by Ros Per
Attention! Due to the breakthrough, 97% of the privately owned real estate on the fifth level was lost. The outposts No. 91-25-38 and No. 32-11-25 were completely destroyed. All replications attached to these outposts were evenly distributed among other replication centers, depending on the level of damage received by the outposts where they are located. The attempt to break through to the sixth level was again successfully eliminated by the military forces. Casualties among the civilian population are insignificant and amount to only 28,358 people.
The nerve of them - minor losses! But, on the other hand, I don’t know the total population at the top levels. As a percentage, these may be some really insignificant statistical casualties. I’ve started hating this world, where they treat the civilian population like this, even if it’s just NPCs. But in this message, too, there is a lot of information to consider. Since there are military forces, which have “again successfully eliminated the breakthrough,” that means this phenomenon is quite frequent. For me, personally, this is bad, because it’s forcing me to think about forming a detachment again; I would constantly die in these situations otherwise. I don’t want to regularly lose the locations that will be under my control, either.
The main problem isn’t even that you have to be responsible for the lives of other people – everyone is revived here - the problem is to find normal people, who can be trusted, at least a little. And most importantly - my unwillingness to once more have to sit down to plan operations, supplies, training ... Brrr, I have plenty of memories of doing that before. I didn’t come here to work my ass off, but to have fun. I came for the excitement, the adrenaline, to feel young again. I want to be able to get into a hopeless battle, forget about everything, not even have to think about the risks and possible consequences, all while firing hot lead by the pound. Well, there will be more time to think about that. I was now reading some quite interesting system messages:
Congratulations on your successful replication! Adapting to your new body will take about 30 minutes. During this time, most of your attributes and skills will be temporarily lowered. Due to the replication, some of your skills have been lost.
You have lost 7% of the Interrogation skill.
You have lost 9% of the Bullying skill.
Try to avoid having to be replicated; this will contribute to a more stable growth of your skills.
They say that as if I were eager to commit suicide! Seriously, I sometimes have the feeling that the system periodically mocks me, or that the one who wrote these texts had a very specific sense of humor. Okay, with the system messages checked, it's time to pay attention to the flashing envelopes. No, I’m being stupid. I can now finally look at the information about those things that have been lying around for a long time. All the other letters can wait. I spent the next couple of minutes on studying the "ancient" things. I finally got a set of these things out, laid them out in front of me and opened the information I had about them.
CHAPTER XXIV: SHOULD I THROW IT OUT OR KEEP IT?
The text that appeared in front of me was just too long, and that was despite the fact that not all of the information was available to me. Okay, let’s read this carefully:
Overalls "The Soul of a Seraphim"
Additional slots: 18 slots for connecting additional elements of equipment; 5 slots for connecting weapon elements.
Armor:
Kinetic: 73
Thermal: 27
Description: a basic part of the Scurfifer’s armor set, is of the Seraphim class, to which other elements of armor, power sources, and weapon systems are connected.
Extra feature 1: Hidden (To reveal information, connect the corresponding element)
Extra feature 2: Hidden (To reveal information, connect the corresponding element)
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Extra feature 15: Hidden (To reveal information, connect the corresponding element)
Extra feature 16: Hidden (To reveal information, connect the corresponding element)
Part of the "Seraphim" set, which consists of 19 elements of equipment and 5 elements of weapons.
Set Bonuses: Depends on which elements of the set are installed at the same time.
The composition of the kit’s connected equipment:
Soul of the Seraphim 1/1
Wisdom of the Seraphim 0/1
Eye of the Seraphim 0/1
Voice of the Seraphim 0/1
Conscience of the Seraphim 0/2
Shackles of the Seraphim 0/2
Hand of the Seraphim 0/2
Heart of the Seraphim 0/1
Loyalty to the Seraphim 0/1
Seraphim’s Freedom 0/3
Shame of the Seraphim 0/1
Seraphim’s bow 0/1
Seraphim's treads 0/1
Sin of the Seraphim 0/1
The composition of the set of connected weapons:
Seraphim’s punishment 0/1
Censorship of the Seraphim 0/2
Wrath of the Seraphim 0/2
Condition: 97%
Weight: 2.7 kg
Restrictions: Only for the Scurfifer profession
Moving away from these items and putting my hands behind my back, I resorted to an old habit of mine: measuring the room with my steps. Four steps to one side, and then turn and it’s four steps in the opposite direction as well. So, let’s sort everything out. To begin with, it’s clear from the description that this is part of a large, specialized kit, but it’s just impossible to determine who can use it and, by the way, what on earth is a Scurfifer? Hearing the word, I tried to remember where and if I could’ve possibly ever heard it – but alas, no, I’ve never heard of it. Although… there are a couple of people who are likely to be able to give me an answer to this question. Ok, I’ll ask then later, and now I’ll proceed on to the next item. Judging by the overalls, which seem like the basis for the rest of the armor set, it does all look quite promising.
