TUTORIAL 1.4
Despite all of the excitement filling the school with a sort of pent-up energy ever since Tony freakin' Stark dropped into (and straight out) of their lives, Tye had a surprisingly slow few weeks afterwards. Sure, Stark Industries had thrown a smack of money at his school to make state of the art new facilities with, but that still meant that those facilities actually had to be built. That would take time no matter the money involved, but thankfully someone over at SI had realized that Tony's experience with (and expectations for) turning funding into technology wasn't exactly matched by your average high school and so had assigned additional workforces to the school straight out of the company's own pockets.
By now the cost for the school's renovation must be absolutely staggering, yet Tony Stark threw the money around like he had just won at Monopoly.
With a small army of builders and technicians working on the school, what could have easily taken up several years at least was now projected to only take a few months at most. Even better, by working sequentially on different buildings separately, the first facilities were ready for use within the month. Well, the sports facilities at least, such as their new swimming pools. Housing the new computers Stark had gifted had been a much simpler case of just getting rid of all their outdated equipment (donating much of it back to the LA community) and installing the sleek, high-tech Stark Industries goodies in their stead. Well, a bit more complex than that, all told, but certainly easier (and faster) than remodelling entire buildings and tracks.
While Tye had been waiting for the new facilities to be ready (alongside the rest of the student body), he hadn't been idle, determined as he now was on his approach to crime fighting. Choosing his Archetypes had been the first major step, but there were more things to cross off the list first before he felt he was ready to tackle the underworld.
The major concern was equipment. Armor, weaponry (of the non-lethal kind of course) and more common utilities like rope, tape and zip wires in lieu of cuffs. While the obvious focus of his crime fighting career would be his superpower by grinding his stats, that was something that he could be working on continuously. Additionally, a few points on top of his current stats would likely make less of a difference in a fight than having solid protective gear on. So, being harder to get but offering greater rewards, finding actual proper equipment had quickly become priority one.
Luckily for Tye, part of Stark's generous donation to the school had been new sports equipment to go with the new facilities, which meant that, much like their old pc's, the old 'armors' for their football, lacrosse and hockey teams got donated to their local community to make way for new, shinier gear.
As somewhat of a sports noob, Tye personally didn't really see the difference between two different hunks of plastic other than the logo, but it did mean that suddenly a bunch of still decent quality equipment became up for grabs. Technically students weren't meant to take home the old stuff considering they already got spoiled with SI paraphernalia, but Tye managed to play it off as wanting to distribute it to some neighbouring kids he knew, thus explaining the large amounts he took home with him.
To be fair, he did end up distributing almost all of said equipment, which somewhat surprisingly netted him 5 points of Fame as well as a +3 to his CHA stat. He just kept enough pieces for himself to make a decent crime-fighting outfit that added protection to his upper torso and shoulders, his elbows, knees and shins and his hands and wrists. And a helmet of course, mostly made from an old lacrosse helmet, just with the roster covered in a metal mesh gauze with two eyeholes cut into it.
Snipping metal was a tough job, but a walk in the park when you have superstrength and a LVL 2 Cutting Skill.
Since the various pieces of armors came from different teams and different branches of sport entirely, the whole thing had looked utterly mismatched and ugly, until Tye spray-painted it all a matte black. The whole thing looked badass in his opinion, especially when worn over his black hoodie and slim jeans.
He had initially thought of cargo pants and a utility belt, before realizing just how unnecessary they were when he had a literal Inventory. He didn't even need to use a backpack to bring all his equipment with him! As a result, the whole thing ended up somewhat sleeker than he had initially expected, though to any discerning eye it was very obviously homemade.
Scrounging the equipment, hiding what he didn't distribute, gathering the tools needed to modify it from a nearby hardware store (after the cashier had begun to recognize him as a regular costumer, he ended up using his Character Customization to shop incognito), and then actually modifying it took an agonizingly long time, mostly because he had to do it all without his parents figuring out what he was up to.
At least the infiltration of the hardware store had put some LVLs in his Acting Skill, which he supposed was useful since his CHA was still his dump stat at the moment. If he Acted like he was a competent superhero who knew what he was doing, maybe the criminals would think so too?
Thankfully Inventory proved its worth once again since he didn't have to worry about stashing his stuff where his parents could find it. Even Emma's legendary mom-skills wouldn't allow her to breach hidden personal sub-dimensions (… he hoped). Still, between buying tools and gear like zip-ties and rope, and then trying to surreptitiously modify his gathered equipment took up a lot of his time, though things progressively got easier as he rapidly levelled up his Crafting Skill, which seemed to benefit from his INT stat in some way as well.
Crafting - LVL. 5 (210/475 XP)
Can you fix it? Yes, you can! A hammer, a hard-hat, and Bob's your uncle! Increases stats of crafted items. Increases quality of crafted items.
Considering the description of The Wisdom of Solomon and how it hinted at him being capable of inventing stuff on the level of the Iron Man armors (way, way, way) down the line, clearly INT was useful for more than just spell slinging. Tye didn't know if there was a specialized Crafting feature with his Boxes in the future (nothing had shown up when he set about resizing and refurbishing various armor plates beyond their durability ticking up a few points), but it might still be useful to look into a more Crafting oriented build in the future once his INT stat (and his finances) were high enough.
The Quality bump to his armor was very welcome, with most of it now sitting firmly in the (lower) B-Tier. He supposed actual military grade combat armor would be A-Tier, and stuff like the Iron Man suit would be S-Tier, though Tye wasn't exactly sure on how his Boxes calculated stuff like that. Or how it bumped the Tier of an already existing item up a notch just because he had fiddled with it, the second part of the Skill description catching his eye the moment he unlocked it.
It was something that Tye had noticed with his some of his other Skills as well: the moment they hit LVL 5, they suddenly gained an additional effect. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that at LVL 10, in which cases most of the bonuses they provided would be 100%, the Skills he had would likely morph into new, more powerful versions.
His Boxes seemed to work in systems of 5, since once he hit LVL 5 himself after a sparring session (we'll get to that), he suddenly gained a massive boost as well. Instead of the +5 to all Stats that he had previously gotten, he received +15 instead. Additionally, he gained 3 Perk Points instead of the usual 1.
Briefly, Tye regretted getting The Dexterity of Mercury since if he still had that Perk Point, he could've dumped it and his 3 new ones into The Strength of Hercules instead and gain the additional bonus effect from that Archetype. As it was, none of his Archetypes could hit 5 at this time, so he instead settled for putting another point into The Strength of Hercules and The Endurance of Atlas each, since more DPS and survivability was always nice to have, especially if he was playing a game without save files.
The third point he put into The Wisdom of Solomon. Since INT was heavily tied into a resource he did not have (even after almost a month with his Boxes, he still hadn't found a way to do Magic) he had doubted it for a long time, but the XP gain boost was too tantalizing to pass up on. The INT boost did help out with stuff like the Crafting Skill though and Tye suddenly had a noticeably easier time in school (the institution itself only giving him +2 in that Stat after having passed two small tests), so he was happy with it.
