When the spark arrived several weeks later, I'd already decided on how to use it and directed it to form a fragment on las weapons with an inclination towards laspistols. As the new knowledge flowed through me, I found out that once again it was incredibly valuable knowledge and yet useless in some ways.
The knowledge was useful, but it gave me far more information on the workings of las weapons. For instance, I now knew what each component was called and its purpose. I even knew why some of them were as they were and how to create some of the simpler parts.
But it didn't provide the best way to use the weapon or maintain it. It was missing all the practical knowledge one would gain from experience. Fortunately, it was enough. It took a lot of work, and I needed to go out and trade for some of the tools I needed, but I confirmed that the gun wouldn't explode when used.
Unable to help myself, the next day I went down and spent several hours shooting at targets in a room. From my knowledge, I knew this battery, which was slotted into the handle of the pistol, could fire over hundreds of shots before needing recharging.
Like other weapons of its kind, once depleted, it just needed to be exposed to heat or light to recharge. Mine could do that too, but it could passively recharge over time, just not as quickly as if the power pack was removed from the gun.
My shooting taught me three things. 1) the gun fired like a dream, even with my poor maintenance of it. 2) I was a terrible shot, and 3) shooting things was fun.
I had the knowledge of how to aim and shoot, but none of the experience or practical knowledge, like how to stand or hold the gun. It was enough to give me some confidence while diving, but it did lead me to my next, hopefully clever spark use.
This was good, as all signs pointed to this becoming a major Tidefall. Where, rather than lasting a few days or weeks, maybe a month or two, it might last six months or even years.
This allowed people to go much deeper and find better salvage than usual. It also meant that it would take far longer to open again. So I pushed myself trying to gather as much salvage as possible, but also avoiding the growing crowds.
With the Tidefall lasting longer and longer, more and more people arrived to try their luck. But not just the desperate. Nobles and even professional explorers started to arrive, delving into the depths. I spoke to one guy who swore he saw a tech-priest and his guards enter as well.
The spark arrived and I got to try my idea. As with many of the others when I used it, it worked perfectly and yet not at all. With the knowledge I had been gaining, I was reminded of a saying: 'you didn't know what you didn't know'. So, with that in mind, I tried to be clever and gain knowledge of a profession. In this case, a soldier.
It succeeded, and I gained knowledge of an Imperial soldier with experience using guns, as well as many things I wouldn't have even thought I might need. But it also failed, as I ended up with a lot of information I didn't need. Like how to march in formation or how to polish my shoes just right, and interestingly, a crash course in prostitution.
Why that was in there, I didn't want to know.
So, while not perfect, it proved my idea was viable, and the next month's spark went into the fragments I already had. But with a focus on combat and the exclusion of the other parts. This pushed my knowledge from someone who didn't know their arse from their elbow to that of a competent recruit a few months out of training.
The next fragment only pushed this further, so several months, maybe even years of experience. But it didn't push me over the threshold, which I could feel was there. Each fragment seemed to have levels, and when crossed, gave far more knowledge, like unlocking the next level.
The next point did it, and as with all the others, enhanced the fragments massively. Pushing it up to a soldier who had been in the heaviest combat zones for years.
Interestingly, when the fragments reached a certain threshold, they gave muscle memory not just knowledge. I learned this first when trying to pull my gun from its holster; it felt so natural, like I had done it thousands of times before.
When I caught myself in a reflection, I almost thought it was someone else I didn't recognise the gait so much. My frazzled state at the time didn't help. There had been signs that the cycle was coming to an end: vibrations through the floor as vast machines whirred to life and the lights flickered. This could still mean we had months left before the fog rolled back in and the defences activated once more.
With that in mind and the knowledge from my soldier fragment about the dangers of surprises, I spend my next spark on what could best be described as danger sense.
Learning from my past tries, I nailed what I wanted this time first go. I made it danger sense for hive cities, which was perfect as it was narrow enough to avoid irrelevant knowledge, but was also broad enough, unlike how it sounded. But hive cities could have a huge number of biomes within them due to their sheer size