With a moment of peace at hand, Rick took stock of his character sheet. He had dinged twice and made it to level three. During the battle, he had assigned one ability point to gain Soothing Mist, but now he had another, as well as a couple more stat points to assign. When he looked at his character sheet, he saw the system had already assigned a point to stamina for each of the levels he had gained. He had two more points for level three that were waiting for him to assign them. Just like before, he couldn’t assign both to the same stat.
He put one into Magic Affinity and another into strength. Those seemed useful and he wanted to build up a good foundation while he was figuring out how he wanted his build to go.
Then he took a look at his abilities trees. Force Wave was nice, and so was Soothing Mist. Both would hit harder now that he had more points in Magic Affinity.
He was disappointed to see another tier of abilities had not opened up. Apparently, he needed to put more into the abilities he already had before it would unlock the higher level ones. He could put his single point into a first-tier ability that he didn't already have, or he could continue putting points in Force Wave or Soothing Mist. The notation next to these showed Rick he needed four more in a single ability one to open up the next higher tier.
He was considering his options when someone asked in a thick German accent, "Does that thing hurt?"
He looked up. One of the soldiers was pointing to the lizard still chomped onto his hand.
Rick had almost forgotten about it. "Not really." He held his hand up and waved it back and forth. The lizard's teeth were still buried in his hand. Its beady eyes glared at him. It tried to hiss, but with its mouth full of his hand, it came out like it was blowing a raspberry.
“Somehow it's equipped as a weapon.”
"A weapon?" The German asked in disbelief. Rick couldn't remember his name, and his jumpsuit was so torn up the name tag hadn't survived. There had to be name tags in this game, right? Rick started looking through the menus. The [Social] tab seemed promising. He opened it and a million options zoomed around him. [Chat Channels Enabled: None. Enable General Chat?] He shuddered and resolved never to use that one. [Contacts] expanded into a list containing one name: Gambit. Interestingly, not his real name, but his gamer tag. Gambit must already have figured out how to set his nametag. Rick dug around and found where to change his pretentious sounding “Roderick Staunton-Jones” to the “Rick” he’d adopted in middle school after one too many swirly incidents.
Other soldiers gathered around. "How were you wielding that?” They looked incredulous.
“I don’t know how it works.” He was still distracted, trying to figure things out.
One of them was female, with close-cropped blond hair and biceps bigger than Rick’s. She peered at his rat. “If you unequip it, would it attack?"
Rick shrugged. "How should I know? Hey, do me a favor.” He held out his left hand, and she, after staring, shook it.
A new contact joined Gambit. [Captain Vera Laurence is now in your contacts!]
Well, that answered that. "Where can we get weapons?" the German asked.
Rick shook his head. "I don't recommend this technique. Hey, shake my hand and we’ll be in each other’s contacts.”
The German stared at the lizard before shaking Rick’s other hand. [Hauptmann Gerhardt Prandl is now in your contacts!]
Gambit showed off his rather bedraggled-looking stick. "There's plenty of both in the grove, but watch out for the level three monsters dropping on your head."
The soldiers exchanged looks, clearly wondering if he was joking.
Rick inspected Gambit's stick. [Flimsy branch. Melee weapon. Damage two to seven. Chance of breaking on each attack.]
He really hoped they would find a vendor soon, and hopefully one that took payment in rat leather.
Most of the soldiers wandered off, leaving the loner with them. He cleared his throat.
“So, uh. Hi.” The new guy eyed him and Gambit warily.
[Gambit has added Lieutenant Daniel Shepherd to your party! Lieutenant Daniel Shepherd is now in your contacts list!]
“Call me Gambit,” the Mongolian man said cheerfully. “This is Rick.”
“Daniel,” the guy muttered. “Thanks for adding me.”
Rick grunted. He was distracted digging into the menu system again. He finally found what he was looking for: the mini-map. He was surprised to see it was already displayed on his interface. It was set to auto-hide in combat and had all of the options turned off for display overlays. No terrain, no monsters, no roads, no nothing. So naturally, it was invisible.
