Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (13 page)

According to my item database, only rare and powerful items rank B and above have requirements to wield. Many of those requirements are skill or attribute requirements rather than level requirements. Items are also much more important when determining one’s strength, at least compared to most games. A well geared level one player would be capable of fighting on par with a poorly geared, equally skilled level 1000 player.

Huh, interesting. I guess that makes credits much more important, and again explains their real life value, especially if all these different factions need to fund in-game armies.

Having selected the item he wanted, Alan exited the shop, invisible. He briefly considered trying to rob the place, but the shopkeeper probably had underworld connections or something along those lines. Alan also had no idea what level of security these shops had. As soon as Alan stepped outside the store, a message popped up, letting him know the Revenant Power Armor and Modified Laser Knife were now bound to him.

What exactly does that mean?
Alan asked.

An unbound item rank E or above will always drop upon death, while any item rank A or above will also always drop upon death, even if it’s bound. Any bound item rank B or below will not drop upon death. Items are usually bound to a player after purchase or significant use. Items may have modifiers that affect these properties. A bound item may not be traded away or sold, and it costs credits to get an item unbound. If items are left unattended by their owner for a period of time, they also become unbound.

Interesting… what rank is the Revenant Power Armor by the way?

I am uncertain, as the item was not in the item database provided. I would guess it was rank C or B.

Alright,
Alan answered, happy the Game recognized that the armor was
his
. He was making progress, though he still needed a main weapon. The laser knife would only get him so far.

Alan made his way outside of the trading hub, keeping a vigilant eye out for any suspicious activity, even though Eve would probably notify him before he detected anything. The rebels were up to something here; he didn’t know what.

As San Francisco is a major supply port, they are most likely attempting to sabotage the military base and supplies,
Eve sent.

Huh, interesting. What do you suggest we do?

… Too many variables. There are a few clear choices, yet they would result in vastly different consequences.

Oh? What are the choices?

Firstly, we could immediately alert the military, no doubt earning us favor. Unfortunately, they may not believe the threat to be credible, and as an outsider our rewards may not be as great or we may even be detained for questioning. Additionally, the Dark Merchant would most likely revoke our black market status and put a bounty on our head. We are also uncertain what faction he is tied to.

Secondly, we could attempt to join these rebels, potentially with a backup plan of betraying them to the United World Government. The outsider uncertainty applies as well here, perhaps even doubly so, as they are an underground group. Their connections are dubious as well.

Thirdly, we may try to anonymously sell this information, which is most likely what the Dark Merchant will do. However, the chance of detection is rather high.

Finally, we may simply wait and see what happens, taking advantage of the chaos caused, or return to base. There is still the second wave in the Survival Test, whatever it may be, which we should prepare for. These last two options are the most neutral.

Please proceed to the designated point and deactivate your armor’s ability.

Alan followed Eve’s directions, cutting into an office building a few blocks away from the trading hub, crouching underneath the reception desk before deactivating the armor’s invisibility, but maintaining his stealth ability.

Based upon news about current events and the information provided by the Thought Emporium, there are a few major factions that we are likely to encounter. First of all, the various humanoid governments. The Haxlardian Empire, whose ship we will respawn in, are a local alien empire, controlling the space that Earth is in, including but not limited to the majority of the Milky Way Galaxy. They are ruled by a council of seven under the Three. They all wear masks that show off status and rank. Higher level masks provide them with various stats and abilities. On average, Haxlards are twice as strong as humans, while Ultihaxlards are ten times as strong.

The Unified World Government, which you are undoubtedly aware of, is the government that was hastily erected in order to meet the requirements for humanity to join the Game. Their place within the scheme of things is fairly uncertain, both in terms of Earth politics and intergalactic politics, as there are many places on Earth which do not acknowledge their authority. The rulers and rules of the UWG are still in fluctuation. Currently, the primary authority in the UWG is the USA and its NATO allies.

A series of explosions suddenly went off in the distance, rocking the building Alan was in. Alan activated the Revenant armor’s invisibility and raced outside, never more thankful for a series of potentially harmful and devastating terrorist attacks.

Remember, things are very, very complicated, and the universe is a large place! You should leave political dealings and faction choices to me, I’ll be able to calculate our best interests better than you can!
 Eve shouted into Alan’s mind, but he wasn’t paying attention anymore.

Outside, it was chaos. It seemed more like a full on invasion rather than a simple terrorist attack. Alan watched as hundreds of people fled downtown, while hundreds more were heading downtown in military vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Planes flew in from above, and a series of space fighters materialized out of nowhere in the sky, firing upon various buildings and each other.

Head upstairs for a better vantage point.

Alan readily followed Eve's suggestion; he ran back into the building, racing up the stairs as adrenaline pumped through him. At the top of the twentieth floor he darted into a corner office with a window facing the action. Below, a fleet of sea ships had appeared out of nowhere in the bay, and were launching a series of attacks from the waterfront, while a few well placed explosions had knocked out various anti-ship defenses that had been set up by the United World Government military. There was so much smoke and fire everywhere that Alan couldn’t tell what was really happening.

This is our chance.
 Eve whispered into Alan’s mind, almost sinisterly.

What?

As I outlined beforehand, this seems like a good chance to take advantage of the chaos, and acquire both items and experience we need.

And exactly how do you plan on doing that?

Eve highlighted a number of nearby buildings.

