TheShingPen
The Mall
Codex tried to communicate more with Soryn, but it seemed like they couldn't chat yet.
Soryn could send him vibes of his 'thoughts' to Codex. Codex translated them into a voice sometimes and sometimes got a feeling of what the message was about.
Codex also ordered Soryn to train other nanobots he selected to lead groups so that the training would be faster. That way, other bots were leveling up their Communication skill as they had to discuss with Soryn what to do next and not just follow orders given to them.
In the end, he had a dozen of nanobots who had leveled up their communication to level 4 but earning level 5 seemed to be more challenging for them than it was for Soryn.
Codex trained only that many for now.
They had at least five assignments as leading the group seemed to count as one, so they were level 2 but didn't get an extra option to change their type as Soryn had.
One bot who become trained like that was #8172v2.
Codex gave him a name.
================================
Nanobot #8172v2's name going to change to Little Angel
Do you accept this change?
YES/NO
================================
He had read stories about angels who were beings of substantial power on his reading, and they tasked some to protect humans.
Little Angel had 'sacrificed' himself to protect him from being discovered, so he thought of him as his protector Angel even if it could be any other nanobot in its place.
He didn't give names to any other bots that leveled until he could find something suitable for each of them.
By the time Tira was awake and started preparing herself to be out, all the bots of Codex had finished doing the four assignments, meaning that most needed one more assignment to level up.
He currently had 13 nanobots being Lvl 2, and most of them were bots he had taken at the portal and survived. Soryn had the highest number of assignments at nine, while Last Angel's was six since he wasn't part of the Portal Mission.
The ones who were in a weakened state were back to the normal state since it was a minor one that lasted for two hours.
Tira came to his room to let him know they would leave soon, so he should get ready.
She gave him some simple clothes since he was still wearing the same ones from the hospital all this time. Tira said that they would buy him more clothes and if he wanted something, he should let her know.
They had a simple breakfast of some eggs and pancakes that were cooked by a machine.
Codex still had two unused TPs but was careful not to accidentally use them by over-focusing on one machine, as had happened with the hover car. He wondered if he could drive it since he had accidentally used a TP for it.
Codex spoke as they finished their meal and left the house to get to the car.
"Can I drive?"
He had played some racing games, but it didn't seem the same as when Tira was driving.
"You are too young, so I doubt you have a driving license. But there are some simulation ones at the mall that you can play with."
Codex wasn't happy about this but was curious about those simulations she spoke about.
Tira drove for a little less than an hour before reaching one of the biggest buildings Codex had seen until now, which was the mall Tira talked about.
The hospital was big, but the mall was at least three times bigger than it.
Tira left the hover car at a place with some more similar and not hover cars. It seemed like this was a special place for people to leave them while in the mall.
After leaving that space, they headed towards the main entrance of the mall.
As they got into the mall, Codex saw a vast open space with many people, both Polymaths and humans, moving around and entering or exiting different places, each with an original sign at the top of their entrance.
Tira held him by the hand, which he found weird, and led him through the crown at a store that he noticed that there were many tablets, laptops, and similar other machines of bigger or smaller size.
"Let's get you a new Laptop, as I doubt that this old model back home was suitable for you. Or should we go for a desktop?"
Tira was going around checking different laptops and reading a plastic panel that existed next to them.
Then they moved to check some box machines, which many had one of their sides to be transparent to see inside.
Shingi noticed that all those plastic panels seemed to have the name of the machine they were next to. All of them at the bottom had a number with a strange symbol on the left of it.
He also noticed that those box machines number was most times bigger than that of the laptops.
"Damn, those are more expansive than I thought. Perhaps we can take one of the cheap ones or go for the best laptop one. What do you think?"
Codex didn't know why she asked him, but he was more familiar with a laptop than that desktop one.
He could use one of his TP, but he didn't find a reason to do so.
"I like the laptop more."
Tira seemed surprised by the answer, but they headed back to the space where the laptops were.
Tira spoke with one person standing nearby and was wearing a similar outfit with others Codex had noticed to be in the store.
