Warning!
Entering Dangerous Area
Recommended Level: 9
Enter?
I swiped away the message with a raspy growl as I hurtled through the air, having used 100 Stamina to launch myself up above my quarry before I spent the remaining 250 on charging a Power Attack as I fell.
The first Beowolf was crushed beneath me as I landed on it's spine with my fist. It's partner froze in place as I crushed it's comrade and I took advantage of the hesitation brutally. My legs coiled beneath me as I flicked my left arm to unspool the Bike Chain. I had regenerated enough Stamina to make it fifteen feet with my power jump, which was just enough to get me to the beast.
I fell upon it with a recklessness born of Desperation, sure that if I let up even for a second it would mean having a very bad time of it. I bodily hit the Monster in it's face, my momentum knocking it over as I slowed. I landed with my knees pressing down it's arms by the elbows and leaned into a savage blow meant to stun before wrapping the chain around its neck.
I pulled with all I could as it flailed under me and tried it's best to Howl or Roar out at the indignation to dying to a Human. But I didn't care and I pulled until the Chain pierced the skin and then decapitated the beast. It lay silent under me as it decomposed and I regenerated Stamina, Panting all the while.
The key word to that tiny encounter had been Silent, because even with my limited knowledge on Grimm I knew that a Beowolf's Howl was the only reason it was dangerous. A Civilian could outsmart a single Beowolf and survive, but the larger the group the smarter and more dangerous they become. A Pack of over 100 is said to be almost as deadly as a C+ Elder Grimm.
And I had managed to mitigate the Danger for now. I stood on surprisingly steady legs, because I knew I probably should have been shaking in my boots, but I found that I was only filled with an intense desire to rid my city of such pests. And now I found myself with the Ability to do so.
Smiling momentarily, I looked around with curiosity as only one of those twice be damned Screens had popped during the Fight.
Mechanic; Dungeons!
While inside a Dungeon, an Adventurer is expected to focus on his quest solely, not on his own personal progress.
While inside Dungeons remove Access to Status, Skills, Options, ?, and ?.
Boon of ?; All creatures do 20% more Damage inside the Dungeon.
All Exp and Skill Exp Doubled, but Tallied and Awarded after Clearing the Dungeon, though new skills will still Show up.*
Skill Branched: Lunge, Level 2.
Deal 120% of Attack after travelling a distance equal to your Power Jump.
I sighed at that last Sentence, but happy to see that my limited HUD still included my Hp and Stm Bars, so i had all the real information that I needed. I was slightly less confident than when I started, now that I knew that I wouldn't be levelling inside the Dungeon, but I pushed on regardless.
I slowly and carefully moved towards the door to the Food Gazelle, noticing that despite the Sun that was trying to shine through the Smoke and Clouds above my Head I could see Nothing through the Windows of the Store. Unsettled I braced myself as I opened the Door.
You Have Entered "Food Gazelle"!
We Live to Feed!
I saw the inside of the doorway, the tile floors and the smell of Produce I had known since I could remember, but even as I watched the shelves of groceries stretched upwards bringing all of the Food I sought towards the ceiling, which was now so high above me I could barely see it in the dimly lit Building, and leaving me with only bare, newly grown shelves. The tiles began to age dramatically, some groaning and cracking from some unseen force and others being popped out of place by roots that had grown just as rapidly. I saw pillars of granite spring from the ground and shove their way through the comparatively flimsy aluminum shelves.
As I turned side to side to admire the strange mixture of supermarket and ancient castle ruins I heard the Door slam shut behind me. I turned towards the sound in a loose guard, but was surprised to find that the door I had entered through was nowhere to be seen and had instead been replaced by a Corridor.
Achievement Unlocked: Baby's First Dungeon!
Look at that, he's taking his first steps! Bobby, Get the Camera!
You have entered your first, and potentially last, dungeon.
Rewards; Self-Mapping Mode added to your Minimap!
I blinked at the reward before watching my map detail out my immediate surrounding, with my range seemingly being only limited to sight-line. I took a moment to test it out, seeing that when I moved something it was left as a pale gray after image on the Map. Which could be helpful, probably.
I then put my back against the wall and debated heading left or right, only coming to a decision when I heard muffled growling and shuffling coming from my right, and following Video Game Logic Enemies meant either Loot or the correct direction, both of which I looked forward to.
I decided that the enclosed spaces were actually to my liking, as they were only wide enough for two or three people, maybe two small Beowolfs so I had a bottleneck to utilize for my close quarters Style. I cautiously but at a decent clip as I walked down the hallway… Aisle… towards the increasingly close sounds. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a screen popped in front of my face.
Skill Learned: Listening! Level 1.
My eyes are one of five senses I can use, so why rely on just one?
(Passive) Detection: (5*Lvl + Lvl*Res*.5) % = 13 % (increase to Passive 30%) of Stealthed Units.
(Active) Detection*(1+.25*Level), move at ½ Movement Speed while Active. If still,
double the effect.
Range = 20 + Lvl*5 = 25 Feet.
Stats insufficient to Learn Skill; 10 Agi and 10 Dex Required.
