Anna thought about where to put her upgrade points. She had wanted to build her strength early on but now thought it was time to focus on building up the things she used day to day. She decided to try and accomplish the mission in her journal and not go back east after all. When she chose to do this wasn't clear to her, but here she was.
The journal had been delivered to her while having lunch the day of the cataclysm. Someone walked up and asked if she was Anna Gomez. She froze up; not liking the attention, before even considering that's how the police approached you sometimes.
As she was in the process of denying her identity, the waiter came up and dropped the check, “Thank you, Anna, have a great day.” With no embarrassment whatsoever in her face she looked at the delivery guy. He betrayed no emotion before placing the box down and walking away, obviously satisfied.
She opened it to find a book covered in brown wrapping and a small bookbag. Initially, she had planned on throwing it away, but curiosity and a strong gut feeling won out and she decided to go home to investigate further.
Anna trusted her feelings all the time, and they had gotten her safely to this point in her life. Anna was the type of person that saw signs everywhere. If she ran into her friend at the store it was fate, if her and a guy ordered the same drink at the bar, he had a good chance to get lucky that night.
Needless to say, she went home and studied the book and bag, and once they were understood, used them in a way Travis did not. She truly believed they marked her out as special. In her mind, it would be like being gifted a diamond necklace and not wearing it. You flaunted the things that marked you out as special.
As she thought back to what seemed like ages ago, Anna reflected on her battle just to get here. Fighting and killing spiders plus large brutish men that her journal called orcs. She wasn't combat trained in the technical sense, but had defended herself many times before, not to mention her tremendously good reflexes and quickness.
Anna did not play video games, nor would she be caught dead in the same room as the neckbeards (this is how Anna views the world, she would not deny that she wasn't pretentious and stuck up, though that was usually not what people saw) that played Dungeons and Dragons. She did have a boyfriend once that played some type of game with dragons in it. She wondered now if that was considered DnD. Anyway, she acted like she cared and so learned the game. That was one of her powers, act like she cared about men's interest. Watching him for hours as she thought about his face when he learned that she had left him, along with all of his valuables.
Before you judge Anna too harshly, just be aware that this particular guy was a raging alcoholic who hit his wife and hated his kids. Anna really knew how to pick them. No really, she targeted certain men. Not to say that it was all, or even mostly due to altruism, because it was not. If anything, it was to claim internally that she was the good 'guy'.
She went the extra mile too; this wasn't just about stealing from bad people, usually men. No, she had set him up so that once she left, a call was made to the local DA, informing her about the not-so-secret embezzlement he took part in. She couldn't remember the guy's name, much less the bank he worked at, but it didn't matter. He got what he deserved, and she got most of his possessions. The wife got the rest, in the divorce.
That was Anna, one big cliché wrapped in contradictions with a big side of hidden turmoil that really drove her. So, when she learned that this magic journal was similar in ways to the game that asshole played, it all came pouring back, and she made the most of it.
Anna Gomez - PC Race - Human Tier 3/Level 4 Class - NA Subclass - NA Faction - None Alignment - Neutral Base Attributes Strength 7 *(up from 3) Intelligence 6.5 Reflexes: 11 *(up from 10) Endurance: 8 *(up from 6) Charisma: 9.5 Secondary Attributes: Luck: 8 Willpower: 8 Perception:12
She was disappointed after seeing you only got 2 points per level after the first rank up. But still, it added up. The added strength was apparent in almost everything she did. Strong being a relative term, but Anna was an average-sized woman, who now had the strength above an average-sized man.
She was going to focus on her real strengths now. Her new primary weapon, the beautifully intricate dagger that she got as a prize for making it to Pittsburgh, was based on her reflexes. At least that was the conclusion she drew from whatever context clues the journal offered.
---
What none of the players knew yet was that there were three hidden attributes, plus other numbers working behind the scenes. The three primary attributes were based on combinations of other stats. Gamers will find it odd that Dexterity is not on the sheet, nor is constitution or wisdom. The DM, quite perceptibly, thought that having hidden stats based on combinations would cut down on the type of min-maxing that he hated.
He didn't want players with godly high strengths just running through walls, but base-level dexterity because if you were that strong who needed extra mobility. This way, people ranked up skills but were not maximizing their abilities if they didn't spread the love.
