The trip back to the location shown on Lanius's map was largely uneventful other than a few more bloatflies and the annoying desert heat which made me take off my leather jacket and carry it. The heat wasn't so bad early in the morning however now that it was midday and the unrelenting sun was overhead it almost confirmed that I would need better armor for this part of the wasteland. Of course the more I thought about it the more I realized that we wouldn't be able to stay in the Mojave longer than necessary given that there were other parts of the country that would need a hero to come by because they are likely dealing with the waves as well. Whether it's Mr House, the NCR, or the legion they're not going to want to lose their ace in the hole heroes to other parts the wasteland they don't even care about.
Me and Regina find ourselves at the next destination which is a small warehouse likely for shipping up and down the river. At the dock area which was partially collapsed I could see boats resting on the bottom and half underwater clearly from the 200 years of wear and tear. It was another location that wasn't in fallout New Vegas and to my knowledge there wasn't anything else in this location. Another thing I noticed is that lake Mead from the shore to the dam was far larger than it was in the game perhaps due to the difference in perception. I heard the rustling of a barrel and as I look over towards the loading bay I saw a large scorpion specifically a bark scorpion due to its small size and bright yellowish brown shell color, but it also saw me and came crawling rather quickly at me so I switched to the tribal spear which was a little bit of a process because I actually had to go into my status screen and select the weapon to equip. I use airstrike thrust and although I didn't deal much damage I did stun it for a second which was long enough for Regina to get several shots in at its sensitive eye area.
The scorpion started crawling towards us again as she shot it a few times causing it to die midstep. I saw a scorpion out of the corner of my eye and it had snuck up behind Regina so I used airstrike thrust which thankfully didn't have a long cooldown time at only 5 seconds. This scorpion didn't just get stunned for a second It was only about five feet from me so it flew a few yards taking about 3/4 of It's HP and Regina not missing a beat shot at its soft underbelly.
"Did you deal more damage that time because you were closer?" Regina asked looking over at me.
"Yeah I think so." I said looking at the weapon, "I guess it makes sense with me being the melee hero so it's nice that I could at least get about 10 ft before it loses power."
I switched to the hunting knife and moved the knife over different parts of the scorpion getting a reaction from the tail and claws. I absorbed the stinger first as it was the most obvious and unlocked the scorpion series.
bark scorpion stinger
stabbing: 3
equip skill: bark scorpion venom -100(15s)
passive skill: shatterpoint
active skill: venom drip
accessory slots=1
ShatterPoint and venom drip are not easily identifiable as the effect they have however the bark scorpion venom is better than I could have hoped for considering by the end of the 15 seconds it will have done 50 points of damage and if I strike multiple times it might even stack to continue past that point. I switched to the bark scorpion stinger and see that it is a stiletto with Barb's resembling a scorpion's tail on each side right next to the crystal and consisting of a straight needle that was only about a foot long. No doubt about it this was a top-notch weapon even though it was an early weapon in my case and even Regina looked at it with a starry-eyed expression on her face. I switch back to the hunting knife and take one of the claws.
bark scorpion pincer shield
defence: 4
equip effect : -50% damage
50% damage reduction
equip skill: scorpion pincer
passive skill: anti-Venom
active skill: combat shift
accessory slots=1
I can get shields too?! I quickly changed to the bark scorpion pincer shield and it looked pretty badass It looked like a standard shield however there was a large yellowish bark scorpion etched into the shield with two large pincers sticking out slightly with the rest being made of a yellow chitin that makes the bark scorpions armor. Even Regina looked at the shield with a mixture of amazement and if I had to describe it unease I mean the scorpion was so detailed that it looked like it would start moving. Before we can even start moving towards the building I guess hearing a commotion a feral ghoul wandered out of the entrance and began charging.
Regina took aim at it however I held my hand up as a sign to wait which she understood and let me take a position in front. As the feral ghoul hit the shield the realistic scorpion claws grew in size and clamped down on the arm and neck of the feral ghoul. The feral ghoul confused struggled as it was held just out of arms reach but Regina took this moment to shoot it in the chest which did kill it after only three shots.
level up
As the scorpion pincers retracted back into the shield I pulled up my status screen to see the changes.
