JESSIE : LEVEL 10
DAY 127 : G-DAY, FOURTHWEEK, DEIMOS, YEAR 1
OUTSKIRTS 2 : GATES 1 : LEGEND
As we approach the closest entry to the largest city any of us has ever seen, or apparently ever will, one thing becomes painfully clear. That being the line. Not exactly the first I’ve ever seen. But definitely the longest. Just a linear progression of misery as everyone trudges one after the other towards the entrance with an air of being stuck in the universe’s least efficient DMV. Which, in a premise-stretched-to-the-point-of-breaking kind of way, it is.
Over the next hour, Ross, Rachel, Mich and I feel all the miles we’ve ever walked as we march to the end of the line. Not nearly soon enough, we arrive. And we wait. And we move forward. And we wait. And we take another step. And we wait. Our new, slower trudge to the city’s entrance is as long as it is gradual. And to make matters worse, beds and chairs don’t have wheels. Maybe…
Can I get like an office chair or something? Kick-rolling myself backwards through this whole thing might actually be kind of fun. But as that idea came to me at least one town too late to help, the only solace I can glean from this whole situation is that at no point does day turn to night. Regardless of how many weeks it feels like the line takes, I know only from the constant sunlight that it is, in fact, still the same day.
But then, what all evidence points to only being a few hours into what felt like months of waiting, something actually happens. Nothing to speed up the line at all, but at least it breaks up the monotony. From this far back, I can only make out the barest details thanks to my enhanced eyesight from a minmaxed Control STAT. So it is, trudging forward on autopilot, I watch in utter bewilderment as five figures rise from just beyond the gate itself. They fly straight up. And up. And up and up, right to the lowest of the three concentric rings encircling the city from above.
After a few seconds, what looks like ten upside-down triangles zip up from the city in chase. As they jet upwards, each pivots at their outermost edges to form a semblance of arms. Eight triangles successfully clamp around a wrist of one of the four figures by the time they get about halfway to the ring.
As the four triangle pairs drag their captured prey back down to the city, the final assailant puts on a burst of speed, accelerating faster upwards than I’ve ever moved horizontally. Or seen anyone move, direction be damned. But this only means it successfully outruns its rescuers. Having thoroughly outpaced its own pursuing triangles, that highest of figures manages to get within what has to be spitting distance of the massive ring before exploding like a firework of meat. A meatwork… No, that’s stupid, even for me.
While it doesn’t stop any blood or viscera from raining down on the city below, the bronze ring itself flashes a brilliant white. But this only lasts a moment. And afterwards, all traces of the splattered meatwork is gone from its once more pristine surface.
Thus concludes the only even slightly interesting thing to happen the entire walk to the front of the line. But we do eventually, finally, without the least semblance of patience left, make it to the gate.
And lest I think that a line of that size could ever be worth it, I blearily pass through what looks like my school’s metal detector on steroids and begin to anticipate the fresh hell of an interrogation waiting me on the other side of this-
But what looks like the autonomous leader of a garrison or something calls over to me in a voice that puts my own boredom to shame. “Alright, off you go then.”
I look over, honestly more surprised about being addressed by him at all.
[ HERO TARGETED: BIVODAN ]
At first glance, he kind of seemed like a fixture of the checkpoint, to be seen but never addressed. Apparently not, though.
For my part, I just blink at him. “Oh… Yeah, ok.” I have questions, of course. Like ‘why was that necessary?’ or ‘isn’t there a faster way to do this?’ and ‘what about a queue system?’. I don’t have the energy for any of that though.
Ross and Rachel already took the same opportunity that I should’ve jumped on to disappear into the city instead of just standing here like a cat staring at a wall.
It didn’t seem that important at the time, but that changes when Mich just can’t keep his mouth shut as he approaches Bivodan after moving through the scanner. “So I’ve been wondering… And all that waiting only made me more curious… Why exactly aren’t towns and cities like this registered as safe zones?”
Bivodan sighs. “You’re Number 27.”
“What?”
“The 27th person I’ve said this to.”
“Said what to?”
“Today.”
Mich blinks at him.
