I, HAVE RETURNED! Again.

Seriously though, when you combine a near full time work schedule, a weekly DnD game, and trying to write four different stories simultaneously, that shit is serious.

But, here I am to make sure this thread doesn't fall into Necro territory again, as nothing is sadder than a Dead Quest.

Now, enough chatting, onto ACTUAL PROGRESSION!

Spoiler: Winning votes, of Course.

[X] Build Jackbots: 2 Builders (Costs 1 Action)

[X] MONTHLY EVENT: Buy Food Supplies, Gain ?, and ?. (Costs 1 Action)

[X] Analyze Samples (Costs 1 Action)
-Monkeys

Here. We. Go.

The last 8 hours had been kind of a blur for you. You made sure that you didn't take or even TOUCH any kind of alcoholic substance, and the only real exposure to some kind of possible hallucinogenic you could think of was when Dande-Lion sneezed in your face during his little examination.

Still, that didn't really change the end result of you feeling like the morning had been dragging on for months, and you barely even noticed putting the finishing touches on your second set of Builder Bots.

As you activated them and set them off to do whatever they did when there was nothing to build for now, you let yourself relax in your chair and took your face in your hands for a moment.

Too much. This last...almost MONTH, has been too much. It was like you were going from 0 to 600 in terms of lifestyle. It was...wearing, is what it was.

You felt the Third-Arm Sash pat your back for a moment, and you were thankful for it.

It really wasn't ALL bad. Thanks to these crazy things, you knew things that you couldn't have even DREAMED of. You made friends, were seeing the world, and with each step, you felt yourself get a little bit better, a bit smarter, and even, closer to your Dream.

"It really isn't that bad..." You whispered to yourself with a growing smile, removing your hands from your face and getting up from your chair. As you did, you gave the Sash a Fist-bump, which it returned immediately, before returning to regular cloth, but not before showing you a little surfer sign with its 'thumb' and and 'pinky' out.

You weren't sure if that was normal or not, but given that it kept happening, you'd assume yes.

Still though, now didn't really feel like the time for deep thoughts. As you went up your stairs into the kitchen, your eyes spotted the calendar on your fridge.

'Yeah. That works.' You thought as you quickly grabbed a bite to eat and rushed outside.

TIMESKIP: Half an Hour Later

"And so, Master Jack will be heading with us today to do our shopping. Is that understood?" A cultured voice called out from beside you as you sat in the veritable bus that the manor staff used for mass transport of supplies and whatnot.

The source of the voice, however...is not what people would expect...

Spoiler: MY EYES!

Yep, this was Kogarashi. The maid who was the primary one to 'raise' both you and Kristen. He was the self proclaimed 'Ultimate Maid' and frankly, you thought he earned that. If the chains he wore, the self sharpened teeth, or the muscles that ripped whatever clothing he wore didn't put you off, the fact that he was a master martial artist, AND Sous chef would do a damn fine job of intimidating any poor soul.

Course, he was also one of the greatest people you had ever known, having done whatever it took to keep you both safe and happy growing up. Hell, he helped temper the metal for your first bot designs, and set up the wiring for your first Labs. Really, it was kinda sad that you hadn't gotten to know him better...

You nodded once to yourself, mind set up, even as the rest of the staff let out a joined cry of "YES, ULTRA-MAID!" Aaaaaannnnd, there was the name.

Still, the ride to the bulk store went by fairly quickly, partially due to the Jet engine used in your 'special' staff assault vehicle.

Still, as the rest of them dispersed to pick up what they needed, you made sure to stick close to Kogarashi, allowing you to hear some of his list.

"Let's see, Anti-venom, 3 tons of sheet metal and bronze mixtures, seven bags of flour, 5 sets of Chains, 2 new species of Cats, and a small passport with the Mistress' fake identity... a light load, for THIS ULTIMATE MAID!" Koga whispered to himself as he read the list before suddenly shouting out while striking a pose.

Spoiler: POSE WITH HIM!

As he struck his pose, he finally took note of your flinched back position, and swiftly straightened up, focusing all attention on your form.

"YOUNG MASTER! What a pleasant surprise! Here to spend the day with this here Maid-Guy?" Koga asked with a sharp grin, showing every fang.

Immediately, you returned the smile, and answered honestly.

"You bet it do."

And with that, you...actually had a great day. There were a few times here and there when Koga purposefully freaked you out (CATCH, YOUNG MASTER! WHY DO THEY SELL PANDA'S!) and there were more than a few genuine laughs as well (A Lion that has leaves? I wonder if that would make a gamey tea...)

There was absolutely NOTHING you regretted about today.

Soon, you were back home, and feeling closer to someone you should have been before. It felt...right.

Gained Social Link: Koga Rashi, the ULTIMATE MAID!

Gained access to Koga Rashi Tutoring: Become the Greatest at whatever you attempt, whether that be Dusting under the fridge or your Enemies with Heavy Fire.

Still though, it was now eveningish, and you decided to do something...light.

As you pondered what to do, you caught the site of one of the many monkeys you had brought back from the jungle the other day. As of yesterday, they seem to have claimed an empty Jackbot chassis as their home, with dozens of them swarming in and out of the empty ports, with even more swinging and generally climbing over the outside.

You gave a little shrug. What could it hurt? So, you grabbed a nearby bunch of bananas from you kitchens fruit bowl, which was instantly replaced by a nearby maids hands, and went about getting some samples.

TIME SKIP: 2 Hours Later

It had only taken you around half an hour to get the samples you needed. The hardest part of it was just getting them to sit still long enough to get a hair an a bit of saliva from them without harming one, but that wasn't that bad. After that, you set up the DNA into your Material reader, and sat back to wait, reading on of the many magazines one of the servants had restocked your Lab area with since their little shopping visit.

And while it was interesting enough to hold your attention for a little while, when the machine dinged, you set it down and made your way over, expecting to find out what kind of genus they had and maybe get some insight into why pr how something that small lived in the jungle to begin with without any kind of poison or camouflage.

The results...were confusing.

"What?" The word slipped out as you read through the data gathered a second, and then third time, before checking the other monkies samples, making sure that this was actually POSSIBLE.

Each of them, all of them, HAD THE EXACT SAME GENOME AND GENETIC STRUCTURE. That CANNOT happen. Not even twins have that kind of characteristic, hence why each has unique brain chemistry.

But these simians...down to the last protein, were the EXACT SAME.

You felt your brain break a little at the sheer amount of power that would take to do, and looked back at the chassis of monkies, where they continued to play and move, oblivious to your disbelieving eyes.

Okay, maybe not as easy a topic as you expected...

END OF CHAPTER!

GAINED:

2 Builder Bots: Can be used to half the construction time of Labs or other Tech Additions. Cannot be Compounded or used in Combat to Maximum Effect.

Gained Social Link: Koga Rashi, the ULTIMATE MAID! Current Rank 2! Technique acquired at Rank 3.

Gained access to Koga Rashi Tutoring: Become the Greatest at whatever you attempt, whether that be Dusting under the fridge or your Enemies with Heavy Fire.

END OF GAINS

And there we have it people. We now know just how long it took for Tuesday to come. But don't worry, the next day WILL come sooner. Until then!