by Cosimo Yap
He’s telling the truth, Lambda sent.
Alan said, “So you didn’t die, even though Icewolf thought you did.”
“No, the instant that spaceship showed up and shot us out of the sky I knew I couldn’t trust him. There had to be at least a few dozen other aircraft fleeing or approaching the city, but they zeroed in on us immediately,” Thiago said. “And wouldn’t you know it? He turned out to be part of the United World Government’s Special Forces, even managing to have Kitana on his side this entire time. I knew Ace and Daisy were UWG, but everyone else? I wonder how he turned them, and I’m also insulted he didn’t extend the same offer to me. I probably made it too obvious that I was my own man, and that I would have turned down any government offer regardless.”
Remember the guild kill-order out on Kitana, Eve sent.
“Can you give me any information on everyone that was in the Tutorial with us, and what they’re up to now?” Alan asked.
“I can sell you some information about their pasts, but I’m as out of the loop as you are on what they’re up to nowadays,” Thiago said. “How does 50k credits sound?”
You’re overpaying, but it should garner some goodwill if you agree, Lambda sent.
“Sure,” Alan said.
“Great, I’ll prepare to send a file,” Thiago said. “Now, I can’t have someone not even in the same system having ownership and decision rights in the guild. And if it were ever made known you had a share of my guild I wouldn’t be able to operate anywhere near Earth. Recruitment would be impaired. Instead, I propose a one-off deal. 10 million credits to help fund one operation. You’ll receive 20% of the profits, up to 50 million credits.”
“I’d need to know more information about this operation,” Alan said.
“I can’t provide the exact details, but it involves stealing the cargo that Icewolf had us transport to Earth,” Thiago said.
“You want to rob an Administrative Center? That’s suicide,” Alan said.
“No, we’ll hit it while it’s in transit. I have my information sources; the UWG wants to stop paying the Administrator’s banking fees, which means they’ll have to bring it out of the Administrator’s vaults. This is a sure thing,” Thiago said.
Alan paused. He realized he was funding literal terrorism. The UWG, though, had aligned themselves against the Haxlards, and all his information indicated that anyone up against the Haxlards would get steamrolled.
This could be a decent investment with the correct caveats, Eve sent. She listed a set of conditions.
“I seem to recall the cargo we transported being worth a billion credits, rather than hundreds of millions,” Alan said. “If I’m to invest 10 million credits in this endeavor I want to receive 20% of all the profits, without a cap, and if you fail, I want a 10% ownership share in your guild. If you choose not to spend the credits, I want them returned within a standard year, with 25% interest.”
Thiago rubbed his chin. He brought up a calculator and read through the proposed terms. After a minute he said, “Very well, I agree to these terms.”
A message appeared:
You may now grant the quest, “To the Victor Belong the Spoils,” to the Player Thiago. Once sufficient funds (6.25 million credits) are sent, the quest will begin.
Would you like to add additional bonus experience or items to the quest rewards? (Extra rewards will be subtracted from the quest giver’s current inventory or Administrator account, and cannot be more than 50% of the original quest rewards.)
Huh, it’s weird being on the other side of whole quest giving thing, Alan thought. He selected not to add any quest rewards, and then opened up his guild interface to convert guild points to credits and have them sent to Thiago. Unfortunately, there was a small surcharge associated with the fund’s transfer, but there would also be one incurred by moving large sums of credits through the Administrators or any other in-game bank.
Thiago appeared to have received a quest message. He read over the text and then nodded.
“Good luck,” Alan said. “Let me know if you want help running through any plans, or if you find any news about Kitana.”
“You too, Alan,” Thiago said. “We got off on the wrong foot, but this feels like the beginning of a prosperous partnership. Icewolf won’t know what hit him.”
The call ended.
He seems a bit preoccupied with revenge, Alan sent.
It’s only human, Lambda sent. Don’t you feel the same desire?
To a certain degree, Alan sent, but right now we have bigger things to worry about, like the Weaver. Let’s hurry up and get to the Academy.