'Odd time to pop,' I thought, 'unless...' I looked up to find four pairs of baleful red eyes returning the favor, 'There is something to hear. Shite.' And almost as if they had heard my curse, they Howled and lunged for me. Three of the Lvl 4 Beowolfs piled up on each other as they fell snarling and struggling to get a better angle as I performed a sloppy Hip Toss on the Grimm that fell towards me. As it bounced upon the broken floor with a roar I Charged my Power Attack with 150 Stamina as I stomped on it's head, and was rewarded with a Wet crunching noise as I bashed it's snout into the back of it's head, as well as a Beowolf landing upon my Shoulders.
I Power Jumped off of the Shelf in front of me, slamming it into and bending the Shelf behind me before grabbing it by its neck and slamming the relatively small Grimm into the floor in front of me. Before I could finish it off the other Beowolfs Lunged and took a hold of me. One had me by the Collarbone and the other had tried and failed to latch onto my left arm, which I immediately Backhanded as Hard as I could. It bounced off the shelf further down the Corridor even as I Gripped the Beowolf on my neck by the Head and Squeezed until it pops like a balloon.
Then I Threw the corpse at the Lunging Beowolf, knocking it off course before Stomping continuously on the Beowolf trying to stand in front of me. Then I unravelled the Chain as I heard a Howl to my left, throwing the weapon out to my right before stepping towards the Beowolf jumping towards me and slamming it with a Power attack that ended it relatively Quickly.
As it's nearly bisected body fell to the ground another Notification made itself Known.
-Bruiser:
I talk with my fists.
Deal 1000 Physical Damage.
Rewards; + 5% Base Attack Damage, + 1 Free Point.
-Burly:
I can take a hit or two.
Receive 1000 Damage.
Rewards; +5% Hp, +10% Hp Regen, and +1 Free Point.
I nodded as the good news kept rolling in, watching calmly as my Hp ticked back up from 1053/1750 and evened out my breathing as I tried to Listen and Detect any Bloodlust aimed at me. Thankfully I found nothing as it quickly returned and then I continued down the Corridor, watching both the path and my Map, which displayed the ranges for both Listening and Detect Bloodlust as Different coloured Radar Rings centered on my Dot. Convenient.
I saw that there was a Fork in my path, and When I looked down the Aisle of Shelves I saw the disconcerting sight of a Dead Body. I found that my… Ability?... had removed their Name Tag and while I mourned the loss of information slightly, it was somehow respectful of the Dead to me. I moved cautiously down the Corridor before Speeding up when I heard the sound of sniffling.
I ducked my head down low to see under the Shelves and was rewarded with the sight of a young Girl, holding her knees to her chest as she sniffled and rubbed at her nose. The sight tugged at my heart, and I hesitantly called out to her, a gruff "Oi" was as hesitant as I or my Charisma got. She was startled out of her pity party and yelped as she fell over.
Ashley Charbon
Lvl 1 Civilian
Ashen Princess
"What are you doing under there, Girlie?" I asked as I beckoned her over. If anything that just seemed to scare her more, but I had long been hardened to people's reactions to my face.
Or more specifically My eyes.
My Grimm-Red Eyes.
"N-No!" she called in a voice much larger than her size would suggest. She scrambled to hide further away from me, but I knew that I couldn't just leave her in this Pit of Death. That would be like killing her myself. So I instead crouched and slowly walked towards her in what I hoped was mostly non-threatening. I don't think it worked as she threw a rock at me, but it was the best I had.
"Ya can't stay here," I said as I held out my hand to her, "I killed a few of them but there's always more." She stilled at my words, but her eyes still held fear and distrust.
"You killed the mean doggies?" She asked quietly, hopefully, darting her eyes to the body lying to my left, now I could see that it was a younger woman that looked remarkably like the girl in front of me. The same Coal Black Hair, The same pale skin, and high cheekbones. And the eyes that stared at some unseen destination were the same yellow, full of fear in their last moments. I sighed as I reached over to close her eyes, but the Young Girl in front of me stopped me with a shaky voice, "S-stop! Don't touch my Momma!"
"But she needs her rest," I comforted, wincing internally at how bad at this I actually was, "And she can't do that with her eyes open." She still had a fierce look on her face, but flashes of sadness and panic crossed it as she looked at her late mother, "Maybe you should do it instead?" I asked, honestly stumped with what to do here.
The young girl didn't answer me for a little while, so I focused on my Minimap in case something heard her yelling earlier. "I-is Mama Dead?' came the squeak of her Voice, now two or three feet closer than before. Her Mother's right hand was balled up in a fist, and now laid in her Daughter's Lap.
She couldn't be more than Seven years old, and already she was going to have to witness something like this. I could see the years of Self-Isolation, the Loner tendencies, and the lack of friends that had been my response to such a similar scenario.
Flashes of Fire and Blood. Bodies and limbs in piles and no movement other than his own. He struggled to get out from under the Body that pinned him to the ground. The sight of a face so Familiar it hurt to think about.
I shook myself out of it, Denying my Mind the opportunity to fall back down that Hole. I instead focused on the softly crying girl in front of me, trying in vain to keep them in. I sighed, before I stood and looked down at her. She could mourn later, when we were both out of this Claustrophobic Dungeon. "We gotta Move," I said bluntly, but not unkindly.
At this she cried in full, trying to stand while clinging to her Mother's Hand, "But she can't be dead! She said we'd go to Vale, that when we got there we'd find Poppa. And then We'd eat all the ice cream we could buy, and then beg until they gave us the rest! And -" she finally stopped to take a breath, but found herself unable to continue as she wiped away at the Tears and snot that ran down her face, "A-and She Promised!" And then she wept, unable to make noise as the sobs tore through her body, and jolted her in place.
