Timothy Nugent Author
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Chapter 5 - Upgraded
🕑 Added 2024-07-01 13:39:28 +0000 UTCWhile he waited, still concealed from any eyes, for the nanomachines to finish enhancing his body, he passed the time with an examination of his logs.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 202,371 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 210,579 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 202,207 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 102,799 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 104,002 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 99,442 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 97,801 nano.
You have killed a young goblin. For your effort, you have received 101,502 nano.
Holy shit!
There could be only one explanation for such a large gain, the title, Scion of Humanity, worked retroactively.
Do any of the other titles work the same?
He could not recall any discussion of the phenomenon, so concluded it was unique to the coveted title.
Normally, he would have to clear an entire scenario before he would be granted that amount of nano. Of course, in his past, it would be split four ways among his group members as there was no way he would attempt to solo clear a portal.
Seriously, what was wrong with all those Scions? This is such a boost!
Once a combat class was purchased, the scenario’s difficulty increased. You began to face creatures who had access to the four types of magic with higher level attributes. In order to safely complete them, it was generally accepted that you needed access to all four magic types within your group. Without them, you would eventually encounter magic that you could not counter nor defeat.
Almost everyone he knew had a single combat class, which gave access to a single type of magic. In what he was beginning to think of as his ‘past life’, Blake had chosen the Chi. As he focused on fighting, rather than healing or enhancement of others, he liked to think of himself as a Chi Warrior. However, the Collective simply listed his class as ‘Chi User’.
The choice allowed him to use chi to enhance his body and affect others through touch. Each level, he was granted a single chi-based ability, which he could choose from a large list.
Higher the risk, higher the reward.
The opposite was also true. There was much less risk to a full group of four compared to fighting alone or with a single friend. It was also the reason the last five goblins he executed gave half the amount of nano that the first three did.
Killing a sleeping enemy was easy. The risk was in doing it quietly enough to not wake the others. If he had used a gun to kill them, it would have given him even less credit.
Firearms were one of the biggest reasons humanity progressed so slowly. They performed flawlessly for the first few levels. However, eventually, you ran across enemies that were either completely resistant to bullets or had ways of stopping them.
The Architect punished those who used such crutches heavily by massively reducing any nano earned.
As the nation with the highest amount of guns per capita, America was hindered the most by their use. With reduced nano rewards because of the low risk, it took years before most realized their error in their reliance on firearms. By then, it was too late.
I wonder how much nano I needed to gain to join the collective?
Before he bothered to review the math, he adjusted his interface so it divided all nano messages by a thousand and rounded the numbers. He knew that future purchases would require millions upon millions of nano. There was no reason to fill up his log with useless information. With far more streamlined reporting, he mentally added the gains together and subtracted what remained from the total.
Looks like about a million nano to join the Collective. Is that how much it’ll cost to share it with others? If so, that’ll get expensive REAL quick. It’ll be three million just for my family alone.
Blake dismissed the status and log and requested his list of directives. He shifted uncomfortably within his hiding place as the display filled his vision.
Directives -
Join or create a faction.
Complete a Combat Scenario.
Enhance an attribute.
Purchase a Combat Classification.
Learn a general skill.
Blake hoped to gain enough nano to enhance an attribute before he finished the scenario. If he successfully killed the inhabitants and was allowed to leave, he would complete the second directive as well. The first, fourth, and fifth directives, however, would require far more nano to achieve. It would most likely be months before he was able to complete them.
If his memory served him, a combat class required about a hundred million nano to acquire. With his Scion of Humanity title, and the other achievements he would likely gain, multi-classifications would actually become doable. Unfortunately, they required far more nano than the singular classes the vast majority would gain
In due time.
General skills required five million nano to purchase and could provide non-magical benefits. Normally, he would advise someone to immediately learn a weapon skill as soon as they acquired enough nano. However, he was already highly proficient with almost all weapons. He no longer needed the basic knowledge the skill provided him.
Time travel does have its benefits.
A small sound from the forest pulled him from his thoughts. He peered through the branches of his hiding place until he sighted a tiny rodent rustling through the prior year’s needles. He relaxed and returned to his planning.