“By ‘safe zone’, I assume you mean the fictional idea of a place where invincibility is a switch you can flip. But it’s not. Not anywhere. There is no City-level option to turn that on. We checked. Therefore, such a thing can not, and will not happen. If this is something you would like to change, kindly bring it up with The Admins. They can be found in the massive tower in the dead center of the city. Can’t miss it. Neither I, nor anyone in the surrounding, yet different jurisdiction can do anything about the issue you’re referencing.”
Mich gives a self-effacing laugh. “I just thought-”
“-That we would opt not to eliminate murder in humanity’s biggest city with the flip of a switch?”
Mich backs up and gestures a half-apology. “Look. I’m sorry I didn’t think about it from the perspective of a city employee. I know what it’s like. I even used to be one myself. I also know the thought process behind deflecting responsibility to a common oppressor. And I think I will, in fact, take it up with the folks at The Tower. In fact, that’s the first thing I’ll do.”
Bivodan sits back down. “Please do. Not that I think you have a chance. But It’d make my job a hell of a lot more tolerable without the constant requests to fix it. I mean why would I have any say at all on how this place functions? It’s like if everybody assumed Rome could dictate how The Vatican ran catholicism. It’s rather frustrating to be constantly put in the position of explaining why I, the first person they see with any authority, no matter how specific to this entryway, don’t have the power to instantly prevent all murder.” He takes a moment to catch his breath after his little rant.
But during that opening, Mich’s eyes light up as though this were the most fascinating topic imaginable. “Really? So wait, are murder investigations still a thing?”
The guy squints up at Mich from his seat. “What? I mean yes. I mean… What?”
“It’s just that with The System, and the victim reviving eight hours later, you could just get a first-hand account directly from them. That’s the kind of thing any court on Earth would literally call a ‘miracle witness’.”
Bivodan chuckles. “Yeah, that’s all fine and dandy, but what if they’re an NPC? What if they lie and pin it on someone else? What if they just plain old didn’t see or target the murderer, but have enough of a hero complex to insist on ‘solving’ the case anyway?”
“But… With The System…”
The guard shakes his head. “What part of ‘You Died’ do you see as indicative of a lead in a murder investigation?”
“Really? There’s no tracking? Or record? Or… How can there not be anything?”
My eyebrows climb my forehead at a pace to match my boredom. I don’t even poke at that weird racism about NPCs because that'll only make it take longer. But, patience already frayed from the line, I’m done waiting to unwrap my present. Even with all that’s happened, I’m still a gambling addict who’s earned her long-awaited hit. “Hey, Mich? Is this at all related to what ‘we need to talk’ about?”
Mich winces with his whole body before pivoting around to face me. “Oh yeah… No. Well, kind of. But not really thought. You should just… I dunno, explore the city? Find an inn? Let’s meet up tomorrow. I’ve still got a few Restaurant Tokens left.”
Now with something about his little ‘talk’ to look forward to, I make my way towards the gate. “Hey Mich?”
“Yeah?”
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“When were you a city employee-” But between one step and the next, I’m utterly bombarded with messages. The first four of which are actually welcome. Literally, in one case.
[ WELCOME TO CENTRAL ]
[ MAIN QUEST COMPLETED: GO TO CENTRAL — XP: 512 — REWARD: 1 RANDOM RARE ITEM OF CHOSEN TYPE ]
[ PLEASE CHOOSE ITEM TYPE ]
[ SIDE QUEST COMPLETED: WALK TO CENTRAL — XP: 32,768 — REWARD: 1 RANDOM LEGENDARY ITEM OF CHOSEN TYPE ]
[ PLEASE CHOOSE ITEM TYPE ]
[ GLOBAL / THOM: FUCK YOU! ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: FUCK YOU ]
[ GLOBAL / THOM: FUCK YOU! ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: FUCK YOU ]
[ GLOBAL / HARI: FUCK ME! ]
[ GLOBAL / THOM: OK ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: SHUT UP ]
[ GLOBAL / HARI: RUDE ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: FUCK YOU ]
[ GLOBAL / HARI: FUCK YOU! ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: FUCK YOU ]
[ GLOBAL / HARI: FUCK YOU! ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: FUCK YOU ]
[ GLOBAL / THOM: YOU'RE BOTH STUPID ]
[ GLOBAL / HARI: I KNOW, RIGHT? ]
[ GLOBAL / DIC: FUCK YOU ]
[ GLOBAL CHAT: MUTED ]
I have to fight myself not to hold my breath since that’s become so antithetical to waiting. I wince over at Mich, head pounding with something akin to a migraine. “Is it gone?”