I don't quite know why, but in all my infinite wisdom, or was it stupidity, I decided to place my hand upon her tiny head. I knew that I was trying to comfort her in my own awkward way, but what actually threw me for a loop was when she actually began to calm, though I kept an eye on the Minimap for incoming Hostiles. Then I felt her shift under my palm, and when I looked at her, I saw determination and sadness in her eyes, and if I'm honest I'd never seen a child look like that before and it made my insides hurt. "Momma promised, but so did I," she informed me, stubbornly wiping away at stray tears.
I knew a statement that needed a response when I heard one, living with Old Nan for ten years had seen to that skill long before the Game I lived. "And what did you promise her, Lass?" I took my hand off her head, looking her in her eyes, that achingly familiar look still present.
"I promised I wouldn't cry," she said defiantly, to her tears not me, "She had me promise when the mean doggies took Poppa to Vale," and it just got worse and worse. "So I'm done crying Mister," she finished imperiously, as though there was no room for argument. I nodded, agreeing with the sentiment, before suddenly she looked lost.
So I distracted her, my only tactic for sad or angry women.
"Would you like to keep anything to remember her by?" I know I wished that I had, all those years ago, "It'll help, I swear it will." All the lonely nights, the sad nights, or just the nights your memory wasn't good enough it helped to have something to remember them by.
She looked at me, and I could see her think it over before she furrowed her eyebrows at me, "Are you sure that it'll help? I don't wanna take her stuff if doesn't," I frowned as I thought about how to respond, before I settled on a solemn "I promise" as I watched the Minimap, more to avert my eyes than anything else. She nodded equal parts solemn before walking around to her mother's stil clenched fist. She slowly opened it, and the clinical part of my brain noticed that Rigor mortis hadn't set in, before removing two matching rings from her ring finger. "Mama said that she took Papa's Ring when he left, so now I'll take them both."
I nodded at the choice before stepping around to the woman's head and kneeling next to it and closing her eyes, but this time Ashley helped me do so. Then I stood and nodded down at the girl, "I'll have to fight a few more Grimm to get us both out of here, so I'll need you to stay quiet and behind me at all times. Am I clear?" She nodded and I spun on my heel before stalking down the corridor.
We had spent 30 minutes walking before any more Hostiles showed up, and now that I had a ward I was much less willing to throw them around or let them past. My unyielding Block caught two Lvl 5 Beowolfs before I let an almighty power attack that split both of them in two, and my Chain wrapped around the Lvl 6 Beowolf by the leg as it lunged for Ashley, and I stepped forward and swinging the Grimm as a fleshy flail against the last Beowolf, who was also Lvl 5. I beat the the two together until they fell apart under the stress of the onslaught.
When I was done I was panting and bleeding from my right arm heavily, but a ten minute break had me right as rain. The next thing we came across was a Heavy Door, Wooden and reinforced with steel beams running across it. As all of my senses brought me no information from beyond the door, I scowled at it before turning around to address my companion.
"I need you to stay out here, okay?" I looked over my shoulder at the door that seemed to reach into a void, "I think this is the last thing I have to fight, but I could be wrong. Either way I want you to stay here until I come and get you." She hesitantly nodded and I patted her head once more as she clambered under the Bottom shelf of the nearest Stack.
Warning; Powerful Enemy Ahead.
The key to clearing a dungeon is killing the Boss, who is holding the location together.
I grit my teeth as I pushed the doors open, not at all surprised by the Roar that sounded in response. My eyes fell upon the vaguely human form of the Lvl 11 Beowolf Minor, which was bent and covered in spiky bone plates, but if it had just been a larger Beowolf I believe that I would have had no problem, but there was its title which gave me pause.
Fire Dust Infused
This was further proved to be an issue when it roared a second time and it's spikes caught on fire as well as a little smoke that came from its mouth. Then It made to Charge at me and I Roared my Challenge in return.
'Don't care how special you are, asshat,' I thought as I slid under it's attempt at a bear hug, 'I gotta kill ya no matter what.' and then I had to focus on not being thrashed. I stepped outside of it's swiping claw, but I was still hurt by the Fire that were now alight on it's arms. I stepped under the seven foot tall monster's chomp that I almost caught to the noggin, and put every bit of Stamina into the Power Attack and Lunge Combo that took us tumbling. When we stopped rolling I was on fire, but on it's chest where I landed punch after punch into its head even as I ignored the Crushing Nails that tried to break me.
I was forcefully launched from it's body as it it's feet on my chest and tried to rip my arms off, but found that doing so was harder than it would have thought. Instead I ended up rolling into the Wall before Standing once again, now that my Stamina was nearly a quarter full again I settled into my guard as I walked towards it. I noticed that the room that we were fighting in was an expanded version of the Manager's Office, but I had Block quickly as it tried to Tackle me to the floor, but Instead found itself being rebuffed by my arms. When it came for a Wild Haymaker I stepped into the Attack and Caught the arm, trapping it with my Right arm as I unravelled the Chain once more.
My feral Grin widened as it's furiously tried to push me away, but Relentless gave me more than enough strength to hold in place as I charged the remainder of my Stamina into one More Power Attack.
