Volume 1 - Chapter 18

Jason McArthur

Jason's eyes widened as I mentioned my involvement with The Green Fists.

"Really? You're already tangling with the Fists?" He let out a low whistle. "You don't waste any time, do you? Those guys are bad news."

Jason leaned in. "But honestly your screen doesn't show that you're in the Fists. Either you're lying or you have a talent that hides it from me."

I smirked, remembering that other players were getting updates about their affiliations as well, which meant me in this case.

"Not lying or hiding anything," I clarified, "my job is a handyman. My boss just happens to be in The Green Fists. I'm doing a mission for them, but I have no interest in joining."

He nodded. "Listen, you gotta be careful messing around with them. I ran into some of their goons on my first mission. They were shaking down a store owner over on Jameson. Straight up mobster tactics, you know?"

He grimaced, but kept going before I could respond. "It was ugly. I tried to step in, play hero for a sec. But they just laughed at me. They said if I knew what was good for me, I'd keep my nose out of The Greenies’ business. I didn't know at first that we can't fight until we get to level three. You believe that garbage? Stupid, if you ask me."

With a shake of his head, Jason continued. "I barely got out of there without catching a beating myself. Had to lay low after that."

He didn't say anything for a bit so I finally spoke up. "So what was your second mission then?"

"Oh man, that was a wild one!" Jason launched into a dramatic retelling, his hands gesturing animatedly. "A missing cat, believe it or not. The little fur-ball was snatched right off of somebody's front stoop. Turns out a homeless NPC was nabbing strays for eating."

I laughed. He grinned, then kept on talking.

"Went into a den of homeless to rescue the cat, stashed away in the basement of some warehouse. Barely made it out of there with my life, dude. And the poor cat..." He shook his head sadly. "Let's just say it didn't make it."

Feeling bad for the cat, I frowned. I was impressed by his daring exploits so far, but remembered he wasn't actually in any danger. Neither one of us had reached level three.

"You've been busy," I said.

"Yep!" He nodded, then asked, "what type of talents you start with?"

Before I could even answer him, he started telling me his. "I started the game with a couple of sweet talents. Real sweet, let me tell you."

I smirked, listening with eager ears.

"First up, I got Recon. Lets me size up any situation at a glance. It highlights potential threats, escape routes, and possible advantages. Comes in real handy when I'm trying to sneak around."

Jason's eyes took on a faraway look, and I had no doubt he was reliving something. "Already saved me more times than I can count. Like that theater basement I told you about? Recon is the only reason I spotted the hidden exit."

He shook his head, chuckling at the memory. "Gave the creeps a little surprise when I came bursting out the back. Should've seen the looks on their ugly mugs!"

"Sounds cool," I said.

"Dude! I've been going all over this city just doing Recon!"

It certainly seemed like a good talent to have. Being able to instantly know all the things he mentioned might pair nicely with one I already had; Awareness.

Jason McArthur was proving to be a wealth of information, even if it came at a cost. I would have to hear him constantly talking. I smiled as he droned on, thinking it wasn't a problem so long as it was good info.

"But Recon's not all I've got up my sleeve." He kept going. "I also started with the Stealth talent. Combines perfect with Recon, if you ask me. Once I scope out an area, Stealth lets me slip right through without anyone being the wiser."

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To demonstrate, Jason dropped into an exaggerated crouch, putting one finger to his lips as he mock-tiptoed away from me. When he got about twenty feet away, his blue name disappeared from above his head and I could no longer see him on my mini-map.

"Quiet as a church mouse, totally undetectable! I'm like a freaking ghost!"

I asked, "How did you do that!?"

"With my two points in the Stealth talent," he said, "and I bet you have one point in Awareness?"

"Yeah."

He nodded. "Makes sense. I'm higher, so you can see me from a distance away, but I can still sneak pretty close to you before you actually notice. Gives me an advantage if I'm fast enough."

"Interesting," I said, thinking about how useful that would be infiltrating The Bleeker Building.

Slapping me on the shoulder, Jason shot me a roguish wink. "So what do you think? A duo like you and me, with my sweet talents and your brains? We'd be unstoppable in this place, am I right?"

Considering his proposal for a few seconds, I remained silent. Having just met the impulsive talker, I didn't want to say yes immediately. I hadn't even had a moment to say much about myself, let alone read his information from my affiliations screen.

When I was finally about to answer, I didn't get a chance.