Mich calls over his shoulder. “Is what gone?”
I sigh in relief. “Thank fucking christ…” On that note, I gamble on which of the two prompts I think is right by picking ‘katana’.
“What?”
[ LEGENDARY KATANA GAINED: MAGATANA - 149 PHY - 191 MAG — WEAPON ART: SWINGS LEAVE A TRAIL OF MAGMA IN THEIR WAKE AND ON ANY OBJECT THE BLADE TOUCHES, DISAPPEARING AFTER 4 SECONDS ]
My first legendary weapon… And before I ever even got an Epic one at that. Those are some numbers though. Not quite as good as I was hoping based on the pattern from Common to Uncommon to Rare. But that would put Unique stuff at like 10,000 base damage, which is clearly ridiculous with how many multipliers I’ve got going for me already.
Although looking at even the numbers right in front of me, I can’t exactly complain. And the lava is cool I guess? Unless it’s like that wet-sword-nonsense again.
Wasting no objective time, I equip it, holding my breath in anticipation before once more remembering how counterproductive that is now.
[ INSUFFICIENT EP ]
Motherfucker… Well, I guess it’s either unequip my head and shoulders or walk around the city without shoes… Actually, wait. If all my armor goes back to Common, then I should have just enough EP for a full set of equipment, minus the accessory.
[ ARMOR UNEQUIPPED ]
[ COMMON ARMOR SET EQUIPPED: SLIZARDIC HEAVY A ]
[ WEAPON UNEQUIPPED ]
[ SECONDARY WEAPON UNEQUIPPED: CONDITIONS NOT MET ]
Goddamn it…
[ LEGENDARY WEAPON EQUIPPED: MAGATANA - 191 PHY - 149 MAG ]
[ RARE SECONDARY WEAPON EQUIPPED: BLADE OF LONGINUS - 96 PHY - 4 MAG ]
A little more System Jank than I’d prefer, but I got there in the end. Even if I was nearly naked for a second there. I covertly look around at the passing trickle of people to find that yep, they definitely seem to have seen something they didn’t expect. Which is why I pick that moment to closely examine my new sword. Eager for anything else to focus on, I take a few practice swings away from said crowd.
The lava trails off the perpetually-lava-covered katana, but it’s like I’m flinging it away. It doesn’t drip. It doesn’t really even splatter so much as schlump uniformly down in a path entirely predictable and controllable by me. It’s so intuitive. And then the mess is gone almost as soon as it lands. But if I hold the sword without doing anything like a swing, the lava stays attached. Almost like a lava lamp. Except it’s a sword… Lava Sword… Katana… Magma Katana… Oooh… Wow, I thought the name was a play on ‘magatama’, but the reality is so much lamer.
At some point into my Magatana-induced trance, Bivodan sounds exasperated as he calls over to me. “Could you please not do that?”
More confused than anything, I stop waving my cool new sword back and forth. Then I start to get mad at why he’s telling me what to do after I went out of my way not to do it near anyone. So, more thanks to the residual impatience from that long wait than anything, I turn to him in a huff. “Why?”
“Because you’re melting the stonework into a tripping hazard. It’ll get repaired on the hourly city reset, but everyone who passes through in the meantime will be at risk of falling over the leftovers of that little private lava rave you’re having.”
I look back at the holes. Oh shit, he’s right. But wait… “Why don’t you just reset the area around your post then?”
He snorts. “You think they’d ever let me near that switch? Although I guess if it was even a thing, that’d make sense for me to have like, a button for that, right? But no. Buildings can be targeted for repairs individually, but infrastructure-level stuff like roads and whatnot is an all-or-nothing kind of thing. And it ain’t free. Pretty sure this gig will never earn me anywhere near what it costs to press that button once.”
