“Yet, I see potential," it said. "You haven’t even completed the Tutorial, thus I suppose I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I would grant you a taste of true power, but it seems as though it would be incompatible with you.” It stared up at the sky, pondering, then seemed to come to some decision.
“Find me, challenge me once more, when you have evolved, grown stronger. Challenge me alone or with allies, I care not. Though I warn you, the next time you search me out, should you fail to represent a challenge, I will not be so lenient as to grant a quick death. And please, though you have begun upon the technological path, do not become the enemy; I have watched far too many comrades suffer such a fate. May the search continue.”
Then, before Alan could react, before even Eve could begin any sort of warning, the Predecessor swung his black blade, and Alan was met with oblivion.
Chapter 9
When Alan opened his eyes, he found himself back in his Home, where the Tutorial had begun. The white space retained the few pieces of furniture and the Administrator he had first talked to. Surprisingly, Alan found he still had his armor and knife, and felt perfectly healthy, although no HP bar was displayed in this space. A number of messages popped up, and he reviewed the ones he’d ignored previously as well.
Congratulations for surviving the final round of the Survival Test!
Let the bonus round commence.
x10 Bonus for being the last and only survivor
+50000 XP +20000 credits
x4 Level up!
Skill Learned! Indomitable Will
Skill Learned! Hypercognition
Synchronization rank with AI Eve increased!
New quest: Become Worthy*
Find and challenge the mysterious Predecessor once you have met the requirements.
Requirements: Level 1000. Complete class quest(s). Possess an equipment set of at least A-rank and at least 5 A-rank skills. Master an ability.
Penalty: Should you challenge the Predecessor and not put up enough of a fight, a slow and painful death awaits you
Reward: ???
*S+ Rank quest, attempt at your own risk. No time limit. Allies allowed.
You have died!
Current respawn point: Capsule Room of the Titan Haxlard Ship
Time until respawn: 08:32:17
XP and credit loss ignored due to nature of death.
Reaper’s Scythe dropped.
Bonus round: Failed.
Survival Test: Complete. Please wait as we calculate results.
Alan opened up his status window, checking the changes. It seemed as though a number of his skills had ranked up, and his stats had increased even beyond the points he had put into them, based upon the actions he’d performed. Once more he had to change to a horizontal, single column view to read the window clearly.
Status Window
Name:
Adampwnage
Alignment:
Neutral
Leveclass="underline"
60
Class:
Undetermined
Species:
Human (Earth)
Gender:
Male
Titles
None
Renown:
N/A
Notoriety:
0*
-
Health:
450 / 450
Health Regen:
0.06 / Sec
Psionic Energy:
10/ 10
Psi Regen:
0.01 / Sec
Shield Energy:
500 / 500
Shield Regen:
1.00 / Min
Stamina:
300 / 300
Stamina Regen:
1.3 / Sec
-
Strength:
34 + 20
Agility:
67 + 20
Intelligence:
57 + 20
Willpower:
52 + 20
Charisma:
27 + 20
Perception:
58 + 20
Endurance:
39 + 20
Luck:
77 + 20
-
Resistances
Physicaclass="underline"
23.5%
Mentaclass="underline"
43.2%
Psionic:
4.2%
-
Faction Standings
United World Government:
Neutral*
Predecessors:
Neutral*
Legion of Man:
Neutral*
Lords of Life:
Neutral
Haxlards:
Neutral
Administrators:
Friendly
Revenants:
Neutral
Debt:
1M Credits
Current Quest:
Tutorial
Ability Window
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Sneak (Basic)
G
???
G
A basic stealth ability.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Skilled
N/A
N/A
F
Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on abilities.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Gifted
N/A
N/A
F
Grants an additional ability point every five levels to spend on attributes.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
A.I. Interaction
B
???
C
The ability to better allow oneself to interact with an A.I. and be interacted with in turn.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Machine Communication
C*
???
F
The ability to communicate with synthetic beings.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Enhanced Reactions
B*
???
C
Allows the user to enter a state of being in which reactions speeds are greatly augmented.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Sniping (Basic)
C*/A*
???
F
The ability to shoot accurately at great ranges.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic)
D
???
E
The ability to use energy based ranged weapons effectively.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Energy Efficiency(Basic)
E
???
D
The ability to use technology more efficiently, wasting less energy on extraneous actions.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Hypercognition
B*
???
A
Allows the user to enter a state of accelerated perception, able to perform mental operations at an accelerated rate.
Skill Name:
Skill Rank:
Skill Proficiency:
Skill Rarity:
Indomitable Will
G
???
F
Enhances willpower in extreme situations, allowing to user to accomplish feats of will otherwise thought impossible.
Alan noticed that things were starting to become cluttered, so he had Eve reorganize the factions and skills alphabetically.
So, what now? Alan asked the Administrator.
Please wait as the results are tabulated. This may take up to 10 hours, so please feel free to rest. You may also spend ability points and perform other tasks allowed in the Home. Respawning at your spawn location and teleportation are currently disabled.
Uh, okay.
Alan checked out his character inventory; the only thing he’d lost was his sniper rifle. He had 26230 credits currently, and barely enough points to purchase the talented ability. He’d probably get an additional bonus once the results were tabulated for the Survival Test.
After purchasing the talented ability, Alan checked its details. It was simply listed as Talented (Undeveloped) and it enhanced his talent in various areas, whatever that meant. Eve didn’t know how he was supposed to develop the ability either. He’d have to figure it out himself. Feeling rather tired, Alan ate a simple meal of dull grey blocks and fell asleep still wearing his power armor.