Chapter 06-04

Alex and Obsidian asked the woman behind the counter in the cozy café if they could have fresh cups of coffee in to-go cups. She told them it would take a few minutes because she had to brew fresh and both agreed that it would be best to wait. Alex decided that it would be an excellent time to do some maintenance on his allocate-able points.

After the new newest levels that he had gained he had Alex had a total of nine Power Points to spend and a massive sixteen stat points that he needed to assign. On top of all that Alex could choose his first Feat of Power.

Alex did not hesitate to spend two points in his Super Strength Power. He had gotten a taste for the Seismic Punch and it did not let him down and he didn’t want to be without it. The two extra points also gave him six more points in his strength stat.

-New Skill has been Unlocked!

-Seismic Punch

-At a Cost of 100 Energy deliver an Earth-Shaking punch!

The first thing that came to his mind was energy. In his last fight, not counting the one where he was downright demolished, he had been low on energy right at the end and had to get the villain to monologue so that it could regenerate. He opened the feats list and started to search for energy based feats. Two popped up that weren’t greyed out that he could get that weren’t locked behind walls forcing him to reach other milestones first.

-Feat of Power (Energy Boost I)

-This Feat gives a 50% boost to total energy available for use in combat.

-1 Feat Power Required.

~~~

-Feat of Power (Energy Regen I)

-This Feat gave a 25% boost in the energy regen at a resting state.

-1 Feat Power Required.

Running the numbers in his head a few times, if he took the Energy boost it would bring his total energy level up to two hundred and eighty-eight. This would give him the ability to use his seismic punch twice in a combat while still leaving points for healing and smaller attacks.

In his current state Alex regenerated one energy point every five seconds when he was in a rest state, something like sitting, or listening to a villain monologue. If he took the other feat, Energy Regen, this would get him one and a quarter every five seconds.

It took a moment, but he made up his mind. He took Energy Boost I. Instantly there was a rush of power through his body. He caught a glimpse of his reflection where his eyes flashed with a light blue for a moment around the edges.

As a second boost to his energy he added three of his stat points into his will. This brought his energy up to two hundred and ninety-five points. Those extra few points could mean the difference between life and death in the heat of battle.

Next, he spent two points in Fate hoping that the world could maybe throw him a bone for once. He hadn’t spent any points in this stat yet, and he never really had before when he was an admin. Before he felt like it didn’t really matter, but since his life was a little different, he decided to try and load the dice a little.

He had eleven points left as he stared at his stats. If it really was his life and there was a chance that he wouldn’t come back after another brush with eternity he decided a few points to boost his health wouldn’t be a bad idea. He spent four points in constitution which brought his health points up to two hundred and eighty-eight.

After a few minutes of pondering he put three points into his strength. He figured a good defense would serve him, and it would help with his Super Strength power in the long run. With that his armor was up to a massive one hundred and one points. This would help him take a hit in a fight and negate large amounts of the damage.

The last thing that Alex did with his last four stat points was to spend one each in Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. These would help him be a stronger person all around and he could use every leg up that he could get.

He decided to hold onto his last power point that he recently earned making saved points up to seven, at his next level he would be able to buy a new power altogether. He would start with a single point in that power so that he could use it right away. He had some time to consider his options which he had narrowed down to, scan, teleport, and telekinesis. All three were powers that he had used often when he was an admin and if he had known that this game was a little more serious than just a game, he might have chosen at least one of those in the start.

He closed his stat page and looked down at Obsidian. Despite the fact that they were drinking coffee, in his silence she had laid her head down and fallen asleep. He shook his head and began to plot.

There were seven people in the café. He stood up from his chair and looked around at all of the people for a moment.

“I am about to pull a prank on her. It would really help if you all screamed loudly as if we were under attack. I will pay for any damages.” Alex said quietly, but it seemed that he could have spoken at normal volume because Obsidian snored loudly.

Everyone in the shop shared the same prankster mentality that Alex had. Not a soul in the room protested, even the woman carrying their coffees nodded her head, but backed away with the two large cups of hot liquid.

Alex walked around behind where Obsidian was sitting. He cleared his throat and moved his arms around stretching them out before acting. Using his flight ability, he drifted a few inches off of the ground. In a swift motion he dropped to the ground and lightly, but surly slammed his hands down on her back while yelling.

“Oh God! We’re under attack!” Alex yelled. Everyone in the building started to scream bloody murder.

The chair that she was sitting in collapsed under the combined force of Alex’s action and Obsidian’s sudden movement. She started to yell and jumped to her feet activating her powers. When she threw up her arms, she accidentally flipped the table in front of her.