Dexterity is a combination of reflexes and an equation combining strength and endurance. Constitution is strength combined with endurance, and wisdom is intelligence combined with charisma. There is a bit more too it but that's the crux of it. Charisma in this game being more than just a stat denoting likability. It also takes into account someone's ability in a crowd, plus other factors. Like they say, no one wants to see the sausage made. Well, some of the hardcore types do, but that's for another time.
---
Anna would gain more ability using her new weapon by upgrading any of strength, reflexes, or endurance. She chose reflexes for now, which had the biggest impact for a speed and coordination-based weapon. She put both points into reflexes, giving her 13, one of the highest ones on Earth among the humans so far.
She turned to the skills page. Anna was pretty sure that you leveled up skills by using them. She was correct in that regard. That's why her 'Walk Among the Shadows' skill had advanced to level 2.
Travis and Clyde would have some time to dig into their stats as Anna had been doing the previous night. Now it was morning, and she had a mission to meet Travis, who the book labeled as the MC (The DM, not understanding human psyche, thought this would make people willingly subservient to Travis, at least at first. While it would bring him one of his most killed and loyal faction members it also brought an attack down on his head).
There was good news and bad news in this regard. The good news was that Travis did not seem to be far away. She was in the Cambria Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, while Travis was at some apartments complex a few blocks away.
The bad news was that the police retreated last night after suffering grievous casualties. The mayor pleaded with the governor to send in the National Guard, but Pittsburgh was not the only place suffering. The guard also had all of their weapons in storage, which made them easier to make inert. Not that the DM needed things to be in one place unused to affect them, but it made it much easier.
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Still, the mayor made a plea to the guard to come fight with baseball bats or clubs. He would hand out the city's supply of police batons and riot gear. They just needed more manpower to push back these beastly apparitions of men. It was to no avail, though. Too much was going on in too many places.
What that meant for Anna was that she needed to get to where this main character was without being slowed down too much, not to mention making it there in one piece.
There was still a little bit of darkness left as Anna made her way outside. She had taken a car that was unattended yesterday. It was not stealing to her; she had a varying moral compass. Actually, she measured good and bad in a strange way, but in her mind, she had a moral compass that pointed true north.
---
When Travis and Clyde got to the apartment, they were utterly exhausted. It had been the longest day in either of their lives. Travis, of course, had days that seemed to never end—days where he fought, marched, and ran for hours straight. Even days where he did all of that and lost friends in combat. Yet even then, he always knew what he had to do and where he had to go. Base camp was a safe place, the enemy was the one shooting at him (although this one wasn't as simple as he made it seem in his head), and he could call for reinforcements. Whether they showed up on time or not, there were people on the other end that were his lifeline.
This past 18 hours or so had been full of one clusterfuck after another. Seeing the impossible and being shocked, then seeing something even more impossible an hour later. Even traveling with what was essentially a stranger was taxing. He didn't know for sure that Clyde had his back, although he felt more and more that he did.
For Clyde, nothing even came close to what they had experienced. So, when they got to the apartment, they both collapsed on the couch and just lay there in silence for a while.
Travis got up first to go clean up and change his clothes. He wanted a shower desperately but didn't have the energy. He checked the kitchen for food, and to his surprise, there were packaged cold cuts in the fridge. He made a sandwich for him and Clyde.
"Let's level up, and then get some sleep," Travis said. "Any luck with your phone?"
"Nothing."
Cell phone service had been out since Travis first checked yesterday. The phones could still be used to take pictures and for a light in a pinch.
With a mouth full of sandwich, Clyde told Travis to check out his stats. Both of them had experienced the leveling up sensation during the fight with the orcs. Travis was right to have Clyde shoot the one on the ground. They weren't sure how ranking up would work for Clyde without a journal though.
Neither of them knew that there were other player characters in the world who also had journals. Clyde wasn't sure how that would have made him feel—hopeful or spiteful. He was generally a selfless guy, but he was not perfect.
Travis grabbed the journal and opened it up to his character page:
Travis Porter - MC
Race: Human
Tier: 3 / Level: 3
Class: NA (not available)
Subclass: NA
Faction: None
Alignment: Neutral
Base Attributes:
Strength: 9
Intelligence: 10
Reflexes: 9.5
Endurance: 10
Charisma: 7.5
Secondary Attributes: Luck: 10, Willpower: 10, Perception: 9
*Upgrade points: 3
*Every 3 levels, place 0.5 points in a secondary attribute. Every 10 levels, 1 point will be placed automatically.
