Chapter 1
The new industrial revolution, as some have taken to calling it, finally reached the security industry. Marlon had been working as a high-end security guard for the last three years at a well-established tech company. He got the job right after graduating from college and it was meant to be a temporary gig while he looked for something better. Unfortunately, AI and robotic workers started taking over almost every part of the job market and “something better” became a pipe dream. It was only by chance that he happened upon this position when he did, but as of today his position and that of many other security employees at the company was no more.
The owner of the company wasn’t even sympathetic about it either. He just walked into the lobby with a legion of androids bearing the company logo and the word “Security” emblazoned on their chassis. Everyone in a security uniform knew what that meant, bye bye employment. Marlon and some of the older employees just finished out their shifts, but a good number of the other employees just stopped what they were doing and left when they connected the dots. At first, Marlon was worried that he might have to move back in with his parents when his savings dried up. Luckily, he had another chance in the form of Axiom, the game that gives players a chance to earn real money as they play the game.
As soon as Marlon arrived back at his apartment from his last day of work, there was a package waiting in front of his door. He knew it could only be one thing, the AUGLink he ordered right after seeing the Parallel Entertainment press conference last week. Marlon picked up the package and walked into his home to start the process of playing the game. After discarding the packing materials, Marlon plugged the AUGLink charger into the wall and then snaked the other end to the actual device. He normally didn’t read the manuals that came with new tech, but this was something he had never used before so he decided to be careful.
When he finished reading, Marlon slipped the AUGLink over his head which caused the device to adjust to his head size and the black visor to drop down over his eyes and rest on his nose. He could feel the AUGLink coming to life and his heart thudded in excitement. Marlon sat down on the comfortable chair he used to watch television. Once he was settled, Marlon closed his eyes and spoke the activation phrase,
“Connect! Axiom!”
There was second of absolute stillness and then a message appeared in Marlon’s vision,
[Welcome to Axiom! Are you ready to begin the Character Creation process?]
[YES/NO]
Not wanting to wait any longer, Marlon mentally selected “yes” and a feeling like he was being drawn into an endless void took over him. Before he knew it, he was floating through space. After a few seconds of blissful observation, a message appeared in his vision,
[Please select your classes.]
Marlon blinked. He was sure he was reading that message wrong.
“Classes?” He thought to himself.
Usually, in games like these, you only choose one class and progress from there.
“What kind of system was this game using? “
As if sensing his uncertainty, another system message popped up to answer his question,
[In Axiom Online, you choose four classes for your character at their creation. These choices can either be four different classes, a single class four times or anything of a similar combination. Like in most games, the class or classes you choose will determine your abilities and skills. However, unlike most games, the four different classes you choose will be combined to make a class of a different name. Each level you gain in your class will award you six skill points and a choice from a list of Deeds. In addition, The combined statistics of each class will be added to your character at each level. Does this answer your question or do you need more information?]
Marlon nodded in understanding. It was a different system, but it was insurmountable. If anything, this was a breath of fresh air. Min-maxing seemed cool on paper, but when it came down to it, putting all his egg in one statistical basket, was never Marlon’s style when it came to gaming. At his mental command, the message disappeared and a long translucent window took its place in his vision. The window had a wide selection of different classes that served different specializations. Since Axiom was a sci-fi based game and had elements of space travel, the selection of classes had to reflect the setting. Instead of the classic rogue, there was a hitman class, or instead of the tinkerer or blacksmith there was the engineer, and rather than a ranger, this game featured a sniper class. However, some classes were universal and didn’t get a futuristic title, such as the trader, assassin and bounty hunter. Whatever.
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Marlon cycled through the list of classes three times over the course of 30 minutes trying to find a solid combination. After another bit of deliberation, he finally made his choices,
[Bounty Hunter
The Bounty Hunter lives for the thrill of the hunt and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from getting paid for taking down a ravenous beast or catching a wanted criminal and then getting paid for it. This class excels at tracking targets and specializing damage to a selective enemy type.
Stats/level: +1 to Agility, Intelligence, Perception, and Charisma]
[Skirmisher
Strong and fast, the Skirmisher excels at all forms of combat and infiltration. Their training pushes the body to its limits and beyond. This makes them excellent melee and ranged fighters.
