Chapter 9

If it were possible for my cybernetic brain to feel the pain I would be in agony, I had been looking over the class selections for at least three hours, there were too many to list but this was a very open ended game with so many classes that the mind boggled. I had perused the traditional ones, like armored mech warriors for tanking and combat, medics and first responders for those that wished to heal as they adventure. Space marines for those who specialized in hand to hand combat on ships and space stations. Infiltrators, anarchists, assassins. Pilots, navigators, scouts, engineers who all wore red tunics, the list was endless.

Eventually, I came across a small section of information that stated, it is possible to develop a unique class depending on the talents and abilities of the person. This requires acquiring rare and specialized gear as well as gaining unique one-off abilities. That sounded promising, I was sure I had met the criteria but I also had to consider the fact that as a player leveled they would gain new skills and abilities that were class specific. By the time I hit 100 I would be a true disadvantage if I could not gain any additional skills or abilities and finding these rare skills or abilities was something that occurred maybe twice if lucky during the grind from 1 to 100.

I continued to read the information, most of which was not applicable to me but there was one other passage that stood out. It stated, for anyone wishing to access skills or abilities not found within a class they must procure the appropriate learning modules. These modules are available from the Asimov Institute of Science and Learning. While there is no cost involved the Institute may require your services in exchange for the learning modules. That was interesting, it did open the doorway to a self-taught class but the cost could be high, I needed more information.

I contacted the institute and spent the next several minutes being shunted from person to person, I was ready to give up but finally managed to speak with an assistant director called Jonas who knew what I was talking about. Each learning module had to be pre-ordered and would be delivered upon the completion of an assignment given by the institute. I also found out that I was the first person to inquire about this and that no other person up to now had chosen to continue to level without selecting a traditional class. Thanking the man, I hung up and went back to reviewing all the different classes. If I chose to make my own class I would be awarded my first 4 abilities, I had gained two with each level above 10. These abilities were of a generic nature that all classes had. After that, every skill or ability would have to be earned, at the normal rate of 2 per level. That meant I would have to complete two quests for the institute per level to stay competitive. The bonus XP I would receive for completing the quests would be helpful as well as any other rewards.

Making up my mind I selected the option to create your own class. I was asked to name my class and select the first 4 base abilities. Off the top of my head, I chose Titan for the class name. Then I began to go through the base abilities that were available and useful. It was soon apparent that I had most of the common one covered, a quick look at my stats and abilities revealed,

Stats

Intelligence, 35

Strength, 65

Agility, 25

Knowledge, 45

Charisma, 40

Generally speaking, stupid players or permanent noobs did not do well in Cold Space. Being a cyborg had given me a huge advantage in terms of physicality and the game Ai which monitored all players and selectively adapts the intelligence, knowledge and charisma stats based on gameplay had rewarded me with a high level of charisma, intelligence and knowledge, well above what players of my level had. Also, with my charisma being so high it was obvious why I had received the Martian quest and gifts. All in all, it was looking pretty good, opening my abilities I read,

Abilities

Unarmed Combat, third tier

Stealth, fourth tier

Tactics, third tier

Leadership, second tier

Tech weapon mastery, third tier

Classical weapon mastery, first tier

Abilities were based on a tier system, the highest tier was 6, and it was a hell of a grind to get there. This made my current levels damn good, most players had to be around level 70 before they started hitting third and fourth tier levels. I was really advanced far beyond my level, which was a good thing because my enemies were not level 5 noobs. Taking a moment to clear my thoughts I was surprised when my Dragon woke up and took off, hearing him say “Thirsty.” I realized I had no clue what he ate or drank, it was a good thing he seemed to provide for himself.

Getting back to the task, I was still a low level and while being a Cyborg gave me some real advantages it did not provide me with a non-ending range of skills. Still, I had 6 abilities when most players would be picking their first two. I was not complaining. Deciding to take a fast break I stood up and left my table and walked towards the cafeteria. Not really needing a drink I still desired the feeling of actually drinking so went and grabbed a Nova cola. Standing around I stared at the players who were also in the cafeteria.

There were players who were at level 10 and those who were approaching 100. Some classes had special tunics, engineers always wore red, medics and first responders a light green, communication specialists wore blue, while officers wore gold. The tech guys had on white tunics and the fighters and DPS people wore black or dark brown. There were even a couple of guys and three girls in see through diaphanous silks, they were from the pleasure domes, the Gorean class.

Why anyone would play a space MMO to become someone's sex toy was beyond me, but it was a popular class, apparently, many men and women would switch genders while creating their avatars and then join the Gorean class. Supposedly that class had the fastest leveling of any class in the game, it brought a whole new meaning to the term grinding out a level. Most of the higher level Goreans were extremely wealthy. The oldest profession in the world was one of the most profitable ones. Each to their own, if people wanted to play like that they could.

As I was musing I caught the eye of one of the Gorean girls and she winked at me. Winking back, I smiled and then finished my Nova cola. As I put it down on the table I noticed that the Gorean girl had approached my table. As I glanced at her, she smiled and then asked in a husky voice, “Hi I am Jaena P, would you like some companionship, I am available and my rates are reasonable. I specialize in oral satisfaction but am skilled in both Autonomous sensory meridian response and chiropractic manipulation as well as a full body massage.”

I looked at the girl she, low full breasts without any sag, a tight muscled tummy, strong legs and powerful arms and hands. Her face was attractive, a pretty girl not a runway model but someone who had a sensual earthy look. Her bottom was shapely and solid, the complete package was worth a second look. Judging by where she was staring she must have thought the same, with a laugh I said, “Hey eyes up here Jaena P.” I watched as she smiled and winked at me and could not stop myself from smiling back. I suspected her interest in me was due to the media stories, I had no doubt that she has seen my face and heard I had received a large insurance payout.