There were one or two skills he would purchase, but they would not be needed for quite some time. He also required a faction and momentarily indulged himself with a vision of himself as its leader. The benefits it’s creation awarded him and his future faction members would be worth every nano. Even if it did require a billion of them.
He turned to tell Montgomery about the faction, sure the mana user would laugh and bow to him in humor. Then he remembered he was alone.
I need to find my friends.
His mind became filled with future plans as he realized the many tasks he would need to complete in order to accomplish his goals. Once more, he checked them off in his brain. Blake not only needed to complete enough scenarios to grow stronger himself, but he needed to create a faction, invite his family and others to join it, and begin the creation of a town as well.
He struggled to maintain his vigilance of the forest around him as he dreamed. Suddenly the entirety of the situation hit him.
Blake realized that he could save his entire family from their fates. His heart beat faster, and he smiled into the darkness. Not only would they be protected from the monsters unleashed upon the world, but once an alchemist was trained, his brother would be cured!
This time he would not have to struggle alone to survive, his family would be with him.
He immediately tempered his excitement. Unfortunately, the establishment of a faction city before Invasion day would require heavy financing. Society had yet to collapse, and he would have to place his new Collective sanctioned buildings somewhere.
I don’t just need money, I need a LOT of money.
Blake was not sure how much acreage cost, as civilization collapsed long before he was in a position to purchase any. However, he knew it would be tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and his family was currently broke. Momentarily sobered by the thought, he rotated to scan the forest behind him with a frown.
I’ll figure that out later, right now I need to focus on staying alive.
The attributes he gained from the First Kill achievement went a long way toward ensuring that happened. Yet, he still needed to be cautious. A single mistake could kill him, he had no one to fall back on in these scenarios.
Blake did not have Montgomery or Rajesh to support him with their assortment of spells, nor Jeff to step into the thick of things when he was overwhelmed.
He reminded himself that tens of thousands of people must have wandered into the invisible portals before Invasion day, yet only a few hundred survived.
However, unlike those first scenario survivors in his last life, he had his hard-earned fighting skills.
Let’s see how many are left.
Blake focused on the Combat Scenario and more information appeared before him. The expanded details noted that the scenario matched his level of power and was thirty-one percent complete. He had killed eight goblins so far, which meant eighteen remained. Disappointed, he realized with so few goblins in the scenario, it was unlikely he would gain enough nano to upgrade an attribute.
Blake opened the mapping feature included with the augmented reality system. The feature only functioned within a combat scenario and was extremely basic. It revealed a top-down view of the region, the boundary, and his current location.
Most of the map remained unexplored and grayed out. A marker lay near the center and indicated his entry point. The areas he had traveled were displayed in a blurry splotch of color. However, as it was night, he could not see far, and a much smaller area was revealed to reflect that fact.
He had traveled northwest, almost to the scenario boundary. From his experience, goblins separated themselves as far as possible, as they often quarreled. That meant that next he should travel southeast. While he examined the map, the collective notified him that his attribute enhancements were complete.
Finally!
Over the last hour, he had steadily felt stronger as the nanomachines upgraded his body. It was a gradual process, too slow to notice directly, but by the time it completed, he felt like a new man. Or, at least, closer to his old self.
Blake rose to his feet slowly and stretched his newly enhanced body. He performed a few katas with his chipped sword and enjoyed his renewed flexibility and strength. After he completed the familiar exercise, he was barely out of breath and his muscles were only slightly sore.
It’ll have to do.
Blake once again stalked through the dark forest as he searched for the next encampment of goblins. Unfortunately, despite the increased attributes, his progress slowed even further as he struggled to find his footing in the dim light. The two moons were no longer directly overhead, and without their copious illumination, he was forced to strain his eyes and test each step to ensure he did not trip or fall.
I miss my night vision.
One of the abilities he was granted through his old class was the capability to see in almost complete darkness. He could not count how many times he used that to his advantage. Of course, he mused, after he upgraded his race to the second tier at level twenty-five, it would become less useful. However, for years, it saved his and his group member’s lives.
For almost an hour, he crept along the forest floor, until he came upon the next grouping of enemies. In the distance, he sighted a small fire and angled himself toward it. When he approached the campfire, he found a band of five clustered around it. Three slept on the ground while two kept watch. Both green skinned goblins stared vacantly into the flames and listened raptly to the crackle and pop of the logs as they burned to cinder. Blake chuckled mentally at their error. The brightness of the flames would destroy their night vision.