Rick told everyone about his find. Prandl mentioned he had already found it, and the colonel gave him a dressing down for not having communicated to everyone else. Rick sympathized with the German. There had just been so little time and so many game mechanics to figure out.
He glanced at his map again, finally figuring out how to expand it, enlarging the display and increasing the distance it showed to around double. Now Rick spotted something that meant they had a decision to make.
He rounded up Gambit and the new guy as the colonel barked orders for his team to begin grinding. “We’re going to alternate between the level 1s up on the ridge and the level 2s here on the slope until those didn't seem to give much experience. Then, we move down into the trees and grind on the level 3s.”
Overall, that seemed like a good plan. This place had been dangerous and unrelenting so far. It was safest to get as strong as possible and be slow about charging into new areas. If they walked into a nest of level 10s right now, they would probably be wiped out in an instant. On the other hand, Rick was itching to get out there and start figuring out the rules. Team Technique sure wouldn’t be sticking to safe and easy grinding, and he felt the need to keep up with his old team.
Rick approached the colonel, holding out his hand. “We can exchange messages if we have each other as contacts,” he explained.
The colonel nodded. “Good thinking. Share information, and we increase all our chances. I’ll pass along anything we learn.”
As the colonel and his men moved out, leaving Gambit and the odd-man-out soldier Daniel, Rick told them what he had found. “There's a town at the edge of my map when I expand it. It says Stonespire. I think we should go there and take stock of what we've learned. There could be quests and vendors."
"The soldiers have the right idea," Gambit pointed out. "The more we level up, the better."
"That's true. And I want to get back to that as quickly as possible. But we have a lot to learn."
Gambit nodded. "Yes, knowing is half the battle."
Rick looked at him sharply. "Really? GI Joe?"
"Of course. Duke is the wisest of the Joes."
Rick just looked at him for a moment. The new guy, Daniel, had his brow furrowed as he did something with his interface. It was easy to spot when someone got that vacant expression.
"Here boss, I made another headband," Gambit handed Rick a strip of leather.
He inspected it, but it had no stats. Just a simple leather headband. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to waste all our leather like this."
"Why not? I've already gotten my skill up to level 7."
"7 already? Didn't you just make two of these?"
"Three actually. But I came in with a few points. Leatherworking used to be a hobby of mine back in high school before I got into the band."
"I think I found a safer path." Daniel spoke up for the first time since the others had left. "If you toggle the paths and roads overlay, there's one on this slope further that way." He pointed in the direction Rick had been thinking of as east. Without a better plan, Rick and Gambit agreed and the trio set off.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The path came up through the trees, then turned and went along the lip of the ridge that bordered the valley. From there, Rick had a great view of the lands all around. To the south, the lands were rolling hills of the green and red patched desert. He caught glimpses of more trees. Rick suspected those grew near water, like in the deserts he was familiar with. There must have been another creek in that direction, or this one looped around.
To the north, the land was rougher. In the distance, great slabs of rock had been tilted up at crazy angles, creating what looked like a labyrinth of stone. Rick hope they wouldn't have to go into a place like that until they’d gotten a number of more levels. Many more levels. And some real gear.
They kept an eye out as they moved along, but they also talked
After two months on the space cruiser, it seemed like he should know everyone’s name by heart. But he’d been trying to avoid everyone else. Daniel was fit and focused, similar to the other soldiers, but something about him struck Rick differently. He couldn't put his finger on it.
"So, Daniel, why do you think they kicked you?" Rick didn't like beating around the bush.
"They didn't kick me," Daniel replied.
Gambit interrupted, sporting a big grin. "Hey man, it's cool. We're the outcasts too, right? I got kicked 'cause I was Mongolian, see? Those Chinese never trusted me. And Rick here, well, everybody knows Technique hates him."
