Brow furrowing, Alvin grunted. “Sounds old school MMO to me.”
“That is a decent analogy, sir. It is very similar to the way some older games had storage items shown. To retrieve an item or place it into a bag, you simply think of performing the action and stick your hand out. It will happen almost as fast as drawing your pistol, but not as fast as summoning from your gloves.”
“That does provide a huge advantage for getting to medkits faster,” Alvin nodded. “Go ahead with the next bit, Jarvis.”
“If you didn’t note the keyring in the lower right corner of your character screen, I will point it out to you now. Sir, you will notice the Humvee key and the Mustang key on that ring, as well as the key that gives you access to this base. If you will think of removing the key to Ruffian, please.”
Alvin did as requested and the key appeared in his hand. “Okay.”
“Hand it to miss,” Jarvis said simply.
Puzzled, Alvin handed the key to Becky. She took it, blinked, then tapped something invisible to them. “I’m now the owner of Ruffian,” Becky grinned. “Thank you, Jarvis.”
“You are welcome, miss,” Jarvis said. “Now, focus on the keyring and ask for a duplicate key.”
Becky frowned for a second before a key appeared in her hand. “Okay?”
“If you give that to Alvin, he will also be able to drive Ruffian. Sir, you should also give her a key for the Humvee. I know it doesn’t actually use keys, but that is what makes the vehicle yours. No one can drive it without the key in their keyring.”
The two of them exchanged keys, and Alvin pulled up an extra key to his base, holding it out to Becky. “What about the base key?”
“It gives people access to your base, and yes, the whole base system has also been reworked. I’ll get there in a moment. I would suggest giving one to Mousie, as well.”
Alvin was already doing that, and gave Jarvis an eye roll. “You don’t say?”
“You can have five people in your base at a time at the default size,” Jarvis said, ignoring Alvin’s comment. “I do not count toward this limit as I can never leave the base. Currently, there are three of five people here, which means you can give keys to two more people before you would need to buy extra access.”
“Oh fucking joy, microtransactions,” Alvin grumbled.
“In a way, sir. But as there is only XP for currency and you can’t spend money to get more, it functions more as a gated access.”
“How did the base change?” Becky asked, wanting to know more.
“It is similar to before. You can buy more rooms and modify them as you wish, for XP. But now, you can buy specific functions for your base. An auto shop so your vehicles can be repaired and upgraded, or a gunsmithy for repairs or upgrades to your weapons, and several other specialist options. You will also need to have someone who can do those jobs in the base.”
“But everyone gets kicked from the base when I leave,” Alvin grumbled.
“Not anymore, sir,” Jarvis said. “The base is now an operations center and retreat. Only players have access to call the doorways for them, but once a doorway is open, anyone with a key can come and go. The doorway stays until it is summoned in a different location, and it no longer needs an existing door to work. However, everyone can see the glowing archway and will know where you are coming and going from.”
“Good and bad in that,” Alvin said.
“Indeed,” Jarvis said. “One of the rooms you can buy is a kiosk room. It will do everything a normal kiosk can do and is connected to your network. Much like the settlement kiosks, you can unlock extra functions, such as shipping items with it.”
“We’ll have to buy one of those,” Alvin snorted.
“I would also suggest separating the bedroom from the kitchen area, sir. It will make things much easier once you have more people for your base. You can also purchase normal rooms that they can then outfit for themselves.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Alvin said. “Not sure who’ll pledge—”
“That has been changed,” Jarvis interrupted him. “The powers of Leader and Contracted have been removed, as it was considered a hindrance to grouping. You can hand your base key to anyone. As for grouping, as long as the intent to fight as a group is there, the system will consider you all a party, dividing XP and loot accordingly. Loot will now go to your bags automatically.”
Becky touched her neck with fearful eyes, but Alvin shook his head. “She still has her tattoo.”
“Indeed, miss and Mousie are special cases,” Jarvis chuckled drily. “The developers were cursing your name quite extensively last night. The vows associated with the previous Leader/Contracted system have been reworked as Vows. It is the primary way to pledge yourself to another being. For all intents and purposes, you three are married.”
Becky, Alvin, and Kuro just sat there for a long moment blinking, shocked at what had just been dropped on them. “All three of us?” Becky asked first.
“Indeed, miss,” Jarvis said. “It looks very much like a very acute triangle, as Kuro and Alvin are not as connected as you are to both of them, and you and he are much closer than you and her. It isn’t an exact analogy, but that is the easiest way to explain it.”
“I’m married… to him?” Kuro’s voice was faint, her face looking slightly ill.
“Indeed, Mousie. You are married to miss and sir,” Jarvis said.
“You come second,” Becky told her firmly.
Wanting to shift the topic some, Alvin coughed. “Vows equal marriage?”
