The castle at night was silent as a grave. I guessed it was around midnight, so everyone but the nigh watchmen was probably asleep. The servants typically started moving around four in the morning, so that meant I had a couple of hours to explore. It felt electric, creeping slowly around with my new four legs. Even though they were made of the same steel as I was, I found I could be pretty silent if I moved slowly, so I did as I made my way down the halls.

  I had two items on my agenda before I made my way back to my spot in the throne room: find something that looked valuable to shove into my body and then test my Alchemical Recycling ability. I had read enough light novels to know that these abilities could be my ticket out of here, but not with my current inventory of digested goods. The most useful thing I could make right now was a training sword—aka a blunt object that I didn’t know how to use. I was going to need something a little more nutritious.

  I crept aimlessly, making a mental map as I did so. Directly outside of the throne room was a long hallway leading in two directions, so I picked the left path at random and walked. The grand hallway changed from portraits of previous kings and queens to bare stone walls, and I realized that I had picked the servant area. There were doors slightly ajar with cleaning supplies behind them, and the floor was no longer carpeted but had just bare stone. I turned a corner and almost walked into another trashcan, stopping myself by throwing my rear legs back.

  It was odd, looking at a perfect match of yourself. In a weird way, it looked ‘dead’ to me, even though I knew it was an object. It was like I had forgotten I was once human and instead identified with only being a trashcan. The only difference between me and that object was that I somehow had a consciousness. Well, that and the fact that it had a lid but I didn’t. Which… why didn’t I have a lid? And would anyone notice if I suddenly did? An idea crossed my mind.

  After a few moments of consideration, I decided to make my second bold move of the evening. I took a few steps back, listened closely to make sure no one was coming, then charged forward as quickly as my legs would take me. Bang! The collision made a noise like pots dropping everywhere as the inanimate trashcan toppled over. It lay now on the ground, its lid knocked on the floor. I waddled over and rocked myself until I also toppled, my opening pointing at the lid. I visualized a metal pole with a hook on the end appearing from my rim and felt the heat build inside me. There was another small pop, and I had a rudimentary arm.

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  It took a few tries, but I managed to get the lid mostly inside my opening and push myself back up. Then, I used my new arm and my legs to rock and push until I was upright again with the lid still lodged in my opening.

  ‘Hey Void? Can you activate Devour for me?’ I asked timidly. My whole plan hinged on being able to devour this at will. If I couldn’t, I would have to waddle back in shame.

  NO. YOU CAN ACTIVATE DEVOUR FOR YOURSELF IF YOU WISH TO MOVE IT FROM AUTOMATIC TO MANUAL. IS THIS YOUR STATED REQUEST? I was floored. All this time, I could have been triggering my Devour manually? I had to start asking more questions.

  ‘Yes! Change Devour from automatic to manual! Any other secrets you’ve been keeping from me, Void? Can I, like, hover or something? Maybe summon a catgirl familiar? Shoot lasers, gain infinite mass, time loop?’

  DEVOUR IS NOW MANUAL. ALSO, THIS HAS NOT BEEN HIDDEN. YOU HAVE NEVER ASKED. YOUR OWN LACK OF INQUISITIVENESS IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE SYSTEM OR MY OWN BEING. APPLICATION OF CURRENT ABILITIES AND THEIR LIMITATIONS IS A FUNCTION OF YOUR OWN IMAGINATION. SUGGESTION: START USING IT.

  Ouch. Well, better late than never. The heat swelled, there was the familiar pop!, and I felt the trashcan lid be pulled into me and dissolve. The Appraisal skill picked up that it was worth only .75 experience, of which I got a third. A drop in my bucket, but still. The next step was to reverse the process; I focused on the image of the item in my mind and felt it rising out of me. It was strange, feeling it appear then shoot directly out of my body, landing on my opening and wobbling on the rim before stopping into a snug fit.

  My first outing, and I had committed minor vandalism and given myself a hat. I realized that when I was alive, I had never done something this bold. It stung, but I resolved that this would not be the last time I made bold moves. I was going to live, both literally and metaphorically. I would not let being a trashcan stop me.

  AUTOMATIC SYSTEM WARNING: MANA RESERVES BELOW 20%. AT 0, FORCED SHUTDOWN WILL BE INITIATED.

  Wait, what?