Welcome back everyone and sorry for the wait. This chapter had me bashing my head in.
?: That and he got sucked into wonderlands and Borderland 3 again.
Really? Well, everyone we have a special guess this time around so please welcome everyone's favorite femme, Arcee!
Arcee: Thank you. Now I have a question for you.
If it's about the NICEE upgrade, no I don't plan on actually giving it you. I know there was questions/ request for it but at the moment you're going to have your canon body until yours and Jack's relationship goes further and that is a long way down the line.
Arcee: Actually, I was wondering why you were having trouble with this chapter but that's good to know.
Oh, well honestly, I spent a week on making all of the Autobot stats and tweaking it so you guys and all Cybertronians for that matter weren't too powerful but at the same time strong enough it would take a human army a lot to bring one of you guys down. Then it was setting up the scenes and editing and removing parts that seemed rushed or forced.
Arcee: Fair enough.
Now for the reviews.
BoredKing: Honestly looking back I made a small mistake. Fowler physical stats are supposed to be in the 100s not 70s so I'll fix that later. As for Miko and Raf's I think we can all agree that Miko is a troublemaker so I though giving her higher STR would represent that. As for it being higher than Jack's remember she is a higher level than him and he only started to work on them recently. As for Raf's I made him nearly as smart as Fowler who is an adult that went through military training. I didn't want to make Raf broken so it a review the show and figure if I could get away with giving him computer perks that would show his intelligence. Honestly though for what I plan for him now the real question is what am I going to do for Jack and Miko to keep up.
CallofRanger13: Something like that will happen. All I will say is this. Energon mine, play "I like it Heavy" by Halestorm, and Miko is laughing like a loon.
The Hellbound: If you find out let me know , but honestly Jack was going to fail that quest from the start for plot reasons but I love your confidence in him!
Spitfire Mark 1: Thank you! Constructive criticism is always appreciated and I have to agree with you, it did sound like everyone was next to each other. Sorry for the typos I kinda got excited to publish a chapiter that I overlooked them time to time. Glad to make you laugh.
Leaf Ranger: Yeah, Jack won't win them all or else we risk Garry sue territory. As for the weapon you're half right. And yes it will be horrifying, and funny in a few cases.
Atsik101: I will be planning to diverge later on but for now I will be doing the canon and gamer side by side for now.
Or-lan-do626: I tried that, but it still felt off, but you'll see what I ended up doing soon.
Ben Turner1: A little mean and I'm sure Bumblebee would take exception to that.
Ryu Wolf: Trust me I would love to but that would make things a little too much for just Arcee, I'll spread around the upgrades to the group.
Chronolocked: Thank you and of course, it's always fun to pull different lore for other series. It causes a little chaos. For your second question it will be a bit of this chapter and the next. Finally, yeah, the omakes will not be canon unless I say it is.
Arcee: The author does not own Transformers, if he did RID would have been its own series not a sequel.
Jack yawned as he woke up. He didn't get up right away, simply content to lay in his bed as he thought of the day prior. The Autobots had to go to space in order to stop Megatron's plan to unleash an invasion of undead. He, Raf, and Miko went to a satellite array to try and stop them but failed due to the interference of Soundwave. The bots stopped the invasion by blowing up the space bridge destroying the undead and Megatron. But it also caused who knows how much dark energon to fall onto Earth.
"And all of that was just the prologue." Jack muttered to himself, thinking about the message he got once everything was done with. An alien robot zombie invasion was just a prologue so what will be in the future? That wasn't Jack's only concern either. The amount of dark energon on Earth was the other. He seen what it could do, the undead, the mutations and according to Ratchet and Optimus it can make everyday objects that were never alive into death machines. But one thing was bothering him more than anything else. He found dark energon before the space bridge was destroyed. Where did it come from? According to Ratchet dark energon was extremely rare to the point Megatron himself probably found it by accident. So how did he find not one but two crystals? Granted they weren't big to a cybertronian but it was still a more that what he should have found. Which brings up the question, how much dark energon was on Earth before the space bridge explosion and why?
[For contemplating major a question +2 INT.]
"Well, it seems that feature is still active." Jack muttered to himself. Right after learning that everything was just the prologue the system went into an update deactivating most of the features. The only thing he could do was work on his stats, practice his skills and use his inventory. Looking at the time remaining it read thirty-seven minutes before it finished updating. Deciding that it was time to start the day Jack got up. After doing his morning ritual he walked out to the kitchen to see his mother left a note. After Jack made himself some breakfast as the read the note. June was called in early and won't be back until late tonight. Once he finished eating and took care of the dishes, he walked out to see his guardian Arcee waiting for him.
