[WELCOME TO STAR CITY!]
As Happy stumbled to his feet, a sensation of disorientation nearly caused him to trip. As seconds passed, the sensation faded and was replaced by raw pain. An ache at the back of his skull spread to the upper and frontal regions of his brain, the throbbing rhythm intensifying exponentially. The man winced, clutching at his head as waves of agony pounded like a relentless tide. An unpleasant taste of metal assaulted his mouth, while damp sweat began to form near his brow. The lights from a neon sign above casted an eerie glow on Happy's pained face, making him look a little insane.
[SKILL: INFLUENCE UNLOCKED]
[SKILL: INSPECT UNLOCKED]
Using one of his hands to support himself against the brick wall, Happy slowed his quickened breath. Judging from the notifications, he deduced that the pain had arrived because of the new skills.
Is it gonna hurt like hell every time I get a new one?
Happy let out a groan and laid on the cold concrete below him, eyes scanning his unfamiliar surroundings with renewed clarity. The back alley he found himself in was in a state of decay, a forgotten crevice wedged between two towering apartment buildings that seemed to lean inwards. Peeling graffiti adorned the brick walls while cracked, uneven pavement laid underfoot, littered with crumpled wrappers and needles.
Willing the transparent screen into view, Happy opened his status.
Villain Constantine (RANK F)
NAME: Happy Sinclair
AGE: 19
RACE: Human (NPC)
INFAMY: F (0/100)
ABILITY: Mastermind (S)
SKILLS: Influence, Inspect lvl.1
TRAITS: Traitor, Silver Tongue, Murderer
STATS:
STRENGTH: F
AGILITY: E
VITALITY: E
PERCEPTION: D
INTELLIGENCE: A
WILLPOWER: C
The man's eyes were drawn to the new line of text at the top of the screen.
So I'm a bad guy in this life too ... Constantine, is that my super villain name?
His attention shifted downwards onto the infamy stat. It was an F, most likely because he hadn't caused any incidents in the main game yet. Happy felt a little awkward, the combination of a grand villain name and an F rank made him feel like a fraud.
Whatever... one day I'll grow into it.
Scrolling down, he clicked on the new skills.
(ACTIVE) Inspect (lvl.1): You can see the status of other PLAYERS and NPCs that are equal in rank or below.
Glimpse past it all with your keen eyes. In the end, what you have seen will mark you forever.
(PASSIVE) Influence: You can influence anyone to do anything, as long as their is enough trust or fear.
Your words hold more power than normal. Reality is a chorus, one voice can change the entire song.
Sitting up, Happy scratched his head. The Inspect skill seemed like it would become extremely useful in the future, he would be able to gauge other's strengths and weaknesses at any moment. But for now, it was basically useless, as he would only be able to see the stats of other F ranks. Hopefully the rank restriction would be removed as he levelled the skill up further. The text underneath seemed a little ominous, but he ignored it for now.
However, Influence confused the villain as he didn't quite understand its function, the flavor text certainly not helping either. While Happy was busy stressing over his vague skill, a thin figure approached him in the dark alleyway with a gun clutched in his right hand.
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[RANDOM ENCOUNTER: CONSTANTINE (F) VERSUS SKINNY JOE (F)]
"H-HEY YOU! GIMME ALL YOUR MONEY!"
The villain looked up and observed the mugger. The man was extremely skinny, his arms were gaunt and wiry with no muscle definition. His face was slick with sweat and a few scraggly hairs peppered his chin. The thug's hands shook as he pointed the pistol, the bottom of his lip quivering. Happy rolled his eyes. Amateur.
But Happy wasn't too annoyed. This was the perfect scenario to test his new skills. Inspect.
NAME: Skinny Joe (RANK F)
AGE: 23
RACE: Human (NPC)
INFAMY: F (4/100)
ABILITY: NONE
SKILLS: Lock Picking lvl.3, Sneak lvl.2
TRAITS: Coward
STRENGTH: F
AGILITY: F
VITALITY: F
PERCEPTION: E
INTELLIGENCE: F
WILLPOWER: F
Happy's eyebrows rose as he looked at Joe's pitiful stats. It seemed that the average rank of an ordinary NPC in this game was an F.
