Lightforge whipped up his shield just in time to catch the random spray of bullets from the robber. All the while, the burly hero was grumbling under his breath. He’d spent the entire day looking for crimes to stop, and nothing. But a five minute stop to get food from a gas station? Instant armed robbery.
As soon as there was a break in the gunfire, Lightforge peeked out and saw the common thug hastily trying to reload. With a sigh of relief, he conjured a pair of glowing daggers and tossed them into the air, willing them forward. They shot forward and slammed into the criminal. The first exploded into shards of light on impact, while the second buried itself in the man’s shoulder.
Damn. He’d meant for both to shatter on impact, but controlling it on the fly was proving to be a lot trickier than he’d expected. For some reason it wasn’t just a matter of thinking about which he wanted. It was like he had to maintain a very specific focus on each dagger as they flew. A single stray thought and they would default to sharp and stabby.
The groaning criminal brought him back to his senses. He jogged over and checked the man briefly before summoning the police. The robber froze in place as the chains appeared around him and teleported him away.
With a smile on his face, he picked his selections up off the floor and walked to the counter. The clerk was staring, wide-eyed at what they’d just seen. The hero quietly paid and left the store, only to be greeted by a system message.
You have prevented an armed robbery!
You have kept all civilians in the area from harm!
Total Experience gained: 35
You have reached level 2!
Stat points available: 4
His smile threatened to split his face in half. Finally! This was what he’d been waiting for all day. There was a spring in his step as he walked the streets, heading home for the day.
As soon as he was back to base, he collapsed onto the couch. It was already getting dark outside, so there was no point in pretending that he would go back out tonight. Instead he relaxed and pulled out the food that he’d bought.
He’d been surprised, at first, to find that he needed food, water, and sleep. That had been before he’d realized how much this world was different from the game that he’d known. Now it was simply a fact, something to be dealt with like everything else around here. With a sigh he pulled up his status screen.
Name: Lightforge
Alignment: Neutral
Level: 2
Powerset 1: Hard Light Construct
Powerset 2: Gadgeteer
Stats:
Health Points (HP): 500/500
Ability Points (AP): 255/255
Strength: 14
Agility: 7
Intelligence: 10
Aura: 17
Free Points: 4
This was the most important moment for him so far. It was time to start working on his build. His abilities relied on all of the stats except for agility, so he would need to be very careful about allocating the points he received at each level. He couldn’t afford to waste any of them. But where to start?
His first instinct was to split the points between strength and aura. Those were the stats to improve his constructs, allowing him to deal more damage and stop more threats. That was the obvious path, the path that would let him continue to level the normal way.
Before he could enter the change, Circe’s voice echoed through his mind. Mocking him for fighting instead of selling his services. The day before, it had been a curious possibility at most. Now he had a different perspective. The spike in crime that had accompanied his arrival in this world was over.
One day there were dozens of crimes going on all around him. The next he had patrolled all day and never even saw one. If not for sheer dumb luck with the armed robber at the gas station, he would still be sitting at level one. If this was what the landscape would be like for the next month, then there was virtually no chance that he would level up again until there was a new batch of players.
It made Circe's suggestion much more tempting. With so little XP up for grabs, there would definitely be a market for players looking to squeeze out any possible advantage that they could find. And in a game like this, equipment was one of the easiest ways to manage that.
He made up his mind and added three points to intelligence, with the last point going into dexterity. While it wouldn't help any of his abilities directly, he didn't want it to lag too far behind. He looked over his new stats with a grin forming on his face.
Health Points (HP): 512/512
Ability Points (AP): 276/276
Strength: 14
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 13
Aura: 17
He smiled at the progress. Nothing had changed with his abilities, but he'd expected that much. Most power sets didn't get any upgrades until at least level 3. He had never used either of his current power sets, so he didn’t know when those upgrades would come, but he wasn’t concerned. All he needed to do was continue gaining experience.
At that thought, his smile finally slipped. He’d allocated his points as if he were going to focus on Gadgeteer, but he hadn’t truly made up his mind. Now was the time to consider and make a choice. But did he really have to? After all, his first “customer,” Cannoneer, was someone he met while fighting crime. The people who needed his services would be out on the streets too, after all. Why not have his cake and eat it too?
The grin was slipping back into place as he relaxed into the couch beneath him and let himself drift off to sleep.
----------------------------------------
The next morning he was back on the streets, looking for trouble. While he hadn't had much luck the day before, he was still optimistic. Crime continued, even if it was slow. He just had to be in the right place at the right time.
He moved slowly across rooftops and down alleyways, keeping an eye out for anything that might be out of place. And while there was plenty to see, most of it came from his fellow players. With the help of their telltale glow, he could see them doing much the same as himself. It seemed that every block had at least one or two hanging around and patrolling.
