Glitch Boxset

by Victor Deckard

  Then I looked ahead of me.

  A couple of yards farther down the corridor on the floor was sprawled Christine’s body. She had died before the electric power could finish me off. All around her was scattered the loot that had dropped from the girl. Some of them were highlighted in purple.

  I recognized some of the items as my Ice Volcanos and chitin armor.

  There were high-pitched screams behind me, but I barely paid attention to them. Raising my left hand, I touched the tips of my fingers to my bare neck. The slave collar was no longer wrapped around it.

  I glanced this way, then that and found it lying on the floor next to me. It must have unfastened and slid off my neck the moment Christine had died.

  It was then that I finally realized that I was free at last. I felt elated and excited by my success.

  Then I heard feet pounding on the floor behind me. There was no need for me to look back to judge them to be very close.

  I jumped to my feet and dashed forward. I reached the girl’s body in two bounds and grabbed my revolvers off the floor. Once the Ice Volcanos were in my hands, the handles snug in my palms, a feeling of confidence washed over me.

  Whirling around, I opened up on the mutants, firing first one revolver, then the other, leaving a trail of bodies sprawled across the corridor.

  A scream came from the opposite end of the corridor. I looked over my shoulder to see a few more mutants bear down on me from behind. I was trapped in the corridor. Not that it discouraged me.

  My chitin armor lay on the floor next to me. It would’ve taken me a couple of moments to bend over, look at the armor, and press the Use button to put the armor on. However, I wasn’t willing to take this chance. Couldn’t afford even such a brief span of time for getting my armor. For my HP was very low and just one blow might finish me off.

  Which was why I just stood in the middle of the corridor, gunning down the mobs, not letting them get too close to me.

  I wasn’t sure why I was still going on. My initial goal was to take Christine out. Then I could’ve gotten myself killed to revive in a random Resurrection Pod outside the Arena.

  But if I were to get myself killed, my revolvers and armor might be lost forever. So I had decided to do my best to stay alive and beat the final round all by myself.

  A roar came from directly ahead. Had to be the giant. Seemed like the huge mutant was finally nearing the mouth of the corridor.

  Sure enough, the monster soon appeared in the doorway. Now I had no choice but to run a risk of stopping firing at the mobs and putting on the chitin armor.

  I whipped around and mowed down the mobs behind me so that to clear the way out. Then I checked my HUD. My mana was slowly replenishing itself. I could use some of my psi-powers now.

  So I employed Stasis on the mobs in front of me, freezing them. The giant was unfortunate enough to be caught in the power field as well. I gunned down the weak mobs that had managed to avoid being affected by Stasis.

  This done, I leaned over and got dressed in the armor. Some weak mobs appeared to my rear. I let them have it, my bullets tearing into their chests and exploding out their backs, spraying crimson and gory pieces of flesh over the floor.

  I burst out of the corridor and looked around to get my bearings. The chamber I found myself in had plenty of room for me to maneuver, which was why I decided to make my stand here.

  The mobs tried to overwhelm me by sheer force of numbers, constantly charging at me from all directions. However, I had plenty of experience of dealing with lots of mobs by that point. Even the giants couldn’t stop me.

  After a few minutes went by, a message appeared in my HUD.

  > Congratulations! The final round is over! You’ve beaten the Arena!

  Nailed it!

  I looked around. The bodies of mutants littered the room. Here and there lay some loot. Walking around the room, I examined the items that had dropped from the killed mobs. Yet there wasn’t anything useful to me.

  Before returning to the elevator, I retraced my steps to the corridor where Christine had been whacked. Her body had already disappeared, but her medium armor and weapon still lay on the floor. I picked the items up, slung the shotgun over my right shoulder, and stuffed the armor into Christine’s bag. Then made for the elevator.

  Once inside it, I looked at the control panel. There were two options to choose from. I could re-play the final round or take the reward to finish the Arena. Sure enough, I tapped on the latter button. The doors slid close and the elevator started ascending.

  When the doors slid open, I got out, vigilantly looking around, my revolvers at the ready. However, nobody was in the room. After reviving in a random Resurrection Pod, Christine must have headed for the Arena to retrieve her stuff and get even with me for betraying and killing her.

  Yet she didn’t make it over here. Not yet, anyway. I had to hurry to get the award and get the heck out of here before she returned. She was an extremely experienced player and a dangerous opponent so I had no intention to fight her.

  The reward for beating the final round was a legendary shotgun. Although the game had offered an item for each of us for completing the four previous rounds, only one item was given for finishing the final round for some reason.

  How come? I had no idea. Perhaps because only one player had made it through the final round. Or it might be another glitch. Either way, I elected not to ponder on the cause for long.

  I slung the legendary shotgun over my left shoulder. Now I had two powerful shotguns, none of which I could use. Just great. The game should’ve given an item for my class since it was me who had beaten the final round.

  I got out of the building. Christine was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she had revived too far away from the Arena and couldn’t get here fast. Especially, without her car.

