Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 691: Storm binding is a skill.

Nine and Sunshine sharpened their attention, leaning in so fast they nearly bumped heads.

"Storm binding," Sunshine repeated. "Sounds complicated already."

Vortan didn’t counter what Sunshine had said. "It is not easy and it all depends on the kind of rift being repaired. Because of the complicity of the skill, it is taught only to repairmen of the Master and Grandmaster level."

Nine laughed from relief, a boisterous, barking sound. "Well, lucky us! We’ve got a supervisor at master level."

Vortan’s eyes became hollow, losing their glow as he looked at the two largest vortexes. "I would not be so quick to use the word ’lucky’ because to close the bigger rifts, you will need repairmen from grandmaster level. Not just the skill_ the raw, channeled power of a veteran. I will not be able to help you at that stage, and I have no idea how you will accomplish it."

"Shit!" Sunshine cursed. System, how did you not know this? Is what Vortan saying true?" She asked quietly

The System’s voice chimed in her head, sounding uncharacteristically somber. [Host I am your system, and we are both at expert level, there is information about the repairmen organization that I cannot access. I cannot detect any deception coming from supervisor Vortan.

I do not have the ’Storm Binding’ protocol in my current database. If your grandfather had it, it was likely stored in a high-level encrypted sector that was erased when the system reset to become yours.

I repeat that i am currently unauthorized for Grand master-level repairs. If you level up faster, we will get there sooner.]

Sunshine shook her head to dispel all thoughts especially the system’s words. Her brain felt like it was overheating. Not all Vortan had said was bad news, though. She chose to stick to the positives. She asked him how she could repair the small rifts. She planned to start there. If she could fix the leaks, maybe she could figure out how to stop the flood later in the process.

There were also aliens in the system mall shops that repaired rips in the sky left after trips to other worlds. Maybe one of them would have some advice for her. Or they could fix it for her. She made a mental note to look into that option before doing anything.

Vortan leaned over the map. "The rifts react to atmospheric energy. If a massive storm is created, you can channel lightning into the rift, using the electrical discharge as a needle and thread to force it shut."

"You want me to catch lightning?" Sunshine asked, her eyebrows migrating toward her hairline.

Vortan nodded solemnly. "You are a lightning ability mutant from what I know. You can also use others of your kind at least to conjure the storm."

"A storm is loud. I was hoping to do this without the watchers finding out." Sunshine said.

Nine winced loudly. "You could distract them.....but be rest assured that they will not allow you to close those rifts easily. They control the weather on your world now so anything odd will light up their radar quickly."

Sunshine launched a kick into space, "I was planning to do this in the dark and very fast."

Nine and Vortan exchanged a worried gaze which they transferred to her.

"In the dark! That would be dumb." Vortan said

"Yeah....especially because the lightning storm would be visible from miles away....very visible." Nine reminded her.

Sunshine clenched her fists. "Damn it." She now had to wait until after five months when the darkness had gone. That was a pain in the ass. She filed this away, learning the skill was the most important thing right now. "Alright, so how do we proceed?"

"I have to train you to become equipped with the storm binding skill, you must strive to become as good as me or even better, because it requires precise timing and immense control. One second too early, and the energy dissipates. One second too late, and... well." Vortan tilted his neck, but they got the answer.

Nine shrugged, still chewing his jerky. "Doesn’t sound so hard. You’ve handled more complicated stuff before, Suni. What is the worst that could happen."

Vortan made a sharp, disagreeing sound_ a hiss of air. "There will be consequences if this goes wrong, that storm that you create could spiral into a catastrophe." He listed the possibilities with terrifying calmness, "Endless acid showers, localized gravity reversals, or even a total sky collapse. Your world could change for the worse."

Nine gasped.

"That is why not everyone can do it," Vortan added. "It’s not just about strength. It’s about not panicking when the clouds start screaming, and they will scream.....the thunder will try to go out of control."

Sunshine and Nine went dead silent. The humor drained out of the space, replaced by the humming sound of the holographic device.

"Total sky collapse," Sunshine whispered. "So, no pressure then. If I trip, the sky falls down like a broken ceiling."

Vortan reached out, placing a heavy, cool hand on her shoulder. "Do not let your mind linger about what could go wrong. I will teach you well, and since you are smart and a fast learner, you will grasp the skill quickly." For a man who usually looked like he was smelling something bad, it was a surprisingly kind gesture.

Sunshine nodded, taking a shaky breath. "Right. I will do my best....I have to, for everyone’s sake."

Nine stood up, brushing crumbs off his thorax. "Be optimistic, Suni! Always remember that you are a repairman and an out of the box thinker. I have not met one better than you in a long time."

Vortan cleared his voice, as if to correct Nine about his statement.

"Of course, she comes right after you Supervisor Vortan." Nine said quickly, laughing nervously.

"Let us continue." Vortan said, he pointed at the medium-sized rift, the one hovering over the Grimy swamps. "Now for this one, it is slightly bigger than the small ones we studied earlier, I believe that you can repair it as well, but the strength that you will need to use will drain you so much. It will be difficult, but it is doable."

"But the big ones," Vortan said, looking back at the swirling dark vortexes. "For those, you need a team. A grand master team."