Bivodan shakes his head in amazement. “And they do it every hour, on the hour. I don’t know whether to be mad or thankful to be honest. And look at me going on. I guess I’m just on autopilot from explaining it for the fifth time today. And the second time to someone carelessly damaging the city with the reward they got from getting here. But I digress. Keep a lid on it, yeah?” Not waiting for an answer, he turns away in what is clearly a mocking imitation of the very huff I just gave him.
Not really sure what to say to that, I select my other item.
[ RARE ITEM GAINED: MOD STONE ]
Neat… Wait, didn’t Mich ask me something? Um… “Oh, sorry Mich. I guess I got really distracted by my new sword. I muted Central’s global chat. That’s what I was talking about.”
Mich himself just blinks for a moment before his own mental processes catch up to having suddenly received the answer he was stubbornly waiting for. “Not to judge, but what if there’s a city-wide emergency?”
“I guess I’ll just fucking die, then. Better than getting buzzed every half-second by idiots in a pissing contest. Wouldn’t be so bad if not for the reflex to hold my breath whenever I get a notification.”
Mich’s eyes unfocus, clearly reading his own chat log. “That’s… Um, yeah… Fair.”
“Tomorrow then?”
“Tomorrow.”
Then I take off at a jog. But that quickly becomes a run. Before long, I’m sprinting through the wends and winds of the massive utopian metropolis, wind blowing back my long crimson hair. Adapting to the repeating pattern of curves and bends to the city, I incrementally update how I’m taking all these turns. And I move faster. And faster. Soon enough, I’m truly going as fast as I can. Right up until I jerk to a stop, both hands entirely encased in some sort of triangular clamp.
Over the next subjective minute, I instantly realize that those same robots shaped like upside down triangles had not only caught up to me, but put each of my arms in a lock before I even realized they were there. I remember a flash in my Radial Awareness, but my instincts didn’t even have time to make me hold my breath by reflex. Which, by now, it more or less is.
Both automatons talk at exactly the same time. “VIOLATION… EXTREME SPEEDING. SEVERITY… 64 KILOMETERS-PER-HOUR OR MORE ABOVE LIMIT. FINE… 8,192 USD. EXEMPTION… WARNING NOT YET ISSUED. ACCESSING CRIMINAL RECORD… NO CRIMINAL RECORD FOUND. ESTABLISHING CRIMINAL RECORD… CRIMINAL RECORD ESTABLISHED. ISSUING WARNING…”
With no transition, the voice of each automaton becomes a pre-recorded grandmotherly-sounding message. “Why hello there, sweetie. Now, I know you just want to run around and have fun and be young. And that’s a wonderful thing. But you’re a growing-”
The robotic voices return for a single word. “FEMALE.”
Then it switches back. “You’re getting stronger all the time and you need to start thinking about how that affects those around you. When something as big as you moves as fast as you were moving… Well, it really bothers everyone you pass. Maybe their papers get blown all over. Maybe they get pushed into a window. Maybe they get… Hurt. And I know you don’t want that.”
The automated guards hold me, completely still for several seconds before saying anything more. Thankfully, they eventually do. “WARNING ISSUED.” Following the warning, they instantly disappear from my senses.
In the proceeding instant, I fall from where they were holding me about a foot off the ground. Once more, it’s Radial Awareness and time-slowey bullshit to the rescue to keep me from collapsing in a heap. Not that I don’t want to now that my excitement and joy from finally reaching my half-year-long goal has been thoroughly dashed. All the adrenaline or excitement or whatever was pushing me onwards, is gone now. And just like that, the void left by my fled energy is instantly filled with a frustrated mix of indignance, dispondance, and exhaustion.
The last of those are far more intense than the rest as I feel every inch of that line, practically dragging myself into the nearest inn. From there, I grump my way through the doorway to all the instantiated private areas. Automatically processing the payment for one default empty room, I promptly throw down my sand bed, throw myself into the sand, and fall right to sleep hugging my new sheathed Legendary katana. “It’s okay, baby. I won’t replace you right away. Let’s have a little time all to ourselves before that pesky Mythic comes along.”