Briefly he had considered the Charisma of Zeus, the confrontation with his schoolmates where they dismissed his experiences of the Iron Monger vs Iron Man fight out of hand still rattling around in the back of his brain. While CHA might be a dump stat in most games, this was real life and that meant dealing with real, actual people. Having a high CHA stat might've been really useful for Tye's social standing and even stuff like a career path in the future.
However, he was intent on crime fighting now and being more socially capable hardly helped in that regard, the teenager eventually concluded. With the Perk Points and their powerful modifiers applied, his Stats had shot up.
Tye Charles - The Gamer
Human (Altered)
LVL. 5 (155/350)
HP: 290/290 (55HP/sec)
SP: 336/336 (69SP/sec)
STR: 195
END: 63
DEX: 55
INT: 71
CHA: 39
LUC: 41
A steep rise, given he hadn't had his powers for even three months at this point, but much of the increase was due to the modifiers of his Archetypes, which he could only increase by leveling, which would get increasingly more difficult to do the more powerful he got. Eventually, he'd reach a plateau of sorts and have to grind his stats the hard way, but for now he was still basically in the tutorial area as far as his Boxes were considered, so Level Ups were quick and relatively easy to come by.
For now though, things were looking pretty good. His STR was almost 200 at this point, which roughly translated to Tye being capable of lifting nearly 600 pounds! Sure, it was technically still within human limits, strongmen had lifted heavier objects in the past (and even they failed to compare to what Captain America had been capable of) but then they outweighed Tye himself by several factors as well. For an average fifteen-year-old, the weight was definitely superhuman, which is why Tye had to hold back whenever he was Exercising (a skill which granted a boost to his STR, END and DEX stats gain for as long as he worked out) in their new gym. Sadly, since he didn't exactly push himself, he saw a steep decline in any STR points he gained no matter how hard he worked the machines. Even Excersice had pretty much stalled a few hundred XP from gaining its second effect at LVL 5, which hurt Tye on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. There was just no way to really grind his physical stats at school anymore outside of completing related Quests.
Quest Complete!
More Pain, More Gain!
Do you even lift?
- Quest Reward: +50 XP, +3 to STR, +1 to END
Such as this one. This was the fifth time he had completed it by working out for exactly an hour. The Quest hadn't specified, but at this point, Tye had made it a habit to keep part of his HUD up all the time, including a digital clock, so he had just timed himself instead. The rewards weren't that spectacular for a full hour of work, but then again, before he had LVL 5 and massively boosted his strength through the Hercules archetype, the stat gains had been higher. Additionally, he used to get stat increases during the work out itself as well.
Now that even the heaviest weights barely even gave him a sweat (and he couldn't even use those as that would raise more than a few eyebrows) that well of power had quickly run dry. Still, it was XP and free stats and even as low as they were, they were still multiplied by his S.H.A.Z.A.M. system, so he wasn't too upset about it.
Towelling himself off (mostly for show, since his high END meant his Stamina barely even dipped thanks to his high regen rate), Tye took a swig of his bottle as he walked towards the adjacent wing of their new gym, which had multiple areas for both workouts and indoor sports. Exactly why Stark thought Tye's school needed a sports center that could rival an Olympic village in size the teenager didn't know but he wasn't complaining. Finishing the bottle as he arrived at his destination, Tye almost needed to force himself to keep the bottle in hand instead of just dumping it into his Inventory.
It was amazing how quickly you can get used to having your own pocket-dimension after having gone a lifetime without one.
Looking down at said bottle, Tye shook his head at the info his boxes supplied, before tossing it with a Throw in the nearest bin.
GatorBull - Common
Drink, D-Tier
It's got electrolytes! It's what gives you wings!
"Hey Tye, back for another round?" a strong voice called out as the teenager entered the large room.
There were several frames holding multiple punching bags and a few speed bags, while a couple of benches lined the walls, all surrounding two large boxing rings square in the centre of the room. The room was barely half-full at this time, though that could partially be blamed on the first swimming pool getting done just last week, people flocking to it en masse whenever they got the chance.
Tye hadn't yet had a chance to try it himself, but he was wondering if any Swimming related Skill he gained would eventually evolve to let him breathe underwater? Not that any of the local gangs had underwater bases (as far as he knew at least) so it was a bit of a moot point for now but still.
Food for thought.
The guy who had called out to Tye was a large teenager, tall and broad-shouldered. He'd look like a stereotypical jock if not for the friendly grin he was sporting as he clapped Tye on the shoulder hard enough it made the Gamer stumble a bit.
Charlie Simmons - Amateur Boxer (Level 13)
Human
Charlie was a few years higher than Tye, set to graduate next year and overall, a decent enough guy. They weren't exactly friends, but when Tye had first shown up for the Boxing Club of his school, Charlie had been happy to show the awkward teenager the ropes. Figuratively by giving him a tour of the new place and literally when he offered to spar with Tye, who had been a complete noob at the time.
Joining the Club had been a battle in its own right though, considering his overprotective mom at first refused to let him join, until his dad had quietly pointed out that Tye had gone through a traumatic experience and wanting to feel safer and more secure was a perfectly understandable motivation. Emma had backed down after that, though she had nearly started up again once Tye got back home from that first sparring session with Charlie, covered in some truly spectacular bruises.
Though not all the blame could be put on Charlie's broad shoulders for that: overconfident in his stats and status as an Altered Human, Tye had told the older teenager he didn't need to hold back.
Charlie had looked at him, shrugged, said "ok" and then knocked him flat on his ass with a punch to the solar plexus that Tye hadn't even really seen coming beyond a blur and a general sense of "oh shit".
-28 HP!
Once Tye had regained his breath and his footing, an absolutely mortified Charlie explained with a wince that he thought Tye had prior experience with martial arts or something, which is why he went as hard as he did. The older kid just felt so absolutely awful about it that Tye (still wheezing a bit) couldn't really hold it against him, so all was quickly forgiven as they continued the tour.
Though Tye would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forwards to completing the part of the Quest which involved kicking the older guy's butt six ways from Sunday, especially since it would basically mean an instant level-up to LVL 6.
Best Charlie
Beat Charlie in a boxing match!
- Quest success: +350 XP, +15 Fame, +5 to DEX, +3 to END, +1 to STR, + Rep with Charlie Simmons
- Quest failure: +15 XP, + Minor Rep with Charlie Simmons
Unlocks next stage of Quest [And in the Red Corner…!]
Right now, the Quest status was Failed (the second sparring match between Tye and Charlie having gone quite similarly to their first one, the main difference being that it went on for much longer), but thankfully it seemed that these at least were repeatable. As were the Paragon and Renegade Bonuses.
Underhanded
All is fair in love and war… and boxing! Use guile to win
- Quest success: +100 XP, + 15 Infamy, - Large Rep with Charlie Simmons
- Quest failure: N/A
Guile? Read: cheating. Tye dismissed it out of hand. Sure, the older teenager had shown him every corner of the ring (… boxing nomenclature was weird), but he was such a good sport about it, Tye couldn't really bring himself to hate the kid for it. So, as he always did, he chose the Paragon path instead.
