I woke up feeling… different, somehow. Like something had changed - but not something that I could conventionally perceive.
Needless to say, the pop-up that greeted me explained a lot.
UPDATE ALERT!
Ver. 1.1
Changelog:
-When engaging in combat, all enemies gain the 'Foe' status effect - RES is lowered to zero in exchange for increasing HP/AP by RES%. Weapon skills granted by Mastery skills are disabled in favor of personalized attacks. Damage boosts granted by Mastery skills are nullified.
-Personal Weapons now grant their users unique mastery skills based around their usage. Conventional mastery skills can no longer be used with them, but they can grant bonus levels to the mastery skill of the personal weapon.
-Personal Weapons with both melee and ranged properties now only count ½ of the wielder's DEX stat towards ranged damage.
-Hitting an enemy in the head area at range with any weapon classed as a type of Sniper Rifle will display a 'HEADSHOT!' notification and multiply the total damage dealt by the attack by 1.5.
-All items usable in combat now have individual cooldown times based on effects and magnitude. Further explanations of this feature can be found in the Guide.
-Point of View changed to First Person Limited.
-General bug fixes.
-Small skill modifications and rebalances.
As you might imagine, waking up to this bombshell didn't exactly make for a very laid-back morning.
Not that it actually made much of a difference - today was already a big day on its own.
I had managed to book a ticket to an express airship headed for Atlas about a week ago, and today was the day of departure. I had gone around Vale buying various odds and ends so as to not stick out too much. People would be prone to start asking questions if they saw me boarding a public craft without any luggage, after all.
I hadn't gone for anything too crazy - just a medium sized bag for a typical tourist on a family reunion or sightseeing trip. I filled it with random things taken from my inventory, but took care not to put anything that could be considered 'dangerous' inside, in case I ended up being searched. As for what that actually constituted, well… let's just say that in the event that some security guards did take a look at what I was apparently bringing along with me, I had a feeling that they'd consider me eccentric at best, and a loopy, airheaded dumbass at worst.
I also took the liberty of checking out the airport. All things considered, it looked pretty standard - big lobby, huge-ass lines, passport checks, customs area, baggage claim, not really too different from back home. There was an airstrip, despite the fact that most of the craft stationed there were VTOL-capable, with even the larger ships able to lift off from a complete standstill. Most likely for older models.
Anyway, yeah. Tl;dr, I had to jump through a lot of hoops to make sure that my Detection rating was as low as it could possibly go.
I even prodded around the criminal underworld to get a fake I.D. and a passport. The last thing I needed was to get arrested before I could do anything noteworthy. Sure, breaking out of prison would be child's play, what with my inventory and everything, but that would also end up as a black mark on my record if it was ever traced back to the actual me. Besides, I'd really rather not deal with all the hassle. Atlesian soldiers already go through more shit than their pay grade covers - I'd feel bad making them suffer more on top of everything else they go through. Hell, I'd swear they were heroic alternate universe versions of stormtroopers if the AK-200s didn't exist.
But that was enough derping around. I needed to motor if I wanted to get to my flight in a timely manner.
Let's see… if I leave now, I should get to the airport at… around 9:00. That gives me approximately... 2 hours to get through everything between the lobby and the airship. That should be enough time. I hope, at least. Can never be sure in places like these.
Pilot
"We will be landing shortly. Please make sure that all waste is disposed of and both you and your belongings are properly secured. Thank you for flying with us at Egress Express, and we hope you enjoyed your trip."
Whoever came up with that name needs a raise and a punch in the face.
The trip itself wasn't really eventful, if I discounted the fact that I was a passenger in a freaking airship. A disaster the Hindenburg may have been, but I didn't doubt it was an amazing experience while it lasted.
But the landing itself… hoo, boy. They'd most likely finished Volume 6 by now, because I was not expecting Atlas to be a literal floating island.
Hey, Ironwood. Knuckles called, he says he wants Angel Island back.
Truth be told, I was starting to get a little antsy. I'd been going without any serious "plot twists," so to speak, ever since I met Neo. And when I considered that I was most likely the protagonist of this cookie-cutter story, it seemed only natural that I would attract trouble every weekend, if not every other day.
