Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (6 page)

Oh, great. Why did you specify human from Earth?

There are multiple species that share enough similarity with humans from Earth they too could be specified as humans. Please spend your ability points now.

A timer appeared in front of Alan, 10 minutes counting down, while he tried to process the information he was given.

Alright, so if I assume higher level players hide their level, the max level and average level is probably higher, thus making Gifted and Skilled amazing abilities. At the same time though, this next part of the tutorial will probably require me to use my abilities, so if I want to do better I would be better off getting abilities with immediate effects…
Alan thought, starting at the ticking clock.

Eve, do you think it would be a wise decision to purchase Gifted or Skilled?
Alan finally asked.

Affirmative.

Alright.

Alan scrolled down on the menu and purchased Skilled, as the points accrued could then be spent on purchasing Gifted.

He used his remaining 10 points to purchase a basic Sneak skill, figuring he’d probably be better off sneaking around as a scout rather than directly fighting people, as he had little to no actual combat experience. He’d leave actual fighting to others, or kill off enemies before they detected him. He could also always just stay hidden.

After the purchase the sneak skill appeared on his character sheet, but Alan didn't feel any different. It had a rank of G. The rank was basically a power level rating, or at least that was how Alan was interpreting it. Skilled had an unknown rank.

The Administrator brought another in-game menu up in front of him.

Another way to increase your abilities, apart from spending ability points, is by installing implants. There are two categories of implants: biological and mechanical. Biological implants, as their name imply, change you biologically, such as giving you the strength of a Predecessor by infusing your DNA with theirs. Mechanical implants instead make the use of technology to improve your abilities, for instance increasing your strength by enhancing your muscles with metal.

Please note that along with the benefits provided, most implants also have drawbacks. The Predecessor DNA may increase your strength, but it also might leave you vulnerable to Predecessor diseases you would otherwise avoid. Mechanical muscles may be affected by EMP shockwaves or need to be tuned on a regular basis.

As a human, you are limited to one biological and one mechanical implant plus another of each for every power of 10 levels you have. At level 1, you may have one of each, at level 10, you may have two of each, and so forth. For a significant cost, you may have implants added and removed. Please review your implants now.

Alan looked at the menu. It displayed a blue outline of a human body, along with two implants that had apparently been implanted already. The first implant was labeled mechanical with a rank of C, named Computer-Human Enhanced Interface, which according to the tooltip enhanced the ability to communicate with AI, explaining how he was talking to Eve. When selected, the brain of the blue outline was highlighted.

The second was biological, a General Status Enhancer, giving all of his attributes +20, explaining why he felt stronger, faster and smarter in the Game. It seemed to encompass his entire body.

When did I get these implants? From where?
Alan asked.

When you initially entered the Game. They were approved by your AI, a benefit of entering the Game with a rank B capsule, 
the Administrator replied.

Wait, Eve, you accepted these for me?

Affirmative. This was before you set up permissions. I chose these implants as I felt they would benefit you the most.

Okay, they have helped, just please follow the permissions I set up earlier. Ask me before you make any decision that would influence the Game in any matter, unless it’s a dire situation that doesn’t give you enough time to consult me.

Of course.

Well, that answered the question of where the time went when Alan had first entered the Game. Eve had decided without him to have these implants installed.

Oh well, he probably would have agonized over the choice and would never have picked the Computer-Human Enhanced Interface. Alan briefly browsed the other choices, which now cost thousands of credits, various materials and even ability points.

The implants generally granted the same things the various abilities he could have purchased gave. Increased strength, enhanced senses, flight. Interestingly, it looked like he could become a cyborg of some sort, which allowed for increased mechanical implants, but fewer biological ones. It also made him more susceptible to anti-machine weapons, though, and Alan wasn’t sure how much he liked the idea of becoming half-machine. He already had an AI practically living in his brain, after all.

Like the list of abilities, the list of implants was pretty much endless. After looking at about 20 pages of the most popular implants, Alan got bored, and looked over at the Administrator.

I am done reviewing my implants. Boy, that sounded a bit strange, good thing I’m the only person hearing what I’m thinking.

The Administrator continued to ignore his errant thoughts, and replied,
Another important action you may perform in your Home is teleportation, with a fee depending on how far you wish to be transported. Teleportation is generally only feasible within approximately 10 light years and is disabled on ships. For the sake of the Tutorial teleportation has been temporarily activated. Note that teleportation is generally not instantaneous.

Please teleport to the Tutorial destination, where your next test will begin.

A third menu opened up in front of Alan, this time a list of a single place to teleport to, titled Tutorial destination, with a fee of 0 credits, and a question mark for the picture.

Teleport me to the Tutorial destination, 
Alan thought,
 
and off he went.