"H-HEY, HAND OVER THE CASH!"
Happy slowly got up and walked towards the mugger, lifting his palms into the air to show he was no threat.
"So... you want money?"
The man lowered a hand onto the thug's shoulder, a twisted grin splitting his face. Skinny Joe backed away in fear and let out a pitiful noise as he tripped over his own feet and fell, landing hard on his bottom.
"Listen. If you work for me, you'll be swimming in cash before you know it. What do you say?" Happy questioned while offering his right hand. Looking down at the man, he could practically hear the gears turning in his brain.
"...y-you swear?"
Happy flashed his shiniest smile, all thirty two teeth on display.
"Trust me, I never lie."
As Skinny Joe grasped his hand and shook it, a transparent bar formed above his head. It was slightly filled in a white color, around ten percent.
Is that how much he trusts me?
[ENCOUNTER ENDED PEACEFULLY]
[+0 INFAMY]
As the villain helped Joe up, he stared at the mostly empty bar above the man's head. If his predictions were correct, the higher the bar above his head was filled, the more likely he would follow Happy's orders obediently. But what would happen if he gave an unreasonable command?
"Shoot yourself."
"H-huh?"
The scrawny thug shrank back, the bar above his head shattering completely.
"Ah... I was just talking to myself, sorry about that."
Skinny Joe glared at Happy, his eyes squinted in suspicion. Gradually, a new bar formed above his head once more, except this time only filled three percent of the way.
So if the trust is low, I can't make them do anything too unreasonable.
"Anyways, show me around the city! It's my first time here after all."
"W-what? How is it your first time when you're already inside?"
Happy leaned forward and pointed his index finger parallel to his mouth, shushing the man.
"Don't ask me any useless questions from now on ... okay?"
The bar above Joe's head increased by four percent in a purple color.
Trust is white and fear is purple? Interesting.
Happy grinned as he followed the mugger out of the dark alley way. He could work with this new ability.
As they walked out, Happy was taken aback by the sight that unfolded before him. The cityscape stretched out like a twisted, never-ending labyrinth, with monolithic skyscrapers piercing the dark clouds overhead. As far as he could see, most of the shops and businesses that lined the streets were closed down and boarded up, the neon lights flickering dimly against the crumbling facades and graffiti-strewn alleyways. Gothic apartments were scattered along the pockmarked road, the sinister spires adorned with stone gargoyles. The few citizens that roamed the streets hurried past, their heads bowed in submission and eyes averted downwards.
"Joe... why's everything so... dark?"
The cowardly thug glanced at Happy, a confused expression on his face.
"You seriously don't know? Not too long ago, the whole entire city used to be run by villains. But then, he arrived."
Skinny Joe pointed at a a billboard containing an image of a handsome, muscular man in a spandex suit. The hero was posing and the text next to him read 'Welcome to Star City!'
"... and who's that supposed to be?"
"Star Savior! They say he arrived from outer space to help the people on Earth!"
Happy gave the man a skeptical look. What a load of crap.
"You don't believe me? One day, he came out of nowhere and formed the League of Heroes! They cleaned up the city on the other side of the river and captured all the bad guys. The citizens, they couldn't believe it."
"Why didn't they kick out the villains over here?"
Skinny Joe's face scrunched up.
"There's just too many. Most of the S class villains retreated downtown since they're afraid of how strong Star Savior is."
Happy nodded, understanding the dynamics at play.
"So, one half of the city lives in the light while the other half dies in the dark." he mused aloud.
Skinny Joe nodded grimly. "Yeah, and let me tell you, Star Savior is strong. Real strong. I've even heard rumors that he's the first SSS class hero in this city."
Happy glanced once more at the billboard featuring the heroic man. A feeling of unease started to settle into his bones.
Something's wrong.