Spirit: 372/700
He smiled. Just that simple meal had netted him almost half his Spirit back. It all seemed so surreal. It was a strange thing that was not only used whenever he did something as simple as walking, but also let him accomplish insane things by extracting it into the world. Once again, he fell back into his testing, but didn’t enter that state of hyperfixation this time. Tendrils of energy wrapped around his arm and hand until they formed a small transparent barrier. He felt it harden and solidify, forming a gauntlet over the majority of his left arm. He flexed his hand, finding it just as easy as before he had formed the armor.
Spirit: 272/700
He was glad the armor was basically permanent once it was formed, unless damaged or destroyed. With a cost of 100 Spirit just to cover one arm, there was not a chance in hell that he would be able to form it on the fly. With a sigh, he nodded before walking to a nearby tree and slamming his gauntleted fist into it with all the force he could muster. His armor completely blocked the force of the impact from reaching his fist and left a noticeable indent where the bark had cracked from his strike. He smiled, happy with the application of his armor and empowerment skills.
“Maybe I was wrong for pushing you to get moving,” Lan said in a happy tone.
Jay simply nodded and opened the leaderboard once more as dusk began to set in.
Leaderboard
- Jett Navarro - Level: 14
- Isabella Rossi - Level: 14
- Nova Callis - Level: 14
- Chloe Morales - Level: 14
- Zane Mercer - Level: 14
- Zira Vox - Level: 14
- Vega Arcturus - Level: 13
- Corin Vale - Level: 13
- Althea Veymar - Level: 12
- Phoenix Valez - Level: 12
…
- Jay Anderson - Level: 7
Huh? He thought, slightly surprised the highest levels had still only made it to 14.
“There’s a cutoff at that level,” Lan cut in, reading his thoughts--literally.
A cutoff?
“Yeah. You need to get your class to Tier 2 before you can continue advancing, which most people tend to neglect when they're leveling fast.”
Jay pulled up his status screen, hoping it would explain more.
Status:
Name: Jay Anderson
Race: Human: (Level - 7)
Class: Light Warrior: (Tier - 1)
Innate Class: N/A
Spirit: 124/600
Stats:
Physique: 4
Reflexes: 4
Intellect: 8
Charisma: 6
Willpower: 3
Tech: 6
Upgrade Points: 6
Cyberware:
Emotional Regulator - Rare - Excellent
Artificial Liver - Common - Poor
Bionic Arm - Common - Poor
Skills:
Translation: (Level - 1) - Uncommon
Running: (Level - 6)
Pain Tolerance: (Level - 4)
Endurance: (Level - 1)
Basic Knots: (Level - 1)
Climbing: (Level - 1)
Basic Digging: (Level - 1)
Fire Starting: (Level - 2)
Cooking: (Level - 3)
Extinguish Fire: (Level - 2)
Sorting: (Level - 2)
Jumping: (Level - 2)
Cleaning: (Level - 2)
Multitasking: (Level - 4)
Communication: (Level - 1)
Nausea Resistance: (Level - 1)
Firearm Mastery: (Level - 1)
Basic Spirit Control: (Level - 7)
Basic Spirit Empowerment: (Level - 4)
Basic Spirit Armor: (Level - 3)
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Class Skills:
Basic Blade Combat: (Level - 0)
Basic Bow Combat: (Level - 0)
Basic Crossbow Combat: (Level - 0)
Basic Firearm Combat: (Level - 1)
Basic Shield Combat: (Level - 0)
Stealth: (Level - 0)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Blades (Level - 0)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Bows: (Level - 0)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Crossbows: (Level - 0)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Firearms: (Level - 6)
Basic Weapon Knowledge: Shields: (Level - 0)
He sighed, not sure what he had expected to see, but not finding the answer there. At least it did serve as a reminder to allocate his points, which he promptly dumped into reflex.
So, how do you tier up a class?
“For Tier 2, you need 50 levels in class skills. Tier 3, 100, and every tier after that increases by 100 until you reach Tier 15, where the increase becomes 500 levels.”
So do people just spend years training their class skills?
Lan laughed at his statement before responding. “Ha, try centuries. I once saw an elder dragon spend almost a millennium just training knowledge skills to reach Tier 46 in his class.”
Two things about that statement made Jay’s eyes go wide. First was the concept of someone not only living for a millennium, but also training skills for that long. Second, did she just say “dragon?”
“Yes, a millennium is actually quite a short time in the grand scheme of things. I don’t think I’ve told you about it, but once you reach Level 25 and complete your first ascension, your lifespan will already be over 3,000 years. Once you reach Level 50 and complete the second, it will be over 200,000 years long. This all culminates in the third ascension at Level 100, which will make you immortal--at least when it comes to age.”
Okay, that's all well and good, but I think you're ignoring the dragon in the room…
Lan sighed. “Yes, Jay, dragons are real, and you have the pleasure of speaking to one. Congratulations. Can we move on now?”
No?! You're a dragon? Prove it.
“No.”
Jay waited for the woman to continue, but as he realized she wasn’t going to, he scrunched up his face before letting the topic drop for now. He still had some armor to form before he slept and made his way back to civilization in the morning. After forming his other arm and a helmet out of Spirit, he once again climbed the same tree and secured himself to the branch before drifting off once again.