Rick nodded. "Exactly."
Daniel shrugged and sighed. "Yeah, okay. It's no big deal, really. I'm EOD, and there isn't really a need for that here, is there?"
"EOD?" Gambit asked.
"He's bomb squad," Rick filled in.
Daniel nodded. "That's right, explosive ordnance disposal."
Comprehension dawned on Gambit. He tilted his head to one side. "So, you know bombs, huh? Can you make 'em and set 'em off?"
Daniel shrugged again. "Sure, EOD's trained on all sorts of improvised explosive devices."
Rick and Gambit exchanged a look. Their grins both grew as they shared the same thought.
"Holy shit, man," Gambit said, his voice in awe. "Those GI Joes, did they know this system has crafting?"
Daniel frowned. "What's crafting?"
Rick's grin was ear to ear now. "What have you been putting your stat points in?"
Daniel's brow was furrowed in confusion, clearly not understanding their reactions. "I've been saving them."
"And your ability points?"
"Those too.” He shrugged again. "I wasn't sure what would be most useful. If you’ve got ideas I’m all ears."
Rick laughed out loud, while Daniel looked confused. Gambit rubbed his hands together. "Man, we have got to get you to a town."
"I don't understand."
"Oh, you will, man, you will. Keep saving those points, 'cause this is gonna be good."
Rick nodded. Daniel might be a gaming noob, but Gambit wasn't, and the soldier seemed willing to take advice. Maybe this group would shape up after all.
They moved out, headed for the village cautiously. The path was easy to follow, a well-worn patch of soil several feet wide. Rick moved carefully and made sure the others were alert as well. He expected a rat or lizard creature to jump out at them at any moment. They passed a boulder field that looked perfect for mobs to spawn in, but nothing appeared. Here and there the path topped out above the creek. Along it were more clusters of trees, which no doubt also held dangers. But the trail never got near them. It was like in a number of games Rick had played; if he stuck to the path, there weren’t too many threats.
The village, when they reached it, was actually a spire of rock. Thirty meters tall and several dozen across. The spire was honeycombed with openings. Most were a half-circle shape, small like windows, but others were larger and opened out onto ledges or ramps. Rick saw no sign of life at first, but as they got closer he realized what he had taken for two lumps of stone on either side of the trail where it reached the base of the spire were actually misshapen brown creatures. He inspected them. [Stonespire Guard, level 60. These guys have been standing around bored for ten million years. They would probably love for you to put a toe out of line. Fortunately, Rorks are a sedentary lot and they would rather you just leave them the hell alone.] The description was more flavorful than Rick had seen before. Odd.
The Rorks were about five feet tall with a leathery, mottled brown hide. They had two sets of arms, both stubby and muscular, folded across their chests. They wore leather loincloths that blended almost perfectly with their skin. From the waistband dangled a pair of stone axes. They were chipped and dangerous looking, having apparently seen hard use.
As they approached the guards, one straightened up and unfolded his arms.
"Keep your weapons sheathed in town." his voice was low and gravelly.
Gambit nodded. "Okay."
Daniel looked pointedly at Rick, "I think he means you."
Rick stared at him for a moment. "What? Why would... Oh." He had completely forgotten about the lizard that was chomping onto his hand. Since the puncture wound didn't hurt, and it didn't weigh a lot, he had gotten used to it.
From the character sheet, he selected the weapon and unequipped it. Instantly, there was a stab of pain up his arm. The lizard's mouth opened and fell to the ground at Rick's feet. To his surprise, it didn't jump up and run away, but instead just sat there, glaring up at him. When he inspected it, the system told him it was a: [Spine Feather Lizard. One-hand melee weapon. Damage based on user’s Strength]
"Oh, that's weird," Gambit said. “The system has reclassified it as an item. Hey, can I have it?"
"Uh," Rick mumbled. “Sure.”