Stats/level: +2 to Strength, +1 to Agility, and Endurance]
[Soldier
Order and training are two things that the Soldier knows and lives. The training to become a soldier is hard, but the end results have made you a strong and enduring individual with a penchant for different forms of weaponry. The skills you have learned in your training can be applied to many different situations.
Stats/level: +2 to Strength, +1 Endurace, and Intelligence]
[Arsenal Runner
Arsenal Runners go by many names: Smugglers, Arms Dealers, etc.. No matter what they are called, the one thing they all have in common is the ability to get something from one point to another and not get caught. As a member of the trader family, Arsenal Runners are natural dealmakers.
Stats/level: +1 to Agility, Perception, and Charisma]
Marlon looked over his choices and smiled. With all of that done, he scrolled to the bottom of the page and hit the button labeled “Confirm”.
[Classes selected...Calculating results...SUCCESS! By your powers combined, you are a Mercenary!]
Marlon stifled a laugh at the obvious nod to an old cartoon he used to love in his youth. He focused on the class’ name and thought about getting more information.
[The Mercenary is also known as a soldier of fortune. They go where the money is and are loyal to the highest bidder. They are trained in the use of many different weapon types and have many varying skills to help them accomplish a myriad of missions. Whether they are alone or in a group, mercenaries are a force not to be taken lightly.
Starting skills: [tracking], [piloting], [stealth], [computers], [intimidate], law, [unarmed fighting], [pistols], [rifles], hardy, survival, leadership, tactics, [Melee weapons], bravery, [thievery], [escape arts], [acrobatics], [climbing], [running], [bluffing], [carousing], [crafting], Reactions
Note: Skills placed in brackets are considered active skills and must be used at will rather than passively.
Armor Proficiency: Light, Heavy
Stats/level: STR +4, AGI +3, END +2, INT +2, PER +2, CHA +2]
Marlon looked at the list of skills his character had and the stat allocation he received and he was amazed. He couldn’t wait to give his new Merc some play time. This was going to be fun.
Another message appeared in Marlon’s vision that brought him out his reverie,
[To move forward you must either customize your avatar or if you are fine with your recorded real-world appearance, you may move straight to the game.]
Marlen pondered that last part of the message for a second. Then he looked at the default mirror that the game provided to represent his default appearance. It was the same face he was used to seeing day in and day out. He had almond colored skin, short, black, curly hair, brown eyes and he stood just under six feet tall. He had an average build for a man of 26 years of age. He wasn’t exactly a linebacker, but he wasn’t skin and bones either, even if his mother constantly said he was.
“Meh, why mess with success?” Marlon said as he gave a goofy pose and pointed to his reflection in the mirror.
He chose to keep his real-world appearance and hit the “Confirm” button. One more menu popped up from of him,
[You are now finished with character creation. Please select a name for your avatar them you may review your choices and confirm.]
Marlon thought for a second. He tried to think of a good name for his character. Something cool, but not cliche at the same time. Something finally came to him. Marlon typed out his selected name in the box that floated in front of him with a blinking cursor, Kayden Shaw. He gave a mental cheer at seeing that the name was not being used by another player. He confirmed the name and looked over his character information.
Name: Kayden Shaw
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: Mercenary
Attributes:
Health: 40/40
Resolve: 20/20
STR:6
AGI: 5
END: 4
INT: 2
PER: 3
CHA: 2
Skills:
[tracking] 1, [piloting] 1, [stealth] 1, [computers] 1, [intimidate] 1, law 1, [unarmed fighting] 1, [pistols] 1, [rifles] 1, hardy 1, survival 1, leadership 1, tactics 1, [Melee weapons] 1, bravery 1, [thievery] 1, [escape arts] 1, [acrobatics] 1, [climbing] 1, [running] 1, [bluffing] 1, [carousing] 1, [crafting] 1, Reactions 1
Satisfied with his build, Marlon confirmed his decisions and a final message appeared,
[Are you ready to begin the game? YES/NO.]
Marlon mentally selected “yes” and the starry sky he was subject to at first was replaced by streams of white streaks of light. Between what he was seeing and feeling, it felt like he was moving through hyperspace. The lights disappeared and Marlon--or Kayden now--could feel that he was sitting in a cramped space. The area around him shook violently and he could hear objects around him shaking and rattling around. His vision finally adjusted and when he realized what he was seeing, he contemplated closing his eyes again.