Jack DeWitt woke up feeling that something very, very wrong had happened.
Every bit of his body hurt from head to toe, and for a few moments, he thought he was going to throw up. Fortunately, all he had was dry heaves and gagging. After about a minute of that, he managed to get his arms to go to his face and rub the grit out of his eyes. Opening them revealed… a tent. It was old and battered, the metal poles spotted with rust and the tarp stained and patched many times over. How’d I get in a tent? he wondered, looking down at himself and embarrassedly finding himself in nothing but ratty underwear.
What happened to my clothes? Where am I?
And where was I before this?
To his frustration, as hard as Jack tried, he couldn’t remember where he’d been before falling asleep and waking up. Even worse, he couldn’t remember anything else either. He had basic knowledge, of course – how to walk, eat, use the bathroom, etc. – but he couldn’t remember where he’d lived, where he’d worked, friends, enemies, family. It was all gone except for his name and the feeling that he’d died unpleasantly. No real specifics, but some bit of fear and terror remained to give Jack the winding down feeling of an adrenaline rush. Shaking his head, he slowly got into a reclining position and looked around him. Lying next to him was a note and a heavy-looking backpack.
Reaching for the note with slightly numb fingers, Jack realized that his nails were long, black, and slightly pointed, not enough to be ‘true’ claws, but still clearly not normal nails. Trying to put that out of his mind, Jack tensed his hand a few times to get the blood flowing and then picked it up. Unfolding it revealed lines of strange dots and dashes that went in vertical lines. Is this some joke? Jack wondered confusedly. What’s happened to me? Where am I? and why is my headache getting worse?
At that moment, something wet and sticky pooled out of Jack’s nose, and he reached up, pulling away… blood. It was red, at least, but it was still concerning as he felt something pulse under his skin. Looking down, he saw strange, silvery, circuit-like veins starting to spread across his skin. They were sparse and simple, but it was still unnatural and uncomfortable, and the headache built up more and more as something blue and square materialized in front of his face. What’s going on- he managed to get out before there was an odd dial-up tone and a scrolling list of words that looked like an old boot-up screen appeared in front of his face.
[DIRECTOR] Interface v.3456.2 integrating…
Signal Strength: Poor
Interface Quality: Poor
Nano-Mesh: Basic
Nano-Capacity: Low
Nano-Quality: Poor
Welcome, User.
Jack stared at the box in shock for a few moments before it blinked away. “What… what was that?” he asked in confusion. Even his voice felt different. He couldn’t remember how it’d originally sounded, but this new voice sounded strange. Just like the rest of his body. What’s happened to me? he wondered. This – all of this – is wrong. Why do I have claws? Why am I in a tent? And why are blue boxes with text floating in front of my face? And why can’t I read? Picking up the paper again, Jack scanned the strange text, only to realize… something strange.
He could read it now.
Dear Kesh:
If you’re reading this, that means you are still alive. I’m sorry we left you, but the Sawbones said you had a ‘zero-point-six chance of survival.’ There was no way we could drag you back to Salt Flats in the state we were in at the time of writing. I’ve left you a pack with supplies and some clothes. I wish I could give you better, but I can’t risk some filthy Scavs getting their hands on the good stuff.
Sincerely,
Amethyst.
P.S. If you can manage, meet us at Salt Flats, if we’re still there.
Who’s Kesh? Jack thought, looking over at the bag before setting the paper down and crawling over to it. Carefully opening the backpack, he pulled out a set of clothes that consisted of a flannel shirt, leather pants, suspenders, and a set of hiking boots. Gratefully slipping them on, the man was about to continue rooting through the bag when a beep! sound pinged in his ear, and yet another blue box appeared.
Quest initiated! [The Basics of Survival]
Waking up in an unfamiliar place with no memory is dangerous, and with no lay of the land, high stats, and lack of Class, possibly lethal! Familiarize yourself with your Character Sheet and choose a class to hopefully stay alive.
Objective 1: Open up your Character Sheet
Objective 2: Choose a class.
Hint: Think or say ‘open sheet’ to open your Character Sheet.
O… kay… Jack thought as the box disappeared. Open Sheet?
Lo and behold, a box appeared, this one much longer than the previous ones.
Name: Jack DeWitt
Species: Shunted [Basic]
Class: None
Species Rank: 0
Class Rank: N/A
Experience: 0/50
Character Points: 4
Wounds: 60/60
Stamina: 45/45
Nano’s: 10/10
Agility: 4
Vitality: 4
Perception: 4
Willpower: 3
Presence: 3
Empathy: 4
Skills [Physical]: [NULL]
Skills [Mental]: [NULL]
Skills [Social]: [NULL]
Nano Skills: [NULL]
Flaws: Unnatural Appearance
What’s a ‘Shunted?’ Jack wondered, confused and a little panicked. I… I thought I was a human. Homo Sapiens… whatever that means. So, why am I not human? As the man tried to figure this out, a beep sounded, and yet another box blinked into his vision.
Congratulations!