Old Ms. Harmon called out to us from her broken window. "You two gonna' jabber all morning, or you gonna' fix my window?"

Jason and I both stepped back, startled by the woman we hadn't seen through the shattered glass.

We looked in her direction. Ms. Harmon peered out at us with a smart-ass grin. Her face looked like a loving grandma, cute and caring, but her words came out like a blunt nag.

She laughed. "Damn! What a joke you boys are! What are you low-levels waiting for!? I ain't got all day here! Might die today. Can't you see I'm old? Ain't got no time to sit around listening to you talk about some stupid talents."

I grinned, but only because the NPC was clearly programmed to be the cranky old woman type character.

"This one of your missions or something?" Jason asked me.

I nodded, "yes. Boss needs me to fix her window."

"I'm not into old panes, if you know what I mean!"

Jason laughed at his own joke. I smiled, but rolled my eyes while doing so.

"Well?" Ms. Harmon asked.

I gave Jason a sidelong glance as we approached the broken window.

Ms. Harmon's raspy voice still echoed in my ears. The old woman had barked at us to get the job done instead of just standing around talking.

In my opinion, she was just the right combination of snarky, and her comments didn’t bother me.

I wasn't sure if Jason would get some of the experience for helping me, but I didn't want him to leave just yet. Willing to potentially share my experience gain with him for more of his knowledge and potential friendship, I decided to keep him close.

He talked a lot, but I was learning enough to make that worth my headache. I was cool with a measly one hundred experience being split if that happened.

"Well, you heard the lady," I said with a shrug. "If you want to help, I could use it, but you don’t have to. I want to get it done before she really gives me a talking."

Jason chuckled, already inspecting the wood crate with the new glass panel in it. "Yeah, I wouldn't want to piss off the old battle-axe, either. I’ll help.”

I moved the screwdriver from my miscellaneous slot and put it into my right hand. The stat box still indicated I couldn't use it to fight with. A thought occurred to me that being able to read stats might be a talent.

I shrugged that away for different times, and wondered if I could even use the screwdriver for this job. It was the only tool I had that seemed even remotely appropriate.

Holding it, I wedged the tip of my flathead screwdriver under the window's wooden molding and gave it a firm tap with the heel of my hand. The molding popped away from the frame and answered my question.

"Huh, would you look at that," I mused at my efficiency. The jagged shards of glass still stuck in the frame. "Guess they don't make 'em like they used to."

"Nah, man," Jason said, shaking his head. "This is just how the game works. Makes these low-level missions nice and simple for us players."

He was right, I contemplated. This wasn’t a construction simulator. It didn’t need that type of detail.

As I carefully removed each shard and set it in a small pile on the ground, I realized how cleanly they came loose. No struggling, no cutting my hands on the sharp edges. Just nice, tidy removal.

When the frame was finally clear, Jason handed me the brand new pane of glass that Mr. Gallagher had dropped off earlier.

I lifted it into the empty space and was surprised by how perfectly it fit. There was not a hint of resistance or need for adjustment.

A few taps with the screwdriver had the molding secured once more, gleaming proudly in its fresh setting.

"There we go," I said with a satisfied nod. "Good as new."

In the real world, it wouldn't have been so simple. There would be caulk or putty, specialized tools, and precise measurements, plus the fear of accidentally breaking the new glass. Then we would have had to fix the paint around the glass.

But this was a game, after all. Why make things overly complicated when a few simple mechanics could get the job done?

Ms. Harmon chose that moment to shuffle over, peering out through the new pane with a critical eye. She grunted noncommittally, then turned and headed back inside without a word.

Jason let out a bark of laughter. "Well, I think that's about as ringing an endorsement as we're gonna get from her. What'd you think, not bad for our first job together, huh?"

I received a notification for having completed this part of the mission.

Mission Progress: Gallagher's Maintenance - Perform various maintenance responsibilities for landlord Thomas Gallagher. Check your mission screen for the next job.

+100 XP

You have 1,500 XP total

You need 1,000 more XP to reach level 2

"Not bad at all," I agreed with a grin, putting my screwdriver back in my miscellaneous inventory. "I like this woman."

Jason snorted in amusement, giving me a sarcastic answer. "Yeah, no kidding. I've run into my fair share of charming NPCs as well. At least she cuts to the chase. I hate it when characters do too much talking."

I smirked. "Me too, buddy. Me too."