《Wasteland Conqueror》


 Chapter 1: The Wasteland Welcomes A New Challenger

    ¡°Fuck man, of course I would finish this week off with another shit work day.¡± I complained aloud grumpily to myself after closing the front door.


    Haaa, at least I have the weekend to look forward to before I have to head back Monday to resume slaving away in the shop again.


    Putting work off my mind, I plopped my butt on my living room couch and took a moment to relax for a second.


    ...


    Alright, that''s enough lounging time to get a workout in and then some dinner.


    Once I finished that thought, I proceeded downstairs to my basement, which I had converted into a home gym. Coming off the steps, I went ahead and grabbed the curl bar that I had loaded up with two 45-pound plates and two 35-pound plates the previous day. Getting a good grasp of the bar, I strained my arm muscles, lifted it up and started repping it for sets.


    An hour and a half of working out later.


    Come on, almost there, just a few more reps to go.


    Aaand, I''m done.


    Right as I got that final rep, I released my hold on the pullup bar, landing back on my mat-covered floor, where I immediately sat down to take a much-needed rest after my intense workout.


    That was a solid ass workout, but I''m pretty sure I felt something off at one point during it. However, I can''t quite put my finger on what it was. Maybe I just need to relax and chill out for a few days.


    *Growl*


    Or I might just be hungry.


    Well, whatever, I''ve rested enough and since my stomach is telling me it''s time to eat, I guess I''ll be whipping up a fat dinner to fuel my sore muscles. Though, before I head back upstairs, let me see how my muscles have been developing as of late.


    "Damn, that 70mg of baby dbol has been making a pretty substantial difference in this cycle." I thought aloud, more than impressed with the very noticeable results I''ve managed to obtain so far with the new compound I introduced to my second ped cycle.


    And I''ve managed to put on 12 pounds of relatively lean muscle, nice.


    That''s not bad for only being 4 weeks into my 12-week cycle. I might actually have a chance of competing in a bodybuilding show and potentially rolling it into a career of some sort. I''d much rather spend my days lifting heavy weights compared to what I''m currently doing for work. But if I want to make that happen, I got at least two to three more years of hard work ahead of me, sadly.


    Directly after that, I logged some data into my notebook and left my home gym behind and headed on back up the stairs to the kitchen to prepare dinner. On my way there, I made a brief pit stop at my bathroom to take a cool shower and remove the sweat I accumulated during my workout.


    Quickly showering off, I departed for my original destination and when I arrived; I made a beeline for the fridge, opened it up, and looked inside to see what I was going to make tonight.


    "Hmm, what to have..."


    Perusing through the contents of my fridge for a minute, I settled on what I was going to have rather fast and got to work.


    A bit more than fifteen minutes later, I had everything hot and ready. So I grabbed a plate from one of my upper cabinets and loaded it up before heading off to the living room to throw something up on the tv while I ate. Annihilating my meal in no time at all, I deposited my empty plate in the dishwasher and handled a few things around the house.


    Now that I''ve taken care of everything that needed to be taken care of for today, I can relax for the rest of the night and get some gaming done.


    As I had nothing else that needed to be done, I walked over to my desk, pressed the power button on the front of my pc''s tower, and plopped down into my chair. Waiting several seconds, all the monitors turned on, with only my main monitor displaying the login screen. Thus, I logged in and began looking through my library of games. I browsed through it for a bit before my sight settled on a series of games that I hadn''t visited in a long while.


    It''s been a minute since I''ve last played one of the Wastelander series of games. And with that new mod released recently, that combines all the games into one, I might as well play that tonight and take a venture through the Wasteland.


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    That being as good a decision as any, I opened up my web browser and downloaded and installed what I needed and booted Wastelander 3 up and got to roaming around the wastelander world that was basically a mashup of modern day mixed with sci-fi.


    ...


    Many, many hours of gaming in, I killed off the last remaining gila monster I needed to exterminate for my side quest with a spray of hate from my unique minigun.


    Damn, that was a hell of a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be, I would¡¯ve been done with this side quest much sooner and on my way if the game didn¡¯t throw in a giant mutated gila monster into the group I needed to kill. I had to pull out all the stops to put that big bastard down.


    Directly after I shredded its head with a stream of bullets and its massive dead body collapsed onto the light colored Nevada sand, I leveled up to level 25 from the exp I gained from eliminating the poor creature and its brethren.


    And with its death, I finally hit the requirements for level 25.


    As I was going through the level up and selecting a perk and distributing skill points wherever I wanted, the sun began peeking through my bedroom window.


    Time sure does fly by when you''re having fun. I guess I should wrap things up here and head to bed to get some shuteye, don''t want to fuck up my sleep for this coming week.


    The sun currently rising in real life and my character reaching level 25, I sprinted off in game to the nearby wasteland town of Crystal Springs, the town I had received my side quest from.


    When I at long last reached the town, I first headed off to turn in my side quest at the town¡¯s center. Taking the shortcuts I knew of, I closed in on the entrance in no time at all and made my way inside of the town¡¯s town hall and turned in my side quest at one of the several counters. Netting myself another good chunk of exp as well as some decent rewards in the way of several items and 10 silver coins which alone had a value of 10,000 dollars.


    Don¡¯t know how or for what reason old world coins became the wasteland¡¯s most universally accepted form of currency. I suppose it has something to do with them not deteriorating like most of the bills have.


    My quest reward in hand, I proceeded to the nearest local trader to sell off all the excess gear I picked up along my adventure that I no longer need anymore thanks to me now being fully decked out in a full suit of X-1 Tesla Power Armor and armed with a unique minigun called Bloody Mary, both of which I looted from Fort Kern.


    All that crap sold off. I speedily headed to my player home in town and stashed all the useful loot I found on my recent quest before saving and exiting to my desktop.


    Time to get some sleep.


    As I got up from my chair, I felt a small sharp pain in my head that I initially ignored and as I started walking over to my bed; it grew and became increasingly worse at an insanely fast pace.


    Shit, this could be bad.


    Realizing the danger I was in, I started racing over to the nightstand beside my bed where my cell was to call 911. However, before I could get anywhere near it, my knees gave out and darkness quickly overtook my vision, and moments later, I lost consciousness.


    ...


    After an indeterminate amount of time, I ultimately regained consciousness. Though only somewhat since I wasn¡¯t entirely there yet and everything was kind of fuzzy.


    With that being my state, I continued sitting there waiting, hoping my head would clear up. As time continued on, my head got clearer slowly but surely until I eventually regained full clarity. Despite that, I now had a new problem. Everything within my vision remained enshrouded in darkness, and for some reason or another, I now felt as if I was floating.


    What in the hell happened?


    Unsure of what kind of situation I was in, I began thinking back on what I could remember. Processing through my recent memories, I remembered I had been overwhelmed by a sharp pain in my head before suddenly passing out.


    I doubt with the pain I experienced back there that I''m in a coma, so I suppose I died. As for where I ended up, I have no clue since everything appears as nothing but a pitch-black void and shares no resemblance to any heaven or hell I know about.


    Guess all the religions back in my old world were all just spouting a bunch of bullshit in the end, supposing this is where everyone ends up. However, seeing as I appear to be here by all on my own, maybe I diverged from the path I was supposed to have taken, only to end up here somehow.


    Whilst I continued thinking and observing the dark void around me that I appeared to be floating in. I leaned my head down to check if I could actually see my hands and to make sure that my vision was truly working or not. The very instant I did, I saw that my hands appeared ethereal and ghost-like, which confirmed that my vision wasn''t the issue at the very least.


    That pretty much confirms that I''m dead... Eh, I had a good run. Just wish I could''ve seen my family one last time before I departed for the afterlife, but it is what it is.


    Assured that I was most likely dead at this point, I continued floating through the void with nothing to do. This went on for god knows how long and as I was beginning to lose my patience with the current situation, mostly because of boredom, a light cyan colored holographic screen suddenly appeared out of the blue within my vision, taking me by surprise.


    Quickly getting over my initial surprise, I regained my usual calm and directed the entirety of my focus to the holographic screen before me. The only thing of interest in this god forsaken dark void, although not lightless void.


    [ Wastelander ]


    The choice is yours.


    1. Cheyenne Mountain Bunker, Colorado Springs, Colorado [ + ]


    2. Undercity 1, Washington, D.C. [ + ]


    3. Raven Rock Bunker, Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania [ + ]


    4. ??? [ + ]


    5. Random Start [ + ]


    6. Undercity 7, Nevada [ + ]


    I''m in one of those reincarnation or transmigration scenarios, aren''t I.


    I guessed before my mind ran wild with various thoughts and ideas regarding my current situation and the several options shown to me.


    ¡­

 Chapter 2: Wastelander

    Well, there''s not anything else to do here other than staring off and floating throughout this black void in perpetuity. So let me see what I''m working with and which of them would be the best to go with for my new life.


    I¡¯m going to have to think long and hard on each of these choices because if I don¡¯t pick the right one, that gives me the best chance of survival. The innumerable mutants and many wasteland powers that exist out in wasteland will have no problem ripping me apart, limb from limb, not to mention Zetan aliens and their large flying saucer-like spaceships.


    While I began looking over the six options I had available to pick from, I immediately noticed the plus symbols beside each of them.


    I already have an idea of what three of the options probably entail. But let me see if the plus symbols beside each option will expand and give me any more details regarding my choices.


    Upon finishing that thought, I tried selecting one of the plus symbols with my ghost-like ethereal hand. Unfortunately, my action seemed to have no effect.


    Guess that doesn¡¯t work. Let''s try something else.


    Not ready to give up on getting a bit of intel, I tried focusing on it and willing it to expand. And the very next second, the first of the options expanded and presented me with some much needed info.


    Looks like that did the trick.


    1. Cheyenne Mountain Bunker, Colorado Springs, Colorado (-)


    Details: You will start your new life as you were prior to your passing minus any health-related issues in the massive sealed Cheyenne Mountain Bunker that was for some reason or another abandoned prior to the war with all of its supplies untouched thanks to its enormous blast doors.


    I remember this location¡¯s massive blast door pretty vividly in Wastelander 2 from passing by it every so often. Though I never got the chance to explore it because it was unfortunately sealed. I also never found any information on it throughout the many hours I dumped into Wastelander 2, so I have no idea what''s really inside it.


    However, from the description I just read, it doesn''t sound like that bad of an option among the choices, but it has some issues. First of all, I''d rather not start my new life in the wasteland in a bunker that may or may have any food left for me to survive and subsist off of. I was also pretty lean, probably within a few percent of single digit body fat before my passing, therefore I wouldn¡¯t really have much fat reserves for my body to feed off of in the event of there being no food.


    And with all the Wastelander games taking place 200+ years after the nukes, any food that was there should''ve expired by now and become rancid beyond belief. Thus, I¡¯d rather not take a gamble on whether this place will have any viable food for me to eat before I can figure out how to get the armored blast doors open to acquire some. On top of that, water could potentially be an issue as well. If I don¡¯t have any drinking water, I can forget about the food issue because I¡¯ll be dead again long before starvation courtesy of dehydration.


    There is also the possibility that I''ll be able to modify and improve myself with the character creator, hence if I take this I''ll miss out on that opportunity... Yeah, I don''t particularly want to do that. It¡¯s unfortunate that I¡¯ll lose the gains I made over the years working out, but I can regain them and even faster than before since I¡¯ll have all that experience and knowledge I banked to work with it.


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    On the bright side, even if I don''t take this one, I now know that the Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is sitting there unclaimed and has a plethora of resources stored there ready for the taking. So I''ll likely head to El Paso County, Colorado, where the military complex is located when I eventually get myself decently established in the wasteland and have the ability to open it up, loot it, and possibly take it over as another base for myself¡­


    Moving on to the next location, we have Undercity 1 in D.C.


    2. Undercity 1, Washington, D.C. (-)


    Details: Your new life will begin in Undercity 1, the second underground city to be built by the collaborative efforts of the former U.S. government and the Fallout Foundries corporation. As for the specifics of your situation, if you are to pick this option, you will be born to the governor of Undercity 1 as his first son and second child.


    This was the starting location of the first game and would have me reincarnated into an advantageous position as the governor''s son. That''s pretty good, but if the D.C. area is anything like it was in the game, the actual city of D.C. will be crawling with all sorts of mutants and creatures, which would be good for farming exp.


    On the other hand, because of that, I could easily get swarmed and overwhelmed by the many mutants that inhabit that city. That would obviously result in my death, something that I¡¯d much rather avoid and not have to experience again so soon. In addition to the danger of many mutants, there are two very strong powers inhabiting that area that I''d prefer not to face nor get involved with until I''m able to build myself up to where I could easily deal with the both of them. Therefore, with those two cons, this ones off the table.


    With another starting scenario eliminated, let me check what the next one has to offer, onto choice number three.


    3. Raven Rock Bunker, Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania (-)


    Details: Your new life will begin in the Raven Rock Bunker, a state-of-the-art bunker located right below the Raven Rock Military Complex that was constructed not all that long after world war II. As for the specifics of your situation, if you are to select this, you will be born from one of several of the rogue A.I.''s experiments.


    I don''t recall this location in any of the games and being the product of a rogue A.I.''s experiment doesn''t sound all that safe to me, so I''ll be taking a hard pass on this for sure. However, I will be noting down the rogue A.I. as well as the bunker''s ability to perform genetic experiments. That kind of tech would definitely prove useful later on. I wonder if I could maybe figure out a way to extend the human lifespan by modifying the human genome, something to think about.


    4. ??? (-)


    Details: ???


    What the fuck am I supposed to do with this, that''s not helpful at all, next.


    5. Random Start (-)


    Details: Your new lease on life will be entirely random and as a result of taking a chance with this option, you will gain a total of 10 attribute points to freely distribute as you see fit.


    Not really looking to leave whether or not I get a good start for my new life up to chance. I have a feeling in my gut that if I went with this, I would somehow end up being transported to a mutant den with zero way to defend myself.


    Yeah, I''m not picking this one that may or may not end with me being mauled by a bunch of mutants.


    Last but not least, Undercity 7 wastelander 3''s starting location.


    6. Undercity 7, Nevada [ - ]


    Details: You will start your new life in one of the many undercities that were constructed across the former United States to house hope for future generations to rebuild in case nuclear war ever broke out between NATO and the Commodus Alliance. That was the reasoning given to the public to gain support for the project, but that was a lie. The real purpose of these giant underground cities served was to house and protect the elite class from the dangers of war.


    As for the specifics of your situation you will be born to a couple of researchers who are both experienced and well-versed in the fields of science and medicine in Undercity 7, a massive underground city located hundreds of meters underground in a large mine that was supposedly abandoned over a dozen years before the hundreds of countries around the globe were reduced to nothing but rubble thanks to nuclear annihilation.

 Chapter 3: Choices

    From what I know about the three Wastelander games, Undercity 7 will probably be my best bet simply because that specific undercity never truly faced any dangers in Wastelander 3. The reason for that is due to it being located quite a number of miles north of Las Vegas in a remote area of the mountains.


    Which, no doubt, has helped keep it concealed and from becoming found by any wastelanders, at least to my knowledge. Besides that, the undercity is basically a very well armed sleeping dragon that is more than equipped to handle most of the top tier powers if they ever decided to expand from far below.


    With that said, more and more undergrounders are venturing forth out and into the wasteland to complete the increasing amount of lucrative work the Undercity 7 government keeps issuing to the wasteland explorers of the city. Thus, their hidden status won''t remain forever, regardless of the many measures they''ve put in place to try to keep the whereabouts of their location and existence unknown. Despite that, I shouldn¡¯t have anything to worry about until the year 2268, which is the time you venture out from Undercity 7 in Wastelander 3 at the age of 18¡­


    My thoughts continued running off into a number of directions and after letting my mind roam uncheck for a while, I reeled it in and resumed my previous train of thought.


    Getting back on track, together with its advantageous location, the undercity can provide me with a safe place to grow and strengthen myself prior to many of the events that take place in the three games. One of those events being the main powers of Las Vegas going to war with foreign powers trying to wrestle control of Hoover Dam away from them for its power production and the large reservoir of clean fresh water it holds.


    Other than events like that, there are also the Zetan aliens I have to worry about that are still roaming around the planet, capturing wastelanders and numerous types of mutants throughout the wastes for their experiments and other unknown reasons upon their flying saucers. So getting as strong as I can get in the safe confines of the undercity should help with avoiding any abduction attempts and getting anally probed, or at least I hope so¡­


    Another benefit of going with Undercity 7 would be that both of my would-be parents will have quite a bit of knowledge as well as experience in two very useful and important fields. Learning that knowledge they hold will help prepare me for the myriad of dangers that lurk out in the wasteland.


    In addition to that, the two of them will be relatively well off, since they are researchers. And assuming both of them are who I think they are, my would-be father should be close to the governor of the undercity with the two of them being childhood friends and all.


    Presuming that''s how things are, I can potentially use that close relationship that my new father has with the governor to build myself up even further. Expanding upon that idea, the governor''s daughter should be born shortly after me, so I can also try to build a close relationship with her as well. Not the most moral thing to do, but this is the wasteland, after all. Therefore, I''m going to need to take and abuse whatever advantage I can to ensure I survive and thrive.


    On top of what I''ve already covered, the state of Nevada has the military site Area 51. That site is supposed to house an underground research facility with many advanced technologies held within, including many of alien origin. I take control of that military complex, the technology it houses will no doubt propel me technology wise leagues above every power in the wasteland with exception to the Zetans. Though it should help me out a decent bit when I eventually need to deal with them at some point or another however that relies upon if I even make it that far.


    Apart from the highly advanced tech, the base will most definitely have plenty of military equipment sitting there untouched, ready for the taking, because of the site being heavily guarded by numerous automated defenses and minefields. I don¡¯t know for sure if that will be the situation here since it was never accessible, considering it was an unreleased expansion and all. But from what I gathered through in-game information and reading up on it online, that is what it¡¯s supposed to be.


    Moving from Area 51, the state has a ton of natural resources in general that I can take advantage of once I obtain some robots. Continuing down that line of thinking, seeing as I would be in a massive self-sufficient undercity and given what I remember of the facilities Undercity 7 had in the game, I should be able to buy and produce the robots myself when I acquire the necessary equipment.


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    However, as a prerequisite to either of those options I will definitely need to dedicate a decent amount of time and effort to researching and studying various fields, especially robotics to take proper advantage of them¡­ But now that I''m thinking about it, I don''t believe the numbers I''ll be able to produce there will be all that great unless I want to dedicate a shitload of time and resources to it, which I don''t particularly want to do due to two reasons.


    The first is there is already an established facility with the necessary manufacturing equipment for robots situated relatively close by to Undercity 7. Furthermore, the facility is located on the way to Las Vegas and the only thing I would have to do to utilize it is I¡¯ll have to repair whatever manufacturing machines need fixing and replace whatever parts that have degraded over the last two centuries since the place was last in use.


    Second, assuming I were to allocate a good portion of my time to getting robot production up to the level that I would want it to be at, it would inevitably set me back and slow my progress in other areas. As a consequence of that, my personal survivability would be lower than if I were to keep myself relatively balanced across a multitude of areas. Thus increasing the danger I would face in the wasteland, which may or may not result in my death, if I''m not careful or just plain unlucky.


    For those two reasons, I''d rather not waste my time on building the equipment and machinery required just to be able to get up to a similar level of that plant''s production capacity when I can just simply travel to the facility to take control of it, repair it, and have it start pumping out robots.


    So supposing I end up deciding to go with option one, I''ll increase my stats, gather as much knowledge as I possibly can, and acquire a bunch of equipment and gear over the years for my journey. And when I''m eventually old enough, probably at the age of 18, and have made more preparations than probably necessary for my venture into the wasteland.


    I''ll leave the comfort and safety of Undercity 7 behind and head out into the wasteland to take over the nearby Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility. Which from what I can recall from memory was specifically a robot manufacturing plant under the Cyberdynamics Corporation prior to the Zetans triggering the all-out nuclear war between the various powers that be back some 200 years ago¡­


    When I got to thinking about the all out nuclear Armageddon that took place, my mind began venturing off track again. Trying to imagine myself in that sort of scenario and what would give me the best chance of fighting and possibly defeating the zetans, to prevent myself from having to go through and experience the same kind of destruction the people of this earth had to face 200 years ago.


    Well, if I ever get to the point that I gain complete control of Las Vegas and the former state of Nevada, I can think about this further. Until then, I need to figure out how I¡¯m going to get to that point. Then again, I got the feeling that I¡¯ll survive, So hopefully as I¡¯m journeying through the wastes, I remember some more important information that could give me a greater edge against them and if not that maybe I¡¯ll come across something that can.


    Continuing on with my plan again, once I have control of the facility and have repaired it, I¡¯ll start production of robots and begin acquiring resources with them. As the resources I have available to me increase further and further, I¡¯ll fortify the facility, add turrets and other defenses, and make it into my home base for the foreseeable future.


    And when I have amassed a decent size army of robots, I¡¯ll make my way to Las Vegas to get my cut of the pie before going on to devour the rest of it when I have the ability as well as the forces to accomplish that goal.


    I think that''s a good enough general plan for Undercity 7, at least for now. I¡¯ll probably think of many more things to add on later as I make my way in the world, and in the event that I come across some difficult variables that require me to modify my plans I can make necessary changes as things come my way.


    ...


    Finished reading through all the details for each scenario, I spent a good while contemplating and going over the benefits, as well as the demerits of each choice, to see if I had missed something. I hadn''t, thus it was time to make my decision.


    Undercity 7 is hands down the best overall option honestly and with the amount of time I''ve spent looking at each of them, the others don''t really compare to what I can accomplish there.


    Yeah, none of them are as good, so I''ll be going with the Undercity 7 and building myself a robot army down the line when I have the ability as well as the necessary resources. And if I can become strong enough, one day I can think about taking over the wasteland. Having said that, wasteland conquering will have to wait until after I gain control over Las Vegas and the whole state of Nevada.


    That doesn''t sound like too bad of a goal to strive for, although I don''t know if I''ll ever be able to achieve it with the numerous powerful factions that exist out in the wasteland that I''ll most definitely come into conflict with while trying to conquer the wasteland. Not to mention the Zetan aliens above that I doubt would be pleased to see the rise of another human power after they set the earth ablaze.


    My decision made and a grand goal set for myself, I selected the sixth starting option, Undercity 7, Nevada, and finalized my selection. The very instant I locked in my choice, the holographic screen poofed out of existence. Several seconds following its departure, a cyan-colored portal opened up in front of me and rapidly sucked me into itself, where I immediately lost consciousness once again.

 Chapter 4: Customization

    An unknown period had flowed on by before I slowly regained consciousness to an extent and, as I did, things definitely felt different from when I was floating in that dark void. The first thing I noticed was the space I was in pulsating every so often, and I couldn''t open my eyes and see anything.


    Unable to do anything currently, I floated there waiting for the fuzziness I was experiencing to subside. When I fully regained clarity, I wasted no time and immediately began trying to open my eyes so I could see where I was and what my current situation was. Regardless of my attempts, they remained shut, thus I continued trying, not ready to give up.


    A few more attempts later, I managed to pry them open and, right as I did, I found my vision to be a bit blurry. Although that was only initially since, as the seconds ticked, it began to clear up quite quickly and as soon as it had; I found myself in a dark and flesh-colored space.


    Looks like I''m in the womb of my new mother, or at least I hope I am... Well, not much I can do right now, given my current state, but hopefully something happens sooner rather than later. I really don''t want to stay in here for much longer since this place isn''t all that different from the void I was in previously.


    Now that I had an idea of my current status and situation, I kept my eyes open for a few seconds longer before shutting them to rest because I began feeling a sudden onset of tiredness for some reason or another.


    From that day forward, I continued my stay in what I presumed to be my mother''s womb. I would occasionally wake up every now and again before going back to sleep again shortly thereafter. This continued for who knows how long, when eventually one day there seemed to be a lot of movement from my mother along with her womb, pulsing significantly more than usual.


    It would appear I''m either getting out of here soon or I''m in possible trouble. Hopefully not the latter. It would suck to have stayed in this boring ass place for all this time just to get sent back to the void.


    Things started to slow from that moment, and right as a few seconds had elapsed, time came to a complete and sudden halt. Once everything came to a complete stop, I appeared back in that dark void again. Seconds into my reappearance there, that cyan-colored holographic screen I hadn''t seen since my first stint in the dark void popped into existence in front of me.


    Prerequisites met.


    Loading. . .


    System activated, system integration started.


    Loading. . . . . .


    System integration complete.


    Loading. . .


    Character creation started.


    Yes, I was hoping I would get this. Let''s see to what extent I can edit and modify my body.


    ...


    After navigating through the character creator, I found that I can modify just about everything, from things such as my appearance to my desired height. I could even modify stuff like my dong''s length, girth, and many other such features.


    This character creator is even more extensive than it was in Wastelander 3, which was already quite extensive compared to most games¡­ Alright, that''s enough looking through the options time to get down to business. Starting off, I was already pretty satisfied with my appearance in my previous life, so I''ll be using that as my base and go from there.


    Thankfully, the character creator already had my past life''s appearance loaded up by default. It definitely would''ve been a major pain in the ass to get the avatar here to look exactly how I did in my previous life. And from the looks of it, it would''ve taken me more than a small amount of time to get everything just right, or at least I believe so.


    Where to go from here¡­ Good looks can be very useful in a number of situations such as first impressions and attracting the opposite sex, so I suppose I''ll try altering my appearance to make myself more attractive. That being said, what needs to be improved on my last life''s appearance, hmm¡­


    I''ve taken a good look at my face and have a pretty good idea of what can be improved. To begin, I''ll first modify and give my face some sharper and more attractive features such as a stronger and more defined jawline and when I have that out of the way, I''ll improve my brow alignment and upgrade various other small features.


    A short while later, I finished my masterpiece and what was displayed before me was a very masculine as well as extremely handsome face that some would say was nearly perfect if they preferred a man with masculine features.


    With looks like those, I''ll pretty much be considered a lady killer when I reach adulthood for the second time. I''m not particularly looking forward to going through childhood all over again, but it''ll be worth it in the end, I''m sure. Having finished editing my face, let''s take a look at the rest of my body and see if anything else could use an upgrade.


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    ¡­


    You know what, I can improve the various shapes of my muscles to allow me to build even larger and stronger muscles than I had in my last life. Which at the end of the day should improve my survivability a decent bit on top of the many other benefits that larger muscles provide. A few such benefits being carrying more loot, having an easier time wielding heavy weapons, and beating the shit out of bandits and any enemy that steps in my way.


    As I slowly went around my body and modified my various muscle groups to allow for them to grow much, much larger than the average person, basically giving myself top-tier bodybuilding genetics, I made a surprising discovery.


    Oh shit, I can even make modifications to my cardiovascular system, too. That''s honestly pretty broken, not gonna lie.


    ...


    That''s enough looking at that for now. I need to finish modifying the rest of my muscles before I start taking advantage of that.


    Following my new discovery and quickly exploring the various things I could do with it, I went back to what I had been working on moments prior and continued looking through the rest of my muscles and modifying whatever muscles that could be improved.


    As soon as I was done, I closely inspected my work to ensure I had done everything correctly. Once I tripled checked my work and was absolutely sure I hadn''t missed or passed over anything, I continued on to my cardiovascular system scanning it to see what I was working with before I began thinking about what I would upgrade to increase my body''s overall performance.


    I''ve checked over my cardiovascular system more than once and tested out the simulation feature to see how the whole system worked. As a result of that, I see I have a number of areas in my body that can be improved, so I''ll move onto the next step and begin increasing and expanding the number of vessels in the relevant areas.


    The improvements made will allow my blood vessels to transport more blood, oxygen, and other nutrients to the various parts of my body, like my muscles and organs. Thus, I should see an improvement in my stamina, my body''s ability to build muscle, and an increase in my body''s overall performance.


    Right as I was about to get to work and begin my improvement plan, I remembered something very important.


    Ohh, I just remembered that I could''ve modified my tendons too. Yeah, I need to go back immediately and increase the strength, thickness, and number of them so I can increase my strength at a much faster rate instead of having to wait for my tendons to catch up in strength and durability of my muscles before I can continue onto even heavier weight.


    Spending a bit checking out my tendons, I modified them in such a way that they will have a much higher ceiling right off the rip, on top of making it so that they will regenerate and increase in strength at a faster speed than my muscles. Which will also increase in growth speed further when I''m able to safely begin taking one of the various drugs that increase physical performance.


    However, to do that, I''ll need to experiment and perform research on the drugs that exist in the wastelander world that share similar benefits to PEDS from my previous world and figure out a way to make them safe to be used.


    All that said, I have one drug in mind that should be a good candidate and do just the trick, that is the oral drug Maxigen. Based on the information I''ve encountered in the game and gathered through my exploration of multiple online sites. The drug was developed by the U.S. military to enhance soldier performance and combat ability. Other than that, it was known as the pinnacle of all body building drugs, hence why I want to direct my focus to it.


    The only issue with it is I''ll need to resolve the sole negative side effect it has, that being the rage it induces in its users that eventually leads to them entering a permanent berserker like state after prolonged use. Thankfully, it doesn''t have the side effect of shutting down my balls like most anabolic steroids do from my original world so I won''t have to wait until my body is fully mature to start taking it when I eventually find a way to make it safe.


    Getting back on track, now that my tendons have been upgraded, it''s time to do the same for my ligaments as well. Alright, everything looks good. Let''s head back to improving my cardiovascular system.


    ...


    That should do it for my various veins, I now need to increase the size of my heart to accommodate all the extra blood that I''ll be gaining from all the extra veins I added... Aaaand done, now I just need to test it out in the simulation mode to ensure that the entire system is working as it should¡­ Okay everything appears fine but it seems my lungs could be a bit larger. Let me make that adjustment and test it out in the simulation one last time¡­ Good, every part is operating efficiently and without issue, I can move on to the next step.


    Finished there, I backed out of the cardiovascular menu to the main menu of the character creator and began looking at the rest of the features I can change to my liking.


    I like my blue eyes so I''ll be keeping them, though I''ll increase their vibrancy.


    Continuing on down the list, we have hair. I don''t really have any issues with my dark brown, almost black hair. However, now that I''m thinking about it, I''ve always kind of wanted jet black hair like my cousins, so I guess I''ll change it to that.


    With those two taken care of, we have skin color next, which I don''t want to change, hence that will be left alone, and just under that setting is height. I was five eleven in my past life, but I''ve always wanted to be a bit taller, so I''ll increase that to six foot six, putting me in line with a certain group of space marines. I could''ve gone for even more height, however I don''t really like a towering height difference between myself and whoever I''m with.


    After setting my desired height, I looked at what else I could edit and left most of them alone until I arrived at penile length and girth.


    I already had a slightly above-average dick size previously and never had any complaints about either my length or my girth lacking from the fairer sex, so I''ll pass on changing what I already got.


    Satisfied with my seven-inch-something dick size, I looked through the remaining things that I could change and edited them as I pleased. At the end of it all, I ended up with a tall and muscular, attractive, dark-haired white male with a pair of vibrant blue-eyes that appeared to glow due to their vibrancy set upon his masculine face.


    It''s gonna be sweet living life on easy mode.

 Chapter 5: Pain

    When I was done checking my new and improved self out, I selected complete, finalizing my changes. The instant I did, the cyan-colored holographic screen I had been using changed now displaying a list of traits with some being positive, some being negative, and a number of them that were a combination of the two.


    [ Traits ]


    2 Points Left To Spend


    | Ambidextrous | Gain the ability to use both of your hands as if they were your dominant hand.


    | Big Brained | Your brain increases in size, thereby increasing your intelligence attribute by 3 points, but to accommodate your big brain, your head is oddly shaped and most find it ugly and repulsive.


    | Big Damage | +20% to damage dealt.


    | Blind | Gain +2 to Perception. However, you''ll lose your sight as a result.


    | Built Like A Brick Shit House | Your strength, as well as your endurance attributes, are both increased by 2 but your Agility will suffer and will be reduced by 2.


    | Carnivore | Gain twice as many benefits from eating meat but half as much from eating plants.


    | Critter | Critical Chance is increased by 10%.


    | Destroyer | +10% to critical chance, critical damage, and damage, but your weapons wear down twice as fast.


    | Drug Resistant | The duration of drug effects and the chance of becoming addicted to them are halved.


    | Early Bird Gets The Worm | Gain +1 to all attributes from 6 am to 12 pm but -1 to all attributes from 6 pm to 6 am.


    | Eunuch | You lose your little buddy down below but gain a large increase in attributes 10 points to be exact. You will also experience infrequent bouts of rage due to the loss of your little buddy down below.


    | Fast Metabolism | Digest and process food twice as fast and gain a +2 health regeneration.


    | Fast Attacker | Attack speed is increased by 20% and stamina drain of weapon use is reduced by 20% this can include anything from just carrying the weapon to using it. But as a result of gaining those benefits, weapon accuracy is reduced by 20% across the board for you.


    | Gifted | +2 to intelligence, +1 to all other attributes, and all skills are reduced by 10%.


    | Glass Cannon | +35% to all damage done as well as received.


    | Pacifist | All social skills are boosted by 15% but all combat skills get reduced by 15%.


    | Heavy Hitter | Melee and unarmed attacks do 20% more damage.


    | Herbivore | Gain twice as many benefits from eating plants but half as much from eating meat.


    | Hoarder | +100 lbs to carry weight, but you must maintain a carry weight above 200 lbs to receive this effect.


    | NEET | When inside, you gain +1 to all attributes, but when outside, you suffer the exact opposite -1 to all attributes stats.


    | One Handed | You lose an arm. In exchange, the only arm you possess will be twice as strong as it should be. On top of that, +20% accuracy with all weapons and +100% to your arm''s endurance.


    | Pitch Machine | +30% to your throwing rate and you use 30% less stamina when throwing anything but your thrown weapon velocity is decreased by 20% thereby, shortening the distance from which you can hit a target.


    | Rough Skin | Your skin becomes rough, calloused, and unattractive, but as a result of your skin thickening, your damage threshold is raised by 5, letting you tank heavier hits.


    | Sex Appeal | Both your overall attractiveness as well as your sexual prowess are improved and members of the opposite sex will have a better first impression of you on average. This trait also makes it easier to barter with female merchants, resulting in more profit for you as long as you don''t fumble the deal.


    | Skilled | +10% to all of your skills but as a result of that increase you gain 10% fewer Experience Points.


    | Slim Build | +1 Agility but your carry weight is reduced by 25 lbs and your limbs take 20% more damage.


    | Stiff | Your body is stiff and because that is so your agility suffers, -1 to agility. However, as a tradeoff of having less agility, you have a much easier time controlling weapon recoil, +35% to weapon recoil reduction.


    | Take Another | Gain another trait point at the cost of reducing 1 attribute of your choice by 1 point.


    | Up All Night | +1 to all attributes from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM, but -1 to all attributes from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM.


    | Volatile | When in combat your attacks have a chance to cause sudden explosions that deal 100% of your weapon''s damage + whatever damage bonuses you may have. [DANGER] This trait is unpredictable and can result in possible harm to you or others.


    I have quite a number of traits to choose from, yet there are some obvious traits that provide significantly more benefits than others, Gifted for example basically gives +1 to all attributes totaling 7 bonus attribute points for myself with the only negative being a -10% to skills as the penalty.


    The Gifted penalty can also be converted to a more desirable -10% experience point gain with the trait Skilled. A negative I''d rather deal with instead of the -10% to all of my skills, since the Skilled trait''s negative effect can be negated by adding 4 points to my intelligence attribute... Oh, and those extra attribute points provided by Gifted can be distributed freely into whatever attribute I want to put them in via the next menu, therefore negating the -10% experience point gain.


    Yeah, that doesn''t sound like too bad of an idea, so I''ll go with that, but before I select them, let me give the traits another good look over.


    ...


    Hmm, there is also the trait Sex Appeal that I want mainly for its boost in sexual prowess that will probably come in handy later down the road, not to mention the other positive effects it provides. So with that as it is, I''ll need to get the trait. Take Another first before I select the other two traits I already have my sights set on.


    Once I decided what traits I wanted, I selected Take Another first, reducing the attribute points that I''ll be distributing after this by one. Following my selection of Take Another I had three trait points to spend, thus I selected Gifted, Sex Appeal, and Skilled, and right as I had all three selected I looked through the trait list one last time and locked in my selection swiftly bringing me to a new system screen.


    | Attributes |


    Attribute Points Left: 5


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 6


    Endurance: 7


    Intelligence: 7


    Perception: 6


    Charisma: 6


    Luck: 6


    Good, my stats are fairly similar to what they were in Wastelander 3, though both my strength and endurance are both 1 point higher than what they are supposed to be. I can''t say for sure what caused the increase in them, but if I had to put my finger on it, I would say it there''s a good chance it has something to do with the improvements I made to my muscles and my cardiovascular system.


    Now that I''ve gotten to the attribute section of the character creation I need to think long and hard about what will give me the absolute best start here otherwise I could end up wasting valuable time on things that could''ve been easily achievable with better starting attribute distribution.


    Starting things off, I know I need to put extra points into intelligence to make up for the decrease in my xp gain from the trait Skilled, so I''ll use the 5 free points I have to increase intelligence to 12. That should negate the xp gain reduction by a decent bit.


    With intelligence squared away, let''s see what attribute I can take points away from... Well, I don''t really need any points in strength since that is one of the attributes I should be able to raise relatively easily via working out, lifting progressively heavier weights, and proper cultivation of mass/eating a shit load of carbs and protein.


    Oh, I could also utilize Vital-X Injectors as well for their ability to accelerate healing, which in theory should reduce the amount of recovery time my muscles require to repair themselves from the large amount of working out that I''ll be doing in the future.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Adding onto that, if the recovery time is short enough I might be able to work out each muscle group in my body daily, and if that ends up being the situation I find myself in, my agility, endurance, and strength should rise at a pretty fast rate. But all of that is just my hopeful thinking for now, though I''ll definitely test it out as soon as I can.


    That''s enough about that for the moment. Let me get back to what I was doing.


    From there, I reduced my strength down to 1, freeing up 6 more points for me to spend and the very second I did that, I continued on to the next attribute.


    Moving on from strength, I don''t particularly need points in agility either because I''ll be raising that through working out and agility-based exercises such as running and what not. So with that being as it is, I''ll reduce that down to 1 too, bringing my total free attribute points up to 11.


    Alright, now that I have a number of points freed up let me think about what makes the most sense to spend them on¡­ Hmm, I''m going to need a ton of endurance for the various exercises I plan on doing so I''ll increase that to 10, which will raise my stamina and health points by a not-so-small amount.


    With endurance dealt with, it''s time to move on to perception. I think I''ll spend 4 attribute points to raise my perception all the way up to 10, since having a high perception should increase my hearing ability and vision to the point where I should be able to spot most dangers and enemies before they spot me.


    It should also be plenty helpful when I¡¯m doing very precise work in the future, especially so with crafting and lock picking, the latter of which did earn me a sizable chunk of exp in any of my playthroughs via getting quest objectives.


    After giving it some thought it wasn''t such a bad idea, so I dumped 4 attribute points into perception, raising it to 10, leaving me with 4 remaining points to distribute.


    Perception is good now, let''s have a look at charisma next. This attribute can be very useful in various situations that require leadership and the ability to convince people. But I don''t think I''ll be encountering very many situations like that early on in my new life. So it doesn''t need to be all that high because by the time I start having to deal with situations of that nature, it should have raised to a decent level on its own, not to mention my leadership, speech, and trade skills.


    Adding on further, my other attributes will increase my survivability, which charisma won''t do unless I''m dealing with rational people that aren''t that hostile and haven''t already started shooting at me immediately upon spotting me. And seeing how a good portion of the world has been reduced to nothing but a radioactive wasteland via atomic fire, the odds of that being the case a majority of the time are not all that great unless I''m in an area that is under control of some faction or power.


    Continuing with that line of thought, most of the wasteland isn¡¯t controlled by any major power and is more of a free for all between the many small groups and uncountable mutants that inhabit it, with many of the small groups consisting of hostile bandits.


    Simply for those reasons, charisma won¡¯t be particularly useful to me early on when most of the situations I¡¯ll encounter out there will call for me to bury most beings six feet under. Can¡¯t really negotiate with cannibal chem fiend bandits and mutated wildlife that are really no different from wild animals ready to rip me apart and turn me into their next meal.


    I also don''t really need it at 6 either, so I''ll decrease it by a point, putting it at 5, thereby freeing up another point that I can add elsewhere.


    Finished making my adjustments to my charisma attribute, I continued on to the last remaining attribute luck.


    Luck in the game did increase your odds of winning in gambling, increased your critical chance, and increased all skills by 1 for every point of luck the player had, all three of which are very good benefits to have.


    However, since this isn''t a game anymore, hopefully it will also work similarly to how luck does in reality or at least prevent me from encountering a situation that will send me off to an early grave. So with it providing quite a few benefits, I''ll increase it to 10 just in case it also acts similar to real-life luck.


    Now that I''ve finished dumping points into luck, I have 1 attribute point left to spend. Hmm, what should I spend it on... I guess I''ll just throw it in endurance since that is probably the one attribute that I''ll be utilizing the most and the one that will likely benefit me the most in the long run with it, giving me more stamina to get more things done.


    As soon as I decided on where I wanted to put my last attribute point, I went ahead and placed it into endurance. Once I had done that, I looked at my attribute distribution to make sure I was happy with the distribution of my points.


    | Attributes |


    Strength: 1


    Agility: 1


    Endurance: 11


    Intelligence: 12


    Perception: 10


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 10


    Yeah, I believe that''s as good as it can get it for my plans ahead. Time to finalize and lock in my distribution and move on to the next thing in the character creation, that being the skill distribution.


    Content with my attribute distribution, I finalized my selection, causing the cyan-colored holographic screen to change again. Although this time it changed to display the skill distribution, which should be the last step in the character creation process for me before I officially get reincarnated and start my new life in Undercity 7.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Talents Left: 3


    Skill Points Left: 20


    Ballistic Weapons: 42


    Energy Weapons: 42


    Explosives: 32


    Heavy Weapons: 32


    Leadership: 37


    Lockpick: 30


    Medicine: 32


    Melee Weapons: 33


    Piloting: 31


    Repair: 32


    Science: 32


    Speech: 25


    Stealth: 31


    Survival: 31


    Trade: 25


    Unarmed: 33


    Nice, everything appears to still be the same as it was in the game. Since that''s the case, the skill talents should work exactly how they did in the game or at least similarly. And from what I recall, the 3 skills I select for the skills talents will receive an instantaneous boost of 10 skill points to their values and will increase at twice the speed they normally would.


    Unfortunately, that last effect doesn''t raise the amount the skill points the talent skills raise whenever I''m distributing skill points. It would''ve definitely been quite broken if I was able to turn my 20 skill points left to spend into 40 by just putting them into one of my 3 skill talents.


