Toughness Skill Level Maxed

Maybe you were a punching bag in a past life, but your ability to take a hit and keep going puts you a cut above some Mundanes. Taking more devastating hits, while not recommended, will raise this skill to the limits for Mundanes. Combinable skill.

Current Health increase: 10%

Current physical damage decrease: 5%

Regen Skill Level Maxed

While not as hardy as others, taking a good rest can do wonders for most Mundanes. Increases your regeneration of health while at rest.

At rest, health regeneration is increased by +6

Dodge Skill level Up

Being ahead of your enemies’ strikes can save your life. Never underestimate being able to dash in a fight.

Movement speed while dodging increased 4%

“So we are seriously not going to talk about it?”

Abby’s voice pulled Kaleb from his notification windows. He was trying to decide if he should rank up his Toughness skill or wait for something to combine it with. Regen wasn’t a combinable skill, so he was about to bring that one up to Intermediate when Abby spoke up.

“Talk about what?”

Abby sighed. “We came down here to get information on the demon gang and we wound up in a fight to the death with your Nemesis. Now we are moving on to our original goal like the epic boss fight didn’t happen. Doesn’t that seem weird to you?”

“Not really? I mean, players are having epic fights all over the place, right?”

Kaleb waved a hand at the street. In the distance, the sounds of gunshots could be heard as the odd explosion lit up the streets. Abby nodded at the sounds, but still seemed unsatisfied. They continued down the street as she got her thoughts together and Kaleb went ahead and upgraded his Regen Skill to Intermediate.

Regen Skill Intermediate Level 1

While not as hardy as others, taking a good rest can do wonders for most Mundanes. Increases your regeneration of health while at rest. Can now heal while moving.

At rest, health regeneration is increased by +8

Ambulatory Healing: +2 per minute

He left his Toughness alone for now and would wait and see if he combine it with his Dodge Skill. Sure that meant his future skill experience would go down the drain. But he was sure that Toughness and Dodge would give him something good. His In-Fighter Skill had been born from Toughness, Dodge, and Endurance. And Toughness and Endurance gave him Conditioning. So having another combined skill was worth the XP loss in the long run.

“It just seems so incongruous. I mean, one minute we are fighting in a burning building with a super-strong rat mutant. Then the next minute we’re walking down a dark street trying to find some gang called the UGB.”

“That’s the life of a Super Hero.” Kaleb shrugged, which sent a spike of pain through his shoulders.

Abby had managed to purchase a medium-tier health potion from a shady vendor on the street. Which is what she used to heal Kaleb, but it hadn’t fully done the job. But with his new Regen Skill, he didn’t have to stop moving to heal now. But Abby still put a hand to his shoulder.

“Do you need to stop and rest? I mean, you got kicked through several buildings and almost set on fire.”

Kaleb checked his health and grimaced. He was over a hundred thanks to the health potion. But he could most definitely use a break. He gave Abby a silent nod and moved to the side of the road. As he did, he realized that the short woman was as spry as ever.

“What the fuck? You got smacked, too. How are you doing so well?”

Abby smirked and closed her eyes for a second. A black sheen of armor appeared around her body and flickered for a few seconds. It vanished quickly and Abby explained.

“Shadow Armor. I’d been putting off getting it because nothing has been quick enough to hit me yet. But I figured when going up against a Super-Strong build, having some armor would be a good idea. Not to mention I heal faster at night or in the shadows.”

“Fucking mutants.” Kaleb whined as he sat with his back to a metal shack.

“You’re the one that chose Mundane for a start. Although now you have magic. Can’t you give yourself mutant powers, too?”

“Yeah. But it would take some high-level science skills to get the ball rolling. I have samples of blood from various mutants. But no idea how to synthesize them into something useful.”

“You think your new job could help with that?”

“Yeah… probably…” Kaleb said lamely as his Regen kicked in.

He was delighted to find that the at rest and ambulatory healing combined. So he was gaining ten HP a minute with his new skill. He smiled up at Abby until several shadows fell over both of them. Abby noticed them too and twirled, her arms becoming shadowy blades. The sounds of energy weapons whirred to life and Kaleb got to his feet in time for a male voice to shout at them.