"Morning."
"Moring Jack, ready for today?"
"You mean "Am I ready to go back to school?" then it's fifty-fifty."
"Oh right, you and the others have school today." She said as they rode out.
"Yeah, but at least the update will be done once it's over.
"What are you expecting from the update?"
"I have no idea, but it will have to wait, the science fair is coming up and it's a major part of our grade."
"Word of advice don't let Ratchet help. He's a bit of a control freak when it comes to science."
"Duly noted. So, what are you going to do when me and the others are at school?"
"Ratchet wants to do a fully body and systems scan. He's still not happy about your powers or the upgrade I got."
"Any idea why?" Jack wondered about the team's medic. He caught Ratchet staring at him a few times like the medic was trying to solve a puzzle.
"I can think of two reasons. The first is simply because he's a scientist and the idea of magical powers is a smack to the faceplate to everything, he believes in."
"Fair enough. And the other?"
"The other is him being worried about a shell program." Arcee muttered.
"What? What is a shell program?" Jack asked. The way Arcee said it the last two words, it was it they were laced with venom and sorrow.
"Shell programs were something the cons created. They would create this virus that would rewrite a bot's personality matrix, changing them into something they never would have been. One time the cons infiltrated an Autobot laboratory where a couple of dozens of bots were in stasis for upgrades that would help them in combat. They were reprogrammed to be loyal to Megatron and any decepticon. Often times these bots were sent on highly dangerous and suicidal missions. They never made it back at times."
"God, that's. That's horrible."
"It is. While I don't know anyone it happened to personally, I'm willing to bet Ratchet does."
"I can see why he's worried. Was anyone ever freed from the programming?"
"Only a couple bots from what I heard. Most either died resisting capture or their minds were destroyed due to a failsafe set up in case anyone tried to save them." Arcee spook bitterly. Jack winced at that.
"Do you feel any different?" Jack asked feeling concern and a little guilty.
"Don't you start, I already have Ratchet on my case. I'm fine. I check my systems multiple times and I chose to take the upgrade remember?"
"I remember but-"
"But nothing." She interrupted. "If there are any side effects it's on me got it?"
"Got it."
"Good now let's get you to school."
Earth's low orbit – The Nemesis
Starscream sat at the commander's chair in the ship's bridge nursing some high grade energon. At the moment he should be ecstatic right now. He, Starscream, was the leader of the Decepticons! Years of being subservient to Megatron, years of doing his bidding, years of being in his shadow, years of plotting to take control at the right time. Then the moment finally came, and the best part was he didn't need to do anything! Honestly when Megatron put him in charge while he left to gather an army, Starscream had hoped the warlord would had perished in his travels. But no, he returned and brought with him dark energon.
Starscream felt a shiver go up his support strut at the mere memory of Megatron stabbing his own spark chamber with the vile crystal. The seeker thought him mad for doing such a thing but to his shock and annoyance it worked. Though Starscream was sure it was making the former leader more insane and violent, after all they had no idea what the stuff could do to a living cybertronian. Then it all came to ahead when Megatron decided to be the fool and got himself blown up.
So naturally the seeker took command but that was where his good mood ended. It seems that even now he couldn't escape Megatron's shadow. No one believe that he was fit to rule. The drones despite only having limited mental functions questioned how he could do what Megatron failed to do. The others weren't much help either. Soundwave despite being silent as ever was loyal to Megatron first and foremost; even in the warlord's death he was loyal. Knockout cared little outside his interest, that being racing and his appearance. And Breakdown didn't respect him at all, viewing him as a weakling that only got by due to his scheming.
Suddenly an idea formed in his head. He needed a right hand that would do his bidding and if he couldn't find it on the Nemesis that he would find it somewhere else.
"Soundwave, do a quick check to see if there are any stasis pods are near us. With the tragic loss of Megatron we're in dire need of more firepower." He ordered over the commlink. Soon he will have a follower that will spark the flames of his glory.
Jasper High-Lunch Room
Jack was enjoying the baked mac and cheese he made for lunch. Really there was something satisfying about eating food you made yourself, or it could be he didn't have to eat the school lunch today. Maybe it was both. Both was good.
"Hi Frosty." Jack jumped a bit before turning to see Miko and Raf behind him.
"Scrap Miko are you trying to make me choke." Jack coughed. The exchange student only smiled as she and Raf sat down.
"Nope, you still need to teach me some of those magic tricks of yours." Winking at the end. Jack as momentary surprised that the rocker was being subtle before he remembered her bio.