    Alright, that''s enough about that, let¡¯s see what skills would benefit me the most in the long run in my new life in the wasteland¡­ Science is probably the first one I should take simply due to the fact that it¡¯ll make it far easier for me to achieve the various goals I¡¯ve set for myself... Yeah, I¡¯ll take science first just so I¡¯ll have an easier time getting that robot army built.


    One skill talent down, two more to go.


    I''m going to need a combat skill and seeing as I have a tendency of using heavy weapons such as miniguns and other gatling styled weaponry in the Wastelander series of games due to them having huge ammo capacities and high damage per second, I should probably allocate a skill talent point to the heavy weapons skill.


    That said, it''s more of a specialized skill that only affects weapons categorized as heavy weapons whereas a skill such as ballistic weapons affects all ballistic-type weapons that fire non energy-based projectiles which can range from weapons like crossbows and pistols to weapons as powerful as gauss miniguns for instance.


    ...


    Decisions, decisions¡­ Ahh fuck it, I''ll just go with the heavy weapons skill since training with heavier weapons will help out with my agility, endurance, and strength training. Though it¡¯ll be way more effective for both my endurance and strength than my agility.


    One last skill talent to go.


    With the second point allocated, I began looking over the list of skills again whilst thinking about what I should spend it on and after a certain point; I locked in on both medicine and repair.


    Medicine and repair look like the best skills to take here, but I only have 1 point left, therefore I''ll need to decide which one I would rather have over the other. This is very important so I''m going to have to contemplate about this for a few moments... If I take medicine I can probably progress faster in researching and making drugs that would be effective in increasing my attributes without side effects.


    On the other hand, if I take repair, which also doubles as a sort of engineering skill along with science, my progress in the crafting and manufacturing area should increase by quite a substantial amount. Which will be useful for making the equipment that I''ll be needing for both drug research and drug synthesis.


    Continuing to add on further, the repair skill talent would also come in handy any time I want to make weapons, ammo, explosives, robots, and just about anything else I could think of. On top of that, it also pairs well with my existing science skill talent and will help out quite a lot when I venture out to go take over the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility and repair the manufacturing machines housed in the facility.


    ...


    I would like to take medicine, but repair just provides so many more benefits in comparison, which just makes it the obvious overall better choice in the end.


    Coming to my decision to take repair over medicine as my third skill talent, I selected it from the holographic screen in front of me and locked it in. When I was done with selecting what skill talents I wanted, I began looking over the list of skills in front of me and thinking what skill or skills to dump my available skill points into.


    What skill would be the most useful right out the gate in my situation, I won''t be getting into any real combat situations until I leave the underground city that I''m going to be reborn in. Therefore, combat skills are pretty worthless at the moment. I''m also not going to need speech and charisma-related skills all that much initially with me being a newborn, hence those are out as well.


    I suppose since I didn''t select medicine as one of my skill talents, I can dump the skill points into it, thereby making my future Maxigen research project easier if the skills work the way I suspect they are going to.


    If they do, it¡¯ll kind of make up for not taking it as a skill talent previously or at least for a short while until I actually start using my talent skills where in that case it¡¯ll be rapidly outpaced by their progress in no time at all unless I keep dumping skill points into it.


    Not much point in doing that due to the reason that there are plenty of perks I want to get that have a number of different skill requirements that I''ll need to meet if I want to get them. So dumping points into my medicine skill just to keep it inline with my talent skills is kind of pointless. I¡¯ll probably just end up picking up the perk Another Skill Talent at level 12 to make myself happy.


    Going back to my previous line of thought before I got sidetracked, other than my future research projects. I could also see it being useful in producing other drugs like medstims, for instance, or some of the other numerous wasteland drugs that are constantly in demand.


    I could definitely make a ton of wealth off of that idea and the wealth gained from that venture could then be used to acquire more resources for my goals¡­ Something for me to really think about in the future.


    Following that last idea, I placed the 20 skill points I had available into my medicine skill. And after I made sure that I was happy with the state of my skills, I finalized my selection, changing the cyan-colored holographic screen to display a brand new screen. This one being a status screen showing my current stats.


    But before I could begin looking at my stats, my mind was overwhelmed and absolutely flooded by a massive amount of information, knowledge, and experience all related to the skills I just finished putting points into seconds prior.


    *AAAAHHHHH¡­*


    ...


    ¡­


    ¡­

 Chapter 6: Starting Strong

    An unknown number of screams of pain and rolling around back and forth later.


    Haaa¡­haaa¡­haaa¡­


    After going through such excruciating pain that I''ve never experienced before throughout my entire life for however long while the system stuffed my head and mind full, I survived through it and was back to normal shortly after it ended.


    Holy fuck, that pain was something else. I honestly thought I was going to die again if it had gone on for much longer. I''m not a religious man, but I pray that I never have to go through that kind of pain ever again.


    Not wanting to think about the off the chart pain I had just gone through any further, I quickly refocused my attention back on the holographic screen that had been sitting in front of me this entire time as I was going through hell. However, unbeknownst to me, my prayers would go unanswered and I would experience similar pain many more times in my path to conquer the wasteland.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 0


    Height: 1 Foot 10 Inches


    Body Weight: 9 lbs


    Race: Human


    Level: 0


    Experience Points: 0/1,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 1,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 0


    Experience Rate: 160% | Formula: 100 + (Intelligence x 5)


    Health: 680 | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Health Regeneration: 0.0533 Health Per Second/3.2 Health Per Minute | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1


    Stamina: 1,360 | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4


    Stamina Regeneration: 0.8 Stamina Per Second/48 Stamina Per Minute | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4


    Carry Weight: 0/200 | Formula: 100 + (Strength x 50)


    Critical Chance: 10% | Formula: Luck x 1


    [ Effects ]


    [ Armor ]


    Body Damage Threshold 12 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Resistances ]


    Radiation Resistance: 12 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 2


    Agility: 1


    Endurance: 12


    Intelligence: 12


    Perception: 10


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 10


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 42


    Energy Weapons: 42


    Explosives: 32


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 44


    Leadership: 37


    Lockpick: 30


    Medicine: 52


    Melee Weapons: 35


    Piloting: 31


    (T)Repair: 42


    (T)Science: 42


    Speech: 25


    Stealth: 31


    Survival: 32


    Trade: 25


    Unarmed: 35


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 12 | Formula: Intelligence x 1


    [ Traits ]


    | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks:


    Passive Perks: | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics |


    Combo Perks:


    [ Mutations ]


    [ Gear ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Attribute: +150% to endurance gain, +50% to intelligence gain, +150% to strength gain


    Body: +50% to blood circulation, +300% to ligament strength, +300% to ligament growth speed, +100% to muscle growth speed, +100% to muscle density, +300% to tendon strength, +300% to tendon growth speed


    Brain: +100% to brain processing power, +1 to thought processes


    Health: +100% to health, +1 health regeneration per minute


    Sleep: Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Stamina: +400% to stamina, +400% to stamina regeneration


    Kill Counter: 0


    [ Items ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    Robots:


    Turrets:


    Vehicles:


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 0


    In progress: 8


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute.


    Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    As I proceeded to scan through my status page, I immediately noticed an oddity.


    Why is my health so goddamn high, I shouldn''t have over 210 health going off of what I know.


    Following discovering my first oddity, I started looking through the rest of my status to see if there was anything else that was different and quickly identified a number of other things that wouldn''t have occurred after the character creation process in the games.


    Hmm, that''s odd, quite a number of things are different from the three wastelander games. My abnormally high health aside, I shouldn''t have several perks right out of the gate, nor should I have a bunch of quests that appear to be generated based on goals I''ve set for myself.


    Honestly, I can''t complain, these changes are pretty sweet compared to what I would get normally when starting out. That said, if things are already this different right as I''m beginning my journey, what''s to say that many other things won''t be different in the wasteland from the games as well.


    Sigh, please let the events take place when and as they''re supposed to. If not, I''ll have to make more than a few changes to my plans on the fly in the future. Something I''d much rather avoid for obvious reasons. There''s also a chance that many of them may not take place at all¡­


    Well, there''s not much point in going down this rabbit hole because there''s nothing I can do about any of it until I''m older. And for all I know, the changes might only be related to the system, or at least I would prefer that to be the extent of them.


    After catching myself from going down a rabbit hole chock full of hypothetical changes that may or may not exist, I began checking out the other system tabs. Once I had gone through a majority of them, I selected new since it was the last remaining one I had yet to investigate. As soon as I did, I was presented with an assortment of information regarding the new perks I had obtained.


    | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | Your muscles'' density, shape, and position are about as good as they can possibly get, making you a genetic anomaly in just the muscle category. But besides that, your tendons and ligaments are abnormally strong as well which gives you the ability to increase the weight of your lifts at a much faster speed without injury compared to regular humans who have to wait for their ligaments and tendons to catch up with their muscles. With all of that being as it is, your ligaments, muscles, and tendons are stronger and more resilient than humanly thought possible and grow at an accelerated rate. +1 endurance, +1 strength, +100% to strength gain, +100% to endurance gain, +200% to stamina, +200% to stamina regeneration, +100% to muscle growth speed, +100% to muscle density, +300% to ligament strength, +300% to ligament growth speed, +300% to tendon strength, +300% to tendon growth speed.


    | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | Your cardiovascular system is much better compared to the average human thanks to your larger number of veins and their even distribution, not to mention your larger and stronger heart that helps pump the larger amount of blood in your system. +50% to health, +1 to health regeneration per minute, +50% to strength gain, +50% to endurance gain, +50% to intelligence gain, +100% to stamina, +100% to stamina regeneration, +50% to muscle growth speed, +50% to blood circulation.


    | Monstrous Physique | Requirements 11 Endurance: You''ve surpassed human limitations for Endurance, gaining increased toughness and resilience. +1 DT for every point of Endurance and you now gain 20 health instead of 10 for every point of Endurance you have. In addition, the amount of sleep you require each night is reduced from 8 hours down to 4 hours, and your health regeneration goes from 0.1 per point of endurance to 0.2 per point. Lastly, +100% to both your stamina and stamina regeneration.


    | Human Supercomputer | Requirements 11 Intelligence: You''ve surpassed human limitations for intelligence and have developed a photographic memory as well as multi-thought processing. Adding to that, your brain''s processing power has increased quite substantially, +100% to brain processing power for every 10 intelligence you have. Additionally, your experience gain has increased from 2.5% to 5% for every point of intelligence you have. Lastly, any negative xp gains from all sources are now negated entirely.


    Shit, if I had known I was going to get a busted perk for getting any one attribute to 11, I would''ve changed my attribute distribution.


    Haa, a missed opportunity¡­ Well, whatever, I can''t change or do anything about it at this point. At least the perks I got are stupid good, especially Monstrous Physique. That perk alone is guaranteed to save my ass at some point, with it giving my body a pretty substantial amount of damage threshold this early on thanks to my high endurance attribute.


    And with the amount of damage threshold I have currently I should be able to shrug off and entirely negate stabs and slashes from combat knives and other such weapons from regular run-of-the-mill bandits when going by the games'' numbers that I remember crystal clear courtesy of Human Supercomputer.


    While I''m on this topic, I could also hypothetically survive taking a hit directly from a mini-nuke at some point in the future, as well with this perk''s effects. Though I would have to have well over 2,000 endurance to be able to tank a hit directly from a mini-nuke.


    Besides the regular damage a mini-nuke''s detonation would produce there is the gamma radiation to worry about, but if I wind up at the point where I''m tanking mini-nukes that amount of endurance should give me a minimum of 2,000 radiation resistance. Which would be more than enough to sustain and negate whatever radiation damage a second would be coming off from a detonation, so that would be a nonissue¡­


    My new tanky body and thoughts of tanking literal nukes with it in the far future aside, that 50% reduction to the amount of sleep I need every day is pretty massive too, having an additional 4 hours a day will enable me to get a hell of a lot more shit done. Which over the number of years I''ll be spending grinding away in Undercity 7 will 100% put me on a far higher level than if I didn''t have them before I eventually set foot out of the safe confines of the undercity into the wasteland.


    Human Supercomputer will also be a huge help and will no doubt speed up my acquisition of knowledge as well as my research thanks to the extra thought process I''ll have. Although I won''t be able to really make that happen until I''m able to get my hands on the necessary material, which won''t be happening for at least a couple of years. Unless my new parents have the stuff I''ll be looking for in the house.


    Aside from those two attribute perks, both of those genetic perks are pretty great as well effect-wise. And due to them both being genetic perks, I wonder if they can be passed on down to my kids. I didn''t get to have any rascals of my own in my last life, so this one I will be making it a priority to at the very least have a few of them. Thus, it would be great if they could inherit them.


    After viewing everything in the new tab within my newly acquired system, I looked through all the tabs one last time to see if I had missed something and I hadn''t, hence I closed the holographic system screen. A few seconds passed by before I was transported back and right as I was, time resumed again after a couple of seconds. Time resumed and my mother''s womb continued pulsing like it had been previously before time came to a halt with the addition of faint sounds coming from outside of her womb.


    This went on for a while and upon reaching a certain point, the pulsing frequency sped up. Looking like it was finally time to say goodbye to my mother''s insides, I swiftly positioned myself so my head was facing toward the exit of my mother''s womb. Before I knew it, I felt myself begin to be pushed out and following that, something began to tug at me.


    Here''s to hoping nothing goes wrong. It would suck to have spent all this time waiting around, sitting in a womb for what was at least weeks just to die again.

 Chapter 7: Rebirth

    I continued to be pushed and pulled simultaneously and as soon as I had passed a certain point; I popped out of the dark space I called home for who knows how long and brought into the world again for the second time.


    Though, unlike my previous relatively peaceful one, I''ll be beginning anew on an earth that has been devastated by nukes, leaving hordes of mutants in its wake to run rampant and countless conflicts to take place between the major wasteland powers that rose from the ashes of atomic annihilation.


    The very moment I popped out and started to open my eyes, I was blinded by the bright lights of the hospital room and upon that happening to me, I instinctively began crying out.


    *Waaaahhh...waaaahhhh...*


    Whilst I continued my cries beyond my own control, a smooth male voice said. "Let''s see. Are you a boy or a girl?"


    "It''s a boy, Jane. We''ve got a beautiful, healthy baby son." The male voice said very excitedly.


    "Haa, ah haa, we did it Robert, we did it." An exhausted female voice responded, but just as excited and emotional as the male voice from right before.


    As both of my new parents talked amongst themselves, my father cut my umbilical cord before he handed me off to a nearby nurse in the delivery room who cleaned me off and then handed me to my new mom


    "My son, my beautiful son, look how adorable he looks." My mother, Jane, said very emotionally while looking at me with glistening blue eyes full of love.


    "Yeah, he''s a cute one alright. I''m sure he''ll be just as handsome as me and will attract quite a bit of attention from the ladies, just like his old man had back in the day." My new father Robert said somewhat jokingly after coming back over from the other side of the room that had an assortment of advanced medical equipment spread about that I also now had a ton of knowledge as well as experience thanks to my medicine skill sitting at a solid 52.


    "Ohh, is that so, Robert? You had quite a lot of female attention when you were younger. Is that right?" My mother responded with narrowed eyes, not at all amused by my father''s joke.


    As he started sweating bullets, I let loose a couple of gurgles before I began laughing at my dad''s plight, conveniently disarming the situation for him in the process by overloading my mom with cuteness. After she came out of her cuteness overload, I spent a good amount of time in her arms before being brought away to have tests performed on me to ensure that there was nothing wrong with me and that I was truly a healthy baby boy.


    When I arrived at the examination room with my father, he commenced the gauntlet of tests he had to perform to make sure I was healthy. A ways into the routine tests, he needed to draw a bit of my blood, so he retrieved a packaged heel stick from one of the nearby metal cabinet drawers and unpackaged it before walking back over to draw some blood from my heel.


    However, as he attempted to draw some of my blood from my heel, my skin refused to let it penetrate, not even the first layer.


    Uh-oh, my skin is too tough because of my endurance attribute and the perk I received from it reaching 11, I better think of a solution quickly. I don''t want my latest parents to find out this early on that there is something odd about their newborn baby.


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    "Hmm, that''s odd. Why isn''t the needle going in?"


    With the needle of the heel stick refusing to go past my body''s defenses, he began examining the needle to see why it wasn''t inserting into my skin. Whilst he was in the midst of examining the heel stick, I intuitively figured out how to turn my body''s defenses off, or at least I hope so for my sake.


    I could be imagining this, but I''m about 99% sure I can control my body''s defenses.


    He didn''t seem to find anything wrong with it despite that he still disposed of that one and secured another one from the same drawer he took the first one from. As the seconds ticked on by my nervousness kept increasing and to the point, I was pretty sure I was sweating.


    Shit, I hope I''m not imagining I have that ability. I really don''t want to end up in a lab to be experimented on to find out why my skin is so tough. Nevertheless, if that ends up happening, it''s not the end of the world. I''ll just have to bide my time and come up with a plan to escape the situation. However, that relies on them not eliminating me outright, which I highly doubt they would do for obvious reasons.


    As my eyes were taking on a sharp and dangerous look as I played out what I would have to do to ensure I survived and escaped that kind of hypothetical situation, more than likely with a whole lot of violence. My father, Robert, returned to me again with a brand new needle, which he attempted to insert into my skin for a second time¡­ And after a split second, it popped through my skin and began drawing blood.


    Phew, I''m in the clear, no lab experiments for me to go through¡­ that needle is starting to kind of hurt.


    Following another split second, I instinctively started crying out once again, beyond my control.


    *Waaaaahhhhh¡­Waaahhhhhhhh¡­Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh*


    ¡­


    A number of minutes later, my dad looked like he was feeling like absolute shit for causing me pain, but at the same time happy because he could guarantee I had a clean bill of health. Now that my tests were over and done with, I got my name soon after being given back to my mother, Jane. That name was the same from my previous life that I decided to keep during the character creation process.


    Once that was all taken care of, my mom and I thankfully didn''t have to stay in the hospital for a day or two like we would''ve had to do in my previous world due to the technology here being so much more advanced and efficient. Thus, after all of the formalities were completed, the three of us were able to go home together.


    While I was being carried out of the high-tech hospital, I was just born in by my mom, a massive and expansive underground city came into view with huge gray pillars strewn about supporting the underground city''s ceiling and the numerous lights attached to it that were used to simulate day and night.


    Good god, that''s a hell of a lot more impressive sight than it was in the game. I can''t even imagine the number of years it must''ve taken to construct all this.


    As I was observing my surroundings in awe and getting a good look at the general area of the hospital and the various high-tech things strewn about my mom Jane continued carrying me in her arms in the direction of a relatively sharp and stylish silver four-door sedan with my dad Robert accompanying her by her right side.


    Upon our arrival at the car, my mom got into the back seat with me while my dad got into the driver''s seat where he said. "Alright, time to take you to your new home, little guy."


    Right as he finished saying that sentence, he started the vehicle up with the press of a button that appeared to have an integrated fingerprint scanner built into it. And began driving out of the parking lot of the hospital and onto what looked to be a large concrete road with a number of different cars and trucks going in various directions to whatever their destination was.


    Following my dad getting on what looked to be a main road, he drove the three of us in the direction of what would be my new home for the foreseeable future, or at least until I eventually set out into the wasteland. I spent the ride looking out the windows of the sedan at the huge multistoried buildings that surrounded the road we were driving down on all sides, taking in all the sites we swiftly sped by.


    Not that long into the car ride, the events of today had caught up with me. So I closed my eyes for a moment and eventually drifted off into the land of dreams. Unknowingly putting a smile on my mother''s face, who was concerned about me not falling asleep for such a long period after my recent birth.

 Chapter 8: Making The Most Of Things

    Date August 13th, 2250


    A week later.


    "Okay, honey, time for you to take a nap." My mom Jane said to me in an upbeat and positive sounding voice as I was busy roaming around our home''s large living room floor, trying to build up, strengthen, and improve my weak but quickly growing baby muscles.


    *ahh*


    After responding to her with one of my signature baby noises, I continued crawling on the floor for a few more seconds before I found myself being picked up by her and brought to my bedroom to be put down for one of my many scheduled naps.


    When she arrived at my bedroom door with me in tow, she opened it and brought me inside my room, which I''m pretty sure was quite a bit larger than the typical bedroom for the average undercity resident. Though I haven''t been to another one so I don''t know that for sure.


    With the two of us entering the room, mom walked over to my crib with me in hand and gently placed me in my crib before tucking me in with my usual blanket and gazing at me with what I perceived as a loving gaze for several seconds.


    "Alright, honey, I''ll be back when you wake up. Sweet dreams." She said to which I responded with another of my many baby noises that I had in my arsenal, making a smile appear on her face before she reluctantly departed my room, probably to continue her work in the living room.


    Now that Mom''s out of my room and has left me alone to take a nap, I''m not really feeling all that tired thanks to my Monstrous Physique perk cutting the amount of sleep I need by half. So with that being as it is, I suppose I''ll use the time I have available to myself like I''ve been doing the past couple of days by getting a bit of working out in before she eventually comes back to check up on me since that''s all I can really do besides sleeping and sucking on my mom''s teet.


    Thank god there aren''t any baby monitors in my room. If there was one, I wouldn''t be able to do much of anything besides normal baby activities.


    Done thinking and ready to get to grinding, I set into motion by first removing the very soft and comfy blanket covering me and tossed it to the side of my crib before I then stood up wobbly without holding onto anything. Which no doubt would have left both of my new parents gobsmacked because no newborn baby out of the womb for a single week should be capable of that type of physical feat.


    What exercise should I start out with... I''ll begin with squats first to continue strengthening my legs and once I feel like I''ve reached my limits in that exercise, I''ll rest for a bit and move on to some of my other bodyweight exercises.


    Finished deciding, I got to work on my squats before resting and continuing on to a different exercise.


    ...


    Many reps later.


    I think I did more than enough exercise for the time being, don''t want to overdo it and end up stressing my newborn body too much. Although, now that I''m giving it some thought, that''s probably not possible with just bodyweight exercises since I have 11 endurance. Which is a hell of a lot higher than the 1 to 2 endurance that most normal humans down here should have going off of my game knowledge.


    As for the various humans roaming around the wasteland above, they could range anywhere from 1 to 10, however, most will probably range around an average of 3 to 4 endurance. Additionally, there should be a few gifted individuals above that have breached and surpassed the normal human limit of 10, but they''re an exception and should be few and far between...


    Going back to my previous train of thought, I have many years ahead of me to make a ton of progress, so it''s better that I err on the side of caution than to push things too far and end up damaging my body. Plus, if I were to end up injured, that would most definitely make my parents concerned and would likely result in me being put under a microscope, something of which I''d definitely rather avoid for obvious reasons.


    With my exercise completed, I laid back down on my bed and brainstormed to see if there was anything else I could do at the moment. After contemplating on it for a bit with both of my thought processes that I was still getting used to, I came up with no other ideas, thus I opened up my status first to see how I was progressing.


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    As soon as the holographic screen popped into existence, I was on the new screen that was only displaying my completed daily workout quest. Not seeing anything else, I wasted no time and turned that daily quest in, netting myself a nice 16 exp as my reward. Once I had that out of the way, I swapped tabs and checked out my status to see where my exp progress was at.


    Hmm, my exp sitting at a total of 112, so with my current rate of progress I should be able to get my first level up in about 56 days, not too bad of a wait honestly.


    Moving on from there, I carefully examined the rest of my status in its entirety to see if anything else had appeared or changed that wasn''t displayed in the new tab. I completed the task of going through it all in seconds thanks to my new and improved intelligence and didn''t notice anything different. So with nothing else to do in any of my system''s menus, I exited it, making the system poof out of existence in the blink of an eye.


    Well, looks like I''ve done all I can for now. Guess I''ll take that nap like mom wanted.


    Happy with the small amount I accomplished, I pulled my comfy blanket back over myself and closed my eyes to get a bit of shuteye for however long I had left before my mom inevitably checked up on me.


    ...


    Time continued on and the next thing I knew, 3 weeks and 4 days had quickly flown by with the date changing to September 7th, 2250. On that day, while I was supposed to be in the midst of taking one of my several daily naps, I was instead training my perception that I had just figured out how to train the prior week.


    And as I was training said attribute with my other thought process that I had also grown accustomed to over these last 3 weeks, I couldn''t help but be impressed at the usefulness of this attribute and the possibilities it could offer me down the road when it finally surpasses 10 and beyond.


    This pseudo-perception field of mine is pretty busted. It kind of reminds me of those xianxia cultivation novels that I used to read back in my previous world. The ones where the cultivators beyond a certain stage would be able to sense everything within a certain distance around them.


    Though mine is a hell of a lot weaker than what was described in those books, with what I can sense being pretty fuzzy overall similar to tv static. That aside, the range of this perception field is limited to around 10 feet by my rough estimates, give or take a few inches. So it''s like a significantly weakened version of what those books described.


    Even with it being a hell of a lot weaker than what cultivators would have, I can for sure see it being very useful in many scenarios, including those that would require me to be sneaking around enemy territories, detecting traps, lock picking, and other such activities. It''ll probably end up saving my ass more than a few times in my future adventures.


    Furthermore, I bet if I continue this perception training of mine up, I''ll reach a similar level to what was detailed in those novels some day. Although I have no idea when and how many years it will take to achieve that kind of ability and mastery thus, I''ll just have to keep at it consistently until I do.


    On another note, hopefully by the end of the year I''ll be able to increase it by a point at the very least. So I can get another perk for surpassing 10 points in a single attribute, which is typically the limit for most humans unless drugs, cybernetics, and mutations are taken into account. There could be other methods available to increase them, but those are the only ones I know of currently for normal humans...


    My thinking might be unrealistic and a bit too much on the optimistic side of things, but I think my chances are pretty decent given that I''ve already noticed a small improvement in my ability to perceive when someone is nearby and or nearing me. Plus, I am almost sure that both my vision and my hearing have improved. However, the changes in those two aren''t as blatantly noticeable as the previously mentioned one, hence I might just be imagining that they''ve improved.


    ...


    That''s enough thinking about that. I better redirect my entire focus to my perception training since there''s no use in contemplating further on this until I actually start seeing real progress made.


    After I set aside my thoughts regarding what I would like to happen in the future, I continued laying down under my comfy blankets in my crib, keeping both eyes shut, and returned my entire focus to my perception training. As soon as my two thought processes teamed up together to focus on their objective, the clarity at which I could perceive and detect things within my surroundings increased by a level or two.


    Now with the inclusion of my other thought process, I kept training my perception primarily by focusing my senses on the various objects in my room that consisted of a small amount of furniture that was here since day one of my arrival and an increasing number of toys that my mom and dad got me over the past couple of weeks.


    Though they mainly consisted of numerous block toys because that was the only toy I found somewhat enjoyable to entertain myself with when I was in the presence of my parents and new grandparents.


    Something they all picked up on immediately, hence the increasing number of blocks I had at my disposal to play with. But besides training off of that, I also allocated some focus to the hallway that connected to my space to keep an eye out for either my mom or dad coming down the hallway.

 Chapter 9: Little Monster

    I continued my perception training for what felt like well over an hour when I suddenly detected mom Jane coming down the hallway to wake me up from my nap, feed me, and bring me to the living room.


    Looks like that''s the end of my perception training. Time to enter baby mode once more and play with my blocks again, sigh. It could be worse, but I can''t wait until these days are over and I''m older so I can actually start doing the things I used to enjoy back in my previous life, such as lifting heavy weights and hitting new personal records on them.


    Alongside that, I know I''ll be more than pleased to watch my stats rise at a significantly faster rate when I''m no longer limited and restricted by my age and the maturity of my body. Eating proper food again instead of drinking breast milk every day sounds pretty nice as well. I could really go for a burger right about now...


    A few seconds later into my thoughts as I was beginning to salivate at the thought of a nice fat juicy burger, I heard the sound of the door clicking and opening. Thus, I set aside my desires for juicy burgers, for now, wiped the slight bit of saliva that began accumulating at the edge of my mouth, and started getting up.


    Another moment passed when she peeked her head through the cracked open door to see if I was awake and, as soon as she laid her eyes on me, she found me standing, looking right back at her. Finding me awake, her face immediately lit up as she opened the door to my bedroom the rest of the way before she then entered inside and started walking over to my crib.


    "How was my little guy''s nap?" My mother asked sweetly in her usual soothing voice, right as she reached the side of my crib.


    "Ga-ga-ga-od" I responded playfully, in a string of sounds while getting up and reaching my arms in the air for her to pick me up.


    "Hm hmm, I''m glad you enjoyed your nap. Let''s get you fed, big guy, before I bring you out to the living room to have your fun with the new blocks your dad and grandma Emilia got you yesterday."


    "My, aren''t you growing quite fast." She commented happily, with a smile plastered on her face once she lifted me from the crib into her arms.


    Following that, she brought me over to the nearby chair sitting in the corner of my room and took a seat. Within seconds of her getting seated with me in her grasp as well, she popped one of her large breasts out that if I had to take a guess, would probably be around the double d/e range in terms of size. Combine that with her many other attractive features, it''s no wonder why my dad Robert had pursued and gotten together with my mom Jane before eventually locking her down via marriage.


    "Okay sweetie, drink as much as you want." She said smiling at me lovingly as she proceeded to stick my face to the plump breast she just released seconds ago.


    Relinquishing myself to what I needed to do to survive, I wrapped my mouth around her teet and got to sucking, careful not to bite down on it.


    Sigh, at least it doesn''t taste bad, however solid food can''t come fast enough.


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    My mind started wandering off thinking about all the different foods I''ve been craving since my arrival while I drank and had my fill. After a short duration of sucking milk straight from the tap, I finally had my fill, thus I stopped draining milk from my mom''s breast and removed my mouth from her nipple with a slight pop.


    "Ohh, you''re done sweetie, you sure had your fill, huh?" My mom asked as she began putting her breast back in her clothes.


    "Alright, now that we''ve gotten you fed, let''s head to the living room so you can get some play in. How does that sound?" She said to me whilst patting my back to help me burp.


    "Gah gue," I responded in broken baby speak, making my mother''s face light up.


    *burp*


    "Aww, aren''t you just the cutest little thing?" She gushed lastly before getting up and placing me on the ground.


    Don''t know how a burp is cute but whatever.


    Mealtime over and done with, I followed her out and down the hallway to the living room where I quickly settled in and began playing with my growing collection of blocks while my mom took a seat on the gray couch close by and started to type away on her laptop, probably working on something having to do with her research projects.


    ...


    Later on that day, my well-built bear of grandpa John Matthew O''Malley, my mom''s father, came over for a visit since he had nothing to do with him being a retiree and all. The man was wearing his usual getup of a black tank top, desert camo cargo pants, and a set of tan colored steel toed combat boots, and featured the predominant trait almost our entire family tree shared, our signature blue eyes, although not as vibrant as my own.


    That aside, he was caucasian like the rest of us and possessed the appearance of a man in his early forties even though he just hit fifties recently. He also had a strong masculine face with a flat top of dark brownish hair that had somewhat of a reddish hue, his unique trait that the rest of us jet black colored hair people didn''t share with him.


    It''s honestly surprising that the man was even able to make it to retirement age. Not too many wasteland explorers return alive from venturing out into the wasteland with the death rate for the occupation hanging around 50% for first timers.


    So him making a career out of it for years and surviving to retirement age is more than impressive. Hmm, I wonder if I could get him to tell me about his time out there when I''m older. I have no doubt that he could definitely teach me a thing or two from his many years of surviving out in the wasteland.


    Thinking about turning my new grandpa into my future teacher, he and my mom shared a hug and chatted for a bit before they headed back my way to the living room.


    "How''s the little rugrat been since my last visit?" My grandpa asked my mother Jane in his gruff voice shortly after he got nice and comfortable on the couch.


    "How about you ask him yourself?" She responded to her dad whilst returning to her seat with a slight smile making its way onto her face.


    "So how''ve you been, little guy, staying out of trouble, I hope?" My grandpa asked me in an ever so slightly smoother voice.


    "Go-gah." I responded as I was building another tower with my many blocks, whilst his tough looking mug turned into one of amazement.


    ¡­


    "J-Jane, how on earth is he stringing sounds together? Isn''t it way too early for such a young baby?" He asked her in absolutely shocked at what he had just witnessed.


    "Isn''t he a little genius." She responded smiling, obviously very happy and proud of my progress. That was 100% abnormal compared to what other babies my age should be capable of.


    "...Sure seems like he is. The little monster even has you beat in that department with you only starting to string sounds together when you were only around 7 months old." He replied, still recovering from his previous surprise.


    ¡­


    "Who do you think you''re calling a monster, dad?" My mom Jane said, glaring at her father, pissed at what he just uttered.


    Looks like you stepped on a landmine, grandpa, good luck.


    I thought with a chuckle as I continued entertaining myself with my blocks whilst my grandpa John tried disarming the bomb he accidentally armed with my lioness mother.

 Chapter 10: First Level Up

    The days continued on from then and on October 7th 2250, the 63rd day since I was reincarnated into this world, I completed my 63rd daily workout quest, finally earning enough exp for a level up.


    *Haa..haa..haa¡­*


    Finally, I''m able to level up. I just need to turn in this last quest and I''ll be able to level up immediately afterward.


    Settling my breathing, I opened up my holographic system menu and navigated over to the quest section to turn in my just completed daily quest.


    I wonder if there will be any other changes from the games... Though now that I''m thinking of it, I already got 4 perks that never existed in any of the 3 games right out of the gate. So the chances of new things being introduced are quite high. Hopefully, the changes include a variety of new useful perks and other cool shit that I can use to my advantage.


    After that thought, I turned in my daily workout quest gaining another 16 exp as my reward, finally pushing my total exp over the required 1,000 exp for the next level.


    Level Up!


    Okay, here we go, time to level up for the first time and get me a perk.


    Taking a brief look through my status, I noticed no changes.


    Everything is unchanged. Time to use that long awaited level up.


    With my status appearing the same as it has been minus the pending level up I now had at the top of the screen, I selected the level up on my status screen and as soon as I did the screen changed and presented me with a perk screen.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 1


    Level 0 Perks


    | Ambidextrous | Requirements Level 0, Perception 8: Gain the ability to use both of your hands as if they were your dominant hand.


    | Bookworm | Requirements Level 0, Intelligence 4: Your reading speed will double and in addition to that, you''ll better understand the knowledge you gain, leading to faster skill gain. +100% to reading speed and +25% to skill gain speed.


    | Speed Loader | Requirements Level 0, Agility 6: Loading and reloading has never been better, gain the ability to load magazines at a substantially faster speed and see a decent increase to your reload speed. +50% to magazine loading speed and +35% to reloading speed.


    | Talented | Requirements Level 0, Intelligence 9: Become talented and absorb experience like a sponge and learn from your experiences faster than ever before. +2 skill points gained per level up.


    Hmm, that''s different from the games. I would normally only have three new perks to choose from, but now there are four with the inclusion of Ambidextrous, so that''s new. In addition to that, from what I''ve read from the perk descriptions, the perks also have some changes from their game counterparts, but the changes in their descriptions are all positive, so that''s good. Hopefully that remains the case going forward. It would suck if I couldn''t take a perk due to a shitty change by this system.


    Quickly discovering those differences, I spent a few more seconds looking to see if I could spot anything else changed from the games and when I didn''t; I continued on.


    That seems to be all the changes for the moment, now what perk should I take for my first level¡­ The first perk that really stands out to me would have to be Talented due to two reasons. Reason one being because I take it every time I play a Wastelander game and reason two, the real reason is the earlier I get the perk, the more benefits I''ll see from it in the long run.


    However, since this isn''t a game any longer, let me check the other perks again, along with the new perk to see which of them I want to take for my first level. The new perk Ambidextrous isn''t too bad of a choice since I could see it being exceptionally handy in many activities, situations like crafting and combat, to name two. It could also prove useful in situations involving the bedroom as well, but that''s too far off into the future for me to bother thinking about, with me being a baby and all.


    Moving onto a different perk, we got Speed Loader. This perk is pretty good, but I currently don''t meet the requirements, hence I can''t acquire it at this very moment, plus it wouldn''t be of any real use to me, given my current state and situation. That aside, it''ll definitely be a perk I''ll pick up in the future for sure.


    Likely before I head out into the wastes simply because I have no doubt it''ll show it''s worth later on when I''m in the thick of it out there fighting bandit groups and clearing mutant nests. Although with a new perk appearing, that isn''t a guarantee, since there could be a number of new perks that are hands down more useful, which may or may not end up changing my decision.


    Taking that perk off the list of choices, we have the perk Bookworm. This perk should help a great deal in my goal of acquiring as much knowledge as I possibly can before I set out into the wasteland, so this will be essential to take if I want to make that goal of mine a reality.


    Despite that, I can''t use it properly right now since I''m unable to get my hands on books of any actual value or substance besides children''s picture books, which are absolutely useless to me. Thus, I''ll unfortunately have to pass on this perk until I can gain access to real books and not the ones that mainly consist of colorful pictures and small bits of very simplistic text.


    Now that all the perks have been evaluated, I suppose I''ll be going with Talented simply because it makes the most sense to take with it, providing an extra 2 skill points every level up.


    My decision made, I selected the perk Talented and confirmed my perk choice and right as I did, the holographic screen changed once again, now displaying the skill distribution screen.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 14


    Ballistic Weapons: 42


    Energy Weapons: 42


    Explosives: 32


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 44


    Leadership: 37


    Lockpick: 30


    Medicine: 52


    Melee Weapons: 35


    Piloting: 31


    (T)Repair: 42


    (T)Science: 42


    Speech: 25


    Stealth: 31


    Survival: 32


    Trade: 25


    Unarmed: 35


    What skill should I increase¡­ Medicine could grant me more knowledge about the human body that may or may not help me out with my training. However, seeing how I''m in a world that is significantly more advanced than my previous one, the answer is probably yes. I guess if I don''t find a better skill to put my skill points into, I''ll just throw them in medicine and be done with it.


    Continuing on from medicine, combat skills are still unneeded at this moment, thus I''ll be skipping those as well. Social skills can also be skipped over too simply a baby has no need for any of those types of skills. Piloting and survival are useless here too, because one I don''t have a car or some other kind of vehicle. Two, I''m a baby being taken care of by my mom and dad in a city that isn''t lacking in really anything aside from power armor. How unfortunate.


    I''ll definitely have to acquire a suit of it when I venture out of the undercity.


    I would like to make a suit before I start my journey, but there is no realistic way I''ll be able to invest the time I would need to make all the equipment and machinery required to even produce it. Not to mention all the time needed for designing a custom power armor suit that would fit my future size.


    Well, it''s not the end of the world. I''ll just hit up Fort Kern and grab the many suits sitting there and modify one of them after I gain ownership of the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility. Just gotta be able to get past the many robots guarding the fort and the armored blast door blocking access to the main armory.


    Getting back to distributing my skill points, the only other skill I can see being worthwhile at this moment would be stealth simply because I could use it to sneak around the house at night and seek out some books to read or perhaps either of my parents laptops both of which should have access to the undercity network. Yeah, that''s not too bad of an idea, if I can gain access to one of their laptops I can use the undercity network, from my understanding it is pretty similar to the internet back in my previous world to begin learning as much as I can.


    Doing that will help me out with dealing with my boredom at night and accomplishing what I need to get done before I set foot out into the wasteland earlier than expected. I''ll just need to make sure that I don''t leave any evidence behind that I was using one of their laptops. That shouldn''t be all that difficult to do.


    With a plan made, I dropped the 14 available skill points into stealth and as soon as I finalized the distribution, my head started throbbing intensely in pain as a plethora of information involving several assassination techniques, multiple ways of staying hidden, and many other such stealth related skills and experience were being stuffed into and absorbed by my brain.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    As I was dealing with the effects of the extreme headache taking place, the holographic screen in front of me unbeknownst to me changed back to my status screen, displaying my new perk Talented and increased stealth skill.


    ¡­


    Haaa, that shit fucking sucks. It better improve later on, if not, I''m going to need to get my hands on some really strong painkillers. I''m already going to be working on fixing the issue with the Maxigen drug and eventually producing it along with Medstims. So I might as well add a painkiller to my future drug manufacturing project because it seems I''m going to be needing them in the future and quite frequently at that if this is what I''m going to have to go through every level up.


    As for what painkiller to produce, I''ll probably go with P-Dex since it was supposedly the strongest pain suppressant in all the wastelander games with minimal side effects. It also sells for quite a few dollars out in the wasteland due to its effects, so I could make a good bit of money off it as well¡­


    While I''m on this topic besides producing drugs to deal with the pain I experience when I''m leveling up, those medstims should be useful in my workouts due to the drug''s ability to facilitate rapid regeneration of the body. In theory, they should allow me to recover faster from my future workouts.


    If it works how I think it does, I should be able to utilize the Medstims to increase my body''s ability to regenerate and repair itself, thereby increasing the speed I''ll be able to raise my agility, endurance, and strength attributes. Combine that with the modified Maxigen drug I''ll be producing in the future, I''ll be packing on tons of muscle and raising my stats stupidly fast, getting right back to where I was strength wise previously in not too many years.


    The Medstims don''t have a single negative side effect to my knowledge, therefore I can start using them as soon as I get a hold of some. With that said I won''t be able to produce any of my own drugs until I''m a decent bit older so I''ll need to figure out a way to source a consistent supply of them¡­


    Well I can''t think of any real solution at this very moment¡­Hmm, wait, actually I might have a way, my other grandpa Henry Todd Woods founded and entirely owns the company Future Medical, I can probably just source the Medstims I need in future from there.


    And from my understanding of the conversations that were had in front of me, Future Medical researches and produces all sorts of chemicals, drugs, and medicines for the undercity government and the many businesses that operate down here in Undercity 7.


    So with my grandpa''s company seeming more than capable, I don''t see why I couldn''t source the Medstims I''ll need in the future from there until I can start my own production of them. How I''ll make that happen, I suppose I''m going to have to give a good bit of thought and come up with a good enough reason to convince my grandpa or either of my parents.


    However, since my grandpa Henry seems to be a very logical and rational man, I don''t think I''ll have all that much trouble convincing him, thus I''ll try to obtain the Medstims through him first before I explore other avenues. Apart from that, the main issue I''ll have to deal with will probably be convincing my mom to let me inject myself on the regular¡­ Yeah, I''ll put off thinking about that until later.


    My thoughts of becoming a drug kingpin in the wasteland and the future headache of how I''ll convince my mom to let me do some odd and very suspect things with Medstims concluded. I refocused my attention on my status that has been waiting patiently all this time for my attention.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 0


    Height: 2 Feet 5 Inches


    Body Weight: 15 lbs


    Race: Human


    Level: 1


    Experience Points: 8/2,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 1,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 1,008


    Experience Rate: 160% | Formula: 100 + (Intelligence x 5)


    Health: 700 | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Healing Rate: 0.0533 Health Per Second/3.2 Health Per Minute | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1


    Stamina: 1,360 | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4


    Stamina Regeneration: 0.8 Stamina Per Second/48 Stamina Per Minute | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4


    Carry Weight: 0/200 | Formula: 100 + (Strength x 50)


    Critical Chance: 10% | Formula: Luck x 1


    [ Effects ]


    [ Armor ]


    Body Damage Threshold 12 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Resistances ]


    Radiation Resistance: 12 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 2


    Agility: 1


    Endurance: 12


    Intelligence: 12


    Perception: 10


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 10


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 42


    Energy Weapons: 42


    Explosives: 32


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 44


    Leadership: 37


    Lockpick: 30


    Medicine: 52


    Melee Weapons: 35


    Piloting: 31


    (T)Repair: 42


    (T)Science: 42


    Speech: 25


    Stealth: 45 ?