“Not always, sir,” Jarvis said. “If you met a powerful entity, you could Vow to it. Depending on the Vow, it might be able to do beneficial things for you.”
“Would a native shaman calling on Brother Owl qualify?”
“Indeed, sir,” Jarvis nodded. “That is a type of veneration, and could be seen as a Vow.”
“The gods are going to be a real thing going forward, then,” Becky said.
“I can’t say,” Jarvis said blandly.
“So what else changed that we need to know about?” Alvin asked.
“The crafting system was reworked slightly,” Jarvis replied. “The amount of time to finish a project is directly related to how much XP it would cost. Various crafting Powers can help mitigate the time needed.”
“Is it a matter of needing the components and knowing the blueprint?” Alvin asked.
“It is,” Jarvis nodded. “The crafter will enter a trance state as they work, which can be paused if they need to interrupt a craft for any reason. That, however, will also pause the timer for crafting the item.”
“What does that feel like to the crafter?” Kuro asked.
Jarvis looked at her for a moment, before he replied slowly. “To explain it best, for you specifically, it would be that moment you lose yourself in a Dance.”
“For us?” Alvin said.
“Vegging out to music,” Jarvis said. “Time passes, but you are only vaguely aware.”
“Hmm, interesting,” Becky said. “That would make things difficult for crafters if they’re in dangerous areas.”
“Indeed, miss, it does hamper their ability to know what is happening around them, but someone saying their name will pull them out of the trance.”
“Before we get too much more involved,” Alvin said, getting to his feet, “maybe we should see about upgrading and rearranging the base.”
“I would suggest that, sir,” Jarvis said with a strained smile.
“Give me a pad, then,” Alvin said.
“I will point out sir, that the pad in the base can only be used for purchasing items for the base as of today. Nor can you get pads while in the vehicles anymore,” Jarvis said, producing a pad for him and another for Becky.
“Fucking devs,” Becky grumbled as she began to look over options for the base.
“Always finding a way to make things difficult,” Alvin agreed.
Chapter Seventeen
It took Alvin a while t
o go over all the options, even with Becky’s help. The kiosk room was a no brainer as far as Alvin was concerned, though he wondered why it was given an entire room. Jarvis had just smiled but remained silent, giving Alvin the idea that there was more to it than he thought.
“Looks like the kiosk is a must,” Becky agreed. “I wonder if more things will unlock once we pick it up?”
“We might as well find out,” Alvin said as he was about to push the button.
“Before you start adding stuff, maybe we should see about rearranging the base,” Becky said. “It won’t cost much, and it would be better to have the layout ready for whatever we add.”
“Fair enough,” Alvin said, setting the kiosk room aside and going to the interior decorator tab. “Let’s see, we need another large room… we should move Jarvis’ bedroom and enlarge it, add a smaller bathroom for him and whoever else needs it...” Mumbling as he went, Alvin purchased the rooms he needed, then went back the interior decorator tab.
With a few clicks, Alvin had it all arranged the way he wanted and clicked accept. The bed against the wall vanished, as did the archways to the dungeon and bathroom. The suite expanded, gaining upgraded kitchen and dining areas. Sofas and chairs replaced the bed, and various doors appearing in the walls indicated other rooms.
Becky looked over the reworked space with a critical eye. “Leaving the entertainment center in here?”
“There’s a better one in our room, along with some new additions,” Alvin said. “Jarvis, your room is off the kitchen.”
“I appreciate the thought, sir.”
“What happened to the old kitchen equipment?” Becky asked.
“I got cost value in the upgrade,” Alvin said, “which was nice because otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered. Let’s go check our new rooms.”
Alvin opened the door opposite the kitchen, leading Becky and Kuro into the room beyond. This was a bedroom, easily as large as the main room had become. The far wall was dominated by a large bed. Becky slowed as she took in details, smiling in appreciation. The four-poster bed featured a cage built into the base, within which she could see a mattress, pillows, and blankets. At the foot of the bed, a set of metal stocks were open and ready for use and each pillar supporting the canopy had several handy attachment points.
“Hero, is this for me?” Becky asked as she walked forward slowly, touching the frame in awe.
“Yes, and the cage is for Mousie,” Alvin said, glancing at the Elf. “It’s not as confining as the suitcase, but you’ll be close to Gothy.”
“Mousie, do you like your new safe space?” Becky asked, unlatching the door to the crawl space with a smile.
Kuro bit her lip but went to Becky, crawling into the cage. When Becky closed the door, Alvin motioned to a button set in one post. Becky frowned, but pushed the button. Metal shutters slid closed around the base of the bed, blocking off Kuro’s cage. Becky also heard the thunk of a bolt as the cage door locked.
Alvin couldn’t help smirking as Becky looked at him in surprise. “She likes enclosed spaces, you said.”
