Daemonorg Prison-Lab: A Dark LitRPG / LitFPS SciFi-Shooter (Overtaken Online Book 1)
Page 29
Suddenly I felt neither the suit nor the needles in my neck anymore, as if it literally was a second set of skin.
The visor became transparent, and a notification screen popped up:
+1 Armor – Battle-Marine Front Line Body Armor [BRONZE] (+0 Item Slots // Req. 6 Item Slots if unused)
The Front Line Body Armor – FL-Armor, for short – is an upgradable full body armor with additional features for boosting soldier effectiveness on the battleground.
Being no bulkier than a thick layer of regular clothing, the bodysuit is compatible with all types of pouches, ammo belts, backpacks, etc.
More information
Features – Restoration – Upgrades
Yes, of course I wanna know eeeverything! I thought, virtually drooling, and selected the Features tab:
[ FL-Armor – Features
The FL-Armor extends the Player’s HP, MP and Armor. Its advanced visor enables the Player to see other characters’ current Level, HP, etc. Furthermore, it has a built-in target lock-on mechanism to mark and keep track of enemy positions during combat – even in hiding.
Upgraded versions of the FL-Armor not only boosts the Player’s health, armor and magic but also improves the analyze functionality and increases the number of targets that can be marked. Additionally, extra features will be unlocked, namely Jump Boost and temporary Invisibility. ]
This is incredible, I thought and could barely contain my enthusiasm. Ignoring the others a few more minutes, I selected the last two tabs and read the information consecutively:
[ FL-Armor – Restoration
Depending on whether your FL-Armor is currently BRONZE or SILVER, the way to restore the depletable featured resources – HP, Armor, MP – is either by using Scrap or paying Cash at available Upgrade Stations or by visiting merchants. Be warned: Prices will vary.
Once the Front Line Body Armor reaches GOLD, however, depletable resources automatically regenerate. ]
[ FL-Armor – Upgrades: Bronze, Silver, Gold
Minimum Battle-Marine Level requirements pertain to each upgrade, including a Cash amount if the FL-Armor is sold.
BRONZE (Current)
– Req. Level 2 Battle-Marine + 500 Cash
+50 HP
+50 Armor
+15 MP
Analyze: Character Type and Level
Lock-on: 5 Targets
SILVER (Locked)
– Req. Level 6 Battle-Marine + 2000 Cash
+75 HP
+75 Armor
+30 MP
Analyze: Character Type, Level, HP and Armor
Lock-on: 7 Targets
Jump Boost: 2 Meters
GOLD (Locked)
– Req. Level 8 Battle-Marine + 5000 Cash
+100 HP
+100 Armor
+50 MP
Analyze: Character Type, Level, HP, Armor, MP and States
Lock-on: 10 Targets
Jump Boost: 5 Meters
Invisibility: 10 Seconds
]
Closing the notification screen, I placed my hands on my waist and let out a long sigh of enjoyment. As my gaze strafed across the storage room, the visor’s overlaid display automatically analyzed my companions. Swishing sound effects accompanied aqua blue text boxes appearing above their heads – translucent and exposing their type and current Levels:
Hiko: Battle-Marine, Level 2
Frida: Warrior-Medic, Level 6
Ayamii: Mishap Mutant, Level 4
OVERTAKEN ONLINE was finally shaping up to be what I’d expected when signing up.
“What do you think, Mr. Walsh?” Hiko asked, his voice filtered clearly through the FL-Armor helmet.
“You know, I’d say it’s basically the coolest thing ever,” I said, grinning stupidly – which didn’t matter, since no-one could see my face through the visor, which appeared opaque from the outside. “How ‘bout you?”
“Well, I like it almost as much as the decontamination suit.”
We all laughed at his bone-dry joke.
“I’m thinking,” I said and walked up to the shelf, inspecting the different items. “We don’t know what awaits us next, but I’m fairly certain we won’t return once we’ve left the biotech lab-section behind. Agree?”
“Agreed,” Hiko said. “I never want to see this place ever again.”