Level:2
Strength:6
Perception:5
Endurance:6
Charisma:7
Intelligence:5
Agility:5
Luck:4
available points: 2
There wasn't much difference in my overall stats except for the available points I'm going from 0 to 2 and obviously the level being 2. I still don't know what it meant when it said available points because in fallout every level gave you points you could put into individual skills however was it that simple here. I tried going to the page with my other stats and it wouldn't let me put them in to those nor would it let me put it into my special stats. I decided to try and hit the available points tab directly which in hindsight probably should have been my first decision and it brings up a screen that I immediately recognizes the perk screen.
The perk screen was to my surprise similar to fallout 76 where you had individual cards that increase certain effects and offered bonuses that fit into slots designated by your special stats. The only difference is that I didn't see where it would let me increase my special stats, but the biggest difference was that it followed older systems like New Vegas and fallout 3 where you could only access perks at a proper level and stat allocation. I looked through and saw that lock picking was already activated which wasn't a surprise considering I already knew how to do that, but I also had entomology 1 In my perk tree I guess I had unlocked it when I absorbed the bloat fly material and cooking which I already knew how to do before I got to this world. I decided to tap on the lock picking card anyway which brought up two branching cards one of them read Tumbler vision while the other said skeleton key. I tapped each one and it brought up a description.
Tumbler vision: grants the user an x-ray like view of the locks tumblers allowing easier lock picking. (picture of a vault boy picking a lock with a little bubble in front of him showing the tumblers inside.)
skeleton key: three times per day merge three bobby pins in the crafting menu to make a one-time use skeleton key for any individual lock. (picture of a vault boy growing frustrated with a safe before pulling out a key with a skull and opening the safe easily.)
"Hey Regina I want you to tap the available points button." I said cringing a little at the moving images on the cards.
She nodded and hit the button which she just saw me do. She tried to do the same thing I did however with a quick glance she found that there was no lock picking option already activated instead she had blacksmithing and armorer and cooking.
"Master Derek I don't have lock picking like you do, in fact it doesn't seem to be an option." she said a little disappointed I guess thinking it would make me happy if she also had it.
"It's fine, try the blacksmithing card."
"Okay." she said tapping on the card and bringing up a similar branching set of cards except she had three available branches each one with a different name.
weaponsmith: weapons need to be harder and sharper who needs a gun when you can just deflect a bullet, All weapons made have a 25% bonus to durability and attack. (a vault girl deflecting several bullets before slicing someone in power armor in half.)
accessory artisan: style your weapon to your hearts content who says you have to lack style, all accessories have a 10% increase to the effect. (picture of a vault girl holding up a spear decorated with jewels.)
free hand blacksmith: who needs a mold when your bare hands work just fine freehanded weapons are easier to make and can surprise even the creator. (picture of a vault girl throwing in a bunch of scrap metal and pulling out a shiny blade that seems to glow.)
I was interested in all of this but I would admit I couldn't help but cringe at the images and descriptions that seem to represent an inflated ego, but Regina looked mortified and blushed while she glanced over at me for a reaction.
"Go ahead and check out the other two." I said which she looks grateful for as she clicked off that and went to the armorer card which brought up two branching paths.
shield artisan: who says your shield can't be fashionable and functional as a shield artisan you have the power to blend the best of both worlds, shields have more durability and requires less maintenance . (a picture of a vault girl hammering away at a piece of metal and then holding up a shield with ornate floral designs around it that stopped a mini nuke as it fell on her.)
armor artisan: You look the best and you make others look their best all while making them bulletproof you're a real catch you know that, all armor made has 25% more durability and needs repaired less. (a picture of a vault girl tailoring armor to a vault boy as a line of people waited to get fitted for armor.)
Somehow her face grew even redder at these descriptions I'll be honest these ones were even more embarrassing and the images didn't help either. She glanced at me for a reaction and I'll be honest all I could really do is smile with the best customer service face I could. Regina hesitated slightly as she clicked out of that and went back to the cooking card and braced herself for whatever would pop up.
cooking Mama: no one goes hungry while you're around because your food is so good no one can resist, increases the quality of food. (a picture of a vault girl putting a turkey in the oven checking her watch and then pulling it out and serving it to what looked to be a dinner party.)
clean freak: no self-respecting chef neglects their cookware, dirt and grime breakdown quickly when cleaning and sanitizing. (a picture of a vault girl resembling a 1950s housewife washing dishes.)
brewmaster: when brewing everything from coffee to brewskies it tastes slightly better and is 70% more nutritious. (a vault girl in a pair of overalls in the forest with a still brewing moonshine and chugging out as fast as it comes out.)