He awoke early the next day, long before the sun had even risen, and spent the time forming the rest of his armor. After spending almost 400 Spirit on completing the process--100 for each leg and 200 for his torso. He untied himself from the tree and made another fire to cook up some eggs before beginning his journey.
**Skill level increased: Climbing 1 - 2**
**Skill level increased: Fire Starting 2 - 3**
**Skill level increased: Extinguish Fire 2 - 3**
Once he was done eating and cleaning up his mess, the sun had finally crested over the horizon. With everything packed away nicely, he smiled and began making his way back to the city. Even if there were enforcers after him, he would’ve liked to see them try to take him. Between his new armor and the revolver he had slipped under his pants and secured to his right leg.
**Skill level increased: Endurance 1 - 3**
**Skill level increased: Running 6 - 7**
He stopped running and placed his hands on his knees, panting to recover his breath as he reached the edge of the forest. He had made good time originally, using his Spirit Empowerment to propel himself forward quicker with every step. However, after about 10 minutes of that, his Spirit dropped almost 150 points. He put a stop to it lest he take multiple naps before making his way out of the forest.
“I’m finally ba–” the words caught in his throat, and even his chip couldn’t force him to finish that sentence as his eyes fell upon the city he had lived in for years. Large swaths of it were reduced to nothing more than rubble. Lan, what the fuck happened?
“Hmm. Give me a moment,” she said before going silent.
It felt like she stayed that way for ages to Jay as he continued to try to comprehend the sight in front of him.
“Ah, here we go. Based on your news feed, it looks like a fight broke out between two groups of candidates that only got worse as several enforcers and third parties got involved. It lasted for approximately seven hours, causing several casualties and the devastation you see before you, and before four groups emerged from the chaos and staked claims on different portions of the city.”
Why the hell did they even start fighting?
“No idea. The best guess I can come up with would be a reward someone got, as it seemed to break out right after the first rewards were distributed.”
Good enough to level an entire city?
“With the reward you got for your lackluster performance, I’m sure a few of them would be good enough to destroy a continent or two, for the right person.”
I… don’t even want to think about that kind of power.
“Well, once you reach Level 100, you will have that kind of power. Sure, it would probably strain your Spirit for years after, but you could get it done.”
That’s just absurd.
“Eh, for you, maybe. Still, while they aren’t common in new worlds, Level 100s are quite abundant throughout the integrated planets and systems as a whole.”
Jay shook his head, not wanting to think about that, and tried to change the subject. So, what should I do now? With this going on, is being here still a good idea? he asked, gesturing to the destruction.
“Well, I would suggest you at least get some experience while you're here. Go pick some fights and level your combat skills. It’s not like anyone will be able to seriously hurt you through that armor you made. Even if they could, I would bet good money that your Running skill is among the highest on your planet right now.”
Jay furrowed his eyebrows. I'm sorry, you want me to fight people? He thought about the only weapon he had. Okay, even if I agreed to that, I would probably kill someone.
“And?”
The cold tone that Lan delivered with that statement sent a chill down Jay’s spine. Was his assistant, or whatever she was, really that willing to just kill people for a boost in rewards and power?
“First off, this reluctance will get you killed or badly injured someday. Second, I am recommending that you fight other candidates. While I understand your concerns, you need to understand the world you once knew is gone. Dead and buried. Now, you're a candidate in a death game. So man the fuck up and do what needs to be done, ‘causeI promise the people that are going to come for your head next month won’t hesitate.”
Jay tried to speak, but the noise caught in his throat, and his mouth contorted back into an unwanted smile as worry filled his mind. Lan’s words bit deep, reminding him that while he had gained an opportunity to improve his situation. He was also now a target in whatever this fucked-up game was. He scratched his chin before he started walking through the destroyed city blocks with two things on his mind. The first was finding a high-end cybernetics shop that hadn't been looted yet, so he could procure better arms and maybe even a functioning liver. He wouldn’t trust anyone to install that for him at the moment, though.
“So?” Lan asked, waiting to hear his next move.
Do you even need me to tell you? Can’t you read my thoughts?
“Only the ones made with the intent of communicating with me.”
Jay paused for a second. That’s actually comforting to know. Anyway, I’m gonna go procure a few upgrades before thinking about following your advice. Though I could just keep up my robbing spree at that point and steal some of the rewards others got.
A wave of joy and greed radiated through whatever linked him to Lan as he finished his thoughts.
“Do that!” she nearly screamed.
Everything okay?
Lan took a few moments before responding, likely to compose herself based on her newly relaxed tone. “Sorry about that. As you had that idea, I remembered that a wealth leaderboard would be opening next week, and if you could stack leaderboard rewards, then there’s a good chance you could top it at least for the first week.”
Well, I understand where you're coming from, but that seems monumentally stupid. The leaderboards seem to use real names, and that’s just a beacon for people to hunt me down.
“Did I not have you make a moniker yet?”
Can I do that?
“Yeah, sorry. I must have spaced it after the excitement that was your first day. It will probably set you back on the power-based leaderboards next week, as it is normally seen as a sign of weakness by the system. Still, that won’t matter if you're topping the wealth leaderboard, and I do agree it would be stupid to do that and advertise it.”
How? Jay asked with wide eyes.
“Just give me a name, and I’ll change it out for you.”
At that, Jay stopped for a moment. What did he want to be called?