“Gothy, may I come out?” Kuro’s was muffled from under the bed.
Becky pushed the button again, retracting the shutters and bolt, then opened the door to let Kuro out. Kneeling beside Becky, Kuro whispered to her.
Becky laughed and pushed Kuro against the bed, kissing her. Alvin shook his head as he continued checking out the new arrangement. Opening one door revealed the dungeon, which he had upgraded with sound dampening walls. Crossing the bedroom, where Becky and Kuro were still locked in a kiss, he looked over the bathroom. He’d only made a few changes there, rearranging things so people using the toilet and bidet had a bit more privacy.
Coming back out to the bedroom, he saw Kuro and Becky getting to their feet. “Thank you for the gift, Hero, from both of us.”
“Anything for my gothic temptress,” Alvin said. “You’re welcome, too, Kuro. I hope this shows that I care in my own way.” Not waiting for a reply, he went back to the main room. “Jarvis, how do you like your room?”
“Very spacious sir, thank you,” Jarvis said. “I just need to find a way to give it some personality.”
“Use one of the pads and pick out a few thousand XP worth of stuff,” Alvin said. “I’ll see about some kind of wage for you, since you’re going to be stuck here cleaning things up.”
Blinking and obviously at a loss for words, Jarvis bowed before he moved toward the kitchen. “Have you decided where to add the kiosk room, sir?” Jarvis asked.
“Yes,” Alvin said, picking up a pad and setting an archway in one wall. “That’s the entrance to the base.” He tapped the pad again and a door appeared a few feet away on the same wall. “That’s the kiosk room.”
Alvin set the pad down and went to the new room with everyone else following him. He frowned when he walked inside. It was empty, except for the kiosk sitting against the far wall.
Going to it, he found that it only had access to Earth. “Why can’t I access the Elven store?”
“Because you don’t have an Elven settlement linked to it yet, sir,” Jarvis answered.
“Something to do,” Alvin said. Checking the message part of the kiosk, he found five letters waiting for him: one from Ohm, one from Gary, one from Wild Bill, and two from the auction house. Both of the messages from the auction houses had the XP for selling the items, in the form of XP tokens. The tokens clattered into the bottom of the kiosk when he opened those messages, then he read the notes from the three settlements.
His smile dimmed as he read. Becky came over to him, and seeing his expression, touched his shoulder. “What’s the matter?”
“Green River is doing fine, mostly. They lost some people to mutated animals; they got careless according to Bill. The river had a fish thing that pulled the bridge out of town and tore down the rail bridge. Everything near the river is pretty fucked up, because the thing seemed to be able to spend a little time out of water. Bill is putting together a group to go deal with it.”
“Doesn’t sound different than anywhere else,” Becky said.
“The compound was attacked by a wyvern from the Rockies,” Alvin went on, “and they lost a dozen people. I’m thinking Green River is close to the Draconian Gate.”
“That means they’ll probably see even more of those attacks,” Becky added grimly.
“Bill is setting up a more defensive posture, but since the game changed when we were in Beatty, it’s a lot slower than before.”
“Are we going back that way?” Becky asked.
“Once we finish up here, we can,” Alvin nodded. “Would be good to get the guns looked at by Bill.”
Alvin grabbed the two XP tokens from the kiosk and used them. He stared at his total, blinking in surprise. “Damn.”
“Not as much as you thought?” Becky asked.
“A lot more than I’d thought,” Alvin snorted. “Even after upgrading the base, I still have a few hundred thousand XP. Gary’s group was a big chunk of that, with the two drakes and the dragon. Add in the one from the refinery that Ohm got too, and I’m flush.”
“Base upgrades or other?” Becky asked him.
“I’m going to see what I can afford for the base that makes sense for right now. After I do that, we’ll see where I stand.”
“Sounds good,” Becky said. “Let me at the kiosk until you make up your mind.”
“Be back,” Alvin said, trailed by Jarvis as he left the room.
“Mousie, come here. We’re going to see about upgrading you,” Becky said as she started to use the kiosk.
Heading back to the pad in the main room, Alvin went to the kiosk section first. “Over seven hundred thousand XP from wiping out an army and deals for skinning beasts. What can I do?”
“You could easily afford some of the crafting rooms,” Jarvis said, “or an automated room, though those tend not to be as useful as the crafting rooms with someone in them.”
“Automated rooms?” Alvin frowned. “I
don’t recall seeing automated rooms.”
“You need to have bought the base room first,” Jarvis coughed.
“I really hate not being able to see every upgrade path available. Hell, not even seeing the first set of upgrades is annoying as shit.”
“I understand, sir,” Jarvis said, going to the kitchen to make some tea. “One of the automated rooms might do something useful, like repair vehicles…” Jarvis was in the middle of filling a tea pot at the sink when he froze mid-sentence.
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