After my quick meeting with Eli, I stepped into the shower to wash the blood and sweat off my person and took the time to review my other notifications. I was slightly irritated that I hadn’t earned any new loot from that fight. I only gained two levels from that fight and frowned at the several million experience I would need to get to my next level.Though, massive battles are great for skill leveling. I had pushed all of my newest skills to the Advanced rank. Soul Tracking and Shool’Kai Axe Fighting were only several dozen levels from ranking up to Expert. The attribute gains were also rather shocking.
Karl Brunett
43
Merciless Reaper of the Foolish
3
HP
5610
ST
2680
350
MP
2460
Strength
328
70
Perception
341
15
Endurance
233
25
Charisma
12
Intelligence
117
Agility
187
50
Luck
3
Wisdom
129
“This look normal, Veep?”
“It is not normal, it is quite exceptional, actually. Your self learned skills from before the system initialization have significantly boosted your attributes. You are now running around with the attributes equivalent of a being at the high end of their Advanced Class.”
“Cool. I guess. Also, I think it’s time to retire the 9mm. I need something with more punch but want to stick with something with a higher capacity magazine.”
“Ok, what else?”
“I feel like a light machine gun should be on the wishlist. Maybe something in the caliber of… plasma.”
“I’ll make a list, also, your grenades are once again ready for retrieval.”
I stepped out of the shower into my room and found Junipher’s naked form draped across my bed and smiling at me with a lustful glint in her eye. “Is my Merciless Reaper creating a shopping list?”
“Yeah.” A lopsided smile slowly grew across my face, “Need anything?”
She stood from her perch on the bed and pressed her lips to mine and wrapped her hand firmly around my shaft, “I think I’ve found what I want.” Then dragged me back to the bed where we proceeded to make love for the next two hours. Her song was much more intense and I inwardly cringed while loving every moment. There’s gonna be soooooo many babies. Sorry guys!
I left Junipher in my apartment and went to see about my business. Hawkings walked by with Valley and two other girls I didn’t know in tow and smiled a shit eating grin in my direction. I couldn’t help but chuckle under my breath at that. I turned to head through the market and made a beeline for the kiosk. Not gonna miss getting my equipment this time mother truckers!
“Alright, Veep, let's get our shit.”
“Indeed. I have put together a list of options for your light machine gun and pistol replacement. I assumed you’d like to stick with a projectile weapon similar to your Canik for your pistol. Let’s retrieve your previous order first!” Veep bobbed across my vision excited to be helping me spend my money.
“Let’s start with the pistol options.”
A series of options scrolled across the screen of the kiosk with varying information about the weapons available to purchase. Damage thresholds, Accuracy ratings, ammo capacity and firing mechanisms were all displayed next to rotating promotional images. Everything from 2mm rail pistols to 20mm slug throwers was represented. I waffled back and forth through the list before narrowing it down to the surprisingly aforementioned 2mm Rail Pistol and the 20mm Hand Cannon.
The rail pistol was a sleek and sexy block of metal with a trigger and pistol grip where a magazine could be inserted as if it were the Canik currently on my right hip. What set it apart was the fact the only opening in the weapon was where the magazine was inserted and where the ‘bullets’ exited the weapon. The upper receiver was a solid block of some exotic alien alloy that allowed better conduction of electricity through the barrel lining. It was a pearl white with a grip accented in a bluish wood finish and a selective fire switch, auto, burst and semi, and the magazine release on the left side where my thumb would rest.
Zotak Arms RG-121 Rapid Fire Rail Pistol (Rare)
A rapid fire rail pistol that fires 1 gram tungsten rods at a muzzle velocity of 0.1c and is supplied by a high density manite magazine. This weapon having no chemical propellant and little to no recoil make this an ideal weapon when used in the vacuum of space. The elderwood grip pads contain an enchantment that enhances the perception of the user.
[50 Round Capacity]
[+20 Perception]
[+20% Accuracy]
Mod Slots (½)
[Slot 1: Ringenjer 1-2.5x40mm Red Dot]
[Slot 2: Empty]
My mind did some quick mental math, something I could barely do with a calculator before the system, and I determined that the ‘rods’ imparted almost 2.2 Kilotons of energy into whatever they hit. My mind did mental flips at the implications of what a single round from this weapon could do. Then a shiver of terror ran through me to think this was considered a mid grade weapon within the system. What fucking thing can absorb rapid 2.2Kt impacts and shrug them off!?!?
“Veep, what the fuck can take a 2.2Kt impact and walk away?”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Well, that’s the muzzle velocity as it leaves the weapon, within a reasonably thick atmosphere the round will lose much of that mass as it’s burned away by friction. At close range you’ll annihilate most targets that haven’t reached the upper levels of a Master Class, though effectiveness drops off exponentially and the round only survives at that speed for about 400 meters. Though anything within 200 meters is pretty fucked.”
“You don’t say? And when did you start swearing!?”
“You do it all the time.” The petulant AI bobbed out of my view and I returned to drooling over the seriously overpowered pistol. Then I flipped to the Handcannon and considered the weapon closely.