    Survival: 32


    Trade: 25


    Unarmed: 35


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 14 | Formula: (Intelligence x 1) + 2


    [ Traits ]


    | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks:


    Passive Perks: | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Talented |


    Combo Perks:


    [ Mutations ]


    [ Gear ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Attribute: +150% to endurance gain, +50% to intelligence gain, +150% to strength gain


    Body: +50% to blood circulation, +300% to ligament strength, +300% to ligament growth speed, +100% to muscle growth speed, +100% to muscle density, +300% to tendon strength, +300% to tendon growth speed


    Brain: +100% to brain processing power, +1 to thought processes


    Health: +100% to health, +1 health regeneration per minute


    Sleep: Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Stamina: +400% to stamina, +400% to stamina regeneration


    Kill Counter: 0


    [ Items ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    Robots:


    Turrets:


    Vehicles:


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 0


    In progress: 11


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    ? | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    ? | Seeker Of Knowledge | Objectives: Find a way to start acquiring this world''s knowledge and accumulate an entire library''s worth. Rewards: 3 Intelligence Points and 4,500 exp.


    ? | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute.


    Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    Not too bad, I received a few new quests to work on and get rewards from, two more skill points to spend every time I level up, and some additional health. Again not too bad, for my first level up.


    Following my level up, I went through my system''s other tabs to see if there was anything else of interest. I didn''t come across anything, thus I closed out of it and began training my perception, since I had already completed my physical training for the moment. After training for what felt like a couple of hours, I sensed my mom coming down the hallway to check up on me and to feed me. Pausing my training there, I got up and assumed position at my crib''s wall.


    Several seconds later, I heard the click of the door before it opened up a few inches and I saw her peek inside to see if I was awake. Spotting me awake at the cribs walls, she smiled and made her way over to me.


    "Ma-ma." I said as she made her way inside, immediately causing her to come to a complete stop in place, astonished at what I had just called her before she raced over to me and brought me into her arms with a very excited look on her face.


    "Can you say that again for me?" She pleaded with a look of anticipation practically displayed across her face.


    "Ma-ma" I repeated, causing her to release a happy squeal of sorts and a couple of other excited noises.


    ¡­


    "How was my little guy''s nap?" She asked me in an exceptionally positive tone of voice.


    "Ga-ga." I responded in one of my baby noises, causing her face to brighten slightly more.


    "That''s good. I''m glad you had a good nap. But now you''re up, let''s get you fed before I bring you out to the living to play with your blocks and after you''ve played for a little, how about we try to learn about your ABCs. How does that sound?" She responded.


    "Ba-ba." I answered while pointing at her chest.


    "Ehh¡­ not quite, but very close." She replied, surprised at what I had said.


    I didn''t think she would want me to start learning this soon, but this is good for me.


    After our little chat, she brought me over to the nearby chair in my room and fed me the usual way. Once I had a belly full of milk, mom brought me out into the living room to play while she worked away on her laptop on one of the nearby couches.


    ...


    Two hours later, whilst I was in the midst of creating a new building with my collection blocks, my mom Jane paused her work and looked in my direction and asked eagerly with a hint of excitement in her voice.


    "Okay, I''m done with my work. Do you want to try learning your ABCs?"


    "Ah." I responded with my back still turned as I placed the last block of my tower.


    I guess I''ll be entertaining mom for a while. As for how long I''ll let this go on, I''ll just progressively increase the amount of letters I know over a two-week period since I already have the monster genius card already. After that I''ll wait for another two weeks before I begin using shortened versions of basic words, and when about a month of that has passed, I''ll go to the next stage and so on and so forth.


    And when I arrive at the latter stages, they''ll probably begin getting me books, so that will eventually help me out with acquiring knowledge. Though that won''t be happening initially, I imagine because I''m certain I''ll receive kid books first before I come into possession of anything having to do with the sciences.


    With a plan to increase my speaking ability and eventually acquire more knowledge without having to sneak around at night even though I''ll probably still do that after the fact, I walked over to the living room coffee table and plopped my bum on the decently comfortable brown colored rug. From there, mom pulled out a number of learning materials from who knows where and began excitedly teaching me the alphabet I already knew.

 Chapter 11: Night Time Exploration

    Later that night.


    *Awahaa*


    Ahh, that was a great sleep. Time to get up and see if I can''t get my hands on either a couple of books with useful information or one of my parents'' laptops. But before I do any of that, let me get a lay of the land since I''ve yet to explore the entirety of my home yet.


    With me just awakening from my nap and more than excited to begin learning, I did several stretches to warm up my muscles to get them prepared for the stealthy night mission ahead. There was no way I was going to risk getting caught roaming around the house at night due to a muscle cramping up on me even though I''ve never experienced even one cramp since I''ve been reborn here but there''s no reason to leave it to chance.


    Okay, muscles nice and warmed up, let''s explore.


    Ready to go I made my way over to my crib''s wall, jumped up, grabbed onto the top of the crib''s rail, and put some strength into my little but increasingly stronger baby arms, hoisting myself up and over the crib''s railing. After I landed without issue on my bedroom''s floor, I speedily scurried over to the door while making minimal noise due to my new stealth skills and extremely light, almost nonexistent weight.


    The moment I got to the door, I concentrated and used my very high perception to see if I could detect either of my parents with my hearing as well as my pseudo perception field.


    Mmm, the coast seems to be clear, but just in case, let me crack the door open a smidge and take a peek to make sure that neither of them are down the hall.


    Being as cautious as possible, I slowly cracked my bedroom''s door just enough for me to look around the general vicinity of the hallway. And with my enhanced eyesight that is leagues above what I had in previous life, I looked around for a brief couple of seconds before I opened the door even further to look down the hallway in the direction of my parents'' bedroom.


    No lights on, sweet. They must be sleeping, however, since I''ve yet to make sure of that I''ll still remain cautious and aware of my surroundings as I explore until I''ve located both of them.


    Continuing to be extra cautious, I stealthily made my way out of my room and silently headed down the hallway. The instant I arrived at my parents'' bedroom, I paused for a couple of seconds to see if I could detect them within their room. As I was doing that, my dad Robert rounded the corner down the hall while yawning and holding a drink in his hand.


    Shit, I need to hide.


    Not wanting to get caught out of my room this late at night and possibly having to deal with a baby monitor installed in my room as a repercussion for my nighttime stroll, I quickly hid and crouched down next to a piece of furniture located opposite of their bedroom in the hallway blending in decently well with the darkness.


    The seconds passed by while I waited for my dad to return to his bedroom and as soon as I heard a click from the door''s handle I popped my small head out to check whether my mom was in the room or if I was going to have to stealthily roam our home, top to bottom till I figured out her whereabouts. But luckily the instant I did, I spotted her in bed sleeping peacefully and a few seconds later my dad shut the door, leaving me in the clear.


    Phew, she''s sleeping. Now that I know where both of them are, I can get back to it and explore the house in its entirety.


    Aware of the location of both of my parents, I quietly came out of my hiding place and continued on my way down the hall. Once I was a good bit of distance away from their room, I picked up my pace and started exploring.


    After reaching the end of the hallway, I walked over to the door at the end and attempted to open it and, following a small click, I got it open and looked inside to see what was in there. What I found was a large room that appeared to be set up as an office.


    I guess this is one of their offices, but seeing as I''ve never seen my mother leave me to go to her''s, this is most likely her''s... Well, I''ll find out in a moment.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Heading inside, I began roaming around the dark room, looking at the various things within it. As I scoured the interior, I came across your usual office junk, some books regarding a number of medical subjects, and a desktop. So, with my goal of acquiring as much knowledge as possible before leaving for the wasteland, I ignored the books in front of me for the moment and continued on my way toward the desk.


    At my destination, I climbed up into the office chair placed in front of the desktop and right as I got myself up and into the chair; I steadied myself and continued standing due to my useless baby arms being unable to reach the keyboard while sitting down and began looking at the setup. As I started looking, I immediately noticed something odd.


    Hmm, the mouse and keyboard have a light layer of dust on them. That means no one has used this desktop in quite a while. Lucky me.


    Practically grinning from ear to ear at that discovery, I pressed the power button on the personal computer. No more than a few short seconds, the PC rapidly turned on and booted up into the login screen with the username being my mom''s first name.


    I guess I know whose office this is now.


    Finding out whose office I was in, I could have stopped here and gone back to exploring the rest of the house. However, due to my excitement, I decided to delay the rest of my exploration until after I had my fun on the computer. Exploration delayed till later, I first tried logging in but was quickly stopped in my tracks at the password section with no idea what her password could be.


    Unwilling to waste time trying to brute force my way in via trying random passwords, I restarted the computer. As it was booting up, I speedily tapped a combination of keys that I knew would help me out with gaining access, thanks to the knowledge that was painfully driven into my skull by my science skill. I waited a short couple of seconds when a blank command terminal appeared on the screen, ready for me to begin typing away.


    This shouldn''t take long.


    I spent the next 15 minutes entering a bunch of terminal commands into the command terminal when I eventually found out what the password was. With her password figured out, I exited the terminal and booted the PC as normal and the second I arrived back at the login screen; I entered her password easily, gaining access.


    Well, that was easy.


    Now sitting at the desktop screen that was almost a carbon copy of a certain operating system from my previous world, I began exploring what was on her computer.


    ...


    Half an hour of exploration later, I had a good lay of the desktop and what was on it thus I proceeded to the next step and opened up the command prompt window where I preemptively entered several commands that would ensure that I wouldn''t be discovered whenever the next time anyone used this desktop.


    My preparations made, I pulled up the browser for accessing undercity 7''s web and once it opened up; I began browsing through it to see what was what. Shortly into my browsing, I couldn''t help but be gobsmacked at the massive amount of information that was available to the undercity residents.


    Looks like I''ll have all the information I''ll need to accomplish my goals.


    Very pleased with what I had found, I started reading about several of the topics I was most interested in learning about, those mainly pertaining to robotics and fusion breeder power. After spending the next four hours reading, I had gathered and absorbed a wealth of information on those two subjects that would be essential in accomplishing my goal of conquering the wasteland.


    Okay, it''s 3:28 AM, I think I''ve read enough for today, time to head to another room but before I do, let me check my system to see if my science and repair skills went up at all from all the new things I learned.


    A quick check of my system showed that both of them had gone up by 1 point, which was pretty amazing progress for only four hours'' worth of reading.


    That''s some good progress for a mere 4 hours'' worth of reading. I probably won''t see continuous progress like that all the time. However, even if it happens in spurts every so often, that would still be a huge help to me in the long run.


    Satisfied with my gain, I shut mom''s PC down, returned whatever I had touched to its original positions, and left her office to go sneak around and explore the rest of the house. The only evidence of anyone ever being in there was some unnoticeable dust missing from the tops of the keyboard''s key caps.


    Departing from her office, I stealthily scoured the house from top to bottom for what felt like the next hour until I was eventually satisfied.


    Alright, my exploration mission is complete. I better hurry back to my room before mom comes to check up on me and feed me. I definitely don''t want to end up getting caught outside of my room.


    With a bit of urgency in my step, I sped back to my room while remaining as stealthy as humanly possible to ensure that both my mom and dad would remain unaware of my nightly activities. A short journey through the house, I made it back to the hallway leading to my bedroom, so nearly at my destination, I scurried along the hallway.


    As I was passing by my parents'' room, I used my souped up perception to check up on them. Finding the two of them fast asleep, I continued to silently head on back to my room. The second I shut my bedroom door behind me, I strolled over to my crib, put a good amount of power in my legs and jumped up, grabbing onto the rails of it and pulling myself up and over.


    Ahh, I made it, without issue too¡­ Guess I''ll get some rest before mom shows up.


    Satisfied with what I''d accomplished during the night, I got under my extraordinarily soft blanket and went out like a light sleeping almost immediately.


    Zzz¡­

 Chapter 12: Another One

    Date February 19th, 2251


    Four months later.


    "Have sweet dreams, honey." My mom Jane said as she finished tucking me in.


    "Goodnight mom, goodnight dad."


    "You have a goodnight too, son. We''ll see you in the morning." My dad, Robert, followed up before the two of them together exited my room and closed the door softly behind them.


    ¡­


    Several minutes went by when I used my near super human perception to see if I could hear if either of them was still walking around the house in the general vicinity of my room.


    I don''t hear any footsteps, so I should be good.


    After listening for a dozen seconds or so, I cracked one eye to check my surroundings further to make absolutely sure that I was good.


    Looks like the coast is clear.


    With my parents gone and off to bed, I was alright to get up and begin my training that I was unfortunately unable to perform earlier thanks to me being brought along to my parents'' friend''s home, the Undercity''s governor''s residence more specifically.


    Alright, time to get up and get that last bit of exp I need.


    As I was about to do just that and begin progressing even further, I caught myself and decided to delay my workout for a bit.


    Mm, actually cancel that for the moment. I want to go over my recent progress first. It has been quite a while since I''ve last done that. Plus, these last 4 months have been quite fruitful for me, so let me go over that before I start my workout.


    Changing my plans slightly for the moment, I got into a comfortable position with both hands resting behind my head and began thinking about the decent amount of progress I''ve made these last several months since I first explored the house.


    Where to start¡­ I suppose I''ll start from the beginning.


    Over the previous months since my first trip to mom''s office, I continued my usual routine of training my perception and working out my body whenever I was left alone, usually when I was supposed to be sleeping. But besides grinding those two things out on the daily, I also carried on taking nightly trips to my mom''s still unused office to continue learning and gathering as much information as possible.


    Because of all of those trips, I''ve learned and accumulated a large amount of knowledge across a plethora of subjects. Although they mainly pertained to combat, engineering, manufacturing, medicine, science, strategy, various fighting techniques, and other such things that I know for a fact would assist me in reaching my goals.


    As a side effect of all that learning and information gathering, my skills across the board have experienced a sizable jump from 4 months prior. Even my strength and intelligence attribute have seen an increase as well, the latter of which increased surprisingly just last night. The reason for its sudden increase, I contribute to my reading and learning since that''s the only real intelligence based activity I''ve been doing these last four months other than my regular planning and reading children''s books with mom and occasionally with dad.


    Though I have been reading on my own more and more too as of late so there is that. But I don''t see how that recent change would increase my intelligence attribute whatsoever when I''m reading about how different energy weapons function and the many manufacturing processes involved with them during the night, therefore that can''t be it.


    Ohh, that reminds me, I think it''s about time I''ve asked for some more advanced books, the ones that aren''t just basically picture books with some small amount of flavor text added in. However, that will have to wait till the morning¡­


    Back to the possible causes for my intelligence attribute''s increase. The only other thing I can think of that could''ve contributed to its increase would be my rapidly growing and developing body. Aside from that, I don''t think there are any other factors that could have contributed to its increase... Yeah, I can''t really say for sure what the main factor for its increase is with absolute certainty.


    However, if I were to bet on what it could be, I would put my money on that it''s probably a combination of my nightly knowledge acquisitions and my developing body. Besides those two, I can''t come up with anything else.


    That about wraps it up on the stat front so continuing onto something else of importance I can communicate verbally. Although I keep myself limited to relatively basic sentences, with the inclusion of some more advanced words sprinkled in here and there.


    Very advanced and abnormal for my age, but my parents are more than happy. Thus, I''ll probably just continue what I''ve been doing,


    slowly expanding my vocabulary bit by bit with the increasingly advanced books I get given from time to time. Maybe I should just ask for a dictionary. I know my mom has one in her office, so I can probably just venture off into her office, grab it and come up with some excuse why I want to read it.


    Let''s see what else¡­ No, that''s about all the progress I''ve made the last several months. The only other thing of note would be that I met the Governor''s daughter for the first time today. But only from a distance, since she was being held by her mother the entirety of the time, and given how young she is, it''s not really a surprise. She probably hasn''t even started walking yet.


    Thus, because of that, I was unable to try to start building a rapport with her on my first visit to the governor''s residence, unfortunate but it is what it is. That said, I noticed her eyes focusing and tracking me quite a lot throughout my visit. Hopefully, that''s a good thing.


    The only other thing I got out of that trip to their home was that I found out her name, which was Alice Lawrence Steele. And that she was coincidentally born on August 7th 2250, just the day after my own birthday¡­


    Alright, that should be about it. I best start working out so I can gain my next level and when I''m finished leveling up, I''ll take care of my perception training before I head off to mom''s office to get some more reading done.


    With my recent progress these last 4 months gone over, I got right to it and began working out.


    A couple of hours later.


    *Haa¡­haa¡­haa¡­*


    That''s the last set done. Now I can turn that quest in and get that level up I''ve been grinding for the last several months. However, before I start that, I need to get my breathing under control.


    Following the completion of my last set, I focused on settling my breathing and getting the much needed oxygen to my worked muscles. As soon as I had everything under control, I got into a comfortable position with my head resting against my pillow and opened up my status.


    The next instant, a holographic popped into existence in front of me and after it made its appearance, I glanced through the various tabs before I navigated to the quest section. When I arrived there, I turned in my daily workout quest netting myself 17 exp instead of my previous 16 exp due to my intelligence increasing, which increased the amount exp I earn by an additional 5% whenever it increased.


    That''s odd, I should''ve only received 16.5 exp due to my exp gain rate going by what I experienced in the wastelander games. Despite that, I didn''t, so I''m guessing it''s just going to decrease or raise to the nearest full number whenever I don''t gain a full exp point.


    That''s a pretty insignificant change. I wonder why the system bothered messing with that, but whatever, I''ll take another half a point of exp. Can''t really complain about getting an extra exp point every time I turn in my daily quest from now on and seeing how my goal is to conquer the wasteland, I''m going to need as much of the stuff as I can get.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The last bit of exp I needed received, I checked my status one final time scanning through all the progress my skills have made over this four-month period.


    Very good progress for four months'' worth of work. Okay, that''s enough delaying.


    With my status gone over, I initiated the level up and the next moment the holographic screen changed from displaying my stats to the perk selection screen with the same perks I hadn''t taken in previous level up, plus several new ones.


    Level 0 Perks


    | Bookworm | Requirements Level 0, Intelligence 4: Your reading speed will double and in addition to that, you''ll better understand the knowledge you gain, leading to faster skill gain. +100% to reading speed and +25% to skill gain speed.


    Level 2 Perks


    | Cat Eyes | Requirements Level 2, Perception 6, Stealth 30: Grants low light vision.


    | Dad''s Mini-Me | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 2, Intelligence 4: +5 to both your medicine and science skills. Other than that, your dad will be more receptive to you.


    | Growth | (Ranks Unlimited) Requirements Level 2: Gain 1 attribute point to distribute freely.


    | Mama''s Boy | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 2, Charisma 4: +5 to both your medicine and science skills. Aside from that, your mom will be more receptive to you.


    The level 2 perks aren''t too bad, especially Cat Eyes and Growth. Cat Eyes would be of great use to me anytime I''m in a dark environment and extremely useful when venturing about at night. The night is also the best time to attack, so I''ll add this perk to the list of perks I would like to acquire before heading out into the wasteland.


    Growth is another good perk to take if I don''t have any better ones to take. But since I''m in my period of easy growth, it''s kind of counterintuitive for me to take right now, so I won''t be taking it this time around. As for the other two perks, I don''t particularly need either of them right now since my skills in both science and medicine are increasing at a very good rate.


    Besides that, both mom and dad are very receptive to my wants and needs already, basically making both perks pointless to take at the moment. That said, they will be of use in the future when I start doing things that would be perceived as dangerous by any normal parents, hence it might be smart to pick them up when I need a bit of extra help convincing the both of them.


    Okay, I''ve gone through the level 2 perks. The only perk that really stands out to me at this current moment would be Bookworm from the level 0 perks, simply for the reason that it will increase the rate at which I read and absorb the knowledge... Yeah, that would be the most useful perk for second level since the earlier I get it the more benefits it will provide me in the long run.


    With my mind made up, I chose Bookworm and finalized my selection. The next second after my choice, the screen changed again to the skill distribution window.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 15


    Ballistic Weapons: 46


    Energy Weapons: 46


    Explosives: 37


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 48


    Leadership: 40


    Lockpick: 32


    Medicine: 57


    Melee Weapons: 39


    Piloting: 34


    (T)Repair: 50


    (T)Science: 50


    Speech: 26


    Stealth: 48


    Survival: 35


    Trade: 28


    Unarmed: 40


    What skill do I wish to dump my skill points into, hmm¡­


    As I was in the midst of contemplating what skill deserved an increase I came up with an idea that will better me in the long run quite a lot.


    Instead of leveling up next time, I think I''m just going to delay it until years later so I can grow my skills as much as possible through my reading alongside my training when I''m old enough. And when I eventually reach a point of stagnation, I can just use them all in one go for maximum gains¡­


    As I continued thinking further about that idea, I liked it more and more. However, after thinking about the extreme pain I''ll have to endure for using all those accumulated level ups all at once, a sudden shiver ran down my spine.


    Ahh, actually scratch that instead of using them all at once. I think it will be smarter to use them one at a time instead. Mm-mm, yeah, let''s definitely not use them all at once.


    Future crisis averted, the only real issue with this idea is that there could be a perk more worthwhile in the higher level perks¡­ Fuck it, I''m going through with this, the skill point gains I could make from delaying my level ups far outweigh what could be possibly obtained.


    I could be wrong, but I think hundreds of skill points easily earned through a ton of reading and other activities that I''m unable to perform currently due to my age is the way to go. And when the time to level finally comes again, I''ll be able to raise my skills to a pretty absurd level before even leaving the safe confines of the undercity.


    Grinning at the thought of coming out of the undercity as basically a boss level entity in the far future I looked through my skills again and decided to just dump the 15 points into speech since it seemed to be the skill I''ll have the most trouble increasing compared to all the other ones I possessed. Besides that point, the skill also seemed more useful for the plans I had for the future in Undercity 7.


    Coming to a decision, I dumped the 15 available skill points into speech and completed my distribution. As soon as I finished the skill allocation portion of my level up, the holographic screen changed once again, currently displaying my new and improved stats.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 0


    Height: 2 Feet 10 Inches


    Body Weight: 21 lbs


    Race: Human


    Level: 2


    Experience Points: 9/3,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 1,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 3,009


    Experience Rate: 165% ? | Formula: 100 + (Intelligence x 5)


    Health: 720 ? | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Healing Rate: 0.0533 Health Per Second/3.2 Health Per Minute | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1


    Stamina: 1,360 | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4


    Stamina Regeneration: 0.8 Stamina Per Second/48 Stamina Per Minute | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4


    Carry Weight: 0/200 ? | Formula: 100 + (Strength x 50)


    Critical Chance: 10% | Formula: Luck x 1


    [ Effects ]


    [ Armor ]


    Body Damage Threshold 12 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Resistances ]


    Radiation Resistance: 12 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 3 ?


    Agility: 1


    Endurance: 12


    Intelligence: 13 ?


    Perception: 10


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 10


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 46 ?


    Energy Weapons: 46 ?


    Explosives: 37 ?


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 48 ?


    Leadership: 40 ?


    Lockpick: 32 ?


    Medicine: 57 ?


    Melee Weapons: 39 ?


    Piloting: 34 ?


    (T)Repair: 50 ?


    (T)Science: 50 ?


    Speech: 41 ?


    Stealth: 48 ?


    Survival: 35 ?


    Trade: 28 ?


    Unarmed: 40 ?


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 15 ? | Formula: (Intelligence x 1) + 2


    [ Traits ]


    | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks:


    Passive Perks: | Bookworm | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Talented |


    Combo Perks:


    [ Mutations ]


    [ Gear ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Attribute: +150% to endurance gain, +50% to intelligence gain, +150% to strength gain


    Body: +50% to blood circulation, +300% to ligament strength, +300% to ligament growth speed, +100% to muscle growth speed, +100% to muscle density, +300% to tendon strength, +300% to tendon growth speed


    Brain: +100% to brain processing power, +100% to reading speed, +1 to thought processes


    Health: +100% to health, +1 health regeneration per minute


    Skill: +25% to skill gain speed


    Sleep: Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Stamina: +400% to stamina, +400% to stamina regeneration


    Kill Counter: 0


    [ Items ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    Robots:


    Turrets:


    Vehicles:


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 0


    In progress: 11


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Seeker Of Knowledge | Objectives: Find a way to start acquiring this world''s knowledge and accumulate an entire library''s worth. Rewards: 3 Intelligence Points and 4,500 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute.


    Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    That was a pretty worthwhile level up. I increased my health a bit, got a perk that''s going to increase my skill progress and knowledge gathering speed quite substantially. Other than that, I received an extra skill point to spend thanks to my intelligence attribute increasing the previous day.


    My level up taken care of, I closed out the system window displaying my stats and returned to the everlasting grind, though this time I was instead training my perception. About an hour of training later, I was content, thus I got up and scaled the walls of my crib and snuck slash escaped off to my mom''s office to further my studies and knowledge acquisition. The minute I made it there and took position in mom''s chair and began reading, I instantly noticed the difference from before.


    Holy shit, that perk makes a huge difference. I definitely made the right decision.


    Practically smiling from ear to ear, I got back to it.

 Chapter 13: Playdate

    Date August 8th, 2251


    Half a year later.


    In the wee hours of the morning, I was still hard at work training my perception. As I was in the midst of that, I all of a sudden felt I had surpassed some kind of limit that had been restricting my growth for a while now. The very instant I broke through that barrier, I felt a qualitative change in my pseudo perception field and alongside that change area, I could perceive jumped in size by at least 200%.


    Shit, that''s a huge change.


    It took me a few minutes to adjust to the new feeling I was experiencing, which was remarkably similar to the sense of a cultivator as described in the books from my prior life. But once I finally got my bearings and felt like I had things under my control, I opened up my status screen to see what sort of perk I had gotten for reaching 11 perception and what it did exactly.


    | All Seeing | Requirements 11 Perception: You''ve surpassed human limitations for perception, thus you''ve acquired the ability of a 360-degree field of awareness with a range of 11 meters. The range and strength of this perception field of yours will increase by 1 meter for every point of perception you have above 11 perception.


    Damn, that''s a busted perk. Anyone who tries sneaking up on me within that range in the future is fucked. This perk will also be super useful for training various close combat techniques, crafting, and numerous other things.


    Thinking of all the other applications this ability could be used for, I decided I deserved some rest. Thus I called it a day, threw my blanket over myself and went to sleep after I calmed down a bit from my excitement about the future.


    ¡­


    Ahh, that was a pleasant sleep. I definitely needed it after my and Alice''s birthdays.


    Well rested and ready to start the day, I first threw the sheets off me before climbing out of my bed that was recently upgraded from my crib. Upon getting up, I headed for my bedroom''s door, opened it, and moved down the hallway in the direction of the living room where mom was, probably. A short walk down the hallway and that was indeed where she was, together with my dad.


    "Morning mom, morning dad." I said as I came walking into the living room.


    "Morning, buddy." Dad responded as he continued sipping on his cup of joe.


    "Morning sweetie, how''d you sleep?" Mom said right after.


    "Good." I responded.


    Greetings out of the way, mom got up from the couch and began preparing breakfast for the three of us. As soon as she had everything ready, I climbed up into a chair and went to town on the scrumptious meal she made, which had the side effect of brightening my mother''s usual positive and upbeat mood even further. After competing with dad for mom''s cooking, we finally finished up breakfast.


    "I don''t know how you''re able to put all that food down, you little rascal, but you are much too young to beat me." My old man commented with a smug smirk right after we finished breakfast.


    "Can''t tell you, dad, it''s a secret. But I''ll give you a hint, part of it is because mom''s cooking is just too good. And just you wait dad, it''s only a matter of time before I have you beat." I said jokingly before seriously adding the last bit.


    "Very true, your mother''s cooking is really something else and only time will tell whether you can beat me one day, little guy. But today''s not that day." He responded while looking very content with the meal he had just fought tooth and nail with me for.


    "Alright you guys, it''s time for you to get ready, go get cleaned up and dressed!" Mom issued with a smile, likely pleased to hear my and dad''s comments.


    "Okay." The two of us answered simultaneously, causing mom to let loose a small laugh.


    With breakfast out of the way, everyone started getting ready and when we were done doing so, we met back up in the living room.


    "Sweetie, your dad and I are going to head off to work when your grandma arrives. Also, your playmate Alice is going to come over for the day to play. Make sure you treat her well and the both of you have fun and stay out of trouble." Mom told me while she waited for my grandma Emelia to arrive.


    Looking up from the book grandpa John had gifted me recently, I answered. "Will do, mom."


    "Good, if you stay out of trouble, son, we''ll take you to the bookstore this weekend to buy you a few more books." He added after hearing my response.


    "Deal." I said excitedly.


    Haha, I can get my hands on those last couple of skill books I saw the previous time at the bookstore.


    As I was thinking of what books I needed other than the skill books I very much wanted, grandma let herself in through the front door and made her way over with a brand new book in her hand. When she reached us, she greeted us first, handed me the book she was carrying, spoke a few words with me, and began conversing with my parents again regarding some not so important stuff.


    Another book for my rapidly expanding collection, nice, and it''s concerning a subject I haven''t read about double nice.


    Whilst they were all talking, I climbed back onto the couch, plopped my ass down, and began reading the new book my grandma Emelia just brought me. Several minutes had passed by when they finished up their conversation, and once they had, mom and dad rushed off to work and left me here under grandma''s supervision.


    Not all too many minutes later, the governor''s wife rang the doorbell. My playmate at the door, grandma Emelia, opened it, greeted, and talked with Alice''s mother for a bit. Alice, not waiting around with them, raced past the two of them into our home, specifically making a beeline in my direction. The next couple of minutes were spent with me keeping Alice occupied and after doing so Alice''s mom took her leave, but before she did, she left a few miscellaneous things of Alice''s behind.


    Thus, with Alice now, here I got to my task and kept her entertained.


    It''s hard being a babysitter this young. I honestly can''t wait till I''m older, but I''m thankful, since things could be a hell of a lot worse, like Alice being an average baby. Thankfully, I''ve lucked out and don''t have to deal with that and can actually interact and talk with her to a certain extent, although the talking is pretty limited due to her current vocabulary.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    I also don''t have to act like a baby any longer with my entire family thinking I''m a genius, which I suppose I more than qualify as at this point with the stuff I get up to at my current age. Don''t know of too many one year olds that are reading the kind of books I am, let alone adults. Going back to my previous thought, those days were terrible. I almost died of boredom.


    As I was thinking over various things in my head with my second thought process, I continued interacting with Alice and keeping her entertained.


    One hour of babysitting later.


    I''m going to be here for a while, aren''t I. Well, I better try my best to tire her out so she can take a nap and I can go get some reading done otherwise I''ll be here all day just like last time accomplishing nothing of note.


    From there, I then spent the next few hours playing with Alice and trying to keep her entertained while our parents were off doing their thing. After another half an hour had passed, I noticed Alice was becoming tired.


    Finally, I can take a rest, thank god it didn''t take nearly as long as last time. I must be getting good at this¡­ I hope so for my sake. Well, I better put her down for a nap and since I''m pretty tuckered out myself, I think I''ll put my reading off till later and join her for a nap as well to recharge my drained batteries.


    "Grandma, we''re tired." I told my grandam Emelia.


    "Do you want me to grab you anything like bedding, or are you guys going to use Dom''s bed like the previous time?" My grandmother asked us both.


    "Bed!" Alice answered simply and excitedly in her limited vocabulary right away before I could.


    "Oh, okay. Then I''ll see you two little ones later when you wake up." She said with a smile that appeared to have some meaning behind it.


    My grandma informed Alice, and I headed out of the living room and down the hall. But as we were departing from the living, I swear I heard something about grandma having a discussion with my parents and Alice''s. Not paying it any mind, the both of us made it to my bedroom hand in hand. Opening my door, I led Alice in and over to my bed where I helped Alice up onto it before I myself climbed up onto it as well.


    Next I got the two of us settled in and, with her nestled up against me, her eyes began to shut. Following a short few moments, she was out like a light and not long after that; I was out too, with my extremely comfy blanket covering us both.


    ¡­


    Hours later, we woke up, got fed by my grandma and not long after that, my parents returned home with Alice''s parents in tow, where they had a conversation of some sort between the bunch of them. Shortly into their conversation, both of my grandads showed up alongside Alice''s grandparents, and joined in on the discussion they were having.


    It''s quite odd that they gathered here all at once. I wonder what they''re talking about.


    Curious about what was taking place, I started brainstorming to come up with an idea to find out what was going on.


    Mm, that''ll work.


    As soon as I had a pretty solid one in mind, I looked towards Alice and asked. "Hey Alice, you want to play a game?"


    "Nn." She answered while nodding her little head.


    "Okay good, we''re gonna play ninja''s. You have to be as quiet as possible to play this. Can you do that?"


    "Yea." She replied, appearing rather excited and energetic.


    "Alright, here, hold my hand so you don''t fall. We can''t afford to get caught." I instructed her lastly while presenting my hand to her, which she immediately held onto before I could even finish my sentence.


    It doesn''t look like she completely understood a few of my words, but I believe she got the gist of it. I hope so at least.


    With Alice latched onto my hand to ensure that she wouldn''t fall and get us caught, we creeped over into the direction of the adults so I could find out what was being discussed. Shortly thereafter, the two of us, quiet as a couple of church mice, neared the area where the adults were having their conversation that was becoming increasingly louder in volume bit by bit now that the rest of the adults from both families had gotten together.


    In position, I looked at Alice and held up my right index finger up to my mouth to signal Alice not to make any noise. The second I received a nod back that she understood, I focused on what they were discussing using my enhanced hearing.


    "The two of them get along well enough and I can see they like each other quite a lot and enjoy each other''s company, so why not tie them together early?" I heard my grandma say in the kitchen beyond the wall Alice and I were hiding behind.


    "You do have a point, but it is still very early to be engaging and tying the knot between the two when they''ve only just turned one in the last few days." Grandpa, John, said in his usual gruff voice.


    "It''s true that they''re both young, however I can see that my little Alice likes your grandson quite a lot and if they continue spending as much time as they do together, they''ll more likely than not end up together anyhow. Hence, why not ensure that they do, or at least try, our best to see it happen?" Alice''s grandfather said who I presumed was the patriarch of their family.


    "I can''t agree more, and besides, it would be great if both of our families could come together and unite, so why not?" My dad added.


    "They are quite close from what I''ve seen and Alice is as cute as a button, so I also don''t have any issue pairing the two of them together." My Mom said right after dad while Alice''s mom Aura Rosalin Steele nodded her head in agreement before sharing similar feelings about me being paired up with her little girl.


    "Alright, that settles it then. We''ll pair the duo together and if everything goes well between the both of them, they''ll end up together." My dad''s longtime best friend and current Undercity 7 governor David Ashton Steele said.


    I didn''t expect to be engaged this early on in life, I would''ve preferred to decide my partner or partners for myself on my own terms. But whatever, it''s not the end of the world. I just Hope Alice stays as sweet as she is now and ends up a looker and seeing how her mother is a raven haired beauty with fair skin and a busty figure I don''t think I''ll have to worry about anything having to do with the looks department.


    The main issue is what her personality will be later on down the road when she grows up and matures. If she becomes a rotten person, I''ll find a way to extricate myself from the situation. However, in the meantime, I''ll try my very best to prevent that from happening.


    Alright that looks to be it. Guess I better return to babysitting before the two of us get caught listening to their discussion. Not that it really matters if they did discover us listening in on their conversation with us being two kids and them being our family members.


    Whilst the adults were going over and finalizing the details for Alice''s and mines engagement, I led Alice back over to the living room where we were originally playing and continued keeping her occupied. Though this time, I was sitting down and reading a picture book with her, trying to slowly expand her vocabulary, since I basically had to begin raising a wife.


    Ahh, I have a lot of work ahead of me besides preparing myself for the wasteland. I now have to spend time making sure that my future partner is going to be a halfway decent person. Well, this could also be a huge plus for me. Alice could end up becoming someone I can rely upon out in the wastes and may even end up saving my ass one day.


    Although the chances of that happening are pretty slim because my capabilities will far out stretch her own in the future with this system of mine. Unless, of course, she gains a gift that grants her a set of powerful abilities, in that case, that changes a lot of things.


    Regardless, with only a small population among all biological beings on earth ever having them since Armageddon, the chances of that occurring are pretty slim to none. But now that I''m thinking of gifts, I wonder if there is any way to artificially create them¡­ It would be an incredible card to possess if I could artificially grant biological beings gifts.


    Grand dreams of an army of gifted possessing numerous mystical abilities and powers aside, since there is no research on it to my knowledge, the amount of time I would have to invest into it to even have a possibility of making it happen is just not realistic in the foreseeable future.


    Maybe when I get myself decently set up out there, I can set aside and allocate some time to pursue it to see if I can''t figure out a way to forcefully induce gifts in humans and animals. It would be awesome to have a pet Colossal Gila Monster that can shoot poisonous flames.


    I would basically have myself a sand dragon at that point, minus the flying bit. Something to think of later on and even if I don''t find a way to forcefully induce gifts. I quite like the idea of having a giant venomous lizard as a pet, although I would have to build meat production up to a certain point before I could even entertain the idea of keeping one.


    Back to before I got sidetracked by gifts and keeping a giant pet lizard, overall things aren''t all that bad if I play my cards right.

 Chapter 14: School

    Date September 1st, 2255


    Four years later.


    Haa, my first day of school in this world, this shit is going to suck.


    Not looking forward to the dreadfully boring time I''ll be subjected to in a bit here. I reluctantly got dressed and headed out of my room down my home''s light gray hallway to the living room, where both of my parents were having their morning coffee and tea.


    "Morning sweetie, how''d you sleep?" Mom asked me in her usual bright voice.


    "Not too bad, but do I really have to go to school? It''s not like they can teach me anything I already don''t know." I answered her before asking whether it was really necessary for me to go, not sounding too pleased.


    "Yes, you have to, son. Even if they can''t teach you anything, you still need the social interaction you''ll get from it." My father reluctantly answered me.


    "It''s not like I''m socially awkward or anything and don''t I already get plenty of interaction with Alice almost every single day of the week, isn''t that enough?" I countered, attempting to use reason to weasel my way out of having my time wasted at school.


    "You''re not, but just the two of you hanging out together isn''t really sufficient in our eyes, so you''ll need to interact with other children around your age." He countered back, though I saw the cracks beginning to form.


    I have my old man on the ropes, hehe.


    "Mom and dad, do you really want to stifle my learning by sending me to school to waste a good part of my life learning things I already know?" I followed up, not the least bit ready to admit defeat and resign myself to wasting my time at school.


    Pulling out my legendary secret weapon, the glistening eyes mom caved first. "Well, how about you give it a try, at least for the first day, and if you still don''t want to, we''ll discuss a compromise. How does that sound?"


    "Okay deal. I''ll try the first day and if I still don''t want to go, we''ll come up with a compromise later when you guys come back from work." I answered her before both she and I turned and looked at my father, waiting for his answer.


    "Fine, you win son." He answered reluctantly, though relieved from the looks of it, that I would at least give it a try.


    After a few cheers from me, dad decided to cook breakfast for the bunch of us. Giving mom a break from chef duties for once, even though mom didn''t seem all that happy about not being able to cook like normal. But whatever, she needed a break every once in a while.


    When dad finished cooking and brought the food to the table, he and I both immediately started ravenously devouring the food after mom filled her plate with what she wanted. Several minutes into eating, there was less than a third left of what dad prepared. Thus, the two of us engaged in a battle with each other for what little was left, causing mom to occasionally giggle at our antics.


    *Burp*


    "Your cooking was pretty good, dad. But still nowhere near as good as mom''s." I complimented him with a smirk on my face while patting my full belly.


    "Why don''t you just appreciate my cooking, you little rascal, without putting me down. And of course, it will never be as good as your mother''s." Dad responded while clearly faking that he was annoyed.


    With my mother smiling and clearly happy with dad''s and I''s back-and-forth breakfast came to an end. So with all of us fueled up, the three of us began getting ready for the day while the very handy Miss Maid robot my parents bought four years back got to cleaning up the mess we left behind upon finishing our meal.


    As soon as everyone of us was ready, we headed for the garage and piled into the slick-looking SUV dad purchased the month prior. The three of us on board the right side garage door opened and slid into the ground. Garage door out of the way, my old man took off in the direction of the George Washington school. The school I will be going to for the next 13 years if I don''t do anything to prevent it.


    Leaving our large standalone home behind, a blatantly obvious sign of my family''s wealth, dad only took a few minutes'' time to reach the school. And right as we arrived in front of the large expansive building of concrete and steel and exited dad''s pretty sweet new SUV, I saw Alice and her parents doing the same from a short distance away.


    Looks like our arrivals are clearly pre planned by our parents. I guess they''re planning to take a couple of pictures of us before Alice and I head inside. This is probably the real reason they wanted me to go to school.


    "Alright, sweetie, hold Alice''s hand and stand right there." My mom directed me with some excitement in her voice.


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    Wanting to get this over with, I held Alice''s hand, causing her cheeks to flush a bit and led the two of us to the position of the concrete stairs our moms and dads wanted us to stand at.


    "Alice, you''ve been reading those romance novels again, haven''t you?" I whispered to her as we headed over to the stairs.


    "Nn." She responded with her cheeks even more flushed than previously, clearly embarrassed.


    Sigh. No wonder she''s been getting flustered recently when we hold hands.


    "Okay, good smile you two." Alice''s mom Aura said, right as Alice and I were in position.


    "Alice, just don''t overdo it with the romance novel and focus on the books I assigned you to read. You wouldn''t want me to leave you behind if you can''t keep up in your reading?" I said moments after our parents were satisfied with the pictures they had taken.


    "No Dom, please don''t!" She responded while tightening her grip on my hand, fearful of losing me.


    Whoops, my wording may have been a bit too harsh.


    "I have no intention of leaving you Alice, I just want to make sure you don''t lose focus so you can keep up with me." I responded quickly before the waterworks could begin.


    "Ah, you scared me. I thought you were really going to leave me." Alice responded, relieved.


    "But I promise I won''t fall behind you, so we can always stay together and achieve our dreams." She continued with determination in her voice and eyes.


    "Then I promise to always keep you by my side and if you ever fall behind, I''ll make sure you catch up to me no matter what." I promised, lastly sealing the deal with pinky fingers before I gave her a kiss on her forehead. Which was instantly followed up by a flash of light from our parents'' direction, then a giggle from a now very happy and thrilled Alice with pink dusted cheeks.


