“Huh?”
With a bitter tone, his father explained, “A health inspector showed up this morning and performed a surprise inspection.”
“Okaaay…”
“That part’s fine,” he waved the event away. “It happens to everyone, and just like the last time we were inspected, they only found two minor violations. This time, though, they decided to shut us down rather than give a warning.” Peter suddenly threw up his arms. “Who the hell shuts a restaurant down because the dishwasher has an open beverage next to the sink?!!”
“Honey, calm down.” His mother placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Like I said before, we can appeal the decision, and we’ll be back open in a few days.”
Blake was confused. He did not remember his parent’s business ever shutting down. As far as he could recall, it stayed open right until Invasion day when the entire world went to hell.
Did something change because I’m not working there anymore?
He recalled the butterfly effect from movies and TV shows. It essentially claimed that any small change introduced to a timeline would create ripples, which could lead to drastic differences as more time progressed. Although, he did not see how him not showing up to work would lead to a health inspector appearing. Blake had no memory of any surprise inspections in his past.
“Uh… dad,” Blake said hesitantly. “I’m pretty sure you weren’t supposed to be inspected.”
“What do you mean?”
“I clearly remember you complaining about the first time you were inspected, but I don’t remember it ever happening again.”
“Didn’t you say it was ten years ago for you?” his mother asked.
“Sure, but you know how dad gets when someone calls his kitchen dirty.”
Donna snorted, while Peter looked offended. “I run a clean kitchen!”
“Exactly.” Blake agreed. “Which means I would remember you complaining about an inspector.” He then added, “I don’t.”
“What changed?” Donna asked. “I can’t see how anything you did would’ve…” Suddenly her eyes widened, and then narrowed. “Blake. Did you know that Trent’s uncle is the Sheriff of Navajo County?”
“No.” The news came as a surprise to him, but it explained why the authorities were so eager to arrest him. He sent their boss’s family member to the hospital, and Blake was sure they were pissed. “Good to know, but what does that have to do with a health inspector, aren’t they different departments?”
“Yes, but the Sheriff is a good-ole-boy with lots of connections. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he was friends with a director at the health department.”
Blake rubbed his temples. “Then, it’s my fault the restaurant got shut down. I'm sorry I screwed things up for you guys. I…”
Donna cut him off. “This is NOT your fault, Blake. This is the typical bull-sh…crap that we have to put up with as business owners.”
“She’s right, son. Remember how long it took us to get the renovations permit approved? It turns out, the government moves at a snail’s pace unless you go through the right people. The minute we hired that architect, we were approved overnight.”
“Yeah, but I know how much work you guys put into it, and I hate the fact that it was something I did that caused it to be taken away from you.”
“Well, like you said before, in a few months it's all going away anyway,” his father reminded him. “This way, at least we’ll have more time to spend helping you.”
His mother frowned. “If this has changed, what about the Mega-bowl?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like you said, you’ve changed things. What if this time, Cincinnati doesn’t win? Or, what if the score’s different?”
Blake frowned. “I can’t see how anything I did here could change the outcome halfway across the country.”
“Well, cash takes two days to settle before you can do anything with it,” Peter informed him. “Honestly, it’ll probably be Monday before we can place the bet. We’ll have until then to change our minds.”
Blake yawned.
“You’re probably tired from doing that combat thing all day. Don’t you worry about us, just get some sleep and be safe, okay?”
He smiled. “Will do. Love ya.”
“Love you, too,” his parents replied.
----------------------------------------
Blake woke bright and early the next day to something scratching at the side of his tent. A small silhouette busied itself with the corner of the door. Blake clapped his hands loudly and the small animal ran off into the Junipers.
Unlike the day before, his muscles were not sore, and he was not exhausted. He was, however, ravenously hungry. Despite not needing caffeine to come fully awake, he made himself a pot of coffee on the camp stove. He then heated a meal for breakfast while he savored the freshly brewed grounds. After he finished his new morning routine, clothed himself in his new armor, and donned the annoying earring, he was ready to return to the portal.
He arrived at the goblin planet at night, and stood alone in a grassy field as he considered the combat scenario. Goblins held another of their species captive, and he needed to safely extract the prisoner. That was in addition to eliminating the group responsible.
The complication annoyed him, as it would make the entire scenario far more dangerous. After all, if the prisoner died, he would fail the mission and the portal would refuse to open the way back to Earth. He would be stuck on the goblin planet forever.
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I miss my old team.
Missions like these were far easier with a party. His companions could keep the goblins busy while he rushed in and extracted the target. He chuckled at the memory of one scenario when Montgomery captivated an entire goblin band with an elaborate dance.
Instead, he was forced to stand his ground and protect the bound captive. In the end, he took multiple shallow wounds in his efforts to keep the hostage alive.
Other than that, the mission went smoothly.
After the last enemy goblin died, his interface informed him that the scenario was complete. He passed on accepting the reward and sent Metal to look for the hidden treasure. He practically ripped his gaudy earring from his head.
“Okay, let’s set you free.”
He bent down and untied the captive prisoner. When the last rope fell away, the goblin scrambled away on its hands and feet and bolted for the hills in the distance.
“What? No ‘thank you’?”
While he waited for his map to be fully explored by his companion, he reviewed his status and noted he held over seventeen million nano. Now that he was no longer in combat, he immediately wanted to enhance an attribute.
The problem was, which one.
He had already enhanced his physical power three times, and was tempted to increase it again. In his opinion, it was the most important attribute right now as it not only increased his strength, but also his speed. The goblins could not keep up with him.
When he saw that only two of his attributes were below ten, however, he asked his companion a question.
Hey Metal, do you know anything about achievements?