The whole room started to laugh loudly. She looked around breathing heavily trying to piece together what was going on. Growling she turned around and hit Alex in the gut. With an oof he chuckled. A notification appeared in Alex’s HUD.

-You’ve Completed a Random Event!

-Stopped a Robbery

-Defeated 3x Goldy Goons

-300XP (100XP Each)

-+1 Hero Point (You are a Hero!)

-+3 Hero Tier (-7 Until Next Tier)

“What the hell?” Alex said looking up towards the front door. He caught the ass end of three Goons running away down the block. They had weapons in their hands.

“That was lucky. Jerk!” Obsidian said accepting her coffee from the lady behind the counter.

Alex smiled and took his own to-go cup. He tapped his phone on the counter to charge for damage and the drinks.

-350t Charged.

He was a little disheartened by the fact that he was starting from the ground floor on his hero tier and there was seven days until that payout would happen. He sighed and walked towards the exit.

“Why do you fall asleep so much?” He asked.

“I’ve always been a big sleeper.” She shrugged.

They walked out onto the street. The destination that was labeled on the map wasn’t that far away. Outside of the alley was a left turn and then it was pretty much a straight shot. Alex realized that the destination was at the campus of the old university.

After their brisk walk the duo stood in front of the dilapidated campus. It had at one point churned out some of the smartest people in the city, but that had been some years ago. The front gate was closed and locked with a rusty pad lock.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Obsidian asked as they approached the gate. She laced her fingers into the bars of the gate and looked around.

“That’s what the map says.” Alex said with a shrug. He grabbed the lock and with just a little focus of his energy he snapped the top of it off. The gate swung open a couple of feet once he had removed the chair.

They walked across the unkempt lawn towards the main building. He wasn’t sure if that was where the AI was, but it was as good a place as any to start looking. The front door was off its hinges and when he pulled it open the whole thing fell to the ground. The wood was rotted.

Walking inside the building was silent. A shiver shot down Alex’s spin and he noticed that Obsidian was a little closer to him than normal. He wanted to poke fun but decided to give her a break.

They made their way through the dark halls. Light spilled in from the rooms when a door was open here and there, but the windows were filthy, so the light was scarce. They walked past administration.

“Check this out!” Obsidian called causing Alex to jump.

Alex hadn’t been paying attention to Obsidian when he noticed that she was gone. He looked all around and finally found her a few doors back with her head leaning inside. With a grumpy demeanor he walked back to the room where she had veered off.

Inside there was a computer lab. Everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust. The computers were somehow still on, but the screens weren’t displaying anything. Alex walked into the room pushing himself past his sidekick.

“Hello?” He asked the room.

An image of an average looking man appeared with a pop in front of him. He wore a tweed coat and jeans. His hair was slicked back, and his eyes were an electric blue. Alex jumped back and stumbled ultimately being caught by Obsidian. He recovered and straightened himself back up. The image flickered for a moment, but it was able to stay solid. He smiled at them standing in the door.

“Hello, my name is Function. I am a level ten artificial intelligence. How my I assist you?” The man asked.

“Hello, function. Why do you speak so proper?” Alex asked.

“I can adopt a more casual form of communication. Would you like me to do so?” Function asked.

“Yes, Please.” Alex said.

“Thanks man. I hate talking like that, but my programming won’t let me just drop it.” He smiled.

“Good stay that way when you are talking to me.” Alex said.

“What brings you to my neck of the woods?” Function asked. Not only had he adopted a more relaxed form of speaking, but his posture relaxed as well.

“I was sent here by a friend because she said you could help me find missions.” Alex said.

“That’s true. Depending on this friend.” He said shifting from a grin to a neutral expression.

“Her name is Mad Mind Melena.” Alex said crossing his arms.

“I was hoping that she would send someone soon.” Function said happily, “I can offer you two options. I have limited resources available to me here, but if you allow me to integrate with your HUD I can better serve.”

-A Digital Friend in need.

-Function is an AI that has been limited to his confines at the university. He wishes to integrate with your HUD and be bound to you to offer missions and information.

-If you accept this you will get an awesome AI that will help you in the future.

-If you decline this he will still help you but in order to speak with him you will have to return to this place.

-Please Note: Function’s missions will be fewer and less profitable from the confines of the university.

-Accept

-Yes | No

Alex took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure about having an AI integrate with his suit. It was a leap of faith. The one thing that pushed him towards his option was that Melena sent him there. She wouldn’t have done so if it was the wrong choice. She had already helped him out immensely so far.

Alex selected yes.

For a moment the room lit up with bright white light. The avatar of the man flickered for a second, but it ultimately became clearer.

-You have completed a mission.

-A Digital Friend in need.

-+2000xp

-+8 Heroic Points

-+8 Hero Tier Points (-29 Until Next Tier)