    "Haha, I got a good one." Alice''s dad David said aloud, very pleased with himself while holding a camera in his hands.


    "Nice job, Dave. Be sure to send us a copy of it later. Jane will no doubt want to put that moment in a frame." My dad followed up while patting his best friend on the shoulder.


    "Will do Robert, I''ll forward it to you later today."


    Our parents, more than satisfied with their pictures, I turned towards Alice.


    "I think that''s enough pictures for today. Let''s go, Alice."


    "Okay." Alice said just prior to taking my hand into her own of her own volition.


    We waved our parents goodbye and headed into the school hand in hand with the many other children arriving one after another via their own parents; I presumed.


    ...


    A couple of hours later.


    "Dom, I''m so bored." Alice whispered to me at our small table at the far rear of the classroom, with just the two of us sitting at it.


    "You want to get out of here and go to my house?" I suggested in response, as I was drawing up a blueprint for one of my robot ideas. Specifically, a Worker Bot that could handle basically any task a human could, ranging from labor and manufacture to combat, farming and many other such tasks without the need to rest.


    "Yeah, we''re just wasting our time here and we can''t really get any real social interaction with them when they barely know their ABCs and have such a limited amount of words they can use to talk with us." She answered, ready to leave.


    "Okay, let''s head to the bathroom and on the way, we''ll find a way to leave without being spotted." I replied, beginning to fold up my drawing to take home.


    "Alright, whenever you''re ready." Alice said lastly.


    The second I had my drawing folded up, I slid it into my pocket and walked over to Ms Betty, our teacher with Alice, and politely asked if we could go to the bathroom. She asked us if we knew the way and I told her I did, hence she let us go, not knowing we had no intention of coming back.


    A short walk through the light gray concrete hallways, we arrived at the male and female bathrooms. Heading into the male side since we were less likely to get caught in them due to there being many more female teachers than male ones.


    Actually, I don''t recall seeing a single one, so there may be none, though I doubt that is the case.


    As we walked into the bathroom, I utilized my perception field that I had up 24/7 and scanned the entire bathroom to ensure that there wasn''t anyone in it. Once I was sure that we were all alone, I headed over to the window in the bathroom and opened it up.


    "Looks like the coast is clear. Come on, Alice." I said to her when I pulled my head in.


    "But we''re on the second floor. Wouldn''t it be dangerous to jump out the window from the second floor?" She questioned, not too sure about my idea.


    "If it was just you jumping out by yourself, sure it would be dangerous, but since I''m here there''s nothing to worry about, you trust me don''t you?" I responded back.


    "Nn, I do." She answered, putting her faith in me.


    "Okay good, let me go first and when I give you the signal you jump too, I''ll make sure nothing bad happens to you and you get down safely." I said last, receiving a nod in return.


    With Alice''s concerns addressed, I climbed out of the window first and dropped down. And thanks to my extremely durable physique as well as my lightweight, I landed on the ground outside with no issues.


    From there, I turned back around and waved for Alice to come down too. She hesitated for a second before climbing up and leaping out of the window, too. As she was falling towards me, I raised my hands up above my head and decelerated her before ending it in a princess carry to earn myself a few extra brownie points.


    "See, I told you, you would be just fine." I said with a grin plastered on my face as Alice''s cheeks began to burn up and take on a pinkish hue.


    After putting a pleased Alice who now also sported a small smile down, the two of us made our escape from the school''s premises and started making the journey home to my place while staying out of view of all people so we wouldn''t get caught.


    A short while later, as we were cutting through a park, the amount of walking we had been doing was beginning to take its toll on Alice. So, with her tiring out, I had her get on my back and carried her the rest of the way to the house. Only after about half an hour did we make it to my home without getting spotted. It would''ve been a shorter trip, but she and I had to take cover and hide more than a few times.


    "Good, we made it without getting caught." I commented aloud.


    "We did, didn''t we. I was nervous we were gonna get caught a couple of times there." Alice said, relieved.


    "Alright Alice, let''s go inside." I said to her after putting her down and as I retrieved the missing keys I borrowed from my parents a while ago from my pants pocket.


    "Okay." She responded lastly before I opened the door and the two of us headed inside.

 Chapter 15: Compromise

    Now that the two of us were in the clear safe at home at last, I got Alice set up with one of the many books from my collection that I wanted her to read. Whilst I had her reading by herself for the time being, I went over to the home phone, picked it up, and dialed mom''s number over my dad''s since she was less likely to give me an ear full over dad in this situation.


    Following a not so short conversation, mom informed me she and dad were already made aware of sudden disappearance. Which was expected because we had been gone missing from the classroom for more than half an hour at this point. After that part, she complained for a bit before I countered with Alice''s plus my own complaints and reasoning of why we had done what we did.


    "Okay, but you know that isn''t that great of a reason, because something could have happened to the two of you on your little trip from the school to the house, right?" She said, futilely trying to still win.


    "Perhaps, but the chances of anything occurring are pretty slim due to a few reasons, one the Undercity is very civilized and mostly safe as long as we stay out of the roads as well as the rougher areas of the undercity. Adding on further to that last part, the only rough areas within this entire undercity are the black market and low income area, and we were nowhere near either of those places so..." I countered, unwilling to let her win the argument.


    "The crime that occurs there is also pretty low as well, with the undercity providing everyone a way to make a living even if they are disabled. In those people''s cases, they are just taken care of by the government due to their unfortunate circumstances. Thus, even if we were in those kinds of areas, I''m sure we would''ve been fine because Alice and I stayed out of sight from everyone on our way home." I continued.


    "Two, you know how capable I am, so us getting into any real trouble I couldn''t deal with is basically nonexistent. Also, if we encountered anything physical on our way home, I stand at 4 foot 6 and weigh around 110 lbs."


    "On top of that, I''m a pretty good fighter at this point, which I''m sure grandpa John would back me up on. Furthermore, I can lift just as much weight as the average undercity''s adult male going by the weights I lift nowadays, hence even if we ran into a weirdo I''m sure I could beat them up in a short time and be on our way."


    "Alright sweety, you win." Mom relinquished.


    "However, I can''t have you both constantly escaping the school so we''re going to need to have that discussion of a compromise when we get home and I think Alice''s parents will need to join us for this talk of ours as well since it involves their little girl too."


    "I don''t have any issue with that." I responded.


    "Okay, I got to go, sweetie. Do you need Grandma to come over, or are you guys fine?" She asked.


    "Nah, we''re good. We''re just going to do our usual thing. Oh, before you go, mom, tell Alice''s mom and dad that we''re fine and are just at our house."


    "Was already planning on it. See you later, sweetie." She said lastly, getting off the phone.


    "Alright, we''re officially in the clear for now, Alice, though our parents will be coming to have a discussion with the bunch of us later."


    "Do we need to prepare at all for it?" She inquired while putting the book I gave her down.


    "No, not particularly. We just need to state the obvious for our argument. That being said, we''ll likely need to concede a bit to get what we want."


    "Do you have any idea what we should give them?" She asked.


    "What do you think of acing yearly final tests and participating in some after-school activities?"


    "That sounds pretty good, but we have to participate in the same activities together, otherwise I''ll rebel." She said half jokingly, half not so much.


    "No need to rebel, Alice, that was my intention from the start." I said, disarming any intention of her causing a ruckus.


    Hmm, I think it''s about time I let Alice know of our parents engaging us; she is more than mature enough at this point mentally to understand the significance of it since I would basically place her mental age around a young teen but a mature one slash genius one, a smidge less than two and half times her actual age.


    And since we''re so young, I don''t think things will go badly if she wants to call it off. Nevertheless, seeing how we''re basically tied at the hip, I seriously doubt she would want that and letting her know will probably have the opposite effect and will probably cause us to grow closer rather than apart, which is a win win in my book.


    "Now that we have that settled, I think it''s time I told you about something that you may not know of yet."


    "What?" She asked curiously.


    "Did you know we''re engaged?" I responded, causing her to produce a surprised face that reminded me of a certain yellow mouse from my old world.


    "Really? You''re not joking, right?" She asked after a short pause.


    "No, it''s the truth. They really did set us up." I answered her before she launched at me like a missile, overjoyed apparently at what she heard.


    After catching her before she injured herself, I sat down with her still glued to me with her now basically in my lap and explained what I knew of the details and when it happened.


    "Wow, I didn''t expect my mom and dad to do something like that. I''m glad they did, though." Alice said as she cuddled up further into my chest.


    "It wasn''t really so much your mom and dad that caused us to get engaged, I would say it was more so my grandma that was the cause of it due to her being the one to gather everyone for that discussion of theirs right after our first birthdays." I corrected her.


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    "I see. Guess I''ll have to thank her a bunch for locking you down for me." Alice responded happily.


    Following that little episode, we got back into the swing of things and started studying again with her reading the one of the many books I had in my ever-expanding collection and me opening up the laptop my parents had gotten me a while back.


    We learned a bunch and progressed for a good number of hours when I had us wrap up our studying there. Our learning paused, we headed downstairs to the gym my parents had installed for me within the last year. The place also doubled as a sparring area that I used frequently with grandpa John, ahh the perks of being born with a golden spoon.


    The moment we reached the gym, I instructed Alice on what she needed to do today. Once I had her on her way, I went ahead and initiated my own workout on the various pieces of equipment setup throughout the gym.


    A while into our workout, Alice finished hers much sooner than I did because of her workout routine being significantly lesser than my own in the amount she needed to do and her stamina and endurance not being anywhere near my own. So as I continued training on my own, she rested and watched me train for the next hour, patiently waiting for me to finish.


    Phew, I''m finally finished with the last of my sets. Thankfully, Alice doesn''t mind waiting on me and seems to quite enjoy watching me work up a sweat.


    "I''m done, Alice. Let''s go get our sparring in before our parents arrive." I told her, walking off in the direction of the sparring area.


    "Okay." She answered, following in step right behind me.


    From there, we fought on the mats until Alice was out of breath. At that point, she was basically all out of steam, thus I called it there. Our physical training covered for the day, we went off to the bathrooms to get the sweat washed off of us. When the both of us were finished getting cleaned up, we met back up and climbed the stairs, arriving back in the living room soon after.


    "Alice, you want to have something to eat?"


    "Nn, I could use a bite after all that."


    "Okay cool, let me whip up something."


    With both of us hungry, I proceeded to the kitchen and got to whipping up a couple of meals optimized for growth and recovery, though I first had to break out the stool before I could actually begin cooking.


    Shortly thereafter, I had a nice size feast for two five-year-olds that were more physically developed due to our consistent training. Bringing all I prepared out to the table, she and I took our seats and had a pleasant meal between ourselves, occasionally chit chatting about the various things we were both learning.


    ...


    As soon as we were done eating, we went back to the living room and continued our studying for a number of hours until my parents showed up, along with Alice''s in tow.


    "Sooo... what happened?" Dad asked us mere moments after all six of us had found our seats in the living room.


    "Well, Alice and I got bored, so we decided to escape school and go home and do our usual thing." I answered.


    "Yeah, we were bored and didn''t have anything to do besides draw. So why bother staying and wasting our time when we could be more productive here." Alice said, backing me up before receiving simultaneous sighs from each of our mothers and fathers.


    "I probably already know the answer, but I''ll ask anyway. What caused the both of you two to become so bored and unenthused that you felt the need to leave school?" Alice''s dad David questioned.


    "It''s not really one particular thing that caused us to leave, but an assortment. First, I believe your goal in sending us to school was for us to socialize with the other children going there so we wouldn''t become socially awkward, right?" I responded.


    "... Sigh, you''re right on money as always, you rascal. That was indeed our goal in sending you there." He answered.


    "So how exactly are Alice and I supposed to socialize with a bunch of children that are substantially less developed than ourselves? I don''t see how interacting with them would benefit us in any sort of way and would instead have the opposite effect of stifling us. And seeing how giddy the four of you were with your cameras this morning at the school''s entrance, I suspect that''s the real reason why you guys wanted us to go." I said, causing our parents to look slightly guilty.


    "Well, we wanted to have you both try going to school like normal kids, but if we''re being honest, I doubt it would have been good for either of you in the long run. That said, we all still believe you guys will need to interact with others more at some point. You and Alice can''t just interact with just our families and call it a day." He said after a momentary pause.


    "And of course we did want to shoot some cute pictures of you two. What parent wouldn''t want to take some memorial pictures of their kids?" Alice''s mother Aura answered this time, which the rest of our parents nodded and agreed to as well.


    "I can see where you guys are coming from regarding the memorable pictures, and obviously, Alice and I won''t just be interacting with each other''s families only. But I think it''s pretty pointless going to school to waste most of the day accomplishing nothing of note, just so we interact with a bunch of children that just began learning their ABCs." I responded, which they basically had to agree with if they were rational human beings.


    "So with all that said, why don''t we come to a compromise that we can all agree on instead of the alternative of Alice and I escaping school constantly?" I suggested, to our defeated looking parents.


    "What do you have in mind?" My mom Jane asked.


    "Alice and I have already discussed and were thinking acing or nearly acing all yearly tests along with participating in after-school activities and sports were a good compromise."


    "Of course you little geniuses did, so let''s hear the reasoning on why you think your suggestions are a good compromise." Mom responded.


    "Us acing the yearly tests would show that our education is more than keeping up with our peers. And our participation in after-school activities will allow us to get more socialization than if we were in school for the whole day, thereby solving the social issue." Alice answered after I gave her a nudge.


    "You two really have it all figured out, huh." My dad commented.


    "I think their suggestion is fine." My mom said.


    "Their suggestion is reasonable enough." Alice''s mother followed up before both moms looked at their respective husbands.


    "We''re okay with what they suggested, too. However, if either of you fail to get above a 90% in any tests, you guys will be going to school like normal kids, got it?" Alice''s dad said lastly.


    "Yes." Alice and I responded in sync.


    With that issue resolved and it being around dinner time, our moms prepared a small feast that everyone enjoyed.


    Damn, even her mother knows how to cook up good food. When Alice is a bit older, I will have to ask her mom as well as my mom to teach how to cook. I could also teach her a thing or two, since I know how to prepare some pretty killer food. However, besides the basics, the only cooking I''m good at mostly consists of barbecue and grilling, hence the women of our families will have to teach her the other stuff because I''ll be of no help in those areas at least for right now.


    And since I''m thinking of it, I should expand on the selection of foods I''m able to make and because she''ll be learning how to cook various dishes, I might as well join her. It''ll be another thing to bond over. Also, learning to cook a bunch of different meals wouldn''t take me long at all either due to my skills and photographic memory, thus there''s no need to worry about delaying any of my projects or training I need to get complete prior to my wasteland adventure.


    Though even if I didn''t have the time, I probably would delay everything else just so I can ensure I''ll have a woman that likes to cook. I definitely don''t want to end up in a situation like I was in my previous world with my last couple of exes. Microwave chef girlfriends are pretty rough, not going through that shit again.


    Thinking of the many mouth watering meals Alice will be able to make in the future, her and her parents went home while my family and I sat down on the couches and watched some old movies that were produced a decade before the world went to shit some 200 years back.

 Chapter 16: Progress

    Date August 6th, 2260


    5 years later.


    "Haa, my birthday is finally over. I can get some rest now." I thought aloud to myself upon entering and shutting the door to my room.


    Alone and ready to chill for a bit, I collapsed on my bed, got settled into a nice comfy position, and started relaxing. Unknowingly, less than a minute in I got so relaxed I fell asleep and took a short but pleasant nap and when I eventually awoke, I continued lying in bed, letting my mind wander. At some point, I had the idea to go over my progress to see how I''ve done the past several years.


    It''s been a good number of years since I last gone over what I''ve accomplished and considering I''m resting and not doing a single thing at this very moment, I might as well do it now. Hmm, where to start¡­ I suppose I can start off with what I''ve designed over the years, and as soon as I cover that I can move on to other stuff like my current physical abilities and what not.


    To begin, I''ve completed the worker bot design I started way back on my first day of school as well as its Artificial Intelligence software. The design is basically a six-foot tall metal human skeleton covered head to toe in modular armor that can be easily and rapidly replaced when damaged. As for the name of the design, I was stuck on what to name it for a while, but I eventually settled on simply naming the robot design Multibot.


    The reason I named it that is pretty obvious. First, the robot is designed to be a do it all robot and can do just about anything any normal human could do. Hence why it''s named as such, although in my case they''ll mostly be used for combat, manufacturing, and general labor.


    For the second reason, well I couldn''t come up with anything better so instead of wasting further time on trying to come up with marginally better names when I could be better using my energy on more productive things, I just went with Multibot because it fit the robot model well enough.


    Other than finishing that robot design in these last several years, I also designed another two and modified a pre-existing design that I obtained in my knowledge acquisition. The first of those designs being a tracked Hauling Bot, I specially designed to haul thousands of pounds of material or cargo on its cargo bed. The second design is a mining bot called Prospectron, that can scan and mine the many resources that lay within the earth with its assortment of inbuilt tools.


    And the last design is the preexisting one I modified slash upgraded, a combat oriented robot called a Sentinel. It was originally a large tracked heavy combat robot that either normally came equipped with a 5.56mm minigun and a four tubed 80mm rocket pod or a gatling laser and a four tubed 80mm rocket pod.


    What I did to the design was, I improved its mobility by replacing the tracks with heavily armored legs, making it a bipedal robot, thereby improving the amount of places it can travel in with relative ease. Alongside that, I upped the armor on it significantly to bring it in line with the heavily armored legs I added, replaced both arm weapons with gatling lasers, and placed a mounting point on each shoulder for missile launchers and missile pods. Though many different weapons can be fitted there, such as more miniguns and gatling lasers.


    However, in my case, missile pods will be mounted there instead simply because it gives the robot the ability to take down aerial targets with lock-on missiles. Not to mention the fact that there is a wide selection of different missile types that I can take advantage of, like swarm missiles, for instance. Which I''ll for sure be abusing in the future to eliminate swaths of enemies and bombard expansive areas in an instant if the need arises.


    In addition to the armament upgrades I made to the design, I replaced the fusion core with a fusion breeder core, getting rid of its need for refueling. I also went ahead and upgraded a number of components in the design to compensate for the additional weight and upgraded the artificial intelligence software. Last but not least, I added emp shielding like I did with every one of my robot designs to prevent it from being taken out by emp grenades and other electromagnetic pulse weapons.


    That''s about it for the robots, moving onto the next thing in the category we have weapons. I didn''t really have much time to dedicate to weapon designing with all the stuff I have on my plate every day. Even so, I was able to churn out my primary weapon, an eight barreled minigun chambered in 7.62 with a variable fire rate range from as low as 2,000 up to 6,000.


    The weapon should be more than capable of handling most threats I come across minus the heavily armored ones, such as power armor users. That said, the moment I get enough skill points in both my ballistic weapons and heavy weapons skills, my damage output will be more than enough to pierce through that kind of armor.


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    Though I wouldn''t be able to do that with this minigun until I had several hundred skill points in both skills or double that in just one of them, and that would only allow me to penetrate the lower and mid end suits, not the higher end ones. I could also use armor-piercing rounds on top, but honestly, it would be a hell of a lot easier to just use a weapon specifically made to penetrate and take out armored hostiles.


    Guess I''ll be designing a high damage weapon with good armor penetration capabilities next time since it makes a lot more sense than me having to dump a ton of skill points into a skill or two so I can get a minigun to pen power armor suits. It''ll get there at some point. I just have many other skills to focus on besides weapon skills. Back to what I was thinking about previously, before I got sidetracked. It''s still not too bad for something I designed in my spare time.


    With weapons covered quickly, that''s it for designs, time to move on to my physical abilities and stats. To start it off, I''ve grown to a height of 5 feet 10 inches, 2 inches away from my dad''s own height and weigh approximately 210 pounds, relatively lean. Absolutely massive for a 10-year-old, but that''s what happens when you eat a shit ton of food daily specifically optimized for growth and recovery for years on end along with many supplements.


    Not to mention my working out and training that has also contributed to my growth, and now that I''m bringing up working out, all of my lifts have progressed a shit ton over the past 5 years. Two examples of this are, I can now deadlift 315 pounds off the floor and curl 140 pounds, both for reps, exceptional lifts if I do say so myself.


    Impressive lifts aside, I wouldn''t be at my current level if it wasn''t for grandpa Henry supplying me with as many Medstims I wanted. Those medstims have contributed greatly to facilitating my body''s rapid recovery after each workout. I honestly couldn''t ask for a better family. But moving past that, my strength attribute has increased to 7, putting me ever closer to obtaining another potentially good perk. So overall I''m plenty satisfied with my strength gains over this period.


    Continuing onto agility and speed, my agility attribute sits at 4 currently and only lagged slightly behind my strength increase by a month. So I adjusted my training regime, increasing its difficulty further and allocated even more time to my agility training to try to make it keep up with my strength gains to some extent, even though it seems like a lost cause.


    For speed, the fastest I''ve clocked myself at was 18 miles per hour, meaning I still have a lot of room for improvement. But all factors considered that''s still some very good progress and at the rate I''m going, I wouldn''t be surprised if I could achieve a speed of 25 to 27 miles per hour when I finally leave for the wasteland. Last thing for my agility, I have a 2 foot vertical which is more than decent for my weight and height, pretty proud of it actually.


    Onto endurance now, it is the one attribute that has seen the most growth out of my attributes with it sitting at a tremendous 18. I''m not really surprised about it going up as much as it has over the years seeing how I''ve been grinding my balls off day in and day out. And as a reward for my efforts, my stamina as well as my body''s toughness has increased by 50%.


    On top of that, the pores across my body have shrunk down so much that they''re nearly invisible to a normal person''s vision. Adding on further, my skin no longer has any blemishes and appears increasingly pristine and beautiful, or at least that''s what the older women around me tell me while they go on about how they wished they had skin as nice as mine.


    I also tested out my body''s durability with the combat knife my grandpa John gifted/passed down to me a couple of birthdays ago, just the other day, to see where I was at.


    | Grandpa John''s Combat Knife |


    Damage: 16


    DPS: Variable


    Weight: 1.25


    Value: 670


    Item Description: A longer and slightly heavier than standard 10-inch long hardened steel combat knife.


    And surprise, surprise, the result was I couldn''t penetrate my skin with how durable it was until I put some real force behind the knife stab and even then as it penetrated my skin it lost most of its energy and momentum in the next layers and got stopped in its tracks.


    So the only thing that ended up happening from that experiment was I bled a few drops before the wound began rapidly healing and closed up after several seconds, leaving only a faint trace of it ever occurring. All that said, unless I control my body''s passive defense to let the knife penetrate through like I do when I''m injecting medstims, a normal man has no way of actually hurting me with a full powered stab from a combat knife.


    The sole exception being if I willingly decided to turn off my body''s defense in their entirety, as I just stated. Which never happens anymore simply because I''ve gotten to the level where I have such control over my body''s defenses that I merely need to open up a miniscule spot, large enough for a needle to penetrate. And doing so only requires me to think of it.


    Meaning the window of vulnerability for me to be taken out while injecting meds is gone for every one of my future enemies, at least when considering combat knives. And with how things are progressing, I wouldn''t be surprised if my endurance reaches over 30 points by the time I step out of here. At that kind of damage threshold, I should be able to shrug off shots from standard barrel length 5.56 rifles, as long as my damage threshold is 31 and above.


    Although if I''m being shot at with armor-piercing rounds, it''s a whole nother story... Anyways, it''s good to know that I don''t have to worry about ever getting stabbed in my sleep, and if someone ever has the balls to try, they''ll end up waking the bear and be in for a world of hurt.

 Chapter 17: Relationships

    While those three have been progressing nicely, they are not the only ones. My intelligence, for instance, has continued to see steady as well as impressive improvement from my knowledge gathering efforts. And now sits at a hefty 17 points, not that far away from raising my brain¡¯s processing power by another 100%. I really can¡¯t wait for the day it rises to 20. It will speed up my work an absolute ton when it finally does.


    Besides my intelligence attribute going up, my perception has gone up a bit as well, just not to the same extent. Reason being that I hit a bit of a slump for a while until I came up with the bright idea to rig up several pitching machines with turret targeting modules. Once I had those sucker shooting baseballs at me while my eyes were shut, it began increasing, like the rest of my attributes. It simply took me getting hit in the face a few times before I got the hang of things.


    Unlike my intelligence improving at its usual fast pace, my charisma attribute has seen marginal improvement by only increasing by a piddly 2 points, raising its total to 7. Not really unexpected given how much time I spend on trying to improve all my other stats. That said, I was hoping to see a bit more improvement than that, but whatever.


    Unfortunately, as that is, it isn¡¯t anywhere comparable to my luck, which has seen exactly zero improvement since I was reincarnated, and man, have I tried absolutely everything possible. I¡¯ve experimented with all sorts of luck related activities to get it to improve, ranging from playing poker and slots to even getting grandma to buy a bunch of lottery tickets for me when I went out with her to play bingo with her and her friends.


    After doing very many luck related activities for quite a long while, I came to the painful conclusion that luck was inherent and could not in any way whatsoever be improved through training like the rest of my attributes. I was hoping things would be different from the games and it could be improved through effort, but alas, it is what it is.


    Luckily, it can still be improved via the system either by perks and quests rewards. There could be additional ways it can be raised with, but those are the ones I know of from the Wastelander games.


    Alongside my attributes increasing substantially, my skills have also seen a significant increase all across the board, with my highest skill surprisingly being my heavy weapons skill, which sits at a colossal 97 closing in on 100 rapidly.


    I expected either my repair or science skill to take the lead and be my highest skill with both of them sitting at 95. But I guess my interest in heavy weapons has made enough of a difference that my heavy weapons skill was able to take the lead from those two. Going to the gun range with grandpa John to practice and try out new techniques also helps with that, not to mention the blunt heavy sword I use frequently to train my melee skills.


    Continuing on from my highest skill to my lowest skill, that spot is unsurprisingly occupied by my piloting skill. Not a big surprise there considering that is a skill that only really goes up with experience to my knowledge and seeing how young I am, I haven¡¯t had the opportunity nor the pleasure to get behind the wheel in this life, yet. Beyond that, I also haven¡¯t invested much effort in reading about the different driving and piloting techniques I have access to, so that contributes to its low number.


    In addition to my skills, agility, intelligence, perception, and strength attributes coming a long way with charisma and luck excluded, my hand to hand combat abilities have improved to the point where I can pretty much match grandpa John in sparring, even when he¡¯s going all out. Unfortunately, grandpa John isn¡¯t in his prime any longer, thus my accomplishment isn¡¯t nearly as impressive. Too bad, I would¡¯ve loved to have had a spar against him when he was still roaming the wild wasteland.


    Nonetheless, with him being a bear of a man and a veteran wasteland explorer with numerous life and death battles under his belt, I would say it¡¯s still quite an achievement, especially so for my age.


    With hand and hand covered, that wraps up my physical abilities.


    Next on the list¡­ I suppose I¡¯ll cover my relationships. Starting things off, my and Alice''s relationship has continued to progress as expected, with the two of us getting closer and closer each and every day. We have even gotten to where she is sleeping over here now, quite frequently at that. She would probably sleep here every night if she could. However, her parents drag her home every so often under the guise that she needs to see her sister, though it¡¯s painfully obvious they just want to see their little girl.


    Now that I¡¯ve arrived at this point, Alice¡¯s mom and dad had another baby and what would you know it was another girl. Over the last 4 years, because of an increasingly busy schedule, I haven¡¯t really interacted much with their new kid, Bella, like I have with Alice. Despite that, the kid appears to like me enough. I know that because anytime I show up, the rug rat runs over to latch on to me, so that¡¯s good. The little gifts I bring her every time I come around probably help with that.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    While I¡¯m thinking of it, I should probably spend more time with her since it wouldn¡¯t be bad if I had a solid relationship with both sisters. It would also make it easier to acquire and take control of the undercity as my own when I begin my quest for conquest. Also, having another close ally that we can rely upon wouldn''t hurt too. Yeah, that''s not a bad idea. We''ll be needing all the people we can get eventually to run this literal empire I plan on founding.


    Hence, I might as well start investing in the girl and get her to start the training and studying her sister and I went through and are still going through to this day. It''ll take some time away from my current activities, at least initially, but Alice can also help me out in that area as well and take a bit of the future workload off of me.


    So if the stars align and she has a genuine interest in all the stuff, she would be required to learn and train in, and has the drive required to stick with it. Even while her sister and I are out in the wasteland, she may be a potential candidate for the organization I plan on building at the beginning that''ll later be converted into a country. Hopefully she develops into a capable woman that I can place into a position of power later on.


    All that said, I¡¯ll have to keep a close eye on her and see how her personality turns out before I even consider letting her join, let alone putting her in a place of power. Nevertheless, in the event that she isn''t interested, she''ll at least be a hell of a lot better off compared to her peers if she goes through the training and studying regime.


    Moving on from that, I''ve been contemplating the idea of making a harem in the not so distant future. I wouldn''t have normally considered it something in the realm of reality, but with how my endurance is progressing on top of me going through puberty already, my urges are pretty nuts right now. Thankfully, I have the mind of an adult and can just forcefully control and suppress my urges myself, despite it being quite the never ending battle.


    Nevertheless, I''m certain I¡¯ll be needing more than just Alice in the future to satisfy my primal urges if things continue the way they¡¯re going. There is no way her stamina will be able to compete with my own superhuman amount. I can already envision a future where Alice is passed out on the bed, satisfied as can be, whilst I, on the other hand, am still raring to go.


    That said, there is a chance I could end up wrecking my whole future with her by pursuing more women than just her alone. But I know her inside and out so I¡¯m nearly 100% sure that she won¡¯t have that much of a problem with it, if any at all, as long as I keep her by my side and satisfied.


    And besides, having a harem of capable women who I can trust sounds like a huge asset. I could see that sort of situation being a massive help in running the nation I''ll be building in the future, which I''m sure I''ll be in desperate need of while I''m off conquering, solving the zetan problem, and dealing with whatever else requires my attention. As for who I''ll add to this unestablished harem of mine, I currently have no one in mind down here in the undercity since I''ve yet to come across anyone around my age that would fit the bill.


    However, all is not lost. I know of a few women that should exist out there in the wasteland that check all the boxes and are more than capable in their own right. One of them being a red-haired thorny rose in Vegas, part of one of the major powers there¡­ Will I be able to obtain their hearts one day, who knows, but even if they don''t work out, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll encounter more beautiful women in the future that¡¯ll pique my interest.


    Aside from the possible destruction of my relationship via my own hands, I was thinking my own parents would have another kid. However, surprisingly they haven¡¯t, and seeing how they treat Alice as basically their own daughter, I guess they didn¡¯t feel the need to have another with her here nearly every day of the week. More attention for me, I suppose, not that I need it.


    Onto other relationships, I¡¯ve made a couple of good friends in these last five years, consisting of Big Tom who I met through my after school sport activities, specifically wrestling. The kid is surprisingly almost as big as me, hence why I call him Big Tom.


    As to how Tom and I became friends, it¡¯s pretty simple, actually. Due to our large sizes, we weren¡¯t allowed to wrestle with the other kids. Therefore, with the two of us only allowed to wrestle each other. Hence, we quickly became friends after battling it out on the mats many times. It was also made easier by the fact that Tom didn¡¯t have any friends to speak of. Which, now that I¡¯m thinking of it, is kind of sad.


    In addition to Big Tom, I met and befriended a pretty intelligent kid when I was out and about at school with Alice several years back, named Bob. When I first encountered the kid, he was getting bullied.


    Not liking what I was seeing, I stepped in and roughed them up a bit, putting a stop to it. Following helping him out, he seemed quite appreciative of the aid I provided him by putting his bullies in their place, and after chatting with the kid; I found out he was quite intelligent for his age.


    Seeing potential in him, I decided to befriend the kid. Unwilling to see my newly acquired friend at the time get bullied again in the future while I wasn''t around, I took him under my wing and set him up with Big Tom so he wouldn¡¯t be bothered any longer. After introducing the two of them and having Big Tom protect Bob, they took to each other and quickly became friends on their own.

 Chapter 18: Loot Goblin

    That about covers my relationships. I have other ones besides the ones I''ve mentioned, but nothing of any real note at this point. Onto the next bit of progress we have loot, and in the last couple of years I''ve managed to accumulate a good bit of it, especially the materials and resources I need to begin getting some gear made.


    What I''ve managed to get my hands on so far is, I''ve "Borrowed" 200 microfusion cells that I can either use for power, such as using them as ammo for energy weapons, or I can modify the cells into makeshift plasma grenades at a moment''s notice if the need arises.


    Though I highly doubt there ever will be a need to, at least inside the undercity since I''ve yet to encounter a single issue that would require that kind of drastic action slash firepower. But other than those two mentioned uses, I could also modify them into fusion breeder cells.


    Doing that would then provide me with a theoretical, limitless power source. To accomplish that, I''m going to need to produce a couple pieces of equipment to make that happen. Too bad the undercity lacks the ones I''m specifically looking for.


    Aside from the cells I gained, I''ve also managed to scrounge up a decent amount of scrap metal, electronics, different adhesives, and numerous other miscellaneous materials and components. All of which I have safely stored away in my room inside the many locked lockers and trunks I''ve gotten over the years. Though most of them have been acquired in the last two years.


    With the many, many different things I have hoarded, all I have to do now is to find some laser weapon parts and I''ll be able to cobble together a halfway decent laser weapon. Looks like I''ll have to make a trip to the used market, I could maybe come across some parts at the recycling facility.


    However, it''ll be much easier to get the parts I need from the used market, at least I think so. If I can''t find them there, the alternative is to just wait until I get a large enough space for myself that I can use to start making and manufacturing the shit I''m going to require.


    Hmm¡­ on second thought, I have to do that anyway so might as well direct my energy and focus into that instead of trying to hunt down parts when I can simply just produce them on my own, yeah I''ll go with that plan instead.


    Together with the bits and bobs I collected, I turned a small sum of the scrap metal into lockpicks which I''ve been using to raid the undercity''s recycling plant for even more stuff. And as a result of said raiding, my lockpicking skill has increased a decent bit as well.


    Alright, that about does it for the loot I collected and the majority of my progress in recent years¡­ Since I''m covering everything, I''ll go over my near future plans too. So over these last five years, with my intense accumulation of knowledge, I''m now at the point where I actually need to start preparing the items for the wasteland.


    Therefore, I have to begin manufacturing and producing the ammo, armor, chemicals, equipment, medicine, weapons and the other numerous items I''ll require for my plans of taking over Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility and raiding Fort Kern, that I decided to take control of as well instead of just cleaning it of its loot and going on my way. Plus, there is the research I need to complete too, so much stuff to do, so little time, haa¡­


    Now the plan I have in mind for how I''m going to go about starting my mass manufacturing operation, I''m going to first get my parents and my grandparents together. Once I have them in one place, I''m going to have a talk with them to see if they can help me out with getting a space large enough for what I want to get done, preferably one located in between the mining and manufacturing districts.


    If I can get a warehouse in between those two districts, it would allow me to go into the undercity mines to gather resources at a much faster speed as compared to a location near my home which is located on just about the opposite side of the undercity from the mines.


    Combined with the faster and easier material gathering, I''ll have easy access to numerous pieces of manufacturing equipment from the nearby manufacturing facilities, cutting the amount of time I would need to use for getting everything setup even further.


    As for chances of them agreeing to help me out, I believe they are pretty high since I can spin this in the way that this will let me gain experience and will help my creativity flourish, etcetera. Attacking from that angle should make them see this as something majorly beneficial for me, so I don''t see why they wouldn''t agree.


    Though if they knew my true goals for the place and why I want to make the stuff I''m planning on making. I''m confident that the answer would be a resounding no. Simply because the women in my family wouldn''t want me to go wandering into a danger filled wasteland. I''m gonna have to broach this topic at some point, but delaying it until I''ve made all my preparations and have my miniature robot army assembled will probably make things easier.


    I should have most of my preparation made by the time I''m 17 if not earlier, so I suppose I''ll delay the conversation until then. One year''s heads up should be more than enough time for my friends and family to come to terms with the fact I want to explore the wasteland.


    However, just in case things go south, even though it''s very unlikely, I''ll make a tunnel from the depths of the mines to the surface as an alternative exit, always good to have a backup plan to fall back on.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    With my future adjusted and settled upon, I continued thinking and eventually opened up my status to take a brief look at my stats.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 10


    Height: 5 Feet 10 Inches


    Body Weight: 210 lbs


    Race: Human


    Level: 2


    Experience Points: 3,000/3,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 1,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 65,120


    Experience Rate: 185% | Formula: 100 + (Intelligence x 5)


    Health: 960 | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Healing Rate: 0.0766 Health Per Second/4.6 Health Per Minute | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1


    Stamina: 1,840 | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4


    Stamina Regeneration: 1.2 Stamina Per Second/72 Stamina Per Minute | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4


    Carry Weight: 0/450 | Formula: 100 + (Strength x 50)


    Critical Chance: 10% | Formula: Luck x 1


    [ Effects ]


    [ Armor ]


    Body Damage Threshold 18 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Resistances ]


    Radiation Resistance: 18 | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 4


    Endurance: 18


    Intelligence: 17


    Perception: 14


    Charisma: 7


    Luck: 10


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 93


    Energy Weapons: 88


    Explosives: 83


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 97


    Leadership: 70


    Lockpick: 81


    Medicine: 87


    Melee Weapons: 85


    Piloting: 51


    (T)Repair: 95


    (T)Science: 95


    Speech: 59


    Stealth: 79


    Survival: 75


    Trade: 69


    Unarmed: 84


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 19 | Formula: (Intelligence x 1) + 2


    [ Traits ]


    | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks:


    Passive Perks: | Bookworm | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Talented |


    Combo Perks: | All Seeing |


    [ Mutations ]


    [ Gear ]


    Weapons: Grandpa John''s Combat Knife


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Attribute: +150% to endurance gain, +50% to intelligence gain, +150% to strength gain


    Body: +50% to blood circulation, +300% to ligament strength, +300% to ligament growth speed, +100% to muscle growth speed, +100% to muscle density, +300% to tendon strength, +300% to tendon growth speed


    Brain: +100% to brain processing power, +100% to reading speed, +1 to thought processes


    Health: +100% to health, +1 health regeneration per minute


    Perception Field: Range 14 meters


    Skill: +25% to skill gain speed


    Sleep: Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Stamina: +400% to stamina, +400% to stamina regeneration


    Kill Counter: 0


    [ Items ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing:


    Aid: Medstims (368)


    Ammo: Microfusion Cells (200)


    Skill Books: All Things Gun (4) - Atomic Power (3) - Bigger Is Always Better (2) - Book Of Engineering (3) - Boom! (2) - Conversationalists Notebook (3) - Drifting & Racing Weekly (2) - Encyclopedia Of Medical Advancements (3) - Entrepreneur (2) - Future Science (3) - Last Man Standing (3) - Leaders Of The World (4) - Martial Master (2) - Martial Weapons Guide (2) - Master Of All Trades (1) - Security Systems Monthly (3) - Stealth 101 (2)


    Miscellaneous: Adhesive (49) - Books (2,335) - Electronics (164) - Metal (4,306) - Other Misc Items (7,324)


    Money:


    Robots:


    Turrets:


    Vehicles:


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 0


    In progress: 14


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Harem | Objectives: Enter a long-term romantic relationship with at least 3 women. All women must be aware of each other and okay with the arrangement of sharing you. Reward: 5,000 exp.


    | Master All Trades | Objectives: Reach a minimum of 100 for every skill you have. Rewards: Perk | Master Of All Trades |, +5 to all skills, 27,500 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Production Underway | Objectives: Start manufacturing and producing the many items you''ll need for your dangerous journey. Rewards: 2 Repair points, 2 Science points, 3,750 exp.


    | Seeker Of Knowledge | Objectives: Find a way to start acquiring this world''s knowledge and accumulate an entire library''s worth. Rewards: 3 Intelligence Points and 4,500 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute.


    Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    My stats are coming along nicely.


    That said, my skills aren''t increasing as fast as they once were, meaning I''m nearing the limit of what I can accomplish with my studying. Nothing I can do about it, I''ll just continue reading until I hit the limit of what I can gain from it and when I do finally hit that limit, I believe it''ll be time to use my accumulated level ups.


    At that time there''ll be no real reason to delay it any further when the whole reason why I put off my leveling was so I could maximize my gains by raising my skills through reading and training first.


    And going by my progress, I should reach the limit by the time I''m eleven. Adding on to that, the Seeker Of Knowledge quest should be ready to turn in too by then, if not sooner. Though even if I finish the objective ahead of schedule and have it ready to turn in, I''ll need to hold off on turning it in until after I spend the entirety of my level ups.


    I want to get as much out of turning it in as possible, and with there being a chance of my intelligence attribute raising during one of said level ups, it makes sense to delay it so I can squeeze that extra smidgeon of exp out of it.


    With that figured out, I gave my stats another once over and closed out of it before pulling my blanket up and rolling over to get some much needed shut eye after my eventful as well as tiring birthday.

 Chapter 19: Preparations Underway

    Date Wednesday, August 8th, 2260


    Slightly more than a day later.


    Now that Alice''s and mine''s birthdays are out of the way for another year, I can get back to working and furthering progress towards my goals again. And since I''ve already covered what progress I''ve made and what I needed to do the day before yesterday, it''s about time I begin preparing the plethora of items and gear I''m going to require for my wasteland adventure. To get things started, I''ll first need to have that discussion with my family today.


    Planning on talking with my parents and grandparents, I got my butt up from my bed and headed for the bathroom. After quickly cleaning up, I set off in the direction of where my parents usually were in the morning, the living room.


    Leaving the hallway behind, I saw them and in their usual spots, thus I greeted them as I did every morning. "Morning Dad, morning Mom."


    "Morning son." Dad responded, looking up from his tablet that he was obviously reading something on.


    "Good morning sweety, how''d you sleep?" Mom followed in her usual bubbly and upbeat voice.


    "Pretty good, you?"


    "Slept like a rock."


    Following that, we went through our regular routine of chatting for a bit while they had their morning caffeine of either coffee or tea. When the two of them were finished drinking their drinks, we got up and proceeded to the kitchen, where Mom took over the kitchen as per usual. I offered to help, but she declined my offer and said she had everything under control.


    Mom, not needing my help, I took a seat at the kitchen table along with Dad as she began preparing breakfast for the three of us. A time later, everything was prepared and as soon as it was all brought over, we started digging into my mom''s delicious cooking.


    As we were coming upon the end of the meal, I broached the subject I''ve been needing to. "Mom, Dad, I have something important I would like to talk to you two about."


    "Oh, and what''s that son?" Dad asked whilst mom looked on curiously.


    "Well, it''s concerning my progress as of late as well as what I would like to do in the future. But before I bring up what I want to discuss, Grandma and both Grandpa Henry and Grandpa John need to be here for this." I answered him.


    "Yeah, that does sound like a pretty important topic. Hun, can you call your dad and my parents and tell them to come on over?" He communicated with me and my mother.


