Chapter 6
The General seemed unconcerned with Lyndis’s internal quandaries, and proceeded with the meeting by connecting to the pentagon brief.
“Lieutenant-colonel Davis, This is General Mays with the Ft. Moore team. As I’m sure you are aware, Captain Williams is not with us, and his XO, 1st Lieutenant Soto will be filling in for him until further notice. Let us know when you are ready for our input.”
Lyndis took a deep breath and shoved all her concerns to the back of her mind. This would be her chance to shine, and prove any doubters wrong. She concentrated on putting her full concentration onto what was being said.
Two things quickly became apparent. Her and Matt were the exception to the rule. The other SRG’s had been given objectives slightly different from theirs, but when viewed as a collective whole, it seemed that command was trying to test various ideas to see what was the most effective. For example, more or less the entire garrison at Ft. Shafter in Hawaii had gone through SRG training, and they’d allowed the invasion to progress a lot further before actively trying to stop it, with most of their soldiers reaching level 3 as a result, but they’d suffered a lot of structural damage by allowing the enemy into the center of the installation.
The second was the fact that there were only two others who’d leveled similar to Matt, and both individuals were part of foreign forces. A Captain Mao of the PLA, and a Lieutenant Franz of the French Foreign Legion. China had even been asking for all of their soldiers to be returned (which would have meant SFC Ming leaving Savage Company) until it turned out Matt actually had 2 levels on Captain Mao.
The US and her NATO allies would be pushing for the creation of a new international body, dubbed the EDF or earth defense force to combat the potential for something similar in the future. Essentially any members of a country's military who had a class prior to full earth integration with the system would actually be turned over to NATO, and would no longer be a part of that country's national military.
Soto wasn’t sure how she felt about being placed outside of the US Army command structure, but she recognized how much something like that would be needed. Who knew what would happen in the future if a country like Iran or Argentina ended up with the highest leveled defenders? The middle of an invasion from alien entities was not the time to be holding the world hostage, it was the time to come together as a race and fight back.
As the discussion turned more toward implementing things that went well, Lyndis lost focus and started wondering what Matt was experiencing. The next few days would be difficult for everyone in Savage company as they reviewed their classes, spent their upgrade points, and planned out their growth as a company.
********
4 Hours Later
Matt reviewed the training regimen he’d been assigned by the eggheads at the pentagon. He’d been temporarily assigned to returnee group Strike Eagle, which was mostly designated with essentially VIP protection. Strike Eagle was a 5 man group of prior US citizens who’d cleared the tower with the highest levels in what were being termed ‘DPS’ classes. Another group, code named ‘Eagle Shield’ were the actual protective detail to the president and other select VIPs deemed necessary for the continuation of the US government should the worst occur. If Eagle Shield were to be attacked, Strike Eagle would be no more than 3 minutes away, and they’d unleash absolute hell to the best of their ability in an effort to free the VIPs and destroy whatever was assaulting them.
The trip to the pentagon was somewhat eye opening for Matt, it was obvious the enemy was not satisfied with containing its attacks to military installations as they’d been told to expect. His C-130 had been carrying a group of operator types who’d performed a halo jump into downtown Atlanta. The escort detail had been 2 F-35A’s, 4 F-22’s, and an old MQ-9 reaper drone, and they were earning their keep if the radio chatter was anything to go by.
It seemed the enemy was hard at work decrypting earth’s radio signals, as there were several orders to switch frequencies and encryption keys during the trip.
Since Matt’s basic class was something all of the returnees had experience with, as it was the same basic class they’d all been given, it had been decided that the nature of his position within the SRGs necessitated a focus on ‘DPS’ abilities, or high damage output. Nobody had heard of his subclass, but one of the members of the Eagle Shield team did have a tactics mastery.
