I nod, happy that we concur and make the selection. Sorry Randy, guess I’m taking over your place. If you are alive, I’ll apologise in person. That done, I also make a quick payment on a rush basis to bring the integrity of the location back to 100% which fixes all the doors. It’s amusing watching the System take care of it as the doors shimmer and then reappear, fixed and brand new. Much more convenient than doing it myself.
“Where to now boy-o?” Ali asks.
“Got to get my rifle back,” I make sure the doors are locked before I roll the bike out, the sun still shining with its cheerful brightness. I grimace, pulling up a clock and realise it’s nearly time for dinner. Damn midnight sun.
“Jim!” I wave to the Elder, having parked the bike around the corner from the school on 5th street. Not as many people roaming by and while it’s out of sight for me, Ali can sense it and I can easily call it to me through the Neuro Link. The helmet I stow in its band form around my neck, finally giving up on acting like it’s a normal helmet.
“Ah, John,” he comes over to shake my hand before he unslings the rifle from his shoulder and hands it back to me a tad reluctantly. “That is a powerful weapon.”
“Yup and…” I shut up, my brain kicking in before I finish the sentence if you get me a pouch of tobacco and your daughter it’s yours. Not appropriate.
“And…?” Jim says.
“Uh… there’s a basic version of one like it for around 500 Credits in the Shop. If you skip getting the upgrades, it’s pretty decent,” I reply, quickly backpedalling.
At the mention of the System, Jim scowls, “The rifle came in handy. We had to fight off this 3 legged, furred creature that was eating the bear. Couldn’t save all the bear meat, but it more than made up for it.”
“Good! What’d you get for the loot?” I grin at him, curious.
“…” Jim pauses, speaking slowly. “Loot?”
“Shit. No one told you about that?” I wince, wondering how much they must have missed.
“Not as if you knew either noob,” Ali points out helpfully.
“Put your hand on your next kill, or whoever does the kill, and think Loot. The System will let you grab some items that can be sold for Credits in the Shop,” I explain and then add. “You can still use the meat that’s left, it just gives you a small portion of the creature. That’s how I skinned the bear.”
Every time I mention the System, Jim scowls. I can understand not liking the world we are in or the damn scam that it is, but the way he acts, it’s pure spite. It’s not as if the System cares if we loot a body or not, “Try it the next time. You’ll need to get new weapons soon, unless you want to try killing things with spears when you run out of bullets.”
Jim’s grimace is enough to let me know I’ve gotten through to him. I nod a goodbye to him saying, “Alright, I guess I should try some of this food…”
He nods, gesturing me into the building itself and I head over, surveying the grounds for more familiar faces. In the school, only a small walkway is available as people sit, squat and rest, marking out where they will be sleeping tonight. A few questions has me directed to the cafeteria, most watching me with wary or curious eyes.
The serving tables are set-up in the cafeteria itself, people streaming in and out as they get food before most of them leave for less crowded environs, the close-packed quantities of unwashed humanity a bit much on the senses. Everything is dirty, dishevelled and demoralised; many just sitting down without a goal. No electricity means no easy entertainment or ability to use a million, billion electronic distractions that we have come to rely on, and until more buildings are purchased, safe zones are at a premium.
I stand in line and wait my turn, eyeing the portions doled out. The stew is mostly water with some slivers of meat and vegetables in it. Considering I lost my backpack and all my rations to a dragon and someone had already raided my house, I don’t have a lot of other options at this time. I’ll have to look into purchasing some food from the Shop the next time, but for tonight, this works.
A part of me wants to be among humanity, unwashed and demoralised as they are. The press of humanity, the closeness of people is something that I hadn’t realised I missed until I met up with Richard and his crew. It’s not easy for most, shifting from a peaceful lifestyle to dealing with the System and its monsters and I can see more than one person being comforted as they suddenly break down crying or just stop, staring into space. I’m mostly a stranger here, having only arrived a few months ago so I have no true ties to the community, not like many here who have lost friends, family and co-workers in days. Whitehorse has always been a small town, so everyone has lost someone.
I grab the bannock, flashing the server a smile and getting a blush back before I go looking for butter, not finding any. Stew and bannock it is then and I head for the doors, hoping for some fresh air. I catch more than one glance, a few looks filled with hope which is quickly dashed. Outside, I find an empty spot and continue people watching as I mull over the future.
What happens to us now? Traditionally, the First Nations hunted for their for meat but with such a large group, that probably won’t help in the long run, not to mention that many of the hunting grounds are at least an hour away. We’re lucky this is in mid-April, giving us the option of getting more plants into the ground, but there is no way for us to actually plant all the food the town will need. No more food from the south means the winter will be brutal, not unless we can find another source of supplies. That means we need the System and all the ability to buy and sell in the Shop - which means not pissing off Lord Roxley.
It’s not a nice conclusion especially since it seems like he’s just another vulture, dropping onto the still twitching corpse of Earth but it is what it is. I wonder how many of these others are seeing that, thinking that far ahead? For that matter, why am I? I’ve never been much for this kind of thinking before.
“Ali, those increases in Intelligence. Are those things making me plan and think further?”
“Yeah, sort of,” Ali shrugs, turning away from trying to look down a nearby lady’s blouse. “It’s a bit hard to pinpoint the changes, but sort of. When you increase your level or your base stats, there are two effects. The first is, of course, your increase in your Mana pool which the System adjusts for you. The second is a change in your brain, allowing you to process and understand data better and then eventually process that data into information, to put things together into concrete ideas and plans, especially in unexpected ways. That’s the physical side, the thing that makes you, you.”
“So, what, I’m smarter than Einstein now?”
“Ein… who? Look, you weren’t a complete Goblin before. But you’ve also mostly been fighting and running so your increases have mostly been focused in that area. You’re faster and smarter at fighting, not at solving world peace. However, there’s also side benefits like your ability to plan and think about things, at comprehending information.”
I grunt, mopping up the last of the food. That’s frightening, that the System - that Mana is changing me so directly. It’s also just as scary thinking what someone who specialises or puts all their points into Intelligence would be like. What else is the System changing without me knowing? The more I learn about the System, the less I like it.
As I stand, I realise that the group of children playing in the corner are doing so with some mini-ponies masquerading as dogs. On a whim, I walk over, depositing the bowl in a nearby tray. Lana gives me a hug when she spots me, Mikito offering me a slight nod. Richard seems to be missing, but that’s okay as I view the two ladies in turn, both of them having obviously found a washbasin somewhere to clean up the worst of the dirt and blood. Mikito looks at first glance to be doing fine, stoic and calm, but little signs show she’s on the edge. Fingers trembling ever so slightly, a twist in the mouth when no one is looking.