Alan stepped out of the teleportation chamber into the fluorescent light of an underground concrete bunker the size of a small school gym. Along with the teleportation chamber, there were numerous tables at the edges of the room, with an assortment of supplies and weapons. An Administrator also stood in the corner opposite from Alan, next to a capsule. In the middle were a number of military cots, each with a pillow and blanket on them. Standing about the room were the others, everyone except Ace as far as Alan could see.

A message popped up:

Alan closed the message, then looked up. The others had noticed him by now, and Thiago was walking up to him.

“Alan, how’d the written test go? Not too long, I hope. Everyone else finished and arrived here hours ago.”

“Uh, it was fine," Alan said. "Are we ready for this survival test?”

"About as ready as we’re ever gonna be," Thiago replied. "I've decided we should stay in this bunker, killing anything that gets close. You and Kitana will go outside and figure out where we are while the rest of us fortify this position. The door’s shut tight, but it’ll open once Ace arrives.”

Thiago gestured at a metal door next to the Administrator, then continued talking.

“So we don’t buy redundant items I am going over everyone's purchases. How many credits did you receive?”

“Um, 100,” Alan said, rechecking the earlier message. He had Eve add a line that showed how much money he had in his inventory screen.

“Really,” Thiago said, staring at Alan, examining him like they'd just met. “As far as I can tell, we’ve been given different amounts based off of our skills, and stuff we brought, to balance things out. The only other person that received so little is Kitana, but she brought a sword for god’s sake. Daisy received 3000 credits, enough to buy a shield generator! She thinks she’s worked out how it works, and it’ll be up once we get it set up and the door opens.

“Also, before you ask, all the items here seem to be bind until death, thus only the person who buys the item is able to use it. The cheapest gun is like 300 credits. All 100 credits can buy you is a few days worth of food and a med-kit, which is what I suggest you buy. Also, add me as a contact, so we can message each other while this thing is going on.”

A message popped up:

Accept.

“Ace has arrived. Get ready,” Thiago said, looking over Alan’s shoulder. Alan turned to see Ace emerge from the teleportation chamber. To his surprise, it looked like Ace hadn’t slept a wink, and had been doing some sort of physical activity, based upon the sweat on his brow.

Alan hurried over to the table Thiago gestured to earlier with the food and medicine. A drop down menu appeared before him, a list of items and their prices. He bought three packets of food, dark grey blocks of what looked like Jell-O for 10 credits each, a med-kit for 50 credits and a water bottle that somehow gathered water from the atmosphere and filled itself for 20 credits.

Opening up the med-kit, Alan saw it looked like a futuristic first aid kit with bandages and different gels for wounds. Alan hoped Eve knew what to do with this stuff.

Someone had suggested he take a first aid class at some point, but he’d always figure he’d have the internet and a hospital nearby. Alan shoved this stuff into the green backpack he’d scavenged from the house he started the Game at. He still had the combat knife the soldier had given him earlier in his pocket. Hopefully it would be enough for whatever it was they were going to face.

Another message popped up:

The message included a 3D hologram of a massive beast the size of an SUV, covered in scars with huge protruding fangs. It sort of looked like a enormous bulldog to Alan, if the bulldog had brown bear fur, a cat’s jaw with saber-like teeth, and had been mauled a few times. Alan didn’t think his tiny knife would do much against this thing.

“Alright, everyone, it’s time to begin.” Thiago called out. “You all have your directions, let’s do this. Please update me with any new developments.”

Everyone nodded, the majority of them gathering around a metal device Alan assumed was the shield generator. Kitana got up from a cot, where she had been sitting down sharpening her katana, gesturing Alan over. Thiago went back to talking to Ace, who apparently hadn't been given any credits. Alan really wanted to know what Ace's abilities were and what had happened to him, but he had work to do.

He and Kitana stepped out of the room into a narrow concrete hallway maybe 20 ft long. There were two completely empty storage rooms on either side of the hallway. At the end was a set of concrete stairs leading upwards. At the top of the stairs they saw DaLong, next to the door to the bunker, trying to get it open. Alan hurried up the stairs to help him. DaLong looked over at him, but didn’t say anything.

With one huge heave, the rusty hinges finally budged, and the concrete swung backwards, revealing a foggy sky. They emerged onto the top of a grassy cliff, next to a road, surrounded by what looked like mostly woods to Alan. It was hard to tell though, as the fog blocked most of his vision.

Occasionally, Alan could see the red roof tiles of various buildings around him, and they were next to some sort of body of water to the west, but other than that he wasn’t able to make out much other than trees and vegetation.

“Are you going to stand here, or are you going to scout?” DaLong asked after a few seconds waiting.

“Just trying to try to see some landmarks. Let’s follow this road, see where it leads,” Alan said to Kitana, pointing in the direction away from the water. She nodded, and began jogging before Alan could say anything more.