***
Part-way through the shuttle flight, Alan received a message:
Phantom: A Predecessor barreled through one of the entrances to the Abyss Labyrinth. Their path seems to indicate their intention to take one of the control points. To make matters worse, sensors detected that a small army of the Weaver’s stealth drones took advantage of the chaos and also entered the Abyss Labyrinth.
The Council is going dark. I know some upgrades take time, but you are ordered to report to Aurora at the Black Rose base as soon as possible. Until we return, she and Thrag are your superiors—listen to their orders.
Your enhanced armor and weapons systems are in my workshop. I’m unsure if you are capable of equipping them; I didn’t have time to customize them to you. Since we may be entering a war, you are limited to withdrawing 500k guild points a week. Additional purchases are allowed, but they must be approved by higher authorities.
Feel free to reinvest in the guild, though, as I noticed you haven’t purchased any shares of the guild. Item details are attached, and I have granted limited access to my workshop—you can perform item repairs there.
Alan examined the item descriptions:
Modified Phantom Power Armor (Rank S1):
An experimental set of Revenant Power Armor developed by the inventor PhantomGlitch, designed to fuse together the capabilities of Scout and Spectral power armor. Modified to accommodate shoulder-mounted heavy weaponry. As a unique item, only the brilliant inventor that created this equipment is able to fully repair it. A truly gifted repairman may be able to repair the armor in a more limited fashion.
7500 Energy, 5 Energy/min Basic Invisibility, 50 Energy/min Advanced Stealth Mode, 10 Energy/min regen.
Bonus Ability: Energy Absorption. Able to potentially partially absorb energy-based attacks and restore the armor’s energy. 20% chance of success.
Bonus Ability: Hardened Shields. Able to condense a single part’s energy shield at the loss of defense elsewhere, resulting in an armored shield with 1000 armor. 10 Energy/sec upkeep.
1000/1000 Durability. Energy Efficiency (Advanced), Enhanced Control (Advanced), Power Armor Instruction (Advanced), Revenant Training (Advanced), Revenant Reputation: Friendly required.
Stat recommendation: 500 Intelligence, 300 Endurance, 250 Strength, 250 Agility, and 250 Perception.
Energy Efficiency (Mastered), Enhanced Control (Mastered), Revenant Training (Mastered), Power Armor Instruction (Mastered), Revenant Reputation: Respected recommended.
Modified Light Railgun (Rank A+):
Traditionally used as ship-mounted heavy weaponry, this railgun has been modified to be attached to power armor and retract to a manageable size. This railgun has two firing modes: rifle and cannon. The rifle configuration will shoot small projectiles at a high rate of fire with improved accuracy, while the cannon configuration will shoot larger projectiles with great destructive power. This weapon is capable of launching ammunition at variable energy levels.
Rifle Damage: 1500-5000 per shot. Additional shrapnel and fragmentation damage. One second recharge time.
Cannon Damage: 2500-10000 per shot within 5 meters. 1000-5000 within 10 meters. 100-1000 within 20 meters. Additional shrapnel and fragmentation damage. Ten-second recharge time.
2000 Energy, 100 Energy/sniper shot, 500 Energy/cannon shot, 100 Energy/min regen.
Note: This
weapon has been modified so that it can also draw energy from any attached armor.
Ammo capacity: 500 rifle rounds, 10 cannon rounds, 5 special rounds.
500/500 Durability. Energy Efficiency (Intermediate), Energy Ranged Weapons (Advanced), Heavy Weaponry (Advanced) and Sniping (Advanced) required.
Stat recommendation: 500 Strength, 400 Endurance, and 250 Perception.
Energy Efficiency (Advanced), Energy Ranged Weapons (Mastered), Heavy Weaponry (Mastered), Sniping (Mastered), and Targeting System (Rank A or above) recommended.
Damn, those requirements are a bit high. Also, what’s with that S1 rank? Alan sent.