    "Sure, honey, but your dad just retired recently and has been enjoying his free time. So I don''t think he''ll be over in time before we need to go to work¡­" Mom responded, insinuating my grandpa was busy.


    "My old man has been taking advantage of his retirement by sleeping in quite a lot recently, the lucky bastard." Dad said enviously, going into his thinking mode.


    ¡­


    Moments later, a devious grin made its way onto his face.


    "Ohh, I know just what to do. Tell them there''s an emergency regarding their grandson. That''ll be sure to make them race over." My dad said joyfully after coming up with something that would ruin Grandpa Henry''s extra sleep.


    Mom released a sigh at my dad''s antics prior to going into the other room to give my grandparents a call. After about 10 minutes, my grandparents were hurrying through the front door, coming towards us in the living room. As soon as they stepped foot into the living room, the three of them had questioning looks on their faces, not understanding what was going on, while my dad had a very pleased expression plastered on his face.


    With the three of them here now, I got down to business and explained the situation to them and threw my dear old dad right under the bus, where they proceeded to give him death stares and an ear full.


    My dad, obviously knowing there would be repercussions for his actions at a later date if he didn''t do anything, was quick to sincerely apologize to Grandma Emelia and Grandpa John. As for grandpa Henry, his apology to him was blatantly insincere, pissing off my grandpa even further.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Before the two of them could start fighting, I opened up my mouth and said. "I apologize for my dad, grandpa."


    A few seconds passed before Grandpa Henry''s anger was placated somewhat and when it was, I continued. "Dad''s method of getting you all here may have been inconsiderate, but it''s a good thing he did, since there is something really important I need to discuss with you all."


    "And that would be?" Grandpa Henry inquired.


    "That would be the next step I need to take." I responded, grabbing hold of everyone''s attention.


    "I''m sure all of you are well aware of the amount of reading I do and the sort of memory I have."


    "We are." My mom Jane replied, for everyone.


    "Well, I''m nearing the limit of what I can learn from reading, so it''s time I take the next step and start creating and researching my own things."


    "You''ve gotten that far already." Grandma Emelia said, clearly surprised.


    There was a bit of back and forth with everyone when my gramps, John turned to me and asked me what I needed. "So what do you need, Dom?"


    "We don''t really have the space at home for the activities I would be doing, so I''m thinking I''m going to need a large warehouse-like space that can accommodate manufacturing and research. The only places I know that have that kind of space available around here would be on the other side of the undercity." I answered him.


    "Yeah, there aren''t many properties like that around here, if any. Despite that, there should be few relatively close to home." Dad commented.


    "There should be some. However, I would much prefer a place in between the mines and the manufacturing area so I can gather resources on my own and don''t have to rely on you guys 100% of the time." I responded.


    "Oh nonsense, kid, that''s the whole point of family. You''re supposed to rely on us." Gramps said before the rest of the family piped in saying similar things.


    ¡­


    "So, do you have a property in mind?" Mom asked me after we were finished talking about a bunch of the other miscellaneous things I''d need for the place.


    "No idea, so we''ll have to go check out some properties to figure out which of them will suit my needs the best." I answered.


    "Well, why don''t we go property searching today? I don''t have anything going on, now that I''m up." Grandpa Henry said while staring daggers at my dad from across the living room and receiving a mocking face from him.


    As my father was directing a mocking expression at his father further riling him up, gramps said. "I got nothing I have to take care of, so I''ll come too."


    "I''ll be coming as well. I have to make sure my grandson gets a good deal." Grandma Emelia followed up.


    "Unfortunately, we have work, so we''ll be leaving it up to you guys to find what he needs." Mom said, sad at the fact that she couldn''t join us in my property search.


    "I mean yeah we have work, but with me being handed the company by my old man, I''m sure it won''t be an issue if we take a day off or two to join our son in his search, you don''t have a problem with that, right old man?" My dad, Robert suggested before turning and asking my grandad.


    "The company isn''t going to fall apart in a day, so come along." Grandpa Henry responded, holding back his anger that he will clearly take out on his son at some point later today.


    With my mom and dad now joining us in my search for the right place, they first called up whoever they needed to at the company and made arrangements. Once that was settled, we collectively headed for the garage to pile into Dad''s SUV so we could make our way to the undercity real estate office, but on our way there, the doorbell rang.


    "Let me go see who''s at the door." I said, already having a premonition of who will be there.


    The moment I neared close enough to the front door with my perception field for me to detect who was at it and low and behold, it was Alice, just like I thought it would be.


    Guess we''ll be adding another person to our group trip. We''re running out of space in the car, but we''ll make it work.


    As soon as I got to the front door, I opened it up and was immediately greeted by an Alice missile that latched on to me with surprising speed.


    "As excited as ever to see me, huh, Alice?" I said while she was attached to my front.


    "Nnn, of course." She replied before she buried her face in my chest again.


    "Okay, Alice, that''s enough clinging for now. You''ll have plenty of time to do that in the car ride." I piped up after letting her cling to me for a short bit.


    "A car ride. We don''t usually do that, so where are we going?" She inquired after releasing me, curious about where we were headed.


    "Walk with me. I''ll tell you on the way to the garage." I told her while presenting my hand that she happily held onto prior to us moving to the garage.


    As we were walking to the garage, I started off by saying. "As you know, I''ve been reaching the limit of what I learn from the many books I have and the undercity web."


    "Yeah, you did tell me about that." She responded waiting for me to continue.


    "With me nearing that limit and my dream revolving around conquering the wasteland, it''s time I start preparing all the items I''ll be needing to make that happen. To do that, I''ll require a very large space to accommodate all the equipment I''ll be using, thus our destination today is the main undercity real estate office that will help me find the space I''m looking for." I explained.


    From there, I continued informing her about the rest of the details as we continued our brief journey to the garage. The moment the two of us arrived, Alice greeted everyone before we all loaded up into the SUV as the garage was in the process of opening.


    "And we''re on our way." Dad said aloud as he began driving off in the direction of the real estate office with the garage closing shut behind us.

 Chapter 20: Property Hunt

    A short drive through the concrete and metal jungle that is the undercity we reached our destination. Upon our arrival, our group unloaded out of the car with Alice and I climbing out of the back seats last, and walked through the parking lot in the direction of a large concrete and metal structure located a short distance away.


    When the bunch of us entered the real estate building, the front desk immediately greeted us and directed us to sit down and wait for the agent that my family preferred to do business with due to previous dealings, Mr. Birch.


    We sat there waiting for around a minute or so before an older gentleman showed up from the nearby elevator dressed in a dark blue suit. Following a short greeting and a bit of small talk, he brought us away first to the elevator and then to his office once the elevator reached the fifth floor.


    Directly after entering Mr. Birch''s office, he inquired as to the reason for our visit. "So what brings you all here to today?"


    Grandpa Henry placed his hand on my left shoulder and answered. "My grandson over here wants a large industrial building that he can use for research and manufacturing, preferably in between the manufacturing and mining districts."


    The second he learned of what we want, he set into motion and began rapidly pulling up and showing us the numerous properties available with his desktop. That should meet my requirements.


    I looked through a number of them and ended up selecting three of them that fit my needs in terms of space as well as location. With my choices made we headed back to the lobby with Mr. Birch now accompanying us and since my dad''s car didn''t have enough space for all of us Mr. Birch got the company to send a large passenger van to take us to go look at the properties I was interested in seeing.


    Our group waited until the van showed up, and so with our transportation here, we collectively boarded the vehicle and began our trip to nearly the other side of the undercity. On our long-ish drive to the other side and with not much to do on the ride there, I passed the time by looking out the window at the many things taking place and going on in the city with Alice once again attached to my side.


    As the van continued traveling to the first property, I watched the many cars that reminded me of the different models from my previous world mashed together with an assortment of futuristic elements and styling pass us by, going wherever their destinations lied.


    Besides watching the many cars passing by, the numerous undercity residents going about their lives in the distance kept me entertained enough for the next several minutes before my mind started wandering and a thought occurred to me.


    It''s honestly impressive how much this place has grown since nuclear annihilation fucked everything up two centuries ago¡­


    While the car continued on its way, I kept myself occupied with the going ons of the city as well as my thoughts. After spending my time like that for however many minutes, we finally arrived at our first destination.


    "We''ve reached the nearest property your grandson was interested in seeing and from what I can tell, it should fit your requirements rather well." Mr. Birch said moments after the car came to a stop.


    "Let''s go check it out and see if it fits what you''re looking for, grandson." My grandpa Henry said before we started exiting the vehicle.


    Once the bunch of us left the vehicle excluding the driver who would remain with the van, we began walking in the direction of a large nondescript industrial building that appeared to be around 30 feet or so tall and covered at least several thousand square feet in area. When we reached the main door of the building, Mr. Birch walked up to a keypad located next to the door and keyed in a code, unlocking the door.


    With the door open, we headed inside, followed by Mr. Birch, who held the door open for us. And right as he rejoined us, he began listing the notable features of this property, such as it being the closest one to my home. Which would cut down on travel time for me, although not significantly. Adding to the reduced travel time, the building had plenty of space to house the various things I would be needing it for.


    The last big benefit of this property was that the original owner used to run a weapon manufacturing company out of here and had yet to move and sell off the many pieces of heavy machinery here. So I could pay a bit extra on top of the purchase price of the property to get them included.


    It wouldn''t be too bad of an idea, since it would reduce the amount of machinery I would need to buy after whatever place I decide to go with. That said, I have plans of building more versatile manufacturing equipment so many of the pieces here will be useless to me so it may not be that worthwhile to acquire them¡­ There is also the option of modifying and reconfiguring, and if I don''t go with that I could just dissemble them for parts and whatnot.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡­


    Exploring the factory in its entirety, Mr. Birch said. "I believe that''s it for this property. Does anyone have questions regarding the property?"


    Waiting for a few seconds to see if any of my family had any inquiries, they didn''t, thus I did. "Doesn''t look like it."


    "Alright, let''s continue on to the next one." Mr. Birch responded while leading the way back to the vehicle.


    As soon as we loaded back up into the van, the driver drove off deeper in between the manufacturing and mining areas of the undercity. Following a short ride, we arrived at the next location, this one being a somewhat larger warehouse-looking structure.


    Upon reaching our destination, we swiftly left the van behind and went through a similar sequence of events. After going through our look through the property, I discovered this one was pretty lacking in the benefits department. The only real one it provided was its completely blank slate that I could do just about anything I wanted with to make it my own.


    So with this one being kind of a dud with little to nothing to make it stand out from its competition than it being a blank canvas. We went on our way to the third and last property that was on the edge of the two zones, backing up to the rough bedrock walls of the undercity that had yet to be excavated for further expansion.


    A few minutes of travel later, the last of the three properties came into view and not long after that, we began exiting the van once again into a parking lot of a very wide five-story concrete building that lay a bit of distance away.


    As we were making our way to the double doors of the structure, Mr. Birch started speaking on the way there. "I''m almost certain you''ll love this one, Dom, because it''s the largest out of the three and has plenty of equipment, with it originally being a foundry that processed metal the original owner extracted from the attached mine."


    "An attached mine, you say. Now why would someone want to get rid of a property?" I replied, skeptical about why someone would want to get rid of such a valuable property.


    "That''s quite odd. I would also like to hear the reasoning behind why they wish to sell it off." My grandfather, Henry added.


    "Well, I''m not exactly sure of all the details, but apparently it has something to do with the attached mine. Unfortunately, that''s all I know." Mr. Birch answered with what he knew.


    "Ohh, and because of that, the owner is anxious to get rid of the property. So the property is discounted quite a bit compared to what one would normally pay for a property such as this." Mr. Birch added further.


    If that''s the only problem with the property I don''t really have much of an issue with that since I don''t necessarily need the attached mine with there being public ones, although I''ll have to pay tax for what I mine from those and deal with the many procedures that need to be followed over there. With all that said, whatever issue the mine has, I''m sure I can resolve it so I can freely mine my own resources.


    "That''s fine. I mainly need the space so I can experiment, research, and manufacture different things." I responded, keeping a good portion of what I was going to be up to hidden as our group began entering the facility.


    After entering the place, we walked through what I would call a reception area before we passed by a male and female bathroom as we went through another set of double doors onto the main work floor. What stood before us was a pretty barren space that only had two large arc furnaces for processing whatever ore they extracted and some other miscellaneous equipment that was required for the rest of the processes.


    Guess they didn''t have time to fully stock this place before they ran into issues, not that''s a problem for me. I can actually see that as a positive in my case since if I end up going with this place, I won''t have to remove a bunch of unnecessary equipment and manufacturing machines.


    From there, we explored and inspected the rest of the ground floor before moving to the basement that housed half a dozen small fusion power plants. Following the generator room, we checked out the storage area in the basement, which was basically a miniature warehouse that was connected to the floor above with a cargo elevator.


    That covered the basement entirely, thus we walked back upstairs to the second floor, which would be the fourth floor for most normal buildings. However, because this one is a foundry, the first floor is 30 feet tall to house large industrial equipment. What we saw on that floor was basically just an entirely empty floor with a couple of offices built, likely for management or the owner.


    I would probably use this floor for research and for producing the various drugs and medicines I''ll be needing, can''t really have it on the main floor with the amount of manufacturing that will be going on down there.


    Now that that floor was covered, my group and I headed for the next lead by Mr. Birch. The situation on that floor was the same story as the floor we had just come from and the floor after as well, thus we quickly continued on to the last and final of the upper levels. Coming upon that floor, we saw it was entirely composed of ventilation equipment and other hardware. So with that floor also seen, we proceeded to the very last location, the attached mine.


    When we made it to the mine''s entrance, our group found a longish-lit tunnel about 150 feet in length that had been artificially collapsed at the end. As everyone was looking around and chatting with each other, I walked closer to the collapsed section to see if I could discover what exactly was so wrong with the mine that it would make the owner so eager to offload this gem.


    I haven''t seen or found any issues with this mine thus far and I''ve seen more than a hefty amount of iron and other ores embedded all over the tunnel''s walls, so it''s not like it doesn''t have any resources to extract.


    As I began contemplating about what the fuck was wrong with this place, I neared closer and closer to the collapsed rock. At a certain point, I detected something rather odd and out of place within my perception field, that being several human skeletons stripped of absolutely all of their flesh. My interest peaked by my find, I continued inching closer and closer. As soon as I was just a few feet away from the rubble, I sensed something, a creature or creatures, in this case.


    ¡­ Oh, that could be the reason why the owner is so gung ho about getting rid of the property. Let''s see exactly what kind of creatures I''m dealing with here.


    With the likely reason in sight, I crept a bit closer, further extending the range of my perception field over the creatures.

 Chapter 21: Investigation

    After a second, I found exactly what I was dealing with: a couple of molemen armed with nothing but their claws and sawed-off double-barrel shotguns.


    This could be very bad. When there''s one-moleman there are always many more not too far away.


    With them having the propensity for violence and slaughtering everything, not moleman, it would be best to eliminate them in their entirety before they become a problem for me and the undercity at large. I should probably inform my family and get the governor involved... On the other hand, if I do that, I definitely won''t be getting this property. There is also the fact that this could also be a big opportunity for my growth in the way of exp and skill gain, the latter of which is accelerated with combat.


    Not to mention I can probably get a pretty sweet deal if I go and have a word with the current owner regarding what I discovered in the mine. If I play my cards right, I should be able to pick up this facility for pennies on the dollar as long as I bring that up. And in the event they put up a bit of resistance, I''m sure both my family and Alice''s family would love to hear about what''s in that particular mine and why the owner thought it was such a great idea to not say a single thing about it to the authorities.


    I really don''t understand why the owner wouldn''t have informed the relevant authorities¡­ Hmm, on second thought I guess his or her facility would have been taken over by the government thereby losing his property for a temporary period along with any income it would have been generating, maybe that''s the reason. Well, whatever, it doesn''t really matter what braindead reason they had for what they did. All that matters is I''ll be taking advantage of the information I''ve learned of and benefiting from the situation.


    Now what do I actually want to do¡­ it doesn''t seem like the molemen have any intention of clearing the rubble and coming through the mine just yet, if at all. In the case they did, I''m pretty sure there would be a hell of a lot more than just two of them sitting on the other side. For that reason, I should have plenty of time to get the relevant machines and equipment I need to make a decent bit of kit.


    Although even if I have a good bit of kit to use against them, I have no clue how many of them there are. If there''s a lot of them that won''t necessarily hold up against a large group of them, not to mention a horde of molemen. Not wanting to throw my life away this early on, it looks like I''ll need to put my ass into gear and either start amassing robots as soon as absolutely possible or buy some with the intent of using them for combat.


    Except if I do the latter, my family will be more than aware that I''m up to something dangerous and it''s much too early for any of that to be going on just yet. I don''t particularly want to fuck up my plans because I was too short-sighted.


    Besides all that, I''ll also need to monitor the situation in the mine very frequently, multiple times a day, at least for any changes or movements they make while I''m making my preparations to exterminate them. I definitely don''t want to end up getting surprised by a bunch of ruthless molemen while I''m unprepared.


    On top of that, I''m going to have to make some preparations in the meantime to ensure that if they do try to come through the mine, they won''t be able to get very far or make any substantial progress whatsoever.


    Haa, I didn''t want to, but I suppose I''ll be converting a couple dozen of those microfusion cells in my stash not into grenades but into mines. It''s unfortunate, however, the gains far outweigh the loss of some fusion cells that I''ll be able to easily replace in the coming days. Though I''ll be making the improved version, the microfusion breeder cells.


    My decision pretty much made and thinking about all the gains I''d soon be making, I turned back around and proceeded to where everyone else was, with the exception of Alice, who followed beside me as usual this whole time.


    Leaving the grotesque human mole rat hybrids behind, Alice and I rejoined my family and Mr. Birch. After viewing the mine, we had basically explored the entire facility pretty much, thus with nothing else left to see, we collectively headed for the van.


    As we were making our way to said van, my Grandpa Henry slowed down until he was walking alongside me and asked. "What did you think of this one, Dom?"


    "I like the place. The facility appears to be the best of the three we visited today. Other than that, it should accommodate the various things I would need it for." I answered him.


    "However, there must be an issue with the place if the property owner is so anxious to get rid of it."


    "That is correct. Any normal person would not sell off a prime property such as this. I wonder what the issue could be." My grandad Henry responded also curious about what the reason could be.


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    "Since there could be a possible problem with the place I would like to go do a bit of investigating before I come to a final decision, but in the meantime do you think you can delay the sale of the three properties until I can find out what''s wrong with this one." I replied, withholding that I already knew what was wrong with it.


    "That shouldn''t be an issue, but don''t drag out your investigation too long."


    "Will do, and thanks again Grandpa for always helping me out." I responded gratefully with a slight bit of excitement in my voice due to me getting closer and closer to putting all the knowledge I''ve gathered over the years into actual use.


    "Anytime, grandson." He replied, happy to help his precious grandson once again.


    Coming closer and closer to putting all the knowledge I''ve gathered over the years into use, my grandpa rejoined my grandma up ahead while Alice got closer to me before suddenly reaching out and holding onto my hand. When I looked over in her direction to see what was up, I saw her shoot a smile my way. Understanding that she just wanted to hold hands, the two of us continued following behind my family along with Mr. Birch.


    Several minutes of walking later, we made it back to our transportation, so we all piled in again and were driven to the real estate office. Directly after coming back to the office, my grandfather told us he had something to discuss with Mr. Birch and asked for us to wait for a few minutes while he had his conversation with the older gentleman.


    Thus, whilst my grandpa and Mr. Birch went off to talk, likely to arrange a hold on all three listings for me. My family and I, with the addition of Alice, made small talk amongst ourselves in the meantime while we waited for my grandpa to return. Not too many minutes passed when my grandpa Henry came strolling out of the entrance along with Mr. Birch, who wished us all a good rest of the day prior to him heading inside to continue whatever work he had to do.


    Formalities handled, thanks to my grandpa. We continued through the parking lot of the real estate office and hopped into my dad''s SUV. Right as everyone loaded in and had their seatbelts clicked in, my dad drove everyone to our home. Following our return home, my grandparents decided to stay for lunch before they took off to go do whatever they had planned originally.


    Well, that was a productive first half of the day, but it''s time I get back to my regular activities. Though when night falls, I''ll scour the undercity web for the details I need on that property owner. It shouldn''t take me more than 10 minutes to find what I''m looking for.


    With plans of searching the net for the property owner''s details tonight, I got back to grinding my skills via reading the various things I still needed to learn about on my laptop, with Alice obviously doing the same, of course.


    ¡­


    Alice and I spent the day being productive as usual, doing the activities we normally did. After a good many hours passed of doing that with the addition of some gaming at the end, the day had come to a close.


    "Alright, you two, it''s about time you go to bed." My mom came and told both Alice and me in her usual sweet voice as the clock reached 10:00 PM.


    "Okay Mom, we''ll head to bed in a second." I responded to her whilst Alice and I were in the midst of playing a cooperative game I picked up this week.


    A couple of minutes later, the two of us reached a point where we could save, so we did so and wrapped up our gaming for the night. Now that it was time for bed, us two peas in a pod made our way to my bathroom, which was basically our bathroom at this point, not just mine any longer, and went through our usual hygienic routines that we needed to perform every night.


    The minute that was taken care of, I went out to the living room with Alice in tow, where both of my parents were and wished them a good night. "We''re going to bed. I''ll see you in the morning, Mom and Dad. Have a good night."


    "Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. Woods." Alice said directly after me.


    "You two have a good night as well. We''ll see you both in the morning." My dad responded.


    "Sleep well." My mom said lastly, getting up from the couch and giving Alice and I a hug before letting us go.


    Now that everyone wished each other a goodnight, Alice and I exited the living room and started retracing our way through the hallway to my room. On the short journey there, I had the bright idea to farm a few brownie points before bed, so I grabbed hold of Alice''s hand. Directly resulting in a small as well as satisfied smile making its way onto her face so mission accomplished.


    A couple brownie points successfully farmed, we made it back to my room. The two of us were already in our sleeping attire, with me in woodland camo boxer briefs and Alice in her fox onesie. Thus, the two of us got into my bed, which has grown in size even further to a queen due to me needing a larger bed, not to mention my bed gaining another occupant in the way of Alice.


    The moment the two of us climbed on in, I got settled into my usual spot while Alice came my way and rested against my chest as she always does nowadays and got nice and comfortable.


    For the next several minutes Alice and I talked about this and that and when there was a break in our chatter I decided it was time Alice and I got some shut-eye, don''t want to stunt our growth. Even though in my case I would likely be fine thanks to my system and the superhuman amount of endurance I have.


    "Alice, let''s get some sleep."


    "Okay, I''ll see you in the morning, love you Dom." She responded sweetly, suddenly surprising me with an I love you.


    That''s new, she hasn''t said that previously but I guess she wants to progress to that kind of stuff now, and with how intently she''s looking at me I better respond in kind if I don''t want to have to deal with some kind of incident right before bed.


    Leaning my head down a bit I responded in kind and said "I love you too Alice." Followed by a peck on her forehead which got a nice pink flush going on her cheeks as she latched onto me further.


    Looks like she won''t be sleeping for a bit, but she''ll start to, eventually. I''ll just go on ahead since I need to start my investigation when I wake up in four hours.


    While Alice was dealing with the mixture of feelings I caused her to have, I relaxed, closed my eyes, and quickly fell asleep.


    Zzz¡­

 Chapter 22: Making A Call

    Four hours later.


    Ahh, that was a good sleep.


    As I was getting a nice stretch in, careful not to wake Alice, I started exploring the various ways I could get hold of that property owner''s information in my mind. Seconds into that line of thinking, I concluded that it would be easiest to just look up the information I''m seeking on the undercity''s public database and in the event I can''t find it there, I''ll just hack into the government servers and obtain the information I want from there.


    With a plan in mind to acquire the information I needed for my upcoming negotiations, I got out of bed carefully so as not to disturb Alice and crept over to my desk where my desktop was located. The second I arrived in front of it, I slowly rolled out my desk''s chair, not making a single sound in the process. Moving the chair into my preferred position, I sat down and turned on my desktop PC. As soon as it booted, I typed in my login credentials and proceeded to get down to business.


    A short browse through the undercity''s internet, I found out that a William Andrew Broward purchased the property. So with my target found, I continued onto my next objective to find all I could on the man.


    No more than half an hour later, I collected all his contact details, plus an assortment of other miscellaneous information related to him. Including plenty of information on his family and what other things he was involved in, which I discovered wasn''t much.


    Having said that, I found the man was from a normal upbringing and was just finally beginning to generate some actual wealth for himself and his family. Unfortunately for him, he got a property that came with a few too many problems, more than he could handle, obviously.


    And from my hacks into the government bank, I discovered the state of his finances, which weren''t too good from the looks of things seeing how he had most of his liquidity locked into the facility he bought. The man also didn''t own it outright and had a loan to pay off.


    So if he doesn''t rid himself of it before the undercity government finds out what lies within the mine, he will certainly fall into financial ruin after they come and take over the property to exterminate the molemen. That''s what happens when you take on more debt than you can safely afford and something major pops up.


    I would feel bad for the guy but the lowlife left his employees to die in the mine from what I can tell and is trying to unload this mess onto some poor unsuspecting sap while he himself gets off scot-free besides a small loss of money. In addition to that, the fucker hasn''t compensated the families of the employees that died in the mine and those said families could use the money since they aren''t well off from what I''ve found.


    The more I dig into this man and the situation, the more pissed off I''m becoming by the minute... Yeah, I''m gonna fuck this piece of shit over good and rake him over the coals. But besides that, I think I''m going to modify my plans a bit and inform my gramps of the mess attached to the property and get him involved in the negotiation so he can exert additional pressure on the sly bastard.


    The only issue with getting my grandpa involved is I''m going to have to explain to him how I''m going to handle the threat of the molemen. I know from the stories that he''s told me over the years that he''s well aware of just how dangerous they are, so that will be an interesting conversation.


    I will also need to let him in on some of my other abilities because there is simply no way he won''t pick up on the how do I know there molemen behind the collapsed section of the mine when I was only there for a short period and had zero way of peering behind all the collapsed rock.


    There is no reasonable way I could have found out about what was behind the rubble unless I had some sort of unique ability that I''ve yet to share with him. I could try to reason it''s because I''m a marked one who was lucky enough to not die from radiation poisoning and survive the transformation process you have to go through to become a marked one.


    The issue with that is, one I''m not one and two I don''t have the main identifying feature of marked one, that feature being the tattoo-like marking one gains when they become one. Three, I have never been exposed to any radiation, and four, neither of my parents are a marked one from what I can tell.


    I suppose I could try the route of a transcendent human, but my abilities are already spread out across too many categories to be considered as one, so the old man will be able to sniff out that bullshit excuse from a mile away. There is also the fact that there hasn''t been a single transcendent born in the undercity, not even once in its whole existence...


    Looks like I''m gonna have to tell him and since I''m already going to be letting him in on my other abilities, it probably won''t be too bad of an idea to let my grandpa John know of the system I have at this point. Alice already knows about it, so what is one more person I trust, it will also make convincing him a hell of a lot easier for me.


    On top of that, if I''m letting my Grandpa John in on my secrets I know I''m going to have to tell him about what I plan on doing in the future earlier than the rest of my family because he''ll be able to put two and two together relatively quickly thus I might as well get that out of the way too.


    This could all backfire on me, but I believe I know my grandpa well enough after ten years, so I don''t think it will be all that challenging to get him on board with what I want to do. Other than that, I''ll need him to keep my system and the rest of my abilities hidden from the rest of the family, at least until I''ve made most of my preparations.


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    There is also the situation with those dead miners'' families to deal with. I''m not particularly alright with them not being compensated for the loss of their family members. So something will have to be done about it.


    As for that something, I''ll think about it over the next few hours... I believe that''s about it for the moment, though when night turns to morning and my parents leave for work for the day, I''ll give my grandpa a ring to meet up with him to talk.


    Alright, now that I''ve gotten that investigation and thinking out of the way, I''m going to head to the gym and get a workout in. I have to keep grinding as much as I can to have any chance of achieving my goals one day.


    Immediately upon completing that thought, I stretched my arms above my head, got up, and quietly made my way to the gym in the basement, leaving Alice behind in my room to continue getting sleep.


    The moment I set foot in the gym, I quietly closed the door behind me and got to work by loading up a barbell with quite a lot of weight and began curling it. From there, I continued doing my sets and after doing 15 sets; I transitioned on to another exercise before doing the same number of sets again. After repeating this process across a number of different exercises, three hours had quickly flown by.


    "Damn, time sure flies by when I''m working out." I thought aloud after taking a look at the clock hung up on the wall of the gym.


    Well, I''ve worked up enough of a sweat. I better go wash up and head back upstairs before everyone starts waking up.


    Drenched from my workout and my parents and Alice going to wake up in a short time here, I strolled over to the gym shower and cleaned the sweat I accumulated from my regular intense workout.


    As soon as my refreshing cool shower came to an end, I clean as a whistle stealthily went back upstairs without making so much as a noise before anyone woke up. And climbed back into bed with Alice since she very much preferred waking up with me by her side.


    After settling back into bed and getting comfy, I let my mind wander while I waited for Alice to wake up. Not long into my thinking with both of my thought processes Alice instinctively snuggled up against me, so with not much else to do in the meantime I began slowly caressing and running my fingers gently through her raven-colored upper back length locks since I knew she found it soothing.


    As I continued slowly running my fingers gently through her hair, a content expression eventually made its way on to her still-sleeping face, thus I kept it up while I waited for everyone to wake. Several minutes later, I detected a change in Alice via my perception, so I looked her way and as I did, I saw her slowly open her eyes.


    "Morning, Dom." She said with a bright smile after taking a few seconds to fully wake up.


    "Morning, Alice." I responded while taking the chance to stop running my fingers through her dark-colored hair, even though she appeared reluctant.


    "So how''d you sleep?" I asked shortly thereafter.


    "Great, and you?" She replied.


    "I always sleep well when I have my Alice." I answered while wrapping my arms around her, causing her to giggle.


    Some brownie points farmed. Alice raised her head from my chest and inquired. "So, what did you accomplish when you woke up? I don''t think your investigation would have taken you all that long, knowing your capabilities."


    "I got a decent bit accomplished during the night. First, I investigated the owner of that third property as I told you I planned on doing. Besides that, I got a productive three or so-hour workout in."


    "And what were the results of your investigation?"


    "Well, to start, I found the guy''s contact information relatively easily, as well as some other useful details regarding him. Once I had done that, I did a good amount of digging to see what else I could find. What I discovered from said digging was what I had originally expected. The guy is an honest-to-god scumbag. He didn''t even compensate the miner''s families when they lost their fathers and husbands." I explained, getting a slight bit pissed off again towards the end.


    "What a horrible and selfish person. How could he do something like that?" She responded, agitated after sitting up.


    "It''s like I told you previously, Alice. There are good and bad people in this world, so you always need to keep your wits about you and be cautious of others, especially those of whom you''ve just met and don''t know that well. And even when you think you know them, it all may just be a facade. But generally, you can tell whether someone is a decent individual from how they operate and what actions they take in different situations." I said, reiterating something I had learned the hard way back in my younger and inexperienced years in my previous life.


    Not wanting Alice to be in a crummy mood right at the start of the day, I began stroking her hair and continued. "So with the guy clearly being scum and needing to be dealt with, I''ll have no qualms about taking that role for myself and putting the screws to the guy."


    "Besides gaining some good karma for my actions, I''ll also benefit from the situation by fleecing him for a big discount, so it''s a win-win in my book. On top of that, I can get the miners'' families financially compensated. It''s not the same as getting their family members back, but at least they''ll be able to live good lives from the money they''ll receive from the situation."


    From there I kept soothing her and after a couple of minutes, Alice suddenly piped up and requested with determination in her gaze. "Can I join you when you go to negotiate with this guy? I want to see how you''ll deal with him."


    "Sure, I already planned on having you join me."


    "...You already planned on bringing me. I''m glad you are, but why is that?" She asked, surprised though happy at the same time.


    "Because I want you to start gaining experience with the negative aspects of the world we live in besides what I tell you every now and then. I mean, you already know my dream is to go out into the wasteland when I''m 18 to conquer it, restore civilization, and bring humanity into a new age."


    "And with us being a packaged deal you''ll be coming along so I can''t exactly have you be unprepared for what awaits us in the wasteland now can I." I answered Alice, putting a smile back on her face before she dived towards me and began rubbing her face back and forth on my exposed chest.


    Following our conversation, the two of us got up and headed out to the living room, beating my parents there first. So while we waited for them to show, Alice and I got comfortable on the couch, cuddled up together, and talked about this and that.


    They eventually came and the moment they did, the bunch of us went through the usual morning greetings before my mother Jane went into the kitchen to cook us all breakfast. Less than an hour later, my parents were out the door going on off to work in the company my grandfather Henry built, oh so many years.


    With my parents gone for the day, I picked up the phone and gave my gramps a call to get him involved and tell him about the many things I''ve been keeping a tight lip on from mostly everyone, Alice being the only exception.

 Chapter 23: Spilling The Beans

    *Ring-ring*


    *Ring-ring*


    *Ring-ri-click*


    "Morning Gramps."


    "Good Morning to you too, kid."


    "So what''s the early morning call for? You want me to come earlier than usual for your training or something?"


    "Not exactly. I have something important I need to talk to you about."


    "Ohh, and what would that be?"


    "It''s not particularly something that should be discussed over the phone and rather needs to be talked about in person."


    "Alright hang tight, sport, I''ll be over in a bit."


    "Okay, see you in a minute."


    *Click*


    My phone call with my grandpa John finished. I put my cell away and turned to Alice, who was keeping me company right next to me, and said. "Alice, gramps will be here in a little while so I can talk with him and get him involved with the meeting we''ll have with that vile property owner. In addition to that, because I plan on getting him involved in this meeting of ours, I believe it''s time I let him know of the system, the abilities I possess, and my dream of conquering the wasteland."


    "Having Grandpa John onboard will be a big help in putting pressure on that bad guy. But besides that, having him a part of our secretive group will make a lot of things you wanted to do for a while a lot easier to accomplish because of the connections and accomplishments he''s made in the past when he was an active wasteland explorer."


    "Yeah, that''s what I was thinking, and knowing him, he will for sure help wherever he can as soon as he learns of my goal. He''ll also be a huge asset when we eventually have to tell our parents that we''ll be leaving the undercity at the age of 18 for the wasteland. We''ll definitely be needing the backup when we confront that particular problem down the line."


    "I''m not really looking forward to that conversation, but it will have to happen at some point, so having Grandpa John there to back us up when the time comes will be a great help."


    "That he will."


    "Going back to you informing him of what we''re going to be doing in the future, he''ll probably put us through more rigorous training than what we''ve already experienced to prepare us. I wonder what it''ll be like." Alice said lastly, not knowing that my grandpa John was most certainly going to put us through even more intense training once he learned that the two of us intended to venture out into the wasteland.


    Our future training upgrade aside, Alice and I spent the remaining time until gramps showed up leisurely on the couch together chit-chatting it up since there was no use starting our reading and learning when my gramps would be arriving soon enough.


    Less than 15 minutes later, he came through the door. So, as he came over, Alice and I separated from each other and got ready for the talk I needed to have with my grandfather. After he reached the couches where Alice and I were, he plopped down on one of the couches, turned towards Alice, and asked how she was doing today before looking my way and getting down to business.


    "I''m guessing since Alice is here, she''ll be involved in whatever you wanted to talk about."


    "Uh-huh, that she will since she is the only other person who will know of what I''ve been hiding besides you in a moment here, gramps."


    Intrigued, he held back for the meantime and let me continue. "But before we begin, I would like you to keep everything I''m going to tell you from here on out from the rest of the family. Can you do that for me, gramps?"


    "Depends on what you''re going to disclose to me."


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    "It''s nothing that could be perceived as negative to family and has more to do with what I would like to do in life."


    "This young and you already know what you want to accomplish in life, you''re growing up so fast..." He said jokingly.


    "But yeah, if that''s what you have me coming over for, I can keep what you''re going to tell me a secret. However, you''ll need to tell them about it in the future."


    "Already planning on it. It''s just too early to let both of our families know yet. I was actually thinking of waiting until both Alice and I had had our 17th birthdays, respectively." I responded before I had the three of us head downstairs to the gym in the basement, since it would make things easier to explain.


    "Getting to the secrets I wanted to divulge to you, I suppose I''ll start with my abilities."


    "What abilities?"


    "You know how there are certain humans that have supernatural powers, well I possess a number of abilities similar in nature that put me on the same level as a gifted marked one or a transcendent human, but I am neither."


    "How do you know you aren''t one of them?" He asked, skeptical of my claims.


    "For starters, I don''t have any markings that a marked one would have and two, there has not once been a transcendent born since the founding of the undercity, so why would I be categorized as one? Adding further to that, my abilities don''t match up with the kind of abilities they would possess."


    "I guess so."


    "Alright, now that that''s out of the way, here''s a demonstration of one of my abilities." I said whilst taking my black t-shirt off I had been wearing and removing my grandad''s old combat knife from its sheath.


    As he was observing my actions, I suddenly took the combat knife I was holding and quickly stabbed it at my exposed eight-pack, which resulted in his eyes widening suddenly before bursting over in my direction in an attempt to stop me.


    Despite that, due to my ever-increasing stats, he wasn''t able to cover the distance and make it to me in time to stop me, thus he could do nothing but watch on as the knife inched closer and closer to my abdominal region before the knife eventually made contact doing zilch in terms of damage.


    The moment after it made contact, I looked at my gramps with a bit of a smirk that said gotcha and began explaining. "As you just witnessed, my body has abnormally strong defenses, strong to the point where they are more than adequate to stop a full-powered stab from a combat knife."


    Although, that''s not entirely true in my case. If I had stabbed my core at full power, it would have easily pierced my skin and right through my muscles before then making its way into one of my organs.


    The reason why that would have occurred when the weapon''s damage is only a total of 16 is because of my high melee weapons skill increasing my knife''s damage by 0.25% per skill point, and my strength attribute increasing all melee weapon and unarmed damage by 5% per point of strength.


    Given both of their totals, it would have been more than plenty to breach my body''s defenses and that''s not even taking into account the actual strength I possess, which would have increased the damage of my stab even further.


    "Haa, damn it kid, you nearly gave me a heart attack." My grandad said after walking the rest of the way to me, which received a chuckle from Alice and myself.


    "So your body has some impressive defenses. I don''t think you needed to keep that a secret from me and the rest of the family."


    "Correct, however as I said moments ago, it isn''t the only ability I have within my arsenal. So once I show you the rest of them and tell you my goal, I''m sure you''ll understand why I''ve been keeping silent." I said last, moving over to the room in the gym, I had my pitching machines rigged up with turret-targeting modules.


    ¡­


    "Alice, can you start things up the moment I tell you?"


    "Sure."


    As soon as I made it to the central position of the room, I looked back towards where Alice and my gramps were and said. "Gramps, make sure to pay attention to my eyes. Alice, you can start them up now."


    Closing my eyes, I prepared myself to begin dodging the baseballs that would begin flying at me from several different directions. No more than a second later, into my preparations, a swarm of baseballs came barreling at me. With the many pitching machines targeting me, I directed my focus to my perception field and began dodging and weaving in between the numerous projectiles flying toward me.


    After doing so for a couple of minutes, the pitching machines ran dry. No longer needing to dodge incoming baseballs, I came to a complete stop and opened my eyes before looking back towards my grandfather and Alice were and said. "As you can see, I have the ability to perceive things any normal human would be unable to sense typically, even with my eyes closed."


    "Impressive, though I doubt that''s all the abilities you''ve been hiding?" My gramps responded with a twinkle in his eyes.


    Nodding at the old man''s response, I continued to divulge my next ability. "Aside from my body''s strong defenses and my perception field that allows me to perceive anything within a certain radius, I also possess multi-thought processing, which in simple terms allows me to think of two different things simultaneously. If I didn''t have that ability, even with my perception field, there is no way I would''ve been able to dodge all of those projectiles."


    "That sounds about right."


    "So if you aren''t a marked one nor a transcendent, how do you possess any of these abilities, not to mention all three of them? From the marked ones and transcendents I''ve encountered over the years in my travels, not a single one of them possessed such a wide array of abilities."


    "Besides all that and going back to what I asked previously, why didn''t you tell me about all of this earlier? You don''t trust your gramps?" He said, starting to fake pout after barraging me with multiple questions.

 Chapter 24: Divulging The Rest

    "Of course, I trust you, gramps, it just wasn''t the right time to come clean about them since I would''ve had to tell you of my dream that we''ll get to after I tell you how I''ve come to possess my abilities."


    "Go on, I''m listening." He responded, instantly dropping his act.


    "You know how the video games you''ve played with us in the past give your character a window that you can use to increase your character''s strength, well I possess a similar window that allows me to do the same."


    Whilst my gramps was standing there stunned, Alice and I could literally see the gears churning in his mind, so we patiently waited for him to come back to reality. The moment he was done processing the absurd statement I had made, I reacquired his attention and continued on to explain the nitty-gritty details.


    "The thing I have is called a system, and this system lets me pull up a holographic system window whenever I want at will that no one else but myself can see. Through that holographic window, I can navigate several tabs that display a variety of information depending on the tab."


    "What kind of tabs does it possess?"


    "To start, it has a status tab that displays all of my stats, such as my level, health, and stamina. Though that is not all, in addition to those, it also displays my attributes, skills, perks, and a bunch of other information."


    "Going into further detail, my attributes encompass strength, agility, endurance, intelligence, perception, charisma, and luck. All of which can be improved through training and use, luck being the only exception. That sole attribute is more inherent and can only be improved via leveling up, quests rewards, and other such things."


    "As for skills, they include ballistic weapons, energy weapons, explosives, heavy weapons, leadership, lockpick, medicine, melee weapons, piloting, repair, science, speech, stealth, survival, trade, and unarmed."


    "Every single one of those skills can be improved, just like my attributes, with the same methods. Along with those methods, they can also be improved through reading and learning from books containing new information, which is one of the main reasons why I read as much as I do."


    "So what does increasing your skills do for you, exactly?"


    "Increasing my skills does a few things for me. First off, it implants new information and the relevant experience regarding the skill into my memory every time it increases. My combat skills provide the same effect, but in addition to that effect, my damage with the relevant weapons or means of combat they''re associated with is raised by 0.25% per point."


    "My perks also benefit from them increasing too, which is where I get my unique abilities from."


    "Like the ones you showed me earlier?"


    "Yes, exactly. I normally get them through level-ups however, they can be obtained in other ways. An example of that would be quests."


    "Interesting. I''ve never heard or seen anything like this before, not once in the numerous years I''ve spent traveling and exploring the wasteland. That system of yours, if utilized properly, could allow you to become one of, if not the greatest, power in the wasteland, kid."


    "Right." I responded with a bit of a smirk.


    "Along with all that reading, training, and working out you do daily, I could see you achieving that some day... Wait a minute, you''re actually planning on doing that, aren''t you, you little shit?"