Whenever a crime did happen, the result was obvious. Heroes sprinting to the scene from all directions, trying to be the first to resolve the threat. In most situations, only the heroes who dealt damage to the perpetrator would receive the experience. But Chancery Hills was a starter area, so many of the enemies only required a couple of hits to take them down. Which meant that only one or maybe two heroes could claim the prize.
Lightforge's first opportunity of the day came when he was on the rooftops. He was standing on a building that held a couple of shops in the front, including a jewelry store. He'd been on the roof for nearly an hour without anything happening. He was getting ready to leave when he heard glass breaking below him.
Without a second thought he heaved himself over the edge of the roof and dropped to the sidewalk below. As he fell he could see someone sprinting away from the shattered front window. As he touched down, Lightforge whipped an arm forward and launched a dagger at the fleeing criminal.
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It was too slow by heartbeats. Just before the dagger landed, a shape smashed into the fleeing thief and crushed them against a nearby building. The dagger passed through empty space where the thief should have been, where it met with other weapons and energy blasts that had also missed the mark. For a moment, Lightforge could only stare at the sight.
When the bullrushing hero pulled themselves free from the wall, the criminal was already disappearing to prison. The hero, a woman built like a weightlifter, raised her arms and roared in celebration as other heroes came out from their hiding places to either retrieve weapons or simply to relocate.
Lightforge joined the crowd, with an eye on the weapons users in particular. Many were muttering to themselves in frustration, which gave him the chance to pick his target. He chose a tall, lanky man dressed in bright greens and light blues who had a bow hanging in one hand.
Lightforge walked up to him and said, "Hi there. My name's Lightforge. No luck either, huh?"
"Of course not," the man spat, "This [BLEEP] bow's too slow. I know I shot before that [BLEEP] took off, and she outran my arrow! I'm Windshot."
"Nice to meet you, Windshot. Maybe we can help each other out? I'm a Gadgeteer, so maybe I can upgrade your bow to give it a little extra speed?"
Windshot paused for only a moment before turning on Lightforge, rage burning in his eyes.
"[BLEEP] you!" he screamed, "So what? I help you level up and make it easier for you to kill–steal from me next time? Get the [BLEEP] out of here."
The shouting was drawing a crowd. Much to Lightforge's dismay, many of the onlookers were nodding in approval of the archer's words. A quick glance around made it obvious; they might all be heroes, but they were not friends or allies. Cannoneer must have been more an exception than the rule.
He raised his hands in defeat and silently walked away from the crowd. He could feel their stares on him as he went, grateful that they were at least letting him go in peace. He decided that he needed to rethink his strategy.
As he went to another section of the area, he thought about the archer's fury. Now that he took a moment to think about it, it made sense. Both of them had been in the running during that crime. If not for the last second interloper, it could easily have been one of them. But if Lightforge got extra XP through Gadgeteer? Then next time his attack might outspeed the others.
Ultimately, it was more of the same. Not enough experience to go around, so everyone was on edge. Everyone was out for themselves and angry. Not an ideal environment to try and foster relationships. He wandered the streets, trying to think of solutions.
----------------------------------------
Just after sunset, a miracle occurred; he found another crime in progress. This time it was a car thief who pulled a driver out through the window before hopping in and speeding off. The swap came so quickly that Lightforge's first dagger bounced harmlessly off the rear fender as the car sped away.
A beam of golden energy hit one of the front tires, blowing it out and sending the car into a spin. Before it could crash into a building, a spike of earth shot up through the sidewalk and acted as a makeshift barrier. All of that was fairly routine, as far as superheroes go. The same could not be said for what happened next.
A hero with super speed shot forward, with the road itself surging beneath their feet to push them along. At the last moment they dove away as a streak of golden light came down in front of them on an apparent collision course. As the speedster rolled away, the glowing golden figure turned to the car and fired a beam of energy at the door. The door groaned under the strain and the window cracked, but both remained intact.
More attacks arrived at the car from heroes all around, and the speedster tackled the flier out of the way, throwing them clear before throwing an empty hand in the direction of the car. A chunk of concrete broke free from the sidewalk and shot through the weakened window, where it hit the thief in the driver's seat. The thief, who'd been struggling to open the door, collapsed against the seat.
As the speedster sighed in relief and began to celebrate, Lightforge arrived at the car with the grumbling group of also-rans. The mood was frustrated, but one in particular was very vocal about her frustration.
"Damn it, I had him!" The voice came from the flier; a woman in a white and gold costume with a mask that looked like a bird. "If my [BLEEPING] booster hadn't given out, my shot would have blown right through that door! It was supposed to have at least three more [BLEEPING] shots left. And you!"