One important thing to note, which the players would find out as they ranked up, was that leveling was similar to traditional D&D, like 3rd edition or something similar. For those more accustomed to video games, it would be more like Baldur's Gate and less like Skyrim, where you rank up for killing a mudcrab. Leveling up was a feat worth celebrating in the DMs game.
“So, I have 3 points for my base attributes, and it says I get half a point every 3 levels for secondary ones. Oh, and I will get a full point automatically every 10 levels. What do you think?” Travis asked Clyde, who had already wolfed down his sandwich and gone to make another one.
"Want another sandwich?" Clyde asked first. Travis nodded in an affirmative.
As Clyde prepared the sandwich, he continued speaking, "If your gun is going to be the advantage that I think it might be, I would make sure to increase your reflexes. That is the closest stat associated with gunplay."
Clyde continued, "I also think you should consider putting points in charisma if you are going to be the leader of some kind of faction."
"What makes you think that will happen?"
"The book has a section for factions, and your mission says you are to defend a base in the safe zone, whatever that is. I can't imagine it's just going to be you. Also, knowing you, if there are people that need shelter, I don't see you abandoning them," Clyde explained.
Travis looked thoughtful. "Good point. I'm glad you're here for this. I feel comfortable planning for most situations, but this gamer stuff is a bit outside my comfort zone."
"That said, I think I'll wait to rank up charisma until we are closer to that situation. Fair?"
Clyde nodded. "Definitely."
He continued, "I think endurance is similar to constitution, which usually determines how much punishment you can take or how resilient you are to disease and whatnot. So, while I think that reflexes are important as the first option..."
Travis held up a hand to interrupt Clyde before he could continue, "I don't disagree about reflexes governing the use of small arms, but I'm already very proficient with a handgun, particularly the one I have. If that sounds like I'm bragging..."
Clyde waved him away, so Travis continued, knowing smart people understood the difference between bragging and speaking truth when the truth was important.
"So, until my skill with firearms seems to not keep up with whatever new threat there is, I think raising reflexes becomes less vital. I want to go with strength. I mean, who doesn't want to be strong as hell?"
"You're right about endurance; it's basically how tough you are. I'll put two points in that and one in strength. Sound good?" Travis asked.
Travis caught on quickly, Clyde thought. "Sounds good to me." Though he was a little apprehensive about not putting any points in reflexes, his primary killing bad guys stat.
Travis liked Clyde because there were so many people who would have gotten upset that he wasn't taking their advice. They would have replied to Travis with something like, "It's your stats, wah wah wah." Travis hated that kind of attitude. He liked Clyde.
They both agreed that all three secondary attributes were important, none less than the other. It didn't seem that one was more crucial than the rest. Travis decided to put the half point in the lowest one, which was perception. His upgraded stats would look like this,
Strength: 10 (up 1)
Endurance: 12 (up 2)
Perception: 9.5 (up .5)
On to Skills, Travis turned the page.
* Analytical mind - Level 1
* Cool under pressure - Passive
"What does it say?" Clyde asked.
"Analytical mind is still level 1."
Clyde looked less amused. "When does the help guide come online?"
"It's not a guide; there's supposed to be a help section added to the journal, but we need to get to the base first. Why? What's wrong?" Travis asked.
Clyde answered in a frustrated tone, his exhaustion apparent. "It's crazy that these skills don't have descriptions. What's the point of that?"
"Probably to make us hurry to the base, although at this point, who the hell knows what this game wants from us," Travis replied.
He also knew that Clyde was frustrated for another reason. He had tried to level himself up while Travis was in the bathroom, and he couldn't. It showed him as level 2 but he had no way to improve his attributes. Maybe he didn't get upgrade points for every level because he was an NPC, but Travis wasn't going to say that. He knew Clyde felt insecure about not having a journal, or not being able to upgrade his attributes.
Travis didn't know exactly what and how he felt, but he had a good enough of an idea to not broach certain topics.
The journal had a few other changes, but Travis thought they needed to use the remaining time for sleep. He set the alarm for 7 am, giving them a few hours. He planned on checking the situation, and if everything seemed clear, he would give them another 30 minutes or so.
"Night Clyde"
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"