The emerged from the shadowed interior of the basement with Red and Gideon carrying the portable generator between them. Mia took up the rear, examining her newly acquired bow distractedly.
“Human’s comin’ through!” Red bellowed as they approached the stairs and climbed towards the mess hall. “Keep your fingers off those triggers boys!”
It took a few minutes to negotiate their way through the barricade and out into the area beyond, at which point they placed the generator on the floor and received a round of applause for their trouble. Two burly soldiers promptly picked up the generator and carried it off as Book approached, checking his watch.
“Five minutes to spare,” he said as all three of their HUDs announced the completed mission.
MISSION COMPLETE: Pursuit of Power
You have successfully recovered the power generator and delivered it to Artemis Ministry personnel.
REWARD: 10 Enhancement Points
“I have good news,” Book continued as the trio followed him through the hallway and back to the room where Maddox and Bullseye were waiting. “The Chief Engineer has worked out what’s blocking your AIs from connecting to the Artemis System. You should soon be able to fully integrate.”
“Good!” Red barked. “I’m tired of getting knocked on my ass.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “You’re getting knocked on your ass because you’re not using your skills properly. You’re acting like a damage dealer instead of a tank. But even then you’re using your weapons the wrong way.”
“You’re kidding, right?” He replied, in mock offence. “You saw me in there. I crushed!”
“Got crushed more like,” she fired back. “You couldn’t even keep the enemies focused on you the whole time.”
“Whatever,” he said, waving her away. “Let’s just get hooked up to this damned System and then I’ll show you what I can really do. Get some of that ether stank on me and tune it up.”
That drew grins from Gideon and Mia as they followed Book into the armory, entering the room at the exact moment that laser beams appeared to be shooting out of the turtle’s eyes. A blast of energy shot from the little creature and struck the opposite wall, causing the paint to blister and the concrete to crack under the impact.
A moment later the beam of energy stopped and Gideon saw Maddox kneeling behind Bullseye, holding the turtle in one hand while she covered her eyes with sunglasses.
“Nice!” she said, nodding.
“What the actual fuck!” Red blurted, prompting Maddox and the turtle to turn and face them.
He promptly summoned his sword and held it up defensively.
“Don’t point those damned laser eyes at me you little demon!”
“Fret not, Doinkmaster,” Bullseye said with what appeared to be a grin. “Only enemies need fear the eyes of death.”
He turned away as the others approached, moving over to a small table next to Maddox.
“Turns out he’s able to integrate into the Artemis System himself,” she said, “which is bat shit crazy if you ask me, but it is what it is.”
Gideon looked down at the turtle. “So, you’re a sorcerer now?”
“It seems so,” Bullseye agreed. “But you should know that my primary responsibility will always be to serve as your tutor. I will use my powerful sorcery only in as much as it helps me prepare you to excel in your chosen class.”
Mia squatted down, staring into the turtle’s eyes. “What spells can you do?”
“At present, my abilities are limited to the destructive beam you just witnessed and a temporary shield capable of protecting me from all harm for a short period of time. I expect to gather more useful spells and abilities as I progress however.”
Red grunted. “Great, now we’re gonna have bozo Bullseye here shooting lasers at our nads every time we get into a fight.”
Maddox laughed too loudly and too long at that, shaking her head as she beckoned Red and Mia over.
“I need to tune your AI tutor,” she said, still grinning. “Once I’ve got you hooked up to the System you can get your nads zapped as much as you like.”
As the pair walked over Bullseye gave Red the evil eye and the tank returned the turtle’s hard gaze, though seemed to swerve a little away from him. Maddox had them both sit down and began typing away at a digital display above her computer.
“I’ve got to head back,” Book said, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. “Commander Moynahan says to meet her back at her office as soon as the others are done syncing up with the System.”
Gideon nodded. “Will do.”