“I am not interested in your offer of earthly satisfaction at this time,” I began. “However, if you are interested in joining me at a later date to get some XP and have fun, I would be glad to accept a friendship request.” I looked at her with a smile and accepted when she sent a friend request. “What class are you?” Jaena P asked curiously. “You are still in low level but usually I can guess what class a person has chosen. To be honest, you are a complete mystery, I can’t tell at all. Your guild is hidden also. Who are you, mystery man?”

I smiled, one of the features of having started my own class was that it could be hidden from others. That was a safety feature as there were players in this game that would make life difficult for people that did not belong to a guild or have a class. The same went for guilds, players could hide their guilds, for safety reasons. Think on a large scale, some of the large guilds were like corporations, and they were in combat with other guilds for the resources within the game. It could be a cut-throat world, and as the game developed it would become more so.

When I had my level 70 character months ago there had been a bit of a purge among some of the larger guilds. The two largest guilds had combined into one, a bit of a hostile takeover, with Economic Tempest, sending members into Cash Flow, eventually having three of the 5 guild leaders being plants. It was an ugly situation one of the plants was the guild's bank manager and he literally bankrupted Cash Flow, totally drained their accounts and emptied their warehouses. The three plants then called for a quorum and dismissed the guild leader and his second. At that point, it was game over for Cash Flow, the properties owned by the guild included 5 space freighters, 2 orbital warehouses and an opulent base on Mars as well as the ownership of a mining colony on Europa. All ended up in the hands of Economic Tempest. These shenanigans had impacted me directly, I had a contract to ship material from Europa to Mars on my small freighter before I was permabanned. My thoughts were interrupted by Jaena P as she repeated, “Hello are you listening to me?”

I may not be wise in the ways of women but I suspected telling her that I had faded out instead of listening to her would not go over well. Giving her my best smile reserved for Grandmothers I took over the conversation and relying on my high Charisma asked, “Jaena P tell me what guild are you in, I see you have it hidden or are you currently guildless?” I waited for her response while staring in her eyes and was not surprised when she slowly spoke, “I am in Money for Nothing and have been from the beginning. We are one of the larger guilds and have diversified into having many different revenue streams, our goal is to become one of the richest guilds on Cold Space.”

“We prefer to keep our business private but our scouts are always looking for any player that can help us advance. If we find a rich player such as yourself we make every effort to attract him to join the guild. With the automatic 10 percent of all player’s monies given to the guild, it is profitable to acquire rich low-level members who may not even realize that they are being used. We also attempt to power level them for a fee and of course, sell crafted items to them for a fee. I am stationed here with a list of players to contact if they show up. Money for nothing would love to have you join our guild, and I am prepared to offer you free gear appropriate for your level and free leveling till you hit level 20, also I will be you sponsor and companion, and you will have full access to me, day or night.”

She continued to speak but I held my hand up and she became quiet. A message had appeared and I was reading it, you have discovered the ability of Glamour, the ability to influence others, at higher tiers it can make illusions real and reality an illusion. Generally, only available to the Martian Fey, it is extremely rare for a man to receive this ability only those with the Ak’amai may receive this ability.

I was stunned, this had come out of nowhere, somehow, I had been changed by my interactions with the Martians, I knew I was seeing into a parallel dimension but I had not realized there was more to it than that. I would have to take some time to explore this further, but right now I seemed to have the ability to cast a glamour upon Jaena P, which looked a hell of a lot like hypnosis to me. I could live with that, but to be honest, these abilities were unfamiliar with me and I could not rely on them. Not yet. I needed more information.

Looking up at Jaena P I smiled at her and then said, “Jaena P thank you for your offer but I am not ready to join a guild yet, I think you have done a great job and your offers are very tempting but for now I go alone on my own.” Waving goodbye I walked back to the table and activated the terminal and began to scan the starter abilities again. In the end, I choose 4 that seemed to be the most helpful to me.

Artifice engineer, the ability to disassemble and repair machines and gear. Tier 1

Encephalon Cybernetics, joining the mind of both man and machine into one. Tier1

Mentalism, the study that mind is the fundamental reality and that objects of knowledge exist only as aspects of the subject's consciousness. Tier 1

Quantum theory studies, dealing with the possibility of a parallel universe in a hypothetical self-contained reality co-existing with one's own.

The choices I made how to do more with where I was headed than where I was, I hoped that my choices would pan out, taking one last glance at my stats and abilities I saw,

Abilities

Unarmed Combat, third tier.

Stealth, fourth tier.

Tactics, third tier.

Leadership, second tier.

Tech weapon mastery, third tier.

Classical weapon mastery, first tier.

Artifice engineer, the ability to disassemble and repair machines and gear, first tier.

Encephalon Cybernetics, joining the mind of both man and machine into one, first tier.

Mentalism, the study that mind is the fundamental reality and that objects of knowledge exist only as aspects of the subject's consciousness, first tier

Quantum theory studies, dealing with the possibility of a parallel universe in a hypothetical self-contained reality co-existing with one's own, first tier.

Stats

Intelligence, 35

Strength, 65

Agility, 25

Knowledge, 45

Charisma, 40

My stats had not changed that would happen when I leveled next. My next step was to safely head out and go to the Provincial Assembly building to apply for my letter of marque then to head to the Asimov Institute to receive my first two assignments. The problem was to get there alive.