more complexity into your designs in one creation, instead of combining multiple simple creations. You can now incorporate electrical wiring and potentially other components that you create.]

'Time to begin!'