She took a box with the picture of a laptop slightly different from the one Codex had used until now and a smaller box containing a weird-shaped machine.
He understood it was something to go with the laptop and used one of his TP.
================================
New entry added at the Journal.
Entry name: Mouse RG-1654(R-Tech)
Details: A tool to use with a laptop or similar devices
================================
It was the first time that an item had four numbers at its name instead of three.
Codex noticed that the same name was on the box.
He wondered if he could add all of them to his Journal without using a TP by just reading the plastic panels as he had done something similar with the tablet in the past when it got registered at his Journal.
He read the laptop's panel Tira got for him without focusing on it too much, and he got a notification.
================================
New entry added at the Journal*
Entry name: Laptop RG-1910(R-Tech)
Details: A more advanced laptop than the one used in the past
*Since a similar machine is already in the Journal, no TP got consumed
================================
Codex was happy with his discovery, which meant that he could easily add more things to his Journal.
He tried to read all the panels of the laptops and moused he could see adding 20 new entries at his Journal, bringing it at 27.
He could also try the same at the tablets, but they didn't pass from that area.
Tira led him to a counter where other people with similar boxes as Tira held different machines were waiting to speak with the people behind the counters.
When one reached the counter, they would leave the boxes on the counter for the person behind the counter. That person then used a tool at the boxes and pressed some buttons on another machine near them.
Then the person behind the counter was telling them a number, and the other one would either give them a plastic card or some pieces of paper and rounded metal objects.
Most seemed to use those plastic cards, and when it was their turn, Tira also gave one.
"Then next stop is the clothing store. And then we can get something to eat."
"What about the simulations?"
Codex still wanted to try them to see how different it was from playing at the laptop.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about it. Let's get you some clothes first, then heading to the simulation place, and we can get something to eat last as it's better not to get there with a full stomach. Sounds good?"
Codex nodded as it sounded like a good plan to him, even if he didn't understand why he needed to get new clothes.
They passed a few stores until they reached the one Tira seemed to look for.
Getting in the store, a white female Polymath came to them.
"Welcome to our store. How can I be of assistance?"
"We are here to get some clothes about this young man here."
The Polymath looked towards Codex and let a beautiful smile appear on her face.
"Certainly. You can follow me to a nearby wardrobe platform to find something suitable."
They followed her not too far to a strange machine that seemed to be a metallic platform with a control panel near it and a screen at the side.
"You would have to either wear a skin suit or stay in your underwear. We have a normal space for you to change privately."
Codex didn't mind it and pulled out his clothes before Tira get the chance to ask what he preferred to do.
He stepped on the platform when he was told to do so. They emitted some beams of light from the platform and went through him.
The screen then showed some clothes, and after a few seconds, the same clothes appeared on him to wear.
He could feel that those weren't real clothes, but some trick of the machine. He had read about Illusion magic in the books, so he considered it something like that.
Tira and the Polymath discussed different options for him, as he didn't seem to have a specific preference.
Codex probably had tried a few dozen different outfits, but since the change between them took a few seconds, they didn't have to spend as much time.
In the end, they went for a casual style of clothes. Tira even bought him some pajamas and even a swimsuit.
Codex had drawn some attention from the rest of the people, most of them female, especially when trying the swimsuits.
When this was over, and he got dressed for the clothes he came with, he noticed a few young girls approaching Tira.
"No, he will not go on a date with any of you. We are busy, so let us be."
The girls seemed surprised, and after looking at Tira, the one who was at the center of the group and the one speaking with Tira spoke in a low voice.
"Could it be that you two are...but you are so old."
Tira looked at the one who said that her face was like a demon's for a second.
"What did you just say?"
The girl started taking some steps away from her, and the rest of the girls followed her soon enough. When they were at a reasonable distance from Tira, they turned and ran away.
Codex walked next to Tira, who seemed to be in the middle of calm herself down.
After a few deep breaths, she noticed Codex.
"Next time you are wearing the skinsuit."