Yes.
Blake waited for the wraith to continue, but it remained silent. With a sigh, he changed the question into an order and tried again.
Tell me everything you know about achievements.
Achievements are awarded to people who put themselves at risk and accomplish feats. Some achievements are more difficult to obtain than others, and their rewards generally reflect this. There are also achievements that are granted only to a single member of a species.
I’ve been granted multiple ‘first’ achievements. One of them was for being the first human to have an attribute above ten. Will I get another for having all of my attributes above ten?
I do not know. Every time the Architect assimilates a new species, it changes the achievements and their rewards based upon the psyche of the race.
Is it possible I’ll get another achievement if I bring all my attributes over ten?
Yes.
Is it possible to get one if I bring my attributes over eleven point five, three?
Yes.
Blake rolled his eyes. His last question was meant to test how useful the information from the wraith was. It turned out that his companion’s information about the system was useless, just as he expected. Moreover, if he asked for advice, it would likely take him down a path that would lead to his own death. Then, it would be free.
Well, at least you’re good for scouting and distractions.
After a bit more thought, he decided to increase his physical stamina. Bringing the attribute above ten and granting himself superhuman endurance was in no way a waste, and would be useful for defeating hordes of goblins.
Blake spent the ten million nano to enhance his physical stamina. After the currency was expended, he was left with almost seven and a half million. He mentally calculated his average nano gain and realized he would be able to upgrade another attribute in the next dungeon. Once the nanomachines finished enhancing his physical stamina, only magical stamina would remain below ten. When he gained another three million nano, he could upgrade it to see if he could gain another achievement.
If, however, he did not receive a reward from upgrading magical stamina, it would be a waste of nano. He did not have access to any of the four types of energy. And, even if he did, in his opinion, magical stamina was the least useful of all attributes, as it would only increase the amount of energy he had access to. Running out of fuel for his spells would only become a problem far into his future. For the next year, he would be limited by spell recharge periods rather than his energy supply.
Blake absently rubbed his sore arm where he was injured during the protection scenario. The goblin’s dagger failed to pierce his skin, but it did leave a bruise. Unfortunately, he would have to deal with the injury for the next few days. Without a healing spell or potion, his body healed at roughly the same speed as before.
Maybe I should upgrade my physical resistance. It’d be nice to walk around invulnerable.
Despite the appeal, he dismissed the plan immediately. It would work very well against the weak goblins he fought now. However, in the future, he would fight far more dangerous foes. If he did not have enough strength to penetrate their thick armor, he would surely die.
Thirty minutes later, Metal informed him that it had finished scouting all land within the scenario boundary. Blake opened the map and searched for the now familiar question mark, eager to find out what the treasure was so he could claim the reward for completing the scenario. There was no way he would make the same mistake as before.
Huh? Are you sure you scouted everything Metal? I don’t see the treasure.
Yes.
Why’s there no treasure, then?
Not every scenario contains a hidden reward.
Blake sensed a bit of smug satisfaction in Metal’s communication.
Oh.
Because treasures were so difficult to find, he assumed they were always present, only hidden too well. It was why most groups never bothered to look for the bounty in the first place. He dismissed Metal.
Okay, I guess I’ll just choose my reward then.
He opened the interface and confirmed he wanted to choose his reward. Four objects appeared before his eyes, however, two were objects he already owned. Of the two useful items, one was a ring, and the other a six-foot spear.
The weapon would be incredibly useful, but was too long to be easily transported. However, once he gained and upgraded his spatial storage skill, he would reconsider a similar reward. The ring was a thin gold band that weighed less than an ounce and increased his movement speed by one percent.
It was far more discreet than his earring. He immediately selected the reward, and the tiny jewelry began to assemble before him.
Fabrication took just three minutes. When it fell to the ground, he immediately slipped the ring on, and stepped through the portal to Earth, eager to complete another scenario.
However, before he leapt off the ledge and into the portal again, he warmed up another meal. He was only gone for a few hours, but his stomach already rebelled. His increased hunger concerned him, as he did not remember requiring more food in his past. He debated consulting his companion about the phenomenon, and decided to go ahead and ask. All he risked by asking was wasted time. While he cooked his meal, he resummoned the wraith and asked his question.
Hey Metal, I seem to be a lot hungrier than I used to be. Do you know why?
No.
Blake snorted. He expected the answer, and was not surprised by the wraith’s lack of knowledge.
Although, maybe it’s the phrasing. Hey Metal, give me your best explanation for why I am hungrier than normal, even if it is just a guess.
You have tens of millions of nanomachines in your body, enhancing it. They require energy to function. Once you gain access to an external energy source through your combat classification, that energy will power the nano.
The explanation was sound. Ten years ago, he purchased a single class before he even maxed out his attributes. Now, he had no class and over three full levels worth of attributes. And, he still had another eight attribute enhancements to go. After that, if he wanted more, he would be forced to purchase a class. Those eight enhancements would add another eighty million nanomachines to his body that would need to be powered.
Actually, that’s not right, it’s even more.
His hunger must have muddled his thoughts. The twenty-two percent increase his achievements granted him did not come for free. Every time he spent ten million nano to enhance an attribute, the Architect granted him an additional two hundred and twenty thousand nano for free.
What happens if my body can’t handle all this nano? Shit! What happens if I die because I try to save up a billion nano for the faction and don’t have a class?
He immediately consulted his companion.
Hey Metal, does my unspent nano require power as well?
Yes.
Does it require the same amount of power as the nano enhancing my body?
No.
How much less power does it use?
I do not know.
Guess.
Unspent nano uses perhaps ninety-five percent less power.
Blake let out a sigh of relief.