The days passed quickly, and he learned a lot from the armorers and engineers as they logged in and out. Getting new skills made things feel a bit better, since he wasn’t gaining experience. He chose to keep his Tinkerer skill to himself, only pulling out his tools to modify his gear when he was alone. He left his service rifle and survival pistol alone, only working on the items that the others gave to him.

He managed to convince them to give him a new suit piece and gun. They didn’t want to waste resources on someone who wasn’t going to join their cause permanently, but Mason made sure to tell them to make him something, so he didn’t immediately die when he was sent on his mission.

Free States Light SMG

Common

SMG

Damage: 10-12

Durability: 12/12

Range: 20 meters

Ammo: 20(15)

He had been confused about the ammo count on his weapons, and they explained to him that the first number was how many shots each individual energy cell would shoot, and the number in the parenthesis was how many energy cells he had available in the weapon. He chose to leave the SMG alone, so he could have a rapid-fire weapon, compared to his high-damage single-shot pistol, and the semi-auto mid-damage rifle. His torso and legs were now not covered in a worn-down second-hand space suit, instead he was clothed in a heavy-duty canvas material, like a mechanic’s jumpsuit. He had an under layer which was not something he could remove or tinker with, so he put it out of his mind.

Free States Jumpsuit

Common

Suit

Armor: 2

Durability: 18/18

Special Effects

Improves the outcome of repairs by 5%

Overall Logan was pretty happy with what he was able to get, if a little sad that his tinkering ability didn’t amount to much yet. He didn’t have a way to generate skill platforms that he would be able to modify, but he figured he would become an Engineer when he got to level five. His Tinkerer skill would be able to create devastating autonomous weapons platforms that would keep him safe.

Name: Logan

Level: 4

Class: None

Subclass: None

Species: Human

Strength: 10 Health: 230/230 Health Regen: 1 /sec

Vitality: 10 Armor: 2

Dexterity: 13 Stamina: 290/290 Stamina Regen: 1.6 /sec

Agility: 16 Endurance: 1

Intellect: 11 Psi Focus: 210/210 Psi Focus Regen: 1 /sec

Willpower: 10 Shield: 0

Skills:

Tinkerer - Level MAX

Allows the user to access alternate functions for items and abilities.

Astro Pilot - Level 1

Increases speed and maneuverability of star ships by 1%.

Pistoleer - Level 1

Increases damage by 2%.

Forced March - Level 1

Stamina drain reduced by 1% during long treks on foot.

General Engineer - Level 3

Items created by you will be 6% more powerful.

Armorer - Level 2

Weapons and Armor can be repaired by 4% before permanent damage occurs.

Logan was pretty happy with his progress so far. He liked that in addition to the skill gains, his Intellect went up by 1. He wasn’t exactly sure how, but it didn’t matter at the moment. He was sitting in the mess hall, sipping at a cup of what the VR world called coffee, but the smell and taste were significantly muted. He kept a hand on the mug while he kept his eyes closed, trying to catalog everything that had happened over the last week. He’d have to log out soon, to try to make an appointment to talk to his doctors, but he was having too much fun learning new things.

Meghan, followed by Pat and Jones, came out of the bunk room. They saw the contented Logan relaxing in a chair and took the other chairs around the table. They didn’t often get to hang out in the bunker, as a scout squad they were often assigned to keep eyes on the outposts the militia had set up in the wastes. It was boring work, and sometimes they took their frustrations out on a few of the lone guards, much like Logan had done to the poor guy he fought briefly. The group didn’t like being stuck here, but until the blockade that the Free States had set up was broken, no new player could advance out of the tutorial star cluster without joining them. Sometimes they thought about joining just to get past it, but the taxes that were imposed, as well as the required service to the militia, was more than enough to make anyone shy away if they had any other choice.

Mason burst through the door to his office, laughing loudly and greeting the rebels he passed by on his way to the table where Logan and the group sat. He pulled up an extra chair and heavily plopped himself down, the chair creaking under his weight. He pulled up a map in his menu and pressed the button on the window to share it. “Great news, team! I was able to move some things around and the four of you will be going together into the nest!” He pointed to a cave symbol a few miles away, a large smile overtaking the normal scowl he wore.

Logan finally opened his eyes and looked at the map. He took a sip of his coffee and nodded. “Why is this group being sent with me, I thought they were scouts?” He wasn’t upset about the choice, since they were the ones who brought him here. He knew that the armorers and engineers preferred to stick to the bunkers or HQs if possible, because the devourers were a nasty enemy to fight if there was more than a couple. He hadn’t met any of the soldiers, even though a few had popped into the bunker, as they preferred to get their gear fixed, boost a couple of stats with food, and head back out to get more experience.