"I will once he get to the clubhouse." Jack agreed.
"Have your game system finished updating?" Raf asked.
"It did right when I got to school actually. Haven't looked at it yet, I'm planning to once we get to the clubhouse and hang out with the others."
"Don't forget we have to finish our science projects." Raf reminded. "What are you guys doing for them? I'm working on a volcano."
"Solar system." Miko said.
"How engines work. If you guys need help don't ask Doc, Sadie told me that he's a major control freak." The two nodded already knowing Arcee's hologram.
"So~ after our projects how are you going to teach us to play?" Miko ask as she munched on a fry. Jack paused and thought about it, that was a good question.
"Well, I don't want to throw you in the deep end, so I guess I'll show you how dungeons work first before I really teach you anything. Maybe record what I do and then teach you a few tricks."
"I have some remote cameras at home. Maybe I could bring them and stream it live?" Raf suggested.
"That would be perfect Raf. Thanks."
"Aww I wanted to join the action." Miko moaned.
"Miko besides you and Raf being a higher level than me you don't have any spells, abilities or a way to defend yourselves. Remember what I told you about Rat's Nest and Miner Folly?" Miko sighed before nodding. After everything calm down yesterday Miko had Jack tell them more. The highlights being the two dungeons. Jack spared no details about them and how he fought and nearly died. So, she understood why Jack wanted to take things slow for now. She wasn't happy but she understood.
"That reminds me, I actually know who James Talson is." Raf said shocking the others.
"What?"/ "How?"
"He was my grandmother's brother. She used to tell me stories about him."
"So, Jack could just give the locket to you and the quest would be done?" Miko asked.
"Maybe not, my grandmother is still alive, so you'll have to give the locket to her."
"Wow your grandma must be ancient." Miko gasped.
"She's only sixty-one."
"Fair enough, maybe I can come with you to give it to her."
"You or your hooded alter ego?" Miko asked imaging Jack in his gear showing up with his glowing eyes staring down a sweet old lady.
"Me. I rather not frighten little old ladies thank you very much." Jack replied.
Esquivel residence
"So, this is your place?" Miko asked. It was a two-story house with a pale blue paint scheme.
"Yep. Me, my parents, my four siblings and grandmother live here."
"Wow, must be cramped time to time." Jack said. Sure, his house was much smaller than Raf's but that many people living together was shocking.
"Only around dinner time. My two brothers are roomed in the basement, my sisters share a room upstairs, my grandma and I have rooms downstairs. Most of the time my siblings are out of the house though so it's never an issue." Raf explained as they walked in. To describe the house in one word would be cozy. Pictures covered the walls of the family members, small knickknacks were here and there, some were chipped showing signs of aging. The couch was covered in blankets that were askew. All in all, it was a home that was very well lived in.
"Hello, I'm home and I brought a couple friends!" Raf called out.
"In here sugar." An aged voice called out. Walking into the kitchen the three saw an elderly woman sitting at a table nursing a cup of coffee in one hand and reading the newspaper in the other. The resemblance between her and Raf was obvious, her hair with exception of a few grey streaks was the same shade of brown and her eyes were only a shade darker of Raf's own green eyes, she wore a simple white blouse and blue pants.
[Name: Rose Esquivel]
[Title: Loving Grandmother]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 51]
[HP: 3,976/3,976]
[MP: 3,568/3,568]
[SP: 3,976/3,976]
[CON: 81(-5)]
[STR: 75(-10)]
[DEX: 78(-16)]
[INT: 68]
[WIS: 76]
[LCK: 57]
Rose Esquivel nee Talson is a generally happy woman. She married the love of her life and had three children who became responsible and caring adults. She loves her grandchildren and enjoys spending time with them whenever she can. On the here spare time she often paints landscapes and reads.
"Okay, this is definitely the person I'm looking for." Looking over her stats Jack noted that Raf's grandmother fairly normal, no military training, no secret skills, just a regular person. Her debuffs were simply from old age and small illnesses he would tell Raf about later.
"Hey there sugar cube. It's good to see you and who are your friends here?"
"These are my friends Jack and Miko."
"Charmed to meet you dears. I'm glad to see my little sugar cube making some friends."
"Sugar cube?" Miko asked making Raf blush in embarrassment.
"Oh yes. You see when he was still a real youngling, he got into a box of sugar cubes. When we found him, he had the empty box on his head and a big old smile on his face. I been calling him sugar cube ever since."
"Grandma~." Raf groaned as Miko and Jack tried to hide their chuckles. "Gram Jack says he found something that may belong to you." This caused the elderly woman to cock her eyebrow as she turned to him, only to gasp as she sees the locket he was holding. Slowly reaching for it with shaking hand she gently grasps the locket as if it was made of glass.