    Looks like my gramps was able to put two and two together, about damn time.


    "Hahaha, you got me. Yeah, that''s pretty much what I plan to do, although not entirely. There''s a bit more to it than just that, but we''ll come back to that dream of mine and the goals I wish to achieve one day when we get through the rest of the system details."


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    "Fine, but we''ll be having a long talk, a very long talk regarding this goal of yours when you''re done explaining your system''s details." He said seriously while throwing a stern look my way.


    "That was already part of the plan."


    "Now, continuing with the system explanation from where we left off, we''ve pretty much covered the status tab, so we''ll move to the items tab and cover it briefly. There isn''t too much to say about this one because it just lists off what items I own and what gear I''m carrying and have equipped. My gear is listed in my status too, by the way. Moving onto the quest tab next, this tab is similar to the last and only really displays information regarding what quests I have in progress and completed."


    "The map tab is the final tab I have on the system window and currently it only shows Undercity 7 and the local locations within I''ve visited in the past. That said, I can see numerous other locations marked spread all across the map when I zoom out to the rest of the planet that I''ve discovered the whereabouts of from my many years of reading. But as of right now, they are all blanked out because, as I stated, moments ago I''ve yet to ever visit any of them."


    "Alright, that does it for the system. You have any questions, old man?"


    "Nope, not a one." My gramps responded curtly before quickly dragging both myself and Alice back to the living room to have me spill the beans on those life goals of mine.


    After getting seated with Alice seated by my side and my grandfather across from us, I opened my mouth and began. "As you figured out, one of my goals is to become the strongest power in the wasteland. However, that doesn''t fully encompass the goals I''ve set out for myself, what I truly wish to do in the future is to conquer the planet in its entirety, unite the human race under one banner, restore society, and become the de facto number one strongest being on the planet. That''s what I dream of accomplishing one day."


    "Those are quite some lofty goals you have there. How do you plan on accomplishing all that? Even with that system of yours, it will take innumerable years of planning and accumulation of massive amounts of resources as well as manpower to even put you on the same level as the major powers that exist out in the wasteland. So again, how do you plan on accomplishing all that?" He asked me while focusing his full attention on me, more than ready to scrutinize and dismantle whatever I was about to say.


    As the old man was exerting a sort of immaterial pressure on me, something he likely obtained from his many, many years of killing and adventuring throughout the wasteland, I answered him steadfastly. "That they are, and you are correct. Even with my system, it would still take an enormous amount of effort over decades to accomplish what I dream of doing. But now that you''ve been made aware of my system and its abilities, I''m sure you understand just how powerful it could make me in the future if taken advantage of."


    "I do."


    "So let me ask you this, what would you say my odds would be if I had a photographic memory and had spent at least the last nine or so years accumulating knowledge to the point where there is only a small bit left I need to learn? Alongside that shit ton of learning, I''ve been training my skills with my oh-so-loving grandpa nearly every day nonstop for years on end, building up my physique, agility, endurance, and strength while also getting ready to move on to the next step in my plan. What would you say my odds are, then?"


    "Better, but still not enough to where I''m happy. Let me hear about the next step in your plan, and maybe I''ll change my mind."


    "Sure, that next step is acquiring a place that will allow me to start accumulating resources and manufacturing the supplies I''ll need for my trip into the wasteland."


    "As to what kind of supplies I have in mind, they include but are not limited to weapons for the various scenarios I may or may not encounter out there, hefty full body armor to protect me from small pistol rounds to larger caliber rifle rounds, many kinds of drugs and medicines for all sorts of situations, more than a semi-truck load of ammo and, robots of my own design and programming that will make up the bulk of my force."


    "Adding on to that further, two of the designs are human-like in terms of shape, hence they''ll be able to use any weapon a human can and those too heavy and unwieldy for them. Which will increase my ability to handle a larger variety of enemy types and situations with them. I even have the designs on hand if you want to verify their capabilities."


    "Sounds like you''ve prepared for many situations you''ll encounter out there and yeah, bring them to me. I want to see what you''ve come up with."


    Following Gramp''s request to view my designs, I got up and went to my room before returning shortly with a stack of physical design blueprints and my laptop, the latter of which contained a copy of the programming and the digital blueprints.


    "Here they are." I said, while handing him the stack of designs.


    While he was looking through them, I booted up my laptop, logged in, and started up the simulation program I designed way back to fine tune the artificial intelligence programming. Once I had everything ready, I waited patiently for him to finish looking through the designs.


    "I''m not going to lie kid, robotics isn''t exactly my specialty, so I don''t know much of what I''m looking at. However, from what I can see, they seem legit and their armaments look impressive, especially this crusader you designed." He said, pointing at the most heavily armed robot design I have had cooked up so far.


    "Yeah, that''s my pride and joy right there. The crusader is a heavily modified sentinel that I turned into a bipedal robot. I''m quite happy with how it turned out."

 Chapter 25: Welcome Aboard

    We talked about my other robots and what they were designed for and once I explained everything regarding the other designs in detail, he seemed to be more assured than he was initially.


    "Alright, now that you''ve seen the designs, gramps let me show you the AI in action."


    ...


    "That''s some impressive tactics and programming you''ve got for those bots. Looks like they''ll have no difficulty handling most scenarios they''ll come across in the wasteland. I think I''m feeling a bit better about all this, but I''m sure you have more to share with me, right?" My grandpa John said after watching my simulated robots decimate a heavily armed bandit stronghold.


    "That I do, and it has something to do with one of those three places we visited yesterday."


    "I''m listening."


    "Well, that third location has molemen behind the rubble in the mine." I said, dropping an absolute bomb on the old man.


    "WHAT? WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS, YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THOSE THINGS ARE!"


    Ahh, here he goes yelling. I probably should have expected this kind of reaction out of him.


    "Alright, alright, calm down, gramps, and sit back down." I told my gramps, who was currently standing up, displaying a mixture of anger and worry.


    "What do you mean, calm down? We need to go tell the government security forces right this moment and have those damn molemen exterminated immediately." He responded, ready to rush out of the house and go get the undercity government involved right this very second.


    "It''s not that dire yet. Sit down so I can explain."


    "But w-."


    "DAMMIT GRAMPS, JUST SHUTUP AND SIT DOWN ALREADY."


    After raising my voice at him, he begrudgingly sat, so I began to fill him in. "There were only two molemen behind the rubble, so I don''t believe they have any intention of taking down the rubble and invading the undercity anytime soon. That said, they will need to be exterminated because they are hostile to everything unlike themselves."


    "Thus, they will become a problem down the road at some point if they are left unchecked and allowed to grow in number. I have no desire to see them grow to the level of a horde and become a threat to the undercity."


    "That said, they also present a massive opportunity for me to grow in strength because of my system and the exp I''ll gain from killing them off. Therefore, I would like to acquire the place for myself and exterminate the vermin on my own. I''m sure you don''t exactly like that idea, gramps, but think about what it could do for me in the long run. I also have a plan in mind that I think you won''t find too many faults in, so why don''t you hear me out before you head to inform the security forces?"


    "I don''t like it but I''ll hear you out grandson, it better be fucking good." He replied grumpily, making it clear as day that he wasn''t all too enthused with this whole shit show I presented to him.


    "Sorry for yelling at you, gramps, and thanks for hearing me out. Hopefully, I''ll be able to convince you and get you on board."


    "The first thing I''ll do upon acquiring the property is I''ll check up on the cave-in to see what the molemen are up to. Depending on what I find, I''ll either tell you that the government needs to get involved if things appear to be going south or I''ll inform you that there has been no real change from when I first discovered them."


    "In the case of the latter occurring, I''ll proceed to the next step and convert at least a couple dozen microfusion cells I have in my possession into mines that I''ll then spread around the tunnel as a security measure in case something were to happen."


    "How strong will the mines you plan to use be?"


    "The mines should be more than powerful enough to wipe out whatever initial molemen come through and collapse a significant portion of the mine tunnel, which should give us more time than needed to inform the government security."


    "They can dig well with their claws in dirt and softer material, but down here where everything is made up of hard rock and various ores, they''ll only be able to make progress with external tools. Your mines should be sufficient to stop them in their tracks, okay continue."


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    Given the signal, I began again. "After setting up the mines, I''ll be checking up on the collapsed section multiple times a day while I''m acquiring the machinery I need to start building robots, turrets, and weapons. Going by the extensive knowledge I''ve collected over the years, I estimate the first robot will come off the production line in no more than a week."


    "The weapons I should be able to produce even sooner, along with the turrets that will be used to beef up the defenses even further. All this will ensure that if any do breakthrough, they''ll have to pass through the further collapsed section of the mine, courtesy of the many mines planted about the tunnel before arriving at a choke point filled with overlapping laser fire."


    "So within a week, I''ll have both turrets and a robot to watch over the collapsed section 24/7 until I can get a blast door up to seal off the mine''s entrance. At that point, they won''t have any real way of getting through unless they are extremely well equipped to the point they can breach an armored door weighing many tons. If their two guards'' equipment is anything to go by, they''ll have zero chance of accomplishing that."


    "What kind of arms were the two molemen using?"


    "It was only two sawed-off double-barreled shotguns."


    "If that''s all they''re equipped with, their group must not be that well off. They probably aren''t that large of a group yet, either." He thought aloud, analyzing the situation.


    I waited a couple of seconds and when I saw my gramps not asking anything else; I continued on. "The longer things go by without change from the molemen''s side, the more I''ll be able to amass. And when I believe I have a sufficient enough force to handle them, I''ll clear the rubble blocking the mine and head into the tunnel beyond to exterminate whatever mutants I come across alongside my robots."


    "That''s about all I got for now, but I believe my plan is good enough for the moment, and if need be, it can be changed on the fly at any time, depending on what the molemen are up to. However, I don''t believe there will need to be too many changes made to it since the two-molemen I saw through my perception field were only equipped with very rudimentary arms."


    *Sigh*


    "I''ll put my trust in you Dom, but if you think there is even a minute chance that the molemen are up to something you are to inform me immediately of the situation, don''t leave a single detail out no matter how minute, you got that!"


    "I hear ya Gramps, I''m not looking to experience an early death, so if anything appears off, you''ll be the first to know." I responded before we began covering a few other things.


    "Another thing I''ll be coming along when you go to exterminate those rats. I need to make sure you don''t go and get yourself killed."


    "Can I come?" Alice asked timidly, pretty much already foreseeing the answer she was going to receive.


    "No!" Gramps and I told her simultaneously, shutting her down immediately.


    "Sigh, I expected that answer, well it was worth a try at least. But if I can''t come, can you at least stream it so I can watch, please Dom." She pleaded.


    "That I can do. I would''ve let you come if I had the means of guaranteeing your safety within the mines, but currently I don''t know what we''ll be up against just yet and I can''t risk losing you, Alice."


    As Alice and I were sharing a sappy moment, my grandad had enough of it. "Alright, you two, that''s enough. Let''s head back downstairs to the gym. You two little rascals need to undergo a hell of a lot more training before I''m comfortable letting the both of you loose to venture wasteland."


    "Hold up, we have one last subject to cover before you throw us into your training gauntlet."


    "Mmm, and that thing would be?"


    "The man that owns the property, William Andrew Broward."


    "What about him?"


    "The guy knew about the molemen and is trying to offload the property onto some unsuspecting buyer and get away scot-free. On top of that, when I used my perception field to look beyond the collapsed portion of the mine I discovered several bodies belonging to the miners who were working for the man, and from what I could tell with my limited range it appeared they were left for dead."


    "So when I woke up early this morning, I scoured the net for his details and did a bit of digging. After doing said digging, I discovered that the guy didn''t pay out the compensation the miners'' families were entitled to."


    "What a surprise. The guy who''s trying to unload his problematic property onto someone else''s shoulders would do something scummy."


    "Right, and since I want the facility, I''m planning to arrange a meeting with this piece of garbage and put the screws to him to shake a heavy discount out of him. While I''m at it, I can do a good deed and get the miners'' families compensated for their loss."


    "Doesn''t sound like a bad idea."


    "So I was thinking of asking my dear ole grandpa to come along and back his grandson up. What do you say?" I asked, half joking, half not so much.


    "I don''t see why not. It''s been a moment since the last time I got to pummel a piece of shit." My gramps said while looking ready to put someone in the dirt six feet under.


    "Well, we''re not going there with the intent of beating him up, but if he gets rowdy, have at it, I won''t stop you. I might even join in too."


    "If he does, I''ll join in too." Alice joined in, eager and ready to dish out some punishment as well.


    Following that, we ironed out the details and settled on getting the meeting set later today after my and Alice''s training. Whilst we were beginning to leave the living room and head back downstairs, my grandad had one last thing to say.


    "Ohh, one last thing I''ll be accompanying you at all times when you go to the facility. This will remain in place until you have that blast door installed. This is non-negotiable, so if you can''t accept this, then all previous requests are off the table and go poof."


    "That''s fine. I don''t have any issue with that, do you, Alice?"


    "Not a one. I''m always happy to spend more time with Grandpa John." She said brightly.


    "There you have it, gramps, glad to have you with us." I said lastly, presenting my right hand to him, which he grabbed hold of with considerable pressure, causing us two buff dudes to resemble certain movie scene from my previous life.

 Chapter 26: Preparing

    With the secrets I¡¯ve been keeping from everyone with the exception of Alice divulged to my grandpa and him joining Alice and me, the three of us set off downstairs to the gym to begin my gramp''s new training regime he had for us. Unbeknownst to us we were in for far more grueling training than both of us expected.


    ¡°Alright, you two get on the treadmills and start sprinting. I¡¯ll tell you when you can stop.¡±


    The both of us nodding at his command. We did as he told us to do and got to sprinting.


    ¡­


    An hour in, Alice had collapsed, thus she was allowed to rest and take a breather whilst my gramps had me put on a 50-pound weighted vest and continue on. Ten minutes into my sprinting, Alice was directed over to a variety of machines and began working out on those.


    Minutes after that two-hour mark came around, my gramps gave me the signal that I was done and, with a good sweat worked up, he set me up on what Alice was using previously. From there, Alice and I spent the next few hours working out nearly nonstop, going from machines to free weights.


    And then to sparring and learning different combat techniques later on. My gramps had us train everything possible with the expressed goal of improving our capabilities and at the end of it all, Alice was teetering on the brink of collapse


    ¡°Dom, Alice, you¡¯re done for today, good job not falling apart, the number of people I know who¡¯ve gone through this type of training and completed it I can count on one hand, scratch that makes it two now that the both of you are on it.¡± My gramps said, looking proud as can be, while Alice was a sweaty, drenched mess. I was in a similar state too, although not ready to collapse like Alice was.


    ¡°I¡¯ll head upstairs first. Come up when the two of you have cleaned yourselves off.¡±


    As he departed the gym and headed upstairs, I looked towards Alice and said in between breaths. ¡°We did it, Alice.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, we d-did, didn¡¯t we?¡± She responded tiredly and still somewhat out of breath.


    ¡°Yup, I¡¯m proud of you, Alice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m proud of you too, Dom.¡±


    If it wasn¡¯t for the encouragement from me and the medstims I was injecting her with as well as myself, there is no way her body would have been able to hold up for this long. All that training I¡¯ve done with her over the years is finally showing its worth here.


    The minute the two of us had finally steadied our breathing and had our heart rates under control, I got up and began walking for the showers but before I could head on in I heard a thump behind me and noticed Alice''s legs giving out from under her.


    ¡°Dom, I''m gonna need a bit of help.¡± She said, a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°No problem, I got you.¡±


    My girl needing a hand, I picked her up, placing one arm under her knees and the other on her back and began carrying to the showers. Once there, I brought her to the larger showers and asked her to stand on her own for a second, and the moment I placed her down, I saw she was still a bit wobbly.


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    ¡°Looks like you can¡¯t shower on your own, Alice.¡±


    ¡°I guess you¡¯ll just have to shower with me and help wash me, then.¡±


    ¡°I suppose so.¡±


    With there being no other way around it besides going upstairs to grab a chair to put in the shower, which I didn¡¯t feel like doing now that I was here, I got the water running and started washing the sweat from both her and I.


    Alice almost immediately started to blush and continued to do so throughout most of the process. I would''ve stopped if she was uncomfortable, but she wore a smile throughout the entire thing and seemed more than happy with what was taking place.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s it, Alice. You should be spotless now. Let¡¯s get dried, clothed, and head back upstairs. We can¡¯t keep gramps waiting forever.¡±


    ¡°Nnn.¡±


    Alice, happy as a clam, we did just that and made our way upstairs to the old man who we found napping on the couch.


    "It appears he¡¯s passed out." I commented quietly.


    "Mm."


    "I feel a bit tired and I know you are too, so why don¡¯t we take a short nap for ourselves and wake him up in an hour?" I suggested via a whisper.


    ¡°Sounds good to me. My legs aren¡¯t 100% yet so they could use some rest.¡±


    My gramps fast asleep, Alice and I decided to do the same and proceeded to my room to catch some zzzs. Right as we reached my room, I set my alarm on my cell and hopped into bed with Alice, who was eagerly waiting for me to join her. Cuddling up together, we quickly fell asleep.


    *Beep¡­Beep¡­Beep¡­*


    ¡°Ahhaawa, looks like that hour''s up. Alice, it''s time to get up and wake my gramps up.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, let me sleep for a few more minutes.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll come and retrieve you when I have the meetup time.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± She said lastly before quickly going back.


    Alice, wanting to rest more, I left her behind and departed my room for the living room where my gramp was presumably still passed out. As soon as I returned to the living room, I found what I predicted I would find.


    Needing to get shit taken care of, I went over to my peacefully sleeping gramps and started shaking him while telling him he needed to wake up.


    ¡°Gramps, you gotta wake up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get up in a minute.¡± He mumbled, waving me off.


    ¡°Sigh, not you too.¡±


    ¡°Gramps, GET UP.¡±


    ¡°What-what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Good, you¡¯re finally awake.¡±


    ¡°Ahaa, that was a nice nap.¡± He said, stretching both of his arms above his head.


    ¡°Alright, gramps, now that you¡¯re up, we need to arrange that meeting with that piece of shit property owner.¡±


    ¡°Okay, give me his phone number so I can schedule the meeting.¡±


    Doing as my grandpa asked, I gave him William Andrew Broward¡¯s personnel cell number before he dialed the number and gave the guy a ring. After a wee bit of back and forth, my gramps said he was interested in purchasing the property and with the guy being about as desperate as can be to get rid of it he was able to easily arrange a meeting to take place at the mine/ore processing facility I wanted to obtain.


    ¡°It¡¯s all set up, kid. We''ll be meeting with this scumbag in an hour. Get ready to leave in half an hour. We got a bit of driving to do.¡±


    Following gramps getting things arranged, I made my way back to my room and kept myself busy. When 25 minutes had passed by, I left my desk and walked over to Alice, who was still peacefully napping away, and began waking her up so we could head out and get this over with.


    ¡°Alice, it¡¯s time to get up.¡± I told her while giving her a couple of shakes.


    ¡°I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up.¡± She said, quickly raising herself from our shared bed before going into a stretch.


    ¡°Do I need to do anything before we go?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re just going to go meet up with gramps who¡¯s waiting in the living room watching TV.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let''s get going.¡±


    Nothing needing to be done in preparation for us going out. We headed to the living room where the old man was watching tv to pass the time. Upon spotting us coming from the hall, he shut the TV off and asked us whether we were ready to get a move on. We replied that we were thus the three of us loaded into his armored up pickup truck he¡¯s been using since before he retired from being a wasteland explorer.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to head to my place first so I can pick up a few things and from there we¡¯ll go to the property to have our confrontation with that William Andrew Broward.¡± My gramps said as he was adjusting his rearview mirror.


    ¡°Why are we heading there?¡± Alice asked curiously.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see when we get there.¡±

 Chapter 27: Delivering Retribution

    Shortly thereafter, gramps took off for his house with Alice and I sitting in the back. More than a few minutes driving later, we arrived at a simple yet very industrial-looking concrete three-story building surrounded by a thick alloy fence with spikes running along the top. With us reaching gramps place, the gate opened up and allowed us in. As soon as he drove into his driveway and put the car in park, he hopped out of the truck and headed inside, leaving Alice and me behind.


    In the meantime, while we waited for gramps, she and I discussed what we were going to study upon our return home. Three minutes quickly passed by when the old man came speeding out of the house now wearing his old wasteland explorer getup and an NPDM slung over his shoulder.


    Looking at my grandpa John, who had just got back into the driver''s seat and closed the door, I inquired to make sure he understood what kind of mission we were on again. ¡°So, gramps, what''s the light machine gun for and why are you wearing your old armor and wasteland explorer getup? You know we¡¯re only going to shake this guy down for a discount and get the miners'' families paid, right?¡±


    ¡°One can never be too safe, even down here, grandson. This will also ensure that the bastard doesn¡¯t act up unless he has a death wish.¡±


    I don¡¯t think a small-time businessman would act up in front of you when you''re built like a brick shit house, but whatever, I¡¯ll entertain it.


    ¡°¡­I guess so.¡±


    My gramps, more than happy to have an excuse to throw his old gear on again no matter how unnecessary it was, got on the undercity road again and drove the bunch of us in the direction of the meeting point and the property I very much desired to make my own. Several minutes later, we arrived at our destination, so we exited the vehicle and headed for the entrance of the place.


    "So how do you want to do this gramps, I don''t think the guy is going to get out of his car and come over here with you kitted out in an armored suit and a 7.62 belt-fed machine gun."


    "How about you use that lockpick set of yours to open up the door so we can go inside?"


    "Sure I can do that."


    Doing as I was asked, I pulled out my lockpicking set I carry around with me normally and crouched down in front of the lock to begin setting the pins. Within less than 15 seconds, I had all the pins set thus I stood back up, opened the door, and held it open for both Alice and my gramps to go in.


    As soon as all three of us walked inside, gramps didn¡¯t waste any time and began laying out the plan. First, he will give the guy another call and tell him we''ve arrived early and were waiting inside for him to arrive so we could discuss the sale of the property.


    When the guy eventually shows up and waltzes through the entrance, he will grab the guy and haul him off to the dining area of the facility. And in the event he resists, he will soften him up a bit before we sit the piece of garbage down to tell him how things will play out from here.


    I had no issue with what he came up with. Alice had nothing to add as well, so we settled on what he came up with and moved to the sides of the entrance to wait for him to show while the old man made the call.


    ¡°The scumbag will be here shortly.¡± My gramps said before moving off to the opposite side of the entrance.


    After a nod from Alice and I, our group eagerly awaited the poor bastard''s arrival, ready to strike the instant he came through the door. Thankfully, we didn''t have to wait all that long. Five minutes is how long it took for the man to show up. Primed and ready I waited until he got close enough to the entrance to see if he had brought any company and right as he reached around a foot away from the door I didn''t sense anyone else accompanying him with my perception field thus I gave my gramps the signal to nab him.


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    As the man was entering the building, unaware of what fate awaited him, we waited patiently for just the right moment. The very instant he stepped inside and the door was slowly beginning to close behind him, gramps sprung into action immediately bringing the scumbag to the ground and beginning to restrain him with cuffs he brought along. The poor bastard tried resisting, however he was easily overpowered by my dear ole gramps with the right side of his face pressed against the hard concrete floor of the facility.


    "Best stop resisting, bud, unless you would prefer to get softened up." I suggested from the side while the moron continued to struggle fruitlessly against my gramps.


    "Fuck yo-...AHHHHHHH."


    "Quite stupid aren''t ya, you piece of shit?" I commented with glee as he was getting his arm pressed at an awkward angle by gramps.


    Taking joy in the pain that was being inflicted on the bastard, he quickly gave up his futile struggle, likely realizing that there was no point in fighting his current situation. Now that he had given up his useless struggle, he was forced to his feet at gunpoint and made to walk to the dining area of the facility.


    But before I followed along, I locked the entrance door to ensure we wouldn''t be disturbed by any unexpected visitors. The minute the bunch of us arrived at the intended destination, I pulled out a chair at one of the many empty tables and had the guy sit before gramps secured him to said chair tightly.


    Taking a seat of my own on the opposite end of the metal table with Alice sitting to my right and my gramps standing off to the side several feet away with his NPDM light machine gun held in the guy''s direction, I began speaking much to the guy''s surprise, probably having to do with my current child-like appearance, though a big muscular one. "I''m sure you''re wondering why you were assaulted and restrained when you were originally coming to make a deal to sell your piece of real estate, William Andrew Broward."


    Receiving a mixture of a fearful and unsure nod in response from the poor guy, I continued to the next bit. "Well, if you were doing business on the up and up and weren''t busy trying to offload your moleman infested mine onto an unsuspecting buyer and screwing over the families of your deceased employees, you wouldn''t be in your current situation now would you?"


    For the next 15 seconds, I did nothing but glare at the scumbag across from me, waiting to see if he had anything to say. At the end of that bit of time, he was sweating bullets for some odd reason or another. Definitely doesn''t have anything to do with having all your dirty little secrets brought to the surface and a 7.62 machine gun aimed at him that could blast dozens of holes in him at a moment''s notice.


    "I don''t need you to say anything I''m just going to tell you how things are going to play out from here and you will do as you are told otherwise you''ll be facing financial ruin and later death for concealing the threat within that mine of yours. If that happens, I wonder how those enemies of yours will deal with your family when you are no longer around to protect them."


    "I-I-I''ll d-do as you say." He fearfully squeaked out.


    "Here''s what''s going to happen. You will be selling this property at a steep 75% discount to me and you will reimburse your deceased employees'' families. You got that."


    He seemed like he wanted to say something or argue, but because of fear induced by gramps emitting a sort of deathly pressure; he kept mum. Ignoring his worsening condition, I started again. "Knowing your financial situation, I know you will lose quite a lot from doing those two things, but what is the loss of some money when faced with the loss of life? Am I right?"


    "I-I agree I can always make more in the future." He enthusiastically answered, still fearful of his current precarious situation.


    "I''m glad we see things the same way. Alright, I''ve brought the documents for you to sign. Once you sign those, I''ll get them sent off to where they need to go, and hopefully by no later than the end of tomorrow, everything regarding the property will have been wrapped up. The only thing that will need to be taken care of is the reimbursement of the miners'' families, which will be reliant upon you doing as you were told. I hope you don''t try anything sly. I would hate to have to see you again."


    "Th-there won''t be any problems, I-I promise."


    "Good. It would be unfortunate if the skeletons you''ve been hiding in the closet for so long saw the light of day."


    The bulk of what needed to be said was said and taken care of. William Andrew Broward understood the position he was in and succumbed to all of my demands. The minute he was done signing the paperwork he needed to sign, he brought up the compensation of his own volition.


    Once we settled on a satisfactory number for each family, I let the man go, although not before getting the keys for the facility and issuing another warning that life-threatening danger would be imminent if he didn''t follow through with what he had to do.

 Chapter 28: Impromptu Family Gathering

    "Looks like that''s it, how''d I do, gramps?"


    "Not bad, kid. Though I think we could have roughed him up some before we let him go."


    "Yeah, I wanted to give that scumbag a kick for good measure. I''m sure the miners would''ve appreciated it." Alice added.


    "Well, maybe next time. I''m sure we''ll encounter more than a few pieces of garbage in the future, so there will be plenty of opportunities to dish out physical punishment."


    "I''ll keep you to it." My gramps said.


    "Okay, now that we got the keys for the place and the paperwork, let''s go check out the collapsed section of the mine and see what the molemen are doing."


    Getting a nod from the two, we strolled through the place going in the direction of the mine. After a number of minutes, we reached the mine entrance and began heading into it, and within a short period of walking, we arrived in front of a literal wall of collapsed rock.


    Reaching our destination, I crept up to the rubble. In the blink of an eye, I detected the same two molemen I had found last time I was here. However, instead of standing guard like they were doing previously, they were instead resting, leaning up against the walls of the mine tunnel with their respective weapons lazily strewn about beside them.


    I stayed in my current position for another minute and when nothing else of note occurred, I quietly backed away from the rubble and said. "The same two molemen I discovered last time are still there, though this time both of them are resting with their weapons beside them instead of guarding the collapsed section."


    "Hmm, I guess they''re not placing too much importance on guard duty. If they were, I guarantee we would''ve seen an increase in the number of molemen stationed there. They also wouldn''t be lazily lounging about if they were that concerned, either." Gramps figured.


    "I suppose so... Anyway, I''ll still prepare the necessary defenses to cover the mine in the meantime while I begin making my preparations to get rid of them."


    "Of course, you can never be too careful with those rats."


    Since the molemen didn''t make movements and actually relaxed their security to an extent, we didn''t need to adjust my pre-existing plan. So with nothing else needing to be taken care of here at this very moment, we just up and left the facility and traveled home.


    A not-so-long drive later through the concrete and metal jungle that was the undercity, the three of us arrived back at the house. Back at home again, Alice and I got to studying while gramps plopped himself down back on the couch and watched TV once again, presumably until dinner time because there was nothing else that required his attention.


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    A couple of hours flew on by before my parents eventually returned home from a long day''s work. When they did, they were somewhat surprised to see the old man just chilling on the couch half asleep when normally he goes home after training Alice and I.


    "Hey Mom, Dad, gramps is staying for dinner. Do you want to call Grandpa and Grandma to see if they want to come over to eat, too?"


    "Of course, I''ll make the call." My mom said excitedly before quickly hurrying off to do just that.


    While my mom was off making the call, dad came and sat down in the living room with the three of us and asked. "So how was your day, son?"


    "I had a productive day, and you?" I replied back, as he began retelling a good portion of what he did managing the company.


    Following that, mom returned and informed us that my Grandma and Grandpa Henry would be joining us shortly, so before they got here, she, Alice, and I moved to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner for the impromptu family gathering we were having.


    Several minutes into cooking they showed up and as soon as they came in through the door, my Grandma Emelia joined us in the kitchen, fastening the pace of our preparations even further. The four of us all working together, made short work of the task at hand and had all the food prepared in record time.


    Thus, with the meal preparations made, we swiftly delivered the assortment of piping hot dishes to the dining room table, sat down, and had quite a festive dinner. When everything was eventually eaten up and the mess was being brought away to be cleaned, I pulled Grandpa Henry off to the side and handed him the papers needed to acquire the property.


    Upon seeing the documents I handed him, he gave them a peruse, and after giving them a closer look, he was very surprised with the content they contained, especially the price that was going to be paid for the property.


    "That''s the best I was able to do, Grandpa. I hope it''s enough."


    "I have no idea how you managed to get a 75% discount for that facility. Nevertheless, you did great. I''m proud of you, Dom."


    I smiled brightly at my grandpa''s praise and asked. "So, when do you think all the procedures will be handled? I really want to get working on the ideas I''ve come up with over the years."


    "I would say no later than lunchtime tomorrow. Mr. Birch is extremely efficient at his job."


    "That''s honestly impressive."


    The two of us talked about a few other topics when I decided to wrap things up to go help with the cleaning.


    "Okay, Grandpa, I''m gonna go help clean up. Thanks again for all the help."


    "No problem, Dom, anytime." My Grandpa Henry said last before I raced off to the kitchen to contribute to the cleaning alongside my family, Alice, and the Miss Maid robot my parents bought years ago.


    ...


    Nice, everything is cleaned up. Let me pull my gramps downstairs and see if he can''t help me out with all the equipment I need.


    Needing an assortment of machinery, equipment, and numerous other tools and materials for the many things I wanted to manufacture, I pulled my gramps aside. Right as the two of us made it downstairs, I informed him of when the property would officially be mine.


    Upon filling him in on that, I asked him if he could help me out with getting the different manufacturing machines I was going to require to start manufacturing the plethora of items I required for my plans.


    He asked a few questions beforehand about the types of machines I required as well as their estimated costs, but as expected, I got a yes in the end. My grandpa John ready to help me out again tomorrow, the two of us went back upstairs and rejoined the family for a movie before my grandparents took off for their homes.


    Following my grandparents'' departure, the rest of us quickly got ready for bed and turned in for the night shortly thereafter.

 Chapter 29: Shopping Spree

    Date Friday, August 10th, 2260


    Approximately four hours later, I woke up well-rested and driven to continue making progress on my dream of one day conquering and controlling the planet in its entirety. Getting up whilst making sure not to disturb Alice, I quickly went into the bathroom and took care of my regular hygienic needs.


    Once those were out of the way, I made my way over to my stockpile of loot that I''d been accumulating for a while and grabbed the parts I needed to turn a couple of dozen microfusion cells into mines.


    I got everything I need, time to turn these cells into some very destructive devices.


    Grinning, I set into motion and began rapidly assembling my makeshift mines.


    ¡­


    After a couple of hours of work, I had two dozen simplistic yet very destructive microfusion cell mines.


    They''re not the best-looking mines I could''ve made, but they don''t need to be. I just need them to keep the molemen from getting through the mine tunnel, which they''ll be able to accomplish well enough.


    My couple dozen mines needed to keep the vermin at bay ready to be deployed, I stood up and cleaned my hands before I downed a couple of protein drinks alongside an assortment of vitamins and snuck out of my room to go hit the gym downstairs. I spent the following hours working out and training, wearing out and abusing myself continuously to stimulate growth.


    When it was eventually nearing the time everyone usually wakes up, I ended my grind session then and there and hit the showers. The moment I finished removing the large amount of sweat I received for my hard work, I hurriedly made my way back upstairs to my room and rejoined my dear little Alice in bed just in the nick of time.


    "Morning, beautiful."


    "Good morning, handsome." Alice replied sweetly.


    The two of us played around for a bit before she went off into the bathroom to go through her morning routine and the moment she came back from it, I asked her. "You coming along with gramps and me on my shopping spree?"


    "Of course, wherever you go, I''ll be following alongside you." She said, latching onto me from the front whilst gazing up at me.


    "What a dutiful fiance." I respond while stroking her luscious raven locks.


    Getting a giggle from Alice, the two of us met up with my parents in the living room. After going through the usual routine events that take place every morning, they went off to work, leaving her and I behind to wait for my gramps to arrive. He eventually did, thus we loaded up into his vehicle and were on our way in the manufacturing district''s direction.


    We arrived in the district shortly and upon doing so, gramps brought us to one of the several locations I wanted to visit today to acquire the many things I needed. I spent the next several hours utilizing my trade skills, going from one place to another, buying the many pieces of machinery, tools, equipment, components, and materials I needed to begin my preparations. At the end of it all, I wracked up a sizable bill for gramps and had obtained just about everything I needed.


    Minutes after doing so, I received a call from my Grandpa Henry. "Dom, the paperwork has been processed, and all the formalities have been handled. You can go to Mr. Birch''s office to pick up the documents and the keys."


    "Okay, thanks Grandpa, I''ll head there now with gramps and Alice."


    "Have fun, kid, and don''t get into anything too dangerous in your new workshop."


    "I know my limits, Grandpa. Thanks again for all the help."


    "No problem, Dom. I''ll check up on you later."


    "Alright, see you around Grandpa."


    Everything pretty much taken care of regarding the property. The three of us continued on to the real estate office next. Reaching it rather quickly, Mr. Birch was ready and waiting thus we finished our business here and headed off for the facility that, as of this instant, was now officially mine. Right as we got to the parking lot, I excitedly hopped out of our ride and practically ran to the entrance of the facility, my companions trailing a ways behind me due to my sudden burst of speed.


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    As soon as I reached the entrance, I unlocked the door and headed inside in the direction where the main area was located. The moment I set foot into what would be where most of my manufacturing would be taking place, I speedily walked over to a button located right beside the large garage door and pressed it. A brief several seconds later, the large door was wide open with a number of big trucks waiting to deliver the goods I just bought courtesy of gramps.


    "Damn, that''s a lot of trucks, kid. You''re lucky I''ve made a ton of credits from my wasteland explorer career." Gramps said in his deep and rough voice.


    "Nn, you''re right, I''m blessed to have you as my grandpa, gramps. Not to mention everyone else in my life."


    "Alright, alright, don''t get sappy on me, kid." The old man said, a smile tugging at his lips.


    "Excuse me, sir, where do you want the goods to be placed?" One of the delivery workers asked gramps.


    "I''m not the one you need to ask. This is the one you should be asking." Gramps responded while putting his hand on my shoulder.


    After hearing my gramps, the man directed his attention to me, hence I opened my mouth and said. "Here, I''ll show you exactly where I want the goods to be placed. Follow me."


    With the man in tow, I directed him and his team of men where I wanted everything to be placed. When I was done showing where I wanted everything, I headed back to gramp''s truck and grabbed a duffle bag. The one I had my microfusion cell mines stowed inside and proceeded into the mines with Alice at my side whilst the old man kept an eye on the workers.


    Once we made it to the collapsed section of the mine, I checked beyond the rubble and saw that there were no changes with the molemen. Not wanting to disturb them and possibly provoke some sort of response from the molemen hive that was beyond, I quietly crept back and began deploying the mines around the tunnel. However, mainly on the floor and walls of the tunnel.


    "That should do it. Let''s head on back, Alice."


    "Okay."


    We made small talk with each other on the way back and the instant we came into the main area again; I filled my gramps on the current situation of the molemen while the delivery men were continuously offloading the many goods I had spent a fortune on. The next couple of hours flew by quickly and somewhere around the two-hour mark, the men finished their job, but before they went off on their way, gramps gave them each a fat tip of 1,000 credits each.


    "Looks like that''s about all we''re gonna be able to accomplish today. You guys ready to head back?"


    "Ready when you are, Dom." Alice responded in her usual upbeat voice.


    "Yeah, let''s go grab something to eat." Gramps said as his stomach announced its agreement.


    "Alright, let''s head out. Where do we feel like eating?"


    From my newly acquired facility, the three of us settled on visiting gramp''s favorite buffet place, so we set off in its direction. When we arrived, our group wasted no time, raced inside, and got to chowing down on the wide selection of foods they had on the menu. Spending slightly more than an hour there, we rolled out of the buffet stuffed practically to the brim.


    "That was a damn good meal." Gramps commented aloud, more than pleased with his full belly slightly protruding.


    "You really ate a bit too much, gramps. We can''t let you come here too often or you''ll eat yourself into a coma."


    "Haha, like you can talk, kid. You ate just as much as me."


    Alice giggled and added. "He has you there, Dom."


    The bunch of us bantered and talked about this and that and before we knew it, we arrived back at the house. After returning home, we first greeted my parents before giving them a not-so-truthful version of what we did today. The conversation didn''t last that long, but as soon as it ended, gramps led Alice and me downstairs to undergo his hellish training regime he designed for both of us respectively to push us to our limits.


    Three hours of intense physical training later, gramps said loudly. "Alright, you two, you''re finished for today."


    "Hah, g-good I was a-about to collapse." Alice gasped out in between breaths.


    "Phew, my muscles were beginning to wear out." I said the second I was able to get off the treadmill, I was sprinting on.


    The old man said a few encouraging words and headed up whilst I helped Alice hobble over to the showers. When we made it there, the scene that took place the other day occurred again at Alice''s behest. I know she could stand on her own just fine, but wanting to keep her motivated, I gave in and cleaned her from head to toe while tossing a muscle massage in to relax her muscles a slight bit.


    I guess this will become a common occurrence in the future. It''s a good thing Alice isn''t a mature beauty like her mother just yet. I probably would''ve pounced on her already if that was the case.


    Predicting my future, I continued my task and after ensuring my girl was spotless along with myself; we rejoined the rest of the family in the living room upstairs and wished my grandpa John a goodnight.


    Following his departure, my parents took off to another part of the house while Alice and I got to studying, expanding upon our extensive knowledge base bit by bit. We two peas in a pod did that for the next couple of hours before we wished my mom and dad a good night and retreated to my room for the night.


    As soon as we made it to my room that has become our room, Alice spun my way and pleaded. "Dom, my muscles are a bit sore. Do you mind giving me that massage again, the one from the shower? It was really pleasant and relaxing."


    "Sure thing, but we''re going to sleep right after."


    To make my task easier, I had her change into some of her thinner nightwear and lay flat on the bed. Once she was where I wanted her, I massaged her most sore muscles first, occasionally getting a sigh of relief here and there mixed with a tinge of pleasure. I then moved on to the rest and 15 minutes later, I had her relaxed to the point where she was putty in my hands, ready to pass out at a moment''s notice.


    "Thanks, handsome."


    "No problem, beautiful." I said before planting a kiss on her forehead, causing her to smile and her cheeks to take on a shade of pink.


    With a happy and content Alice, we took care of our hygienic needs and climbed into bed together, passing out within less than a minute of both our heads hitting the pillows.

 Chapter 30: Production

    Date Friday, August 17th, 2260


    A week later.


    There, that should do it. Let me turn this sucker on.


    As I was about to, I heard a ding before a small holographic popped into existence on the far side of vision informing me I had a new quest ready to turn in. Checking the notification out real quick, I saw I had completed all the objectives for my Production Underway quest.


    Sweet, more exp. Unfortunately, I can''t benefit from it until I spend all the level ups I have waiting for me. And that won''t be happening for close to another year by my estimates, so that''s upsetting¡­ Haa, whatever, I can''t do anything about it right now, but the day I can, can''t come soon enough.


    The sudden notification investigated and finally finished assembling and building my first ever robot. I turned to my gramps and Alice, who were nearby on a couch, one of the many pieces we bought for the place less than a week ago and said excitedly while waving at them to come. "Guys, it''s ready. Hurry over."


    Hearing what I said, they halted what they were doing and hurried to my side to watch me officially bring my first robot online. With the arrival of the two of them, I powered the robot on and within the blink of an eye, my creation came to life, straightening itself up, standing tall.


    What stood in our vision was a bipedal armored robot standing at a height of six feet and armed with a laser emitter within each of its palms that each possessed the firepower equivalent to a standard AALR-6 Laser Rifle.


    | Multibot |


    Armament: 2 x Integrated Palm Lasers


    Carry Capacity: 350


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 100,000


    Description: The Multibot is a six-foot-tall human skeletal emp shielded robot covered head to toe in modular armor that can be easily replaced when damaged. In addition to its easily replaceable armor and electromagnetic pulse immunity, the robot is designed to be able to do anything a human can do. So due to it being for lack of a better word a metal human, it can handle any task a human would be needed for. Besides the model being a general workforce replacer, the robot can handle combat just fine with its built-in lasers located in the center of both of its palms. And if that isn''t enough, the Multibot is capable of using any weapon a human can, such as shotguns and assault rifles to even heavier armaments like miniguns and mini-nuke launchers. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    *Whistle* "I know you said you would have the first one produced in a week, but I still can''t believe you did it." Gramps said, amazed that I actually managed to produce a whole new bot of my own design.


    "I always believed he would do it, Grandpa John. You should have more faith in Dom." Alice, my always faithful girl, followed up.


    Before anyone could get another word out or say anything else, the multibot piped up in a deep, male-sounding robotic voice. "I''m awaiting your orders, master."


    "Stand aside over there for now and await my orders."


    "Rodger." The Multibot said, going off and standing guard at the position I assigned it to.