Mason laughed again, ignoring the uncomfortable looks the scouts were giving him. “That’s easy; they brought you in, so they’re responsible for you. We also won’t need scouts anymore if we can get the gear drops from the devourers more consistently, which is the primary reason you’re being sent it. They have a chance to drop armor which is pretty strong if you can collect a whole set. We also know that they have a hidden set bonus, but we haven’t figured out how to unlock it yet, so we’re hoping that if we have more sets to experiment with, we’ll be able to figure out how.” He seemed pretty pleased with himself, but it was basically just a repetitive farming run he wanted to send them on. Logan wasn’t sure why the other leaders didn’t want this plan to go forward, but he stopped asking questions when he worked out his deal with Mason.

Jones, however, seemed less than pleased. “We’re not soldiers, we don’t do well in direct combat, Mason.” He pointed to Meghan, Pat, and then himself. “Scout, scout, engineer. Sure, they can sneak and deal extra damage when conditions are right, and I can bring some extra firepower to the table with my turrets, but we can’t take hits very well. We also don’t have a good way to heal ourselves if things go wrong, so there’s also that, if you had forgotten.” Meghan and Pat seemed like they agreed with his main points, quietly nodding along as he spoke.

Mason’s smile slowly slid back into a scowl. Hard eyes stared at Jones for a minute of uncomfortable silence. “Jones, while you make good points, I believe in you. There’s also the fact that the respawn timer is shorter when you’re in dungeons, so if the worst should happen, you’ll be back in the action pretty quickly. We can’t spare anyone else, which is the other reason your group is being sent, so you’re either going to suck it up and go, or Logan is going in alone.” Those words hung in the air as a challenge. They all knew that Logan wouldn’t be able to survive on his own against a devourer. Most of the rebels could only bring them down by ambush or by overwhelming firepower, and even then, their carapace was capable of shrugging off most damage.

Pat chose to respond, putting a hand on Jones’ arm. “We’ll do it, but we’ll want some new gear if we’re going into a cramped cave with devourers. Our service rifles aren’t great for piercing them, and we can’t hit their necks if we can’t get around them in the tunnels. Would that help, Jones?” She turned as she asked her question, receiving a nod in response. Meghan also nodded to Mason, showing that she’d rather go along than send in a new player to die on his own. Logan was thankful for that, since he knew that’s exactly what would happen; his inevitable death, over and over again. Just like what the Free States promised if he didn’t join them.

—

The group walked through the dusty forest once more, headed to the devourer nest that the rebels had kept secret from the militia. Jones was happily carrying a new shotgun, and the pair of scouts had new heavy duty marksman rifles that were proven to break through the armor on the devourers. They weren’t perfect, and they didn’t always work, but it happened more than it didn’t so it was a good balance of damage to cost, which is what Mason was worried about. Logan was able to get a couple of extra packs of ammo, so he had spares for how long they were expected to stay in the tunnels. He didn’t ask for more gear, though, since he had gotten his while everyone was sleeping or otherwise busy in the real world.

Jones and Pat took the forward position while Meghan and Logan kept eyes behind them. They arrived at the small base without much incident, very little to threaten them in the dead forest this far away from the cities. The base was a simple affair; three small buildings next to a cliff, where a hole had been covered up with scrap metal and wood, a door set neatly into the middle. As they approached, a pair of people exited one of the buildings. Their suits were western themed, like Mason’s, but Logan couldn’t tell much about the people inside of them.

The pair motioned for the group to follow back into the building they came from, and once inside, they were sat at a table in a small dining room. Once the helmets came off, the pair were introduced as Tony and Wendy. Both around their 30’s, they were only working with the rebels to help break the militia’s hold on the system, like every other player they’ve met. Wendy motioned to access her menu and the group collectively glazed their eyes over. They had received a friend request.

NebulousWindy has sent you a friend request. Accept? Y/N

Logan hadn’t used the social features yet, so this was a new screen. It took a few moments to realize that her username and the name she gave weren’t the same. He figured other people did what he chose not to; input a normal gamertag as if it was any other game. He chose to accept, happy to have at least one friend in this world, at least on paper.

“That’s to make sure that I can keep track of you. If you die, you’re name will become grey, and I’ll know to head to the entrance to make sure you’re doing alright.” Wendy explained. It made sense to Logan, so he opened his social menu and sent requests to his group. They had funny looks on their faces when they saw his request pop up.

Meghan looked at him. “Logan, did you just put your name as your username?” That confirmed his suspicions.

“Yeah, I didn’t think about it too hard, the game just asked for a name and I didn’t want to walk around a VR world with some goofy name floating over my head.” He was a little embarrassed, but was confident his decision was the right one, considering his circumstances. They all accepted his request, and Meghan sent another one back to him. A party request, finally bringing up more UI when he accepted this next and currently final request that had been passed around.

The others made some jokes about their own usernames compared to how they introduced themselves, and the group enjoyed the short time of joy before plunging themselves into a deep dark cave of danger and death.