"Wh-where did you find this?"
"I was doing some exploring in some old mines and found this in a tunnel that looked like it recently reopened." Jack explained. He wasn't lying either; he just didn't include all the monsters that were in there.
"How did you even know to bring it to me?" Rose asked. Jack reached into his pocket before he pulled out the note and handed it to her. Reading it tears began to run from her eyes. Jack was about to apologize before she got up and hugged him.
"Thank you. I was young when I lost my brother, but I never forgot about him. You're a real peach you know that."
"You're welcome ma'am." Jack replied as they separated.
[Quest Complete: Memories of a Miner]
[You found the locket of one James Talson and returned it to his sister.]
[Rewards]
[500XP]
[Miner's Resolve Perk: Upon leveling up you gain +3 STR and +2 LCK]
After couple of minutes of talking Raf went upstairs to his room and got his cameras. With equipment in hand the three soon arrived at the base. The teens got to work on their projects. Luckily Ratchet backed off when they declined his help saying having an actual scientist help them would be cheating.
"Welp we're done. So, Jack what are the updates?" Miko asked excitedly.
Jack chuckled before answering. "Alright just let me bring them up okay?" Pulling up the notification Jack began to read it out loud to the others.
[Update Complete]
[Dungeon bug fixed. Entering dungeons will no longer give off energy signals. Zombie apocalypse has been added to IDC as compensation.]
[Dodge perk has been changed. Chance to dodge is now (10% of DEX + 5% of LCK) = DC%.]
[All ice base magic has gained the ability to freeze and slow targets.]
[Reputation feature added. You can now see your reputation you have with others and other factions.]
[Party feature has been added. Invite others to have them join your party. Party limit is 10 members (Including yourself). All members will have most benefits of the gamer. If member goes 5 kilometers from the gamer or are in a different dimension, they will leave the party.]
[Base builder feature has been added. You can now build your own base or expand on existing bases that you are allied with.]
[Daily and Weekly base quests added.]
[Sorry again for the inconvenience. Here's 10 AP]
"Well, at least the cons won't be able track me like you guys did." Jack said as he looked over the update over again.
"What was that about that a party?" Miko asked.
"Hmm let me try. Invite Miko?" Miko suddenly went wide eye as she seemed to stare into space, but to Jack she was looking at the invite screen.
"This is freaky."
"Yeah, I would say you get used to it, but I would be lying. To accept or deny you can either physically click on it or do it mentally." He instructed her.
"Whoa this is cool. Wait how come there's question marks over all the bots' heads?"
"There are?" Bulkhead asked looking up before remembering he couldn't see anything.
"Yeah, that's probably because they're too high of a level. I barely can see Fowler's and anyone higher than that is a no go." Bumblebee let out a couple of beeps at that.
"He said what if you invited us?" Raf translated.
"Hmm. Let's try it." He sent out the invites to the others. Despite knowing about it they were still shocked to see the screen pop up. As each of them looked around Jack saw he could see their stats now.
[Name: Arcee]
[Title: SIC/ agile warrior]
[Race: Cybertronian]
[LVL: 217]
[HP: 537,780/537,780]
[EP: 505,230/505,230]
[SP: 537,780/537,780]
[CON: 234]
[STR: 175]
[DEX: 357]
[INT: 219]
[WIS: 147]
[LCK: 156]
[Formerly a member of Cybertron Defense and Law Enforcement or CDLE, Arcee quickly made a name for herself protecting civilians and bringing some low-ranking crime lords in.]
[Reputation: Friendly (263/5,000)]
[Perks]
[Cybertronian: As a cybertronian lifeform you get +25,000 HP, EP, and SP. For every point of CON you get 10 HP and SP, for every point of INT you get 10 EP. Take three times more damage from lightening based attacks.]
[Soldier Class: You have reach the cybertronian rank of soldier. +5,000 HP, EP, and SP.]
[Close combat expert: getting up close and personal is your specialty and your enemies learn it the hard way. +75% more damage when in close range.]
[Tekkaido adept: You strike hard and fast at the weakest points of the body. As an adept you gain +50% more damage when fighting in hand to hand, fist weapons, or daggers.]
[Scarred Past: Those with this injury have suffered a devasting lost. -50 WIS when confronted with reminders of your trauma. Can be lost with proper consoling and or self-reflection.]
