Chapter 10: Infinita Force: Finally Out!
Since Jang Iseul felt no strain, she decided to try something bolder: to craft a large mecha, the kind she had once studied for a class project.
The loader mecha was a machine specifically designed for moving large pieces of heavy materials and loads.
It was one of the simplest types of mecha to build and repair. It was often made from scrap or recycled metal.
It would come in handy regardless—whether she kept it or sold it.
She could use it to help clear debris in the scrapyard. This would make her trips faster and more profitable, since she wouldn't have to hand-dig through trash every time.
Or, if she sold it, she could earn quite a few credits from it. That was tempting too.
But honestly, she didn't have much room at home to keep such a large mecha.
Still… it would be a shame to give up such a helper—one that didn't need to be fed or paid.
It would be perfect.
Not just to clear out an opening for her escape from under the junk, but also to help her finish organizing and clearing the area.
She had already spent so much time dividing everything into sections and stuffing them into different bags.
There was no way she was leaving all that behind.
She refused to walk away without finishing—not when she needed to get her credits' worth.
She still had mouths to feed.
Iseul urged her Gift to absorb more radiation from the surrounding area.
She hoped it would allow her to gain knowledge from the nearby scraps. That way, when she built her mecha, she could complete it in one go.
She began to picture the loader mecha as vividly as she could remember.
Iseul envisioned every part of its design. She pictured every property and every function.
She thought about how it was made, how it moved, and how it was meant to carry heavy loads and clear away mountains of debris.
She poured that intent into her Gift.
As she focused, she didn't realize she was subtly mutating the design. She was granting it extra programming beyond what she intended.
The blueprint manifested fully, glowing as the outline of the mecha was etched into reality.
She crafted it from her own knowledge. The Infinita Force fueled her every step.
Minutes passed. Piece by piece, the mecha took shape.
By the time she finished, Iseul was completely drained. Her body trembled from exhaustion.
Iseul collapsed, dizzy and nauseated. She vomited. Her body felt as though it had been struck by radiation poisoning.
The pain dragged on until, slowly, she felt the Infinita Force return to her. It filled her body once again.
Okay… for future reference, never let yourself run out of Infinita Force, Iseul warned herself after experiencing it firsthand.
She only felt truly better when her body had refilled halfway.
Now she knew the consequences of overusing her Gift until empty.
It was horrible—instant, and utterly unbearable.
It took her a long while just to catch her breath.
But when she finally looked up—
The mecha had already powered itself on. Its eyes flickered to life, glowing softly. It stood there in the dreamscape… ready to work.
"Holy scraps! It really works!!"
Iseul jumped in excitement, tears spilling down her cheeks.
When she moved, the mecha turned to her and zoomed in on her face. It recognized her instantly as its creator.
It spoke:
[Hello, Creator. I am Loader Mecha 001. I am called Loadon. Would you like me to assist you with picking up a load or collecting trash?]
"Huh?!" Iseul froze. Has it always had this type of setting?
She didn't remember it saying any of this when she created it in class. Nor did it ever give itself a name.
She probably did the programming wrong the first time, Iseul assumed.
Still—she could finally get out from under the scrap.
"Follow me," Iseul commanded.
[Yes, Creator.] Loadon followed.
The workshop dissolved. She appeared back in the main domain. She willed herself to return to the scrapyard.
A door reappeared, and she walked through it, the mecha following close behind.
She was back under the scrap in the scrapyard.
When Iseul appeared back, she didn't have time to process that she had actually been out of the scrapyard for a while.
BOOM! CLATTER! CKING!
The loader mecha stood up, dragging the butler mecha to a corner where it sat down.
Then it walked back to Iseul. It lifted her up like a child picks up a toy doll and carried her to the top of the junk wall that hadn't collapsed.
After that, Iseul called to the mecha.
"Loadon! I want to divide the area into four categories: debris, trash, metal, and miscellaneous items. Toys, clothes, appliances, usable tech pieces."
Loadon paused and turned slightly, nodding its head. Then it replied, "I understand, my Creator."
Iseul didn't think much of his reply or actions. She did not realize they weren't very mecha-like.
Not wanting to be idle, she began helping instead of just directing.
She slid back down the pile of junk and got nitty-gritty. She took out the things that were considered trash from the miscellaneous pile, correcting some errors from Loadon. Eventually, she realized the properties of her Gift were slowly putting the items back.
'Maybe I could keep them to practice my Gift,' Iseul thought, deciding to keep them.
She didn't know what she might need them for in the future. But maybe she would be able to figure out a way to turn them into profit.
It took a total of two extra hours for them to finish clearing out the whole area.
Iseul also made trips to the appraisal center, dumping and turning in debris and trash.
This made her usual routes about ten times quicker than normal.
If it had been just her picking up trash like earlier, it would have taken at least five hours to clear out everything.
And Iseul would have still had to hand-dig through everything.
When she made it back from her last run, Loadon had everything neatly set aside in the space bags, with a butler mecha on its shoulder, ready to go.
Iseul stopped in her tracks.
'There was something wrong with this picture,' she thought.
Iseul just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Then it clicked: mechas don't name themselves and wait for a command before starting work.
Loadon did not do any of it. He only agreed when she corrected his errors.
This was not normal.
Was it because of her Gift?
It had to be!
What did she change? One thing she had started to realize was that intent was a large and important factor in understanding her Gift.
If she had the intent of a fully programmed loader mecha, would it have come out the same as the one she remembered? She asked herself, studying the mecha before her.
She wasn't too sure herself. But with the mysteriousness of her Gift, she couldn't necessarily put the idea aside just yet.
She did create him and may be intense.
She had more power than she realized when making him.
'Holy crap, this is wild,' Iseul thought. Her heart was beating 1,000,000,000,000 mi./s.
She really had to be careful in the future when crafting something.
Whether it was her Gift itself or the intention she had when creating something, she had to carefully consider it.
Iseul let the matter go. She had spent more time at the scrapyard than normal and needed to make it back home to her brothers.
"Let's go, Loadon," she called to the mecha.
It turned, acknowledging her words, and silently grabbed the bags before walking to her.
Iseul hopped back onto her hover trolley and rode off with the mecha following her to the appraisal center.
On the way, they received a lot of attention from fellow scrappers. They all gave looks of greed, envy, and jealousy, making Iseul's heart skip a beat. She was a bit worried.
She definitely did not want to get jumped on her way out.
Tsk.
See, wealth invites troubles.
Iseul sped up, changing directions.
Instead of going to the radiation absorbers, she went straight to the payment detector drones, selling half of her metals found off the bat.
Loadon set her stuff down on the scanner.
Then she turned in her check-in code for debris drop-offs.
She received a much higher price for her items this time.
Huh?!
Her eyes widen seeing the amount.
She even rubbed them just make sure she wasn't seeing things.
Iseul was startled " Did you give me the right amount?" She asked hesitantly.