Calvin - Outpost #846 - Habitation Unit #1421
Calvin awoke to fragmented memories of the horrific day before. Several minutes passed, as he pieced together a coherent series of events, there was a bubbling up of shame and frustration at his powerlessness in the situation he now found himself in.
Any sense of normalcy had been supplanted with blue boxes filled with RPG speak and monotonic synthesized voices dictating what to do and when. However there were now also monsters that could and would actually kill him if he gave them the chance. But the cherry on top of the shit sandwich that was now his reality? He had turned out to be an ineffectual coward, who would only save his own skin while leaving others to die gruesomely, when his time had come to prove himself.
Grabbing the tear stained pillow he had passed out on, he covered his face whilst gripping it tightly and channeled all the feelings at the mess of events and choices of the past day, into a scream that felt like it lasted forever.
Felling the tension finally leave him and also having to come up for air, he tossed the pillow aside and gasped for fresh air with a throat that felt raw. Complaining to himself, he whined ‘why couldn’t this be like a Xinxia or something, where I could just eat magical roots and cultivate in my room all day to get stronger!’
Putting aside the ‘what if’s’ and wishful musings, Calvin managed to direct his thoughts towards a constructive direction and began to try to make use of the information available to him. Letting several minutes pass of just breathing in and out, he collected his thoughts once more, then with a sudden burst of movement he smacked his forehead and proclaimed to the world at large.
“I’m annn IIIIIIIDIOOOOOOT!”
Quickly he willed up his ‘status’ screen to appear, and spent his undistributed stat points he had completely forgotten about from the day before. Not wanting to waste any more time, he put three points into vitality and two into strength, to compliment his unchosen class of sword and board:
STATUS
Name: Calvin
Age: 23
Titles: N/A
Class 1: Apprentice Knight Level: 1
Class 2: N/A
Profession: N/A
HP: 31/31 MP: 22/22
Status Effects: N/A
Vitality: 13
Strength: 10 Dexterity: 7
Intelligence: 9 Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 7 Luck: 4
Undistributed Attribute points: 0
Passives –
Human: + 5 attribute points per level
Lingua System: Able to communicate verbally with any system integrated entity and be understood
Uncommon Fortitude: + 5% vitality
One With The Crowd: + 10% to damage dealt and -15% damage taken when fighting alongside others, -10% damage dealt and + 10% damage taken when fighting alone
Skills – Apprentice Knight
1) Shield Bash (LvL 1): Bash your shield against a single target, stunning the target for 1 second and dealing 150% damage based of the equipped shields block value (Damage, cooldown and mana cost scales with skill level). Cost: 5 Mana, Cast time: 1 second Cooldown: 30 seconds
2) N/A
3) N/A
4) N/A
5) N/A
6) N/A
He wasn’t sure he imagined it or not but he thought he felt a tightening and slight enlarging his muscles along with a surge of energy throughout his very being. Jumping up of the bed and almost landing on his discarded shield and sword from the day before he closed his eyes and took deep breaths followed by controlled exhalations to slow his racing heart.
Opening his eyes he caught a whiff of his personal fragrance and recoiled with a grimace, as if only now entering his own presence. Groaning but being quietly thankful for his own personal shower, he went to the wall facilitating it and after disrobing turned on the black handle for what he assumed was hot water. What came out was definitely water but it had a faint sanitary smell to it. Shrugging as he figured it was probably as safe as anything else in his new room, he got under and cleaned himself.
Having finished and turning off the water Calvin immediately felt a warmth envelop him and bracing himself of a repeat of yesterday’s experience. Yet he was pleasantly surprised with the only result being him completely bereft of water and smelling slightly like a hospital.
Getting dressed in his tattered and torn clothes, he looked to the desk and chair on the opposite wall and noticed a plate containing a stack of pancakes drizzled with what he guessed was maple syrup and a ramekin of butter, besides which was a glass and two, foot tall pitchers, containing what appeared to be orange juice and water.
“Oh thank you and your grandma, white cube of beneficence!”
He said to no one in particular in a slightly sexual tone, before quickly crossing the room to assail his magically appeared and miraculously undefended, still steaming breakfast. Finishing quicker than he thought possible then just sat and basked in the splendor that was his full stomach and cleaned person.
However the longer Calvin sat the more his mind was drawn to the memories of yesterday, not wanting to dwell on them, he smacked his cheeks a bit harder than necessary with dual open palmed slaps and got up, going for where assumed the door had previously formed.
Almost tripping again on his shield and sword he picked them up with and resigned sigh. Continuing his laughably short journey, he reached the blank wall and even though he was expecting it, he was still awed when an aperture to the outside cubist town, formed in front of his very eyes.
Steeling himself and his newfound cleanliness, Calvin headed out into the morning sun. Hearing raised voices and arguing of at least 5 different voices from where he recalled the entrance to the outpost being, he decided to avoid that area for now.
Making a B-line toward the center of the outpost where he had previously seen the domed shape building seemed like a safer option to him at the moment. Scanning left and right as he made his way through the uniform white cubic rows to see if he recognized anyone, he eventually arrived at his destination without having seen a single recognizable face.