He walked over to Bullseye and picked the turtle up off the table, giving Red a break from the little creature’s evil gaze. Gideon moved him into the nearby room and started stripping off his battered armor, hoping to get some replacement pieces before venturing off to his next encounter.
“You did exceptionally well, Gideon,” Bullseye offered. “The mission was a success and you were able to employ some of your new abilities in a live combat scenario.”
Gideon stripped off the body armor, shaking his head.
“Doesn’t feel like it was a success. I mean, we got it done, but it felt like we were just rolling from one disaster to the next.”
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“Unsurprising. You are only new at this, and your team hasn’t quite hit their stride. You should still be pleased with the result however. The soldiers here at this base couldn’t have accomplished what you three did. Not without significant casualties and perhaps not at all. You’ve done a great service to these people and the human race itself. Now this base has a chance of surviving the coming onslaught and you can be of even greater service to the ministry.
“I guess so. It just felt so clumsy, you know?”
The turtle nodded, pacing up and down a bench nearby. “In that regard,” Bullseye said, “we need to talk about your choice of class and the synergies within the group.”
Gideon nodded. “Like you said, we’re not really gelling yet. Red is confused about what a tank is. Mia’s healing is great, but she’s got limited defenses, and she’ll get overwhelmed if Red doesn’t do his job, and I’m trying to crowd control with limited abilities and deal damage where I can.”
“The problem as I see it,” the turtle continued, “is that you are attempting to cling to an old ideal of what kind of hunter you wished to be. You are attempting to lead this group, but it is difficult to lead when your primary ability relies on stealth.”
“You’re saying I need to stay visible longer?”
“No. I’m saying you need to lead from the front. You said yourself that Red is not a gifted tank. He is chaotic and unbalanced. If he is able to do damage then perhaps you can use those traits, but for now he lacks dependability and clarity of purpose.”
Gideon felt his heart sink. All those years planning what he’d do if he finally got his shot at the Great Hunt. He’d worked it all out over long years watching the feeds and spending his every idle moment reasoning out exactly how he would play the game once given his chance. It seemed that it was all going up in smoke around him.
“All the data from your fight below has been fed to me and I have already analyzed it in intricate detail,” Bullseye continued. “It tells a clear tale. Your leadership abilities, your tactical insight, and the way you took charge when it was necessary and did what needed to be done to secure victory. It all points to the fact that you are not a simple rogue, Gideon.”
He shook his head. “You want me to be a tank, don’t you?”
“Nothing so simple,” the AI replied. “But consider this new ability you have acquired, Grit. Do you not think such an ability is better suited to a tank than a rogue?”
“A tank.”
“Of course. But not only a tank. You are yet to rise in rank, which means it is possible to change classes or adapt your existing class and begin crafting a hybrid. Switching to a tank might be easier, but I would suggest that you build a hybrid class which capitalizes on the abilities and dexterity of a rogue whilst utilizing the most beneficial aspects of a tank. It will not be as easy, but if you can leverage off the strengths of both a rogue and a tank you will become something more powerful than either.”
“So, how would I go about something like that? Do I need to choose the tank class or pick a different weapon?”
“You have experience points to spend, correct?”
Gideon nodded. “Yeah, twenty.”
“Excellent. I suggest we appoint those points now and I can show you how to choose a hybrid class. As you suggested, utilizing a weapon that could be used by either a tank or rogue will help as far as abilities go, but you should also spread your points into areas that will benefit both too.”
“And what about Grit?”
“In truth, I’ve never encountered the skill before, but it seems ideally suited to a hybrid rogue-tank. Let’s have a look shall we?”
Gideon pulled up his echo details.
ECHO PROFILE
Name: Gideon Blackthorn
Class: Rogue
Level: Novice
Ether: 5000
Guild: NA
Preferred Title: NA
CORE ATTRIBUTES
Constitution: 2
Strength: 3
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 1
Charisma: 1
Grit: 0
Etheric Aptitude: 0
SECONDARY SKILLS
NA
** ACHIVEMENTS
NA
“There,” Bullseye said, “now let’s change that class and see what happens when you add in tank.”