Good Sport
Boxing is a sport in which you and your opponent beat each other up. Naturally, this means that it is a game of honour! Abide by the rules and win.
- Quest success: +75 XP, +5 Fame, + Rep with Charlie Simmons
- Quest failure: N/A
A little less XP gain, a little less Fame increase, but Tye found that he didn't really mind if it meant he wouldn't be screwing over his sparring buddy. He had been a lot more tempted with his opponent for the first leg of his And in the Red Corner…! Quest. The multi-staged Quest had automatically started after Charlie had finished showing him all their new gear and facility before finally introducing him to "Coach".
Ray Street AKA "Coach" - The Coach (LVL. 35)
Human (Irish)
Somewhat surprisingly, said Coach wasn't a hulking brute of a man as Tye had initially envisioned when he heard the nickname. Instead, it was a slim, middle-aged man with large, thick-rimmed glasses wearing a plaid-patterned tracksuit of all things. He had a dark, short beard and intense eyes that analysed Tye in a flash from underneath a flat cap. When he spoke for the first time, Tye had been so overwhelmed he hadn't actually quite caught everything the man had said his accent was so thick.
Guessing more than knowing that the man had asked a question, Tye had ended up just nodding, which had immediately prompted a New Quest Unlocked! Box to appear. The teenager had quickly resolved to enable Subtitles afterwards, which had gotten him some strange looks when it appeared that he was the only person in the school who could actually flawlessly understand Coach, including from Coach himself.
With the Subtitles enabled and looking through the Quest description, Tye swallowed a bit when he realized what he had inadvertently signed up for, remembering the man's LVL. 35 status.
And in the Red Corner…!
You have been challenged by the Master of this Dojo. Before you can fight him, you must best his Disciples. Afterwards, beat "Coach" in a boxing match!
Beat Coach (0/1)
Requirement: Beat the other contenders (1/3)
- Quest Success: 750 XP, +50 Fame, +10 to DEX, +5 to END, +3 to STR, + Large Rep with Charlie Simmons, + Large Rep with ?, + Massive Rep with "Coach", Gain Title Unarmed Combatant
- Quest Failure: 75 XP, + Minor Rep with "Coach"
Hidden Bonus Objective Unlocked!
This is the Way
This Quest's objectives are hidden until completed (1/4)
The same Paragon and Renegade paths were presented as well, but Tye didn't really pay them much mind, both since he would be choosing Paragon anyways and also because he definitely wasn't ready to fight Coach right now. Besides, he was more interested in the Title anyways. Was it purely cosmetic or did it come with some kind of Boosts? The Boxes didn't say.
As for the "Disciple" he had bested already, the guy had been a jerk to Tye from day one. It had taken him two tries to beat the arrogant boy his own age in the boxing ring and while he had been tempted to complete Underhanded,the satisfaction of winning completely fair and square on his own merits (… well, merits and literal superpowers, but still) was infinitely more rewarding.
He even completed a hidden Bonus Objective by winning with a K.O.! Which complicated what he had first suspected the Hidden Objective of And in the Red Corner…!to be. At first he had just assumed that he needed to complete Good Sportin all of his matches, but maybe he needed to win by K.O. every single time instead?
If so… oof. Sorry Charlie.
Charlie was the second "Disciple", but Tye didn't know who the third one would be, or what LVL his opponent would have. The first guy Tye had beaten (which was incidentally what had pushed him over the threshold into LVL 5) had been LVL 8, Charlie was LVL 13 and Coach was LVL 35, which would mean the last Disciple would probably be somewhere in the low twenties or something.
Though Levels by themselves weren't really indicative of someone's real power, Tye supposed. After all, his first opponent had been 4 Levels higher when they fought, but Tye had still won. Even though the other guy had definitely more experience with Boxing (actual experience, not just XP) than Tye, his stats had been far worse.
Once he got over the instinctual fear of getting hit and with more levels in Striking, Tye's superior strength and speed was just too much for his arrogant opponent, who after a brief overwhelming offensive from Tye got blindsided by a powerful hook thrown with almost all of it's 100+ points in STR behind it.
In hindsight, Tye was glad that his Boxes seemed to regulate his strength for him, as he didn't want to imagine breaking people in half just for giving them a hug. The blow that could've taken the boy's head off merely knocked him out instead and caused him to talk with a lisp for a few days.
Getting to the point that he could best the first Disciple hadn't been easy though, especially since he had to hold back his true strength somewhat, but leveling Striking had gone a long way.
Striking - LVL. 6 (510/625 XP)
I cast Fist! It's super-effective!
Increases DMG with Unarmed by 10% per LVL. Increases ASPD with Unarmed by 10% per LVL. Passive.
Tye was somewhat surprised he didn't get something like Boxing instead, but he supposed with the way the Skill was worded, it would benefit him even if he were to train another martial arts discipline.
Thankfully he had managed to level Striking without needing to endlessly challenge the first "disciple" or Charlie (a man can get knocked down only so many times before he decided he needs to have a little lie down instead), by completing another repeatable Quest.
A Challenger approaches!
You have been challenged! Beat up your fellow students! (it's in an official place for beatings and you're wearing training clothes, so this is definitely fine!)
- Quest Success: +50 XP, +5 Fame, +3 to DEX, +1 to STR
- Quest Failure: +5 XP, -5 Fame
While this Quest offered the same Paragon and Renegade paths, their rewards were scaled down to match the smaller side quest. It was the only boxing-related Quest that had a penalty for loosing so far (well, losing to and winning from the first guy decreased his Rep with him, but Tye didn't much like him either so it was no great loss in his book) which made sense somewhat: endlessly challenging everyone around him just to lose every time wouldn't do much for his reputation.
He still got the Rep increase with Charlie and Coach because they admired his attempt to try at least. That, or they just enjoyed beating the shit out of him, it could go either way really.
Thankfully, Tye hadn't failed a single A Challenger Approaches!Quest so far, which was basically just a sparring match with anyone not on the list for And in the Red Corner…!
Speaking of sparring with someone on said list…
Tye once again glanced up at Charlie's nameplate, his eyes lingering on the LVL. 13. He had tried twice before to beat Charlie, only for both matches to end with him knocked flat on his ass and Charlie profusely apologizing over his gasping form. The last time Coach had watched from the sidelines and had surprisingly congratulated the panting teenager on lasting a bit longer now than the previous time, before turning on his heel and stalking away without a further word.
"No thanks Charlie. I'm not ready to beat you yet." Tye responded truthfully to Charlie's earlier offer of a rematch, the larger youth laughing as he rubbed his neck, an abashed look on his face.
"Well, you don't need to beat me if it's just sparring you know."
"I know, but it's… uhm… it's important to me. I wanna be ready and give you a good fight?" Tye trailed off, Charlie blinking a few times at him before shrugging those large shoulders of his.