But for some reason, life had been relatively boring for a while now. All I'd been doing up to this point was regularly leaving the city to level-grind and loot enough cash to pay rent, and I'm sure you all know how stale that can get after the first few fights. It was made even worse due to the ultra-bizarro experience-scaling algorithm or whatever equation the system was using to calculate my EXP gains, which for some reason had lowered the rate from all the typical monsters down to an outright unfairly small point. That had ended up throwing a Buster Sword-sized monkey wrench into my power-leveling plans - finding any Grimm that I could reasonably beat close to Vale's borders took long enough as it was, but now they were almost pointless to hunt down because they offered so little EXP per kill.
The IDs were also affected - I once ran into an encounter that ended up giving me nothing but a single lousy experience point. No kidding.
Practically the one aspect that could be considered anywhere close to a saving grace was the battle tracks. At least they kept the fights somewhat interesting.
I also tried looking for active crime, but I didn't receive any quests for stopping illegal activities no matter how much I wanted them. The news occasionally stated that crime was actually at a low point in Vale for some reason, so that was sort of justified, but I was left scratching my head over why it was that way.
I eventually chalked it up to 'bullshit game mechanics' and shoved the subject into a proverbial file cabinet full of every other nonsensical occurrence involving the system that I had encountered since entering Remnant. As you may or may not expect, said file cabinet was filling up fast.
Despite all that, however, I managed to eke out enough effort to make it to level 18. That sweet, sweet sound of success made it… well, not really enough to be 'worth it,' but it did get points for trying. I also had quite a lot of free time to grind skills, and you can bet I did that a lot.
In any case, I left the airport without a fuss and found a cheap hotel relatively quickly, gaining some small experience bonuses for the landmark discoveries. As I made my way there, though, I noticed that there were an awful lot of signs reading 'no animal-kin are welcome here' or something along those lines. There was also a distinct lack of people with cat, dog and what-have-you features roaming around.
Wow, look at that - actual racism. Not just implied, told and not-shown discrimination, but actual, represented, bona-fide racism. Cut the dev team a check.
I'm a little ashamed to admit that I was kind of thankful for my decision to stay human and not become a Faunus. I was sure the extra perks would have been nice and all that, but the accompanying racism wouldn't be a walk in the park to deal with under any circumstances, despite how little was shown in the actual series. Not having to go through all the headaches that came with it would most likely do wonders for my sanity in the long run.
When I laid in my bed, the notification asking me if I wanted to sleep popped up for the -nth time. Pressing the yes button, my mind wandered to how easy it was for me to fall asleep now, compared to when I might as well have been an insomniac during my time on Earth.
Sometimes you just have to appreciate the little things…
The instant I finished my sentence, I drifted off.
The next morning…
I needed a plan - that was a fact. I was now in Atlas, and it was time to begin the search for materials.
Problem was, of course, I had no idea where to start. I could make some educated guesses on where the materials were located based on their names, but I was completely lost on how to go about actually finding them, much less obtaining them. For all I knew, they could be locked away in a hidden top-secret underwater volcano weapons testing facility… IN SPACE.
References aside, the point was that I needed to find the location of the proverbial 'square one.' But after a small session of throwing ideas at the 'Gaia Approval' wall and seeing what stuck - which ended up being nothing - I got a little frustrated and decided to go for a walk.
Let me tell you: the temperature regulation feature of Gamer's Body was a fucking LIFESAVER here.
My typical outfit, while it did cover the majority of my body, was not suited for the absurdly cold Atlesian weather in any sense of the word. Even worse, this was fall season - the time of year when it starts getting colder. And if that wasn't enough, the higher altitude made it nearly impossible for anyone else to stay warm without assistance of some kind. So… thank god or Oum or whatever that my body had a built-in heater.
While we're on the subject - I suppose I should talk about my outfit. I had recently taken to wearing a custom-made zip-up hoodie. It was primarily red, with purple accents scattered around various spots. It actually somewhat resembled Robin's Tactician cloak, now that I think about it, only without any of the gold trim or finery, and much less baggy. Moving down to my lower body, my pants were also mainly red, with purple lines running along the legs. Kinda like the program suits in the most recent TRON movie, but a little less futuristic-looking and none of the neon glow. My shoes followed the same trend, with a purple stripe running down the middle lengthwise and the rest being red.
