As the sniper tried to jerk himself away, Alan thrust the knife into the sniper’s chest as the laser knife ran out of power. Following Eve's aim, Alan managed to penetrate the heart, and the soldier died in seconds even as he managed to throw Alan off of him.
Panting, Alan stared down at the body and rubble as a string of messages popped up.
x10 Bonus XP for slaying an enemy over 100 levels higher while you’re under level 100, taking 0 damage in the process!
x14 Level up!
Gained over 10 levels with one kill! +10 bonus ability points
The soldier had been over a hundred levels higher… how had Alan even managed to kill him? Eve chimed in.
As I mentioned earlier, items are often more important than levels. Additionally, in order to avoid detection he had his energy shields turned off. While we were able to detect where the laser shots came from, that was only due to my unique capabilities, and the fact that I am actually capable of slowing down your perception of time, essentially speeding up the rate at which your brain processes information. Additionally, as a sniper most of his abilities, items and stats are most likely dedicated to long range fighting. As we were up close and personal, we were able to take him out.
All right, well, good job.
Alan smiled as he walked over to the body, excited to see the loot the sniper dropped. It seems as though most of the sniper’s items had been bound, but he dropped his sniper rifle, which was all Alan cared about.
Reaper’s Scythe (Rank B):
A powerful, high-damage plasma sniper rifle developed by Reaper Industries. With a high critical multiplier and shots of plasma capable of evaporating multiple enemies, reap your enemies on the battlefield. As a weapon of war, this item has changed hand countless times.
Damage/sec: 425-500 x8 Multiplier on headshots
150 Energy, 5 Energy/shot, 25 Energy/min regen.
74/150 Durability. Energy Ranged Weapons (Basic) and Sniping (Basic) required.
Energy Ranged Weapons (Intermediate), Sniping (Intermediate), Energy Efficiency (Basic) recommended.
Drops upon death.
Unfortunately, Alan still needed the Energy Ranged Weapons skill to wield it effectively, but he was sure he’d be able to buy the skill with the over 88 ability points he had to spend on skills. Unlike most games, which required you to meet strict requirements before you could even wield a high-level weapon or item you acquired, the Game allowed players to still use these items even if they didn't meet the requirements. Instead, it would inflict severe penalties on the weapons, from decreased damage and energy to a higher likelihood the item would break. The fact that the rifle would drop upon death was also disappointing.
As Alan rummaged around the room, searching for additional items, Eve told him, Incoming targeted transmission. Do not respond. Whoever is on the other side will be able to hear whatever you say aloud.
“James? What’s your status!? We have reports of some sort of building collapse, and you aren’t responding in the party chat.”
Alan, thinking he’d be clever, said aloud, in his best evil villain voice, “The Legion of Man leave no survivors!” Eve shouted into his mind, NO.
“What!? Who is that? AI389, cross examine that voice with our database.”
A mechanical voice said, “Examining… Match found.”
Not sitting around to hear anymore Alan raced outside of the building, invisible. He scrambled down the escape ladder then continued running back towards the base. Glancing behind him, he saw a military jeep approach the building he’d left. Thinking he was in the clear, Alan continued to run along, back to the base, when a message popped up.
The Survival Test: Round 2
Antagonizing the locals is never a good idea! As a result of a member of your group’s actions, the local United World Government has determined you are hostile. Capture their base at Fort Point before you are overrun.
It was shortly followed by:
Second Wave: Initiate United World Government Marines, Avg Lvl 50
Enemies remaining: 200
Time until reinforcements: 2:32:08
Alan winced. The others definitely weren’t going to be happy, but he’d gotten 15 levels and an awesome weapon, right?
You will most likely be determined an enemy of the United World Government, a wanted terrorist, Eve sent.
Oh.
Chapter 6
Alan sprinted away from the sniper’s nest, swearing all the while, cursing whatever idiotic rules governed the game. How had they identified him by his voice, when he was deliberately speaking with an accent? As he began to tire, Alan deactivated his armor's invisibility field once he was about a half mile away. It only had 100 energy left, enough energy to deflect a single shot or keep him invisible for 20 minutes.
I may have overestimated the gravity of the situation, Eve said.
Oh?
Yes, according to your status window you now simply have a “Disliked” reputation with the United World Government, which means they will not kill you on sight. Of course, the company of soldiers that are about to attack the base are an exception.
Alan opened up his character screen as he jogged, and saw this was true. Similar to most other games, his status window included a reputation screen under the heading Faction Standings. This would help him keep track of his current status with all of the various factions he met. It would also let him know how much any of his actions angered or pleased a certain faction. He brought up the screen to check if what Eve said was true.
Faction Standings
United World Government:
Disliked
Predecessors:
Unfriendly
Legion of Man:
Neutral*
Lords of Life:
Neutral
Haxlards:
Neutral
Administrators:
Friendly
Factions which will attack you on sight will be displayed with a (Hostile) tag. No factions are currently hostile, Eve continued. As we build a reputation with certain factions others may become hostile though. You were detected so easily because it is much simpler to determine the perpetrator of actions in the Game; it only requires various in-game skills. For instance, a player could determine simply from the room and death marker left behind a description of the killer, perhaps even their username.
Death marker?
Any dead player leaves behind a death marker, noting where they died. Only people with specialized classes and skills may interact with these markers, either removing them, inspecting them for information or even potentially reviving the player. From what I understand, when a player dies they return to their Home, and until they choose to respawn or be revived their death marker remains active.
All right, but how did the government identify me?
It is fairly common to identify players by their voice, but that means they had a previous recording. Perhaps it was taken at the trading hub, or even the military base we were first teleported to. Special skills are required to hide your identity when attacking another player. A relatively common class capable of such feats is an Assassin.
Hmmm, was there much about classes in the information you downloaded? Alan was curious about how much the Game lined up with traditional role-playing games. Usually, a player's class determined what sort of abilities or items they could wield, a designation of a person's role within the game. Usually, players selected a class that fit their play-style.