    As my newly produced robot was waiting patiently, Gramps, Alice, and I discussed a few things before I walked to a weapon rack I had set beside my weapon manufacturing machine and picked up one of the recently produced FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles I had sitting in it.


    | FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle |


    Damage: 45


    DPS: 600 - Variable


    Fire rate: 800 RPM Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Weight: 9


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 74,900


    Attachments: Laser Sight, Red Dot Sight, Vertical Fore Grip, Weapon Sling


    Description: The FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle is an improved AALR-6 Laser Rifle that has had its micro fusion cell slot replaced with a fixed microfusion breeder cell converted to select fire with an 800 rpm fun switch. In addition to that, its damage has been improved from its original along with its reliability and other miscellaneous components. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


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    I''ve been able to produce a number of these but it''s too slow for my liking, not to mention it takes my time away from my robot assembling time. Hmm, what can I do to improve it... I''ve already programmed my own AI already so why don''t I fully automate the machine and integrate it with an AI.


    Doing that should increase both my production speed and capacity through the roof. That is honestly a solid idea. I''ll see about making it a reality as soon as possible. Nevertheless, that will have to wait until I get a few more Multibots built to help me speed up the process.


    My future plans of boosting production capacity and speed that I can also use to start making my own money aside, I walked over to my freshly built Multibot and handed it the FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle I had within my hands and told it. "Take this and guard the mine tunnel of this facility and alert me and or my gramps if there is any disturbance or chance to the collapsed section of the tunnel."


    "I shall carry your orders out, master." The robot responded in its deep robotic male voice, proceeding to carry out its newest task.


    "Alice, come help me put together a ZBR-2 Laser Turret."


    "Okay."


    At my request, Alice speedily joined me in my work and for the next several hours, we spent our time putting the turrets together. After all that effort, we managed to finish assembling two more DBZ-2 Twin Laser Turrets. Following their completion, I got gramps to help out with the heavy lifting, brought the new turrets to the mine tunnel entrance, and mounted them to the ceiling, joining the other two I had mounted there the day prior.


    | DBZ-2 Twin Laser Turret |


    Damage: 50


    Fire rate: 1,600


    Resistances: DT 110


    Weight: 120


    Value: 265,000


    Description: The DBZ-2 Twin Laser Turret is a double-barreled laser turret that alternates fire between its barrels to increase weapon durability and cooling. The turret utilizes a pair of microfusion breeder cells to power itself and has armor rated to stop .50 BMG. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    Things are coming along nicely. Those turrets combined with the other defense I''ve prepared should be more than enough for the current situation. Now I can start focusing greater attention on production and getting everything automated, but to do that I''ll need more hands.


    Hence, I''ll focus on producing more multibots for the time being and when I possess five of them in total, I''ll swap my priorities over to automating all the manufacturing machines I purchased.


    I doubt the molemen will make any moves this month. But in the event that they do, I''ll just redirect my efforts to strengthening the defense further till they basically can''t overwhelm them unless they get a massive equipment upgrade and or begin amassing numbers near the collapse.


    Regarding the former, there are simply no locations or areas nearby where they could find equipment that they could use to clear the rubble. And going by the molemen they have stationed there, things will almost certainly remain quiet, at least for the meantime. All that said, once I get that blast door built at the entrance of the mine, I''m basically safe to do as I please for the foreseeable future.


    With those couple of turrets set into the place and my mind beginning to think about other areas that needed some brainstorming, there was very little time left until we had to go home, thus we wrapped things up for the day and set course for home.


    Upon arriving back at home, I went through the usual routine alongside Alice and eventually turned in for the night with her sleeping up against me while latching onto my left arm, as per usual.


    ¡­


    A few months later, as I was in the midst of one of my normal early morning workouts deadlifting hundreds of pounds off the floor, attempting to beat my previous personal record. It took a minute, but I was eventually able to push through and lock the weight out and complete the lift, upping my personal record to a new high. The instant I did, I received a rare ping from the system, informing me I got a new perk from my heavy weapons skill breaching the 100 point skill ceiling.


    Fuck yeah, my strength or endurance attribute must''ve increased again, maybe even both.


    Dropping the barbell onto the floor mats before me, I walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, opening my system to see the new perk and what benefits it would provide me with going forward.


    | Devastator | Requirements Heavy Weapons 101: All weapons you use that fall under the heavy weapons category now deal 0.50% more damage for every skill point you have in your heavy weapons skill instead of the previous 0.25%. On top of that, if the weapon is a ranged weapon, the velocity of all projectiles fired from it will be increased by the same percentage without any additional increase in recoil. Besides getting a damage and projectile velocity increase, you can now control how much damage your heavy weapons do on the fly via your will. You can also do the same to your heavy weapons accuracy and fire rate. Lastly, this ability cannot be used to raise your accuracy, damage, and fire rate above what you are normally capable of.


    Damn, that''s a nasty perk, heavy weapons are already known for putting out big damage. This perk will just inflate those numbers even further.


    Ecstatic about the new perk I obtained, I got back to it and continued where I left off.

 Chapter 31: Taking On Alice鈥檚 Sister

    Date Thursday, January 10th, 2261


    With Alice''s sister Bella reaching the age of five yesterday, it''s officially time I''ve started training and teaching her. I talked to Alice about it yesterday at her younger sister''s birthday party and she was more than on board, so there''s no real reason not to at this point. There is the possibility that she could leak what I''m doing to her parents, which would obviously throw a wrench into my plans.


    However, I don''t think she will, if my previous experience with her is anything to go by. None of the things I told her to keep secret for me before she disclosed to anyone, even her own sister, whom I know she loves dearly. Thus, things will more than likely go well.


    "Alice, we''re going to start your sister''s training and learning today. Are you good with that?"


    "Of course, it will benefit her immensely and the earlier she starts, the better."


    "Alright, let me give gramps a ring for a ride while you call your mom to drop your sister off."


    "No need. I already talked to my mom and Bella. She''ll be here at 9:00 AM sharp. The only thing is she doesn''t know the real reason why we want Bella to come, so we''ll need to come up with something to persuade her to let us teach and train my sister."


    "That''s alright we can come up with something whilst she''s making her way here. Nonetheless, good job, Alice." I praised her.


    Alice, happy to have received praise for thinking ahead, was smiling brightly next to me while I called up the old man for a ride.


    "He''s on his way." I told Alice before the two of us began brainstorming on how exactly we were going to convince her mother.


    We went back and forth for a bit and eventually settled on a plan and not too much later following that, gramps conveniently showed up at the same time Alice''s mom Aura did with Bella. Getting up, I headed for the entrance with Alice following beside me and opened the door before gramps could whip out his keys and let the three of them in.


    "Hey, gramps. Good morning, mother-in-law, and good morning to you too, Bella." I greeted them before Alice followed up with a similar greeting.


    "Mornin." Gramps said simply, walking off into the house, probably to raid the kitchen for breakfast.


    "Good morning, big brother Dom."


    "Ohh, you kids have already gotten to that level." Alice''s and Bella''s mom responded, surprised to hear what I had just called her.


    "Ohh, didn''t you know Mom, Dom, and I are engaged?"


    "When did you two decide that?" She questioned, somewhat nervously.


    "We didn''t. You adults decided for us, remember?" Alice answered.


    "Why don''t you come inside, mother-in-law, so we can talk." I suggested.


    Alice''s mom sighed, resigning herself to whatever was going to happen next, and entered with Bella, who excitedly ran on ahead to the living room.


    "Continuing where we left off, I think I do remember something like that occurring... So when did you two find out, and how?"


    "Well, I''ve known all along since I was listening to you guys when you gathered for that discussion amongst yourselves all those years ago." I answered, surprising her.


    "And I found out about it much later when my dearest Dom informed me about it." Alice followed up.


    "So I''m guessing since you two are telling me this, you have something you want to say or ask."


    "Correct. For being unfairly engaged to each other even though we both love each other we wish to start training and teaching my sister Bella, it''s about time she begins school but instead of going there and only learning normal things we want her to undergo what both of us went through." Alice said.


    "Absolutely not. That training of yours is too brutal, Bella. Can''t withstand that." Alice''s mom responded agitated, attempting to shut us down.


    "Oh, come on, Mom, it''ll be good for her in the long run. She will be exceptionally fit and considered a genius when we''re done with her. Don''t you want the best for Bella." Alice persuaded, as her mom started to feel guilty.


    Alice''s mom went through a mixture of emotions and expressions before finally sighing and relenting. "...Hah, fine, but on the condition that Bella will be coming home to me at the end of the day. I already have one daughter who rarely ever returns home to visit her family. I can''t lose both of my girls to your fianc¨¦, Dom."


    "Well, if you didn''t set me up with such a great guy, maybe I would return home more often."


    From there, we discussed the nitty-gritty details and what times Bella would need to come over, as well as what days. We were going to push for a full week but Alice''s mom pleaded that she wanted to spend the weekends with her hence we ended up with having Bella for most of the day during the week and her having the weekend off at home with her mother and father.


    "Pleasure, doing business with you, mother-in-law." I said, whilst Alice giggled off to the side.


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    Her mother looked like she had eaten a lemon when I said that, but she quickly got over it and struck back by asking a very difficult question that I would''ve preferred to delay for many more years with a devilish grin. "So, when are you going to marry my daughter?"


    As soon as Alice heard those words, she near instantly locked onto me, waiting to see what I would say.


    Sigh, of course, she would ask that. Look at her grinning over there, thinking she has me caught. Unfortunately for your dearest mother-in-law, I''ve already put some thought into this over the years.


    "Oh, you wanted to know about that, yeah I already have that figured out. I believe August 8th, 2068, would be the best day since both of us will be 18 and considered adults at that time." I answered matter-of-factly.


    Hearing my answer, Alice excitedly jumped at me and latched on me before rubbing her head against me. Whilst I was dealing with Alice, her mother just looked on happy as can be while Alice showered me with affection.


    Following that, Alice''s and Bella''s mom said she was happy I had things all planned out and will come by and pick up Bella later on before she dipped out.


    *Burp* "That was a mighty good breakfast, so what''d I miss?" Gramps asked, unaware of what had taken place while Alice was practically a beaming ray of sunshine.


    "Nothing much, old man. Just got my wedding date finalized and recruited Alice''s sister." I answered him, pointing at Bella, who was contently reading one of the old children''s books my grandparents bought for me way back in the day.


    "That''s cool. I wish you two all the best and what not." Gramps replied nonchalantly, taking his usual spot on the couch.


    "Gee, thanks, gramps." I said sarcastically.


    "No problem, kid." Gramps said smugly.


    I let Bella finish her kid''s book before I grabbed her attention. "Hey, Bella, instead of going to school like normal kids do, you''ll be coming with us to learn and train from now on. How does that sound?"


    "Wait, really?"


    "Yup." I answered her.


    "Yay, I get to spend all day with both my big brother and big sister." She said excitedly, unknowing of the fact that she was going to be subjected to a brutal regime for many years to build her up into an extremely capable woman one day.


    "Sounds like she''s on board alright. Let''s head downstairs to the gym so we can start." Alice said, ready to begin working on her strength, endurance, and other such things.


    I could honestly better spend this time on myself rather than on Alice''s little sis Bella. But in the event that I do get together with her, I would rather have her be capable of handling her own out in the wasteland. I don''t particularly want a woman who''s incapable of violence and needs to be protected 24/7.


    Heading downstairs with our new party member, gramps set her up on machines and weights she could handle and eased her into the working out. When we eventually completed the workout portion, Bella was looking pretty tired, so I kept up the encouragement while we started our sparring and other activities. We went pretty easy on her since it was her first day and let her get a few shots in to keep her motivated, which seemed to do the trick.


    "That''s enough for today. Go hit the showers." Gramps announced.


    The three of us headed for the showers, with Alice walking alongside me and me carrying Bella, who had turned into mush at this point.


    "Here, take your sister, Alice, and help her get cleaned up. She needs it."


    "Okay, but you owe me some time later." She answered, not willing to lose the shower time we spend together every day.


    "Sure."


    Trading Bella to Alice, I wandered off to my shower while the big sister took care of the little one.


    Ahh, it''s nice to shower alone every now and again.


    The three of us eventually met up with gramps after getting cleaned of the sweat that had accumulated on our bodies. When we did, we rested for a short bit before heading to the car next and on the way there I looked to Bella, who was sitting to my left and asked her. "Hey, Bella, can you keep another secret just between us two?"


    "Yeah." She answered simply.


    "Good, what you''re about to see and learn at this place we''ll be going to has to be kept secret from now on. You can''t tell anyone about it, you got that?"


    "The secrets are safe with me." Bella answered as seriously as she could.


    "Atta girl, I knew I could rely on you." I said, rubbing her head.


    "Hehe."


    It took quite a number of minutes, but we eventually made it to the facility I bought some time ago. Once there, we went on in and as we passed through different sections on the way to the main area, Bella would let out the occasional ooo and aah at the robots that passed by and the various other things she saw along the way. The bunch of us spent the rest of the day there teaching her a number of things, which she thankfully caught on to quickly.


    I''m thankful that she''s able to soak up the things we teach her like a sponge similar to her sister, but I will say it is kind of odd that both sisters are so intelligent. I suppose it must have something to do with their family''s genes.


    "That''s all for today, Bella. Did you have fun?"


    "Nn, I did, big brother. What about you?" She responded sweetly.


    "Of course I did, and you made it all the better." I replied, giving her a hug and getting a giggle from her.


    "And remember Bella, if there ever comes a time you don''t want to continue undergoing your learning, training, and working out, you can quit at any moment."


    "You''ve already told me that many times today, big brother. Why do you keep telling me that when I keep saying no?"


    "I just wanted to make sure you knew."


    "I do, so don''t say it again." She said, whilst attempting to appear serious and striking a comical pose.


    *Pfft*


    Catching myself, Bella started trying to use her newly learned moves on me. "Ahh, what are you laughing at, big brother?"


    Not having it, I picked her up like a sack of potatoes and threw her over my shoulder while she continued to struggle and break free. She eventually bursted into laughter atop my shoulder whilst we headed for the parking lot.


    With things wrapped up for the day, we loaded back up into gramp''s car and began heading for Alice''s and Bella''s house to drop her off since it was close enough to my home.


    On the way there, I piped up and asked. "So Bella, have you figured out what you''re going to tell someone if they ask you what you did at the place you were at later in the day?"


    "Yup, I''m going to tell them I learned a lot."


    "And what if they ask for more detail?"


    "Then I''ll tell them about the more normal stuff I learned, like the addition and subtraction you taught me today."


    "That''s my girl." I said, while rubbing her head.


    "Hehehe."


    I would feel bad about what I''m doing, since I''m basically just manipulating a kid and shaping her into what I want her to be. But the wasteland is a very, very unforgiving and ruthless place therefore, the morals from my previous world are pretty worthless to me unless I have the strength to be able to afford them, which I currently don''t.


    Besides that, the more capable people I have on my side to watch my back and those around me, the better it is for all of us and those following me. Not that she''ll be of much help early on with her sister and me planning to venture out into the wasteland not long after the two of us reach the age of eighteen.


    Nevertheless, even if she doesn''t join us one day, she''ll be a hell of a lot better off compared to her peers when it comes to practically anything. She also appears to enjoy the learning, training, and working out I had her go through today like her sister Alice and I did years ago, so it isn''t all that bad.


    And in the event that she doesn''t want to go through it anymore, she can drop it at any time, like I told her multiple times previously, hence ultimately what will come to be will rely on what she wants to do in the end.

 Chapter 32: Armor

    Almost eight months later.


    "Ahh, I need a break." I thought aloud, walking over and spreading out on the couch.


    As I lay there, I let my mind wander and at some point I began looking over what I''ve gotten done in the last year.


    It''s been nearly a whole ass year since I''ve taken this facility as my own. I honestly find it unbelievable how fast time has flown by this year. I suppose it''s because of all the accomplishments I have made in this period.


    Over these many months, I kept busting my ass grinding slowly but surely towards my goals, spending just about every bit of time I had available productively, building more and more robots and automating the various machines I had at my disposal.


    For my efforts, I no longer needed to assemble them by hand and could pass the task off to my minions to assemble their kin. I even got that blast door up on the mine tunnel entrance and cemented my grasp on this place sooner than I had initially expected.


    Even though I had control of the entrance, I still couldn''t utilize the mine with the molemen awaiting beyond the rubble. I did get some mining done at the public mines to gather resources for production and other projects.


    However, that didn''t last all that long and eventually, I stopped that and just sold off some of my bulk stock to Alice''s father David, and my father Robert to gather the funds I needed to purchase the resources I required to run my operations here.


    The reason as to why I did that instead of just spending my time and effort continuing to mine was simple: it was just too lucrative selling ammunition, turrets, and weapons. It''s not something I can do forever since I''ve already supplied the two of them with a ton of weapons, ammo, and all the other related attachments and weapon magazines.


    I only have one more shipment to make, and then that''s it. So all of my weapon and most of my ammo selling will be discontinued after I get the mine cleared of molemen and restart my mining operation to collect resources. Although this time around in my very own personnel mine.


    And in the event I need more funds in the future, I can expand my business into selling ammo and weapons to the various wasteland explorers and whatever groups they are associated with. Though I''ll be sure to sell none of the powerful weapons I''m producing, I don''t need the weapons I made that can take out power armor and tanks pointed at me if some sort of conflict erupts between myself and them.


    Actually scratch that, I have other avenues I can explore that don''t have the possibility of being used against me. The only issue with them is they require more space, which is something I''ll be severely lacking in the next 5-6 months at the rate I''m pumping items and resources at.


    Besides all that and my business with my dad and future father-in-in-law, I hooked gramps up with an arsenal to pay back at least a small portion of the help I''d gotten from him. I did the same for his battle brothers, the men he used to explore the wasteland with once I found out they''d been keeping an eye on that little rat, William. They didn''t need to since I was already keeping my own tabs on him and his activities. Nonetheless, I appreciated the help even though it was unneeded.


    Stuff regarding the facility and paying my gramps and his buddies back aside, I didn''t skimp on other areas in this period and have continued my brutal training and studying regime alongside Alice. Thanks to that, the two of us have grown even closer somehow and have raised our physical abilities a ton. Besides that, her little sister Bella has been going through everything alongside us as well and has improved a ton across the board compared to when she first joined our small group.


    The little squirt has grown quite a bit in this period. I hope she continues to stick with it. But seeing how the determination in her eyes continues to grow day by day, I don''t believe I''ll have any concerns about whether she''ll truck on through everything for much longer.


    Other than making progress in those areas, Alice and I kept in touch with the duo Big Tom and the little genius Bob and met up with the two of them occasionally to change things up. Can''t be grinding 24/7, have to take a breather every now and again.


    Though the times we did meet up, Bob seemed to figure that something was going on. Likely due to us not meeting up as often as we used to and would ask us what we''ve been up to, obviously trying to find out what we were up to.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    However, since what we were doing needed to be kept on the down low, I would blow him off and tell him we''ve been doing the usual serious studying and training, which is true just not entirely. Pretty sure he didn''t believe I was telling the whole truth, but what could he do when I didn''t want to tell. After the first couple of times, he got the hint and gave up not inquiring further. As for Tom, the big lug was just happy to see us.


    I''ll let the boys know one day down the road, but now is not the time. I haven''t made nearly enough preparations yet, not to mention the molemen threat I have lurking in the mine. Maybe I''ll tell them after I''ve dealt with that threat and see if they want to get involved. The two of them have potential and seem like loyal guys, so it would be nice to have more people I could rely upon besides Alice and my family to have my back out in the wasteland.


    That''s about the gist of it. The only other thing of note is I established a company named The Bulwark for my business dealings and changed the unrememberable name of this facility to Genesis Foundry. Overall, I would say it''s been a solid and very productive year for me. Hopefully, this remains the case in the years to come down here.


    Alright, that''s enough lounging. I better get back to it and finish crafting my armor. When that''s finished, I''ll be ready to embark into the depths of the mines to clear them out and annihilate any creatures I come across within.


    The instant my thoughts concluded I got back to work alone, a very rare thing that hardly ever occurs, not that I mind.


    ...


    Hours ticked on by and after five of them had elapsed, I was finally done adding the last of the finishing touches to my hefty armored suit.


    "Haha, it''s finished."


    | Heavy Trooper Armor Set |


    Resistances: DT 65, Radiation Resistance 20


    Attributes: Perception +1


    Skills: Stealth +20


    Weight: 118


    Class: Heavy


    Value: 145,000


    Item Description: A jet-black heavy suit made up of a synthetic breathable suit covered in many alloy plates paired with a jet-black heavy-duty fully encapsulated helmet. The helmet features two protected eye slots that have built in night and thermal vision, a built-in gas mask, and provides ballistic protection up to 30-06 ap. The protective suit is rated to stop the same 30-06 ap across all of its segmented plates, which have small gaps in between them to allow for flexible movement. The armor also features spikes on the hands, forearms, elbows, boots, and shins of the armor plates to provide the user with a violent melee alternative. There is also a micro fusion breeder cell located on the lower spine of the suit in an exceptionally armored enclosure that is used to power the helmet''s night and thermal vision. Special attention has been paid to provide the utmost protection for the family jewels.


    With the completion of my armor, I''m one step closer. I''m just waiting on the completion of the Seeker Of Knowledge quest now. As soon as that''s ready to turn in, I''ll be able to spend all the level-ups I''ve accumulated and head into the mines.


    Nearly finished for the day, I picked up my heavy trooper armor and helmet and began equipping it to see how the fit was.


    Looks like I got all the measurements right on the first try, sweet.


    Removing the suit of armor, I made my way to the armory I had built months ago. As I got closer to my destination, I began hearing an audible thumping. Rounding the corner, I came across the large hulking robot my multibots produced last week.


    | Crusader |


    Armament: 2 x FBGL-6 Gatling Lasers, 2 x 24 Tubed 80mm Missile Pods


    Carry Capacity: 2,000


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 7,500,000


    Description: The Crusader is a Sentinel that has undergone numerous modifications by its designer turning it into a hulking bipedal emp proof robot meant to ruthlessly annihilate whatever it encounters with its dual FBGL-6 Gatling Lasers arms and dual shoulder-mounted 24-tubed 80mm missile pods. Besides having its way of moving around replaced with two heavily armored legs, the rest of it has been armored up and had electromagnetic shielding applied, making it immune to emp weapons of any sort. In addition to that, the robot has had its original fusion power plant replaced with a fusion breeder, one removing its need to ever be refueled again. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    "Do you have any new orders for me, master?" The crusader asked in a very deep, intimidating, robotic voice.


    "Negative, continue as you were."


    "Affirmative."


    Doing as I asked, the robot continued on its patrol route of the facility while I walked the rest of the short distance I had remaining till I reached the armory. Once I arrived at the heavily armored doors, they slid open for me immediately due to the numerous linked defenses of the facility recognizing me.


    Strolling into the armory, I passed by many many racks of weapons, ammo, and explosives I had stockpiled over the year, and upon arriving at one of the mannequins I had in the back I quickly placed the armor on it and departed for home.


    I didn''t ask for a ride today, so I turned my journey home into an impromptu workout and began sprinting home at my fastest speed. I don''t know how long it took me to get back home, but I know I made decent time. Back at home again, I headed inside and what would you know, Mom and Dad made it home before I did.


    "Hey mom, hey dad, how was work today?"


    "Pretty good, son." My dad answered.


    "It was, wasn''t it. How was your day, sweetie?"


    "It was productive and entertaining enough, but Mom, when are you going to stop calling me that?"


    She smiled and answered in her same old bubbly and upbeat voice. "Never, you''ll always be my little sweetie, even when you grow up and become an adult someday."


    Hearing her response, I sighed while my dad laughed at my misfortune. Not willing to force and possibly upset her, I moved the conversation along and after discussing a few things, the front door flew open and in came Alice.


    "Couldn''t even last a day apart from me, aye." I teased.


    "Nope." She said before snuggling up next to me on the couch and latching onto my left arm.

 Chapter 33: Another Year Older

    Date Tuesday, August 6th, 2261


    The next day.


    Getting up from bed as usual, I ran through my morning routine and sat down at my desk.


    Today is my eleventh birthday, but it''s only around 2:00 in the morning, so I have quite a lot of time. That said, I''m unable to go to the Genesis Foundry today because of what''s occurring today, not to mention tomorrow which will also be occupied by Alice''s birthday. Thus, the question is, what do I want to get done this morning?


    I have about five hours before anyone starts waking up. I could go workout like I usually do¡­ Hmm, actually I''ma change things up today and study. I don''t normally study in the early morning, but I feel as if I''m on the cusp of finishing my Seeker Of Knowledge quest, therefore I might as well see if I can''t get that completed.


    Decision made, I booted up my desktop and got to it, going from one subject to another, learning and soaking up all the knowledge that was available on the undercity web. The moment the hour mark rolled around, I heard a ding and got a notification from my system, notifying me that I had finally accumulated enough knowledge.


    *Ding*


    [Quest has been completed]


    Looks like I''m done gathering knowledge from the undercity web. Guess I''ll have to raise my skills via my own efforts and coming across new information out in the wasteland from this point forward. There could be some hidden databases in the undercity that might contain more advanced information that could help advance my skills. However, I believe my time would be better spent elsewhere.


    Thankfully, I have multiple things I want to research, such as removing the negative side effects of maxigen. So it won''t be all that difficult to continue improving my intelligence and more sciency-based skills. As for my combat skills, those will certainly experience a sizable jump, although how big that jump will be depends entirely on how many molemen I end up exterminating.


    Now when do I want to undergo my level up, I could wait until after both mine and Alice''s birthdays, thereby pushing it off until the 8th of August¡­ Yeah, I''ve delayed it this long already, I can wait a couple more days.


    Planning to level up on the eighth, I left my room behind and went downstairs to workout since I had nothing better to do while everyone was recharging their batteries. I spent the following four hours putting myself through the metaphorical meat grinder, occasionally injecting myself with medstims to speed up my body''s regeneration speed. Which I can say for certain at this point from my experience and research accelerates my gains massively.


    From my gym sesh, I proceeded back up to my bedroom and returned to bed again, rejoining Alice for a bit, at least until she woke up. As I laid there with little to do, I ran and played out numerous scenarios of what I may experience and or encounter when I depart on my molemen extermination mission. I did that for an unknown number of minutes until I sensed the sleeping beauty beside beginning to wake with my perception field.


    The time to end the current scenario, I was imagining here involving a three-way war between the molemen, myself, and a massive nest of rock scorpions. I looked at Alice and greeted her brightly. "Mornin, beautiful."


    "Good morning, handsome." She returned, smiling.


    Good mornings out of the way, the two of us spent a few minutes chilling and chatting when Alice suddenly spoke up and said. "Stay right here, Dom. I''ll be right back."


    Right as she got up and planted her feet on our bedroom floor, she sped out of the room. No more than a minute later, she returned just as quickly with a wrapped gift box held behind her back.


    "Happy birthday, darling. I hope you like what I got you." She said, presenting a purple-wrapped box tied with a red bow while looking at me expectantly.


    "Thanks, babe, I''m sure I''ll like it."


    Taking the present from her, I undid the bow and lifted the top. What laid within was a sharp-looking metallic chain, and attached to said chain was a large old cross pendant. Intrigued, I looked the cross over curiously. After scanning the front, I flipped it over and saw it had a text of an unknown language inscribed upon its surface.


    "This pendant is very old, and the text inscribed on its back is from a language I haven''t seen before. Where''d you get this from?"


    Curious about its origins, I looked forward to hearing her response.


    "I went out with my mom looking for a gift for you the other day, but I know you already have just about everything you could want, and the things I know you desire are beyond what I can give you. So my mom came up with the idea of going to the explorers'' market to see if we couldn''t find something unique that was brought back from the wasteland."


    "After scouring the market for a good number of hours, we eventually came across a store hidden far in the back of the market, where this pendant was on display. When I saw the cross, I could immediately tell it was extraordinarily old, as you said, if not ancient."


    "So, finding nothing else that piqued my interest up to this point, I picked it up and checked it out. As soon as I saw the text on the backside, I didn''t recognize it from any of the characters or symbols belonging to any of the languages you''ve learned previously. When I realized that I knew I found something special."


    "Thus I bought it and later that same day my dad told me that wearing a cross was believed to be able to provide their wearers with protection. Once I learned of that I went to a jeweler with mom and bought a chain to attach it to, so even if you don''t ever decipher the characters at least it will protect you from harm. I know it really can''t do that, but I think it''s the thought that counts."


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "You sure put in a lot of effort to find me a special gift. Thank you, Alice. I appreciate the thought you put into it, and even if we don''t think the cross can protect me, I''ll be sure to wear it from here on out, just in case." I said, bringing it over my head and wearing it.


    Alice smiled, happy to see I liked the gift. Placing the now empty box off to the side, I looked towards her and told her. "Alice, come here for a sec."


    Looks like it''s about time I''ve advanced things again. She has been pushing for this for a while and I''ve shot down several of her attempts in the past, but I don''t believe I can do it forever. So I guess it''s time to go to the next stage, though this will be the final one until she''s an adult.


    My legs hanging off the side of the bed, she approached me and the second she was within range of my grasp; I pulled her to me. With her now mounting my lap, the two of us face to face. She appeared surprised initially, but that didn''t last and she quickly transitioned to looking me in the eye expectantly with her clear aquamarine like colored eyes. Leaning down a slight bit, I planted a kiss on her luscious, red lips.


    This isn''t something I really want to do, but I can''t keep rejecting her advances infinitely without repercussions. If I kept it up, it could hurt her mentally and possibly cause her to drift away from me. I care for my partner in crime so I''d much prefer not to cause her harm nor lose her when all I have to do is give in a little to her advances and make myself uncomfortable every now and again until she and I are both of age.


    I haven''t been this close to anyone ever before, not even in my past life thus if this is all I have to do to make sure she''s happy and things continue to go smoothly I''m more than willing to put myself in this uncomfortable position. That said, I''m sure as she develops physically it''ll become increasingly easier overtime.


    As I was having these thoughts, I whispered in her ear. "I really like your present, babe. Thanks again." Saying what I wanted to say, I pulled back, leaving Alice blushing up to her ears.


    "Y-you''re welcome darling." She embarrassedly stuttered out.


    Alice looked expectantly at me to see if I would push the boundaries between her and I any further. Unfortunately for her, that wasn''t happening today nor anytime soon, so she got up and headed into the bathroom to cool off while I chilled on the bed thinking of the near as well as the far future. Unbeknownst to me while I was contemplating the cross, Alice had just gifted me started lighting up slightly with a nearly unnoticeable magical gleam running across the runic-like text every once in a while.


    The rest of the morning was spent with Alice and the family until my mom said it was time to go meet up with everyone at Dave''s Fun Zone, which was simply a mashup of a large restaurant, bar, and arcade. When we arrived at the place, my two buds, Big Tom and Bob, were there as well as their parents and Alice''s own.


    Following some chatter amongst everyone, but mostly the adults, everyone gathered and sat down at a large table to have a big meal. After filling up, the adults did their own thing while we kids ran off to the arcade to play and have fun with the wide selection of games they had available.


    We spent practically half a day there before things were eventually wrapped up and everyone went on their way home. Another successful and fun-filled birthday had we turned in for the night.


    ...


    The next day when I woke, I went and hit the gym, though not before I took care of the things I routinely did every morning.


    Five hours later, I returned to Alice and when she began to stir from her sleep; I said. "Good morning, babe. I hope you slept well."


    "Morning, darling, I slept like a rock. What about you?"


    "Good as usual."


    She and I made small talk with each other for a couple of minutes before she wandered off to the bathroom. She came back minutes later and rejoined me on the bed, so I reached down under the bed and pulled out the present I had prepared for her special day.


    I put a lot of work into this present; I hope it doesn''t disappoint.


    "Happy birthday, Alice. Here I got you a little something."


    Presenting the red gift box to her, she took it into her hands and unraveled the yellow bow holding its top in place. Once she lifted the top off the small ring I painstakingly spent hours making, came into view.


    "I know it may not seem like much, but I spent many hours making it personally by hand. I hope you like it." I said before she started tearing up.


    "It''s not that ugly, is it?"


    "No, of course not. I love it." She responded emotionally, brushing away the few happy tears that had appeared.


    Relieved, I said. "Phew, you had me going there for a second."


    Alice giggled and looked at me and asked sweetly. "Can you put it on for me, darling?"


    "I can."


    Taking the ring into my right hand, I held her fair left hand with my own and brought the ring near. Already knowing what finger she most desired it to be placed upon, I slid the silver ring that grasped a singular large blood-colored ruby I had personally managed to locate within the walls of the mine onto her finger.


    "It looks good, babe. Almost as if it always belonged there." I commented before being jumped by an emotional and exceptionally happy Alice.


    She locked lips with my own, surprising me with how aggressive and assertive she was. I let her have her way for a bit before she seemed to want to take it up another notch, more than what I was willing to allow, given our individual ages.


    Separating from her, she was breathing heavily, blatantly displaying her desire within her gaze.


    Not wanting to become a father at the young age of eleven, I told her straight. "That''s as far as we''re gonna go Alice, you''ll have to wait till we''re both older before we cross that line."


    Disappointed, she sighed and relented. "Oh, alright."


    "But this doesn''t mean I won''t still keep trying to tempt you." She continued while attempting to be seductive.


    Her underdeveloped charm failing to affect me, I responded. "Have at it, Alice, though I don''t think you''ll have any chance. Maybe you''ll be able to succeed when your womanly charm and figure fully develop, but until then, as I said previously, your chances are near nonexistent."


    My words seemed to do little to nothing to sway her determination to keep pushing further. Spending the following few there in the bedroom, we soon left it for the living room. Upon arriving, my mom Jane immediately locked onto the new ring that appeared on Alice''s ring finger.


    I expected her to say something, however, she just looked my way and shot me thumbs up while mouthing great job and looking pleased as can be. Dad later took notice of it as well, although much later and just told me, "You''re learning early son, good job. A happy wife is a happy life. Never forget that it will help you immensely in your future.".


    The family, along with Alice''s, eventually gathered and headed to a similar place as yesterday. Meeting the same family and friends as the previous day there, we went through a very similar experience, at least until Alice wanted to go to a movie theater nearby. No one took issue with that suggestion, or if they did, they didn''t voice it. Hence, we wrapped things up where we were and went there next.


    After many hours of fun, everyone eventually called it quits at 10:00 PM and returned home, turning in for the night.


    "Goodnight, darling." Alice wished me as she grasped onto my left arm.


    "Goodnight, babe." I wished her back, planting a peck on her forehead to earn some additional brownie points.


    Getting a sweet giggle from her, the two of us quickly fell asleep, ending our yearly event-filled two days here.

 Chapter 34: Growing Pains

    Date Thursday, August 8th, 2261


    Today''s the day I spend those level-ups I''ve accumulated. However, because I might undergo some physical changes, it probably isn''t the wisest choice to spend them this instant. There is also the fact that I''ll more than likely experience an immense amount of pain from having my noggin stuffed to the brim with a massive amount of new information thanks to my skills increasing from the level, so there''s that as well.


    I don''t exactly wish for Alice and my family to come rushing from their beds to find out what''s going on if I start screaming in pain. Guess I''ll be waiting until I get to the Genesis Foundry before I finally pull the trigger and do it.


    Rested and excited to spend my long accumulated level-ups, I ventured downstairs to workout and continue improving my various physical attributes.


    ¡­


    Hours later, Alice, gramps, and I reached our destination, thus we exited gramp''s armored truck, crossed the parking lot with myself leading the way a bit due to my excitement, and entered inside in little to no time.


    Once inside, I turned to them and said. "I''m going to spend my accumulated levels today, so there are a few things I want to go over with you guys since I don''t know what exactly is going to happen."


    "Like what?" Alice asked.


    "Fire away, I''m all ears." Gramps said in his usual rough and deep voice.


    "The last time I leveled I experienced, for lack of a better word, a shit ton of pain and that was only from one level up. This time it''ll likely be exponentially worse with me going through one level up after another so I may or may not black out. If that indeed happens, do not approach me or touch me because I may unintentionally cause harm to one of you unintentionally due to there being a possibility of me not having full control over whatever new strength I''ve gained."


    "Gotcha, Alice, and I won''t approach you recklessly. But if there''s a need to, I''ll be the one to do so. Can''t have you hurting your little wife, hahaha." He responded, cracking a joke at the end while Alice nodded, although somewhat reluctantly.


    "Thanks, gramps."


    "No problem, kid, that''s what I''m here for. You want some pain meds before you start?" Gramps followed up.


    "No need. I''ve already made the necessary preparations." I said while we continued to walk to the location I intended to undergo my leveling process.


    My group and I eventually arrived in front of a thick metal door that led into a small 10-foot by 10-foot room. Opening the door, I headed inside and walked over to a safe that was embedded into the concrete walls, and after the biometric mechanism scanned me, mechanical noises ensued before it unlocked, revealing its valuable contents. What lay within were many medstims and about a dozen syringes of P-Dex, an extremely potent pain suppressant.


    | Medstim |


    Weight: 0.05


    Value: 1,000


    Description: An injector filled with a cocktail of super nutrients and other miscellaneous chemicals and compounds that help facilitate accelerated healing and regeneration.


    | P-Dex Syringe |


    Weight: 0.025


    Value: 2,500


    Description: P-Dex is an extremely effective pain suppressant that comes in both oral and injectable forms, though the latter is much more effective and faster-acting.


    "Alright, wish me luck, guys. Gramps, can you close the door for me?"


    "Sure thing, kid, and good luck."


    Before he could begin to close the door, Alice rushed past him and latched onto me one last time to say. "I love you, Dom. Good luck." Suddenly planting a kiss on my lips.


    "Ohh, you two lovebirds have reached that stage already." Gramps commented from the door.


    The kiss ended several seconds later, and once it did, I replied in kind. "I love you too, Alice. I''ll see you in a bit."


    Hugging her tight one final time, I sent her out of the room and had gramps close the door sealing me in to undergo my transformation.


    Ready to get started, I began taking my clothes off until I was wearing nothing but my jet-black boxer briefs. Moving to the next step, I strolled back over to the safe and reached in, retrieving one medstim.


    After injecting one, I grabbed another, and another, and injected them across my body. I followed that up with many more of them until my entire body was filled with a cocktail of chemicals and super nutrients contained within the medstims.


    It''s a good thing you can''t overdose on these. If I did this with P-Dex, I would be deader than dead.


    My body loaded to the brim with medstim, I placed the empty injectors off to the side to be recycled at a later date and grabbed a singular P-Dex syringe next. With the syringe in hand, I carefully placed it in the desired area and plunged into my right arm''s skin, controlling my body''s defenses to allow it to pass through.


    The needle slid in easily, like a hot knife through butter, with my body''s defenses lowered in the desired area. Needle in my arm I dumped its contents into it and the instant it was depleted I withdrew the spent syringe and placed it off to the side like I had done with the numerous medstims previously.


    All necessary preparations made, I walked over to a comfy cushion chair I had placed in the room and sat down reclining into it.


    It''s time.


    Willing my status into existence, I looked over the hard gains I fought for over the last year.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 11


    Height: 6 Feet


    Body Weight: 230 lbs


    Race: Human


    Level: 2


    Experience Points: 3,000/3,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 1,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 72,277


    Experience Rate: 200% ? | Formula: 100 + (Intelligence x 5)


    Health: 1,160 ? | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Healing Rate: 0.0933 Health Per Second/5.6 Health Per Minute ? | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1


    Stamina: 2,240 ? | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4


    Stamina Regeneration: 1.533 Stamina Per Second/92 Stamina Per Minute ? | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4


    Carry Weight: 0.125/600 ? | Formula: 100 + (Strength x 50)


    Critical Chance: 10% | Formula: Luck x 1


    [ Effects ]


    [ Armor ]


    Body Damage Threshold 23 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Resistances ]


    Radiation Resistance: 23 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 10 ?


    Agility: 7 ?


    Endurance: 23 ?


    Intelligence: 20 ?


    Perception: 16 ?


    Charisma: 8 ?


    Luck: 10


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 100 ?


    Energy Weapons: 100 ?


    Explosives: 94 ?


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 110 ?


    Leadership: 77 ?


    Lockpick: 90 ?


    Medicine: 96 ?


    Melee Weapons: 100 ?


    Piloting: 65 ?


    (T)Repair: 100 ?


    (T)Science: 100 ?


    Speech: 75 ?


    Stealth: 90 ?


    Survival: 95 ?


    Trade: 90 ?


    Unarmed: 99 ?


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 22 ? | Formula: (Intelligence x 1) + 2


    [ Traits ]


    | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks:


    Passive Perks: | Bookworm | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Talented |


    Combo Perks: | All Seeing | - | Devastator |


    [ Mutations ]


    [ Gear ]


    Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing: Jet Black Boxer Briefs


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Attribute: +150% to endurance gain, +50% to intelligence gain, +150% to strength gain


    Body: +50% to blood circulation, +300% to ligament strength, +300% to ligament growth speed, +100% to muscle growth speed, +100% to muscle density, +300% to tendon strength, +300% to tendon growth speed


    Brain: +200% to brain processing power ?, +100% to reading speed, +1 to thought processes


    Damage: Heavy Weapon Damage +55%


    Health: +100% to health, +1 health regeneration per minute


    Perception Field: Range 16 meters ?