Stowing his disappointment he surveyed the white artificial dome fabrication, which towered a good 10 meters off the ground. The only break that appeared to be in it’s circumference, was where several equidistantly spaced 2 meter tall arches punctuated its base.
Looking at the hundreds of other people milling around it in the roughly 100 meter space between it and the closer cubes, Calvin began to study them more closely. Some of the people seemed to be congregating in small groups ranging from just 2’s and 3’s with some rarer 4’s and 5’s, with only very few opting to stay singular.
Their attire varied greatly, due to the fact that while some where sporting a form of pristine medieval leather armor, others still donned similarly tattered modern clothing, to himself. There however was one constant, every person present was holding crude medieval style weapon of the same aesthetic as his own.
Calvin furrowed his brow in thought while trying to puzzle out the reason for their cellular behavior, in the midst of his musings he was approached by a blonde haired woman who appeared to be in hear late 30’s to early forties carrying a wooden staff. He noticed she was adorned in a brown monk like robe as she waved at him sheepishly, while greeting him with an accompanying smile she queried in a lilting Finnish accent.
“Hi there, couldn’t help but notice your sword and shield and just wanted to ask if you had a group yet?”
Taken aback for a moment, his mind eventually kicked into gear enough for a coherent reply.
“What group? No wait…first off you actually know what’s going on?”
Laughing wearily, she shook her head replying.
“Probably not much more then you do friend, the building behind me has a store of sorts you can use the Manamotes we were given on arrival. Also it has some limited information about the current lay of the land and can explain it much better than me, but as I said it isn’t much. Still it would have been….”
She paused for a moment after trailing off, looking sadly at the ground and then shook her self before carrying on.
“In relation to the group I asked you about, there is an index of ‘quests’ in there and the most profitable ones require higher numbers of people. So we figured getting a mix of the different classes was a good idea. But seeing as you are interested in answers right now, I guess it’s a bit unfair to expect you to join up right away. So I’ll be out here with my two friends over there if you decide you want to join, oh by the way my name is Fiona.”
She gestured to two individuals a few meters away, the first was a 6ft spear wielding indian man with dark brown and curly short hair. He wore tattered jeans and light grey buttoned shirt with no shoes. The second person was a scared looking 5ft Korean girl, with shoulder length raven black hair, wearing a light teal and frayed dress clutching a mace for dear life whilst sporting a pair of cracked glasses and a pair of scuffed sandals stood.
“Mines Calvin and thanks for the info, I really just want to understand what the hell is going on, so I might take a while but you’ll be my first choice for a group I promise!”
He said in a conciliatory tone, to which she smiled good-naturedly as they parted ways, with her returning to her two friends and him going straight for the domes closest entrance.
Once inside, Calvin was greeted with what looked like rows of the most undecorated poker machines he had ever seen, that sat on either side of a corridor which led into a central stairwell, that went both up and down. On closer inspection of the machines, whilst they had a kiosk style stool and a screen with a simple keyboard, the contents of the screen was simple lines of black text on a blue background.
All along the corridor were people from all walks of life, sitting in front of said machines with serious expressions on their faces whilst they clutched crude weapons, similar to his own. If he didn’t know any better he would have thought he was witnessing escapees from a LARPING convention at a local pub.
Finding the nearest free machine Calvin situated himself and interrogated the machine to the best of his IT abilities. The simple initial menu contained only a few options:
Outpost #846 – Terminal #13
>Information
>Shop
>Auction House
>Quests
>Item Repair
>Item Manamote Extraction
>Outpost Communication
>Outpost Upgrade & Maintenance
Selecting the ‘Information’ option, he received what looked like an information letter for a senior citizen, with no other options present:
Information
Hello sentient,
Your planet’s population of sentient beings has reached the threshold of 10,000,000,000 individual’s and is undergoing elevation. This outpost, it’s facilities and others like it have been made available to you in accordance with Cosmic Elevation Provisioning Code #9476, to make your species elevation attempt as streamlined as possible. More general information will be made available on the terminals in the future should it be deemed necessary.
New terminology you may or may not be familiar with:
Quest – To undertake a task given by another entity that has a reward upon completing the designated task, some are repeatable and all have time constraints.
Party – When two to six system initiated individuals mutually agree to form a Party and work cooperatively toward a goal or goals, sharing experience and Manamotes from combat or tasks undertaken. The maximum allowable Party size is six system initiated individuals. The Party may be dissolved when one or more of the individuals mentally elect to do so.
Raiding Party – When two to five system recognized Party’s mutually agree to form a larger group and work cooperatively toward a goal or goals, sharing experience from combat or tasks undertaken. However in the case of Manamotes they may be distributed by the designated Raiding Party leader. The maximum allowable Raiding Party size is thirty system initiated individuals. The Raiding Party may be dissolved when one or more of the individual Party’s mentally elect to do so.
More general information will be made available on the terminals in the future should you upgrade the Outpost’s facilities or it be deemed necessary by Cosmic Progenitor’s Elevation Code #9231.
Regards,
Seraph #04762
Dejected and slightly appalled at the curt lack of information from whoever Seraph #04762 was Calvin almost kicked the damn thing. Forestalling the larger questions beginning to bud in his mind, he forced himself to move on and selected ‘Outpost Communication’:
>Outpost #1
…
….