"Sure, I guess. You're a weird little fella Tye, anybody ever say that?" the teen said with a good-natured grin, waving back at Tye as he walked over to some other people training with the punching bags.
"Don't I know it." Tye muttered underneath his breath, his Boxes coming to mind.
Instead of fighting Charlie (or, more accurately, trying to fight Charlie), Tye let his eyes roam across the boxing gym, his eyes flitting to the spaces just above everyone's head. Finally he found his victim (uhhm, I mean, opponent, yeah, he found his opponent), a tall, almost slender guy Tye had fought once before in the past.
Tye didn't really know him (his name was Steven Dunn according to the Boxes) but he hadn't seemed salty about losing a spar against him and the fight itself hadn't been that aggressive. Sure, there had been violence, but there were no bad feelings there like there had been with his fights with Disciple number one.
"Hey Steve, you up for a sparring match?" Tye called out as he approached the taller teen, who stopped hitting his punching bag to send the Gamer a surprised look.
"You wanna go again?"
As it was, Tye had inadvertently gained a little bit of a reputation for always wanting to spar instead of just training with the various bags. He had a good reason for it: while using the bags might give him XP for his Striking skill, said XP was far smaller when compared to the XP gained from actual fights. Besides, the punching bags, much like the machines in the other parts of the gyms, did nothing for his Stats. Since nobody else actually was aware of this though, he was still seen as a glutton for punishment, getting in the ring so often even after getting knocked around (mostly by Charlie) and still coming back for more.
Since this was a boxing gym though, such an attitude was respected more than questioned thankfully.
"Yeah, practice makes perfect and all that. I just feel like I learn better with an actual opponent, you know?"
Steve paused for a few moments, before shrugging in agreement and the two quickly geared up in protective equipment before climbing into the free ring.
As Tye brought up his gloved hands, a window popped up in the corner of his vision
A Challenger approaches!
You have been challenged! Beat up your fellow students! (it's in an official place for beatings and you're wearing training clothes, so this is definitely fine!)
- Quest Success: +50 XP, +5 Fame
- Quest Failure: +5 XP, +5 Infamy
'Yeah, I know, I know.' The teenager thought with exasperation, mentally dismissing the box as he and Steve approached each other.
Tye had been interested to see how his Boxes would deal with combat, wondering and almost fearing if he would be pulled into some turn-based RPG system or something. He didn't think he could bear to just stand there waiting for his opponent to come towards his still form and smack him in the face before he was allowed to make a move.
Thankfully, the 'realism' factor of his Game (which was pretty high on account of this, you know, being actually real) meant that combat was more fluid.
Tye waited for a few long, drawn-out breaths as he and Steve closed in on each other, allowing the taller boy to make the first move. Almost as if he were in a quick-time event, Tye saw the attack coming, a wide hook to his right arm, and felt a certain pressure on all of his body, inside and out, telling him to move. Mentally pushing a button, Tye forced his body forwards, a certain satisfying 'click' in the energy suffusing him spreading throughout his entire form with a pleasing chill, things automatically falling into place.
Steve's punch closed in, but Tye's arm came up in an outwards swing, backhanding the strike away by striking the inside of Steve's forearm.
Two more punches were deflected off to the side in a similar manner, Tye's timing pretty much perfect. With his punches countered, Steve's guard crumbled as he missed a step, his lanky arms moving away from his chest. Tye immediately felt that same well of power, that encompassing pressure and he pushed on, almost watching like a bystander as his body moved on its own, taking a step forwards and letting loose a sharp jab straight towards the middle of the other boy's chest.
-12 HP!
There was contact, but between Tye holding back his true strength and Steve already moving to dodge, the hit was fairly minor, though the tall teenager couldn't hide a wince.
Steve brought up his hands again and this time Tye advanced, testing out his opponent's defences with a few fast strikes, his eyes constantly on the look-out for what only he could see, an indicator provided by his Boxes, a meta-physical sign-
There!
A reddish glow, small, no larger than a saucer, suddenly appeared on the lower left side of Steve's chest right after Tye let out a particularly strong punch on Steve's defences, breaking his guard. Much like with the earlier quick-time events or parries, Tye felt that energy well up and immediately capitalized on it, sending out a devasting blow into his opponent's side.
Critical Hit
-31 HP!
Steve gasped, out of breath, and Tye backed off. The Renegade path would probably demand that he keep wailing on his target, exploiting the several other critical spots that appeared now that his opponent dropped his guard in a devastating Combo, but that was unsporting. Tye was only trying to spar after all, not beat the other guy into a pulp.
That was something he was saving for out there, on the streets.
"You good?" Tye asked and Steve nodded in thanks, grateful for the breather.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm good. Took me by surprise, is all. Damn you can be fast when you want to."
"Heh, guess it's just like how Coach says: it's all in the mind." Tye said with an awkward chuckle, trying to distract his opponent so he wouldn't think too hard on Tye's sudden jumps in proficiency.
He hadn't seen himself fight (maybe he should ask Charlie to film one of his matches sometime?), but from what he had heard from his opponents and an occasional bystander, Tye's speed would sometimes just shoot through the roof.
"It's like you see the punch before the other guy even throws it. That's Pro material right there, killer instincts, believe you me." Coach had said a few days ago (or rather, his Subtitles had said so).
Taking another deep breath, Steve nodded before bringing his guard back up again and the fight continued. Tye didn't get every quick-time event. Sometimes the rising well of power came too late, or he tried to capitalize on it too early. Similarly, he didn't get every critical point, if he even got them to show up at all, which only happened if he managed to break his opponent's guard or stance. The markers for critical hits were very small after all, and while he was fast it wasn't as if his opponents were standing still in the meantime.
In all his fights against Charlie, the blows had come too fast for him to even notice the quick-time event triggering and attempt a parry and he had yet to break the older boy's guard sufficiently to trigger a critical point. He got better and better at dodging and weaving around his opponent though, learning his attack patterns and managing to land more blows of his own.
Still, when compared to Charlie's LVL 13 and status as Amateur Boxer, Steve Dunn's measly LVL 6 and High School Student was just laughably easy.
Sure, Tye got clipped a few times, but most of his parries were timed well and he got in about three more critical hits before Steve surrendered, a good half of his Health bar gone.
Quest Complete!
You have been challenged! Beat up your fellow students! (it's in an official place for beatings and you're wearing training clothes, so this is definitely fine!) (1/1)
- Quest Rewards: +50 XP, +5 Fame, +3 to DEX, +1 to STR
He was looking a bit worse for wear, panting heavily, and Tye felt somewhat bad for the skinny dude.
"Hey man, you okay?"
"Damn Tye, you hit like a mule." The other kid panted.
"Sorry about that. I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"
"My pride, mostly." Steve tried to joke, but Tye saw him wince as he chuckled.
"Hang on." Tye said as they exited the ring, quickly moving over towards his sports bag, before taking out a MarsKat bar (at this point he had a couple dozen of them stored in his Inventory at all times just in case, the bag was there merely as a decoy) and offering it to the tall teenager.
