Upheaval, p.6
Upheaval,
p.6
In my head I am doing the mental calculations. Since shooting a mid-level energy beam started to break his barrier, I know that his shield has its limits. I just have to wait until my beam is charged to maximum and then I'll attack. Our attacks are coming more slowly now. It is evident that we are both getting tired. Rachel, on the other hand, seems to be a machine. She is still behind him beating him with her club. It doesn't seem to be doing more than causing his barrier to flare, but I'm sure any damage helps weaken his barrier. Not wanting to hit Rachel behind the orc if my beam goes through him, I grab his arm. The golden barrier flares around my hand and I am able to stop his arm from moving, these gloves of gripping are coming in handy. I put my shield right up against his body and push forward. We both fall to the ground and I am pinning him down with my shield. He can no longer get the leverage for a good attack and his strikes are ineffectual against my skin. I throw the sword to the side and point my hand at the center of his chest. I unleash my full energy beam. The beam strikes his shield and there is a dark blue flare as his shield starts to crack and turn from gold to blue. The orc's eyes widen, apparently no one has ever been able to deal enough damage to hurt his barrier before. I continue to unload my energy beam for its duration and I am finally able to crack and shatter his golden barrier. I fall down slightly as the barrier is no longer protecting the orc. I keep him pinned under my shield and Rachel pounces on him and starts to strike him in the head with her branch. There is a loud crack and a thudding vibration. Either it was the branch or a skull. The wetness that splatters on my cheek a few hits later tells me it was the latter.
Your party has slain another competitor in honorable combat, you are awarded 100x2 experience, 50x2 honor points and 8x2 orange sigils.
You have been awarded with 40 Iron I Tokens and 500 experience for your victory.
Your opponent was ranked higher than you. You have earned the achievement Goliath. You are granted 100 honor points as a reward.
Congratulations you have survived your first Gate War. You have earned the achievement Gate Wars I. You are granted 100 honor points as a reward.
You will be transported back to your world in thirty seconds.
I push off the orc beneath me to stand up and this starts the looting process. He drops his dagger, 247 credits and 5 red sigils.
Poisoned Dagger: Durability 46/50 Hardness 4. Once per day this dagger can release a poison upon contact.
The dagger is small enough to fit in my inventory. We can split up the loot and credits when we travel back to Denver. I take a look at Rachel, she appears to be uninjured. If her healing power was less amazing, she would be injured. I know her leg was bleeding only a few minutes ago. I pick up the sword that I dropped. I start to laugh and hug her. We survived.
"Will, this..." Rachel starts to tell me something when I feel a lurching sensation in my stomach. I see the familiar streaks of light and I am transported out of the world.
Chapter 7
When I stop moving, I find myself in my Whitespace again. I pull up my interface and I see an up arrow in the upper left-hand side. I click the icon and the menu holding my abilities appears. This was the icon that let me upgrade my ability traits. I take a look at each of my abilities and the red traits and green traits are glowing. The interface indicates, I have enough sigils to upgrade red and green. I review each of my abilities to see what I can upgrade. I do not want to make a rash choice.
Energy Beam (Active): Create a beam of electromagnetic energy from your hands+. Energy beam contains 10 units of power for up to 2 seconds+. Siphon 1 unit from your personal aether to add 0.5 units of power to your energy beam. Cooldown 10 seconds+.
Hardy (Passive): Your skin, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and bones temper and are more resilient. In addition 0 units+ of force and 1 unit of electromagnetic energy of every impact is redirected into your personal aether+.
I absolutely want to improve my green trait on Energy Beam. I could improve the cooldown and having a smaller cooldown can prove critical in any battle. I decide to upgrade Energy Beam with the red trait as well, hoping it will improve the power it can dish out. This will make my best attack even better, but I will have to be careful I do not become a one trick pony.
Energy Beam (Active): Create a beam of electromagnetic energy from your hands. Energy beam contains 10 units of power for up to 3 seconds. Siphon 1 unit from your personal aether to add 0.5 units of power to your energy beam. Cooldown 9 seconds.
Improving the green trait does improve the cooldown, but the red trait only increased the duration not the maximum power. This clears all the notifications. I turn around and explore the black panel. Now the circle shows three icons instead of two. There is still the gavel and the Spartan helmet, but now a third picture of the twisted gate with a portal open is on the circle. I click on the new icon and I read the message.