…..
…….
>Outpost #250,000
Scrolling through to the end he was flabbergasted to think there was over two hundred and fifty thousand of these places! Selecting one at random he chose ‘Outpost #3792’ he was met with a similar list:
>Terminal #1
…
….
…..
>Terminal #5000
Slightly less awed this time, again he made a selection at random:
Connecting to ‘Terminal #69’
..
…
….
Connection accepted
Terminal #69: Hello?
Terminal #13: Hi, I’m looking for someone called Judy. You know anyone by that name?
Terminal #69: Is she a 6ft African American wielding a mace?
Terminal #13: What? Uh… no… she is a 5ft 2inch red head, no mace…probably…
Terminal #69: Sorry man, no Judy here like that. Do you know of a Peter or a Karen?
Terminal #13: Afraid not man, only been here a night and just woke up, am still getting my bearings. Have only spoken to like 1 person so far, apart from you that is. What’s the place like where you’re at?
Terminal #69: Damn…they are my grandparents…FUCK!....sorry… to answer your question, it’s night here and there is a large white wall surrounding tons of white ass cubes in the middle of a huge desert. Currently typing to you from a weird slot machine thing that sells medieval stuff… I’m assuming you know about classes and the fucking monsters right?
Terminal #13: Huh it’s a bloody jungle outside of ours, but the rest is the same here man, even the fucking monsters..what’s your name mate?
Terminal #69: Patrick, yours?
Terminal #13: Calvin. Nice to meet you mate, I guess I should probably check out what the other stuff does on this thing…someone’s waiting for me outside…
Terminal #69: No problems man, be safe Calvin!
Terminal #13: You too Patrick!
…
Connection terminated
Clenching his fists in frustration and having no idea if he had just been talking to a real person or not, he shelved the communication idea for now. Going back to the main menu and selected ‘shop’, which once again offered him a few new options:
Shop
>Armor
>Weapons
>Consumables
>Miscellaneous
He trawled through the sub directories one by one:
Armor
>Elevant Initiate’s Sturdy leather Armor – Price = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Increase physical and magical defense by 10%, +5 Maximum heath, +5 Maximum mana
Durability: 50/50
Description: Fully leather garb imbued with mana and inscribed with basic defense and enhancement runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>More items will be made available should you choose to upgrade the outpost.
...
Weapons
>Elevant Initiate’s Steel dagger – Price = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 10 – 15, +5% Damage to all physical skills.
Durability: 25/25
Description: A mana imbued steel dagger inscribed with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Hardwood Bow – Price = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Ranged Damage + 15 – 20, +5% Damage to all physical skills.
Durability: 25/25
Description: A mana imbued hardwood bow inscribed with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Steel Mace (1 handed) – Price = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 5 – 10, Magic Power + 10 – 15, +5% Boost to all healing skills.
Durability: 25/25
Description: A mana imbued 1 handed steel mace inscribed with basic support runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Buckler Shield – Price = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Increase in physical and magical defense by 5%, Block Value +50
Durability: 30/30
Description: A mana imbued buckler shield inscribed with basic defensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Steel Short Sword – Price = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 10 – 15, +5% Damage to all physical skills.
Durability: 25/25
Description: A mana imbued steel short sword with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Steel-tipped Hardwood Spear (2 handed) – Price = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 10 – 30, +10% Damage to all physical skills.
Durability: 35/35
Description: A mana imbued steel-tipped 2 handed hardwood spear imbued with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Steel Mace (2 handed) – Price = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 15 – 25, +10% Damage to all physical skills.
Durability: 35/35
Description: A mana imbued steel 2 handed mace imbued with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant Initiate’s Steel Bearded Axe (2 handed) – Price = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 17 – 23, +10% Damage to all physical skills.
Durability: 35/35
Description: A mana imbued steel 2 handed bearded axe imbued with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Elevant initiate’s Hardwood Staff – Price = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: Melee Damage + 5 – 10, Magic Power + 15 -20, +10% damage to all magical skills.
Durability: 30/30
Description: A mana imbued hardwood staff inscribed with basic offensive runes. A necessary yet common magical item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>More items will be made available should you choose to upgrade the outpost.
....
Consumables
>Mage-light Stone – Price = 1 Manamote
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Creates ambient light around the user when activated for 1 Mana, for a duration of 30 minutes, disintegrating afterward.
Description: A synthesized mage-light stone, when infused with mana will generate a field of light around the user for a set mana cost and duration. A ubiquitous and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Health Vapor Potion – Price = 3 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Restores 10 Health points over 30 seconds.
Restrictions: 1 use per 60 minutes.
Description: Synthesized temporary vital vapor made stable by an airtight stoppered glass bottle, consumed to restore an individual’s health over time. A ubiquitous and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Mana Vapor Potion – Price = 2 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Restores 20 Mana over 1 minute.
Restrictions: 1 use per 60 minutes.
Description: Synthesized temporary mana vapor made stable by an airtight stoppered glass bottle, consumed to restore an individual’s mana over time. A ubiquitous and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Vapor Potion of Permanent Cure – Price = 15 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Effect: Cures individual of all minor Poisons, Toxins, Paralytics and also removes minor scar tissue.