Tye knew that the energy bar wouldn't be as affective for the human as it was for himself, but still. It was the thought that counted. Steve blinked a few times in surprise, before accepting the bar with a small smile.
"Thanks man. Appreciate it." The slim boy said, before packing up his gear, having had enough of boxing for the day.
+5 to CHA! + Rep with Steve Dunn!
Quest Complete!
A Challenger approaches!
You have been challenged! Beat up your fellow students! (it's in an official place for beatings and you're wearing training clothes, so this is definitely fine!)
- Quest Reward: +50 XP, +5 Fame
Bonus Quest Complete!
Good Sport
Boxing is a sport in which you and your opponent beat each other up. Naturally, this means that it is a game of honour! Abide by the rules and win.
- Quest Reward: +15 XP
Bonus Quest Failed!
Underhanded
All is fair in love and war… and boxing! Use guile to win
- Quest Reward: N/A
That put him a little under a 100XP away from LVL 6 and thus another Perk Point. That meant that, hmmm…. Carry the one… yeah, he only needed to beat up two more students!
Tye's grin was large on his face as he approached his second victim (opponent, opponent) working on the bags.
"Hey Brandon! You up for a spar?"
Tye Charles - The Gamer LVL. 6 (98/475 XP)
Human (Altered)
HP: 314/314 (68 HP/sec)
SP: 369/369 (86 SP/sec)
STR: 210
END: 68
DEX: 60
INT: 78
CHA: 49
LUC: 41
Tye was still looking over his new stat sheet, riding the incredible, downright euphoric high from his latest level up as he went up to his room. Completely on automatic, he booted up his computer, falling into his luxurious gaming chair.
His unspent Perk Point was burning a hole in his pocket (or metaphysical superpower, as it was). While he had originally been somewhat disappointed with The Speed of Mercury (even though it massively helped with his daily commute to school) his experience with actual combat had somewhat changed his mind on the Archetype. He strongly suspected that the Movement Speed Bonus it gave was in some way tied to his quick-time events during fights. It was the attribute most affected by DEX after all.
Also, overall the modifiers of the Archetype was the lowest in the entire S.H.A.Z.A.M. system, with a 15% increase to Movement Speed and only 0,5 to his DEX, as opposed to the 20% Atlas gave to his Health and Stamina and similar to the 0,5 modifier to his XP gain granted by Solomon. Which to Tye indicated that these boosts were absolutely broken somewhere down the line, which is why they got nerfed early-game.
Thinking about it as he started up WhatsCord as usual, quickly navigating to the Winner's League's server, Tye supposed it made sense. The description of Mercury indicated the possibility of wall- and water-walking in the future, possibly even unassisted flight. Absolutely massive game changers. Factor in how DEX and speed were crucial in combat both for defensive quick-time events and offensive crit points and Tye could see how it could be broken at higher levels.
Unfortunately, he wasn't high level yet and sinking so many precious resources into a build that would only pay off later didn't seem like a smart move in Tye's mind.
Still, what to do with the Perk Point? His STR was over 200 now (and Tye was mildly disappointed when this didn't come with an automatic upgrade or boost or anything), so he felt he hardly needed another point in Hercules. Atlas then? You can never have enough HP, it was literally a life-defining resource. He could run out of everything else and still try to make the best out of a situation.
Once HP reached 0 though… that was it. Game Over.
Still, as far as Tye could tell, his HP was almost three times the amount of what others his age and Level had. Combine that with his armor and he was fairly certain he could tank at least one bullet.
… fairly certain.
Both Zeus and Achilles were still sitting at 0, but Tye eventually settled on leaving them like that until one of his other Archetypes had hit LVL. 5 first. The powerboost from that should give him enough breathing room to buff his soft stats a bit more.
Solomon again then? The additional XP was nice, yes… but then again, he still had And in the Red Corner…!to complete, along with its individual steps and Paragon and Renegade bonuses as well, not to mention the Hidden Objective. Hell, if he were to win from Charlie right now with Good Sport, that alone would almost be enough to net him yet another Level Up just by itself. As for the Crafting aspect of his INT stat, his armor was already done. Maybe he could invent some criminal-bagging invention of some kind, but he suspected he'd need a much higher INT stat (not to mention materials) than a single point in Solomon would currently give him.
He decided to throw the question in the Winner's League server (as a hypothetical of course). There was no greater collection of nerds and gamers on the internet (if there were, then they were so nerdy and so underground and off the grid, even Tye hadn't heard about them) so if anyone knew how to cut the knot, it'd be them.
The moment he posed his question though, his pc nearly blew up with notifications, someone spamming his DM's. The rattling of notifications were quickly replaced by a request for a videocall and Tye finally realized it was his friend Carlos.
"Hey man, what's up-?" Tye began as he accepted the call, before Carlos' loud tones interrupted him.
"Bro! Where have you been?!"
Carlos naturally didn't have an inside voice, but now he sounded genuinely upset, his tone eerily similar to how Emma Charles would question her son on occasion whenever he had done something supremely stupid.
Carlos' face was inches away from his own webcam, obscuring much of his room even though Tye knew that it would be messy beyond belief. He had seen a sock lying on the ceiling fan there once. Something was off about the room though, but Tye couldn't see enough of it to really put his finger on it.
Besides, he still had his angry little Hispanic friend to contend with.
"Uhm… what?"
"You don't call! You don't hang out with me at lunch! You haven't even shown up for our gaming sesh man! You missed Raid Night! Twice!"
"Oh… well, ahem, surely it wasn't too bad-" Tye tried.
"You. were. the. Guide!"
"Oh… shit."
"Yeah, man. Not cool." Carlos said, tone petulant, his voice still blaring over Tye's speakers even when the small teenager sounded subdued.
"… This is not just about Raid Night, is it?" Tye carefully tried.
Carlos breathed deeply for a few long moments and Tye only now noticed the deep bags underneath the smaller teen's eyes.
"No man. It's not just about Raid Night." Carlos said with a defeated sigh, falling back into his own gaming chair.
"It's just…" the kid began, obviously struggling with what to say, before giving up.
"… you're just constantly in the gym. Working out, boxing. And when you're done, you immediately leave school and fuck off to who even knows? You don't go home. I phoned your house. Don't worry, by the way, I covered your pale ass with your parents." Carlos said with a small smile, before continuing.
"You a gym rat now or something? You barely even game anymore. You go days without logging into the Winner's League. Only time I see you is during class man."
Carlos shook his head, leaning his elbows on his skinny knees as he let his head fall into his hands.
"Fuck bro, listen to me. I sound like an angry girlfriend. Fuck." Carlos said with a laugh, but it was so shaken and bitter, Tye almost mistook it for a sob instead.
It was only now that Tye realized what had been bugging him about his friend's room. It was, for once, not messy… because there was hardly anything there to be messed up. The walls that had previously been almost hidden behind posters of games, movies and artists were now completely barren, the taped corners of a few of them still lingering behind as if they had been torn down in a hurry. The bookcase which had been stuffed with various figurines, Carlos' proudest possession after his custom PC, had been completely emptied out.