Welcome to the Gate Store.
Dimensional Tent I - 200 Iron I Tokens
Poisoned Dagger - 100 Iron I Tokens
Universal Antidote - 150 Iron I Tokens
Retractable Club - 100 Iron I Tokens
Helm of Disguise - 150 Iron I Tokens
Enchantment Rune I - 100 Iron I Tokens
Experience Potion I - 50 Iron I Tokens
Orange Sigils x 10 - 375 Iron I Tokens
Guard Pillow - 50 Iron I Tokens
Everlasting Deodorant - 100 Iron I Tokens
Time to Replenishment 68:17:56
Force Replenishment 100 honor points
Some very interesting items in the Gate Store. I find the everlasting deodorant intriguing. I can't predict when grocery stores will be open again, and something like that will make my life just a little bit more normal. However, in the upper right-hand corner of the screen is the number forty. I only have forty Iron I Tokens, so everything in the Gate Store is too pricey for me. I exit out of the Gate Store and open up the Honor Exchange. In the right-hand corner is the number 535, so that is how many honor points I have.
Welcome to the Honor Exchange.
Experience Potion I - 125 honor points
Array Unlock Scroll - 300 honor points
Scale Armor Chest Piece - 1575 honor points
Energy Blaster - 250 honor points
Folding Shield - 300 honor points
Red sigil x 15 - 1125 honor points
Credits x 500 - 100 honor points
Everlasting Water Bottle - 65 honor points
Kinetic Dagger - 250 honor points
Green sigil x 25 - 750 honor points
Credits x 2500 - 480 honor points
Dimensional Satchel - 5050 honor points
Time to Replenishment 15:17:04
Force Replenishment 100 honor points
The items have not updated since I saw them earlier this morning. Since I had already purchased the Folding Shield, it was crossed out. Since I already had an everlasting water bottle from the skaters, I know I do not need to purchase that. The credits are in my price range, but I decide before I commit to anything, I want to explore the auction house. There isn't anything jumping out at me in the honor store. I open up the auction house and look for something to purchase in the top right corner is number 704. I come across things I want to buy without much effort, but without a point or a purpose with my spending, I am just sort of browsing.
Gambeson of Protection Durability 100/100 Hardness 7. Redirects 2 units of force into your personal aether. 10,000 credits.
Leg Guards of the Manticore Durability 50/50 Hardness 6. Grants wearer immunity to poisons. 40,000 credits.
Shoulder Plates of Stone Durability 200/200 Hardness 14. Double the durability and hardness. 8,500 credits.
Enchant Rune IV. Add a random enchantment to an item. 50,000 credits.
How can people afford the things in the auction house? It makes some sort of sense that things are expensive. People who would post these kinds of powerful items would have something better equipped. They would have to be a higher level and have way more killing under their belt. They probably have millions of credits. I am about to give up on the auction house too, when a thought strikes me. I have that Plasma gun, maybe I can find a way to repair it. Hopefully, any way to repair it will be enough of a commodity that the price will not be ridiculous.
Repair Scroll x10 Repairs one item to full durability. 2500 credits.
Repair Scroll x5 Repairs one item to full durability. 1250 credits.
Repair Scroll x1 Repairs one item to full durability. 300 credits.
What a rip off, charging me more to buy just one. I guess that is supply and demand for you. The people that can only afford one, have to pay a premium. I sigh and click to purchase it.
You have obtained a Repair Scroll. It has been stored in your inventory.
I remove the plasma gun and repair scroll from my inventory and focus on using the scroll on the gun. The scroll burns brightly and starts to disintegrate. A purple glow surrounds the gun and the bent barrel starts to straighten out. There are also minor dings and dents that magically reform and I am left with a gun that is looking brand new.
Plasma Gun: Durability 75/75. This weapon recharges using ambient Mana at a rate of 1 shot every 10 minutes. The power cell can hold 7 charges. Charges 6.