“Halt citizens! You appear to match the descriptions of two people of interest in a recent fire south of here. State your business and affiliations.”

Kaleb blinked at the clipped tone. Glancing at the surrounding black-armored troops, Kaleb was briefly reminded of K-tech soldiers. But these guy’s armor was a lot bulkier and their weapons weren’t in great shape. Kaleb made a mental note not to offer to fix their guns as Abby asked her own question.

“Are you guys cops?”

The lead soldier, whose head and face were obscured by a large helmet that left his lower chin on display, smiled.

“We are the troops of the Underground Government Body. We bring law and order to this unjust den of criminals. So I repeat, identify yourselves.”

Kaleb remembered Wulkun mentioning the UGB. They were one of the Big Four of Under-Town, a group of wannabe cops acting like they weren’t a gang. He figured asking straight-up about an information broker was a sure-way to get shot. So instead he raised his hands and reported like he would to a cop.

“Professor Pack Rat, contracted Hero working out of Imperial Valley.”

The lead soldier sneered for a quick second but immediately wiped it from his face.

“Vigilantes, huh? What the hell are you doing down here?”

Kaleb wanted to snort at the man’s holier-than-thou tone. But he bit it back and explained.

“We are looking for information on a gang that’s been plaguing our contracted area. It’s called the Demons. Ever heard of them?”

“I don’t have time to memorize every two-bit outfit on the outskirts of Austin. The UGB has an information office down the road. They can get you situated for a price.”

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Kaleb and Abby shared a confused glance before nodded thanks to the soldier and trying to walk away. But the other soldiers raised their weapons and the lead asshole snickered.

“Sorry. But we work on donations from the community. I’m going to need you to turn over any credits, weapons, and armor you may have.”

“So you’re robbing us?” Abby snorted.

“Little lady, I work to make sure people like you can go home safe. But I tell you what, you leave this walking dinosaur and treat my men to a good time and I- URK!”

The soldier never finished as one of Abby’s shadow blades sliced through his chin. Kaleb sighed and drew his Cybar as fast as he could. To his surprise, the gun cleared its holster and was up before he could blink. Aiming at the wide-open chins of the four remaining soldiers, Kaleb hip-fired as he moved to the side. Two of his shots hit home as the UGB thugs stood there, stunned. Abby dove onto another target, driving her blades into his armor chest.

The final trooper finally had enough sense to shoulder his own energy rifle. But he barely got Abby in his sights when Kaleb sent three shots into his head and neck. As each orb hit the soldier, his head jerked backwards until he eventually went still and collapsed into a heap. Abby got in a few extra slashes on several of the bodies, and Kaleb stood to the side and examined their armor.

It was a blocky and chunky-looking mess of metal plates and bolts. Not to mention he didn’t want to lug it all the way back to their car. Although the rifles were nice. They looked like standard single shot, high energy laser rifle. He was crouched low, playing with one as Abby finished her cathartic display and finally stood with an annoyed growl.

“Fucking sexist assholes.”

“So much for law and order in Under-Town.” Kaleb said idly as he examined the power chamber of the energy rifle.

“What are you doing? Loot the bodies.”

Kaleb sighed as he put the gun back down on the dead soldier’s body. “I would. But I’m not carrying this shit all the way back home.”

Abby looked at him, confused for a few seconds. Then realization dawned on her and she shook her head. With a few quick steps, she walked over and smacked Kaleb on top of his head roughly. Kaleb fell onto his ass and rubbed his head. That had surprisingly hurt.

“I mean actually loot, you damn giant goblin. Y’know, like the rest of us do?”

Kaleb blinked in confusion as Abby sighed and put her hand on the dead soldier. After a few seconds, the body broke up into particles of light and several items dropped from the corpse. Kaleb could see credit chits, vials of red and blue liquid, and pieces of armor. The gun stayed in place as Kaleb rubbed his face in shame.

“I… forgot we could do that.”

“Obviously! You know not every player takes the whole corpse after they win a fight, right?”

“But that’s so wasteful. I mean, I get so much more stuff if I just collect the whole body.”