It was as if someone had robbed the place empty of anything non-essential. It resembled a prison cell more than a teenage boy's bedroom.
Leaning closer to his screen, Tye could only whisper as he looked on his miserable friend.
"Carlos… what happened?"
His friend didn't respond for a long time, but when he did his voice was tired and small.
"Drugs."
"… what? You trashed your room because of drugs? Like… you had a bad trip or-"
"No man. No. I mean… I got caught with drugs. Weed. Wasn't much, so I'm not in jail at least. Might as well be though." The youth muttered that last part under his breath, spite coming back into his tone.
"Jesus. What the… I'm so sorry dude." Tye said in a shocked voice, Carlos merely shaking his head.
For a moment, the silence was thick between the two of them.
"What were you even doing with weed man?"
"Hey, it's legal in some states!"
"Yes. For adults. Which you aren't. It's also legal to drink in most places, but try and pick up a couple of beers and see what happens." Tye said somewhat incredulously.
Carlos lifted a hand to protest, thought for a few seconds, before he let the arm fall back down again with a defeated sigh.
"Why would you risk buying weed?"
"I just thought it was harmless. Does less damage than alcohol, did you know? And I got it from a local guy, it's not like I went to Colombia or something. It's not like I was walking around with a neon sign saying "Hello cops! Please arrest me because of Possession!" It was just… it was supposed to be just a bit of fun for us."
"Wait, us?"
"Like I said, local guy. Plenty of kids here in school buy from him. Even sells 'em coca. Few grams, but still. Rumour has it he must have made a million by now. Personally? Doubt it. But a nice Mercedes or something, sure, even if he didn't look rich. Probably has to kick most of it up the chain or something, you know? Narcos style."
"Cocaine? Really?"
"Weed, coca, pills, dude has it all. Or so he says. Like I know what 'all' even is. Fuck if any of the other kids know either, they just say they do to look cool."
"Other kids bought from him as well?"
"It's his market. It's why the cops had him in their sights. They weren't even after me specifically, I was just the only hijo de puta dumb enough to not run away the moment the lights went on and they came running out their cruisers. Dealer-guy was long gone of course by the time they threw me to the ground, so they hauled me in instead. Latino dude with drug possession? Yeah, no chance." Carlos said bitterly.
"What… what happened?"
"Mom got me out of there, finally. Took a while too. Never seen her shout so much. Until we got home at least. Grounded for life right now Tye. Which wouldn't be too bad, Gamer lifestyle for the win. But now, well…" Carlos trailed off, gesturing at his bare walls and empty shelves with a drawn expression on his face.
"To add to the punishment." He quoted with a bitter smile.
"They let you keep your PC though?"
"Nah bro, took that too. Sold it for less than even my GPU was worth man, you know how much my mom knows about tech: nada. Using the school laptop right now. Not a total piece of shit at least: gracias a Dios for Tony Stark, eh?"
"Fuck man. I'm sorry." Tye said, getting a shrug from Carlos.
"Why didn't you tell me?" the superpowered teenager prodded.
"I tried." Carlos said with a pointed look and Tye ducked his shoulders with a wince at the accusing glare.
"Since Raid Night was off and you were gone up in smoke or some bullshit, I went to the skatepark near my house. Know some people there. And Dealer-guy was there and well…" Carlos trailed off again.
Silence stretched between them as Tye tried to find a response. Well… he had been preparing to fight crime, hadn't he?
"Carlos. Look bro, I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have ghosted you like I did, just with the new facilities and training and all… It's not an excuse, you're my friend and I shouldn't have just… forgotten about you. But I'm going to make it up to you, alright? Promise."
Carlos stared at his webcam with lidded eyes, clearly not convinced.
"Unless you somehow convince my mom to dig my posters out of the trash and buy back all of my Super Sentai figurines she sold on eBay, I don't see how-"
"Dealer-guy." Tye interrupted, intensity creeping into his tone as he leaned forwards, causing Carlos' mouth to snap shut with a dull 'click!'.
"Can you describe him to me?"
New Quest Unlocked!
Just say 'No!'
Someone is selling narcotics to high schoolers. One of them was your friend, who got into deep shit because of it. Better catch this guy before any more loveable side characters get swept under the bus!
Get the drug dealer to stop peddling narcotics to kids (0/1)
- Quest Success: +500 XP, +75 Fame
- Quest failure: kids will continue to be targeted by the drug trade, -55 Fame, high chance of bullet- and/or stab-wounds, Medium chance of Death
Hidden Bonus Objective Unlocked
Back on the straight and narrow
This Quest's Objectives are hidden until completed (0/8)
A medium chance of Death? Really Boxes?
Bonus Quest Unlocked!
An offer he can't refuse
"Persuade" the dealer to quit slingin' smack to kiddos. Permanently, capiche?
- Quest Success: +275 XP, +125 Infamy, + $25,000
- Quest Failure: N/A
Bonus Quest Unlocked!
Silver-tongued
Persuade the dealer to quit dealing drugs to children
- Quest Success: +125 XP, +55 Fame
- Quest Failure: N/A
Wow, his Boxes really didn't seem to be bothered with just taking the guy out. As always, the Renegade path offered increased rewards, but the difference had never been this large before. Even so, despite the tempting cash reward (likely gained from rifling through the man's pockets after bashing his brains in), Tye dismissed it.
He was going to be a Hero: he just sent people to the Hospital, not the Morgue! There was a difference!
The night was dark and (presumably) cold. Truthfully, Tye didn't really notice it, though if that was due to his new status as a Human (Altered) or just because he was clad in layers of cloth and plastics he couldn't really say.
He had Cycled from his home over to Carlos' place, though he passed it and kept riding onwards, towards the nearby skating park. Graffiti covered every exposed inch of bare concrete and many of the streetlights hadn't worked for longer than Tye had been alive.
There were a handful of people there, most around Tye's age and a bit older, with a few of them looking more like they were in their mid- or late-twenties. He kept observing the group from the shade of a nearby ally, taking advantage of the broken lights and his black armor to blend in with the shadows, remaining unseen.
His bicycle had been safely returned to his Mount tab, saving him the hassle of trying to stash it somewhere safe.
Many the people there were doing tricks on either bikes or skateboards (and Tye briefly wondered what his DEX stat would need to be in order to replicate those stunts) but a few of them were more off to the side, clustered closer together and not actually skating, biking or anything of the sort.
And not because they were particularly lazy, Tye reckoned. Towards the back of the group, another figure stood in a large concealing hoodie and as Tye watched on, he saw one of the other people approach him, the two exchanging a handshake before the newcomer stalked away, furtively looking over his shoulder as he left the park.
It was all that Tye needed. The clothes, the way newcomers would come and go after briefly visiting him and shaking his hand. This was the guy. This was the guy that supplied almost an entire school with both soft and hard drugs. That had sold weed to Tye's friend.