I didn't have any fashion sense, but nobody really gave me any cues saying that what I was wearing was bad, so I assumed it looked fine.
Anyway, back to my little venture.
I quickly found out that Atlas's capital embodied the spirit of the nation somewhat - the general layout and feel was very orderly and organized, with most city blocks sticking to a certain design pattern with only a scant few alterations, despite being situated on an artificial mountain with a whole lot of San Francisco-style sloping roads. I supposed it was acceptable, given the place's reputation and track record.
The people were about what you'd expect. Mostly bundled up, and clothes focusing on a greyscale color scheme with maybe some red and varying shades of blue. Anything deviating from that was a real rarity. There weren't as many huntsmen out as I expected, which made sense I guess, if you looked at it from a certain perspective. Atlas liked to have their military and huntsmen maintain an intimate relationship, so I assumed that most of their fighting forces were off at a distant boot camp somewhere.
But that was all just speculation. I didn't have any business with it specifically, so I left that topic alone.
Another thing I noticed was that droids were everywhere. Seriously, you couldn't go five minutes without seeing at least one bucket of bolts doing whatever. Whether it be serving as a crossing guard, a street sweeper, or a garbage bot, the damn things were practically a part of the city itself. No surprise there, at least - Atlas wasn't the most technologically advanced kingdom for nothing.
But I'm not telling you about this walk just to highlight the details of discount Midgar. Oh, no, this little stroll is important for a very different reason.
So, I was walking down 42nd Street, hands in my jacket pockets, hood up, totally minding my own business, when my minimap pinged me with the notification that a confrontation was happening in a nearby alleyway. Now, me being the grind-crazy maniac I am, I zipped over to the opening for some quick and easy EXP from what I assumed to be common thugs. But instead, I get greeted with a scene that wouldn't look out of place in a Film Noir kinda movie… or maybe a mobster flick.
Track Cue: The Clandestine Dark Suits (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII)
Two guys and a girl, all in spiffy-looking dark blue suits (you could easily mistake them for black, but they weren't), ties and dress pants plus shoes, complete with white undershirts were cornering another guy who looked like he had just spent six hours at a field-testing site and forgot to change out of his lab coat before leaving.
Reid
Fox-Nose Contractor
Drifter
Lv. 19
Rudger
Prudent Pugilist
Journeyman
Lv. 20
Crisset
Agent Ninja
Celerian
Lv. 18
Reid had wild-looking fiery red hair and was sporting goggles on his forehead, while Rudger had a dark brown flat-top and was seriously rocking a pair of aviators. Crisset displayed some auburn locks that went down to a little past her shoulders.
Checking the sudden BGM and their looks, I reasoned that anyone who had played a specific game or two would instantly know who these three agents were expies of.
Reid
"Prof, c'mon, I'm beggin' ya, here - don't make this any harder than it needs to be."
A professor, eh? Seems I may have stumbled upon a corrupt business transaction.
Gewehr von Eisenberg
Two Cooling Nozzles
Civilian
Lv. 3
The dude looked to be somewhere in his forties, but could easily be mistaken for being older due to his chrome-colored hair. How it came to be as shiny as the actual alloy, I don't think I'll ever figure out. I had a feeling that his slightly overly-long name might have been an indicator that his family line was loaded.
(I would later find that out to be true, but that's not relevant until a little later, and even then it's really minor, not to mention for completely different reasons.)
Gewehr
"So you're- you're just going to let them go ahead and do it?! Are you telling me you don't have a conscience?!"
Reid
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but - look. I never said that what we're doin' is 'right.' But I've got a job to do, and without my paycheck, I'm nothin' but a hobo. Or worse."
The redhead flashed a knowing look to his fellows. Considering what they were based off of, I had a pretty good idea of what the exact words that were left unsaid were - "or in a body bag," to be specific. Leaving the Turks wasn't something one could just do with impunity - typically, the only way out of that division was through a casket. I had a sneaking suspicion that these guys would be subject to something similar if they ever tried to get out of whatever organization they were employed under.
