Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (14 page)

Deactivating his armor's invisibility field, Alan powered up the laser knife as the sniper lifted up his left forearm, a small blue shield appearing on it. Following the shadow outline Eve displayed, Alan feinted a downwards slash at the sniper’s left leg then suddenly shifted the knife to his left hand and sliced into the Sniper’s right arm, holding the pistol. He activated and deactivated the knife as he did so, making it disappear and then reappear out of nowhere. The sniper let out a scream of pain as he dropped the pistol in his right hand, his HP shrinking down to 1600.

As the sniper tried to jerk himself away, Alan thrust the knife into the sniper’s chest as the laser knife ran out of power. Following Eve's aim, Alan managed to penetrate the heart, and the soldier died in seconds even as he managed to throw Alan off of him.

Panting, Alan stared down at the body and rubble as a string of messages popped up.

The soldier had been over a hundred levels higher… how had Alan even managed to kill him? Eve chimed in.

As I mentioned earlier, items are often more important than levels. Additionally, in order to avoid detection he had his energy shields turned off. While we were able to detect where the laser shots came from, that was only due to my unique capabilities, and the fact that I am actually capable of slowing down your perception of time, essentially speeding up the rate at which your brain processes information. Additionally, as a sniper most of his abilities, items and stats are most likely dedicated to long range fighting. As we were up close and personal, we were able to take him out.

Alright, well, good job.

Alan smiled as he walked over to the body, excited to see the loot the sniper dropped. It seems as though most of the sniper’s items had been bound, but he dropped his sniper rifle, which was all Alan cared about.

Unfortunately, Alan still needed the Energy Ranged Weapons skill to wield it effectively, but he was sure he’d be able to buy the skill with the over 88 ability points he had to spend on skills. Unlike most games, which required you to meet strict requirements before you could even wield a high-level weapon or item you acquired, the Game allowed players to still use these items even if they didn't meet the requirements. Instead, it would inflict severe penalties on the weapons, from decreased damage and energy to a higher likelihood the item would break. The fact that the rifle would drop upon death was also disappointing.

As Alan rummaged around the room, searching for additional items, Eve told him,
Incoming targeted transmission. Do not respond. Whoever is on the other side will be able to hear whatever you say aloud.

“James? What’s your status!? We have reports of some sort of building collapse, and you aren’t responding in the party chat.”

Alan, thinking he’d be clever, said aloud, in his best evil villain voice, “The Legion of Man leave no survivors!” Eve shouted into his mind, 
NO.

“What!? Who is that? AI389, cross examine that voice with our database.”

A mechanical voice said, “Examining… Match found.”

Not sitting around to hear anymore Alan raced outside of the building, invisible. He scrambled down the escape ladder then continued running back towards the base. Glancing behind him, he saw a military jeep approach the building he’d left. Thinking he was in the clear, Alan continued to run along, back to the base, when a message popped up.

It was shortly followed by:

Alan winced. The others definitely weren’t going to be happy, but he’d gotten 15 levels and an awesome weapon, right?

You will most likely be determined an enemy of the United World Government, a wanted terrorist,
Eve sent.

Oh.

Alan sprinted away from the sniper’s nest, swearing all the while, cursing whatever idiotic rules governed the game. How had they identified him by his voice, when he was deliberately speaking with an accent? As he began to tire, Alan deactivated his armor's invisibility field once he was about a half mile away. It only had 100 energy left, enough energy to deflect a single shot or keep him invisible for 20 minutes.

I may have overestimated the gravity of the situation,
Eve said.

Oh?

Yes, according to your status window you now simply have a “Disliked” reputation with the United World Government, which means they will not kill you on sight. Of course, the company of soldiers that are about to attack the base are an exception.

Alan opened up his character screen as he jogged, and saw this was true. Similar to most other games, his status window included a reputation screen under the heading Faction Standings. This would help him keep track of his current status with all of the various factions he met. It would also let him know how much any of his actions angered or pleased a certain faction. He brought up the screen to check if what Eve said was true.

Factions which will attack you on sight will be displayed with a (Hostile) tag. No factions are currently hostile,
Eve continued.
As we build a reputation with certain factions others may become hostile though. You were detected so easily because it is much simpler to determine the perpetrator of actions in the Game; it only requires various in-game skills. For instance, a player could determine simply from the room and death marker left behind a description of the killer, perhaps even their username.

Death marker?