Restrictions: 1 use per 12 hours
Description: Synthesized permanent potion of curing that cleanses the individual of all minor poisons, toxins, paralytics whilst also removing any minor scar tissue present. A ubiquitous and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Strength Empowerment Potion – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Increases Strength permanently by 5
Restrictions: 1 use per individual (conflicts with other empowerment potions)
Description: Synthesized permanent strength empowerment potion made stable by airtight stoppered glass bottle. A common and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Vitality Empowerment Potion – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Increases Vitality permanently by 5
Restrictions: 1 use per individual (conflicts with other empowerment potions)
Description: Synthesized permanent vitality empowerment potion made stable by airtight stoppered glass bottle. A common and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Dexterity Empowerment Potion – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Increases Dexterity permanently by 5
Restrictions: 1 use per individual (conflicts with other empowerment potions)
Description: Synthesized permanent dexterity empowerment potion made stable by airtight stoppered glass bottle. A common and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Intelligence Empowerment Potion – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Increases Intelligence permanently by 5
Restrictions: 1 use per individual (conflicts with other empowerment potions)
Description: Synthesized permanent intelligence empowerment potion made stable by airtight stoppered glass bottle. A common and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Basic Wisdom Empowerment Potion – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Increases Wisdom permanently by 5
Restrictions: 1 use per individual (conflicts with other empowerment potions)
Description: Synthesized permanent wisdom empowerment potion made stable by airtight stoppered glass bottle. A common and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Minor Runestone of Item Repair – Price = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Restores 30 item durability when activated on an item
Restrictions: Only effective on Items of uncommon or below quality
Description: Repairs an item of 30 durability, dissolves upon use. A common but necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Runestone of Item Repair – Price = 50 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Restores 40 item durability when activated on an item
Restrictions: Only effective on Items of rare or below quality
Description: Repairs an item of 30 durability, dissolves upon use. An uncommon and necessary consumable generated for phase 1 worlds.
>More items will be made available should you choose to upgrade the outpost.
.....
Miscellaneous
>Elevant’s Essential Gear – Price = 1 Manamote
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Clads the wearer in form fitting fabric undergarments, Leather clothing and sturdy boots
Restrictions: None
Description: Contained in a small mana enriched stone, the form fitting tan fabric undergarments, Leather clothing and sturdy boots once injected with the user’s mana. Provides no defensive bonuses whatsoever, save for shielding the user’s dignity. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Blacksmithing – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches individual Basic Blacksmithing Profession.
Restrictions: Requires Blacksmith’s Forge to practice, conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of blacksmithing. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Leatherworking – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches individual Basic Leatherworking Profession.
Restrictions: Requires Tanner’s Hall to practice, conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of leatherworking. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Alchemy – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches individual Basic Alchemy Profession.
Restrictions: Requires Alchemy Lab to practice, conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of alchemy. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Enchanting – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches individual Basic Enchanting Profession
Restrictions: Requires Hall of Runes to practice, conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of enchanting. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Tailoring – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches individual Basic Tailoring Profession.
Restrictions: Requires Tailors Hall to practice, conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of Tailoring. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Gathering – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches individual Basic Gathering Profession.
Restrictions: Conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of gathering materials in their many forms. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Profession Tome of Basic Cooking – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Teaches Individual Basic Cooking Profession.
Restrictions: Requires camp fire or greater and conflicts with other learned Professions.
Description: A profession tome that teaches an individual the basic principles of cooking. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Tome of Profession Erasure – Price = 100 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Effect: Unlearn individuals current Profession.
Restrictions: Must have a current Profession.
Description: A tome that unlearns an individual current profession and all associated skills or passive effects. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Minor Bag of Holding – Price 200 = Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: 50 Cubic Centimeters exterior, 2 Cubic Meters internal storage, Weighs 75% of the bags contents.
Durability: 75/75
Description: A mana infused minor bag of holding that can store any solid material. Enchanted with minor runes of spatial enlargement and weight reduction. A common but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Moderate Bag of Holding – Price = 750 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: 50 Cubic Centimeters exterior, 5 Cubic Meters internal storage space, Weighs 50% of the bags contents.
Durability: 200/200
Description: A mana infused moderate bag of holding that can store any solid material in its dimensionally enlarged interior. Enchanted with journeyman runes of spatial enlargement and weight reduction. An uncommon but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
>Major Bag of Holding – Price = 2500 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Attributes: 50 Cubic Centimeters exterior, 10 Cubic Meters internal storage space, Weighs 25% of the bags contents.
Durability: 500/500
Description: A mana infused major bag of holding that can store any solid material in its dimensionally enlarged interior. Enchanted with intermediate runes of spatial enlargement and weight reduction. A rare but necessary item generated for phase 1 worlds.
From what he could gather, the shops offerings were almost like the launch of an MMO where you had a starting zone, low level creatures, low level gear and even profession’s. But yesterday’s failure brought him to the conclusion that this was anything but an MMO. Calvin shivered involuntarily as his two fallen comrades faces trapped in contorted high definition, came into focus in his mind’s eye.
