Absorb - Level 1
SSS
Active
The User has the chance to absorb the essence of a defeated foe from their corpse. The chance of absorption is based on the difference in level between the User and the foe. If the User has a higher level than the foe, then the chances of absorption being successful upon activation are increased. If the foe has a higher level than the User, the chances of absorption being successful are decreased.
To activate, touch the body of a defeated enemy and think or say ‘Absorb’ with the intent of activating the ability.
Well, at least I have one freebie from the System, though I’m not sure what ‘absorb the essence of a defeated foe’ means.
The section on portals is almost exactly as Lillian described. Red door—Dungeon, Green door— Home base. However, the manual adds an additional type of door. Blue—Commercial. Apparently, some people purchase a unique type of portal key meant for business. The System offers them exclusive perks and upgrades not provided to a home base type.
Speaking of which, I forgot to bind my home base portal key to myself. I know Lillian said to do it immediately, but I forgot in the confusion of her explanations. When I pull the key out of my pocket and hold it up, another prompt appears.
You’ve accessed an unbound home base key. Would you like to bind it to your person?
I say, “Yes.” Then the prompt changes.
Congratulations on finding your home base key. Would you like to set your home base now?
I don’t have any idea what this means, and I flip through the guidebook to the home base section.
Home Base
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home base. Your home base is more than a place to rest your head and recuperate. It’s a safe, private space that you can develop. To initialize your home base, hold your portal key in your hand in the room you want to designate as your home base and follow the prompts the System gives you.
Your home base is the only place that you cannot be harmed or killed by default. A User may change this setting to his or her home base, but the System charges an outrageous amount to do so, and guests are notified of this change before entering. The User determines who enters a User’s home base. They may grant and deny access to their home base at any time by holding their portal key and thinking or saying, ‘Home Base Permissions.’
Upgrading your home base is one of the joys of having one. Once you initialize your home base, you’re given access to a simple version of the System store and can purchase and sell a variety of products. With the level 1 store, all Users are given access to buy/sell simple products, including upgrades that they can make to their home base.
Woah. That’s some cool stuff right there. I can upgrade my home base? I wonder what kinds of things I can upgrade. Then I realize I don’t have to wonder, holding my home base portal key I look at the still floating prompt.
Congratulations on binding your home base key. Would you like to set your home base now?
I answer yes. A pencil thin beam of light explodes from the key in my hand. The light scans every inch of the room, from floor to ceiling. Then the light disappears back into the key, and I’m left blinking spots away. When the spots clear, I see a new prompt.
Congratulations on initializing your home base. To see your current benefits, think or say ‘Home Base Bonuses.’ To access the System store think or say ‘System Store.’
I pull up the home base bonuses.
Home Base Bonuses
Non PvP or PvE zone
Health Regeneration +10%
Mana Regeneration +10
TP Regeneration +10%
Not bad, I think. I don’t have a point of comparison, but I figure any type of bonus is better than nothing. Next up is the System store. I pull up the store by thinking the proper command, and two windows pop up. The first is a blue window labeled System Store with tabs along the top of it with a different stock. The second is a small window with a message.
Welcome to the System store. As a first-time visitor, you will be granted five credits.
Oh, free money! That’s always a great deal. I dismiss the message and hear the sound of a cash register as another message appears.
Five credits have been added to your inventory.
My inventory? I open the guidebook again and flip to the section on inventory. The book says that I have an extra dimensional space, called an inventory, set aside to hold items. I call up my inventory, and it’s just another blue box subdivided into six smaller boxes. I touch the guidebook to one of the boxes. It disappears from my hand, and a miniature version of it appears in the inventory box. I tap the small book in my inventory, and it reappears, floating in front of the System window full sized once again. The book floats there for five seconds then drops, and I wince in pain as the edge of the book hits my unprotected foot. I rub my sore footsie, then pick up the book and place it on the bed next to me. Looking at the inventory screen again, I see in the bottom right hand corner of the screen is written Credits: 5. Well, that’s an easy way to keep track of my money. Too bad I can’t deposit my regular money here since only credits show up. The inventory screen would make the best wallet ever since no one else could see it.
I close my Inventory and return my attention to the System Store window. It has several tabs along the top of the window for the different items in the store. From left to right the tabs read All Items, New, Popular, On Sale, Consumables, Weapons, Armor, Upgrades, and Miscellaneous.
It also has a small search bar that can be used to look for items or specific keywords. The New tab has what I can only assume are the newest items. The ‘Popular’ tab has items and upgrades that are the most purchased. The ‘On Sale’ tab has discounted items. I’ll have to remember to come back there. Consumables are items that are one-time use only—Items like potions, spell scrolls, ammunition, and the like. Weapons and armor are self-descriptive. I’m surprised by the different types of basic weapons and armor available in the store. There are all kinds of medieval weapons like spell wands, swords, shields, and chainmail. However, there are also handguns, machine guns, retractable batons, and bulletproof body armor. Even more fantastic are the futuristic items like laser pistols and energy shields. Heck, there’s even a battle suit like the one that Lillian had, though the one in the store isn’t nearly as cool-looking. The miscellaneous tab has a collection of tools and items that just don’t fit in the other categories. There’s everything from rope and duct tape to lockpicks and hacking tools. There’s even a rather expensive artificially intelligent assistant program. There are also cosmetic items in this tab, things like costumes and hats that don’t provide any real benefit but change the way I’d look. Well, it’s good to know I won’t ever have to worry about getting a Halloween costume again.
There’s also a ‘Sell’ tab but with a bunch of boxes that remind me of the inventory space and a big sell button at the bottom. I guess that this is the tab I can use to sell things to the System. I grab a shoe from the floor and test the sell feature. I tapping the shoe against one of the boxes in the ‘Sell’ tab. The shoe disappears from my hand and appears on the store screen. Above the sell button, a one appears next to the word ‘credit.' I assume that means that my shoe is only worth one credit if I wanted to sell it. I tap the icon of a single shoe, and it appears in the air in front of me, and I grab it before it falls then toss it in the corner of the room.