[Name: Bulkhead
[Title: Wrecker/ Builder]
[Race: Cybertronian]
[LVL: 207]
[HP: 872,490/872,490]
[EP: 479,190/479,190]
[SP: 872,490/872,490]
[CON: 407]
[STR: 397]
[DEX: 193]
[INT: 217]
[WIS: 149]
[LCK: 164]
[Reputation: Friendly (157/5,000)]
[As part of the labor caste, Bulkhead grew up building and deconstructing buildings on Cybertron. Often times his size and strength got him into trouble but he is always counted on by his friends when there's trouble.]
[Perks]
[Cybertronian: As a cybertronian lifeform you get +25,000 HP, EP, and SP. For every point of CON, you get 10 HP and SP, for every point of INT, you get 10 EP. Take three times more damage from lightening attacks.]
[Soldier Class: You have reach the cybertronian rank of soldier. +5,000 HP, EP, and SP.]
[Wrecker: You wreck with the best. +50% to all demolitions and heavy weapons damage. +25% more likely to cause collateral damage.]
[Builder: Years in the labor division have taught you well. +75% knowledge when it comes understanding building layouts. Constructed buildings are 75% more durable]
[Gentle giant: Your size and strength are well known but you often fear it will hurt others around you. +50 STR and CON. 15% less likely to interact is anyone you deem fragile. Can be overcome by controlling your strength and building confidence in yourself.]
[Name: Bumblebee]
[Title: Rookie/ Speed demon]
[Race: Cybertronian]
[LVL: 187]
[HP: 433,290/433,290]
[EP: 283,690/283,690]
[SP: 433,290/433,290]
[CON: 217]
[STR: 211]
[DEX: 315]
[INT: 137]
[WIS: 115]
[LCK: 123]
[Reputation: Friendly (136/5,000)]
[Bumblebee is what one would get if they mix a heart of gold, a smart mouth, and a love of going fast. He maybe young for a Cybertronian but this underdog never backs down.]
[Perks]
[Cybertronian: As a cybertronian lifeform you get +25,000 HP, EP, and SP. For every point of CON, you get 10 HP and SP, for every point of INT you get 10 EP. Take three times more damage from lightening attacks.]
[Scout Class: You have reach the cybertronian rank of scout. +2,500 HP, EP, and SP.]
[Speed Demon: You got the need for speed. +25 DEX and 20% XP from all races.]
[Steely Boxer: You are adept at Steelpaw boxing. +20 DEX and CON, +25% to hand to hand and fist weapon damage.]
[Combat injury: Your voice box has been destroyed causing you to be unable to communicate by regular means. -90% to all speaking skills.]
[Name: Cliffjumper]
[Title: Cowboy/ Daredevil]
[Race: Cybertronian]
[LVL: 215]
[HP: 337,560/567,100]
[EP: 462,150/462,150]
[SP: 576,100/576,100]
[CON: 254]
[STR: 230]
[DEX: 270(-100)]
[INT: 201]
[WIS: 167]
[LCK: 114]
[Reputation: Friendly (307/5,000)]
[Rough and tough are two word that describes this bot. Often getting into more trouble than what he could handle, Cliffjumper takes those odds with a smile.]
[Perks]
[Cybertronian: As a cybertronian lifeform you get +25,000 HP, EP, and SP. For every point of CON you get 10 HP and SP, for every point of INT you get 10 EP. Take three times more damage from lightening attacks.]
[Soldier Class: You have reach the cybertronian rank of soldier. +5,000 HP, EP, and SP.]
[Sharpshooter: You are gifted with range weaponry. +25% more damage, +25% more accuracy, and +10% more likely to land a critical hit.]
[Thrill seeker: boredom is your enemy, when the call for adventure rings you answer it! Even when it's probably not a good idea. 30% less likely to be scared in dangerous situations. 10% more likely to find dungeons.]
[Cracked frame: -100 DEX, -75% movement speed, incapable of transforming until fully head. (1 Month, 3 days, and 4 hours remaining.)]
[Punctured Chassis: Take 90% more damage (1 Month, 3 days, and 4 hours remaining.)]
[Name: Ratchet]
[Title: Doctor/ Scientist]
[Race: Cybertronian]
[LVL: 257]
[HP: 785,580/785,580]
[EP: 1,022,020/1,022,020]
[SP: 785,580/785,580]
[CON: 294]
[STR: 251]
[DEX: 234]
[INT: 386]
[WIS: 207
[LCK: 156]
[Reputation: Neutral (965/1,000)]
[While his bedside manner is questionable, Ratchet's skill and knowledge with healing is unquestionable. There isn't a day where he doesn't yearn to see Cybertron again, fully restored.]