  The Lighting was parked next to the building. I tried the driver’s-side door, but it wouldn’t open. The car was locked and secure. No way I could jack it.

  I turned around and surveyed my immediate vicinity. This location was totally unfamiliar to me yet, so I picked a random direction and walked away from the Arena.

  I glanced back over my shoulder from time to time to ensure nobody was following me. Soon the building disappeared in the distance.

  As I continued with my journey, my eyes scanned the surrounding terrain. The land was mostly barren. Vegetation was very sparse. Trees were even sparser and they were short and gnarly. Stray rocks lay scattered here and there. The ground underfoot was hard and unyielding.

  So the location was very bleak.

  Soon I chanced on a Resurrection Pod. Christine must have revived in another one; she would have made it over to the Arena in time to catch me otherwise.

  I uploaded the legendary shotgun, depositing it in the Resurrection Pod. But there wasn’t enough room for Christine’s rare medium armor and unique shotgun to be fitted in. I decided to sell her stuff then.

  However, I soon came across a mailbox. I got me thinking that I should thank Flynn for helping me out. But for his scouring the forum for clues, I might have never found a way to get rid of the slave collar. Flynn was a loyal friend. I was glad that I had made friends with him. This was a friendship worth nurturing.

  So I uploaded Christine’s rare armor and unique shotgun and mailed them to Flynn. He should be elated to lay his hands on such good items for his class.

  This done, I could now begin to explore this location. I selected a direction and set out.

  Chapter five

  The bugs the size of a dog bore down on me from every direction. My revolvers were empty, but I had no time to reload them. I glanced at my HUD to check on my mana. Should be enough to employ Teleportation.

  I had been right. After utilizing the psi-power, I materialized several yards away from the giant bugs and checked my HUD once more. My mana bar was empty now. Had to find vigors to restore it.

  The bugs headed my way. I reloaded my gun
s as fast as I could manage and took aim. It took each bug five or six bullets to die. Fortunately, I had enough ammo on me.

  Once the bugs were disposed of, the ground underfoot trembled. Another bunch of bugs was about to appear. No sooner had I reloaded my revolvers than three more bugs charged at me. Two of them were identical.

  > Name: Spitter Bug

  > Level: 16

  > Health: 1650/1650

  I looked at another overgrown insect.

  > Name: Warrior Bug

  > Level: 18

  > Health: 1875/1875

  It took me a few minutes to whack these creatures. The two spitter bugs scampered from place to place every now and then and spat thorns a feet in length at me. I had to constantly to run around to avoid being impaled on the thorns. Yet some of them hit true, catching me in my body and reducing my HP by about five percent each.

  The warrior bug was a tough one. Although it had no long-range-attacks, it dealt much damage at close range. I had to make sure to keep him at bay all the time.

  Soon I whacked the two spitter bugs, with a message popping up before my eyes after each killing.

  > +115 exp!

  With the two spitter bugs killed, it wasn’t much of a challenge to slay the warrior bug. Finally, it was all quiet. Bugs no longer spawned.

  I glanced at the three thorns protruding from my chest. I slowly pulled one of them. The shaft resisted my effort for a moment or two before sliding outward with a wet sound. Then I extracted the two remaining thorns.

  Replacing my revolvers in their holsters, I checked my HUD. I had been wandering around this location, killing bugs for about two hours so the experience bar was almost full by that point. Soon I would level up.

  The bugs had dropped some loot: ammo, chitin, pieces of meat, and some vigors. I picked all the loot up, used the vigors to restore my mana, and put all the other items in my bag.

  Then I looked at the crystal and brought up Character Menu. I only was interested in checking two lines.

  > Hunger: 55/100

  > Cold: 45/100

  The player’s HP got restored over time. However, the player’s HP stopped regenerating itself if their Hunger attribute raised past fifty. So my HP no longer restored itself. Had to eat something. I had the pieces of bug meat but couldn’t cook them, for I hadn’t unlocked the appropriate skill yet.

  Moreover, it was cold in this location. The blustering wind blew almost constantly. My armor couldn’t keep me warm.

  Yet I decided to level up before building a fire. Wouldn’t take me long to level up. Moreover, I had already gathered up all the resources needed for creating a fire.

  There weren’t many resources in this locations, though. Moreover, I still hadn’t encountered other players for some reason.

  I checked the map every now and then. This location was designed for the players having fifteen to twenty level and was twice the size of the first location. This location was too big to navigate on foot. Had to create a vehicle of my own.

  Giant bugs charged at me every now and then. My experience bar grew as I killed the overgrown insects. Soon I leveled up to 18.

  There was a big rock nearby. I leaned my back against it and brought up Character Menu.

  > Hunger: 82/100

  > Cold: 51/100

  My character was hungry. When the Hunger reached one hundred, my HP would begin to reduce. Not that it worried me. I had plenty of time to sate my hunger.

  I switched to the Skill Tree and examined it for a spell.