(50 (Str with Relentless) + 6 (Bike Chain)+ (5% of Str)) = 59*(1+.8(Brawling)+.15(Chain)+.05(Bruiser))= 118 Base Atk
Power Attack = .7*322 = 225.4%
Critical Multilpier = 112.5%-2.5% = 110%
Damage = 118*(1.1+2.254) = 395.772
And Down came my Crude Weapon, the Bike Chain cutting almost as well as any sword. It cleaved down through the head and most of its neck before it stopped against one of the plates on its back. The arm I held went slack as it fell limp, and as I released it began to deteriorate. Along with it went the dungeon, deteriorating at the same rate as shelves fell to their original height and with them brought the food I had been brought here by.
"Oi!" I called from the Office, stepping outside of it only to see that Ashley had not been crushed in the process as she stood from her hiding place to my left. "You alright? Good then, let's get moving Girlie." I began grabbing as much food as I could carry, even as the tiles were still returning to their original state. The moment the Place had returned to it's normal self I was bombarded by Notification Screens.
Skill Levels Gained:
Power Jump: 2
Lunge: 3
Power Attack: 6
Brawling: 9
Chain Mastery:6
Listen: 10
Detect Bloodlust: 7
Block: 4
Mitigation: 13
Quest Updated: Font of Knowledge!
Yes, that was a Font Pun! I should be a comic.
-Return with the Supplies and report to Janette.
Rewards: Access to Information, + 1 Free point.
Quest Completed: Kill or be Killed!
Wonder if what they say about a cornered Wolf is true?
-Clear the Dungeon in order to Leave the Dungeon.
Bonus Objectives:
-Killed all Grimm in the Dungeon; + 500 Exp.
-Rescued Civilian; + 500 Exp, 1 Free Point.
-?
Rewards; Randomized Loot and 5 Free Points.
Kill Exp; 575 exp.
Exp: 1575*2(Whelp) = 3150 Exp gained!
Level Up! + 4
Free Points + 20
I smiled at the Screens before I mentally brought up the Status screen.
Austin
Class: ?*
Lvl 9: 800/900 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 4725/4725
Stm: 500/500
Str: 40
Dex: 9
Con: 50
Agi: 6
Int: 5
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 25
Free Points; 0.
Attribute Points; 0.
Atk: 124.8 Dmg
Def: Phys; 30%.
I quickly dumped my Free Points where I wanted them, more Res as the Perk Tree had looked great and Dex to increase my Critical Damage and Hit box as well as the usual increase to Str and Con, as I was walking carrying around 100 pounds of Food and didn't want to walk into something, but then another Screen came up with a new message.
Choose your Class!
At Lvl 5, Lvl 25, Lvl 50, and Lvl 75 you will outgrow your class and will need to choose a replacement (All Level Stat Gains are retroactive if you pass the Mark).
Class Options:
-For getting to Level 5; Novice:
+50% Experience gain.
+1 Free Point per Level.
-For getting Past Level 5; Competent Novice:
+65% Experience gain.
+1 Wis and +1 Free Point per Level.
-For Getting the Str Stat to 20; Fighter:
+1 Str per Level.
-For Getting the Con Stat to 20; Wall:
+1 Con per Level.
-For Getting the Con Stat to 40; Survivalist:
+3 Con per Level.
Gain the Survival Skill.
-For Getting the Res Stat to 20; Denier:
+1 Res per Level.
-For Getting Both Con and Str to 20; Barbarian:
+1 Con and +1 Str per Level.
-1 Wis per Level
-For Getting Both Res and Str to 20; Knight:
+1 Res and +1 Str per Level.
-1 Int per Level.
-For Getting Both Res and Con to 20; Meat-Shield:
+1 Res and +1 Con Per Level.
-1 Agi per Level
-For Getting the Brawling! Skill to Level 10; Brawler:
+1 Str per Level.
+1% to the Brawling Skill's Bonus per Level of the Skill.
For Getting the Brawling! Skill to Level 20; Brawl King:
+2 Str Per Level.
+2% to the Brawling Skill's Bonus per Level of the Skill.
-Restricted to the use of Brawling! Until next Class.
-1 Dex and -1 Res per Level.
-For Fighting and Winning against an opponent twice (or more) than your Level; Big Game Hunter:
+1 Agi, +1 Dex, and +1 Wis per Level.
+1 Free Point per Level.
+50% Renown points.
Gain the Bounty Board Mechanic.
-For Risking your Life for another without perceived Reward; Protector:
+2 Con, +2 Res, +1 Str, and +1 Dex Per Level.
+50% Movement Speed towards Injured Friendlies.
-2 Cha and -2 Int per Level.
-100% Renown points gained, Reset to Zero, Replaces Renown Title With Helper.
-25% Monetary and Loot Rewards from Quests.
-For Killing a dozen (or More) Grimm without a license; Unofficial Huntsman:
+1 Str, +2 Agi, and +2 Dex per Level.
+50% Hazard Pay.
-50% Renown points.
-2 Wis per Level.
My eyes widened as the Flood of options appeared before my eyes, and then they nearly fell out reading some of the descriptions. So many looked tempting, and some were plain eliminated immediately for the Drawbacks. But when I actually read through the why I had unlocked each option, I knew that there was really only one choice. I looked over beside me to Ashley, and frowned at the entirely too serious expression on her Face and the Rings that were entirely too large for her to wear, and I knew which I'd be Picking.