Any dead player leaves behind a death marker, noting where they died. Only people with specialized classes and skills may interact with these markers, either removing them, inspecting them for information or even potentially reviving the player. From what I understand, when a player dies they return to their Home, and until they choose to respawn or be revived their death marker remains active.

Alright, but how did the government identify me?

It is fairly common to identify players by their voice, but that means they had a previous recording. Perhaps it was taken at the trading hub, or even the military base we were first teleported to. Special skills are required to hide your identity when attacking another player. A relatively common class capable of such feats is an Assassin.

 Hmmm, was there much about classes in the information you downloaded?
Alan was curious about how much the Game lined up with traditional role-playing games. Usually, a player's class determined what sort of abilities or items they could wield, a designation of a person's role within the game. Usually, players selected a class that fit their play-style.

Affirmative. A recommended class is given by the Administrators at the end of the Tutorial. A player may decline and try to gain a class on their own, but a class is both difficult to acquire and expensive. Classes generally seem to be a combination of an area of expertise and a job or role. For instance, a Nanotech Medic, a Psi Healer, an Energy Swordsman, a Techno-thief, a Space Marine or a Fighter Pilot, to name a few. Of course, players may perform any of these roles without the class, just much more ineffectively.

Additionally, a player may choose to hold any number of classes. As classes require a large number of skill points to be invested in them, most players concentrate on one or two classes. Most class-abilities have a general ability counterpart, which anyone can learn.

Huh,
Alan thought,
so pretty much any sort of job imaginable is fair game, along with some sort of sub-class or sub-field.

Yes, though psi-based abilities and technology tend to not mix well.

Alright, so… wait,
Alan sent, a thought suddenly occurring to him,
Let’s say I did end up being marked as hostile by the United World Government; would that mean in real life I’d be determined an enemy of the state?

Negative. As previously stated in the Senator’s speech, the Game is meant to be a virtual space for war. All Gamers possess various fundamental rights granted to them by the Enforcers, the real world arm of the Administrators. Any violent action against or detention of a Gamer against their will in the real world is punishable by death.

Wait, death?

Correct. Any serious threats, bribes or crimes committed outside the Game are similarly punished by the Enforcers, who may be easily contacted either through the game capsule, an Administrator or a provided phone number and email address. While you may think people are capable of getting away with murder or such crimes through proxies and the like, the Enforcers possess technology and resources far beyond any other civilization. There have been no recorded cases of successful kidnapping or murder of Gamers in the known universe since the Game began.

Damn. That’s sort of badass. And scary. Wait, also, you’re saying this only applies to Gamers? What about my parents?

Any actions against your parents to coerce you would be considered similar to an action against you. A random mugging would not, unless it resulted in death, as murder of any sentient life is taken seriously by the Enforcers. This distinction has caused a tiered system within the universe. An upper class, Gamers, and then those who are unable to play the Game. Nevertheless, I would surmise there are also various jobs in the real world that only non-gamers would be able to hold. If you had paid any attention to current events, you’d have noticed all the reports of a remarkable decrease in crime, and the protests against the Enforcers orbiting Earth, punishing criminals who commit crimes on Earth. Many are upset by the idea that the entirety of the universe is under the Enforcers’ jurisdiction.

Alan jogged along, five minutes away from the base, trying to process this new information, when he was interrupted by a message from Thiago:

T: We’re pretty sure this is your fault. You’d better be able to explain yourself fully.

Great.

***

Alan took a deep breath before he spoke, staring into the glaring, accusing eyes of the rest of the group. They’d all gathered in the main room in the bunker, standing around Alan as he tried to defend his actions.

“Look, I’m sorry for what happened," Alan said. "It was stupid, and I know that, but let me explain myself. After Ace and Daisy left, everything went to hell. There was a full on war downtown!

"Eve suggested that in the confusion I try to kill a sniper and steal their items, as I was still missing a ranged weapon. So, I did. But, somehow, the United World Government was able to determine I killed the sniper. It was an accident, and it never should have turned out this way.”

“Are you a fucking moron?” DaLong asked, rage seething in his eyes, as he pushed Alan into a table. “Did you seriously think, oh, this is just a stupid fucking game, I can go kill that player, take their items, and no one will care? Did you consider that you, a nobody who shouldn’t even be here, could jeopardize this entire group with your actions?”