This thing was massive. Almost too big to be considered a pistol. It was also about as ugly and intimidating as a hand held weapon could get. A fat barrel extended from a large chamber with a heavy looking upper receiver. The pistol grip arced down at a gentle angle and looked to be made of ivory and some dark red alien wood. A large manite magazine extended from in front of the pistol grip and sandwiched the trigger between the two parts. The weapon only fired semi-automatic but the size of the round was impressive. A 20 x 39mm round that looked like a fat stubby rock. I read the description of the weapon while imagining it strapped to my thigh.
Hoplite Industries HCST-20, 20mm Hand Cannon (Rare)
With a total length of nearly 14 inches the HCST-20 is an intimidating weapon that only the strongest of warriors can wield. The weapon fires a caseless tungsten round with a depleted uranium core and is fed from an oversized manite magazine that provides 20 rounds per reload. Because the size of the round, recoil is significant and users must have appropriate strength to use the weapon safely.
[20 Round Capacity]
[+50% Knockback Chance]
[+25% Base Damage]
Mod Slots (0/2)
[Slot 1: Harbinger Arms 1x Holographic Red Dot]
[Slot 2: Accu-see laser designator/flashlight combo]
Both of the weapons were rather devastating in their own right. One one hand no one would suspect the rather petite and elegant rail pistol of such destructive force. On the other that monstrous hand cannon would probably scare the weak shits away as soon as they saw it. And the problem is, I WANT THEM BOTH!
“Veep… do I have enough for both?”
Her orb seemed to vibrate in anticipation and satisfaction, “Yes you do!”
“And to get the heavy artillery I asked for?”
“And then some to spare!” before I finished my question.
“Gonna need a double shoulder holster.”
She stopped buzzing and bounced back and forth in confusion. “Why?”
“Canik for precision work, Plasma for soft targets, the Handcannon for raw single target damage and uh… you know, the rail gun, because, who doesn’t want a miniature weapon of mass destruction on their hip!?”
Veep stopped moving all together which indicated she was in deep thought, then she buzzed slightly, “Would you like that in tactical black or classic leather?”
“Classic Leather, please! Now let’s look at the artillery.”
I watched several hundred thousand of my UMC drain from my account as the order for both pistols with several magazines was placed and then the screen shifted to a selection of heavy and light machine guns of varying types. I was once again torn between a ten barrel rail weapon that spit 100g rounds at hypersonic speeds and a tri-barrel option that flung concentrated plasma. In the end I placed the order for the plasma weapon because, well, I was running dry on funds and the plasma option was more palatable to my wallet.
I smiled as the pistols and shoulder holster dropped into the bin and I scooped them up lovingly. I quickly slipped into the shoulder holster and shifted my older pistols to the slots there then carefully appraised the new additions as I slipped the smaller rail pistol into the left holster then happily swapped the canik holster for the much larger hand cannon thigh rig and sighed in satisfaction as the massive weapon clicked into place. I almost feel complete.
Then the big plasma weapon emerged into a larger side slot of the kiosk and I hefted the weapon happily. I examined the smooth green metal alloy it was made of and carefully analyzed it.
Higgins Heavy Armament HHA-300 (RARE)
This tri-barrel light squad weapon is capable of discharging 300 tightly focused bolts of plasma per minute. Plasma chambers are exchangeable for continued use and empties will slowly recharge when not in use or can be quickly charged from the user’s own mana.
[50 Strength REQUIRED for use]
[300 Round Capacity]
[+20% Base Damage]
Mod Slots (4/4) Available
Runic Engraving Slots (2/2) Available
Now. Now I feel complete, if only I….
“Veep?”
“Yes, Karl?”
“Are armor mech suits available on the kiosk?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“And you’ve never mentioned this before?” I was trying to contain my excitement. I really was.
“Well, you see, mech suits are prohibitively expensive.”
“How much?”
“Let’s see, look for yourself.” She responded hesitantly and the kiosk came to life with a suit that resembled the thing from Aliens that Sigorney Weaver beat the shit out of the Alien with. Though this one had a pair of familiar looking tri-barreled plasma machine guns mounted to the shoulders. The price was a smooth billion credits. I am now incomplete.
I frowned and spoke to Veep again, “You put the machine guns on it to taunt me didn’t you?”
She stopped bobbing about for a second then responded, “Maybe.”
“Jerk.” I sighed and stepped away from the kiosk with a slight frown that instantly turned upside down when my hand came to rest on the massive hand cannon’s grip. “Meh, it’s not all bad I suppose.”
To the West I saw that a group of refugees had appeared at the gate and I decided to go see who they were. As I approached the gate I noticed the guy I had seen sitting in a truck bed while Junipher and myself on Kaia rode up on his sleeping partner at the Circle K barricade. He was talking to Johnny who was sorting out the new arrivals with the help of the guard. He smiled when he saw me, then balked when he noticed the arsenal that was strapped to my person.
“Hey man, I remember you, you were riding the coyote with that pretty plant lady.” He greeted me with an outstretched hand that I took happily, “Name’s Charlie, by the way.”