Baker: baking is an underappreciated talent but you don't care what the critics say, all baked goods are 25% more nutritious and delicious. (a picture of a vault girl looking like a 1950s housewife pulling out of fresh pan of muffins.)
All those weren't as embarrassing as the blacksmith and armorer trees but she still looked like she was ready to crawl in a hole and die. I went ahead and showed her mine which I was a little nervous about, but I really didn't care about my image all that much and if my embarrassment helped her feel at least a little better I didn't mind taking a hit. I started with the entomology perk.
bug collector: collecting bugs has always been a hobby for nerds like you, every new creepy crawly killed lets you learn more about them. (a picture of a vault boy marveling at a collection of insects on a wall."
bug stomper: your intense hatred of bugs and creepy crawlies lets you deal 25% more damage to them. (a picture shows a vault boy taking a sledgehammer and smashing rad roaches while red in the face and steaming.)
Regina cheered up a little having read those which I can't deny they were kind of funny but cringeworthy. I went back and checked out the cooking to see if there was anything different from hers.
cooking Papa: who needs a woman in your life when you can cook for yourself, show your girl power with a slight increase in quality of food. (a picture of a vault boy putting a turkey in the oven waiting a few seconds then pulling it out before serving it to a dinner party.)
food taster: having consumed an emperor's last meal and lived you are given complete immunity to ingested poisons and venoms from wildlife after taking this perk. (a picture of a vault boy eating some food before passing the plate to a man dressed as a Roman emperor who after taking a bite drops dead instead of the vault boy.)
Forget cooking Papa giving me a line about me having girl power the food taster perk made me want to throw up not because it was particularly horrible just reading it but my mind flashed back instantly to the time I met the requirement for that perk. Regina beside me had her hands over her mouth looking at me with confusion and shock and maybe a few other emotions, but it was clear that she wanted an explanation for the grizzly perk. She might have also looked at the image of a Roman emperor dying while the actual food taster lived due to his resistance to poison as some kind of ominous foreshadowing.
"Well that brought back some memories I would have preferred to stay buried." I said as she just stared at me.
"You've eaten poisoned food?!"
"In a manner of speaking."
"Do you want to talk about it."
I really didn't but I did want to open up to her so I explained how when I was 10 years old my mother put Vicodin and vodka in my food and orange juice in a misguided drug induced effort to get me to sleep so she could have fun with her new boyfriend. Needless to say she didn't measure out dosages right or read the warning about mixing Vicodin with alcohol and so although I was groggy within 20 minutes of eating I began puking my guts up and she using this as an excuse decided to try to put me to bed. I had enough common sense to know something was wrong and called my grandpa after she had walked away and he came and got me and took me to the ER. Unfortunately even with this my mother being a white woman from a rich family who had just broken up with her ex-boyfriend who she claimed she had heated up some of his leftovers. It didn't help that her ex-boyfriend was in jail for dealing drugs and my grandpa didn't have enough evidence to say one way or the other as for the alcohol she said I just grabbed the wrong juice and it was hers.
"That's horrible." she said looking like she was about to start crying her eyes out.
"Don't cry on my behalf." I said smiling at the gesture, "Truth be told the only thing that's pissing me off about this is that her crap is following me to this world even if it benefits me now."
"Your mother would be executed if she was found by the legion." she said more stating a fact.
I told her the entire story about my mother and about the day I came to this world which seemed to make her more sad for me. I don't want pity but I still felt like she should know given that we're traveling together and I wanted her to know who I was. It is the first time I think I saw her face show anger towards someone but given that my mother in her life ruined the lives of three innocent men and in a way mine and her father's, but was still able to do it because no one considered her dangerous because she had some kind of status from a well-off family and being a woman.
"If that psycho ever tried that with the legion she would be beaten half to death and crucified." Regina said loudly to be honest hearing that brought a smile to my face as much as I don't like the legion I can't deny their justice is brutal and efficient.
"I guess if she didn't kill me I wouldn't be here and I did see her getting hauled off by a police officer when I was dying so there's no way she's getting away without a murder charge." I said call me Regina down.
"Your ex-girlfriend and former best friend are shitty people too they betrayed you and then have the nerve to care enough to call a police officer to make sure you didn't kill yourself or something." she said sitting down beside you.
"What sucks all the more that I put Maria and Joel in my will so if everything goes according to those former plans they're about to be rich." I said mildly irritated but at least the money is going somewhere.