Not that he was a religious nut or something who proclaimed abstinence as the greatest of all virtues. In Tye's mind, if you wanna smoke or drink, go right ahead. Just don't bother people with it. However, this guy sold weed to a fourteen-year-old. Sold cocaine and pills to high schoolers. That shit was not ok.
Tye hadn't been there for his friend when he had hit rock bottom. Short of somehow getting his hands on Time-Travel Skill, there was nothing he could do about that. But what he could do was make sure this scumbag wouldn't be supplying any other children with drugs.
Given how the skate park was situated, sneaking up on Dealer-guy was pretty much impossible. Well, probably not for him once he got a decently levelled Stealth skill or something, but since he didn't currently have anything like that, the straightforward approach it was.
Keeping his Inventory window opened and his Baseball bat equipped in his second slot, Tye began approaching the group of teenagers and hoodlums, his armor dismissed and waiting.
He half-expected to be stopped by a giant bouncer covered in scars and tattoos or something the moment he set foot onto the graffitied concrete of the park , yet nobody stopped him. He must've appeared just like any other customer. Considering this particular dealer dealt mostly with kids, Tye's nervousness wouldn't even be anything out of the ordinary.
He hung back for a few moments on the outer edge of the group, trying not to shuffle his feet as Dealer-guy slipped another client a small package through their handshake. Carlos had been right, the dude really dealt in small amounts. Which probably meant that he had a supplier or a boss or something. Right? Tye was hardly an expert on drug empires and their inner workings, but this dude hardly seemed like a big player. And if he really did make as much money as Carlos had said, he certainly wasn't showing it.
Finally Dealer-guy turned towards him, his features nearly impossible to see in the dark of the park and hidden inside his over-sized hoodie.
"The fuck you looking at kid?" he said in a lazy drawl, the attention of the rest of the group now falling onto Tye as well.
Swallowing deeply and calling on all the CHA he had, Tye pulled himself up taller.
"I heard that you can sell me drugs?"
Silence strung out between them, before it was broken by the chuckling and laughing of the half dozen other teenagers surrounding them, many of them looking towards Tye with mocking grins on their faces.
"What kinda question is that? You on a wire or something? A dare? Who the fuck comes out and asks something that stupid?" Dealer-guy asked incredulously, and Tye felt a blush rise to his cheeks.
"I wouldn't know man. Clearly this is my first time-"
"Oh, a little virgin we gots ourselves here then?" Dealer-guy teased to renewed laughter of the small crowd.
"Look, you got drugs or not? Quit wasting my time." Tye bit out, his tone lowered and firm, his stance more aggressive.
"Easy there, kiddo. Wouldn't want to waste your 'precious time'." Dealer-guy said in an amused tone, holding up his hands in mock surrender.
He approached Tye, and he could now finally see the man's face in the distant lighting of the surrounding lampposts. He was a dark-skinned man with fair features, though his eyes were perpetually lidded, as if he was constantly on the verge of nodding off into sleep.
"Sure kid. I got "drugs". Any kind you want, I can hook you up with. What's it to you?"
"That was all I needed to know. The rest of you: leave."
Intimidation check failed! Insufficient CHA!
The chuckling and laughing started up again-
"Equip." Tye whispered under his breath.
- right up until the unknown teenager was, in a sudden flash of electric red particles, covered from head to toe in black armor, a baseball bat suddenly in hand.
"I said leave!" Tye called out the wide-eyed crowd, who were frozen to their spot.
Intimidation check failed! Insufficient CHA!
With all of his now 315 STR, Tye pulled back his bat, before letting loose with a devasting swing towards the concrete at their feet, the massive impact cratering the stone and causing gravel and detritus to explode from impact.
"LEAVE!"
Intimidation check passed!
As one, the group turned and ran, not even looking back as they cleared the edges of the skate park as if the entirety of the LAPD was on their heels.
Hidden Objective failed!
On the Straight and Narrow
Convince Dealer-guy's clients to give up drugs and turn their lives around (0/8)
- Quest Reward: N/A
Oh… crap. Oh well, they should be better off once he took care of Dealer-guy anyways. Dismissing the fleeing crowd, Tye instead turned back towards his real target, who slowly blinked as he looked the teenager's home-made armor up and down.
"Well… that's new."
To the guy's credit (or maybe he was just stoned? High off his own supply?) when Tye pointed the bat towards him, it's tip just inches away from the dude's chest, Dealer-guy still didn't look particularly worried, remaining slouched in place.
"I got some questions." Tye attempted to growl, though he had to force himself from sighing when he got another cheerful Intimidation attempt failed! Insufficient CHA!
Maybe he needed to revisit his opinion of the Zeus archetype.
"Sure you do. Wasn't very clever tho, showing up like that." Dealer-guy responded easily.
"You threatening me?" Tye said in a low voice as he took a step towards the man in the hoodie, though all he got for his efforts was yet another disappointing Intimidation attempt failed! Insufficient CHA! message.
Whatever it was about him, Dealer-guy clearly wasn't easily intimidated.
"Just pointin' out that everybody here now knows your face." The dealer clarified.
"Who says it's my face?" Tye said, his grin coming through in his tone.
"… wait, you for real? Shapeshifting too?"
"You saw what I can do. How I manifested my armor. Changing my looks isn't much different. Or much harder."
"… aight. Damn. That is new."
"Enough talk!"
"But I thought you had questions?"
"I-… well, yes, but-"
"How am I gonna answer your questions if I can't talk?"
"Just shut up!"
"So that's a no on the whole 'answering questions' deal?"
"I-… you-…"
"… this really is your first time doin' this huh?"
For a long moment, Tye stared at Dealer-guy in slight desperation, frustrated as he kept dismissing the Intimidation check failed! messages that kept popping up one after another.
"Fine. Fine." He eventually admitted, realizing that this approach would get them nowhere.
"Look, you sold a buddy of mine weed. He got in trouble with your stuff on him."
"That's on him then. I didn't force him to buy my shit. 'Sides, is just weed anyways."
"Ok, that's true, but still. He's just a kid man. You're out here selling weed and hard drugs to children. They don't know the dangers, how it affects them, what's in the stuff they smoke-"
"Hey man, my stuff is pure! … mostly, at least…"
"Look, all I'm saying, you must be one real cold-hearted son of a bitch if you have no qualms whatsoever about all of this. Now I can beat you up-"
At that, both simultaneously glanced at the deep crater just a few feet away from them, Dealer-guy giving an agreeing nod.
"-and then turn you over the police. Citizen's arrest. But here's my problem: that doesn't remove the problem. It just removes you."
Dealer-guy blinked a few slow times.
"I thought I was the problem?"
"No, you're a carrier for the problem. Like rats were for the Black Plague."
"Hey man, not cool."
"Oh, right, I suppose that was a bit harsh-"
"It's a common misconception man. The Plague was transmitted from human to human through lice and shit. Rats just got the blame."
"… I see?"
"Gotta be careful with that shit man. Rats still got a negative image and everything. Got exterminated and shit over in Canada, I'm talkin' full-on genocide man-"
"Just… just forget about the rats, alright?"