Frida wagged her head and twisted her lips. “Weeell, never say never. But if the translation devices Ayamii mentioned are good enough for my purpose, then sure, I see no reason to come back.”
“I… I might go back later,” Ayamii said, busy fixing a tear in his makeshift clothing. “To fetch more resources and s-such.”
“My point is,” I said, gesturing toward the shelf. “I suggest we – uh, you, Hiko, obviously – decide which of these items you want to bring along, and which you’d like to share with us. And once that’s done, we’ll take a few minutes to manage our inventories and stats before leaving. Cool?”
“It is a decent plan, Mr. Walsh. I need a moment to get an overview.” Hiko stepped in front of the shelf and lightly pushed me aside. For a while he stood wide-legged, arms crossed and silently studied the shelf content. The aqua blue lights across his FL-Armor reflected in the ammo boxes and MedKits.
Edging toward Frida, I asked in a low voice: “So, what sparked your interest in tattoos?”
At first she looked at me like I’d descended from another planet, before she placed a hand in front of her mouth and laughed.
“What?”
“I’m sorry, but you kinda remind me of a robot in that suit,” she said through the laughter, clasping a hand on my chest. Her blue painted fingernails clattered against the armored plates. “Your leisurely tone and subject matter just didn’t match the serious-looking, high-tech military AI-robot vibe.”
I snickered a bit just to match her emotions. “Yeah, I understand. Just making conversation, though.”
“But to answer your question,” she said, taking a breath and smoothing out her hair. “Growing up with a dad all tattered up probably has a lot to do with it. Buuut I also blame RPGs.”
I arched an eyebrow – which she couldn’t see. “I get your dad’s influence, but… RPGs?”
“Yes, role playing games,” she answered, eyeing Hiko as he sorted the items by the shelf. “Video games, of course, not like pen and paper-Dungeons & Dragons.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You’re a game designer, Dex, you should know some RPGs let the players decorate their characters with different marks and tattoos and such, or the characters already have tattoos. I’ve just always played a lot of those games, and often found the tattoos really cool.”
“So cool you now have tats because of ‘em?”
She lifted her shoulders, flashing her perfect row of teeth in an unapologetic grin. “What can I say? I’m a real, hardcore nerd.”
“Haha, great. Totally respect that. So that’s why you’re here, huh?”
Before she could answer, Hiko spoke: “I have reached a decision.” As he strapped a dual pouch around his waist, he waved an elbow at the pile of stuff pushed to one side of the shelf. “There you have everything I cannot fit – or need. Share it like you would your family.”
“Thanks a ton, man,” I said as I passed him, getting an overview of the stuff he left for us. “This is a real awesome upgrade for all of us.”
“You saved my life, Mr. Walsh. You deserve it. You all do.”
I wanted to tell him he saved my life, but we’d already danced that dance, so I let him have the last word.
Over-viewing the gear, we agreed on a fair split based on what each of us needed. For instance, I didn’t need another ammo belt, so Frida got that, while I took the grenades. Ayamii got my small backpack, since a large size was too big for him, and so on.
+1 Storage – Large Backpack (+16 Item Slots // Req. 4 Item Slots if unused)
Grants the ability to carry items, weapons, tools – whatever, really.
&
nbsp; +1/2 MedKit
+30 MP
+2 Grenades – Daemonorg Ball-Buster
+200 Ammo – Daemonorg ‘Rap-Attack’ Automatic Rifle
+50 Ammo – Daemonorg Light Handgun
I sorted through everything I owned before strapping the ammo belt, pistol and flashlight holsters on. Then organized items, ammo and weapons anew.
Short on item slots, I discarded the black-hooded jacket and the black leather boots. Only the dark blue denim jeans could fit in the last free item slot. I’d have to figure out a way to carry more clothes at a later time, anyway.