As I’ve gained additional information I am better able to differentiate rank S items, Eve sent. It is a simple 1-10 rating scale. The soulsteel knife I would classify as rank S4.
Well now we know how to spend our ability points—you’re missing a lot of those abilities, Lambda sent.
Once you retrieve the items it may also be time to cut ties with the Black Rose guild, Eve sent.
What, why? Alan asked.
Phantom is outside of his element, this sudden war is beyond control, and I see little to no guarantee the Black Rose guild will emerge unscathed or do well in coming battles, Eve sent. Void’s departure indicates weakness, as does this attempt to bind you to the Black Rose guild by limiting the number of guild points you may withdraw. Remember you can buy out your contract to the guild at any point for a million credits.
I don’t know if it’s time to jump ship just yet, Lambda sent. When a large storm arrives you want to be in the greatest ship possible, not in the small dinghy. But you seem to have interpreted Phantom’s bravado and intelligence as infallible. He is proficient in developing items and implants, but his knowledge of the inner workings of the Game is lacking. Although, if he has more powerful backers, it might be worth working for them.
Don’t you two have any sense of duty to the guild? Alan asked. We’ve already built up a fair amount of goodwill and relationships. It feels wrong to abandon that.
Do not let such feelings hinder objective judgment, Eve sent. The Empire is on even footing with one of the Three. Even if the Weaver is repelled by the Empire and all the mercenaries they can hire, that doesn’t account for the other Two—or the general Haxlardian forces, the Crimson Guards, the Ultihaxlards, and their fleet.
The Empire has to have some trick up their sleeve. They’d surrender otherwise, Alan sent.
Remember that the week isn’t up, Lambda sent. The nature of the Game tends to give players the courage to face greater odds than is perhaps wise. People think if they win the right battle they might gain the levels and items to turn the tide. And while that may be possible, in this case it does not seem probable.
Alan thought for a moment. Let’s stick with the guild for now. This seems like a good opportunity to make headway into becoming a Major Player, which should be our next goal.
I hope you’re not doing this just to get on Aurora’s good side, Lambda sent.
I’m not thinking anything of the sort, Alan sent.
Since your thoughts are partitioned off, we wouldn’t know, Eve sent.
***
Cerberus’s instructions led Alan to a nondescript warehouse on Atlas, the entrance world of the Academy System. Alan wanted to purchase upgrades to make sure his implant and mind were more secure in Cyberspace. As Cerberus was the one who had originally updated Alan’s defenses and installed the Citadel, he seemed like the best bet. He could also purchase abilities from Cerberus, often at the advanced level or higher, because of Cerberus’s status as the Academy’s Chancellor. Finally, he also had a quest to turn in—the Abyss Labyrinth had been repaired now, after all.
Alan briefly considered enrolling in the Institute and abandoning the Black Rose guild to try and solve this “corruption” problem, but he had too many guild points left with them to call it quits. The requirements for the graduate programs were not publicly available. Alan suspected it was similar to joining the Administrator’s Guild—academia was one of the many pathways to Ascendance and gaining attention. The only trouble was, you had to make a major discovery and progress science, and Alan doubted he would be capable of such a feat.
Based on the energy signatures Alan detected the warehouse was well defended, but he was able to enter without trouble. Inside the warehouse was a single white capsule, reminiscent of the one in Cerberus’s chambers.
When Alan approached the capsule, a message appeared:
You are about to enter an unregistered capsule. Are you sure you wish to proceed? Unknown operations may be performed while in capsules not registered by Administrators.
Alan hesitated.
Don’t worry, Cerberus is cool, Lambda sent.
Shouldn’t I be concerned about him discovering you? Alan sent.
Nah, I’ll be safe in the Citadel, Lambda sent. Don’t make any dumb deals without me, and consult me before you make any major purchases. I have some things to unpack once the new capsule is installed.
Alan entered the capsule and was whisked away into Cyberspace.