Step 1 of your quest is complete! Please proceed to step 2 by choosing your Basic class! You can’t change your class once confirmed, but you can advance it over time as you rank up your class.
With that, the box expanded to reveal a few dozen mini-boxes, each with a word on it, such as Ruffian or Scavenger. It took a few minutes to comb through the box, as each mini-box had a description that went alongside it. However, one finally caught Jack’s eye.
Class: Survivalist
Strengths: Broad knowledge, above-average toughness.
Weaknesses: Lack of specialization in skills.
Fury Type: Variable [Lower damage]
Description: Survivalists are hard-bitten explorers who are too tough to be culled by ordinary dangers. A high-rank Survivalist can laugh off many poisons, the Rot, and even bullets (sometimes). Their wide range of knowledge also allows them to work in various dangerous situations. Perhaps their most notable ability is a variable Fury type, of which they can choose between brawling, shooting, and meleeing before entering Fury at the cost of less damage compared to ‘locked in’ Fury modes.
However, Survivalists' strengths are also their greatest weaknesses—they lack extreme specialization in any field, making them masters of none.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Having a broad repertoire appealed to Jack, and though he didn’t fully understand the description (or how the boxes themselves worked,) nonetheless, being tough seemed useful. Pressing on the box again, he got a Select? Y/N. With that, he selected it and felt something shift within him. Something wet dribbled down his nose again, and the circuit-veins raised across his skin once more. He grunted, falling to the ground as pain pulsed across his body, pure knowledge being forced into his very mind. After what felt like an eternity, the overload finally stopped, and Jack lay there, gasping and trying to calm his racing heart.
Quest Complete! [The Basics of Survival]
While far from being the most powerful thing in the Wasteland, you are certainly a notably more difficult threat. Collect the supplies by you to start your next Quest!
Looking over at the backpack, Jack crawled over to it, opening it to thankfully find clothes consisting of a flannel shirt, leather jacket, suspenders, canvas pants, and a pair of boots and socks. At least I’m not in my underwear anymore… he thought with relief, quickly putting on the clothes. Rummaging through the backpack also revealed a pair of glass goggles, a knife, an angle flashlight, a meager amount of preserved food, a canteen, and… a shotgun and ammunition belt. With actual ammunition.
Admittedly, it was made out of a steel pipe, wood grip, and a crude top-oriented trigger, but it was still a gun and came with six improvised-looking shells, two a dull green, the others maroon. Inspecting the thing, Jack felt a click in his brain, and a box popped up:
Pipe Gun (Shotgun-Style)
Scarcity: Common
Range: Very Short/Cone (Shotshell); Short (Slug)
Capacity: 1 Shotgun Shell/Slug
Damage (Shotshell): 40/8 (individual pellets) [Homemade/LQ Ammo]; 80/8 (individual pellets) [Ancient/HQ Ammo]
Damage (Slug): 40 [Homemade/LQ Ammo] 80 [Ancient/HQ Ammo]
Special Abilities: None
Description: A crude, homemade shotgun fired by fanning the trigger on the top. Both shotshells and slugs can be used, though both deal mediocre damage for their weapon types. With a high spread and a sluggish reload speed, this weapon excels in crowd control and close-quarters combat, while severely lacking in accuracy or rapid fire.
Well, that’s useful…. Jack through, strapping the ammo belt across his chest and inserting a shell… or at least trying to. It took a minute to force open the lock and slide a red shell in, so Jack was guessing it either needed to be oiled or was not intended to be a quick-reopen weapon. He quickly shoved the gun into its accompanying hip holster.
As the Shunted slung the backpack along his shoulder, yet another ding sounded, and another one of the quickly becoming familiar blue boxes made itself apparent.
Quest Initiated! [On the Road]
Lost, alone, and without a Domar to your name, you must now travel the Wasteland to find the settlement Salt Flats. However, the supplies you do have are unlikely to get you all the way there… Unless you find a vehicle.
Objective 1: Find supplies.
Objective 2: Find means of transportation.
Objective 3: Make headway to Salt Flats.
This quest was more complex-looking than the previous, and Jack wasn’t sure he would find much in this barren place. Still, he had little other choice, and at least he had weapons. Standing with more confidence than he felt, Jack exited the tent…
…And found himself in a cave.
It was dry and somewhat large, with crude metal poles erected to keep the weight from collapsing. No less than six other tents populated the interior, all as patched and battered as the one Jack had just crawled out of. A few firepits were erected as well, and by the ashes in them, were used quite frequently. On the left side of the cave is an opening that appears to lead into a mid-sized ravine. Guess that’s the way out… Jack thought before starting to walk towards the exit. And for the first time in his memory, Jack saw the world.
Admittedly, it was slightly unimpressive, consisting of a dry, dull, sandy ravine. Scattered around the entrance to the cave were tons of junk and trash, from pieces of scrap metal to what looked like faded food can labels. None of it looked useful, and staring only read [GARBAGE]. Giving that up, Jack turned to the much more important dilemma of figuring out which way to go. Either way looked the same, and the Shunted resorted to deciding via deciding to go with his dominant hand – left.