"I'm just sayin', man." Dealer-guy said with a shrug.
For learning the truth about a common misconception, +2 to INT!
Tye wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that listening to a clearly high drug dealer for a minute gained him as many points in his INT stat as almost three months in high school. Something was very wrong there.
"Look, what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't really matter if it's you standing here or not. I beat you up, haul you away, the next day some other guy in a hoodie is going to be standing here while your file gets closed and you get to spend a chunk of your life behind bars." Tye stressed as he pressed on.
Dealer-guy remained silent for a while this time and while his eyes remained half-lidded, they now observed Tye with a greater focus.
"Go on." He said, his voice having lost a bit of its drawl.
"I don't want you. I want the drugs. More specifically, I want the guy that gives you your drugs."
"You're askin' me to flip on my bosses." The man said, his voice low and his expression dark, clearly not liking the idea.
"In essence… yes, that's exactly what I'm asking."
"Risky. They'll hurt me. Bad."
"I can hurt you too."
"They'll do worse."
"Only if they find out."
"They will."
"If you talked to a police officer? Maybe. Probably, depending on if they have any dirty cops on payroll." Tye suggested, but Dealer-guy didn't take the bait, his face revealing nothing.
"But if you talk to me… they won't. I'm not going to put them in cuffs. No reports, no red tape, no procedures, no nothing. Just me, them and this bat." Tye said, patting the wood.
Dealer-guy's eyes flicked from the bat to the cratered concrete.
"Gonna kill 'em?"
"Send them to the Hospital! There's a difference!"
"Yeah. Hospital costs more money."
For a long, tense moment, Dealer-guy seemed to think things over, a deep frown on his shadowed face.
"You really can change your face?"
"Like putting on different clothes."
"That hit, that the biggest you can pull off?"
"Almost, but I can go bigger."
Persuasion check passed!
"Aight then. Can't give you names, but I can give you a location."
Tye blinked a few times in surprise as Dealer-guy stuck out his chin in defiance.
"Wait, you're agreeing to help me? Why? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy I won't have to snap you in half but still… why?" the superpowered teenager asked in bafflement.
Dealer-guy merely shook his head.
"Look, this was never my idea, aight? Some ganger thought it'd be a nice little cashflow, put me on it 'cause I'm disposable. Teenagers with allowances. It ain't much per person, but add 'em up… Thing is, I got a sister, up in New York. Brooklyn. She's gonna have a kid soon. I don't want this shit happenin' to him neither." The man reluctantly revealed, before scratching his neck.
"Was thinkin' 'bout movin' there anyways. LA is getting too… strange. Better luck in the Big Apple." He muttered to himself.
"Fine by me if you stop selling drugs to kids. Ideally, you'd give up crime altogether…" Tye suggested, but Dealer-guy merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Man's gotta eat. But sure thing: won't sell to kids no more."
Quest Complete!
Just say 'No!'
Get the drug dealer to stop peddling narcotics to kids (1/1) - Complete
- Quest Reward: +500 XP, +75 Fame
Bonus Quest Complete!
Silver-Tongued
Persuade the dealer to quit dealing drugs to children
- Quest Success: +125 XP, +55 Fame
Bonus Quest Failed!
An Offer he can't refuse
"Persuade" the dealer to stop slingin' smack to kiddos. Permanently, capiche?
- Quest Success: N/A
You have levelled up! 5 6!
+16 HP and SP! +5 to all Stats!
Gained +1 Perk Point(s)!
You are now Level 6 (373/625 XP)
'God damn… Solomon is putting in the works right now' Tye thought to himself with a gasp, his breathing suddenly spiking as his chest expanded and contracted rapidly. Pure, unadulterated lightning seemed to dance and race across every nerve ending as taste and smells exploded across Tye's senses-
"Hey, you good man?"
"W-wha-… yeah, yeah I'm good, just… had to deal with something…" Tye managed to gasp out, riding out the last euphoric high of the Level Up.
"… you know, for a guy goin' after drug dealers, you sure look like you go after the product too, if you know what I mean." Dealer-guy said somewhat suspiciously.
"It's fine. It's fine. Just a by-product of my powers." Tye dismissed, though something about the man's words didn't sit right with the teenager, an uncomfortable weight right in the middle of his chest.
"Whatever. Not my problem. Here's what you need to know: my suppliers are the Fifth Street Locos. Local gang. My direct boss is one of their lieutenants. Despite the name, most of their safehouses aren't actually on Fifth Street. Would be too easy for the cops to find. Gotta go way down the Alameda, down to Oaks Streets. Is about 15 miles or sumthing. It's where I go to pick up new product, my boss is there. Usually. That's all I got, I'm leavin'. See ya never, kid."
With that parting shot, Dealer-guy stalked away, though Tye managed to halt him in his tracks for a moment when he called after him.
"Stay out of trouble Mr. Morales! I'll know if you don't!"
"Seriously weird." Morales muttered to himself, before picking up the pace, hurrying just a bit faster than he was walking before.
He was quickly swallowed up by the darkness of the night as he moved out of the range of the few sputtering lamppost remaining and so Tye was left alone in the skate park.
"Right then. Onto the safe house it is!"
New Quest Unlocked!
Beware of the full moon with this House
'Cause it'll turn into a were-house. Get it? Whatever, just go over there and smash it to bits
- Quest rewards: +650 XP, +100 Fame, - Massive Rep with [The Fifth Street Locos]
- Quest failure: Moderate to High chance of Death, Near-Certain chance of Injury
Shaking his head at the odd humor of his Boxes, Tye summoned his Mountand focused on the mini-map in his HUD, a growing green line already showing the way he needed to go. Standing on the pedals, Tye quickly picked up speed, his form a mere shadow under the cover of night, rapidly closing in on his goal.
'I'm coming, 'Fifth Street Locos'. I'm coming for you and you'll never even know what hit you'.
AN: Sorry this took so long, I find Tye incredibly difficult to write. I just can't find his voice. Also, keeping all his Stat and XP gains straight (especially with the modifiers) in the Excel file (it's massive now!) is a pain in the ass, especially since I can't do math. Still, here it is, hope you enjoyed! As always, massive thanks to the sponsor of this project, BelatorDeluxe!
As some of you may know, I recently got my Master's Degree in History and am going to the Teacher's Academy next year. Problem is I'm pretty much out of money at this point. I had some talks over in the Emerald Library Discord server (hit me up there if you'd like!) about how some fanfiction authors manage to make a living off their work. I don't think I'm big/good enough for that yet, but every little thing helps. So I was thinking of overhauling my page. I don't really wanna do the whole "subscribe and get early access to future chapters!" thing, since that feels too much like kidnapping fics, especially with my slow-ass upload speed. But there was some talk of maybe bringing back the voting system, where readers can vote on which story gets updated next, which might be actually useful since people won't be just voting for 12 Steps anymore. I dunno, if you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact me!
You can also always just go the BelatorDeluxe route and commission a story directly.
TL;DR: Being alive is expensive and daddy needs some dough.