"Pick whatever you can! We need everyone to have system access. Remember what the voice said. If you don’t finish selecting your options, you’ll be helpless." Michael O’Neal’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd once more.
“I don’t know what’s going on any more than the rest of you. Either I’m hallucinating or aliens are real and they have robots in our fucking brains and eyeballs!” He scanned the crowd, perhaps looking for a reaction of some kind. All Emily felt was a strange sense of dread. Logically she already understood, but it was different when someone else pointed it out.
Aliens?
“But! We need to be prepared for what’s coming! Focus on anything that can help you fight and survive. Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution seem like our best options. Hit them harder, run away faster, or survive longer!” Sergeant O’Neal’s voice was steady and laced with authority.
He took a deep breath, spinning around to face different sections of the crowd around him each time. “Putting a point in an attribute will increase it by three, doubling one of those stats. You know what that means?” He paused for only a moment, but it was one of those pauses that was long enough to make people question if he was actually waiting for a response.
“We can punch things twice as hard! Let’s give these aliens hell!”
There were a few cheers amongst the crowd, but not many. Everyone was still scared and confused. Nevertheless, people were glad to have someone to look up to. He was a natural leader in a time of uncertainty.
“Let’s go people! Do it. Now!” he commanded, his voice turning sharp.
Emily quickly decides to put her points in to Constitution after reading the description again. Surviving longer sounds pretty good.
> Constitution
> One of the seven Primary Attributes. It aids in your ability to withstand harm and endure harsh conditions; it allows you to effectively regulate your temperature and empowers your immune system. It governs bodily resilience and counters fatigue. It encompasses the Aspect of Death and the Aspect of Infinity, and gives you an innate understanding of your own mortality, and that of others.
She looked at her status again.
> AP: 0/1
> Constitution: 6
He was right. One AP is worth three points. Interesting, she thought, but now wasn’t the time to try and understand the underlying mechanisms of what was happening.
“We need to get a move on! Spend your Skill Point in the same way. Try to focus on anything that synergises with the attribute you picked. If you went for Strength, grab something that lets you smash things!” His instructions were clear. Emily felt a renewed confidence in her choice to pick constitution. After what she’s been through, she knew she could endure anything. More than most people around her, at least. She wasn’t very strong or fast, but this way she was working with what she was good at.
She hadn’t looked at her Skill Selection screen yet. Perhaps she should have before deciding how to invest her attribute point. She was presented with the following options upon opening the screen and attempting to spend her point.
> Skill Selection
> Charge (Common)
> Barkskin (Common)
> Purify (Common, Randomised)
By focusing on the names she could examine each option. She noticed one of the skills said it was randomised, perhaps that means the system was recommending she pick one of the other two. The other word, Common, must be some kind of indicator of how rare it was.
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> Charge (Common)
> Temporarily boost your movement speed while moving in a straight line, dealing increased damage on contact.
I guess I could also use this to run away? She considered. The flexibility was appealing to her, being both offensive and defensive. These descriptions didn’t hold a lot of detail. How much faster was a “boost”? How much increased damage?
> Barkskin (Common)
> Temporarily harden your skin for a small increase in resilience to most forms of damage.
I do like the sound of that… it would synergise with Constitution too, I think
> Purify (Common, Randomised)
> An object you are touching is purified of dirt and simple pathogens.
I’m no hypochondriac but that seems immensely useful for survival. Will we have access to clean water? Emily thought, her mind going to the practical implications of hundreds of people surviving together. Her mind jumped to trekking wild forests and surviving by eating insects and drinking the rain water from makeshift coconut bowls.
All of them sounded like magic to her, though. Perhaps she should have invested in Intelligence and become a Mage.
“We have two minutes left! Don’t forget to pick your Integration Perk! Attribute Point! Skill Point! Integration Perk!” He shouted, reminding everyone of what needed to be done.
Shit
She quickly decided on the Barkskin skill. She hoped they would find clean water somehow, and while charging seemed like a versatile offensive and defensive option, she wasn’t confident about her chances of tackling something that could possibly be bigger than her. Which she imagined would be most things, considering her small frame. Perhaps if she were an American Football player, her choice may have been different.
Next she looked at her Integration Perks.
> Integration Perk Selection
> This is a one-time boon for newly integrated System Denizens in place of a Heritage Perk. You will not be offered this again.
> 1. The way of the Charred Forest (Passive, Uncommon)
> 2. The way of the Elephant (Passive, Common)
> 3. The way of the Ant (Passive, Common, Randomised)
She wasn’t sure what a heritage perk was, but she was glad the System didn’t make it harder on them by limiting their powers. More importantly though, she eyed the name of the first integration perk.
Is the System messing with me?
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> The way of the Charred Forest (Passive, Uncommon)
> You partially recover a small amount of constitution a short time after expending it.
How does it know? Does it know? Is it reading my memories? She thought, creeped out by the idea of everything she ever knew being read by this alien… thing.
How exactly could she expend constitution? Does that mean she can lose the points invested in that attribute? That doesn’t make sense.
Still, the idea of recovering constitution was appealing to her if it meant anything like healing faster, considering how much time she’s spent in and out of hospitals.
She thought it was worth at least checking out the others, despite them only being Common.
> The way of the Elephant (Passive, Common)
> You move slightly faster towards danger.
Is that something Elephants are known for? She wondered.
She couldn’t remember anything from the nature documentaries she had seen, but then, she didn’t have the best memory.
> The way of the Ant (Passive, Common, Randomised)
> You can sense where people were a short time ago, within a small area around you.
That’s… not helpful…. Is it? No. Definitely not.
At least not to her. She could imagine a Detective might find it useful to track people at the scene of a crime, or a Hunter tracking its prey, or… something far worse.
Best not to think about it. We’re all in this together. Right?
It was either The way of Elephant or The way of the Charred Forest. She felt like she should pick the first one, even though she was unsure of what it meant. Being able to move towards danger faster seemed… well, dangerous. Is that something she would want to do?
Maybe if I had this a few years ago… I could have… The thought was too painful to finish. She took a deep breath and forced the memories away.
If the System was going to mock her by giving her these options, then so be it. She’s endured far worse.
“30 Seconds! Finish up and get ready!” Sergeant O’Neal shouted.
Time was running out and she knew she had to make a decision. The idea of bouncing back from beating beaten, like a forest growing from its own charred remains from wildfires, resonated deeply with her.
“15 Seconds! I wish I could tell you what we’ll face on the other side. I know this is terrifying.“ He said, less obnoxiously than his usual tone. “Take a look at the people around you and stick together! Alone we’re weak, but together we’re strong!”
This guy is starting to annoy me. Tone it down a bit with the overly enthusiastic Americanism. Please.
> Setup Complete. You are now a permanent System Denizen.
With her decision made, she exhaled in relief, knowing she was safely locked in, and looked at those around her. Would they actually help her if she got in to trouble? She thought… No. She knew she would help them if it came to it.
I won’t fail. Not this time.
No one knew what to expect but if this really was like a video game, then perhaps it would be killing Goblins or Rats. She hoped for Goblins. Rats were far too cute, so she didn’t want to have to fight them if she could help it.
Her fingernails tingled with anxiety but she was confident things would work out. Things always worked out.
The road to get there might just take a little while.