Gideon did as the AI suggested, mentally clicking the class field and adding in tank. The moment he did so, his class titled changed to Shadowguard. He tried to remove the tank class and add it in again but once more the dual titles were replaced by the term Shadowguard.
Cringing and hoping it wouldn’t be lost forever Gideon removed the rogue class and then added it back in. Again, the term Shadowguard read in his class slot.
“Intriguing,” Bullseye said. “I have witnessed many instances of hunters choosing both the rogue and tank classes, but I have never seen this Shadowguard class before. Perhaps our unique circumstances have required the Artemis System to adapt and engineer something uniquely suited to this challenge? It makes sense given your role as a guardian and protector of your species and your proclivity to utilize rouge abilities.”
“Okay, so what skills should I be increasing then? I’m guessing that a Shadowguard will need a lot of Constitution and Strength?”
“Yes and no,” the turtle replied. “You have Grit, remember. Along with your already high dexterity, you may be able to use evasion as your primary defense rather than relying on traditional attributes such as high constitution. If the enemy cannot hit you it cannot harm you.”
“Right,” Gideon agreed, “but what about area of effect damage and poison? Wouldn’t Constitution be better against those?”
“If you didn’t have Grit, absolutely. This attribute will allow you to endure pain, recover more quickly when sustaining damage and even self-heal. Given that fact, I would prioritize Grit over Constitution, at least for the time being until you can judge the full extent of its value.”
Gideon considered his option. For the first time since his dreams of becoming a world-class rogue had died, he was genuinely excited about the prospect of forging an entirely new class. I he was part tank, he could leverage off his leadership skill. Instead of having to avoid enemies, he could charge headlong toward them, using his stealth abilities to provide mobility on the battlefield and allow him to stack damage.
He wouldn’t be able to utilize the primary stealth attack combinations rogues were known for, but he’d seen enough of the Great Hunt to know that those abilities would adapt to his new hybrid class allowing him to utilize at least some aspects of the rogue abilities.
With twenty enhancement points to spend, he decided to focus on Grit, Dexterity, Strength, and Constitution. I he was going to be out in the open, he needed to be able to survive but also do damage and Gideon figured that stacking these attributes provided his best chance of doing precisely that.
Given how important being able to channel ether into his attacks had proven, he also dropped three points into Etheric Aptitude.
ECHO PROFILE
Name: Gideon Blackthorn
Class: Shadowguard
Level: Novice
Ether: 5000
Guild: NA
Preferred Title: NA
CORE SKILLS
Constitution: 6
Strength: 8
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 1
Charisma: 1
Grit: 5
Etheric Aptitude: 3
“There we go. Now what weapons should I be using. The daggers seem like they may not be as useful if I’m not using stealth as much.”
“I would suggest looking at the Harvester talons. They are much larger blades but can be used in tandem to deadly effect. A little practice will allow you to see how your existing skills have adapted to your new class.”
“Am I gonna have time for that? It sounded like the Commander wanted to see us right away once Mia and Red are hooked up to the System properly.”
Bullseye grunted. “I would suggest that a little light sparring between the three of you is essential to test whether the integration process has worked as expected.”
“Really? Or are you just saying that?”
“It is my professional opinion as your tutor. Besides, it needn’t take long. Just ten minutes or so to allow your new class to settle in a little. If my guess is correct, I surmise that the Elysia AI will have already informed Red that he needs to shift from his tank class to something like a warrior, so he’ll need to test that out also.”
No sooner had the turtle finished talking than Red leaned through the door, a grin spreading across his lips.
“Hey, boss. So, it turns out the chick in my head reckons I shouldn’t have chosen tank after all. Seems like brawler would be way more fun and I can use a club instead of this stupid sword. She says I need to do some sparring to test my new class out. You game?”
Gideon closed down his echo profile and rolled his shoulders.
“Hell yeah.”