There have been sniper shots from the highlighted buildings. Should we sneak up on one of the snipers, we should be able to easily assassinate them and take their gear. We may simply disguise these killings as the work of the Legion of Man, and no one should be the wiser. Unlike in most games, unless an action can be directly attributed to you, it has no bearing on your faction standing, except in certain scenarios, such as an officially declared war or battle.

I don’t know…

If you wish to become an effective, efficient mercenary you will need to start making such morally grey choices that benefit you. Think of the snipers as simply a rare mob that have a special drop item you need. Also, you didn’t seem to have much issue with buying stolen goods.

Alan began to formulate an argument with Eve in his head, but then, mulling it over, decided that it was in his best interest to try to take out a sniper for their weapon. Besides, it wasn’t like a single sniper would change the course of the battle: they’d respawn once they were killed, and he’d pay the United World Government back once he was done with the Tutorial. Maybe he'd even take the sniper's place, trying to eliminate Legion of Man soldiers. Conscience clear, Alan descended the stairs carefully, debating with Eve which building he should target.

***

A few minutes later, Alan approached the building he and Eve had decided upon. It was on top of a hill, on a street further away from downtown, towards the Presidio, where the tutorial base was. If something went wrong Alan could flee away from the Legion of Man forces. The battle, off in the distance, was still going strong, with more laser fire and reinforcements arriving every minute. Where a rebel military force Alan had never heard of before was getting such firepower Alan had no idea, but then again maybe the group only existed within the Game.

Alan was about to step into the lobby of the multistory apartment building, when
—

HALT.

Alan halted.

There are motion detectors set up to detect if someone enters the building.

Two small devices besides the doors into the building were highlighted, showing a red screen surrounding the entrance. Alan assumed this was the field Eve detected. As Alan looped around outside the building, he saw that the detection field surrounded the entire first floor. Well, so much for that plan.

Negative. Proceed to the fire escape.

Eve highlighted a fire escape on the side of the building that Alan hadn’t noticed. The detection field didn’t expand outside the building, at least as far as he could see. The only problem was that the fire escape was a bit over 12 feet off the ground.

You should be capable of leaping up and climbing onto it.

Alan carefully considered the jump. He was definitely feeling stronger than he’d ever been before, and he could probably make it if Eve told him he could. It just might hurt a lot. He walked underneath the fire escape, and leapt up with all his might. To his surprise, his fingers managed to brush against the bottom of the un-extended ladder. After a few more leaps, Alan managed to catch on to the edge of the fire escape and pull himself up. The metal squeaked and shifted a bit as it bore the brunt of his weight, but it didn’t give way.

Alan traversed up the fire escape to the 7th floor, the floor below where Eve calculated the sniper to be, remaining invisible all the while. He’d been maintaining his invisibility for about an hour total since getting the power armor. Taking into account the regained energy, he was left with 200 shield energy. It was 2:13 p.m., with a bit over three hours left until the next round in the Survival Test. That meant the shields wouldn’t be done regenerating by the time the round began, unfortunately.

So, um, why’d you have me stop on the 7th floor?
Alan sent to Eve.

You will attack the sniper from below, cutting out the floor beneath the sniper, silently, quickly, and carefully, at my direction. How did you expect to get to the sniper? Climb in through the window they’re shooting out of, or through the door that’s no doubt booby trapped?

Alan, who had actually been considering climbing around the outside of the building, replied, 
No. But wouldn’t maybe coming from above make more sense?

Negative, I have pinpointed their location, and the drop should be disorienting enough for you to finish them off.

Alright.

The window to get into the building from the fire escape was locked, but Eve assured Alan that he could cut through it with the laser knife, and the alarms were all turned off as the building no longer had power. Alan took out the knife, and, sure enough, once activated it cut through the glass and metal like it was butter. As he cut a man-sized hole into the side of the building Alan smiled with glee. It was like his fantasy of wielding a lightsaber was coming true! Unlike a lightsaber, the knife didn’t make a low buzzing sound, or any noise at all, actually. That was probably due to the modifications.

Unfortunately, the laser portion of the knife could only last for 10 seconds, and it took seven seconds to cut through the window. Thus, Alan had to wait a few minutes for it to recharge before he could take on the sniper. Eve told him to be patient, so she could triangulate where exactly the sniper was. Somehow, using the slight movements and noise Alan heard above, in addition to the occasional laser shot Alan could see shoot out from above him towards downtown, Eve created a red silhouette of where the sniper was shooting from. Apparently they were in the corner of the room above, resting their rifle on a desk to steady their aim.

Following an outline Eve displayed, Alan made a series of cuts in the ceiling, and, three seconds later, with a resounding crash, the entire floor of the room above collapsed inwards.

LEAP BACK,
Eve suddenly warned Alan.
 

Alan leapt back into the hallway, leaving the door open, deactivating the laser knife and reactivating his armor's invisibility. He watched as a figure in camouflage colored power armor collapsed onto the floor and reached for a laser pistol sidearm with his right hand. The sniper had around 2000 HP left after the fall, but no shields for some reason. Their level was a series of question marks.

Following a shadow figure Eve provided, Alan silently charged at the sniper, invisible. Somehow, when he was a few feet away, the sniper detected him, and began firing laser shots wildly in his direction. Alan narrowly dodged the shots with Eve's help.