“Karl, how many did you bring with you?” I asked and looked over his shoulder at the line of people that was forming. They looked exhausted and hungry. They all carried a backpack or luggage of some sort. I noticed in the back of the group a pair of older model pickup trucks that looked loaded to bear with supplies from the Circle K.
“There are almost a hundred. Most from within the area around the Circle K. Even convinced ole’ Theresa to come with all her kids. The lady that runs the foster home.” He nodded further back at a white van behind the trucks. “And we filled up the best trucks we could get running with water and food from the Circle K.”
“Why didn’t you come sooner?”
“We tried, but those damn gnolls kept sending out patrols. We lost a scout group led by Eddie, that guy who was sleeping in the truck when you rode up.” A grimace formed across his face and he looked back over the rest of the people he had come to care for. “We were getting pressed by the lizard people from the elementary school. If you hadn’t defeated the gnoll warband, everyone got the notice on that, we wouldn’t have been able to leave. As soon as we got that notice we pressed everyone to pack up and get the hell out of there. We weren’t going to last much longer.”
I nodded understandingly, “Anyone stay behind?”
“No, but there was a group holed up at the hospital. They had about 60 or 70 patients, nurses, doctors and what was left of the police force hiding there.”
“Good to know, I already had a team designated to check the Hospitals.” I shifted my attention to Johnny, “You have everything you need to sort these people out?”
“We are going to need another apartment, and maybe to expand the Storage. And of course, I’m going to need more farms which we don’t have space for until you and your people clear the city. But with the supplies they brought we should be good for at least a week.”
“Ok, we earned a ton of SP from that siege, I’ll place an apartment in that space behind the first, Guess that’s going to become the residential district.” I shrugged and brought up the settlement interface and authorized all the additions Johnny asked for. “Alright, that’s done, anything else?”
“No, I think I’ve got it from here, I’ll try not to waste the SP.”
“I trust your judgement, now, where’s Eli?”
“Here, sir.” He said from behind me as he walked up to survey the new arrivals with me.
“Eli, meet Charlie, Charlie, Eli.” They greeted each other and I continued, “Eli is my current Guard Captain, I’d like you to fill him in on what you know of everything around the Circle K and anything else you think would be useful.”
“Oh sure, I can do that.” Charlie offered as the realization that he would be safe was beginning to show on his face.
“Have any of the teams left yet?” I asked Eli before he could lead the other man off to interrogate him for all he was worth.
“Yes, team three has left with Nandi, that Aussie girl, in charge, they are headed for the other school.”
“Yeah, the chick with the bow? We passed her going out as we reached the wall.” Charlie added.
“Alright, good, make sure to share what Charlie knows with them as soon as you can.”
“Right, of course, sir.” And Eli walked off with Charlie filling him in on everything he could. I stayed at the gate with Johnny as he gathered names and classes from the bedraggled people while directing them where to park their butts. He made sure to inform them that I wouldn’t tolerate any layabouts and they looked up at me with concern but accepted the terms of entry.
I was about to go find my sexy plant lady and see if she could give an impromptu concert to infuse these people with a little energy when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I looked around slowly both hands sliding to the hilts of my new pistols and the notification I received next confirmed my suspicions.
Congratulations! Your skill [Unwilling Monarch’s Foresight] has advanced to level 184!
Johnny saw my tension and began scrutinizing the people more closely but found nothing and shrugged at me knowingly. I knew we were being watched but I couldn’t tell from where. I started looking to the sky and froze when my eyes locked on the woman from my vision floating on shimmering white wings a hundred yards in front of the SouthWestern parapet. Another woman with wings a slightly less brilliant shade of white floated to her left and a man with dark wings floated off to her right. They were all armed but hadn’t drawn their weapons as they watched the procession of oblivious people checking in with Johnny and the guardsmen.
“Found em’” I motioned to Johnny who looked in the direction I indicated then looked back at me and shrugged.
“Haven’t attacked us yet, so, be nice. Like with Lord Shubin.”
I looked at the man sourly and then chuckled. I don’t kill everyone I meet.
I turned towards the parapet and launched myself into the air leaving behind a small shockwave of dust that caused the unsuspecting people to stumble and stare as I landed lightly on the center of my destination. No one was currently manning the tower as I had ordered the majority of the guard to take a breather. The people waiting to gain entry now noticed the flying people just a few hundred yards away and began to panic. Junipher, to her credit, had come looking for me and began to sing a song to calm the weary people.
Seeing that the Winslow refugees hadn’t panicked and ran, or worse shot at the new visitors, I turned my attention back to the winged people who had taken my ascension to the tower as indication I was ready to meet with them and flapped their wings gently to propel themselves toward my position. Several guardsmen with rifles began to mount the wall and I waved them off. I knew this meeting was coming, and was actually glad it didn’t take more than a few hours from when I had expected it. Maybe I can pawn that Nightmare Dungeon off on them. I thought already scheming on how to offload my responsibilities on these otherworldly strangers.