[Perks]
[Cybertronian: As a cybertronian lifeform you get +25,000 HP, EP, and SP. For every point of CON you get 10 HP and SP, for every point of INT you get 10 EP. Take three times more damage from lightening attacks.]
[Soldier Class: You have reach the cybertronian rank of soldier. +5,000 HP, EP, and SP.]
[Cybertronian Doctor: You are well verse in the cybertronain medical science. +90% more likely to identify injuries and aliments for cybertronains. +50% more likely to heal cybertornians.]
[Scientist: An intelligent mind that enjoys the pursuit of knowledge and discovery. +30% to research skills, +25% to all science base skills, +25% to all math skills, +25% chance to invent a new item.]
[Name: Optimus Prime]
[Title: Leader of Autobots/ Prime]
[Race: Cybertronian]
[LVL: 397]
[HP: 2,285,990/2,285,990]
[EP: 2,377,300/2,377,300]
[SP: 2,285,990/2,285,990]
[CON: 567]
[STR: 569]
[DEX: 435]
[INT: 590]
[WIS: 457]
[LCK: 398]
[Reputation: Friendly (198/5,000)]
[Once a data clerk in the halls of records, Optimus grew dissatisfied with the Cybertron's caste system. Believing that freedom was the right of all sentient beings he and another worked towards for change in hopes of making things better for all of Cybertron. Unfortunately, differences between the two were revealed and Optimus later had to become the leader of the Autobots.]
[Perks]
[Cybertronian: As a cybertronian lifeform you get +25,000 HP, EP, and SP. For every point of CON you get 10 HP and SP, for every point of INT you get 10 EP. Take three times more damage from lightening attacks.]
[Leader Class: You have reach the cybertronian rank of leader. +10,000 HP, EP, and SP. You gain 75% of all XP your fallowers gain (Does not include drones).]
[Prime: You have been chosen to be a true prime. +100 to all stats. +25% reputation gain to all neutral and friendly allies.]
[Skilled Warrior: Years of combat have taught you many things, all of which you use to survive. +50% to all combat skills.]
[Master orator: Words have power and you used this to the fullest. +75% to all speech skills. +50% chance of convincing others to agree with you (10% if they are an enemy).]
If it wasn't attached to him Jack's jaw would be on the floor. Those stats are insane! Bumblebee had the lowest level, and he was a couple hundred times Jack's own stats. And Optimus was just broken. No ifs ands or buts he was broken. The [Cybertronian] race perk was powerful by itself but combined with [Prime] and [Leader class] just made him crazy tough. Then a thought came to him, if Optimus was this tough, how strong was Megatron? He was broken out of his thoughts by Cliffjumper's groaning.
"I don't get over my head that much." Cliffjumper grumbles.
"I think it fits you Cliff, after all how many times did we have to pull your aft out of the fire?" Arcee teased.
"Huh? This isn't what I thought it would be but somehow the same." Bulkhead looked around; Bumblebee nodded in agreement.
"My bedside manner is fine, thank you very much." Ratchet grumbled.
"Could have fool be doc." Cliffjumper snarked, getting a glare from the medic. Optimus merely look around and at the stats of his subordinates. Before anything could be said a small glow began to form on one of the walls. Quickly all the bots activated their weapons pointing them at the glow. They watched as pixels began to form and a small circular device was mounted on the wall. It glowed with cyan circuit patterns. (For a visual, look up digistruct from the Borderlands videogame series.) A holographic screen popped up.
[Daily Quests]
[Go on patrol 3 times (0/3)]
[Reward: 10 Energon Cubes]
[Capture or kill 10 drones (0/10)]
[Reward: 30 Energon Cubes]
[Spare 2 times (0/2)]
[Reward: 5 Energon Cubes]
[Complete the racecourse]
[Reward: 10 Energon Cubes]
[Reach the target score at shooting range]
[Reward: 10 Energon Cubes]
[Complete all daily quests (0/5)]
[Reward: 50 Energon Cubes]
[Weekly Quests]
[Go on patrol 15 times (0/15)]
[Reward: Energon Mine location]
[Complete the racecourse 5 times (0/5)]
[Reward: 50 Energon Cubes]
[Reach the target score at shooting range 5 times (0/5)]
[Reward: 50 Energon Cubes]
[Capture or kill one Decepticon Elite or higher]
[Reward: 100 Energon Cubes]
[Raid an Energon mine]
[Reward: 100 Energon Cubes]
[Complete all weakly quests (0/5)]
[Reward: 1 Cybertronian Upgrade]
"Huh? Is this common in video games?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Depends on the game but yeah. Normally the rewards are XP or common but important loot." Raf explained having played a few video games that had this feature.
