This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

For some reason, I felt like I stepped into a literal minefield as I stared at the teary-eyed kid in front of me. The tension in the air spiked after that, the crowd around us starting to get buzzed as they saw me as the stranger that made a local kid cry.

That wasn't good.

"Hey now, that's something we can fix easy," I chuckled, doing my best to placate the kid as I upped my positivity. "I can even teach you if you want. I think most of the crew would do that, actually."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah..."

I trailed off, my positivity wavering as I noticed something in hindsight.

Did I just imply that this kid was already getting on the ship?

"Stranger?"

"Just thinking," I hastily reasoned out, averting my eyes off the kid as I quickly went through my options. "Give me a sec."

Ignoring the curious look the kid was giving me, the piercing tension I felt all around me was starting to rise even higher the longer I stood in the middle of the scrapyard. It was starting to get obvious that I was overstaying my welcome, and that I should probably consider moving to a more hidden location.

Then again, that was assuming that I was done trying to find a mechanic in this place.

"Look, can we talk somewhere more private?" I asked.

"W-What? O-Oh! W-We can go to my place," the kid stammered, a faint blush coloring their cheeks. "F-Follow me, stranger."

Nodding at their words, I let them lead the way as we disappeared into what I could only describe as haphazard piles of scrap and metal. Winding through the small walkways and half-built bridges, the entire area just seemed to get more and more dilapidated the deeper we went.

"Through here."

I kept up with the kid's pace, ducking under stray scrap and fallen furniture as we eventually made our way to what I could only describe as a small shack. And small wasn't even an understated. Looking at the roof alone, I didn't think I could even stand straight inside of it. Truly, it was built for this kid, and maybe even by this kid.

"W-Well, we're here," they nervously stated. "It's... It's not that great, but it works."

"I see," I simply replied as I stood in front of their house. "Hey, if it works, then it works."

"Right?" the kid let out a chuckle, their behavior seemingly doing a one-eighty as the earlier brashness and bravado made way for a meek and shy personality. Though I'm sure it'll come back out once they're comfortable enough around me again. "I don't care if it's small. I can sleep in it no problem, and I don't get wet when it rains."

"Yep," I nodded. "I can get that."

Once more, the kid blushed at my words. Don't know why, but I found the action rather cute. Then again, they were a kid. And speaking of... "What's your name anyway?"

The kid almost jolted at my question, their eyes betraying their confusion as they looked at me. "W-What?"

"Your name," I repeated. "I can't just keep calling you 'kid,' right?"

"Y-Yeah! That'd just suck!" the kid partly stuttered, barely regaining their confidence as they puffed up their chest. "You can call me Shen, mechanic extraordinaire!"

I blinked as I felt something shift upon hearing their name. A prompt blinked into existence just above their head, showing the kid's level and title.

[Shen: Level 23]

[Eternal Tomboyish Girl]

I... I almost squinted as I read what was now her title. Eternal Tomboyish Girl... That at least cleared up the one question I was hesitant to ask. I could stop calling her 'them' now, at least.

Also, level 23, huh. Somehow, I felt offended that a kid was on the same level as me.

"Shen then," I hummed, familiarizing the name in my mouth. "That's a nice name."

"....T-Thanks..."

I smiled as she blushed. This was a nice change of pace, actually.

"Anyway, regarding engines, I can only assume that you have some knowledge of it," I began, steering the topic back to the discussion.

"Wha- Oh yeah!" Shen proudly declared, placing her hands on her hips as she haughtily smiled. "I might've only had drawings to go off of, but I can learn very quickly!"

I raised an eyebrow as I smiled. How nostalgic... "I see. Would you need any tools to do your job?"

"Weren't ya listening? I only need my wrench," Shen scoffed at me, casually twirling her wrench in her hand. "Anything else will just slow me down!"

I couldn't help but smile at the girl's energetic tone. Kind of reminded me of Shizu back when I first met her. Oh, she still shows her childlike innocence as much as she could, but it was obvious that the princess was forcing herself to mature as quickly as possible.... even if she was kind of failing badly at it.

"I see," I chuckled. "Assuming that you've seen drawings, I'd guess that you have books around?"

"Yep," Shen smugly replied. "Can't read em, but I can learn more once you teach me..."

I smiled at her shy words. I guess despite all of the overconfidence, she was still a kid. "Very well. I guess we can have you aboard."

"Really?!"

I chuckled, "Yes, really. I'm sure you at least know how to repair the hull and engine of a ship. I also think that a [Rig]'s just a bigger boat, and I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad."

"Right?! I don't even know why that thing takes up like over half of the books I have," Shen scoffed aloud. "It can't be that different. They both float on the water, and they're both boats."

I laughed along with our new recruit. Cause why would a [Rig] be any different than a normal boat? Sure, it might be bigger than any of the scrapped boats I've seen lying around, and its bridge was filled with newfangled navigational machines that a novice mechanic might not know how to fix, but I'm sure it'll be fine....

Haha... Hah.... I think I might've made a big mistake somewhere.

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