I may not have had anything else to strive for before today, but Protecting her and others like her from the Fate I knew awaited them if they followed my Path seemed like a good enough reason for me.
Austin
Class: Protector
Lvl 9: 800/900 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 5481/5481
Stm: 580/580
Str: 44
Dex: 13
Con: 58
Agi: 6
Int: 1
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 33
Free Points; 0.
Attribute Points; 0.
Atk: 135.2 Dmg
Def: Phys; 30%.
As we walked the fourteen blocks back to the Library I was once again thankful that the Shopping district had yet to come under extreme Threat and was still relatively safe to walk through, though we did have to go out of our way to avoid a fairly large Sinkhole that had opened up in the Road. Ashley and I talked, or at least I did and she listened quietly along,as I gave her my less than stellar renditions of my Childhood and times with Nan. I told her of the people I lived with and helped keep me afloat through my troubles by offering to help with rent or paying me to do things I would have already done.
And most importantly, I told her about how crazy my life had gotten in the last two days. I told her about the first Supermarket and Thomas, I told her about the Ambush from the Squirrel Lady, and I told her about the hard time the Library had been having to feed their wards. I also jokingly mentioned that I was on a fetch quest, but she just gave me funny look like she didn't understand so I left it alone.
When I finally returned to the Library, the response was much less urgent or over the top than the first time, which I believe I can attribute to the fact I didn't fall out of the sky and now had a child and food. I felt Ashley shuffle closer to my side as the impromptu guards eyed me up, but they smiled at her and waved us through.
I began to look about to try and find Janette, but my eyes were drawn to an altercation happening at the Door, mostly due to the Information floating above their heads.
Qrow Branwen
Lvl 15 Huntsman
Walking Disaster
I wondered what had happened to help him level up in the two hours I had been gone, but I resolved to ask him after I had turned in the quest.
Summer Rose
Lvl 13 Swordswoman
Dust in the Wind
Taiyang Xiao-Long
Lvl 10 Brawler
Drowning in it
At the back of the group of four stood a petite young woman with porcelain skin and whose hair faded from Black to Red, and wore a white hooded cloak while fidgeting enough to make me nervous. On her belt hung a standard sized sword as well as a few pouches that tinkled with her movements. Beside her with his head in his hands stood a young Blonde man broad in the shoulder with gauntlets on his hands. He wore a dark brown collared shirt open a little too far for comfort and bandoliers of ammo across his shoulders. And the reason that he was in despair and the girl standing next to him was nervous would be because-
"Skank!" Qrow yelled at the Young woman holding him off the ground by the front of his shirt. "Put me down!" I could immediately see a familial resemblance in them, as both of their eyes flashed blood red and their Nostrils Flared as the spittle flew from his mouth and he flailed in her grasp in indignation.
Raven Branwen
Lvl 19 Ronin
Try and Stop me
"No," she stated much more calmly than the vigorous shaking would suggest, "Because apparently if I let you out of my sight for even a second you will disappear and reappear in a different city defending a Library of all things," She turned casually to the two people behind her, "Unfortunately I will unable to fight at full strength as I need at least an arm to keep a hold of my Idiot brother." Then her eyes met mine and Ashley yelped as she hid behind me.
Qrow's face went from disgruntled to pleasantly surprised from his new position being carried under her arm like purse, "Hey, Look! He survived," he tried his best to look over his shoulder and Yell, "Janette! Your Charity case made it back." Then he went right back to trying to escape the grasp of his sister, like a housecat who wanted down. As the exchange became less heated and more comical both Summer and Ashley giggled at his plight.
I shook my head as I moved past them, kind of unnerved by the stare I could feel drilling into the side of my head, and was relieved when I heard the clack of Heels on Tile over the General mull of the Civilians inside. Around the Brick wall that used to be dedicated to the Book of the Month she strode confidently towards the Door, with a stack of books in her hands. Her fairly stern and disciplined face morphed to one of shock as she stopped, "That is a lot of food, Austin," she said slowly.
I shrugged my shoulders and the heap of groceries piled in and the bags hanging from my arms. "It's about 120 pounds," 'It's actually more, but no need to brag,' "Mostly canned soup and anything I could find that you didn't need to heat. I also took a tarp to wrap most of the stuff in, might be useful." I leaned my head around the left of the pile, "Do you have anywhere you want this?"
She blinked at me, before smiling and nodding, "Yes, please bring it into the pantry. This way," And then she led me to a large Room towards the back of the Library, and the only reason I didn't stumble or trip over a table was my Mini-map and my Listening Skill mapping out the people around. I counted 37 people in the building and 6 guarding the outside. As I stepped into the threshold two Notifications popped in front of my face.
Skill Learned: Physical Conditioning, Level 1.
Got Gains, Bro.
Increase Str and Con by Lvl %.
Current Increase = + 1%
Quest Completed: Font of Knowledge!
Font Puns for the Win!
-Gained the Trust of Janette Greenburg and the Library!
Bonus Objectives:
-Return with more than 20 pounds of Food: 10 exp per Lbs over.
Rewards; Access to Information, and + 1 Free Point.
Bonus: 1100 exp.
Level Up! + 2
Free Points + 10
Attribute Points + 1
Choose a Perk!
Available Attributes:
-Juggernaut; 15 Str Required.
Every point of Str lets you take .25% less physical Damage.