The way left was narrower and had less sand in it, revealing cracked, rocky ground. I don’t know where this goes, but let’s hope it goes somewhere helpful… Jack hoped before setting off down the path. It wasn’t that large but was thankfully wide enough not to feel cramped. As Jack continued to walk, he noticed the rock walls around him were slowly widening, and he could see the sky above him with greater clarity. It was a smoky, pale blue, and as the wind whistled through, it smelled of ash and dust, and Jack began to wonder what the state of this world was in right now.
Suddenly, a chittering sound echoed from somewhere in front of him, and Jack tensed, pulling the pipe shotgun out of its holster and ready to fan the trigger. The Shunted’s throat gulped as he panned the crude muzzle of his gun around and saw nothing in the shadows ahead.
Then, a large, two-headed lizard scuttled out of the shadows. Both head’s inner eyes were cloudy and blind, while fanged maws snapped at the air, drool dripping between their crooked teeth. “Shit,” Jack muttered, readying the firearm as the lizard-thing pounced. The hand fanned, and the gun roared, stone buckshot spraying out with a good chunk hitting the lizard. However, despite having half of its body ripped open, the thing still stood and charged at Jack. Dropping the gun, Jack pulled out the knife and held it shakily in his hands.
How am I supposed to kill this thing if it can withstand a shotgun blast at this range? The Shunted panicked as the lizard shrieked and charged, Jack swinging with his knife as it got within range. He left a wide cut across the left head’s face but appeared to only make it angry. In response, the lizard leaped at Jack and knocked him to the ground. The knife scattered out of his hand, Jack barely able to keep the mutant reptile from biting his throat out.
Eventually, the lizard bit down on Jack’s arm, digging deep into his flesh and ripping out a chunk of meat. A box popped up in front of him.
Wounds: 52/60
Jack screamed like an animal, grabbing the lizard’s left head and snapping its neck. Immediately, the lizard’s left limbs went limp, and the second head cried out in fear, desperately trying to retreat. In response, Jack grabbed the knife and sank it deep into the right head’s skull. The reptile dropped like a stone, and Jack scrambled away, breathing heavily. A box popped open in front of him.
XP Awarded!
Enemies Defeated: Rot-Lizard [x1]
Experience Points have been added to your tally.
….
You have enough Nanos to create the default Nano Skill [Nano-Spike]. Create? [Y/N]
What? Jack thought confusedly. What does that mean?
NANO SKILLS
Nano-skills are powers created in your body by latent Nanos. They are created by using Nanos to build machinery in a User’s body. Nano’s do not regenerate over time once used – only capacity can be increased – meaning one must use Ancient technology, or drain defeated foes Nano’s to gain more.
Well… that last bit is a little ominous… Jack thought. But a ‘nano-spike’ sounds a little cool.
With trepidation, Jack selected ‘yes’ on the first box, which then disappeared. Immediately, those silvery circuit-like veins appeared on his left arm as something cold and pointy formed in his forearm. It wasn’t painful per se, but it was uncomfortable, and Jack itched his arm constantly until the feeling faded.
Nano-Spike successfully constructed!
0/10 Available Nanos remaining!
A Nano-Spike is a User’s main way of collecting Nanos from defeated enemies, and can even eventually be evolved into a weapon. To extend your Spike, flex your forearm and trigger the new artificial muscles embedded within.
“Here goes nothing…” Jack muttered before flexing the way the box had prompted. A jolt of pain emanated from above his wrist as a silvery, three-inch-long, needle-like spike punched through the muscle and skin above his forearm. Wincing, Jack inspected the thing, before looking at the lizard’s corpse.
This defeated enemy has Nanos!
Insert your Spike into the body and assimilate your opponent Nano’s. Over-absorbing Nano’s will increase your Nano count by an amount equal to the amount over-absorbed.
Looking at the spike, it seemed alien, foreign to Jack. Not something part of his body. However, some part of him was morbidly interested in what would happen if he did. In the end, that part won out. Grimacing, Jack raised the spike and stabbed it into the ‘Rot-Lizard.’ Almost immediately, the circuit-veins bulged on his arms, and the same occurred under the dead reptiles scales. A suctioning feeling built up in Jack’s arm, and the veins on the lizard slowly retreated toward where Jack had inserted his spike. Conversely, the veins on Jack grew longer and greater in complexity. This took all of a minute, and in the end, Jack felt slightly woozy from the feeling. As he pulled out the spike with a wet popping sound, a notification flashed in his face.
Nano’s successfully absorbed! (6)
Your Nano Point count has not increased.
I’m not sure this was worth it… Jack thought as the circuit-veins disappeared under his skin. The feeling of absorbing the lizard’s ‘Nano’s’ almost felt like a violation of its body. Still, the power he felt from absorbing the things was a powerful rush. Retracting his Spike, Jack forced the pipe gun open and pulled out the spent shell before inserting a new one. Shoving it back into its holster, Jack looked over at the path he’d been going down and quickly retrieved his knife. I’m probably going to need this, he thought before continuing down the trail and wherever it led.