Alan began a reply, struggling to move away from DaLong, “Hey, wait, look, I wasn’t trying—”

“Of course you weren’t. You weren’t trying to fuck us all over, but you did. You continue to think of this as a game, rather than an actual world, a world where a single action can affect everything else, perhaps even the fate of humanity. Instead, you’re preoccupied with gathering loot and experience and skills, unaware that your every action could change the balance.

"What if you taking out a sniper changed the fate of this battle? Do you even know which side is which? No, of course you don’t, you’re just a little kid out of his depth, being told what to do by the babysitter you invented. I don’t get how someone so fucking smart that they created a functioning AI can make so many stupid decisions.” DaLong continued ranting, spittle spraying onto Alan’s face.

“Now, look," Alan said, "I don’t know about you, but I have zero experience with any of this shit. I’ve never fought anybody but a couple of kids in grade school. Making Eve, that was done using an online tutorial, with lots of time, dumb luck and book smarts. She basically taught herself, playing games that I provided.

"The only experience close to this is what I’ve read in books or seen in movies or played in games. I haven’t had time to consider the implications of my every action, and, despite what you seem to think, this is clearly a game. That means taking risks when the rewards are worth it,” Alan replied as he stared back at DaLong.

Thiago stepped forward, grabbing DaLong’s arm as he almost struck Alan, pulling him back. “Yes, this is a game," Thiago said. "But it is also
the
Game, and currently, your actions don’t just affect your own standing, but our entire group’s. All of our reputations with the United World Government have been lowered, which is problematic. For now though we need to focus on the Tutorial.

"There are bigger forces at play, things beyond the scope of your understanding. We are playing for much greater stakes and you need to take that into account. If you cross the line again, and act against our interests, I will end you. I will ensure that you are hunted, unable to play the Game, by putting a bounty on your head so large nowhere in the galaxy will be safe.”

Aren’t threats punishable? Report him!
Alan sent Eve.

Only outside the Game. Threats inside the Game are perfectly permissible. Now, I advise that you try to shift blame, question their interests, accuse Ace of betraying the group, providing the United World Government with the information necessary to identify you.
Alan, fueled by rage, readily accepted Eve’s advice, as it also struck a chord of truth in his own mind.

“Wait, act against your interests?" Alan asked. "How am I supposed to not act against your interests when I don’t even know what your interests are? There’s clearly something that you’re hiding from me. The only reason that the United World Government was even able to identify me is because Ace over there sold them information about our group, which, if I’d been informed of, probably would have influenced my actions.”

“Is this true, Ace?” Thiago asked, turning to look at the quiet soldier. Ace shrugged. Thiago narrowed his eyes, then looked back at Alan. “Alright, whatever. We’ll discuss this further after the fight, if you manage to survive. Know that you’re walking on thin ice. Go spend your ability points or whatever, I hope you can use that sniper rifle you got. Then go make yourself useful and scout out this base. Ace can hopefully help us figure out how to capture it.”

Silently fuming, Alan walked over to the Administrator in the corner, ensuring that Eve was able to record the conversation as he spent his ability points. He had 91 points to spend. He bought the Basic skills in Energy Ranged Weapons and Energy Efficiency. As he was about to enter battle, Alan decided to put the rest of the points into agility, perception and endurance.

Alright, Eve, does this look good?
Alan asked Eve, his thoughts hovering over the accept button on the screen before him.

Yes,
she replied,
I believe the situation warrants this necessity.

What do you mean, this necessity?

The majority of these skills are actually trainable, or acquirable. Given the information required, I could probably teach you the Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) skill in a few days, and the Energy Efficiency (Basic) skill in two weeks. As we do not have the time or the tools required, it seems like you must purchase the skills.

Well, that would have been fucking useful to know before I wasted all those points. God damn
—

Stop. You are allowing your rage to impair your judgment, shifting away from logical reasoning. It does not matter whose fault it is, it matters how you are able to manipulate the situation to our advantage. Calm yourself.

With a heavy sigh Alan accepted the purchase.

So, what? In the future we should spent ability points on the abilities like flying, or stats?

Both of those are also able to be gained with the right materials and training. Most purchasable skills and stats are able to be gained through other means. Still, some are harder to train than others, and these skills are typically accompanied by a much higher ability point cost. I advise saving up and purchasing the Talented ability, then saving for the class upgrade, as that will also cost ability points.

Fine,
Alan sent.
 
The earlier point about Eve being his babysitter sort of hurt, but, well, following Eve's directions was the optimal way to play. DaLong was just jealous.