For clearing a higher level combat scenario by yourself, your achievement has been upgraded. - [Solo Warrior] → [Elite Solo Warrior]

The [Elite Solo Warrior] achievement increases your attributes by twenty-five percent.

Holy shit!

Blake eagerly opened his status to see how many attributes he would gain.

Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity

Combat Classification - None

Race - Tier I

Attributes - Increased by 37%

Physical Power - 19.5(21.9)

Physical Stamina - 13.4(15.1)

Physical Resistance - 11(12.3)

Magic Power - 11(12.3)

Magic Stamina - 11(12.3)

Magic Resistance - 12.2(13.7)[1]

Achievements -

First Kill

First Clear

First Solo Clear

Directive Enthusiast

Elite Solo Warrior

Slayer II

Scavenger Prime

Super Human

General Skills -

Summon Companion

Spatial Storage

Analyze

Nano - 46,145k

He not only gained over forty million nano for killing the three higher level Ursa, but the achievement he received granted him almost another full level worth of attributes. In his past life, Blake had not held this much power until he was level four, years after Invasion day.

If Elite Solo Warrior gives me 25% more, what happens if I solo a scenario two levels above me?

The idea was heady, but he forcibly reigned himself in. What he just did was incredibly dangerous. If he died inside a scenario, his parents and brother would die, as well as the vast majority of humanity. He could see himself trying for the achievement in the future, but until he gained a class, he would stick with a single level above him. That was difficult enough, although his new attributes would make it far easier.

He laughed at the thought of Rajesh’s reaction if he could see the achievement.

Blake’s stomach suddenly rumbled.

He retrieved a bottle of water from his spatial storage and snagged a protein bar from his pocket. The snack took the edge off his hunger, but he would need to eat again soon.

I just ate two meals!

Despite gorging himself just before he entered the scenario a couple of hours prior, he was already ravenously hungry. The new attributes he received would only make things worse. Blake had just gained another hundred million active nanomachines which needed to be powered by his body.

Maybe I should bring a backpack of food to the scenarios and leave it by the portal. If I get stuck in one of these for five or six hours, that would be bad.

His new reality frightened him. He needed to eat large amounts of food every couple of hours or risk dying of starvation. Blake had never heard of anything similar occurring in his past life, and he wondered how long he could continue before he was forced to purchase a class by his metabolism.

Yeah, upgrading the achievement again doesn’t sound like a good idea right now.

He devoured another protein bar while he pondered the consequences. Even if he was able to defeat a scenario two or even three levels above him, the reward might kill him. At this point, if he were to gain another one or two levels worth of attributes, he would no longer be able to function normally. He would be forced to shovel food down his throat all day.

To get his mind off the issue, he adjusted the way his interface showed him nano.

If I need to save up for a billion, the numbers are going to get ridiculous.

Blake instructed his interface to divide all nano totals by a million and round down rather than a thousand. Once the change completed, he checked his status and grinned at the result.

Nano - 46m

Much better.

The ‘m’ attached to the end showed the new unit displayed, mega-nano. Once he reached a thousand, or a giga-nano, he could form his faction.

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Blake opened up his notifications to choose his scenario completion reward. Four objects appeared in his vision like a hologram. They rotated slowly before him and were labeled with information that described the object in detail.

The first option was plated leather armor. Like his old jerkin, it did not cover his shoulders. However, metal plates were attached throughout the armor in order to increase the protection it provided. The descriptions explained that the durability of the entire armor was enhanced by nanomachines to increase its effectiveness dramatically.

I wonder if it’ll hold up to an Ursa’s attack.

Blake kept it in mind and moved on to the second option, a set of leather and plate bracers, similar to the chest piece, that had an identical enhancement.

The third item was a silver necklace with an emerald, which would increase his Physical Power by two. It sounded amazing, but he was worried it would worsen his condition.

His last option was a quiver that would produce a steel-tipped arrow every five minutes until its storage was filled. It could hold twenty-five projectiles total, and was essential for anyone who wanted to be an archer. It was a rare reward, and if Blake already had a bow, he would have chosen it immediately.

He wondered if his companion had any insight.

Hey Metal, I have a question. If I were to choose a necklace that increased my Physical Power by two, would the nanomachines be fueled by me or the item itself?

Every nano-enhanced item has a connection to a power source that provides energy to the nanomachines within it. The greater the enhancement, the stronger the source needed.

So, if I wear it, I won’t be providing any energy to it myself?

Correct.

Blake grinned excitedly and chose the necklace.

I guess a companion’s not so useless after all.

He could not believe how little he actually knew about the way nanomachines worked. In his previous life, he gained a class fairly early on. He did not realize it at the time, but it provided energy to his nanomachines, so his body was not taxed.

Blake had known plenty of people who crafted items with a non-combat class, but had never bothered to ask exactly how their products were made. To him, it was a simple transaction. He exchanged the nano he received from killing monsters to them and received a crafted item in return.

Metal might know a lot more about how a faction city works as well.