Allows access to the Decimator Perk Tree.
-Marksman; 15 Dex Required*.
Allows you to replace Str with Dex in Damage Calculator.
Immune to Blind Status.
Allows access to the Finesse Perk Tree.
-Fast Regenerator; 30 Con Required.
Regenerate a Quarter of your Con score worth of Hp per Second, Half of your Con's worth of Stamina per Second.
Ignore 5% of all Damage.
-Made of Health; 25 Con and 15 Wis Required.
Increase your Hp and Stm by 50%.
-Spry in a Crisis; 15 Agi Required*.
When in an enemy's line of sight passively double your Movement speed.
Immune to Paralysis Status.
Allows access to the Acrobat Perk Tree.
-Apprentice; 15 Int Required*.
Gain a 50% increase to the ? Skill and ?.
Allows access to the Scholar Perk Tree.
-Clever; 15 Wis Required*.
A 5% increase to all Skill Experience.
Gain access to the ? Skill.
50% resistance to the Silence Status.
Allows access to the Ponderer Perk Tree.
-Exhibitionist; 15 Cha Required*.
For every 1% of skin showing gain .5% resistance to all damage, 10% increase to Renown, and 10% increase to all Charisma Based Skills.
Allows access to the Silver-Tongue Perk Tree.
-Enduring; 15 Res Required.
Become 1% more resistant to Debuffs for every point of Res.
Once per Minute, upon hitting 0 Hp or lower return to 1 Hp.
Allows access to the Unyielding Perk Tree.
I grunted in approval of the new Skill and confirmed the Enduring Attribute as I closed the screens. I decided to spend the Free Points when I wasn't being watched or wasn't being handed a stack of Books. "And here are the books you requested," Janette said pleasantly, "And thank you for bringing all this food, it must have been a hard trip."
I shook my head as I thought back, "No, the walk back wasn't that bad. It was the Supermarket that gave me trouble." I walked out of the Pantry and placed my five books, two on Grimm, two on First Aid, and one on Sewing, on the nearest Empty Table.
"Did you run into looters?" she asked with concern, "We had a few who made a run on our Defenses, but we managed to rebuff them. They truly are a nuisance, but as long as that young man is here we should be fine." She nodded towards the front door, where Raven now had Qrow in a headlock as she carried him around the Foyer as she surveyed the smashed up building.
I raised an eyebrow at that, not because he didn't look like much, but because his title and sister suggested this was a common occurrence for him. But at least he managed a Level out of the ordeal. I looked back towards Ashley who was still standing near me and eyeing those around her with mistrust. "Uh, no. I came across little miss Ashley here and had to pull her out of a tough spot with some Beowolfs," I clarified, brushing past the Mention of her mother.
"You fought Grimm?" I started as the question seemed to materialize from nowhere right by my left ear, flinching and turning towards Summer who had managed to move a hundred and fifty feet in the time it took me to turn my head. She bounced in place, hands held in front of her and a sparkle in her eyes as she looked at me, "Where are they! I've never fought Grimm before!" I looked at her with a quirked eyebrow, "Uh, Alone, that is."
Without even waiting for a response she began moving around me, pushing aside the table when it got in her way. She was a head shorter than me, but with the way she inspected me I suddenly felt very self-conscious. "Hmmm," she said after she had finished her inspection, "You said a few Beowolfs, but how many are we talking here? Two or three?" at my lack of response, because honestly she talked almost as fast she moved, "Maybe Five?"
"Actually-" I tried to answer that it had in fact been a dozen, my hand coming up to gesture for such, but this wasn't enough to be noticed, as she just carried on.
"Either way your Aura must be really strong to heal this quickly!" she stated matter-of-factly as she pulled my arm out in front of her. She poked experimentally where there was blood on the remains of my clothes but no wound, before she looked back at me and blushed at her actions. She quickly released my arm before taking a step back, "Uh, Sorry about that. I get carried away sometimes, in fact my Partner says that I get carried away with everything so-"
"Summer," came a call from the direction of the door, and when I looked the rest of her group was walking over, and Qrow managed to look stern from his position hanging from his Sister's arm, "What did I tell you about touching people without asking permission? Or before you had even given them your name?" He sighed and shook his head at her, "Honestly, I've met some Hookers that aren't as forward as you."
And like that he was dropped on his face with a squawk, even as the other male audibly palmed his face and Summer turned a darker shade of red and a stuttering mess. I ignored her, confident she'd pull herself together eventually to shrug and turn back around to Janette, "Would you happen to have any Physics Textbooks laying around? I feel like I need a refresher," Which was a cover for checking to see how much my newfound life broke physics. The Magic extending Shelves of the Food Gazelle coming to mind automatically. Janette, who looked a little paler than before, simply nodded before moving off with Ashley in tow.
Seeing that Ashley seemed more or less comfortable with the motherly woman, I looked over at the Siblings squabbling, Taiyang watching with an amused look on his face, and Summer hiding her Head in her Hood. 'Which,' I observed clinically, 'is adorable.' I coughed to gather their attention, though Taiyang was the only one that really seemed to notice.
"So," I began as I opened up the first book in my pile, which happened to be one on Grimm, "Who are you four and what do you want?" I began flipping to the section on Pack-Type Grimm, intent on finding out more about the Monsters I had been fighting.