Gewehr
"Y-you know, you could always just… let me go and not tell the executives that you found me? That's something you can do, right?"
Reid
"Really, man? Come on, you and I both know yer pickin' at straws now. They've got eyes everywhere - in fact, I think we have a pair watchin' us right now. Even if we did let you go, they'd find ya anyway."
The discount Reno glanced around a bit, like he was looking for something. After a few seconds, he seemed to find it. Following his line of sight, I discovered that his hunch was correct - directly across the street was a door-bot, which was blankly staring at the altercation. And, hilariously enough, completely ignoring anyone that tried to get it to go back to doing its job. A little obvious for something I assumed was supposed to be discreet, but hey, nobody ever said that robots were flawless.
Then again, the people that did follow the robot's gaze quickly made themselves scarce and fled the scene… almost like they knew what was really going on.
Reid
"See? There's one just right over there. Smile for the camera, buddy!"
It was actually kinda creepy, to be honest. I only hoped that whoever was watching the feed didn't think I was too suspicious. I had adopted a relaxed pose leaning on the wall behind the corner, watching the drama unfold from a respectable distance of about 15 feet or so, though I was still a little nervous. But if these three corporate employees were as dangerous as I suspected them to be, I wouldn't be surprised if they had already taken note of my presence and jotted me down as a potential complication to be dealt with if I got involved.
Gewehr
"You don't get it! If you give them my access codes, that's tantamount to giving them more power than General Ironwood himself! And you know what will happen after that!"
Reid
"Way I see it, doc, you're the one without a clue here. What you don't seem to get is that I don't give two shits about who's payin' - only if they do, and if they do it well. Ya dig? Yer sob story ain't gonna work on the likes of me. Ya might've had better luck if you were in a video game or somethin', but… well, hate to break it to ya, but I'd say you're all outta options."
And wouldn't you know it…
Reid
"Unless, of course, mister "Mysterious Observer" decided to come to yer rescue?"
He looked straight at me, right when I decided to peek into the alleyway.
Well, shit. Seems I was right - these guys are dangerous, if not only well-informed.
Seeing as I had no more reason to hide myself, I strolled into the dark corridor. I kept my hood on, since I didn't think showing the agents my real face would be a very good idea.
Reid actually seemed a little surprised at my actions.
Reid
"Huh. Gotta say, you've got guts. Me personally, I was expectin' ya to get the hell outta dodge when I called ya out, but it guess you're a bit braver than the average bystander. So, how 'bout it? Feel like tryin' yer luck?"
The three suits' postures shifted almost unnoticeably. But the notification I received in the next instant did a pretty good job of dampening the mystique of the action.
You have been targeted by: Reid (Lv. 19), Rudger (Lv. 20), Crisset (Lv. 18)
Status effect "Foe" inflicted on all opponents.
Skill [Perpetual Advantage] triggered. AGI/RES multiplied by 1.2.
Oh, boy. Ouch time. Uh, Gaia? Can I get a quick pause here? I need to ping a few Observes…
...ordinarily no, but since you'd most likely get your ass beaten into the ground if you didn't, I'll throw you a bone just this once. Don't expect me to do this for you again.
Yeah, yeah, whatever, be a tsundere. Do it!
Watch that mouth. ZA WARUDO!
The world suddenly turned greyscale as everything ceased to move. I had no idea if I was on a time limit, so I made it snappy. Three Observes in as many seconds told me everything I needed to know for the upcoming fight.
Reid, being a Drifter, had a pretty balanced set of stats. Six of them were in their early 100s - STR, DEX, and AGI all at 121, 101 VIT and 104 INT, with his RES sitting at 81 and his LUK at a painful 59. I supposed it made a bit of sense, since he didn't seem to be a major character. His CHR also barely passed the hundred threshold at 102. His weapon of choice was apparently a collapsible rod with a taser at the end that ran on Lightning Dust, which only made the fact that he was a Reno expy obvious to a somewhat painful extent.