Essentially Matt would be living in a bunker underneath the white house, where the first two days would be spent assigning attribute points at a highly rushed pace, and then he’d start training with Strike Eagle, learning how they worked as a team, and testing himself and his newfound prowess against them. Once Strike Eagle cleared him as being comfortable with the upgrades, he’d spend two days with the Tactics mastery person from Eagle Shield, and then be returned to Savage company where he’d hopefully quickly catch up on levels he missed out on due to opportunity cost, and continue to grow at, or just below the same rate as the lower level returnees.
Fortunately, level 8 was still a far cry from the lowest returnee at level 20, so, after he’d plead his case long and hard, he would still be allowed to keep his command with Savage Company instead of getting reassigned somewhere else.
Matt Decided to review his Abilities and the plan for their increase as he was escorted to the White House. He wouldn’t lock in the actual changes until he made it to a room that’d been specially prepared for him, as it was somewhat of an open secret that the first 5 levels worth of attribute assignments would cleanse the body, resulting in an utterly unholy smelling black sludge being exuded. He’d require an industrial grade cleaning process to remove the sludge and the stink, something designed to allow engine parts to be refurbished. Matt decided to stop thinking about that, and focus instead on his character sheet.
Attribute
Score
Modifiers
Strength
6 (+4)
+1
Dexterity
7 (+3)
0
Constitution
7 (+3)
-1
Intelligence
8 (+2)
+1
Wisdom
8 (+2)
0
Charisma
7 (+1)
+1
Luck
2 (+2)
0
Aggregate Stats
HP: 100 (98)
Stamina: 21
Mana: 28
Vitality: 24
Resistance: 32
Attribute Points: 16 (0)
Matt had already had plenty of time on the trip to the pentagon to go exploring in the HUD, and realized he could open a much shorter version of the character sheet. He’d also set up his HP, Mana, and Stamina as little colored bars that were always visible in the lower left hand corner of his vision, and the most recent system message would auto populate a high opacity ‘chat feed’ in his upper right.
Ultimately he’d been allowed to assign his stats how he pleased, as the returnees had made certain arrangements prior to agreeing to help the world with the coming system apocalypse, and the guarantee that people would be able to spend their stats and class selection however they pleased had been at the top of that list.
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Matt would have to suffer paying $1000 USC as taxes, but he wasn’t too worried about it. He wouldn’t worry about losing something he didn’t know the true value of, and ultimately trusted uncle sam to use the funds in the best way possible. The other $4,000 USC were to be spent at his discretion, and he’d decided to give $3,000 of it to Savage Company, again not too worried about spending a resource whose value wasn’t well understood, just knowing that his soldiers would benefit was the main reason Matt had decided to go this route.
Before long Matt’s convoy of black SUV’s, full of high speed operator types and a small camera crew who’d document his experience for release on TV, pulled up to a seemingly empty stretch of street in the shady part of Arlington, Virginia.
Some of the delta guys pulled a seemingly random manhole cover off of the street, and the whole procession was quickly ushered into an absolute warren of maze-like corridors and small rooms that seemed to go on forever.
After what seemed an eternity, but was actually only about 5 minutes according to Matt’s pers-e-comm, Matt was shown to the sterile room that’d be his home for the next few days. It seemed like something straight out of a CIA action movie where the main character did unspeakable things to some terrorist in order to get information about a fictional president’s unknown whereabouts. White ceiling, white walls, white tile floor, one room serving as bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living room.
In one corner a bed that seemed like it might magically sprout restraints if Matt slept in it was against one wall, shitty blue government issue mattress covered in white sheets and a green-gray military surplus blanket, and on the other wall, near the door, a big red button that matt was instructed to use once he woke up from the first round of attribute point assignments.
Matt took a deep breath and got down to business.
Are you sure you would like to spend 4 attribute points to increase Intelligence and Wisdom from 8 to 10 respectively?
[Yes] / [No]
Matt selected [Yes], and waited for the pain to begin.