The Brawler responded without missing a beat, "I'm Taiyang Xiao-Long, the two a minute away from strangling each other are Qrow and my Partner, Raven Branwen, and the gibbering mess behind me is Summer Rose, my Leader," He nodded at each in turn, the Siblings stopping only to nod in my direction before returning to their spat and a muted "How do you do?" from Summer. He smiled at me as I looked up from my book, "We're Team STRQ, from Beacon. We were on a field assignment about fifty miles away from here, wiping out a den of Ursa Minors, when we lost Qrow in the fight. We spent all night looking in that forest, but we couldn't find a single clue as to where he went," He shook his head as Qrow looked sheepish for a second.
"And then," Continued Raven deadpan, "As we are all about to head back to the Village to get some rest, I get a call," She gave her brother the evil eye before moving on, "Telling us that he had forgotten to Charge his Scroll the night before, and that he had accidentally been dragged by one of the Smaller Ursa for two hours and once his gun had dislodged the damaged bullet he was able to kill it. From there he saw the smoke over the City and rushed off to help. And only this morning was he able to use a hand charger to power his phone for the minute long conversation we had."
"You make it sound like it's my fault," muttered an embarrassed Qrow, "And they just showed up a few minutes ago, almost exactly when you did." I looked at him, unimpressed with the story, as I wondered just how he had been dragged for that long without getting away. But then again I had never fought Grimm before a few hours ago, so maybe it was a common occurrence.
The looks his Team continued to send his way told me that it was not.
"Anyways," Summer started, once more in control of herself, "What is going on here? Why are there Grimm running in the Street while the city burns?" She looked almost like a different person, the way that her posture and tone of voice changed made her look confident and in charge. And while the effect was mostly lost on me, from the way the rest of her team gave me their full attention the change wasn't lost on them.
"The City was breached almost a month ago," I started as my eyes narrowed. 'Why in the world do they not know?' I wondered, 'Seems like something that should be front page news, though I may be a little biased.' "Martial Law was declared a few days afterwards, as the Western Side of the City was Quarantined by the Military and there was a bit of a panic going on at the time. You haven't heard any of this?" I asked rhetorically, as the shock on their faces was enough to answer for them. Still, they shook their heads mutely as they processed the information.
Summer recovered first, "But, what about the Hunter Corps, why weren't they called in?" She whispered harshly.
"Well," I began wondering where to start, "The western portion of the city is the industrial area, where they mine up the Dust our power grid runs on. It took about a week before it went down, leaving people to use Generators or other emergency alternatives, but the CCT was also in the Industrial District, and it fell within minutes of the start of this fiasco," I told them as I began to once again read the book in front of me, "And there's also the fact that the Prep School we had was also in the West, so that limits the amount of people we could send to get help, as anyone who worked as a guard or Unlicensed Huntsman was drafted to stop it from spreading." I flipped the page, taking in the listed weak spots as fast as I could for each Grimm as I looked for the Beowolf Entry. 'Why the hell isn't this alphabetical?' I thought exasperatedly.
"But we have direct lines from Vale to the Mount through the Evacuation Tunnels, and those aren't on your Power Grids!" I briefly darted my eyes up to hers, finding an irate look on her face, before returning to what I was doing, "We should have been told, or at the very least the Council should have known! I don't understand why the entirety of Beacon isn't here right now helping!" Her hands were now balled into fists, the anger coloring her voice, but I paid it no mind.
"Then they probably do," I returned simply, "The Evacuation Tunnels are manned and operated by the Military, who are currently claiming that the situation isn't bad enough to warrant their use by the way, which means they're the only ones that have access to the landed lines. And I see no reason they wouldn't try and tell someone about this," I shrugged as I finished the line of thought, "So the Council knows and has decided to not do anything. Probably some moral mathematics on their end or something, though I may be giving them too much credit."
Raven, by far the calmest of the Four, nodded in agreement with the assessment while the other three looked to be constipated if the red tint to their faces were anything to go by. I read more and more, ignoring a Notification that popped during the process, waiting for them to continue the inquisition. Instead I was surprised when Summer tapped me on the shoulder, with a determined look on her face. "How can we help?" She asked simply.
I smiled at that, but as I had no idea of that myself I gestured all around me. "I'm sure the people in here probably could use some, try asking around if you want to." And with my piece said I closed the book in my hand and looked around for Ashley, as I felt a little bit responsible for the girl. When I couldn't hear her, I focused on my map to bring it into full view and quickly found her name and dot. I walked away from Team STRQ, going up the stairs to find Ashley calmly snoozing away. And after the day she had had I didn't blame her.
'Actually,' I thought idly, 'I don't know why I'm not snoozing right next to her.' Before I could follow the thought further, Janette waved me out of the doorway and closed it behind her. On the door was her name and her occupation, indicating it as her own office. Me and her discussed Ashley, deciding that it would be best for her to stay here in the Shelter as opposed to with me, a stranger who she had only known for two hours at the most, very quickly. So she handed off the Book I had requested and moved to return to her office.
I thanked her, informed her of the Hunters-in-Training that were in the Main Room of the Library to offer assistance, and went to collect my books and go home. On my way down I pulled up the Notification to read through it.
Mechanic Unlocked; Bestiary!
Bestiary Screen available!
Skill Tree Unlocked; Veteran's Intuition!
A Skill Tree is a group of very similar Skills, generally having the same generation data.
