“Can you believe it? The nerve of those people.” Marcus let out a disgusted grunt as he stomped towards his truck. “But that was well played, Dame. Quick thinking to get us out of that bind.”

Damien nodded as he followed along. Truthfully, he’d already moved past the ordeal and he was grateful that they’d managed to get the Blizzard without resorting to violence. His attention was now wholly focused on the notifications that had popped up a few seconds before, and he opened the T-Deck to see what he’d unlocked. He checked the description of his new skill first.

Tempest Flurry

Exert maximum potential to unleash a vicious flurry of sword strikes. May exceed physical limits.

Cost: 10% Focus, 90% Stamina

The sight of the new skill pleased him greatly, especially since it had been a while since he’d unlocked something other than a passive bonus. The steep cost of activation however, dampened his buzz slightly. Having to spend 90% of his stamina seemed like a harsh price to pay for one ability, so he wouldn’t be able to spam it like he could with Parry. Then again, why did this skill have a percentage-based cost where as the previous skill had a flat cost per use? He pondered that question as they exited the Crazy 8’s territory.

It must be related to the term maximum potential. If a skill wants to use as much of my capacity as it can get, it makes sense that it’ll take on a large percentage of my latent ability rather than a set amount. If that’s the case, the total damage output from the skill should increase as my stats, and therefore my potential, increase.

Despite the heavy cost, Damien was glad to have another tool in his arsenal, and he turned his attention to the new talent.

Back Stab

Deal 15% additional damage when striking enemies from behind. Scales with Lethality.

This passive effect seemed straight forward enough, apart from the final word which he hadn’t seen before. What exactly was Lethality and what did it do? Damien focused his vision on the word, but nothing popped up to answer his question. He brushed off the mild grievance and looked above the table of skills and talents where a familiar line of text blinked at him, unchanged since the last time he’d opened this page of the T-Deck.

Skill Points Available: 1

With the new skill and talent now available, he finally had some targets to use the skill point on. A blinking upward-pointing arrow stood beside both of his new abilities, signaling that he could increase their mastery level. He checked to see what additional effects he would gain from each one.

Tempest Flurry [Adept] Bonuses:

+15% Total Damage.

-10% Stamina Cost.

Back Stab [Adept] Bonuses:

+10% Damage.

Gain 1 stack of Lethality when activated. (Cool down: 15 seconds)

The first thing that caught his eye was the mention of Lethality stacks. Clearly, this mechanic would grant him some kind of increasing bonus or effect as he built up those stacks. Since it was tied to Back Stab, would it encourage him to steer towards a stealthy, assassin type of fighting style? That was his first guess, but much to his dismay, there was no way to know at this time.

In contrast, the bonuses from the first option were clear and unambiguous. Extra damage was always nice, but the lowered cost of stamina is what really tempted Damien to make this the target of his skill point. In its current state, he couldn’t even use Tempest Flurry if he wasn’t in near perfect condition, and the boost to Adept would broaden that window of usability by quite a bit.

After a moment of consideration, he opted to use the skill point on Tempest Flurry. While the stacking mechanic of Lethality sounded interesting, he still didn’t understand its function and so he chose to go with something that he knew would be useful in a general sense. With an important mission right around the corner, an increase in the consistency of his new skill would certainly be welcome.

With his choice confirmed, he looked over the newly-refreshed stats page one more time.

Stats

Level: 5

Reputation: Nobody

Strength: 11

Agility: 15

Durability:13

Technical: 9

Blades: 16

Firearms:7

Skills Mastery Level Description Parry Adept

Deflect oncoming [Weak] projectiles and melee attacks. May exceed physical limits.

Adept Bonuses:

Focus Cost: -10%

Additional Effect: May parry [Blunt] weapons

Tempest Flurry Adept

Exert maximum potential to unleash a vicious flurry of sword strikes. May exceed physical limits.

Cost: 10% Focus, 90% Stamina

Adept Bonuses:

Total Damage: +15%

Stamina Cost: -10%

Talents Mastery Level Description S.S. Core

Rookie

???

Way of the Samurai

Adept

[+1] Blades

[+10] Maximum Focus

Gain additional bonuses from Samurai weapons and armor.

Adept Bonuses:

[+15%] additional bonuses from Samurai gear

May wear [Uncommon] rank Samurai gear with no penalties

Back Stab

Rookie

Deal 15% additional damage when striking enemies from behind. Scales with Lethality.

Titles Description Pirate + 25 Street Cred Traits Description - -

A sense of satisfaction filled up within as he noted how quickly his arsenal of abilities was growing. The only stain on the beautiful list was that pesky S.S. Core which still refused to reveal its effect.

One day I’ll find your purpose… he promised himself.

The two pirates returned to Lana’s basement to find Kat and the hacker already engaged in a discussion regarding the upcoming mission.

“I guess that’s our best option,” Kat said as the duo reached the bottom of the stairs. “But what about Damien?”

Lana swerved her chair toward the two young men and gave a slight nod as a greeting. She was seated in her usual hunched-back position, her legs held up tight against her chest. “Well, it would be easier if I knew what he was capable of.”

“I’m capable of kicking ass,” Damien said cheekily. “She didn’t tell you?”

Kat snorted. “You really kicked ass last time around, huh?” She flashed her tongue at him then hid it behind an evil smirk. She’d found the thorn in his side, and she took great pleasure in twisting it. Maybe this was payback for subjecting her to his jokes.

“Let’s get back to the beginning and fill them in,” Lana said as Damien and Marcus huddled around. “We’ll begin with the high-level stuff. As always, we’ll all operate on the same communication line and I’ll provide support throughout the mission. The first order of business is for Kat to infiltrate the facility on her own and grant me access to their network. That way I can manually override their security systems and get the Blizzard up and running. After that, it’s the usual smash-and-grab strategy: Marcus on distraction duty while Kat secures the target. Since Damien’s the rookie, he’ll stick with Kat and provide support.”

“Hold on,” Marcus said. “I don’t necessarily oppose the plan, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have Damien acting as a decoy, too? If we strike at two different locations, they’ll have to split up their defenses even further which will give Kat even more room to maneuver. Plus, with the Blizzard active, she shouldn’t really need help.”

“That was my initial line of thinking, too,” Lana said. “But it’s not that simple. I managed to uncover the layout of the underground facilities, so slot in those Mind Chips and I’ll explain the details. Let’s go through this quick. We only have a few hours until the operation begins.”