***

As soon as the road stopped descending, it started ascending. There were hills everywhere, and they were killing Alan's legs. According to an old rusty street sign, they were on a Lincoln Blvd. Alan struggled to keep up with Kitana’s pace, but didn’t want to say anything or demonstrate his weakness. Also, his attributes would increase if he worked hard, right?

A few minutes later, Alan glanced at his minimap. He stopped, almost face palming.

“Wait, Kitana, Eve’s already figured out where we are.” Alan had made sure Eve had downloaded a worldwide map before beginning the Game, along with all sorts of other information he’d found on the internet.

According to Eve’s map, they were now in the Presidio of San Francisco, which according to Wikipedia was a park that was formerly a military base. If they followed the road they were on now, they’d reach the Richmond District of San Francisco. The body of water Alan had seen a glimpse of earlier was the Pacific Ocean.

Let me know if you make a discovery like that, okay?
Alan sent.

A discovery like what?

Like where we teleported to.

Affirmative.

“Ask Thiago what to do next, you can message him,” Kitana said, moving her hands about in front of her, exploring the map Eve provided.

“Alright.”

Message Thiago,
Alan told Eve.

Text or voice?

Um, voice.

Connecting…

A phone began ringing in Alan’s ear. A second later, he heard Thiago, speaking into his ear.

“Yes, Alan?”

“Um, Eve figured out we’re in San Francisco. You can take a look at your minimap. It should have updated.”

“Oh.” A few seconds passed, as Thiago checked out the map. “Very good. Have you found anything that might be helpful?”

“Uh, no not really, just a bunch of hills and trees,” Alan replied.

“Alright, the next thing you should do is look for supplies. If this map is right then we’re properly in the Game now. I think San Francisco is under US military control, but I’m not sure, so try to avoid any other people you find. Remember that this place is a digital copy of the real Earth when the aliens first came here six months ago, so things may have changed quite a bit. Time in-game is four times as fast so two years have passed here. ”

“Got it, bye.”

End connection,
Alan sent.

Connection ended.

Hey, Eve, where’s the nearest police station?

The nearest police station is approximately 2 miles away.

Alright, set it as our destination.

Destination set.

The familiar blue line appeared before Alan. He turned to Kitana.

“Alright, let’s try to go to the police station, hopefully we’ll find supplies there. It’s about 2 miles away, but we still have over an hour left to get there and back.”

Kitana shrugged. “Sure.”

A blue line appeared on the road in front of Alan, showing him the way to the police station, or at least where there was in the real world. On the jog over he tried making small talk with Kitana.

“So, um, have you played many video games?”

“No.”

“Oh, um, what’s your favorite anime or manga?”

“I haven’t had the time for either.”

“Huh, that’s cool.”

Kitana didn’t respond.

“Well, if you haven’t really played any games before, all these ability points and skills might be a bit confusing," Alan said. "I’ve found it best to try to stick with one sort of character and focus on doing that as best you can. Also, there are a few pretty useful skills that you can buy that will allow you to improve faster. I don’t know if you noticed them, but Skilled and Gifted seem pretty over powered.”

"Yes, those skills have been quite useful in accruing extra ability points," Kitana said. "I began with them.”

“Oh, you did? Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what other abilities did you start with?”

Kitana made a gesture, opening a menu, looking at it while she ran.

“Sword mastery, a various number of sword-moves the Game seems to have converted from the style I’ve learned, various breathing techniques, meditation, sprint, sneak, enhanced endurance, there are quite a few here.”

Alan opened and looked at his character menu. The only skills were the ones he bought, Skilled and the basic sneak ability.

You should align yourself and become “friends” with this Kitana. Discover her goals and aid her or blackmail her, 
Eve suddenly sent. 

Um, right… I’ll do that, but probably not for the same reasons you want me to, and I’m definitely not going to try to blackmail her.

Fine. Based upon the games I’ve played, girls are likely to like you if you are strong, cute, handsome, charming, funny or a lovable buffoon. Based upon my observations, you would be best suited for the role of lovable buffoon. First—

Wait, no, stop. Too far. Please don’t give me relationship advice.

Is that a command?

It is. Stop.

Fine.

Blushing slightly, Alan continued jogging along the road. What were they talking about again? Oh, right, skills.

“Huh, that’s pretty amazing," he said. "I actually only have a few skills. Um, by the way, what level are you?”

“53.”

Oh, well that explains a lot…
Alan thought.
I guess abilities in the real world transfer over to the Game, which sort of makes sense if it’s supposed to represent fighting in your actual body, just virtually. Another reason all the people at the airbase were super buff and looked militaristic.

Still, to be told that I don’t have any skills worth mentioning is sort of depressing. I may have spent most of my days sitting inside reading stuff or watching things or playing games, but I also studied pretty hard. Okay, well, I studied hard when it mattered and I wanted to, so like, a few times. Whatever, I have Eve to do that...

Alan ignored the fact that a lot of his inability came from laziness. He’d do the hard work. At some point.