Distracting himself from the downward spiral his thoughts were once again taking, he idly flicked through the ‘Auction House’ tab and as if to further entrench his previous line of thought, he saw listings of items for sale that could have only been put up by a human.
The items were identical in quality and stat values to his current sword and shield, yet they were listed for 999,999,999 manamotes and given blatantly misleading providence's like;
“Blessed by all the gods to make you invulnerable!”
“Item has no previous owners, in mint condition!”
“Enchanted by a great sage to give you long life and full vigor”
“Used to slay a mighty hydra and now imbued with its blood, can even cut through the moon!”
Only his fellow man was capable of this level of duplicity… It was like reeebay all over again.
He put off any purchases for the time being, as he only had 5 manamotes to his name and didn't wanting to give them up in case he needed them for his habitation unit when his 30 days ran out. Thus resisting the urge to by the basic armor that was available in the shop, he opened up the ‘quests’ menu:
Quests
>Goblin Culling (T1) – Reward = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 2 – 3
Restrictions: Only two tier one quests acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 2 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch 10 goblins. Quest is shareable.
>Ant Culling (T1) – Reward = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 3 – 5
Restrictions: Only two tier one quests acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 2 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch 20 Giant Ants. Quest is shareable.
>Boar Control (T1) – Reward = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 2 – 3
Restrictions: Only two tier one quests acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 2 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch 5 large boars. Quest is shareable.
>Manacraven Removal (T1) – Reward = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 3 – 5
Restrictions: Only two tier one quests acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 2 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch 5 manacraven. Quest is shareable.
>Horned Beetle Control (T1) – Reward = 10 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 2 – 3
Restrictions: Only two tier one quests acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 2 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch 10 horned beetles. Quest is shareable.
>Kobold Scrapping (T1) – Reward = 5 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 3 – 5
Restrictions: Only two tier one quests acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 2 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch 5 kobolds. Quest is shareable.
>Extinguish the Nest (T2) – Reward = 75 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 6 – 10
Restrictions: Only one tier two quest acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 6 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch the ant queen. Quest is shareable.
>Kill the Alpha (T2) – Reward = 50 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 6 – 10
Restrictions: Only one tier two quest acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 6 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch the boar alpha. Quest is shareable.
>Chief No More (T2) – Reward = 50 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 6 – 10
Restrictions: Only one tier two quest acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 6 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch the goblin chieftain. Quest is shareable.
>Matriarch Disposal (T2) – Reward = 50 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 6 – 10
Restrictions: Only one tier two quest acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 6 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch the horned beetle matriarch. Quest is shareable.
>Brute Elimination (T2) – Reward = 50 Manamotes
Level Requirement: 1
Recommended Group: 6 - 10
Restrictions: Only one tier two quest acceptable at any one time.
Time Till Expiry: 6 days 16 hours
Description: Follow the tracking arrow, once the destination is reached dispatch the kobold brute. Quest is shareable.
Rubbing his eyes to clear them of the screen strain he was suffering, Calvin involuntarily shuddered at the unwanted flashbacks of the giant ants pincering mandibles. Making an uneducated guess he picked three of what he felt to be a safest possible selection of the available quests:
You have accepted the quest – Horned Beetle Control (T1)
You have accepted the quest – Boar Control (T1)
You have accepted the quest – Kill the Alpha (T2)
With that done he had had more than enough of the terminals information overload. Getting up and stretching, he picked up his shield and sword, then made his way back out to the clearing between the dome and cubes to see if Fiona and her friends were still about.
What greeted him upon exiting the dome’s terminal tunnel was a large group of people clustered around a man. The man stood atop of a cubical at the edge of the clearing with the crowd in a tight semicircle facing him. Their raised voices and loud murmurs, an indication of divided thoughts and opinions throughout their number on the focus of their attentions.
“Friends, comrades! I think we can all agree something has to be done!”
The man atop the cubicle orated in a clear yet clipped English that held undertones of his Asian heritage.
“I like most of you have seen the monsters out there, here we can make a home! But like with all homes upkeep is required. I propose the establishment of a council to oversee the upgrading and management of this so called ‘Outpost #846’, for the betterment of everyone living here!”
Groaning inwardly at those few sentences Calvin figured out the gist of the scene playing out in front of him. The guy standing on top of the Habitatin Unit, was going to establish him and probably his friends as defacto rulers of this place.
‘Well even if that’s the case, it’s not like I can do much about it. I have to find Judy and my family, plus if these guys want to play king of the hill, let them have at it. Besides with that anti-harm teleportation thing that happened to that South American guy, it’s not like they can do much harm’ He mused.
Turning his attention to the rest of the vacant space around the dome he noticed not all had been swept up in the politicking. There were still small groups of people away from the crush of the crowd, though his optimism faltered when he noticed couldn’t see Fiona where she said she would be waiting.
Now regretting taking so long browsing the terminal, he too started searching for prospective teammates.
There was apparently already a lot of people with his same sword and shield in the disparate groups and when his worry reached a crescendo in his chest, his eyes found a pair of women some hundred odd meters away to his right. Approaching them with a tentative wave, the 6ft tall blonde woman holding a spear and donning leather armor responded as he got closer with a thick Russian accent.