Skill Tree: Veteran Intuition:
.5% increase in damage dealt and .25% decrease in damage received from this Enemy type.
Enemies Encountered;
Hooligans Level 18: 9% increase , 4.5% decrease.
Monella Crime Syndicate: .5% increase, .25% decrease.
Pack-Type Grimm Level 2: 1% increase, .5% decrease.
Roamer-Type Grimm Level 1: .5% increase, .25% decrease.
Trapper-Type Grimm Level 1: .5% increase, .25% decrease.
Flier-typer Grimm Level 1: .5% increase, .25% decrease.
I nodded at the information, glad to see that some things could be done without endangering my life, before quickly opening my status and putting four in Strength and Con each while the last three went into Res. 'I'm making major life choices like other people play poker,' I thought cynically. I closed the window disguised as waving goodbye to the Hunters-in-Training before gathering my books and walking out the front door.
I had a lot of reading to do, if that skill was anything to go by.
End of Chapter 3.
Austin
Class: Protector:
+2 Con, +2 Res, +1 Str, and +1 Dex Per Level.
+50% Movement Speed towards Injured Friendlies.
-2 Cha and -2 Int per Level.
-100% Renown points gained, Reset to Zero, Replaces Renown Title With Helper.
-25% Monetary and Loot Rewards from Quests.
Lvl 11: 0/1100 exp to Next Level.
Hp: 8200/8200, HP Regen : 38 Hp/Sec
Stm: 710/710, Stm Regen : 20 Stm/Sec
Str: (54) 55
Dex: 17
Con: (70) 71
Agi: 6
Int: 1
Wis: 5
Cha: 1
Res: 44
Free Points; 0.
Attribute Points; 0.
Atk: 166.4
Def: Phys; 30%.
Attributes:
Iron Will; 50% decrease of Status effects applied to Austin. Ex. Cripple; 30% decrease to speed → 15% decrease in speed. Inherited from Nan.
?; +2 to Con and Str per level, -15 to Cha. +100% to experience gain to the ? Skill. Inherited from ?.
?; ?
Relentless; Immune to Fatigue. 2*Str when Hp below 50%. Gained through ?.
Self-Respect; How can the World respect you if even you don't respect You? Gained Through The Little Things.
Marked; +500 Renown, 15% chance to encounter a Hitman when entering or exiting an area.
Regenerator; When most people lose limbs it's permanent.
Regenerate a eighth of your Con score worth of Hp per Second, Quarter of your Con's worth Stamina per second.
Enduring; I can still fight..
Become 1% more resistant to Debuffs for every point of Res.
Once per Minute, upon hitting 0 Hp or lower return to 1 Hp.
Yo. There was a guest review that I felt was worth addressing, and it was about the choice I made to remove the mechanic of the game that allowed other Gamer characters to become over powered, which is the Stat Training mechanic. It usually allows the Character to fight far outside of what their Level would suggest, and generally break the balancing of the Game itself. I don't know if it's obvious, but I have gone out of my way to make the system that I am working fair and Balanced. If a character tries hard enough they could have almost everything that any NPC in the game has, including skills and stats and Semblances with extreme experimentation and a detriment to effectiveness. Only individual unique attributes cannot be replicated, as they are usually genetic or dictated by something outside the system. So, to the Guest reviewer who mentioned it, I do know why the mechanic was implemented, and I hope that you can see why I have decided to omit it from my story; keeping things fair.
In case anybody reading is wondering why in the world he is getting so many free points, it's because everybody else gains there stat points via the Stat Training mechanic previously mentioned because their bodies are not limited by the game quite like his happens to be. In other words, he is actually lower in the amount of total Stat points than the "NPC" populace and is not actually gaining an inordinate amount of points.
Also worth mentioning is the Class System, which some may have seen as kind of broken, which is understandable, but every Human and Faunus have a class, and if they complete certain actions they will have just as much of a chance to become the relevant class and receive the bonuses it has to offer.
An outlier in this is the Mob, or Grimm, population, which only have the Four Physical Stats to worry about and therefore need less Points. Here's an example of how I have decided to generate Grimm in this Story.
Beowolf;
Hp; (Con*5)*Lvl
Exp; 10+5*Lvl.
Def = 0%
Mag Def = -100%
Str = 9+Lvl*2
Dex = 9+Lvl*2
Con = 9 + Lvl
Agi = 9 + Lvl*3
Int = 1
Wis = 1
Cha = 1
Res = 1
So the equation for Health of each Beowolf by Level is simple, with a little Algebra, and comes out to Hp; (90*Lvl+10*Lvl^2).
Systematically created as they are, they are actually generally speaking a whole hell of a lot stronger than any NPC that hasn't put in a lot of time. Obviously the Formula is changed slightly for the advanced form of a Grimm but the Chaff are always going to follow a formula like this. And the major differences in stats between Mobs and Bosses will be determined by the Type of Grimm it is.
For instance, the Beowolf Minor had a bonus to Agility as it was a Pack Hunting Grimm.
But I find that it is important to note that the general tactic of Remnant is still the same in this Story with a heavy emphasis on acrobatic techniques rather than actual Defense or durability.
It's actually my biggest issue with the show/universe is how little they explained the defensive properties of Aura, because it seems like such a waste to have every major character have an inherent Shield but literally only one or two people use it in favor of avoiding attacks.
Alright, I've said enough. Jericho, Out.