  > Level 1: Surge––Shield––Disarming

  > Level 2: Blow––Acceleration––Flare

  > Level 3: Telekinesis––Biokinesis––Vortex Trap

  > Level 4: Harm––Stasis––Jammer

  > Level 5: Darkness––Teleportation––Twins

  > Level 6: Fireball––Invisibility––Aerokinesis

  > Level 7: Black Hole––Distorness––Terrakinesis

  Out of the three skills on the level 6, I had only the Darkness psi-power unlearned. It could place a debuff on a foe, making them partly blind for a spell. I wasn’t sure if I needed to unlock the skill given I already had the Flare psi-power, which could do almost the same.

  I decided to skip it.

  It was Fireball and Invisibility that caught my eye.

  The Fireball psi-power dealt damage to several foes at once, which was why this skill appealed to me. It would come in handy at night when there were lots of mutants around.

  I allotted three skill points to unlock and upgrade the psi-power.

  > Name of the psi-power: Fireball

  > Description: Allows you to throw a fireball, which inflicts damage on a foe and places a Burning debuff on them.

  > The stats of the Fireball psi-power:

  > Level: 3 out of 3

  > Damage: 150

  > Distance: 300 yards

  > Cooldown: 3 seconds

  > Mana consumption: 55 points

  > The stats of the Burning debuff:

  > Elemental damage: Fire

  > Debuff chance: 50 percent

  > Duration: 5–10 seconds

  > Damage: 75 points per second

  Then I unlocked another skill.

  > Name of the psi-power: Invisibility

  > Description: Makes you invisible to both NPCs and players. The duration of the psi-power is unlimited while you stand still, but it consumes your mana. Other players can detect you if they have special skills. Moreover, firing guns or using psi-powers negates Invisibility, causing you to become visible to others again.

  > The stats of the Invisibility psi-power:

  > Level: 3 out of 3

  > Duration: 30 seconds

  > Cooldown: 15 seconds

  > Mana consumption: 500 points

  After unlocking Fireball and Invisibility, I had nine more unused skill points. I brought up the Building skill tree and unlocked several skills.

  > Name: Stone brick

  > Description: Allows you to create a stone brick of any size. By placing bricks next to one another, you can create walls, buildings, etc. If you want to delete a brick or cut a hole in it, you need to unlock the Deleting skill.

  > Level: 5 out of 5

  > Required ingredients:

  > 1. Stone: >50 (*)

  > The stats of a stone brick:

  > Armor: 30000

  > Physical resistance: 175

  > Fire resistance: 250

  > Frost resistance: 250

  > Corrosive resistance: 250

  > Electric resistance: 250

  > (*) Note: The amount of resources needed for creating a stone brick depends on the size of the brick. The smallest possible quantity is 50.

  Then I unlocked another skill, assigning three skill points to it.

  > Name: Deleting

  > Description: Allows you to delete bricks and cut holes in them for windows, doors, etc. Deleting also gives some part of the spent resources back to you.

  > Level: 3 out of 5

  > The stats of the Deleting skill:

  > The amount of resources you get back is 30 percent

  The last skill point went to a skill from the Surviving skill tree.

  > Name: Cooking giant bug meat

  > Description: Allows you to cook giant bug meat on a fire pit.

  > The skill state: 1/1

  > Required ingredients:

  > 1. Pieces of giant bug meat.

  > The stats of a cooked giant bug meat:

  > Reducing hunger: 45

  > Restoring health: 300

  With all the skill points spent, I brought up Crafting Menu and picked the Fire pit skill.

  > Name: Fire pit

  > Description: Allows you to build a fire pit for cooking.

  > Required ingredients:

  > Stones: 10

  > Wood: 50

  > Metal: 15

  > Matchsticks, a light
er, Warlock’s Pyrokinesis psi-power, or any other gadget or skill to set a fire.

  > You’ve got:

  > Stones: 97

  > Wood: 62

  > Metal: 137

  > The Fireball psi-power

  > You’ve got enough resources for creating a fire pit.

  > (Do you want to create a fire pit: Yes/No)

  As soon as I pushed the Yes button, a static translucent, greenish fire image popped up before my eyes. It followed my gaze whatever I looked. I cast my gaze downward and looked at the empty spot right before me. The silhouette went still and a message emerged in my HUD.

  > (Do you want to put the object here: Yes/No)

  Pressed the “Yes” button. The static image was instantly replaced by an actual fire pit. Firewood crackled, tongues of flames licked at the bottom of the pot, in which water was already boiling.

  I cooked all the pieces of giant bug meat I had. After having a snack and satisfying my hunger, I lifted my left hand, looked at the crystal, and checked Inventory.

  > Chitin jacket (DONNED)

  > Fabric pants (DONNED)

  > Boots (DONNED)

  > Simple bag (DONNED)

  > Simple belt (DONNED)

  > Simple holster (DONNED)

  > Simple holster (DONNED)

  > Ice Volcano (akimbo revolvers) (HOLSTERED)

  > Pistol ammo: 70 cartridges/7 magazines (BAGGED)