Rudger was… noticeably more min-maxed. His STR and VIT were both sitting at a high 148, which was a no-brainer given his body type and class. (Especially his body type. Dear god, the man was a fucking mountain.) His DEX and AGI were also past the one-hundred mark, at 126 and 106. His INT and CHR were in the mid-to-high 80s, clocking in at 87 and 84, and his RES and LUK were in the 60s, weighing in at a below-average 67 and 61. Like his title suggested, the only thing he had that could remotely count as a weapon was a pair of latex gloves, and those weren't renowned for increasing the stopping power of your fists. Admittedly, though, he did have some Fire, Lightning, and Ice Dust on him - apparently concealed in a snazzy-looking wrist cuff accessory, so I'd need to be careful about that.
In short: dead ringer for Rude, minus the fact that he had Barret's hair.
Reid and Rudger actually had a D-support with each other, which complicated things quite a bit. Rather predictably, their affinities were Fire and Ice respectively - which meant a 7.5% boost to both STR and RES for both of them. Although with the recent update, all that really meant was a small percentage boost to HP and physical power. Not rocket science or anything groundbreaking.
And then there was miss Third Wheel Crisset. Seriously, with how obviously gay Reno and Rude were for each other (and before you say anything, yes, I know that Rude did have a girlfriend at one point, and yes, I know that he explicitly states that he fancies Tifa when Reno asks him who he likes. Shut up and let me riff in peace), I wouldn't be surprised at all if I found out that Cissnei ended up third wheeling for them at some point. But that was Gaean business - Remnant had no place for such things. All told, she fit her class to a T. Her VIT, STR, and RES were the lowest of the trio, sitting at 78, 96, and 59 respectively, in exchange for trumping them in all other areas stat-wise. Her DEX and AGI were her highest stats, only 1 point apart, at 132 and 133. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her INT was at 117, noticeably higher than her male coworkers. Her LUK followed the same trend, but at a much more average-looking 74. Her weapon was, predictably, an oversized shuriken, though this one was also modified with dustcasting properties. It was actually classified as a Personal, to my surprise, and had been christened 'Agni.' No doubt a reference to her model's weapon being named Rekka, as both monikers referred to fire in some way.
I know it's starting to become a little redundant at this point, but… discount Cissnei. Or, well, not exactly 'discount,' but I don't really know how Dust compares with Materia, so… whatever.
Anyway… well. As for how they compared to me…
'Status.'
Zeiss Serven
Title: Child Cynic
Class: Drifter
Level: 18
EXP: 350
Level Up at: 2,900
HP: 950
MP: 730
BP: 120
VIT: 95
STR: 95
INT: 73
DEX: 95
AGI: 95
RES: 56
LUK: 44
CHR: 44
Points: 85
Status: Healthy
Lien: 4,350
...yeah. Can you say 'outclassed?'
The good news, though, was that I still had 85 spare stat points to spend however I wanted. But the problem there was figuring out where to put them.
First, STR. Right now, my base melee damage with Crimson Violet clocked in at 203 per hit. Counting the 45% boost from my now-level 45 personal weapon mastery, it came to a total of about 294. Comparing that to Reid's HP count (technically AP, but who cares), I found that he actually wouldn't survive past 20 standard hits. Rudger, being the resident tank, could go past that limit, but not by much. And poor Crisset would go down in… 11 hits, give or take a few. In short, I suspected that the actual fight wouldn't last past… 2 minutes, likely less if it went at the speed I was thinking it would.
I considered putting some points into the area, but temporarily dropped the idea in favor of mulling over the speed and skill difference.
A point that I was really concerned about was the huge DEX and AGI lead they all had over me. Because while I did have a lot of stopping power, it wouldn't mean jack shit if I couldn't hit anything. And keeping them from hitting me always had to be one of my primary concerns, obviously.
While I was on that, I had a feeling that VIT and RES would also be a bit of an issue. Since I didn't have that broken 'Remnant Physiology' perk that fucking doubled HP, my current count sat at an average 950. Coupled with my poor 56 RES, the term 'glass cannon' fit me uncomfortably well. And with all three of my opponents' total attack values meeting or breaking 150, without counting possible modifiers, despite the fact that their weapons were actually trash because they weren't Personals save for Crisset's… well, suffice to say that nobody here would last a prolonged assault.
Not to mention that my LUK and CHR were also lower than all of theirs, which… honestly irked me a little, and made me wary of what might happen considering possible misfortune. I didn't expect it to be Bad Luck Charm levels of mishaps, but even just a single trip over a crack in the floor could mean the difference between life or death, so I was understandably paranoid.