“Well, unless you want to carry a handcart around with you at all times. I suggest you remember we can loot dead bodies.”

Kaleb grumbled, but did just that as Abby moved to another body. He moved toward the leader and placed his hand on the body. Clicking yes on the Loot Body pop-up, he was given another surprise at the results.

“I’m a fucking idiot.” Kaleb groaned as he held the looted items.

“Yes, you are. But why now?” Abby asked as she turned to look at him.

Kaleb held up a worn bit of paper. It was creased like it had been folded into squares. But Kaleb had unfolded it and was showing it to her. Abby’s face tried to contain a smile as she asked.

“Is that a blueprint?”

“Yeah. I have a skill that increases the Blueprint drop-rate when looting enemies. This is their armor. Something called the Public Service Model Mk 1.”

“Is it any good?”

“Lord no. This shit is bulky, and it has several flaws in multiple places. Mainly because of the open face helmet.”

“So what’s the point?” Abby asked, moving to the next body.

Kaleb moved to another as well as he explained. “I can improve on the designs at my workshop. If I had thought to loot the K-Tech people instead of taking their shit. I might have gotten the blueprints for that stuff.”

Kaleb waved away the particles of his looting and stared down at some credits, vials, and another blueprint. This one was for the Protectorate Rifle Mk 1. He gave it a quick once over and grimaced. It was equally a mess. The wiring was all over the place and the energy efficacy of the power supply was shit. But he could work with it.

Standing as Abby looted the last body, Kaleb broke the seal on one of the red vials and tossed it back. Warmth filled him as Abby stood from her looting and shouted.

“Stop! You don’t know what that is! Why would you drink it?”

“What do you mean? It’s a health potion, right?”

“That’s what Claire thought when we were patrolling. She was low on health and drank one. It turned out to be acid. It burned her throat and sent her to respawn before we could do a damn thing. Another one made Two Gun super strong for twenty minutes, then he couldn’t even lift a damn finger.”

Kaleb grimaced as he listened and held a hand to his stomach. But the surge of energy warmed his stomach and when he checked his HP, he found it was almost too full.

“It seems okay. I think that one WAS a health potion.”

Abby rolled her eyes as she pocketed the credits and started walking again. Kaleb shrugged and followed the shorter woman. At least now they knew where they were going and their brief fight had sent the more skittish of the population into hiding. Although Kaleb spotted several surly looking people in the cracks and alleys between buildings.

Kaleb idly vented his Cybar and kept it in his hand as they walked. Abby turned to see what he was doing at the noise. But she spun back around and raised her hood.

“You know that is equally liable to cause trouble as it is to deter it, right?”

“Yes. But at least this way we know that the people who approach us are confident enough in their abilities to stand up to a gun.”

“Or stupid enough.”

“One is just as dangerous as the other.” Kaleb remarked.

Abby remained silent as they continued walking eastward along the road. The asshole UGB guy had said that the information office was a block down the road. Which, thankfully, proved accurate. He and Abby didn’t have to suffer the angry glares of wannabe thugs for long. Now they were standing in front of a three story building with two angry soldiers guarding the entrance.

Both troopers eyed him and Abby as they approached. Abby tried to walk right on through, only to be met with an outstretched hand.

“This is the UGB information office, Citizen. What is your business here?”

“… To get information?” Abby asked, bewildered.

“Are you getting smart with me, woman?”

“Are you getting stupid with me, man?!”

Abby glared up at the taller guard as Kaleb kept his eyes on the second one. He wished he had scanned the building with his thermal imager. Catching a few of these thugs by surprise at point-blank range was one thing. But Kaleb wasn’t sure about running through an entire building full of the fuckers. Surprisingly, it was the guard’s partner who deescalated things.

“Russel, it was a stupid question. Just let them through.”

“Wallace, these people are clearly suspicious.”

“You say that about everyone.”

“That’s cause EVERYONE is suspicious!” Russell screamed, sounding like an absolute lunatic.

Kaleb almost raised his pistol. But Wallace merely reached over with his stun baton and zapped Russel in the neck. As his partner dropped, Wallace turned back to both of them.

