“So Mr Lee, you came from Whitehorse,” Constable Mike Gadsby says, his heavy Francophone accent taking me a moment to decipher. “Can you tell us about the state of the city? We have had no word.”
I nod and settle into a chair, getting ready for a long talk. We start out with Whitehorse and then I get a briefing on Carcross before we range back to the System. Once they realise I’m a fount of information, the kid takes over the conversation, sending probing and insightful questions my way. More than once Ali has to provide me with the answers to questions that the kid raises.
When the first message came, quite a few of the residents of Carcross had congregated at the RCMP’s office. That meant that when monsters spawned, there was much less ground to cover, allowing the RCMP to organise and protect them. In the meantime, it seemed the kid - Jason Cope - had convinced his Mum, Ms O’Keefe that he knew what he was talking about and then dragged her along on a monster hunt to ‘power-level’ themselves, picking on the various lower leveled monsters that cropped up. Working together with their neighbors, they quickly managed to not only level but work out the party system and proceed to sweep the surroundings repeatedly, keeping the residents safe and gaining experience constantly. When an initial monster horde had rushed the crowd, it was only the timely intervention by the O’Keefe’s that managed to keep the casualties to the minimum.
In the meantime, I learnt about the Party System in more detail. Seems it was both obvious and annoying, much like most of the System. I could make a party at any time with anyone I wanted, though I could only have one party. A party shared experience to some extent, but only if party members actively helped during a fight. The actual division of experience varied depending on the contribution offered and included damage done, healing or buffs provided or just general support. It seemed that disparate levels in the party meant that people gained experience in different ways and the System actually registered groups that moved together as unofficial Parties whether we wanted it to or not.
In addition, the other thing I picked up was that it was quite viable to increase levels outside of fighting if you were a non-fighter based class. Leveling in those cases focused on the development of their class skills, with increases in class skills providing experience that then increased their overall Levels. In addition, it seemed non-fighter characters seemed to gain Quests at a much faster rate which were mostly focused on developing those skills. It was one of the reasons for the levels I had seen as everyone worked on developing their skills and completing quests in Carcross to grow stronger. They had people working on the various Loot drops right now, making makeshift armor, weapons and even cooking using the materials. Amazingly enough, bodies that were worked by the proper Class could even generate additional materials over and above what the System gave. While they couldn’t keep the city itself safe from random spawning, everyone had leveled up enough that your average monster mutation was less of a danger.
We talk for hours; the ubiquitous meat stew and bannock being brought in while we continue the conversation. They probe me for more information continuously, pausing only when they learn of my time in Haines Junction to relay the news of the tragedy. By the time they’ve finished pumping me, it’s past midnight and darkness has finally fallen. I’m offered a place to stay which I take gratefully, happy to let someone else keep an eye out for potential trouble while I rest.
Chapter 10
“Interesting,” I look around the automotive shop that’s been turned into a community workshop, various residents already hard at work at their respective stations this early in the morning. I’m sipping on the coffee that’s been offered to me, eyeing what the crafters are up to. 4 of the workbenches seem to be devoted to armor making, 2 working on various insect carapaces and another 2 on leather. Another pair of benches seem to be creating makeshift melee weapons while the last is the most interesting, a broken-down energy rifle laid out next to a normal gunpowder rifle. Soldering irons and electronic equipment are laid out next to it.
“That’s mine,” Perry, my guide, waves to the bench I’m eyeing. “I’ve been focused on trying to replicate their laser guns, but haven’t had any luck. Got a level in Energy Weapons at least when I took it apart.”
Ali snorts floating above the disassembled weapon, “It’s like watching a monkey try to build a spaceship with a stick.”
“You probably need a few more levels,” I reply diplomatically. I’m still impressed, all things considered, and I shake Perry’s hand as I take my leave.
“Good. You’re still here,” Jason runs up to me, his gangly frame doing the weirdest run I’ve ever seen. He must have dumped all his stats into Willpower and Intelligence, he definitely isn’t doing anything for his Agility. Behind him, moving much slower is Gadsby who looks like he could use a couple more cups of coffee.
“Long night?” I enquire.
“Rough. We had another breakthrough – lost a couple more to a spiked creature that rolled right over our trenches,” Gadsby replies, grimacing. “It’s why we need to talk to you. We need to visit this Shop of yours. We need to make this a Safe zone, get better weapons and supplies.”
I feel a flash of guilt at that, remembering the weapons and armor I took off the Orcs. I pause for a second, a selfish, small ignoble part of me not wanting to give them the guns. I need money for better weapons, for better defenses, to fix Sabre for myself if I want to continue this stupidity of running around outside of town. Unfortunately, so do they.
“Nope. No way, not happening,” Ali floats in front of me and stares me in my face. “First rule of the System – no one gets anything for free.”
“People are going to die if we don’t help them,” I think back.
“I’ll deal with this you bleeding heart Qwixly,” Ali spins around and waves. “Alright you crazy humans. My man here picked up a few guns, some armor and some ant carapaces that you fashionable humans could easily use.”
“What the hell!” Gadsby pulls out a gun, pointing it at Ali and Jason just stands there staring before blurting out. “It’s a fairy!”
“Fuck you. Price just went up. I’m no fairy,” Ali glares at Jason, ignoring the gun completely.
After that start, Gadsby and Ali get down to haggling. Jason, on the other hand, pulls me aside to get a debrief on Ali, which I refuse to elaborate upon beyond the basics of the System. After a moment, I realise the two hagglers aren’t going to stop their haggling anytime soon.
“You mentioned that you send sweeper units to deal with the monsters out there?” I enquire of Jason, absently pulling out a chocolate bar from my inventory and breaking off a piece. I sigh and toss the other half to a kid that has magically appeared next to me, eyes wide.
“Yeah, why?” Jason frowns, moving to adjust his glasses which he no longer wears. He paws at his face for a moment before giving up.
“I’m not in the mood to listen to those two. I’d rather go kill something,” I answer and walk over to a corner, dumping out the weaponry and armour from my inventory. Once done, I repeat, “Let’s go.”
Jason blinks and then looks over to the two, “I’m not really supposed to go past the barrier without my mum or Gadsby.”
I just look at him, letting the teenager hear what he just said. After a moment, he grins wide. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Four hours later, we’re back for lunch, chatting happily. Hunting without Sabre and Ali is an interesting experience, one that makes me glad for my advantages. Once outside the barrier, Jason starts sneaking and I follow his lead. Most of the time, we spend hunting for trouble to get into and twice, he moves away from a fight. In reflection, I think we could have taken them but with no armor and no backup, our margin of error is much thinner. When we do attack, it’s from hiding and with overwhelming force, working to kill the creatures as quickly as and efficiently as possible. It’s also my first experience with a formal party and being able to watch Jason’s mana pool go down while he casts spells is quite an interesting experience. I kind of have to say though, I’m truly jealous at the ease that he wields his magic, changing from homing darts of blue energy to ice blasts and ivy chains without a thought. Of course, I could do without the waving hands and twisting fingers, but everyone has their own process. Truth be told, out there, he does most of the damage and I’m just there part of the mop-up operation.