INT was rendered negligible since quite a few of my skills didn't require MP to be used, and those that did ran the risk of me being outed as having the ability to cast spells without Dust. I did consider the application of the cooldown resets, but reasoned that my Adept skill would do more than enough of that… if it ended up triggering. Lots of my skills had relatively short wait times, anyway.
I also took a moment to comb over my current skills to see if any of them had any glaring advantages.
Skills
Gamer's Body [Passive]
Gamer's Mind [Passive]
Observe [Active]
Sword Mastery [Passive] - Level 45/100
Fireball [Active] - Level 8/10
Adept [Active] - Level 7/10
ID Create [Active] - Level 9/20
ID Escape [Active] - Level 9/20
Resolve [Passive] - Level 3/5
Imbue [Active] - Level 9/10
Twirl Slash [Active] - Level 6/10
Poison Resist [Passive] - Level 30/100
Pistol Mastery [Passive] - Level 20/100
Alchemy [Active] - Level 21/40
Spin Cycle [Active] - Level 6/10
Unarmed Mastery [Passive] - Level 30/100
Thunderbolt [Active] - Level 7/10
Blacksmithing [Active] - Level 23/40
Restore [Active] - Level 3/5
Guard Stance [Active] - Level 5/10
Assault Rifle Mastery [Passive] - Level 40/100
Sixth Sense [Passive] - Level MAX
Windblast [Active] - Level 6/10
Vantage [Passive] - Level MAX
Iron Will [Passive] - Level MAX
Disable Counter [Active] - Level 2/5
Corrode [Active] - Level MAX
Perpetual Advantage [Passive] - Level MAX
Motion Control [Passive] - Level 1/5
Momentum is one of the largest components of any fight - and those with the ability to manipulate it to their advantage will often find themselves dominating the opposition. Every time the user dodges a melee strike, 50% of its damage value is added to the user's next melee attack.
Crimson Violet Mastery [Passive] - Level 45/100
Resolve would be a massive boon once it triggered, but that would only be once I was at or below 500 HP, so there was that inherent risk. Vantage was rendered useless since they had already targeted me.
Considering these guys were Turk knock-offs, I decided that it would probably be in my best interests if I mostly avoided casting anything that required MP to use. One or two skills could be explained away as some sort of semblance, but any more than that and they would get suspicious. Not to mention that I didn't think even that was a good idea either - keeping them completely in the dark could benefit me in the future if I could keep them guessing at what my full capabilities were.
In conclusion…
Mm… alright, how about this. 38 points into AGI, 37 to DEX, 5 to VIT, and 5 to RES.
I decided on enough of a boost to my evasion stats to bring them level to Crisset's, and small bumps to survival-related ones. My attack power was already high enough to be serviceable, and I didn't really think that the LUK difference was enough to affect the battle in any noticeable way. I didn't have any other party members, so CHR was useless at the moment.
Done. Oh, heads up - the game resumes in ten seconds. Nine. Eight.
Thus the countdown to what would undoubtedly be my first real challenge began.
A/N: This chapter marks the end of the previous point of view, and ushers in the much more commonplace first-person variation. Expect descriptions to get much more varied now, but you can still expect this story to almost read like a visual novel of sorts. Except not really.
Real talk for a second - if Zeiss was an actual character in the show, I'd say that his fighting style would be based mainly on the conservation of momentum. It'd kinda have to be, considering the size of the sword he uses. Which actually sort of incidentally fits with the Gamer motif - the more levels he gains, the more unstoppable he becomes. In fact, he already has a few skills that fit right in, especially Motion Control. I'm currently debating with myself on whether or not to give him a skill that gives him increasing buffs him the more damage he inflicts on a single opponent within a period of time. Kinda like DOTA 2's Troll Warlord, now that I think about it.
This one's still kinda short compared to the earlier ones, but don't worry - the next chapter will be jam-packed with action. I'm still a little iffy whether or not I got all the numbers right for the upcoming fight, but I'm not too worried.
3-13 Sniper has left the building!
[TRANSMISSION ENDED]