Two hours later, Tatehan installed the final replacement conduit, applied the sealant, and ran the diagnostic scan.

The device beeped with affirmative confirmation, showing all green indicators across the board.

[Final repair successful,] the AI announced, and there was something that sounded almost like satisfaction in its synthesized voice. [Power Coupling system is now restored to ninety-three percent capacity.]

"Ninety-three?" Tatehan asked. "Not a hundred?"

[Some degradation is inevitable given the age of the system and the damage sustained during the crash. Ninety-three percent is effectively full operational capacity for current purposes.]

Tatehan sat back and looked at his hands. They were dirty, stained with sealant and metal dust, slightly sore from gripping tools for hours.

But the work was done, and now thinking about it, he was impressed with his own progress. Who would have thought he could do something like this?

Well... that was when he was still Gavin, though. Back then, he couldn't even fix light bulbs or handle basic repairs. But now, as Tatehan, he could accomplish things that surprised him greatly, things that would have seemed impossible just months ago.

[I can already feel the difference,] the AI continued. [Power distribution throughout the ship has stabilized. All functional systems are now operating at their intended efficiency. The lights are brighter. Sensors have improved range and accuracy. Life support is more responsive.]

Tatehan looked around the cabin and realized the AI was right—the lights did seem brighter and more consistent. The air felt fresher somehow, circulating more effectively throughout the space.

"So what did this get us in terms of repair points?" Tatehan asked, standing up and stretching his sore muscles.

[Processing...]

A moment later, text appeared in the holographic display:

[POWER COUPLING SYSTEM: RESTORED]

[Repair Points Awarded: +8]

[Current Total: 36/100]

"Thirty-six points," Tatehan said, a grin spreading across his face. "We hit thirty-six. That's crazy progress, to be honest."

That made Tatehan pause and wonder something. If doing manual repair work the hard way could boost his repair points this significantly, then what had he been thinking trying to do everything the easy way, hunting for cores and hoping that would somehow solve everything?

He could have been making progress like this all along instead of risking his life in dangerous fights.

But then again, he'd just gotten those weapon upgrades from the Iron-Jaw Scavenger cores. Those enhanced weapons had already proven their worth against the sixty-one shadow goblins. He couldn't just ignore that advantage or put it to waste.

If he'd known manual repairs would yield this many points, he might have done this long ago instead of going after the Mauler.

'The bio-neutral core was... necessary,' Tatehan suddenly thought, reconsidering his earlier assessment.

It was true that doing normal repairs would have brought him closer to the threshold required to store the spaceship in his system space. But that didn't remove the fact that the bio-neutral core had been genuinely necessary and very important.

The Spaceship's AI hadn't sent him to retrieve it just so his repair points could increase dramatically. The core had been needed for the ship's sensor and detection systems—so the vessel could identify incoming attacks from far away before they hit. And if Tatehan ever found himself in a spaceship battle high above the planet or in space, the AI would be able to detect incoming threats and projectiles early enough for Tatehan to react and take evasive action.

The core served a specific, critical function that manual repairs couldn't replicate.

Suddenly, a section of the wall near the pilot's seat extended outward smoothly, and from the opening emerged a small platform holding a cup of steaming coffee.

[I advise you drink this,] the AI said. [Coffee-equivalent beverage. It was designed for long-duration space missions to help maintain alertness and recovery.]

"Perfect," Tatehan said gratefully.

He remembered when he first had this back when he was still a newbie on Mars and in the Spaceship.

Then he took it after an exhausting training session with the holographic dummies.

Thinking about it now, he realized how far he had come in terms of fighting progress. Then he fought like a complete novice, his reaction time was very slow and that led to poor dodgings.

But now, he was much better, though nothing grand like the knight brutenecks, he had learnt to fight pretty well.

He picked up the cup and drank the entire thing in several long gulps. The warm liquid was bitter but energizing, with that familiar coffee-like quality that helped chase away some of his exhaustion.

Then he walked toward the sleeping area, too tired to even think about cooking a proper dinner. He'd just eat something quick before sleeping, maybe more bread and jam, or some of those preserved ration bars he'd seen in storage.

As he placed his hand on the biometric panel to open the sleeping area, the AI spoke again.

[You did excellent work today. The Power Coupling repairs were executed with precision and care. This ship is significantly better off than it was this morning.]

Tatehan smiled, feeling a warm sense of accomplishment despite his physical exhaustion.

"Thanks," he said simply. "Couldn't have done it without your guidance."

Before entering the sleeping area, he detoured briefly to the kitchen to grab something quick to eat. He found the bread and this time decided on butter instead of jam for variety.

As he ate the simple meal, standing at the small counter, he realized how much better butter actually tasted compared to jam. The rich, creamy flavor was more satisfying somehow, less cloying and sweet. Why had he been defaulting to jam all this time?

He finished his bread quickly, drank some water, and finally made his way back to the sleeping area.

He stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind him, and collapsed onto the comfortable bed without even bothering to change clothes properly. He was too exhausted to care.

Tomorrow, he'd work on the shields and continue making the Red Dragon more functional.

But tonight, he'd definitely earned his rest.

Within minutes, he was asleep.

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