“Greetings boy. I am assumink you are serchink for party yes?”
Meeting her cool icy blue stare, Calvin lost his train of thought at how beautiful she was for a second, only to recover after an awkward pause with a stammered>
“Y-yeah that’s right. Um but first, would you mind telling me if you’ve seen a girl called Judy?”
Shaking her head which caused her ponytail to also bob left to right, she responded.
“I’m sorry, have not spoken to a Judy, could you describe her please?”
Nodding less than enthusiastically he supplied.
“No worries, she a 5 foot 2 Caucasian and has red shoulder length hair”
Shaking her head again, she replied.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I not remember her. While we are on subject, have you seen average height, stocky man with blond hair named Ivan?”
Sighing in dejection at still having not even caught a trace of her in this madness, he forced himself to respond to her own question;
“Unfortunately I haven’t seen or met anyone like that sorry…so um what quests have you guys picked up?”
“I understand, for quest we chose beetles, goblins, and big goblin. My friend have score to settle.”
She said, inclining her head to her mute friend who held a wooden staff and had what looked like the remainder of the Russian woman’s flannelette shirt sleeve’s, judging by the matching patterns, as an impromptu bandage around the right side of her head.
“Oh I hope isn’t a problem, I have the beetles, boars, and the big boar quests.”
He responded smiling politely to the mute bandaged friend in the blue blouse and faded denim jeans. For his smile Calvin was rewarded with one murderous looking eye and frowning singular eyebrow.
The Russian woman responded in a firm yet jovial matter to his statement.
“This no problem, you drop quests and take ours.”
His brow furrowed in consternation for a moment and he asked politely as he could, in response to her forceful friendliness.
“I…I er, ok…how exactly do I do that?”
Seemingly unconcerned by his pensive tone she replied.
“You think very hard of abandoning quest, like it only think you want. Do not worry little boy, I have already done this, it is no problems.”
As he rankled slightly at being called ‘boy’ for the second time by the alluring yet unfortunately tall lady, he did as she instructed and was rewarded with consecutive blue boxes as he dropped the unwanted quests:
You have abandoned the quest – Boar Control (T1)
You have abandoned the quest – Kill the Alpha (T2)
His eyebrows rose at the ease he had achieved it as he said.
“Ok, it’s done. Now what?”
Nodding she furthered.
“You want to be party, yes?”
Shrugging Calvin responded.
“Uh yeah, I guess”
He once again was met with a blue box:
You have joined Svetlana and Michelle’s party, all experience awarded equally.
Following which he received two more:
Your party member has shared the quest – Goblin Culling (T1) – Do you wish to accept Yes/No?
Your party member has shared the quest – Chief No More (T2) – Do you wish to accept Yes/No?
Mentally indicating yes to both prompts he was rewarded with two more notifications:
You have accepted the quest – Goblin Culling (T1)
You have accepted the quest – Chief No More (T2)
Rubbing his chin he said.
“Huh, it really was as easy as that.”
Patting his shoulder in a friendly yet condescending manner, she rejoined.
“Of course little Calvin, I told you, no problems.”
Finally having had it with her put downs, he shot back.
“Hey! Cool it with the ‘little’ and ‘boy’ stuff would ya!.... Also what do we do next?
Waving a hand dismissively she responded.
“Of course, of course my friend, I meant no offense. Now all we need is two more, hopefully different classed peoples and we are cooking with the gas.”
Nodding his ascent and politely smoldering at her overly assertive manner, they spent the next few minutes in silence as they surveyed prospective party members from afar.
He idly noted as he searched that the impromptu rally seemed to have concluded. The crowd now beginning to disperse and adding to the pool of Party minded individuals.
Five minutes later, Svetlana nudged Calvin’s shoulder and nodded to two individuals that had just taken up position about 50 meters from them.
“What you think of these two?”
She asked in a conspiratorial tone, of the two men. One was a young African man with short frizzed brown hair, loosely holding a one handed mace in a worn shirt and shorts with joggers. The other was a portly and middle aged Caucasian man, with thin balding brown hair that carried a short sword and shield, identical to his own.
“Yeah, they look alright I guess. I don’t get a, they will murder us in our sleep vibe if that is what your asking?”
He responded sarcastically, not exactly sure what else he could add as assessment criteria.
“My thoughts exactly my little friend, now go and make representation for group!”
She chuckled as she put a hand on his shoulder and not so gently directed him toward the prospective party members.
“What? Ugh…ok sure…”
He grumbled less than enthusiastically while he trudged like a child told to go and do chores. Waving in greeting at the two, he introduced himself and put forward his or more accurately, Svetlana’s poorly worded proposal.
“Hey there! My names Calvin, me and those two over there were wondering if you guys would like to team up for some quests?”
He said motioning with his thumb behind himself, to indicate Svetlana and Michelle the mute.
The African man reached out a hand enthusiastically, he replied;
“Hello there Calvin, my name is Un-Bep’ee and it’s a pleasure to meet you! This is my friend Terrence and we are indeed looking to do some quests with other people. Did you have some in mind?