While Blake waited for his reward to assemble, he slowly descended the cliff face to retrieve his spear. The rock remained slick from the rain, so he moved carefully. Without any footwear, the process was even more difficult. He had already assessed the damage to his left boot, and realized he would be better off leaving the pair behind. Luckily, he had a spare set back at the fire tower.

Finally reunited with his favored weapon, he sat on a boulder and contacted his parents. After a few seconds, the holo-chat connected, and they both appeared in his vision. Peter and Donna were seated next to each other on the living room couch, with a bag of popcorn in hand.

Blake grinned. “Did I interrupt movie night?”

“It’s fine,” his father assured him. “The movie’s not very good, anyway.”

His mother gave Peter a sharp look before she turned back to Blake and asked, “We appreciate the call. How are things going with you?”

“Extremely well, actually.” Then he added, “Well… except for the whole hunger thing anyway. I got a lot stronger after this last scenario, so now I think I’m going to go through food even faster.”

His father frowned.

“Are you sure that nano stuff is safe?” Donna asked in concern.

Blake nodded. “It’s safe, but I don’t have a class yet, so I have to supply the energy to the nanos myself.” When he saw that she was about to ask another question, he added, “Don’t worry about that, mom. I just need to eat more until I get a class.”

“If you say so…” she replied, doubtfully.

“Well, there is some good news. I think I’ll have enough nano to create a faction in two weeks instead of the months it was going to take before.”

“What changed?” His father asked.

“Oh, I’m just completing higher level scenarios, that’s all.”

Peter leaned forward on the couch. “Wouldn’t that be more dangerous?”

“Not for me,” he lied.

Neither of his parents looked convinced, so he quickly redirected the conversation before they could ask more questions. “So, I know we don’t have the money yet, but we need to buy the land sooner than I originally thought. I want to be able to start building the town the moment I buy the faction.”

“Blake,” Donna shook her head. “You can’t just buy land in two weeks, even with cash.”

“Why not?”

“You need to set up an escrow account for the earnest money and do a title search to ensure there aren’t any liens on it. Then you have to set up the title transfer and get a cashier’s check from the bank.”

“What’s a lien?” Blake asked.

His mother sat her bag of popcorn on the end table and leaned forward. “If the property owner owes someone money, the debtor can attach a lien. If the owner doesn’t pay them what they owe, their land can be repossessed to pay off the loan. If there’s a lien on the property, and they sell it, the new owner now owes that debt instead.”

Blake shook his head in disgust. “That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s life,” his mother corrected.

His father interrupted the exchange. “Does the land have to belong to you to build on it?”

“No, I just wanted to avoid the owner calling the police on us when they catch us trespassing.”

“Then why don’t we just lease it?” he asked.

Donna turned to her husband. “That would speed things up, but the owner would have to be willing to do that. Most people sell land because they need the money, not because they don’t want it anymore.”

“Well, in a few days, we’ll be flush with cash. I bet if we offer them enough money, they’ll be more than happy to keep their land. And, like Blake said, we only have to pay them for six months.”

Donna frowned. “That doesn’t seem right. I feel like we should let them know what’s going to happen.”

“No.” Blake stated adamantly. “I could probably convince them the world’s going to end if I showed them Metal, but I’m wanted by the police. We can’t take the risk. You guys will have to handle all contact yourselves.” When he saw that she was still concerned, he added, “Don’t worry, we’re going to build enough housing for hundreds of people. We can invite them all to the faction on Invasion day so they’ll be safe.”

“Hundreds?” His father blurted. “How much land are we going to need?”

“As much as we can get. After Invasion day, ownership won’t matter, but we need as much land as possible beforehand. Ideally, it’ll be flat with plenty of trees, and remote enough that no one can see what we’re doing.”

“That’s a tall order,” Donna stated. “But, we’ll see what we can do.”

“Yeah,” his father stood. “We should probably get started on that right now, no time to finish the movie.”

Donna narrowed her eyes. “You said a romantic comedy was fine.”

“Oh, it is,” he assured her. “We’re just going to be too busy to finish it.”

Donna rolled her eyes.

Blake grinned. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

His mother turned back to him. “Don’t you worry, Blake. We’re more than happy to help.”

“Yeah, especially since the restaurant’s still closed,” his father added. “I’m actually getting antsy with nothing to do all day.”

Blake said goodbye to his parents and climbed back up the cliff to retrieve his scenario reward. Once the jewelry was placed around his neck, he checked his status.

Well, I may look dumb, but that’s going to come in VERY handy.

With the necklace, his Physical Power increased from twenty-one point nine to twenty-three point nine. Two extra strength and speed would allow him to evade attacks easier and pierce through the thick Ursa hide.

The necklace increased his Physical Power immediately. He did not need to wait an hour or two for the change to slowly take effect. Unfortunately, his achievement bonus did not affect worn items.

Time to go.

Without a secret treasure to uncover, there was no reason to remain any longer in the steamy environment. He was starving and could not wait to get out of the damp leather.