If the damper alone has such great stats, then the armor itself should be very, very interesting. I stopped for a while and shook my head, getting rid of all these unnecessary, intrusive musings; I rubbed my face, and then moved on to studying the next object. I chose the glasses, leaving the rifle and energy batteries for “dessert””. As I had suspected, they belonged to the same set, so I focused on the new information.
Eyeglasses of the Seraphim
Armor for the upper half of the face:
Kinetic: 35
Penetrating: 52
Thermal: 29
Description: The glasses were made in the form of a half-mask, covering the upper half of the Scurfifer’s face, allowing them to fight in almost any conditions, while also serving the function of protecting the eyes from any harmful elements.
Additional property 1: hidden (to reveal information, connect the corresponding element)
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Additional property 6: hidden (to reveal information, connect the corresponding element)
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The Eye of the Seraphim 1/1
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Condition: 98%
Weight: 0.4 kg
Restrictions: Only for the Scurfifer profession.
Well, what can I say: quite good armor stats for eyewear, hell, good stats even if I were to compare it with my own body armor. What’s annoying in this description is that it has the hidden additional features as well. If there are only six for the glasses, then there are sixteen for the overalls; I cannot even think of that many. The most curious thing is that if I’ve understood this correctly, while wearing both items, each of them should have one additional feature. But there’s also the profession restriction, which makes me desperate to know more; just like a birthday kid would want to eat a birthday cake that he’s not allowed to.
Damn, I can’t go on like that! Picking up the jumpsuit and quickly putting it on, I also put on the glasses. And then … nothing. Absolutely nothing
happened! Even the information in the description hasn’t changed. Well, okay, but the suit fits me perfectly, I can wear it without any of additional functions. Even the one protective function which it gives me is more than enough. Trying to take a step, I hit my face full force against the floor: my legs had refused to move, which, in fact, had caused the fall, but my hands had also refused to move as well, when I’d tried to soften the fall.
- Fucking piconites, curse you!
Attention! You are wearing a piece of clothing that is not suitable for you according to the restrictions set by the Server! Would you like to take it off?
Yes/ no
Of course, I pressed "Yes", what else can I do in this situation, lying face down, my own body not obeying me? After confirming my choice to remove the outfit, my body rose on its own, got undressed, and also folded up the things neatly. But seriously, I’m horrified by the idea that if this were real, it would give someone total control of the entire population. God forbid that the government of any country control people in such a way – then the people would be slaves forever. Brrrr, I have goose bumps just thinking about it. Well, the most delicious item now is the rifle, because even if the same restrictions are there, at least it won't hurt me if I look at it.
The rifle "Seraphim’s punishment"
Additional slots: 5 slots for installing additional charge generators.
Power source: battery EP 28-73, metals of any type used to restore the number of nanites.
Description: weapon element, modeled after a long-range rifle for the Scurfifer, designed for combat at long and ultra-long distances. It has its own colony of nanites in a miniaturized repository, which are the basis of the ammunition and can be self-created if there is enough of the necessary material and energy to ensure its operation. The shot is made through a high-frequency energy accelerator, imposing a shaped charge of a certain type on the base of nanites, according to the model of the ammunition selected for firing.
Combat Rate of Fire (per minute): 60 rounds.
Shooting modes: single.
Magazine size: from 5 to 45 shots, depending on the type of ammunition selected.
Types of ammunition generated:
Standard bullet:
Description: needle made from nanites, covered with a power cover
Kinetic damage: 107-132
Penetrating damage: 102-125
Ammunition: 45
Power Consumption: 1.7 KAT
Traumatic bullet:
Description: hemispherical shell made from nanites with a pulsed charge in the middle.
Kinetic damage: 168-193
Penetrating damage: 75-93
Ammunition: 40
Energy consumption: 2.3 KAT
Armor-piercing bullet: (data is unavailable; connect the corresponding element to reveal)
Incendiary bullet: (data is unavailable; connect the corresponding item to reveal)
Explosive bullet: (data is unavailable; connect the corresponding item to reveal)
Freezing bullet: (data is unavailable; connect the corresponding item to reveal)
Electric bullet: (data is unavailable; connect the corresponding item to reveal)
Installed modules:
Digital Optical Sight (TsPS-32)
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Kara Seraphim 1/1
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Condition: 96%
Weight: 3.3 kg
Restrictions: Only for the Scurfifer profession.
Not again! I had better pay a visit to Mr. Carefire and ask him what a Scurfifer is. Even if I’m completely unlucky and this profession is not available to me, I’ll know who I should steer clear of. In the worst-case scenario, I can sell this outfit for a substantial amount to one of the large clans, and let them come up with an idea on how to use this thing. Finally, I glanced at the power supply, which had a very short description compared to other things.