Eyeing the proffered hand and judging it safe he shook it as he tentatively replied;
“Pleased to meet you too Un-Bep’ee, Uh our leader kinda has three specific ones she wants to do. Hope that isn’t a deal breaker or anything. Also if you have ones already and don’t mind dropping them I can tell you how.”
“No problems my friend! We do not have any quests yet. Take us meet you leader then if this does not bother you Terrance?”
Un-Bep’ee said jovially as he looked to Terrance for confirmation.
Shrugging at the suggestion he gestured with his hand for Calvin to do just that as he replied in a Welsh accent;
“No problems here mate, lead the way.”
When they got to Svetlana, another round of introductions was required, then Un-Bep’ee and Terrance accepted the quests and acquiesced to the Party invite without a fuss:
Terrance and Un’Bep’ee have joined your party.
All the while, the four were glowered at silently by the mute and half turban wearing Michelle.
The group formed satisfactorily Svetlana once again took the lead.
“So now we have people for quests, the morning is gone. Shall we get food then head out west gate?”
The others nodded in ascent leaving Calvin felt forced to voice what he thought was the most obvious question.
“So uh, which way exactly west?”
This caused Svetlana to bark a laugh and pat him on the shoulder once more as she replied merrily.
“Oh Calvin, were you not taught the directions?”
Furrowing his brow in annoyance he replied.
“Well I grew up in the city so not really. But even if I was able to tell north from the south with the Sun, it wouldn’t do me any bloody good because I have no idea where on the planet that bloody AI thingo teleported us!”
He finished in a half raised and angry tone, which only caused her to laugh once more as she responded in good natured surprise;
“You know, you raise very good point there little man. Ok simple solution is goto gate which the arrow of guidance is leading to yes?”
Letting out an annoyed sigh and nodding his agreement, the other party members nodded agreement with half smiles on their faces. Surprisingly even the mute and generally glowering Michelle apparently found the exchange amusing as she sported a half hidden smile.
They split into three separate groups, with Calvin the only singular person as they dispersed for a quick lunch.
On his way back to his Habitation Unit, Calvin could once again hear raised voices coming from the direction of and entrance to the Outpost. However this time there were new additions to the susurrations, with the sound of screaming and crying female voices now audible.
His curiosity getting the better of him, he cautiously made his way to the black path bisecting the cubed rows, edging his head around the closest cubes corner, in an effort to get a better idea of what was going on.
What met his eyes were people coming and going from the entry way, yet on either side of the travelers, more people lined the broad path which lead to the domed center of the outpost, in varying states of distress.
The people on the edge of the path were shouting at, and begging the passers by for any information or help to find their loved ones. After observing in appalled silence, for what felt like several minutes, the noises he had heard before started to make more sense. The crying women and girls were either peoples daughters, mothers or grandmothers. The male voices someone’s were conversely sons, fathers or grandfathers.
The harrowing scene was interrupted every so often, by a person not content with their persistent yet unanswered pleas, charging forth in an attempt to grab or shake an unengaging traveler, only for the distraught individual to disappear instantly in a flash of blue-ish white light. These spontaneous yet continued interruptions to the cacophony of human suffering, only led to a further deepening of it.
Forcing himself to look away from the roiling spectacle, he turned and took a few paces back from the main thorough fair, only to pause and steady himself as he thought of his parents, sister and finally his thoughts rested on what had become of Judy.
Not sure if he was starting to lose his mind in shared grief, with those suffering in the street, he thought he heard Judy’s distinctive sing song voice coming from where he had just been. Whipping his head to face the main road he couldn’t believe what he saw.
Not 15 feet from him was the object of his fears walking beside a 6 ft 4 grizzly looking man with unkempt black hair and a scraggly half beard, donning ill-fitting clothes. Stammering out her name in a fearful and questioning tone as he prayed his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
“J-Judy?”
Her head swiveled left and right as she searched for the speaker she thought she heard and asked in a quieter disbelieving voice.
“C-Calvin?”
Abandoning his usual fear of public affection he ran toward her red headed form and her unknown companion, calling out once more with outstretched arms.
“JUDY!”
Turning in happy shared recognition she responded to his open armed advance, by putting both her hands on his shoulders to keep him at arm’s length.
Giving him a wry smile, she spoke in a friendly yet placating tone.
“Easy there tiger, I’m alright, Its O K.”
Taking in her form with consternation, she was in her perennial black short bed kepplin shirt and black jeans with accompanying joggers. He was genuinely surprised at the lack of wear and tear in her appearance as opposed to other passerby’s.
Frustrated at her friendly indifference to the emotional turmoil he was in and apparently lack of hardship, Calvin queried.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you since this madness began?”
Directing him out of the main drag and leaving her giant companion where he stood, she attempted to placate him in a hushed tone on a quieter bisecting path, in between the Habitation Units.
“It’s nice to see you too cal....but this isn’t the place I started near, so my free Hab Unit is in Outpost #847. I wanted to find you but where the hell did you expect me to start looking?”
“And don’t give me those puppy dog eyes alright, it’s been mostly shit on my side of things as well!”