After using too much time managing all the new and old gear, I took a last, full check of my inventory:
[ INVENTORY - DEX]
DEX WALSH - Battle-Marine
WEAPON OVERVIEW
WEAPON : AMMO
Brawl : Unlimited
Machete : Passable Condition
Daemonorg Light Handgun : 144
Celestial Basic Pistol : Blue Energy-Status + 1 Refill
Daemonorg ‘Rap-Attack’ Automatic Rifle : 294 Bullets
Daemonorg Ball-Buster Grenades : 2 Grenades
MISC. ITEMS
Consumables : 42
Cash : 1599
Scrap : 439
AMMO BELT – 6 Ammo-Item Slots
1 : Daemonorg Light Handgun Ammo : 60 Bullets
2 : Celestial Basic Pistol Ammo : 1 Energy Refill
3 : Daemonorg ‘Rap-Attack’ Automatic Rifle : 250 Bullets
4 : empty
5 : empty
6 : empty
PISTOL HOLSTER – 1 Pistol-Item Slot
1 : Celestial Basic Pistol : Blue Energy-Status
FLASHLIGHT HOLSTER – Flashlight-Item Slot
1 : Solid Flashlight
FLASHLIGHT HOLSTER – Battery-Item Slots
1 : Battery
2 : Battery
3 : Battery
LARGE BACKPACK – 16 Item Slots
1 : Daemonorg ‘Rap-Attack’ Automatic Rifle : 30 Bullets
2 : — —
3 : Daemonorg ‘Rap-Attack’ Automatic Rifle : 14 Bullets
4 : — —
5 : Daemonorg Light Handgun : 30 Bullets
6 : Daemonorg Light Handgun : 30 Bullets
7 : Daemonorg Ripper Machete
8 : Daemonorg Ball-Buster Grenade
9 : Daemonorg Ball-Buster Grenade
10 : Daemonorg Officer’s Chest Plate : 32 Armor
11 : Dark Blue Denim Jeans : 4 Item Slots
12 : Electro Cores : 2 Cores
13 : Short Range Two Way Radio
14 : Unknown Object
15 : Nuclear Modulator – Quest Item
16 : XP Transmutation Core – Quest Item
All this stuff reminded me how far I’d come since starting the game less ten hours earlier. I wondered whether the progress moved at such a fast pace when starting from a real newbie-area. Probably not. Maybe my unique starting point actually turned out for the best. I wouldn’t be wearing this super-awesome Front Line Body Armor now if it weren’t for bumping into someone like Darius in a place like this. It was a gritty, dark fucking game, but boy did the positive elements nicely balance out the harshness.
I opened the Character Statistics screen to get an overview of the status quo:
[ CHARACTER STATISTICS ]
DEX WALSH - Battle-Marine
Level 4 – XP : 2100 XP
Next level : 2500 XP
Unbound XP Stash : 310 XP
HP / MP
120 / 120 [+50 - FL-Armor] HP
50 / 50 [+15 - FL-Armor] MP
ARMOR
Battle-Marine Front Line Body Armor [ BRONZE ] : 50 Armor
Universal Abilities
— Strength : 3
— Awareness : 1
— Speed : 3
— Agility : 3
— Focus : 1
— Stamina : 3
— Communication : 3
— Charisma : 1
— Learnability : 2
Battle-Marine Abilities
— Melee Weapons : 8%
— Throwing Weapons : 7%
— Ranged Weapons : 12%
— Self-Induced Aggression (req. 1 MP per 2 seconds) : 2%
Personal Specialties
— Sensing : 17%
— Lucidity : 6%
Character States
— Poisoned : 02:57:43 until dead
Oooh, niceness! Only four hundred XP remaining until I reach Level 5. Again, by looking at my stats, seeing how much each ability and specialty had increased, I smiled at the appreciation for OVERTAKEN ONLINE’s decent progression.
Then there was my poison status. An entire hour had passed already since Frida revived me in the nick of time. “Guys,” I said, closing the translucent stats screen. “We’ve been here more than an hour… Whaddaya say, should we pack up and get the fuck outta here?”
Yes, they agreed. Yes, we should.