The breeze switched and blew the smoke in his direction. He was forced to cover his face with his jacket to filter out the fumes and keep himself from coughing. When the wind carried the pall away, he wiped the tears away from his irritated eyes and focused on the two guards, careful to not allow the fire to ruin his own night vision.
My Physical Resistance still isn’t high enough.
Simple things like smoke from a fire and stubbing his toe would continue to plague him until he raised his body’s resistance to over ten and became superhuman. Unless he focused entirely on physical resistance, it would be months before his body reached that level of toughness. That was especially true since he planned to siphon away large amounts of nano to form his own faction.
I can take them.
The two guards were completely blinded by the bright flames and seemed to be in a trance. Blake felt confident that he could kill both before the sleeping goblins could fully wake. He gently laid the baseball bat down and snuck forward with only his looted sword in hand. Unlike his last fight, he had no intention of assassinating the goblins as they slept. With his newly enhanced body, he should have no issues fighting three young goblins at once, especially now that he was armed with a sword.
He positioned himself a few feet away from the closest guard and then lunged forward while he chopped his blade to the side. Despite the chips on its single edge, the blade sliced deep into the goblin’s wiry neck. Blake followed through with the motion until he felt the resistance of its spine. A blood-curdling scream assaulted his ears as the stricken goblin desperately clutched at its gaping wound. Blake ignored it. Instead, he raised his sword arm again and rushed the final, shocked guard. It panicked and raised its empty arms before itself, desperate to block his attack.
His first swing cut the spindly, green skinned arms of the goblin. When it screamed in agony at the wound, he flowed behind it and spun his blade around toward the back of its neck. Blake grunted with effort as he put his full strength behind the maneuver. The metal lodged into its spine with a thump, and he was forced to tug hard on his weapon before it was released.
With the two guards dying, he rounded to face the three goblins which remained. Woken them from their slumber, they scrambled for their nearby weapons in a panic. Before the nearest goblin could rise to its feet and mount a defense, Blake rushed forward.
He slammed his sword’s blade into the closest goblins face. Unfortunately, the attack destroyed Blake’s weapon. The weak metal was already compromised, and the creature’s skull proved hardier than the damaged blade.
The fatally wounded goblin dropped its own spear as it wailed in agony and clutched at its face. With an injury so severe, Blake decided it was unlikely to remain in the fight, and he quickly snatched its abandoned weapon to use against his two last foes.
Unlike his previous battles, these two were prepared for his attacks. The momentary loss of his weapon gave the goblins the time needed to steel themselves for battle.
Blake thrust the spear forward at the goblin on his left to test its skill with the mace it brandished. As expected, the goblin swiftly parried his attack. He quickly retreated from the fire ring before the other was able to counter.
He hoped they would follow his ruse and not flee for reinforcements. Luckily, they were inexperienced and followed. He was not sure if they were overconfident in their abilities, or just dumb. Either way, it worked to his advantage.
The goblins yelled a battle cry and rushed forward as one. As they closed the distance, he leapt to the side and swept his spear across the closest goblins’ legs. The impact as its shins rammed into the wooden pole jarred him, and Blake barely held on to his weapon.
The sword wielding goblin fell forward onto its face, and Blake launched himself toward the lone defender. It frantically blocked another two thrusts, but backpedaled at his ferocity, tripped over a root, and fell to the ground.
Blake’s next attack met no resistance and pierced its eye. Confident that the goblin would soon be dead, he whirled around to his last enemy. The lone goblin regained its feet and cautiously approached him. Blake allowed the small humanoid to approach as he breathed deeply to catch his breath.
It tentatively swung its sword at him, however, Blake’s stamina had recovered and he easily blocked the attack. The sword bit into the wood of his spear and cut it in half. The surprised goblin faltered, and Blake grinned at his good luck. He discarded the wooden shaft and thrust the metal tipped end into the goblins’ unarmored chest.
The point easily pierced through the thin fabric of its shirt and slid between its ribs. It dropped its sword as it reeled from the mortal injury, and Blake exchanged his broken spear with the rusty weapon. He deftly grasped it in his hand and turned to finish off the final whimpering goblin.