At first, nothing seemed to happen, but between one second and the next, a fire ignited at the base of Matt’s skull. Utterly excruciating pain erupted from all of his nerve endings, flooding him in a deluge of information, which his brain only recognized as pain. His eyes, nose, ears, and tongue felt like they were being filet with burning knives and ice picks. Even the seeming bandwidth Matt had for his brain to recognize pain expanded by almost an order of magnitude.
Unable to focus on anything but staying conscious, Matt followed the guidance that the de facto leader of Strike Eagle group, a woman named Staci Morreti, had given him.
“Stay conscious, when you can think again, focus on the new sensations, and try to actively focus on processing what they mean. Mental attributes are the worst, but I understand why you want to upgrade them first. 4 points at once is pushing it, but you will make it.” she’d told him.
Matt wasn’t sure how long he floated in an existence made from pain, but eventually he realized he was back to himself. Instead of worrying about the red button, he focused on his senses. His throat was raw, and he felt a kind of heat there, which he eventually realized told him that his body had focused on healing the damage there. He must have screamed until he ran his vocal cords absolutely raw. It hurt to draw breath through his mouth, so he focused on nose breathing instead, even if it didn’t provide the maximum air exchange rate with his lungs. He wasn’t even aware that he knew this until he took a moment to consider why he’d been breathing wrong his whole life.
Somehow he instinctively realized he got the best blood oxygen content by breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth, but his damaged throat prevented that for the moment.
He focused on his senses of smell next, realizing that while the sense itself hadn’t actually improved, he could separate out distinct smells far better. At the moment he could smell little besides the black sludge no doubt covering his body, and he was suddenly glad he’d followed the instructions to strip before spending attribute points. He felt that after he cleaned himself, he’d be able to tell what ingredients went into the food he would eat, and how long it’d been since his guards cleaned their weapons based on the smell alone.
Matt slowly came fully cognizant, focusing on one sense at a time, and marveling at the amount of information he could process and the instinctive conclusions he could reach. He expected that with another 5 or 10 points invested in INT and WIS, it would be impossible to lie to him. At least for other humans.
10 points would be nothing to scoff at, since the highest leveled returnee was level 50, and at 2 points a level, that would represent roughly a quarter of his total future possible advancement.
His sense of sight was the most painful, and an endless eternity passed as he slowly acclimatized his eyes to the bright electric lights by covering them, first with his hands, then his shirt, and finally the sheet from his bed.
He hated to ruin a good shirt and the sheet, but he had to do what he had to do. The stench was starting to get to him a bit, so he pressed the red button on the wall, and suddenly found himself being subjected to several jets of water, coming from several directions, at exactly 95°. He quickly realized the nozzles were placed in such a way that they were wasting water, and resolved to send that info on to the egghead's as soon as he could get to his pers-e-com, which had been confiscated at the Pentagon, or a computer terminal, whichever came first.
After cleaning, Matt felt much better, if somewhat hungry. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait long before a slot in the door opened, and a couple distinctive brown bags came through the slot. MRE’s would be his diet for the next day or two. The changes the body underwent while spending attribute points were reported to expend huge numbers of calories, so he’d be on triple rations for that time.
The next 48 hours passed in a blur as Matt grew accustomed to the routine of spending points, suffering through the upgrades, feeling out his improvements, and then washing before finally eating and repeating the process.
Finally all the upgrades were spent, and Matt had attained the highest levels that the un-initiated human body could accommodate. Suddenly a system message dinged in his mind and across his vision.
Level 5 (8) Attained!
You have successfully advanced an attribute to your specie’s unaided maximum!
Your species' natural urge to mate and pass on your DNA has been activated.
Your Body has become overloaded with (Life) energy!
For the next 24 hours you will experience a significantly enhanced sex drive.
Quest Chain Awarded: Dual Cultivation!
Seek out a suitable partner within the next 24 hours and practice dual cultivation, exchanging your Yang for their Yin. Alternatively erect a containment barrier around your Yang core.
Warning: Failure to complete this quest will result in death.