Power supply "ЕР28-73"
Capacity: 35 KAT
Current charge: 28.9 KAT
Condition: 99%
Weight: 0.2kg
This KAT is a strange unit of energy measurement, but I don’t see anything unusual there. The developers simply decided to create their own term for energy, so no one would harass them, claiming things like: a weapon cannot consume such a volume of energy or those type of batteries aren’t able to accumulate so much energy, etc. After walking around a little, and studying the information about each item a few more times, I finally made a decision: either I would get this profession, or I’m selling the items to someone, so that I don’t have to look at them again. Of course, these have enormous potential, especially if you assemble the entire kit, but I’m not going to go run around in circles and beat myself up over them.
Taking out a spare set of clothes and getting dressed, I left almost everything in the room and headed to see Mr. Carefire. However, approaching the door, I was a little tense. Something bothered me, literally gnawed at me from the inside, periodically bombarding my mind with thoughts about my actions, clearly hinting that I had forgotten something. Turning around and carefully looking around the room, I finally realized what was wrong. I noticed the envelope indicating new mail was still flashing, signaling that there was an unread letter.
For some time now, I’ve noted that I have an instinct that tells me when something is amiss. And when the doctors, who are watching my body in real life, don’t sound any alarms, that means that the problem is not with my real body, but is connected either to the virtual world in general, or specifically, with this game. I need to stop reflecting on random things and check my mail. Stop getting distracted, old man.
Sender: Elephant
Text of the letter:
Hey man, sorry, I really didn’t have any time. I hope you won’t hold it against me. By the way, we brought your gear, which we were able to collect, to the outpost, so when you have the time, go to our clan hall, where your things are waiting for you, or rather, what is left of them. As an apology from my clan, I asked our warehouse manager for permission to give you a pair of garments, so if you’re having any financial problems, don’t hesitate to talk to him.
P. S. A guy called Rumple also wanted to talk to you. He’s our personnel manager, you got his attention with something, it was our campaign, probably, and he thinks you should be invited into our clan.
P. S. S. If you join us, tell him you want to work for the intelligence branch, we’ll be glad to see you on our team!
Getting noticed by this clan doesn’t exactly fill me with joy, but I will probably still have to go. Well, if nothing else, then for the equipment and weapons, and if I’m lucky, Carefire’s gift will have remained intact, since that backpack is the best, well, by my current standards anyway. Also, I don’t want to offend the commander by losing his gift, since he mentioned that he’d been in a lot of battles with that backpack, and I’ve managed to lose it in my first raid. I will try to quickly get in, pick up my things and immediately run away, so as not to meet this Rumple.
While I was thinking everything over and about the clan of my temporary party members, I found myself on the street. The scene before me was very depressing. Almost everywhere, there were scorch marks, broken glass, some buildings even had rather large holes in them. A part of the defensive wall that I could observe from my spot, about 10 meters wide, had been destroyed. Only a small part of the outpost, the one where the main office buildings were located, was relatively intact.
The way the strongholds in the inner parts of the outpost looked made it clear there was more to come. Hmm, it seems that Carefire has had problems getting enough fighters together because there was only one soldier in the standard armor of the outpost at each guard position, and with them were two, sometimes even three people on duty, all in different armor, which suggested they were players.
So, it’s necessary to get an answer to some questions and solve the problems that had appeared. First, I would head to get my remaining belongin
gs, then to the commander, to get some answers. If necessary, I will turn to Sanych, at least for a chat. What else? Then I’ll have to see what the engineers tell me about Irala, and based on what I find out, I’ll be considering my options: to recruit a team of newcomers… or maybe it’s worth acquiring the services of a few mercenaries. Now having some sort of plan of action, I went up on to the nearest fighter in the uniform armor.
- “Good afternoon!”
- Good afternoon! - He replied, giving me an appreciative look. – Can I help you? -
- “I just wanted to know where the offices of the organization called Centurion are located.”
- Over there, round the corner, there’s the building! - He pointed in the right direction. - There are still replicants who are trying to deal with all the leftover corpses of monsters. - And after I nodded, he added: - Their office is in the building, well, at least it was, before the breakthrough. -
- “Thanks!”
See? If you ask the right question to the right person, they will give you enough information in half a minute. And if I’d tried to approach a player - they would’ve ignored me altogether, another player would’ve also told me to go away, some others would’ve laughed at me, and only a few would’ve been courteous enough to tell me, and only in rare cases would they have given me a proper, detailed reply. It’s just like in reality, everyone has their own problems, they are always in a hurry to get somewhere, but in games, unfortunately, it’s all a bit overdone.
Reaching the building I’d been directed to, I found a massive picture of an ancient helmet with a red crest over the doors. Memories came back to me, being a cadet and laughing, alongside the other cadets, at this strange helmet, calling it a cockerel, while the instructor who’d taught us the history of military equipment got so angry that he gave us bad marks. Okay, that’s enough reminiscing. Entering the hall of the building, I found a player who was doing something at the counter, holding a screwdriver in his left hand.