“Firstly, Its more luck and the guy in the street over there, that I’m here now than anything else so stop acting like I planned this! I got screwed on a quest and he bailed me out big time. Secondly I think we can use him to our advantage, he’s basically clueless and he seems strong, like really strong! Also he doesn’t have a group yet so just follow my lead ok?”
Calvin’s thoughts and emotions were still in turmoil as he took a minute to process what she had said. Focusing on her last sentence, he began try and puzzle out what she was planning to use the guy back there for, brow furrowing in confusion he queried.
“W-wait you mean you’ve already been out to do one? What was it like? No scratch that I’m just glad you’re ok…About that guy, he kinda looks like a hobo but I think we ca-”
But before Calvin could put forward his thoughts, his initiative was stolen and the ‘guy’ in question came over and started speaking with a heavy Australian twang;
“Hey guys, now she’s safe and sound I’m gonna see what info I can get around here. Catch you round I guess.”
Dumbfounded at the abrupt goodbye, Calvin and Judy stood there, mouths slightly agape with eyes locked and brows raised in surprised confusion. Judy recovered first and in attempt to get him to come back and talk, she called out to his departing back.
“Hey big guy! I never got your name!?!”
Unfortunately her attempt was met with a backhanded wave of farewell, before quickly departing out of sight. Annoyed and confused she turned to Calvin with eyes narrowed, adding in an accusatory tone.
“Dammit all! We coulda been powerleveled if you hadn’t made a scene!”
Starting to remember how competitive she got where anything gaming was concerned, Calvin chuckled and tried to move the conversation in a more productive direction.
“Sure whatever you say… So I was gonna grab some lunch and head out with a group I just found…at the very least I have to tell them I’m not coming anymore so…”
Her face quirked in pleasant surprise and she queried.
“You’ve got a got a group you said? Wait, but why wouldn’t you be going with them?”
He responded with pleased exasperation.
“Well cos you’re here now obviously…”
Furrowing her brow she responded.
“Actually I wouldn’t mind coming along if they’ll have me. So let’s get you and me some lunch and then we can meet up and ask them. By the way, what class ya got? also what level are you? and what freaky creatures have ya seen?”
Leading her away from the sounds of distress at the gate, he headed to his Habitation unit. Granting her access to his HU, they sat down and caught up over a miraculously spawned BLT sandwich with some also miraculous, but not as tasty, water and apple juice.
Calvin was still perplexed by her lack of distress, despite how after she filled him in about her and her former party being all but wiped out by a group of Giant Ants, she was still eager to go back out. He was further surprised when after sharing his class with her, she had told him she was already level 3 and that her class was ‘Apprentice Thief’.
She then went on to gush for a good few minutes at how the big stranger had come to her rescue and killed the Giant Ants with his bare hands. He wanted to call her out on her obvious embellishment of the man’s actions, opting instead to just enjoy her company whilst chalking her fishy tale up to hero worship, brought on by being saved from a potential life or death event.
As they made their way toward the gate designated by the guidance arrow, she told him in no uncertain terms, of her drive to get stronger and that she would not be left behind by others. Inwardly he cringed at her Shonen-esk diatribe, as this was one of the tropes he had always disliked Anime’s for.
When they reached the gate, they were met with an exact copy of the scene that they had left not long ago, if not for the addendum of the four individuals he had formed his party with earlier in the day. They were stationed some 10 cubes back from the gate so as not to get caught up in the hubbub. Waving at the waiting four, he and Judy approached, while he eagerly made introductions.
“Hey guys, sorry if you were waiting long. I ended up finding Judy!...speaking of which, Judy this is Svetlana, Michelle, Un-Bep’ee and Terreance. Guys meet Judy!
Everyone except Michelle exchanged polite nods and almost identical waved ‘hi’s’.
“You had us worried little man, we thought you may have gotten lost…”
Svetlana said in a mock serious tone.
“I said sorry alright!”
He snapped, before he collected himself and changed the topic to something more constructive.
“Oh by the way if it isn’t too much trouble would you mind if Judy joined us for the quests? “
Chuckling Svetlana and the others looked at each other before shrugging and nodding agreement. And Svetlana responded;
“I do not see any problem with this, would you like this also Judy?”
Judy’s expression brightened visibly as she responded.
“I’m more than glad to tag along, I’m a Apprentice Thief level 3 by the by.”
Judy has joined your party.
Everyone seemed to silently take the new screen in their stride as a nodding Svetlana replied whilst brandishing her spear.
“This is no problem, I am Apprentice Spearwoman level 3”
Un-bep’ee supplied.
“I am an Apprentice Cleric level 1.”
“Apprentice Knight level 1 here”
Added Terrance.
“Apprentice Mage Level 2”
Michelle announced grudgingly with a hint of a Latino accent.
“Apprentice Knight level 1 as well, will probably be good to have two tanks!”
Calvin felt obliged to add, attempting to quash any misgivings about having two of the same class.
“It is as you say little man, now let us stop the wasting of time and be about the Quests!”
Declared Svetlana in a commanding tone as she clapped Calvin’s shoulder with her free hand and grinned while steering him toward the entrance. Doing their utmost to politely not engage the myriad of distressed individual’s on either side of the main road, the Party set out on their first quest with Calvin internally apoplectic at being called ‘little’ once again by the giantess of a Russian.