I could use this for when my Energy Beam is on cooldown. It would still allow me to be effective from range. However, I did not keep this for me. Flashes of Rachel on her back scrambling from the orc flood my vision. This weapon will be for her. She needs an Ulterian weapon if we are going to complete in these Gate Wars. Though, with that orc the plasma gun wouldn't have helped, that golden barrier could take a beating. I wonder at the ability the orc was using to generate that golden barrier. I wish there was some way to find out all the different abilities people have. It would be nice know more about the system and to be able to create a build, maybe even plan out my progression. Since I could afford the repair scroll without converting my honor to credits, I decide not to purchase anything with my honor. The only item I would have wanted was the energy blaster and the plasma gun fit that need. With nothing else to purchase, and nothing left to upgrade, I exit the screen, open the door and leave my Whitespace.
I feel the familiar lurch in my stomach and I appear in one of the office rooms of the Capitol building. I wonder why they would put me back in some random room. Without electricity, the room is pitch black. I keep bumping into a big table and many chairs. This must be a conference room. I eventually find the door and open it. The door opens into an empty hallway. I keep walking down the hallway until I reach the lobby with the Gates. There is still a line of people going out the door. Everyone wants an opportunity to compete. I glance around and I don't see Rachel. So, I head outside and find her standing at the bottom of the steps to the Capitol building. I bring out the gun and people shy away from me. Even if it is an alien gun, they know what a gun looks like and even if abilities don't work in non-aggression zones, guns still work. I hold out the gun to Rachel.
"Rachel, I have a present for you," I say, handing over the gun.
"Plasma gun, I will have to become a better markswoman if I am going to use this effectively. I have a surprise for you. I leveled up from the war!"
"You leveled? That's awesome! What was your second ability? How did linking modify them?"
"My second ability is Scan; it is an active ability which is sort of like echolocation. That orc snuck up on me and attacked me with his dagger. If I had had this ability, I would have seen him coming. Scan has limited range, but it works wonders, the cooldown is only 2 seconds so, as long as I spam the ability, I am almost constantly aware of everything within thirty yards of me. Takes some getting used to. My challenge was fun though, I had to do an obstacle course with the lights off. I did pretty good, top 45%."
"That's amazing Rachel! If you can keep yourself safe, I am all for your new ability. How did Arrays change your abilities?"
"I can focus my scan on a biological creature to identify problems in their systems, only broken bones and tissue damage right now, the same things I can heal."
"Cool, I bet that will be helpful with healing."
"Oh, for sure, my healing ability got a new addition that I target focus my heals more precisely, and greatly increases my energy efficiency. Using the scan first to find the damage and then use a targeted heal takes a little longer, but if we aren't in a pinch, that is what I will be doing," Rachel starts to look a little hesitant, which is uncharacteristic considering we just won our first Gate War. "Will, we have a problem. I told you I can scan biological creatures now. Well, I scanned myself, and I have some tissues damage in my leg. I tried healing it and it goes away only to come back a few seconds later. I can't heal the damage."
"Your leg? What happened to your leg?"
"That's where I got cut by the green guy's dagger. Will, my healing isn't working."
"Dagger, you mean this dagger?" I pull out the Poisoned Dagger and hold it out to her. She nods. "This isn't good Rachel. This dagger can inject a poison once per day. I bet you were poisoned."
"I've been poisoned?"
"Yes, the poison from the dagger must be the poison that is causing the damage."
"The damage is spreading. Slowly, but it is spreading. If this keeps up, I don't know how long I can make it before the damage is destroys too much"
"Is there any way to cure it? Do you think we could go to the hospital?"
"They won't be able to do anything. I am suffering from an alien poison, Will, the likes of which no one has ever seen. The only hope is an alien cure and I don't know where to find one."
"The Universal Antidote! In the Gate Store, there was a Universal Antidote that costs only 150 Iron I Tokens; we could have that in three battles. We can do three more battles."
"Universal Antidote? My Gate Store didn't have a Universal Antidote. Are you sure it will cure me?"
"I don't know if the antidote will work, but it is an alien cure and the best shot we have. What is the harm in trying?" Rachel nods a look of worry and relief across her face. "Hold on, you didn't have the Universal Antidote in your store?" She replies no. "That means the Gate Store items are not the same for everyone, which means the list is random."
"Yeah so what?"
"There is only 68 hours until my store resets. If my store resets and I lose the antidote, then we will have no hope. Rachel, we need to fight and win three more battles in the next 68 hours, or you might die." We both look over at the line to the Gates and it winds its way out of the Capitol building halfway across the park. Determination fills me. I cannot lose Rachel to this. I grab her hand. "What do you say, you up for another one?"
A E Williams, Upheaval