"So what, we do these, and we just get energon cubes?" Bulkhead asked.
"Pretty much. How much energon do you guys need? I know you said it's what keep you alive but these numbers for the rewards are pretty large." Jack asked.
"Depending on the size of the cybertronian about five to ten cubes a day. That's not including our equipment that needs it as well." Optimus answered.
"Well, that happened. So, Jack are you going to show us the dungeons now or what?" Miko asked excitedly.
"Show us?" Optimus asked.
"Well, Raf is going to strap a camera on me and I'm going to use the IDC to either record or stream the footage to them. I want them to see how it is before they join in." Jack replied as he equips his gear.
"Join in?" Bulkhead questioned.
"That's right! I don't know about Raf, but I want in!" Miko explained.
"I. I think I'll sit back on that for now." Raf slowly as he attached the camera to Jack's chest plate.
"That's fine Raf. Trust me if I didn't get these powers I wouldn't be doing this either." He reassured.
Raf smiled before looking at his laptop. "Alright I have a connection for a streaming feed, and I have the camera ready for recording as well."
"Alright. Before I forget I have a couple of things from a few quests." Taking a step back he opened his inventory. First, he pulled out the loot chest he got from the [More than meets the Eye] quest. Opening it the pulled out ten [Healing potions], which were the same as it's weak counter parts only they restored 50 HP instead of 25 HP. Then came two hundred dollars, which he split it between Raf and Miko saying he'll get more from enemy drops. And Finally, he pulled out a very thick book. At first Jack though it was a spell tome before he used observe on it.
[Spell Grimoire]
[Rare Quality]
[Grimoires are similar to spell books but instead of learning a single spell you learn three random spells of an archetype. Grimoires do not dissolve, when spells reach a certain skill level a new spell will be learn.]
[Grimoire of the Rockstar]
[This Grimoire was written by a ghostly rocker out of boredom.]
[Requires LVL 10 in guitar playing. Requires LVL 10 in Rock n Roll skill.]
"Miko, I think I found something you would like." Said rocker hooted with joy as he handed her the grimoire. She began to madly giggle making Jack and everyone else take a small step back from the rocker.
"These. Are. Awesome!" Miko exclaimed. She was hopping with joy. When asked what she got she brought a screen up.
[Healing Harmony: LVL 1]
[Create a soothing melody to aid your comrades. Very useful after a bar brawl.]
[Heal all allies in 10ft radius by 10% of their max HP]
[Cost:50 MP]
[Cooldown: 5 Minutes]
[Requires guitar to play.]
[Terror Temp: LVL 1]
[Strike fear into your enemies by playing this terrifying tune, or some dipsticks that can't take a hint.]
[Make all enemies flee in terror. No effect on the undead, enemies that are 10 LVLs higher than you, or with 5 WIS or more than you.]
[Cost:25 MP]
[Requires guitar to play.]
[Forte Fist: LVL 1]
[Create an arcane fist with this riff to smash your enemies, or a hotel room while on tour.]
[STR+25=DMG]
[Cost:15 MP]
[Requires guitar to play.]
"Wow and with her stats and perks those would be pretty strong in no time." Jack thought to himself. The most draining spell was the [Healing Harmony] but since Miko mana reserves were nearly a thousand, she could cast that spell nearly twenty times. Combine that with her [Musical Maestro] perk she'll be joining him very soon. Moving back to this inventory and ignoring the possible monster he created he pulled out a spell book.
"Hey Raf, I have a spell you could learn. Are you interested?"
"No thanks Jack, you are probably going to need it more than me. I'll take care of the video feed." The tech wiz decline. Nodding his head Jack look at the spell tome.
[Lightning Bolt: LVL 1 (0/100)]
[Create a small bolt of lightning to strike down your enemies]
[20 Damage]
[5% chance to paralyze]
[Cost:30 MP]
Not bad, it wasn't all that strong but so were his other spells at the beginning. Then he reached for the last item he wanted to look at. Pulling out the prize he got from his latest quest Jack let out a small gasp. He was by no means an art critic or a weapon fanatic but what he pulled out was breath taking. The haft of the axe was made of ash wood with grey cording warped around for it for grip. The head of the axe was made out of what looked to be ice chipped away to form a curve Danish axe encasing the top of the haft.
[Frostedge]
[Rare quality]
[Durability 2,000/2,000]
[DMG type: Blunt]
[DMG Stats]
[150 Frost DMG+ STR]
[Chance to freeze enemies on strike: 5%]
[A skilled smith once tried to create a powerful weapon out of a glacier made of magical ice. While he did succeed in creating Frostedge his inexperience with magic caused the axe to be much weaker than it should have been.]
