Available Class Powers

Hold Together - Active - Spell

Repairs 1400 Durability’s worth of damage and for 1 minute increases physical and elemental resistances by 14% for Soulbound Modular Vehicle ‘Bertha’.

Cost: 10 Mana

A Deal’s a Deal - Active - Spell

The next agreement you enter becomes a System Contract.The other party must be of sound mind to enter into a System Contract. If the other party breaks the Contract they will receive a Penalty of 12% that lasts for 1 System year. You may waive the penalty at any time.

Cost: 100 Mana

Battle Hardened - Passive

Increase physical, elemental, and mental Resistances by 12%.

Soulbound Powers

Various. See Status of Soulbound Modular Vehicle ‘Bertha’

Jill read through her available Class Powers, frowned, and read them again. She felt like she got the general idea, though the only thing she could truly understand without more context was how the Mana costs compared to her own pool: Hold Together she’d be able to cast very often, though she didn’t know whether 1400 Durability was a lot, while A Deal’s a Deal would drain almost half of her Mana. For the rest, she’d best get more information.

‘System,’ she thought, ‘what are Resistances? And Penalties?’

System information inquiry detected.

Tutorial duration remaining: 6 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes.

Resistances reduce incoming damage. Only the highest Resistance applies, with exceptions that apply multiplicatively.

Penalties reduce the effective value of all Statistics. Penalties apply additively and combine, with exceptions.

That helped somewhat, but she could understand why Babu was so insistent about compiling as much information as he could about the System. The tutorial messages were helpful, but frustratingly light on details. Take Battle Hardened: 12% resistance sounded good, but was it? Or was that kind of value eclipsed by some other skill or armor that would render her Class Power useless? At least the tutorial had told her only the highest value applied and let her know enough to even ask that question.

She sent the information over to Babu with a thought. “Allright theory boy, give me some thoughts on Class Powers. I’ve only got 3 of the things to choose from, and maybe Bertha will have some too,” she said, turning to look over her shoulder at him.

“I started with 3 too, but once I picked some of them more showed up! Though the two I unlocked require me to be level 10 before I can pick them. I can’t tell for sure yet but I think there’s multiple trees of Powers for every Class. I’d know more if someone,” Babu glared at Ras, “would let me see his as well.”

Ras clicked his tongue. “Fine,” he said, “but I’m not sending any Soulbound information.” He glanced at Jill. “You should look through that before you choose anything. Mine is… extensive.”

“Wait!” Babu was practically vibrating. “You two have almost the same skill! Battle Hardened, though Rassy got shafted and it's only worth 10%. Could that be your Class Power boost?” He whistled. “20% boost, that might add up fast! Anyways, if this part of your tree is that same as his, your next skill in that line will be another passive, Killer Instincts, that boosts your ability to strike weak points.”

“Fucking badass,” Jill said. “But not for me I don’t think.” She banged a hand on the dash. “I’m a truck driver.” Speaking of which… ‘Ok Bertha old buddy, tell me all about yourself,’ she thought. Since Bertha was part of her now she was probably just thinking to herself, but it helped to get the System to do what she wanted.

Soulbound Modular Vehicle ‘Bertha’

Durability: 24,000/24,000

Mana: 16,937/24,000

Module:

Tier:

Upgrades:

Cargo

1

-

Command

1

-

Habitation

0

-

Propulsion (Ground)

1

-

Upgrades Available:

Module Upgrades

New Modules

Customization (0/2)

‘Gimme more than that you ball-gargling System.’

Cargo:

‘Bertha’ has a cargo bay of base volume 90.625 cubic meters, total volume 90.625 cubic meters, internal dimensions of 14.5 meters by 2.5 meters by 2.5 meters.

Includes: Doors

Addons (0/1): None installed.

Cargo Upgrades:

Cargokinesis (0/1): Objects inside of and within 14 meters of the cargo bay doors can be slowly moved.

Climate Control (0/2): Control the temperature and humidity of the cargo bay.

Volume (0/5): The volume of the cargo bay is set to 2.4x base volume and 1 addon slot is added.

‘Yeah that's more like -’

Another box popped up, partially overlapping the first.

Command:

‘Bertha’ has a command module with 1 control station and 1 observer station.

Includes: Seatbelts (rare technology), air bags (rare technology), openable windows, mirrors, doors.

Addons (1/1): Close range radio.

Command Upgrades:

Captain Speaking (0/1): Jill MacLeod can speak to and receive replies from anyone within ‘Bertha’ or within 14 meters.

Sensor Upgrade (0/5): Effectiveness of any installed perception devices increased 14%.

Capacity (0/5): Add 1 control station, 2 observer stations, and 1 command addon Slot.

‘Hey I didn’t get the chance to -’

Yet another appeared blocking the others, pulsing deeper and lighter shades of blue to draw attention to itself.

Habitation:

‘Bertha’ has a habitation module with capacity for 1 in substandard conditions with life support capacity of 0.

Warning: Habitation module not sufficient for long term occupation.

Habitation Upgrades:

Tier Increase: Prerequisites: None. Increases the capacity of the Habitation module to 2, life support to 4, and provides basic amenities with 1 habitation addon slot.

‘Hey what are you calling substandard?! You're substandard! And slow the fuck -’

The next three boxes popped up in quick succession, each strobing a new neon color.

Propulsion (Ground):

‘Bertha’ has an engine which converts mana to rotary motion, which is then transmitted to wheels. Maximum speed: 250 kph.

Addons (0/1): None (Chains available)

Propulsion (Ground) Upgrades:

Torque Converter (0/1): Unwanted rotation along any axis is nullified and converted into mana. Requires Jill MacLeod to be at a control station.

Utility Wheels (0/3): Wheels function over a wider variety of terrain. Rough terrain lowers maximum speed.

Need for Speed (0/5): Increases maximum speed by 70 kph.

New Modules Available:

Armor: Installs armor which enhances the durability and resistances of ‘Bertha’. Provides armor addon slots.

Turrets (Small Arms): Installs turrets which protect occupants and enhance installed small arms addons.

Customization (0/2):

The cosmetic and structural configuration of ‘Bertha’ can be slowly changed, as long as module limitations are not exceeded.

“Godamn twistertwat assnoser!” Jill yelled as the final boxes crowded up against all the rest and her head split open with a migraine. The boxes immediately turned back to their normal shade and organized themselves in a neat column.

The silence in the truck was deafening.

“Are you, uhh, allright there?” Ras asked a few seconds later, his eyes flicking to Jill, then to the road, then to Jill again with concern. Babu collapsed laughing, banging a fist on the substandard bed.

“Peachy.” Jill said. “Just... peachy.” Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t insult the System too much. The thing was getting downright feisty.