Gambit reached down and grabbed the creature around the midsection between its forward two sets of arms. It turned to look at him and hissed, but didn't bite or run away. Then the lizard vanished. “It went right into my inventory.”
"Okay, that's weird. Are you sure you want to keep it? I wouldn't want one of those things in my -- well, you don't really have a bag, do you?"
Gambit shrugged and looked unconcerned. "I don't know, maybe it'll come in handy."
The guards had gone back to their arms folded posture. They made no protest as the team passed them and approached the spire.
[Now entering Stonespire]
"Can we stop and ask for directions?" Daniel said.
"No, I want to look around first."
The trail wound around the base of the spire, past a number of open doors. Daniel peered inside the closest, squinting into the shadows. “What do you think we’ll find here?"
"Vendors, inns, trainers. I have no idea. Depends on how closely this game system aligns with ones in our world."
"It's remarkably similar, isn't it?" Gambit mused aloud. "Why do you think that is? Do you think aliens have had contact with Earth before?"
"I have no idea," Rick said. He was distracted, studying each door frame for anything he could inspect. The first two revealed nothing, but to the left of the third one were some marks on the stone.
The symbol meant nothing to him, but when he inspected it, the system translated. [Tavern: The Broken Axe.] “Now we're getting somewhere.” He stepped through the door and moved out of the opening just far enough for the others to come inside, then stopped and waited for his eyes to adjust. The room was lit by the open door and a shaft of light filtering down from a hole in the ceiling, apparently from an opening higher up in the spire. There were several long tables with benches running their length. Each was big enough to hold five or six humans sitting side by side. There was a large hearth in the corner, but no fire was lit. No one sat at the tables. The place felt like it hadn’t seen customers in a thousand years.
"Adventurers? Huh, haven't had those in a while." The voice was high-pitched and nasally. Mark realized it came from a rork sitting in a large chair near the fire. The chair was wooden with a high back, and in the dim light, he hadn't seen the creature at first. The system helpfully displayed his info. [Borthon, Rork Tavern Keeper, level 10. Non-Combatant Player. Borthon Graveltooth has been an innkeeper for the last 60,000 years, since his father retired and he took over. In that time, he hasn’t seen many customers, so the service might not be too good. Don’t ask for the special.]
60,000 years? What did that mean? Was it literal or was this just made up game backstory?
Rick blinked at the description. Non-combatant player. What the hell was an NCP? Shouldn't it be a non-player character? The description implied this was an actual player, a sentient of some sort. Did that mean it was a human in another form? But where would it have come from? It was certainly acting in character.
"So you don't get adventurers often?" Rick asked in a casual tone. Maybe he could learn something. Conversation in this game apparently was free form and not dialogue options, although he couldn't be sure that would always be the case. Some modern games used a hybrid of the two.
"There's always one or two skulking about. When someone hang out in town all the time, you forget they're supposed adventurers. Plus the odd Rork kid that thinks to try his hand as a combat player. They don't usually last long. If they're smart, they give it up and take a proper trade. If not," the Rork shrugged his upper set of shoulders and left it at that.
"Uh, do you have anything for sale?"
The Rork's cragged face tightened. "What do I look like, a vendor? Nah. Go find a store if you want to buy stuff."
"How much is a room?"
"Two bits for adventurers."
Daniel asked, "How do you stay in business, charging so little if so few come by?"
The innkeeper glared at him and looked surprised at the question. "What? Stay in business? What do you mean?"
Gambit laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder and interrupted. "Never mind. We'll come back for a room later." He caught Rick’s eye, who nodded agreement, and they all turned to leave.
"Suit yourself!" The Rork called after them and then muttered something Rick couldn't make out.
Rick blinked in the bright light. "Well, at least that's a start. Let's see if we can find a store."
CURRENT STATS (Daniel hasn’t assigned any of his free points)
Rick
Gambit
Daniel
Stamina
7
7
7
Strength
6
8
5
Dexterity
6
7
5
Magic Affinity
7
5
5
HP
21
21
21