“I’m sorry. He is currently off his meds, which makes him a little irritable. You are both free to go inside. But, sir, you are going to need to holster that sidearm. There are SunTik brand gun turrets built into the ceiling. They’ll fry you before you could do a thing about it if they scan a weapon that isn’t holstered.”

Kaleb gave the guard a polite nod as he and Abby stepped over the twitching door guard. The sounds of Wallace moving his partner out of the doorway were muffled as they stepped inside. Large fans on the ceiling provided a pleasant breeze and a gentle hum in the air. An atmosphere that was shattered by the dirty look the one person in the room was giving them.

The first floor was split in half by a long desk. On their side were a row of chairs, trash cans, and a water fountain. On the opposite side of the desk were rows of data storage racks, along with a surly old alien with a bright yellow mustache. Kaleb blinked even as the alien’s bulbous head wobbled ominously. Abby rushed toward the front of the desk, but the alien warbled angrily.

“Please remain over there until you are called! I am terribly busy and need to collect myself before I deal with any of… your types.”

Abby froze just beyond the desk and waited. Kaleb was just a few steps further back and was unwilling to move. However, the alien behind the counter was clearly doing nothing. Instead, the alien stared straight ahead and remained unmoving. They stood there for several minutes. Minutes that seemed to drag on and on as Abby tapped her foot angrily. All the while, the clerk was staring straight ahead, not doing a damn thing.

Kaleb was about to charge the desk and save the alien from Abby when the clerk’s bulbous head pulsed dangerously. The alien sucked in a huge breath and seemed to blink rapidly as their mustache moved back and forth.

“Ahem! Ah! Good. Now, what can I do for you both?”

Abby stomped to the front of the desk and then froze. She had a hand raised and a finger pointed, but nothing was coming out of her mouth. For a brief few seconds, Kaleb thought the alien had done something. But the blush on Abby’s pale face disproved him of that.

“We need any information about a gang called the demons. They mostly operate above ground in the…”

“In the Decker Lake area, I got them.” The alien said, his mustache moving back and forth.

Kaleb watched the alien as his enormous eyes seemed to get a far off look. He realized the creature was accessing some power as it spoke. Abby glanced at him, but Kaleb could only shrug as the info broker came back to himself.

“They are a low-tier gang, but they have known ties to an actual demon realm. Cost of the full information download is two thousand credits.”

“What?!” Abby yelled in surprise. “You can’t be serious. They are a bunch of thugs! That info can’t be that worthwhile.”

“The information is worthwhile cause you want it, young lady. Which means I can set the price how I want. Also, there is a premium for information about an actual demonic realm.”

“So you have info about the realm the demons use?” Kaleb asked, putting a hand on Abby’s shoulder.

“One of them. If they have access to others, we aren’t sure about that.”

“And where do you get your information? How trustworthy is it?”

The alien gave Kaleb a pitying smile. “Our information network is tied to several entities above ground. We have hooks into every system up there.”

“Sure you do.” Abby said sarcastically.

But Kaleb quickly threw some chits on the counter. “We need it on a data stick as fast as you can make it.”

The Alien slowly counted the chits and then set them aside. Equally slowly, the alien reached below the desk and raised a slim silver data stick to his forehead. He closed his eyes and there was a pulse of power in the room. Abby and Kaleb went silent as the alien opened his eyes and then tossed the stick to Kaleb.

“The transaction is complete.”

Kaleb gave the creature a quick nod and then gripped Abby by the shoulder. He led them both out the door, stopping to wave goodbye to Wallace. They were half a block away when Abby shook herself loose and spun on him.

“I can’t believe you paid that alien. Two thousand credits is a full day’s work in our district, you know?”

Kaleb grinned and popped her on the forehead with the data stick. “We just took those credits from the UGB, Abs.”

Abby rubbed her forehead, eyes going wide at his words. “You just paid them with their own money?”

Kaleb smiled as he put the data on the demons in his pocket. “Pretty much. Now let’s go home. I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I have to go over all of this data, anyway.”

He walked past Abby as she huffed angrily behind him for a few moments. Eventually she ran to join him and they walked back toward main street.

“You’re still an idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure.” Kaleb snickered.