***
Alan, Eve, and Lambda appeared in the Citadel’s main room. In the distance, Alan could feel Cerberus approaching. Thanks to machine empath, Alan’s base in Cyberspace had doubled in size and he could sense further while in Cyberspace. His area of control was now the size of a larger town, around 10 square kilometers. With the current buildings he had installed, his base’s capacity was 48%.
The Chancellor’s domain—the base he controlled in Cyberspace—was still shrouded behind a massive energy shield. The floating hand that represented Cerberus emerged from within; Alan flew over to talk with him. As Commander-mode was active, Alan controlled a virtual avatar that could move freely about his domain and control the subsystems within, but could not physically interact with Cyberspace itself.
“I resolved the Abyss Labyrinth issue,” Alan said.
Messages appeared:
We’re Fine. Everything is Fine Here, Complete!
Rewards: You are granted the title Revenant Aspirant. You are now able to purchase a capsule capable of connecting to the Exchange. Additional permissions granted within open Revenant space.
x3 Level up!
Revenant reputation changed to Respected.
“You resolved the issue poorly,” Cerberus said. “I directed you to specific entities to prevent the triggering of precise conditions.”
“I’m sorry if I did not comprehend your instructions,” Alan said. “If you had told me more I may have been able to be of greater assistance. Let me make my purchases, and you can return to your busy schedule.”
“Send me the list of the upgrades you want,” Cerberus said.
After consulting Eve and Lambda Alan compiled the abilities, Cyberspace improvements, and status upgrades that he would pick.
First, Alan purchased a skill named cumulative learning on the Jack of All Trades talent path for 500 ability points. The price for each stage of an ability usually increased by a factor of 10, thus while a basic sneak skill cost 10 points, the intermediate rank would cost 100 points, the advance rank 1,000 points, and the master rank 10,000 points. More complex abilities also had higher costs, and you would have to find specific trainers that possessed the ability you sought. Basic universal weapon proficiency cost 250 points, intermediate universal weapon proficiency would cost 2,500, while advanced energy efficiency cost 5,000 points. Cerberus seemed to be a universal trainer, able to level nearly any skill to the master rank.
Alan had thus far tried to avoid purchasing skills needlessly as Machine Lord let him gain new abilities quickly, but the upcoming war dictated his need. Cumulative learning made purchasing abilities cheaper. Alan would not need to pay the full price to purchase an advanced ability, he would only need to pay the remaining gap between the progress he had already made and the level of mastery he was purchasing. If Alan had to pay full price he would barely have been able to purchase one of the more unique ad
vanced skills.
While cumulative learning did seem like a good investment initially, it was harder to level up skills that you purchased, and you wouldn’t receive the stat bonuses from learning the skill naturally. Still, cumulative learning was useful for someone like Alan who didn’t seem to have the insight or talent required to reach the advanced level of mastery in most skills. After careful calculation, it had been determined that the short-term boost in power would be worth it, especially with all the ability points Alan had stockpiled.
With cumulative learning, Alan was able to purchase the advanced versions of energy efficiency, power armor instruction, energy ranged weapons, heavy weaponry, and Revenant training for 3,655 ability points, leaving him with 1,251 points to spend.
The Citadel was now able to hold two new energy pylons, each increasing Alan’s computational energy pool by 100 points. One was purchased and constructed for 1,350C, leaving Alan with 981 ability points. Each pylon was moved into the Armory, where they wouldn’t be destroyed easily.
964 ability points were dumped into stats, which left everything at a round number, with a focus on agility, intelligence, and perception. Alan would depend on his power armor for strength and endurance, but he still put enough points in each that he wouldn’t be useless if he were caught without his armor or it was somehow disabled.
At the end of his purchases, Alan opened his status window:
Status Window
Name:
Alan
Alignment:
Neutral
Level:
1122
Class:
Rogue Machine Lord
Species:
Human (Earth)
Gender:
Male
Titles:
Black Rose Squire, Revenant Aspirant (Hidden)
Renown:
Rank G (50*)
Notoriety:
Rank E (1015*)
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