Jack gave it a couple of swings before looking at his stats. He built up a good amount of AP so he might as well use them now.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 15 (1,470/6,798)]
[HP: 715/715]
[MP: 640/640]
[SP: 715/715]
[CON: 41]
[STR: 40]
[DEX: 45(+5)]
[INT: 36]
[WIS: 31]
[LCK: 21]
[AP: 30]
[$2180]
It still amazed him how quick he got these up but now the question was where to invest. So far, he has been putting most of his points into his physical stats and while that has been paying off, he was falling behind in the mental stats. And that wasn't even mentioning his luck stat. with his mind made up he put nine points into LCK and WIS, four points into INT, three into STR, and finally five into his DEX.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 15 (1,470/6,798)]
[HP: 715/715]
[MP: 700/700]
[SP: 715/715]
[CON: 41]
[STR: 43]
[DEX: 50(+5)]
[INT: 40]
[WIS: 40]
[LCK: 30]
[AP: 0]
[$2180]
Smiling Jack was about to say he was ready to go before a new screen popped up.
[Congratulations! You have managed to get one of your attributes to 50! For reaching this milestone you gain 500 XP!]
[For reaching 50 in dexterity you can choose one of these skills.]
[Pickpocketing: Daft hands and nimble fingers. An asset to any thief or spy in the making. One could swipe important information from an unaware enemy or jewels from a posh noble.]
[Power leap: Those with this skill can jump to heights that could even impress a frog. Those really skilled in leaping can even chain one after another.]
[Parry: Sometimes one can't dodge or block a hit so the best thing to do is deflect. A skilled duelist could even create an opening to use.]
Huh, so investing enough in stats could grant new skills. He'll have to remember that for the future. As for what to pick that was a hard one. [Pickpocketing] was out. He couldn't really see the use of it. He wasn't a thief and if he needed money, he'll loot dungeons or complete quest. [Power leap] was interesting, he could jump around like a ninja or those parkour guys. But the one he was going pick was [Parry]. In all the fights he had so far was him simply using brute strength. He needed to fight smarter and he hopes this will be a step in the right direction.
"Does it always do the whole random pop-up thing?" Miko asked.
"More often than not." Jack groaned. "Is everything ready Raf?"
"I have a live feed streaming to one of the monitors right now." The tech wiz replied. Jack was about to activate the IDC before Optimus interjected.
"Jack, while I understand you did this before I would feel better if you had someone accompanied you."
"I'll go." Arcee volunteered.
"Wait really?" Jack asked. Sure, they were on friendly terms, but Jack didn't expect her to volunteer without being asked.
"I want to see how this works honestly. Plus, I want to see you in action." She replied.
Jack shrugged before grabbing one of Arcee's hands. "I don't know how to bring someone with me so I'm hoping that if we're in physical contact I could bring you." He explained at her questioning glance. Bringing up the IDC he selected the dungeon they we're going to. Due to Arcee's size there was no way he would be bringing her to [Rat's Nest] or [Miner's Folly], she was simply too big for the small spaces, so that left one option.
[Zombie Apocalypse]
Taking a deep breath, he pressed the option as he closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was Arcee letting loose a swear as they teleported.
Earth's low orbit – The Nemesis
Starscream smiled as he finally got a location of a statis pod. He briefly wondered if Soundwave took his time simply because he didn't trust him, but it mattered not. Soon he will have his apprentice.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 15 (1,970/6,798)]
[HP: 715/715]
[MP: 700/700]
[SP: 715/715]
[CON: 41]
[STR: 43]
[DEX: 50(+5)]
[INT: 40]
[WIS: 40]
[LCK: 30]
[AP: 0]
[$2180]
And done.
Arcee: A lot of talking and technobabble for this chapter.
Yeah, but this was already twenty pages long, not counting the author notes.
Arcee: So I'm going to join Jack with this dungeon huh. How's that going to go?
Here's the script.
Arcee: I'm going to be what! (Page flip) What's going to happen to me! (Turns to the last page) You're adding her! I already have to deal with Airachnid! Why are you adding that crazy glitch!
Hey in my defense I needed to add more cons and it was her or Megatron's daughter.
Arcee: Megatron's who?
Yeah, turns out he has a kid who's a combiner but adding six cons right off the bat was a little too much for now.
Arcee: Great so we get two and one of them is crazy.
Anyways everyone feel free to review and have a great day.