Hands crackling with energy, she flew right up to the speedster and began screaming in his face. The speedster, for his part, simply grinned and shot away into the distance, leaving the woman shouting at empty air.
She didn't even seem to notice, continuing her rant. She was now waving a device in the faces of anyone who would listen. It was a metal armband inset with a glowing white gem. It was probably meant to increase the power of her attacks. Considering their current level, it must have cost her all the money she had.
Lightforge weighed his options for a moment and made up his mind. It wouldn’t hurt to give this another shot. He stepped over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She cut off mid-rant and turned her anger towards him instead. "What!?" she growled, "I swear, if you say one word about my [BLEEPING] language, I'm gonna–"
"No, no," Lightforge said, "I was going to offer to fix that booster. I'm a Gadgeteer, so I should be able to do it. That way you'll get the next one if this kind of situation comes up again."
"And what do you get out of this deal?"
"The first XP that I've gotten all day."
The anger and suspicion on her face faded and she nodded. As much as Hero Bux were the official in-game currency, people in this area didn't have much of that to throw around. The only currency that really mattered here was experience. Any deal with XP up for grabs couldn't be readily dismissed.
She looked him up and down for a moment before saying, "Show me your stats."
"Only if you show me yours."
"Sure."
They each pulled up their status screens and turned them to face the other.
Name: Sunbird
Alignment: Hero
Level: 4
Powerset 1: Energy Blaster
Powerset 2: Flight
Stats:
Strength: 11
Agility: 26
Intelligence: 10
Aura: 13
He whistled quietly. No wonder she was having trouble putting the bad guys down; she'd dumped everything into Agility, presumably to reach crimes sooner. With both speed and ranged combat available to her, all she was missing was stopping power. Which was why she was using a booster.
For her part, Sunbird took one look at his status screen and rolled her eyes. "Hey newbie, I want to see your stats too. Just think about letting me see them."
Was it that simple? He did as she asked, and she nodded. She looked over the numbers for a moment and tossed the item to him. "Knock yourself out," she said, "Not like you can make it more broken."
He snatched it out of the air and activated Inspect.
Name: Scrap-Heap Amplifier
Type: Equipment
Quality: Junk
Level: 3
Charge: 0/10
Effect: Increase the damage of energy based attacks by 15%
State: Damaged. This item will occasionally expend 1-2 extra charges per attack.
Recharge: Yes/No
Repair: Yes/No
Upgrade: Not Available
He silently took in the information for a moment. While recharging it would be easier, it would give him less XP. And Sunbird had basically invited him to try whatever he wanted, so why not go for broke? He reached out and touched the option to repair. A warning popped up in front of him.
Warning: This item is above your current level. You will face reduced odds of success. Estimated success chance: 85%.
Proceed? Yes/No
He confirmed the choice and watched his AP bar plummet as he attempted to bring the item back to an acceptable state. Tools materialized in his hands as he set to work, opening up the item and examining the insides. For a moment the mechanisms were completely meaningless to him. But the more he studied them the more he saw how it was supposed to work. It wasn't quite knowledge, it was more like he understood the machinery on an instinctual level.
His tools glowed with energy as he manipulated the circuits and bypassed the defective area. His tools vanished and the band began to reassemble itself in front of him. Light burst from his hands around the metal armband, flashing in blues and golds. After a few moments, there was a quiet ding and the item looked better than new.
Congratulations! You have successfully repaired the following item:
Name: Refurbished Amplifier
Type: Equipment
Rarity: Common
Level: 3
Charge: 12/12
Effect: Increase the damage of energy attacks by 17%
State: Refurbished by Lightforge
He grinned and tossed it back to Sunbird. After taking a few moments to inspect it, she broke out into a smile of her own.
“Hot damn,” she said, “I’m keeping you around, big guy.”
Sunbird has sent you a friend request.
“Oh, wow,” he said, “That was quick.”
“What can I say? I know an opportunity when I see one. Thanks."
"No problem. Honestly, I'm just glad you let me. I tried the same thing earlier and the guy nearly bit my head off."
"Oh yeah? I guess that makes sense. Didn't want you taking in all the criminals yourself."
"I figured that much out. So I suppose you aren't worried about that?"
"Sure I am. But I guess you're lucky that I hate thinking about things too much before I do them. Though I probably shouldn't lean on you too much."
"Actually, I think I'm going to open a shop. Take myself out of the crime race so people don't have to worry about it, you know?"
"Ooh, I like that. Let me know when you open up. I'll be there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have places to be and [BLEEPS] to kick.”
She shot into the air, becoming a golden blur across the sky. He whistled at the sheer speed that she demonstrated, but it didn’t distract him for long. He hadn't meant to say anything about the shop; it had just come out. But he knew that he had made up his mind. He was going to be a shopkeeper.