Chapter Text
Harry woke suddenly. He'd finally gotten some sleep without nightmares. He gasped when he looked around. He was in a compact pod. The door seemed to lower into the frame when he wanted to get out. He got out and looked at the car he was in. It was freezing out here. The car was a sleek black color, with cute little cat ears on top; it was low to the ground. The headlights were cat eyes. The side mirrors were on the back of paws that were on cat arms. There was a tail on the back. He quickly got back in. It was cold out there. There was snow piled high on either side of the road.
He had a feeling that he'd seen something like this vehicle before. It was in a huge mall he'd gone to with the Dursleys once. That one had been at the head of a tourist train that took them around the mall. He'd liked the ride. He'd been about four or five at the time.
YOUR LUCK HAS GRANTED YOU A SPECIAL REWARD!
THE ITEM HAS BEEN CHOSEN!
ETHEREAL AI AND RADAR!
IT HAS BEEN DIRECTLY INSTALLED INTO YOUR CAR!
A radar appeared on the dashboard.
Meow! Meow! Welcome to The Meow Meow Lucky Train! I'm your AI kitty guide! I'm Meow Meow!
"Hi, Meow Meow." Harry said, "I'm Harry Potter. I'm afraid that I don't know how to drive. Can you drive for me?"
Meow Meow is sorry. Meow Meow doesn't have that ability yet. You have to find that upgrade.
"I see." Harry nodded. "That's a little upsetting."
TODAY'S MOVEMENT GOAL 100 MILES
Meow Meow, oh no! Our max speed is only 10 mph. That's going to take us ten hours.
"Well, we'd better start then." Harry sighed. "Please instruct me on how to drive this thing."
Harry found that the seat was cat-themed as well. It had cat ears on the headrest. The two armrests were arms, and the cup holders at the end were paws. They could be raised and lowered. The seatbelt was weird to him. Two straps went over his shoulders and clicked together, then attached with a buckle between his legs. He wasn't sure he liked this seatbelt. He also found that there was a small area behind his seat. It wasn't very big. He couldn't fit back there. He could store a few things he supposed.
Harry's little pod car was soon chugging along.
TIME FOR THE TALENT DRAW!
Talent Name: Promotion (Rare grade)
Talent Effect: 1. Can unconditionally promote any item by one rank, 100% probability; 2. Can promote any item by two ranks, 20% probability; 3. Can promote any item by three ranks, 0.01% probability.
Talent Effect 2: Can designate a single item to directly break through three ranks. Cooldown: 168 hours.
Meow Meow! What a great Talent! But you can do better, Meow Meow! Promote your Promotion!
"I can do that?" Harry asked. "It won't cost me my Talent?"
Meow Meow! It'll be okay!
Harry shrugged and went for it.
Talent Name: Rule Breakthrough (Mythical grade)
Talent Effect 1: Can be used on a single item category. 100% chance to increase grade by one rank, 30% chance to increase by two ranks, 5% chance to increase by three ranks. 5 Uses per Day. Maximum Promotion grade cannot exceed Mythical grade.
Talent Effect 2: Can designate a single item to directly break through three ranks. Cooldown: 72 hours.
Talent Note:
Can only be used to promote single-item categories, limited to supplies, equipment, and blueprints.
"Oh, that's much better. Wish it were a bit higher than 5%, but it's a really good one." Harry muttered.
Harry was getting tense when suddenly Meow Meow spoke to him again.
Meow Meow! There's a Supply Box!
Harry looked at the radar; there it was. It was just a mile ahead. He pulled off to the left of the road and pulled up right to the side of the box. He didn't even need to get out. The door went up, and he reached out to touch the box.
x5 Bottles of Water, x1 Machete, x5 Bread, and x1 10L of Petrol.
The door shut.
"Hey, Meow Meow, do we even run on Petrol? It's just that this gauge doesn't look like a Petrol gauge." Harry hummed.
Meow Meow! No, we run off of solar energy, but there are other forms of energy sources that we can use later on. Meow Meow!
"Interesting." Harry nodded, and they began driving again. "Well, please keep an eye on things, please, Meow Meow. We have a long way to go."
They had gone a good distance when Harry spoke again.
"Meow Meow, can you run the trade channel for me? Like, are you fused with my system screen?"
Meow Meow! What do you want me to do? Meow Meow?
"I want you to bring up the chat window and run a trade of petrol for me. We don't need it, so we might as well trade it for something good." Harry explained. "But can you hide my identity?"
Meow Meow! Yes, I can. Meow Meow. But why would you? Meow Meow?
"Well, it's common knowledge that if you make a name for yourself in any way in these games, you become a target for other players. Those players will try to kill you and take your wealth. My cousin played games like this all the time, and I watched him a few times. I learned these things."
Meow Meow! I will do so! There is an anonymous communication feature! What should we trade for? Meow Meow.
"Well, I don't know. Useful things."
Meow Meow? Like bulk materials, blueprints, weapons, supplies, equipment, and items? Meow?
"Yeah, exactly, but don't undercharge, and yet don't overcharge. I know it's hard to tell. I'll make the final choice, but I trust you to help, Meow Meow."
Meow Meow brought up the Regional Chat on a screen for Harry, but not in front of his eyes. Harry quickly learned that there was no useful information in the chat. People were calling out for help and complaining. Harry focused on driving.
Meow Meow! Master, there's another crate! I'm also still trying to trade our fuel, Master. But everyone is trying to trade weird things. I have them contacting an account that I set up. Meow.
"You're doing great, Meow Meow. You might want to filter out those making demands and threats, those trying to get it for free, and those offering those weird things." Harry offered as he checked the radar. It wasn't far. "Don't give up. You can do it."
Harry had to get out to get this one and didn't like it. It was way too cold.
x1 Thermal Blanket, x1 Water Collector Blueprint, x1 Down Jacket, and x1 Lighter.
He instantly put on the new black jacket and rushed back into the car. He buckled up. It was cold even in the car, and now he had a coat to help with that. That was great. He checked the blueprint.
COMMON WATER COLLECTOR BLUEPRINT!
The most basic Water Collector, capable of collecting 1-2 liters of water daily. Output will vary based on the environment.
Resources required for construction: 4 units of metal scraps, 2 units of metal parts, 2 units of glass fragments.
Meow Meow! Master, you have found a great treasure! I will see if I can't trade for these resources! Meow!
"Good idea." Harry praised putting the blanket in the small storage area.
Meow Meow! Master, I can store that Blueprint and its information in my memory, and you can craft it more than once! Also, Master, you can use your Talent on this. This is just the most common-grade Water Collector. It goes Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, Artifact, Divine, Transcendent, and Ethereal. Meow Meow!
"Thank you for the information, Meow Meow." Harry said, thinking hard. "It's still early morning, though, and I have plenty of water. I can only use my Talent 5 times. I'll figure out what to use it on at the end of the day."
Meow Meow! Master is wise! Meow!
Harry scoffed at the thought of him being wise.