Rewards: [system initiates guidebook], Access to system shop
Possible additional rewards: [Yang core] [dual cultivators bond] +1 level, offspring
Countdown timer [23:58:21]
A sudden urge filled Matt, and after closing the message, a timer appeared in the center right hand side of his vision. A decision would have to be made.
Matt had studied various religious beliefs when he was younger, but had never really aligned himself with any one ideology, considering himself more spiritual than religious, so he had no moral qualms about engaging in extramarital sex, and he wasn’t in any kind of relationship at the moment, but somehow it felt a bit wrong to seek out a partner right now, just because the system told him to.
On the other hand, he would die if he did nothing, and he had no idea what a yang core might be or do. He wondered briefly why this message hadn’t been included in the brief the returnees had given, but quickly discarded it. Either this message was new, or they’d had some reason to hide this.
Matt did his best to shut out the little brain and think with the big one. He quickly concluded he needed to talk with the returnees, but he would need to make it remote, while also keeping it secret from the egghead’s oversight.
As Matt tried to reach a decision and think of some way to contact someone outside the White House, a knock sounded at the door. At first Matt was hesitant to answer. His current physical state was a bit embarrassing to say the least, and he didn’t think he had the fortitude to really deal with other people at the moment.
A vaguely feminine voice echoed out of a speaker in the center of the ceiling above the door.
“Captain Williams, or Matt I guess, it’s Staci. Those of us interested in an exchange of sorts drew straws, and I am the winner. I need to discuss something with you now that you’ve finished spending the attributes from level 5. It might be a bit awkward though. Can I come in?
Matt’s body betrayed him instantly after hearing the female voice. He didn’t really enjoy the situation, but something about how she said it convinced him that she knew what was going on, and was actually here on her own free will. Besides, Matt did need to know why something like this had been hidden during the SRG training.
“Now isn’t exactly the best time for me” Matt responded “Maybe you can video chat me once I have my pers-e-comm back?”
Matt wanted to give the beautiful Italian-American woman a way out just in case.
“This conversation really needs to happen face to face Matt. If you aren’t interested in me, we decided we would let you choose out of a list of interested persons, but don’t feel the need to hold back on my account”
Matt’s moral code satisfied, he made his decision. “Feel free to come in, just know the state of the place may be a bit… well… disorganized.”
Matt noticed every detail of the brunette’s amazing physique as she entered the room. He’d always felt that the returnees had physical bodies similar to greek gods, but with his own newly enhanced body, he recognized the full extent of just how appealing the woman was. But before that there were questions.
“If you know about the level 5 quest, why didn’t you warn us? What’s going to happen when people level in the middle of battle? What is a [Yang Core]? What is this stuff about cultivation?”
Matt fired the questions off like he was trying to jam them down her throat, and suddenly realized thinking of it that way wasn’t safe territory. He felt the woman’s eyes on him, and knew he wasn’t hiding anything from her at the moment. He decided to just let the towel he’d been wearing drop.
“Well, as for most of your questions, the system demands some things in return for the power it gives. We’re unable to discuss this with people below level 5. We suspect that will change once earth is officially part of the system, but for now we are doing the best we can. This isn’t the only surprise you’ll face, so maybe get used to the system requiring odd things? As far as a [Yang core] or in my case a [yin core] goes, we’re not entirely sure. Only one of us decided to go that route, and they either haven’t had any further quests in the chain, or the system is preventing them from discussing it. I can tell you that if you decide to go ahead with the exchange, you don't have to worry about offspring, since at level 20 you can buy an upgrade in the system store that will prevent any… unwanted fruit as it were, and most of us decided to get it since there’s a level boost involved. Also, forming a [dual cultivators bond] is unlikely, though I can’t go into the specifics of why until after you finish this quest. Basically you can get a level up, or a metaphysical item that has no known uses.” Staci explained
His questions answered, Matt decided there wasn’t any further reason to hold back. He and Staci had a short conversation about expectation and boundaries before engaging in a very pleasant evening together.