36
The clattering of gear and weapons filled the silence between us as we snuck through a dark, narrow hallway. A well-hidden sub-section between the second and first floors of the prison-lab, and – according to Ayamii – little known among most daemonorgs. Mainly used as a safe passageway by rangers and scouts from the mishaps’ community.
I definitely saw why the place was avoided and neglected. Smudged dirt clung to the walls – brown fingers of dried unknowables leaked through rusty pipes criss-crossing the ceiling, smelling of feces. All gloomily lit by sporadic streaks of light from cracks in ceiling and walls.
Squeamish like Posh Spice in a urinal for the homeless, Frida tip-toed between piles of shit on the ground, occasionally mis-stepping and splashing straight into nasty wetness. She muttered hushed curses.
Being covered head to toe by the FL-Armor, I didn’t care, but I understood her struggle.
“W-wait.” Ayamii stopped and lifted a hand. Multiple small light beams from the ceiling fell on his fingers spread in the air. “There’s something here.” Kneeling, he stroked the ground with a purple index finger. Sniffed loudly.
I stepped past Frida and Hiko. “What is it?”
“Tracks I haven’t seen b-before,” he whispered. “Not down here.”
Throwing a glance back whence we came, nothing stood out in the gloomy passageway. “At least no-one’s following us,” I said and squatted beside him, inspecting what I now saw was the sole of a boot imprinted in a layer of dirt. Another one, less visible, a few feet further ahead. “Maybe other scouts from your community?”
Thick, purple eyelids wrapped tightly around Ayamii’s bulging eyes as he squinted. His expressions shifted between skepticism, disbelief and wariness. “N-no.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“These were not here when I p-passed early this moh-morning,” he said and inched forward while holding his hand about ten centimeters above the tracks, as if scanning them with his palm. Walking onward, crusty ground crunched underneath his feet.
“Maybe they sent someone else to look for ya,” I suggested, even though my sense had begun tickling the back of my mind.
“Not likely. They are not expecting me back for another day or t-two.”
“So, daemonorgs, then?”
“I… I hope not. But maybe.”
“Strange,” I said and examined the ground around the prints. “I don’t know how, but it looks like they started here. Out of nowhere.”
“Mr. Walsh, perhaps they entered via the second floor.” Hiko gestured toward the ceiling where the light beams spiked through. “That is a hatch, no?”
A square metal plate with visible hinges on one end, covered in rust and dirt. “Yup. That is indeed a hatch, but the muck isn’t smudged or otherwise showing signs of recent usage,” I said, then checked the footprints again. Nothing suggested anyone had fallen from the ceiling and impacted the ground with force. “And I see no evidence of anyone jumping down here. Look, the prints just suddenly appear, as if they simply came to be, s
tanding right here, when they began walking.”
“Hm.” Hiko stepped past me and continued further down the path without us.
“Easy,” Frida said. “They teleported.”
Why didn’t I think of that? I thought. “Interesting.”
“Remember the huge boss-demon Darius killed?”
Raising my eyebrows, I nodded. “How can I forget?”
“Therefore, we know they have the technology to teleport. If they’d entered through the hatch, it would, as you pointed out, have marks of being recently used. And if they came the same way we’ve come from, we would’ve seen their tracks long ago.”
“Y-you’re right,” Ayamii said and returned to the initial footprints. “That is the answer. There’s even burned marks from the electric current… here and here.” Swiping his finger from side to side, he pointed out scorched, jagged lines on the opposing walls, barely visible in the darkness.
I rubbed the stubble on my chin as I considered alternate possibilities. “Anyone else with teleporting ability in, uh, Godmadriguhl?”
“Ye-yes,” Ayamii said, and quickly added: “But only daemonorgs have any interest in finding us.”
“How do you know?”
“Because no-one else knows the mishaps exist.”
“Hey,” Hiko said from further up ahead. “More burned marks on the walls, and more footprints. Many more.”
As I walked toward him, I felt the humid atmosphere somehow shift, as if an electric current was imbued in it. My eyes fell on the disorganized flurry of footprints that had trampled the ground, framed by scorched markings on the opposing walls. “Shit...”