    Skill: +25% to skill gain speed


    Sleep: Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Stamina: +400% to stamina, +400% to stamina regeneration


    Velocity: Heavy Weapon Velocity +55%


    Kill Counter: 0


    [ Items ]


    Weapons: A-50 Anti-Material Rifles (100) - AALP-3 Laser Pistols (1,000) - AALR-6 Laser Rifles (1,000) - AAGL-5 Gatling Lasers (100) - AK-108s (100) - AKMs (100) - CA12 Combat Shotguns (100) - Carl Gustafs (100) - Combat Knives (5,000) - F-60 Flamethrower (100) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (2,538) - Grandpa John''s Combat Knife (1) - HK416s (100) - M56 Miniguns (100) - M76 Miniguns (100) - M90 Frag Grenades (5,000) - Microfusion Cell Mines (24) - NPDMs (100) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (1,000) - TBT Sniper Rifles (100)


    Weapon Magazines: 5.56mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (500) - 5.56mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (200) - 7.62mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (500) - 7.62mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (200) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (1,000) - AK-47 30 Round Magazines (1,000) - AK-47 75 Round Drum Magazines (200) - CA12 Combat Shotgun 12 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - NPDM 100 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - 5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazines (10,000) - 5.56 STANAG 60 Round Quad Stack Magazines (10,000) - 5.56 STANAG 100 Round Drum Magazines (3,000) - 7.62 STANAG 20 Round Magazines (2,000)


    Armor: Heavy Trooper Set (1)


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    Clothing: Sets Of Clothes (25)


    Aid: Medstims (1,049) - P-Dex Bottles (10) - P-Dex Syringes (50)


    Ammo: .50 BMG Rounds (255,216) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (112,894) - 5.56x45mm Rounds (2,942,002) - 7.62x39mm Rounds 1,058,167 - 7.62x51mm Rounds (2,248,356) - 80mm Missiles (1,000) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (1,000) - Flamethrower Fuel (1,000) - Microfusion Cells (1,250,023) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (4,998,265)


    Skill Books: All Things Gun (4) - Atomic Power (3) - Bigger Is Always Better (3) - Book Of Engineering (3) - Boom! (2) - Conversationalists Notebook (3) - Drifting & Racing Weekly (2) - Encyclopedia Of Medical Advancements (3) - Entrepreneur (2) - Future Science (3) - Last Man Standing (3) - Leaders Of The World (4) - Martial Master (2) - Martial Weapons Guide (2) - Master Of All Trades (1) - Security Systems Monthly (3) - Stealth 101 (2)


    Miscellaneous: A Large Assortment of Automated Manufacturing and Processing Machines - Small Arc Furnaces (2) - Automated Ammo Manufacturing Machines (1) - Automated Weapon Manufacturing Machine (1) - Automated Weapon Magazine Manufacturing Machine (1) - Lockpick Set (1) - Metal (59,952,237) - Stealth Packs (7) - Ore & Other Minerals 154,736,824 - Other Misc Items (47,970,284)


    Money: Dollars (25,000,000) - Undercity 7 Credits (53,457,144)


    Robots: Crusader (1) - Multibots (35)


    Turrets: ZBR-2 Laser Turrets (55)


    Vehicles:


    | Production Capacity |


    Aid:


    Ammo: 100,000


    Apparel:


    Dollars:


    Metal: 500,000


    Miscellaneous: 300,000


    Ore & Minerals: -600,000


    Robots: 0.1


    Turrets: 1


    Vehicles:


    Weapons: 100


    Weapon Magazines: 1,000


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 2


    Completed: 0


    In progress: 14


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    ? | Business Tycoon | Objectives: Obtain 10,000,000,000,000 Dollars worth of assets by any means necessary. Rewards: New Perk?, 15,000,000 exp.


    | Harem | Objectives: Enter a long-term romantic relationship with at least 3 women. All women must be aware of each other and okay with the arrangement of sharing you. Reward: 5,000 exp.


    | Master All Trades | Objectives: Reach a minimum of 100 for every skill you have. Rewards: Perk | Master Of All Trades |, +5 to all skills, 27,500 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    ? | Molemen Removal | Objectives: Exterminate the molemen from your mine and the connected cave system. Rewards: Perk | Beginner Miner |, 3 Attribute Points, 100,000 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    ? | Production Underway | Objectives: Start manufacturing and producing the many items you''ll need for your dangerous journey. Rewards: 2 Repair points, 2 Science points, 3,750 exp.


    ? | Seeker Of Knowledge | Objectives: Find a way to start acquiring this world''s knowledge and accumulate an entire library''s worth. Rewards: 3 Intelligence Points and 4,500 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute.


    Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    It''s been a hard year but a very fruitful one, so fruitful. In fact, I''m nearly out of space to continue accumulating resources and items. I really need to get rid of those moles ASAP so I can start extending into the mine for space. If I don''t get rid of them soon, I''ll be up to my ears in all sorts of shit... Well, best get to it, thinking further on this ain''t gonna help me for shit.


    With my stats seen and my ideas of extending my facility into the mines for more storage space set aside for the minute, I initiated my level up. After fiddling around with things, I tried to figure out a way to level up one by one. Unfortunately for me, it seems there was another change from the games.


    Fuck, why can''t I use my level-ups one at a time. I could do it in the game. Why can''t I do it here.


    Beginning to sweat bullets remembering the pain I experienced in the past from my first level up, I kept clenching and unclenching my fists, imagining the hell I was going to have to experience to gain my new strength.


    Fuck, of course, something was bound to go wrong, and it just had to be this.


    Whatever, there''s nothing I can do about it except power through it and come out on top.


    Circumstances changing, I got up and retrieved another P-Dex Syringe and injected it quickly into pumping its contents into my other arm.


    Alright, let''s do this.


    [Do you wish to level up?]


    [Yes] - [No]


    Selecting yes the long unseen perk screen popped into existence.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 9


    Level 0 Perks


    | Ambidextrous | Requirements Level 0, Perception 8: Gain the ability to use both of your hands as if they were your dominant hand.


    Level 4 Perks


    | Addiction Resistant | Requirements Level 4, Medicine 60: Half as likely to get addicted to drugs.


    | Character Builder | Requirements Level 4: Take 1 more trait.


    | Marathon Runner | Requirements Level 4, Endurance 5, Agility 6: +15% to stamina and stamina regeneration.


    | Reading Fanatic | (Ranks 4) Requirements Level 4, Intelligence 5: Gain 2 more skill points from skill books and +25% to reading speed.


    Level 6 Perks


    | Brute | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 6, Endurance 6: +3 DT


    | Looter Shooter | Requirements Level 6, Luck 5, Ballistic Weapons 35: Stumble across significantly more wealth and things you consider of value. Along with that, deal 10% more damage.


    | Natural Born Learner | Requirements Level 6, Intelligence 6: Knowledge is power, educate yourself. +2 additional skill points every level up.


    | Nature Affinity | (Ranks 3) Requirements Level 6, Charisma 6, Survival 85: Gain an affinity with nature. Animals and various creatures perceive you in a better light and will no longer attack you unless they have a reason to.


    Level 8 Perks


    | All The Loot | Requirements Level 8: One man''s trash is another man''s treasure, items with a weight of 5 or lower now weigh half as much.


    | Boomstick | Requirements Level 8, Ballistic Weapons 85: +50% damage to shotguns, and when shooting with one, whatever you are targeting tends to go boom and get ripped to shreds.


    | Observant | Requirements Level 8, Perception 5, Medicine 50: When looking at someone or something, you will now know how much health the target has and what their DT is, as well as any other resistances they may possess. Additionally, you gain a +1 to perception and your eyesight improves by 100%.


    | Heavy Weapon Expert | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 8, Endurance 5, Strength 5, Heavy Weapons 50: +20% Damage and accuracy with heavy weapons.


    Level 10 Perks


    | Always Aware | Requirements Level 10, Perception 5, Survival 55: Unlock the ability to sleep comfortably anywhere and remain aware of your surroundings at all times, even while asleep.


    | Escape Artist | Requirements Level 10, Perception 8, Agility 5: You no longer set off traps unintentionally, mines, and other related devices. Also, you can slip out of holds very easily as if you were oiled up.


    | Knowledgeable Sponge | Level 10, Intelligence 5: This perk lets you obtain knowledge as well as experience at a faster rate. +50% to reading speed, +25% to skill gain, and +10% to experience gain.


    | Space Farer | Requirements Level 10, Perception 5: Your map will receive an upgrade now, allowing you to view the whole solar system you''re in instead of just your current planet. In addition to that, the local map fog of war for the interior of locations is removed, allowing you to have the entire place mapped out the instant you enter. You also gain a toggleable minimap that you can place wherever you want in your vision. This minimap can display the world map or the local map, but not both at the same time. Last but not least, all locations within your current solar system become marked on your map and when you enter a new solar system, all locations become marked as well, emphasis on the all.


    I got nine points to spend and plenty of choices... I wanted Ambidextrous previously, so I''ll take that as my first choice since it gives me the ability to use both of my hands as if they were both my primary hands. One perk choice down, eight more to go.


    Reading Fanatic would be useful for all the skill books I''m holding onto, however I''m not so sure I need it at this second. I''d much rather take a combat perk that will up my damage over some more skill points. That''s not to say I don''t want more skill points, it just won''t matter if I delay taking it till later.


    Hence I''ll skip over that perk and grab Natural Born Learner instead because I''m pretty sure it''ll raise how many skill points I''ll be spending in a minute here, and will definitely affect how many skill points I''ll gain every level up from here on out.


    Gaining two more skill points to spend from here on out, I continued contemplating the choices I had and decided to pick a combat perk this time around.


    I''m going to want something to up my damage and since I''ve already decided that I''m going to be using heavy weapons primarily I''ll take a rank in Heavy Weapon Expert for the damage boost and that nice +20% to accuracy.


    Six points left to spend, now what do I want to take next. The perk All The Loot will lighten most of my ammo weight by half excluding things like rockets, missiles, and mini-nukes. That sounds like something I want to have. The perk will even reduce the weight of .50 BMG, and those fuckers weigh quite a bit, so being able to cut their weight in half is a huge benefit in my book.


    My fourth perk decided on. I began searching for the fifth perk I wanted to add to my repertoire.


    Hmm, Space Farer would help immensely with navigating the mines and the cave system the molemen came from, so that''s an easy pick. But alongside that, Knowledgeable Sponge will provide me with many benefits on my excursion into the mines, hence that will be taken as well.


    With only three more perks points left, I contemplated my choices carefully and eventually settled on the three I wanted.


    Looter Shooter looks pretty good for the extra wealth I''d stumble across with it and the additional 10% damage it''ll allow me to deal. Alright, that''s another down. Next up I''ll be choosing Nature Affinity in case I stumble across some mutated animals in the mine and the cave system so they won''t come charging at me immediately.


    And if I do encounter one, maybe I could try to tame it. It would be pretty cool to have a pet mutant, although I would much prefer to have a powerful one such as a Giant Mutated Gila Monster or a big ass armored mole like a Tunneler...


    Getting back on track, I''ll just go with Escape Artist, no longer setting off traps, and being able to slip out of holds easily seems like a potential lifesaver to me.


    Looks like that''s it. I could have gotten two ranks of Growth to raise my strength and luck attributes above 10, more than likely unlocking two powerful perks for myself. But I don''t think it''s worth it when I can just raise strength normally through hard training.


    Too bad I can''t do that with luck, so I guess I''ll spend a perk point on that or I could wait until I complete the semi-new molemen removal quest I got a while back. Yeah, I''ll go with that. No need to waste a perk point on it when I don''t need to.


    Happy with the perks I selected, I locked in my choices and as soon as I did, the perk screen disappeared and the next second the skill one came into view.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 216


    Ballistic Weapons: 100


    Energy Weapons: 100


    Explosives: 94


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 110


    Leadership: 77


    Lockpick: 90


    Medicine: 96


    Melee Weapons: 100


    Piloting: 65


    (T)Repair: 100


    (T)Science: 100


    Speech: 75


    Stealth: 90


    Survival: 95


    Trade: 90


    Unarmed: 99


    Where to start... Guess I''ll begin by raising ballistic weapons to 101 to get a new perk and do the same for the rest of the perks.


    That''s all of them. Now where do I want to distribute the remaining 72 skill points. It would be nice if I knew what the new skill perks I''ll be getting in a moment do. However, since I have no idea, I''ll just dump it into heavy weapons to further increase my damage, accuracy, and overall abilities with said weapons.


    Quickly getting through the skill section of my level up, I locked in the distribution and patiently awaited the consequences of bulk leveling.


    Haa, what I''m about to experience is going to be on another level. I''m sure that with my mind and intelligence coming such a long way from when I first leveled up will make it easier, as for the extent I highly doubt it will be enough to stand up against the 200+ skill points I just spent.


    Once the new knowledge started trickling in bit by bit, things didn''t appear all that difficult compared to the past level ups I went through.


    Well, this isn''t so bad.


    However, as soon as that thought appeared in my head, the floodgates opened.


    Of course, things would change the second after I think things are going to be okay.


    The pain that came with the flood of new information was unimaginable, I could do nothing but grip the arms of the chair I was in as hard as I could, to the point the tips of my fingers easily passed through the fabric of the chair. Waves of pain kept coming one after the next, reaching new levels of pain with each new peak. It got to the point where I had to clench my jaw so I wouldn''t break my teeth from the strength I was exerting trying to deal with the pain.

 Chapter 35: Master Of All Skills

    This excruciating experience continued for god knows how long. Time even seemed to slow down just to extend what I was going through. Despite that, it thankfully ended, and I managed to not let out even a peep throughout the entire experience.


    Fuck, that pain was out of this world. I wonder how long it went on for.


    Curious, I looked up at a digital clock I had set up on the wall and saw only 15 minutes passed by while I was going through hell.


    Damn, I thought, hours had passed. I suppose the way I perceive time slows to a crawl when going through that sort of pain. That entire experience could have been a hell of a lot worse had I not had the foresight to give myself two healthy doses of P-Dex.


    Ding!


    Ding!


    Din...


    Oh, here come the skill perks. Let''s see what I got.


    Opening up my system quickly, I navigated to the perks section and was presented with a load of new perks.


    | Bulletstorm | Requirements Ballistic Weapons 101: All your weapons that fall under the ballistic weapons category now deal 0.50% more damage for every skill point you have in your ballistic weapons skill instead of the previous 0.25%. Other than that, the velocity of all projectiles fired from your ballistic weapons increases by the same percentage without any additional increase in recoil. Besides getting a damage and projectile increase, you can now control how much damage your ballistic weapons do on the fly via your will. You can also do the same with your ballistic weapons'' accuracy as well as their fire rate. Lastly, this ability cannot be used to raise your accuracy, damage, and fire rate above what you are normally capable of.


    | Overcharged | Requirements Energy Weapons 101: All energy weapons you use now deal 0.50% more damage for every 1 skill point you have in your energy weapons skill instead of the previous 0.25%. Their projectile speed is also increased by the same percentage, with no additional recoil, the only exceptions to this bonus are laser weapons and other similarly fast energy weapons. Besides getting a damage and projectile increase, you can also control how much damage your energy weapons do on the fly via your will. You can also do the same for your energy weapons'' accuracy as well as their fire rate. Lastly, this ability cannot be used to raise your accuracy, damage, and fire rate above what you are normally capable of.


    | The Power Of Atom | Requirements Explosives 101: Your fascination and skill with explosives has earned you the ability to increase both the amount of damage all your explosives you use do and their radius by 0.50% for every 1 skill point you have in your explosive skill instead of just increasing their damage by 0.25%. Other than that, you can also control how much damage your explosives will do and how large the explosion will be on the fly via your will. However, you can''t use this ability to increase either of those two things beyond what you are normally capable of.


    Not bad, they''re all basically the same as the heavy weapons skill perk Devastator minus The Power Of Atom, which gives a bonus to explosion radius. Depending on what kind of heavy weapon I decided to main, I could be benefiting from two weapon skill perks at the same time and if I want, I could use a ballistic heavy weapon loaded with explosive rounds, thereby utilizing three of the perks.


    I don''t know if I want to go that route, since it would take quite a bit of carry capacity to lug around the kinds of rounds I could load with explosives. On top of that, I don''t even have an idea what kind of weapon I would even use... Yeah, I''ll throw the idea of utilizing those three different perks till a later date and stick with my original plan of either using a gatling laser or minigun as my primary weapon in the meantime.


    | The Great Leader | Requirements Leadership 101: Those under your leadership are more efficient and effective, so for every 100 points you have in leadership, those under you will gain 1% in efficiency and performance. Additionally, when you gain the loyalty of your people anytime their loyalty increases, it will increase by twice the rate.


    This won''t be all that useful to me initially, but when I establish my own faction out there in the wasteland and begin amassing troops, it''ll be a whole different story.


    | Skeleton Key | Requirements Lockpick 101: You''ve unlocked the unique ability to gain an immediate understanding of any lock you encounter, no matter how complicated or difficult it may seem. Also, any new lock you unlock from here on out that isn''t related to you in some way will now grant 10 exp that will increase by 1 additional exp for every 10 skill points in your lockpicking skill beyond 100.


    Hmm, Skeleton Key seems kind of redundant. I can already open any modern lock I can think of... Hold up, now that I''m giving it some thought, it should come in handy. I''m planning on going against the Zetans in the future, meaning when I''m eventually raiding their ships, bases, and what have you, I should come across at least a few alien locks, thus it should be of use then.


    There also exists some magic tomes out on the East Coast, so maybe I''ll come across a magic lock or some other kind of mystical locks that can''t be solved with conventional means. Other than those sorts of locks, I don''t see where else this perk could shine.


    The exp it gives is lackluster as well, so I don''t see myself putting more skill points into it when there is no real positive besides increasing the negligible amount of exp I receive for opening new locks. It would be one thing if I could cheese it, but that''s not possible going by the perk''s description.


    Pretty much writing that perk off for the moment, I continued to the next skill perk.


    | Medical Genius | Requirements Medicine 101: You''ve gained the ability to magically regrow body parts and heal permanent injuries and marks of others as well as yourself once a day stupidly fast. The number of times you can use this ability in a day will increase by 1 for every additional 100 skill points in medicine after 100.


    Nice, I can get rid of the faint scar I gave myself when I tested the defenses of my skin however long ago. That aside, I don''t believe I''ll be getting any use out of this perk besides that, at least for the rest of my stay here in the undercity. It may be a different story when I begin exploring the wastes.


    However, I''ll actively try to avoid putting myself in a situation where there is a good possibility of something like that occurring. I can''t guarantee with absolute certainty that it won''t occur since this is the Wastelander world after all, but if it does, I''ll be more than happy that I got this perk in my back pocket to fall back on.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    | Martial Weapon Master | Requirements Melee Weapons 101: Your skill with handling all melee weapons has surpassed normal human limitations, allowing you to enter the realms of ancient martial masters. Due to that, you are now able to emit an energy from your melee weapons that can be used to increase their durability. Additionally, the energy can be swung out for a ranged attack similar to weapon qi, although the energy is entirely different from qi and has nothing to do with it. Continuing on, the range of your energy emission starts at 10 meters and will increase in range by 1 meter for every 10 additional skill points in melee weapons beyond 100. Also, the more skill points you have in melee weapons, the stronger this ability will become. Lastly, your melee weapon damage will increase by 0.50% for every skill point you have in your melee weapon skill instead of the previous 0.25%.


    Well, this is unexpected. This perk will let me pose as an immortal master. I can already picture myself sending waves of death at swarms of mutants and shredding them into pieces with blood and guts flying everywhere. Thoughts of slaughter aside the system is mentioning qi, I wonder if it exists here in this world. I mean, there are already magical tomes and aliens, so it''s out of the realm of possibilities. I''ll have to keep my eyes and ears open, don''t want to miss out on the possibility of actually becoming an immortal master instead of just a poser.


    | Certified Forklift Operator | Requirements Piloting 100: Your skill and knowledge in driving and piloting numerous craft is something to behold. Whenever you are behind the wheel or in the pilot seat, the vehicle''s performance is increased by 0.25% for every skill point in piloting. The performance amount can be controlled by your will and changed on the fly. In addition to the previous effects, your reaction speed is raised by the same percentage and you can now also pull off unreal maneuvers.


    Of course, it would be named that.


    Despite the funny name, this perk could be very busted, depending on what vehicle performance affects. It could be something as simple as only increasing the speed of the vehicle or maybe a combination of speed and handling, and if not those two, it could even be an increase for all parameters. Obviously, I want it to be the latter but I would be content with a simple speed boost too.


    | Restorer | Requirements Repair 101: You are now able to emit a field of energy that can repair any and all desired objects around you in a 10-meter radius over time at a rate of 10% per hour. + 1 meter and +1% repair rate per 10 skill points above 100. This ability can be controlled via your will.


    A repair field will be great for repairing my robots and equipment whenever they get damaged and for general maintenance. Furthermore, it will be a huge asset to have when it comes time for me to take over that cyberdynamics facility and start repairing all the robot manufacturing machinery and equipment there. I''m not gonna lie, I kind of wish I put my skill points into repair instead now. But can''t go back and change the past, so it is what it is.


    | Mechanical Domination | Requirements Science 101: Your skill and knowledge of the sciences have led to you gaining the unique ability of intuitive understanding of mechanical systems and their numerous functions. Besides that, you can now exert your will onto any and all mechanical constructs and take full control of them. This ability grows in strength and power the more skill points you have in science.


    Scratch that, I should have split my points between repair and science. Man, this perk is something else. The ability to exert your will onto any mechanical construct is a wild power to possess. Any hostile robot I encounter on my journey, I can simply take over. On top of that, this perk in combination with Skeleton Key should let me figure out how to open absolutely any alien locks in no time at all.


    | Shadow Lurker | Requirements Stealth 101: Your propensity for stealth and other related things has resulted in your stealth attacks dealing 0.5% more damage for every skill point you have in stealth. You''ve also gained the ability to emit a sort of presence hiding field with a range of 10 meters that grows by 1 meter for every 10 additional skill points you have in stealth beyond 100. Additionally, your new presence hiding field grows in power the higher your stealth skill is.


    Hmm, I can do a lot with this perk such as using it to sneak up on unsuspecting enemies with my robots, and depending on how effective it is, I could use it to travel the wasteland without being bothered. Going to need to test the extent of the field''s capabilities and if it''s any good, I''ll for sure be utilizing this for my upcoming extermination mission.


    | Language Master | Requirements Speech 101: Your way with speech and the number of languages you''ve learned over the years has given you the ability to quickly gain an understanding of any new language you see or hear. Together with that, for every 100 additional speech beyond 100 gain 1 point in charisma.


    I already have a good understanding of most human languages at this time, so this perk isn''t all that great as compared to the other ones I just got. That said, this perk will be of use any time I encounter a new language which, given my goals, is something that will most definitely occur when I go on the offensive against the Zetans. I also have that cross necklace with the unknown language inscribed on the back I received from Alice for my birthday. Thus, the perk will at the very least see one instance of use until I come across an alien language.


    | Wild Man | Requirements Survival 101: For every 10 additional skill points in survival beyond 100, you reduce your necessary food and drink requirements by 1%. You also gain the ability to determine the general direction of things you consider valuable when out and about in the wild, such as the direction of food, herbs, water, etc.


    A good survival perk that is worth its weight in gold if I ever get stuck in a pinch, with no food and water. I don''t foresee myself ever getting into that type of situation, but if I ever do, I''ll be glad I''ll have this perk because it will be instrumental to my survival. The added reduction of my food and water needs will also help greatly in those kinds of scenarios.


    While I''m on this line of thinking, I wonder if it reduces the amount of food and other nutrients I need to consume to recover and grow from my workouts. I''ll need to do some research there too, and allocate a number of skill points to survival to see how it functions.


    Making plans to do more experimentation in the not-so-distant future, I set my eyes on the remaining two skill perks.


    | Currency Maker | Requirements Trade 101: You''ve gained the magical ability to turn coins, the wasteland''s number one currency into gold and silver at these rates when your trade skill finally reached 101. 10,000 dollars worth of coins can be transmuted into 1 pound of gold and 1,000 dollars worth of coins can be transmuted into 1 pound of silver. Also, the return on conversion increases by 1 pound for every 100 additional skill points in trade after 100.


    | Unarmed Master | Requirements Unarmed 101: Your skill in unarmed combat has granted you the ability to emit an energy that you can use to cover your body to increase its durability. Besides that, you are also able to launch this energy from your arms and legs to use as a ranged attack similar to what one would call qi. The initial range of this ability is 10 meters and will increase in range by 1 meter for every 10 additional skill points you have in this skill beyond 100. Additionally, the power and strength of the energy will increase in strength the higher your unarmed skill. Lastly, your unarmed damage will increase by 0.50% for every skill point you have in your unarmed skill instead of the previous 0.25%.


    Currency Maker will make it so much easier to get my hands on tons of gold and silver. And seeing how I need a lot of stuff for all the electronics, high-tech components, and parts I produce regularly, this perk will be essential to keep my many machines always producing.


    The perk also gives me another avenue to make money through the sale of gold, which still retains its value to this day as one of the most highly sought-after metals. Silver does too; it''s just not as valuable as compared to gold.


    As for Unarmed Master, it''s pretty much a carbon copy of Martial Weapon Master just with fists and unarmed weapons instead of swords and shit. So I guess I can officially pass off as a fake immortal master now, or a transcendent who can unleash and direct energy from weapons as an attack. I haven''t seen anyone in the three games with that kind of power, but I could see it existing.

 Chapter 36: Lesson Learned

    That was quite a haul and very much worth all the years of effort I spent learning and training, day in and day out. I can only imagine how pissed off I would be if most of the skill perks I got were dogshit... Thank god, they were all pretty great overall and everything went well for the most part.


    I could have done without all the pain, but I''m just glad my head didn''t explode when it was getting stuffed to the brim with an overwhelming amount of new knowledge and information. Another way to look at it, I suppose, is my pain tolerance is sure to have gone up from this whole ordeal, not to mention my mental fortitude.


    Happy with what I received for my literal years of effort, I checked to see if there were any other notifications.


    Good, there are no more notifications. Time to get those two quests turned in.


    Doing just that, I closed out of the current holographic window, pulled up my status, and turned in my Seeker Of Knowledge quest first to get myself an extra 15% exp out on the Production Underway quest. From those two quests, I netted a total of 17,888 exp, 3 intelligence points, and 2 repair and science skill points, more than enough for one more level up and just shy of two level-ups.


    I learned my lesson this time. There ain''t no way I''m piling up level ups again if I can help it.


    Unwilling to go through that excruciating pain again, I wasted no time and initiated the level up.


    In the time it took to blink, the same perk screen I saw before made an appearance for the second time, listing all the previous perks and four additional new ones.


    Level 12 Perks


    | Another Skill Talent | Requirements Level 12: Gain a fourth skill talent to distribute wherever you please.


    | Backpacker | Requirements Level 12, Endurance 6, Strength 6: +100 to carry weight.


    | Iron Fist | Requirements Level 12, Endurance 6, Strength 6: Your fists will increase in hardness and strength and you gain +20% to unarmed damage.


    | Nerves Of Steel | Requirements Level 12, Endurance 5, Intelligence 5: Gain nerves of steel and the ability to deal with most situations and unexpected events calmly and rationally.


    Not bad, the four of them are all solid perks.


    What do I want to choose, I could either go with one of these four or one of the previous perks I''ve yet to take... Cat Eyes would be nice to have for the dark caves but there is little to no light in there so I''m still going to need a light in the end for it to be effective if the perk is anything like real cat eyes. There is also the fact that my armor already has built-in night vision and thermal vision, so it''s kind of pointless to waste a perk point on it when I already have that covered with equipment.


    Speed Loader is great for whenever I have to reload but I''m already very fast in that area thus it''s not particularly worth grabbing it at this very second. I could go for Brute, can''t go wrong with having more durability although in this instance I think I''m going to take Nerves Of Steel.


    I already deal with most situations calmly and rationally. However, I''ve never been in a situation where I had guns being fired at me. This isn''t a game anymore, so I think this perk will be the best choice because it will help me calmly handle the various dangerous situations I may find myself in.


    My choice made, I selected Nerves Of Steel and went on to the next section of the level up.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 27


    Ballistic Weapons: 104


    Energy Weapons: 104


    Explosives: 104


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 183


    Leadership: 104


    Lockpick: 101


    Medicine: 104


    Melee Weapons: 102


    Piloting: 101


    (T)Repair: 106


    (T)Science: 106


    Speech: 101


    Stealth: 101


    Survival: 102


    Trade: 104


    Unarmed: 102


    I already have regrets of not distributing them into repair and science, so that''s what I''ll do... Alright, that should do it. I put 13 points into repair and 13 points into science and threw the last remaining point into trade.


    Pleased that I could get a few points into both skills, I completed my skill distribution, bringing me back to the main system window, which reflected the huge transformation I had undergone.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 11


    Height: 6 Feet


    Body Weight: 231 lbs


    Race: Human


    Level: 12


    Experience Points: 12,165/13,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 1,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 90,165


    Experience Rate: 225% ? | Formula: 100 + (Intelligence x 5) +10


    Health: 1,360 ? | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Healing Rate: 0.0966 Health Per Second/5.8 Health Per Minute ? | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1


    Stamina: 2,320 ? | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4


    Stamina Regeneration: 1.6 Stamina Per Second/96 Stamina Per Minute ? | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4


    Carry Weight: 0.125/600 | Formula: 100 + (Strength x 50)


    Critical Chance: 10% | Formula: Luck x 1


    [ Effects ]


    [ Armor ]


    Body Damage Threshold 24 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Resistances ]


    Radiation Resistance: 24 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 7


    Endurance: 24 ?


    Intelligence: 23


    Perception: 16


    Charisma: 8


    Luck: 10


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 104 ?


    Energy Weapons: 104 ?


    Explosives: 104 ?


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 183 ?


    Leadership: 104 ?


    Lockpick: 101 ?


    Medicine: 104 ?


    Melee Weapons: 102 ?


    Piloting: 101 ?


    (T)Repair: 119 ?


    (T)Science: 119 ?


    Speech: 101 ?


    Stealth: 101 ?


    Survival: 102 ?


    Trade: 105 ?


    Unarmed: 102 ?


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 27 ? | Formula: (Intelligence x 1) + 4


    [ Traits ]


    | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks: | Currency Maker | - | Medical Genius |


    Passive Perks: | All The Loot | - | Ambidextrous | - | Bookworm | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Escape Artist | - | Heavy Weapon Expert Rank 1 | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Knowledgeable Sponge | - | Language Master | - | Looter Shooter | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Natural Born Learner | - | Nature Affinity Rank 1 | - | Nerves Of Steel | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Skeleton Key | - | Talented | - | The Great Leader | - | Wild Man |


    Combo Perks: | All Seeing | - | Bulletstorm | - | Certified Forklift Operator | - | Devastator | - | Martial Weapon Master | - | Mechanical Domination | - | Overcharged | - | Restorer | - | Shadow Lurker | - | Space Farer | - | The Power Of Atom | - | Unarmed Master |


    [ Mutations ]


    [ Gear ]


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Weapons:


    Weapon Magazines:


    Armor:


    Clothing: Jet Black Boxer Briefs


    Aid:


    Ammo:


    Miscellaneous:


    Money:


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Accuracy: Heavy Weapon Accuracy +20%


    Attribute: Endurance Gain +150% - Intelligence Gain +50% - Strength Gain +150%


    Body: Blood Circulation +50% - Ligament Strength +300% - Ligament Growth Speed +300% - Muscle Growth Speed +100% - Muscle Density +100% - Reaction Speed +25.25% - Tendon Strength +300% - Tendon Growth Speed +300%


    Brain: Brain Processing Power +200% - Reading Speed +150% - Thought Processes 2


    Currency Maker Rates: $1,000 For 1 lb Of Silver - $10,000 For 1 lb Of Gold


    Damage: Ballistic Weapon Damage +52% - Damage +10% - Energy Weapon Damage +52% - Explosive Damage 52% - Heavy Weapon Damage +111.5% - Melee Weapon Damage +51% - Stealth Damage +50.5% - Unarmed Damage +51%


    Energies: Martial Weapon Master Energy Range 10 Meters - Unarmed Master Energy Range 10 Meters


    Health: Health +100% - Health Regeneration Per Minute +1


    Leadership: Force Efficiency +1% - Force Performance +1% - Loyalty Gain +100%


    Lockpicking Reward: 10


    Medical Genius Heal Limit: 1 Use A Day


    Other Weapon Stats: Explosive Radius +52%


    Fields: Perception Field Range 16 meters - Presence Hiding Field Range 10 Meters - Repair Field Range & Rate 11 Meters, 11% Per Hour


    Martial Weapon Master Energy Range: 10 Meters


    Skill: Skill Gain Speed +50%


    Sleep: Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Stamina: Stamina +400% - Stamina Regeneration +400%


    Vehicle: Speed When Piloting +25.25% - Handling When Piloting +25.25%


    Velocity: Ballistic Weapon Velocity +52% - Energy Weapon Velocity +52% - Heavy Weapon Velocity +91.5%


    Weight Reduction: Item Weight 5lbs & Lower -50%


    Kill Counter: 0


    [ Items ]


    Weapons: A-50 Anti-Material Rifles (100) - AALP-3 Laser Pistols (1,000) - AALR-6 Laser Rifles (1,000) - AAGL-5 Gatling Lasers (100) - AK-108s (100) - AKMs (100) - CA12 Combat Shotguns (100) - Carl Gustafs (100) - Combat Knives (5,000) - F-60 Flamethrower (100) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (2,539) - Grandpa John''s Combat Knife (1) - HK416s (100) - M56 Miniguns (100) - M76 Miniguns (100) - M90 Frag Grenades (5,000) - Microfusion Cell Mines (24) - NPDMs (100) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (1,000) - TBT Sniper Rifles (100)


    Weapon Magazines: 5.56mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (500) - 5.56mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (200) - 7.62mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (500) - 7.62mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (200) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (1,000) - AK-47 30 Round Magazines (1,000) - AK-47 75 Round Drum Magazines (200) - CA12 Combat Shotgun 12 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - M2 Browning Machine Gun 100 Round Magazines (4) - NPDM 100 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - 5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazines (10,000) - 5.56 STANAG 60 Round Quad Stack Magazines (10,000) - 5.56 STANAG 100 Round Drum Magazines (3,000) - 7.62 STANAG 20 Round Magazines (2,000)


    Armor: Heavy Trooper Set (1)


    Clothing: Sets Of Clothes (25)


    Aid: Medstims (1,049) - P-Dex Bottles (10) - P-Dex Syringes (49)


    Ammo: .50 BMG Rounds (256,478) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (112,894) - 5.56x45mm Rounds (2,942,002) - 7.62x39mm Rounds 1,058,167 - 7.62x51mm Rounds (2,248,356) - 80mm Missiles (1,000) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (1,000) - Flamethrower Fuel (1,000) - Microfusion Cells (1,250,023) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (4,998,265)


    Skill Books: All Things Gun (4) - Atomic Power (3) - Bigger Is Always Better (3) - Book Of Engineering (3) - Boom! (2) - Conversationalists Notebook (3) - Drifting & Racing Weekly (2) - Encyclopedia Of Medical Advancements (3) - Entrepreneur (2) - Future Science (3) - Last Man Standing (3) - Leaders Of The World (4) - Martial Master (2) - Martial Weapons Guide (2) - Master Of All Trades (1) - Security Systems Monthly (3) - Stealth 101 (2)


    Miscellaneous: A Large Assortment of Automated Manufacturing and Processing Machines - Small Arc Furnaces (2) - Automated Ammo Manufacturing Machines (1) - Automated Weapon Manufacturing Machine (1) - Automated Weapon Magazine Manufacturing Machine (1) - Lockpick Set (1) - Metal (59,952,237) - Stealth Packs (7) - Ore & Other Minerals 154,734,932 - Other Misc Items (47,973,192)


    Money: Dollars (25,000,000) - Undercity 7 Credits (53,457,144)


    Robots: Crusader (1) - Multibots (35)


    Turrets: ZBR-2 Laser Turrets (55)


    Vehicles:


    | Production Capacity |


    Aid:


    Ammo: 100,000


    Apparel:


    Dollars:


    Metal: 500,000


    Miscellaneous: 300,000


    Ore & Minerals: -600,000


    Robots: 0.1


    Turrets: 1


    Vehicles:


    Weapons: 100


    Weapon Magazines: 1,000


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 1


    Completed: 2


    In progress: 13


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Business Tycoon | Objectives: Obtain 10,000,000,000,000 Dollars worth of assets by any means necessary. Rewards: New Perk?, 15,000,000 exp.


    | Harem | Objectives: Enter a long-term romantic relationship with at least 3 women. All women must be aware of each other and okay with the arrangement of sharing you. Reward: 5,000 exp.


    ? | Master All Trades | Objectives: Reach a minimum of 100 for every skill you have. Rewards: Perk | Master Of All Trades |, +5 to all skills, 27,500 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Molemen Removal | Objectives: Exterminate the molemen from your mine and the connected cave system. Rewards: Perk | Beginner Miner |, 3 Attribute Points, 100,000 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute. Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    Oh, cool, my endurance went up a point, probably because of the leveling. My Master All Trades quest is ready to turn in too¡­ I would love to turn it in, but I think my body has undergone enough stress for one day.


    Ending that thought there, I looked through the rest of my system''s multiple tabs.


    ...


    After checking them all out, I exited out of it, got up from the partially destroyed chair I had undergone the process in, and topped myself off with a few more medstims.


    That should do it. Now it''s about time I got back to work. I have a few things I want to prepare before I head into the mines. At the latest, I should be ready to depart by tomorrow.


    "I''m done with my leveling, guys. Let''s get that training done, so I''ll be as prepared as possible for tomorrow." I said, coming out of the tiny room I did my leveling in.


    "Phew, looks like you didn''t experience any issues, kid." Gramps responded, relieved.


    "I wouldn''t say that, but the issue was manageable."


    "Well, that''s good. Go talk to your little girlfriend before we begin getting ready for tomorrow." He said, smacking my shoulder and walking off to the armory.


    When gramps was out of sight, Alice latched onto me and said a bit emotionally. "You had me worried that something bad was going to happen to you."


    "Oh come on Alice, nothing major was going to happen and if something did, I would''ve been able to handle it like I''ve been able to handle everything else in the past, right?"


    "Nnn, I know you would, but I can''t help worrying about you."


    "You got nothing to worry about and I''m sure if I get myself into trouble, my girl will come running to help."


    "That I will."


    Hugging her tight, she looked up at me, locking eyes with my own, expecting a little something, something, so I leaned down, planted a peck on her lips, and asked her. "Better?"


    "Better." She answered smilingly.


    Following that little moment of ours, the two of us walked to the armory and met up with gramps. After getting suited up in my Heavy Trooper Armor and grabbing the kit he and I were going to bring with us, we headed for his truck and loaded it up with the arms and ammo we were going to train with. Gramps then drove the three of us to a range used by wasteland explorers and, upon arriving there, we quickly hopped out and brought the stuff inside.


    "How''s it going, John? I haven''t seen you in a while." Bill, one of gramps old friends, greeted him from behind the counter where he was working.


    "Life''s been good, you?" Gramps replied in his usual deep, rough voice.


    "Same old, same old, just keeping this place going as per usual. Who''s the big guy you brought with you?"


    "It''s me, Uncle Bill." I answered while removing my Heavy Trooper Helmet.


    "Oh, I couldn''t recognize you, son. Shit, you''ve gotten big. What you''ve been feeding him, John?" Bill said, clearly impressed with my physical growth.


    We shot the shit with Bill for a couple of minutes and got a bay assigned to us, so we wished the old guy Bill a good rest of the day and continued on our way to the range and drill area.

 Chapter 37: Firing Range

    On the short walk there we passed by several people dressed in standard merc gear going about their business, with the occasional burst of gunfire ringing out quite frequently.


    "Here we are. You want to train on the targets, or would you rather start with drills?" Gramps inquired in his typical rough voice once he set the couple of duffle bags he was carrying on a table.


    "Let''s start with the range first and then we''ll move on to training drills." I responded while setting my own three duffles down.


    Alice set her duffle that she had packed with her gear, which consisted of one of the many FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles I was stockpiling for my future army and a modernized MAC-11 chambered for 10mm that she made herself.


    Meanwhile, gramps took out his trusty NPDM along with his .44 Magnum while I took out my own NPDM and FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle. I would have brought heavier weapons to fire and a duffle full of grenades to chuck, but sadly, it was against the rules.


    | NPDM |


    Damage: 50


    DPS: 625


    Fire rate: 750


    Capacity: 100


    Reload: 5


    Weight: 16


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 7.62x51mm


    Value: 24,750


    Item Description: An NPDM is a modernized RPD with all the bells and whistles chambered in the 7.62x51mm cartridge.


    Needing to get used to shooting with my new armor set, I put my helmet back on, grabbed my NPDM, and removed a 100-round drum for it from one of my duffles. Drum in hand, I slid it into position on the underside of the light machine gun. The second I had it locked in, I took the follower attached to the belt, positioned the belt on the feed tray, and closed the cover when the belt was in position.


    I racked the charging handle next and was ready to fire, so I took aim with the red dot sight I had mounted on the NPDM at a steel target approximately 100 meters down range and pulled the trigger rapidly three times, letting loose a few rounds. The rounds flew down the range with only two of the three nailing the target.


    My accuracy is a bit off. I would''ve landed all three shots normally if that wasn''t the case. I guess my body has gone through a few changes with the level up.


    Guessing what my issue was, I spent a couple of minutes firing a few rounds at a time and making adjustments till I was back to hitting incredibly tight groupings on the target.


    Looks like I was spot on and now that I''ve adjusted somewhat to whatever changes my body has undergone, let''s have some fun.


    With the accuracy issue resolved to an extent, I flipped the fun switch on the NPDM, braced the weapon, and held the trigger down, sending a stream of lead at the target. I changed from one target to another, laying into them with exceptional accuracy, the kind of accuracy that wouldn''t have been humanly possible if not for my high combat skills and how strong I was physically.


    ...


    Over the next couple of hours, the air was filled with a cacophony of gun and laser fire as I continued to get used to the changes and hone my accuracy. In this period I performed inhuman feats with the two guns I brought along such as but not limited to hitting the same exact place on the target multiple times in a row while firing in full auto with a 7.62 machine gun.


    When those two hours were up and I was back to my previous abilities, we swapped over to running drills. The bunch of us did that for a while and eventually swapped from that to an expansive course that freed up later in the day to go through simulated training.


    "That was fun. We should do this more often." Alice commented happily.


    "Yeah, we should. It''s good to come here and blow off some steam and sharpen our skills." I agreed with her enthusiastically.


    "Well, all you two gotta do is let me know. You know I''ll never say no to a range day." Gramps said as we three were almost finished packing up our kit and the very little ammunition we had left.


    Prepared and ready for tomorrow, the three of us headed for the exit and upon seeing Bill still working the main counter, we shot the shit again with him for a bit and later went to the gramp''s truck. Our stuff loaded into the trunk we got in and proceeded back to the Genesis Foundry to put back what we took from the armory and what little remaining ammo we had left. Definitely can''t be going home with that kind of armament.


    From there, gramps dropped us off and headed home early, saying he had stuff to take care of, thus Alice and I said our goodbyes to him and went inside to get a bit more done before my parents returned home.


    Alice did her studying down in the gym with me while I worked out. I would have been studying too, but there was no longer anything left to learn, therefore why I was working out instead. Not long into what we were doing, my mom and dad arrived home, so we wrapped up our respective activities we were in the midst of and made a beeline upstairs. We could''ve finished what we were doing before going up, but both of us were starving from not eating lunch, hence the reason why we rushed upstairs.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Once my mom Jane learned that neither of us had lunch, she quickly went into her motherly chef mode and began whipping up a massive dinner, which both Alice and I very much appreciated. At dinner, Alice and I cleared more than four-sixths of the table on our own, though realistically most of the eating was done by me if we were being honest.


    Full and happy, the rest of the night went smoothly and the two of us turned in for the night not too long after putting down that big dinner mom prepared. While I was lying in bed with Alice peacefully sleeping beside me, I began thinking about my preparations.


    With today''s activities, I''ve adjusted to any changes that have occurred to my body from the level up and integrated the new skill perks into my skill set so I''m pretty much as prepared as I can be for tomorrow.


    The only thing I have left to do is test the rest of the skill perks that can be tested tomorrow and as soon as that''s done I''ll be ready to clear the rubble of the mine and head into the depths of it to exterminate the molemen threat... Actually, I have a couple of perks I can test out here in bed.


    Raising my right hand, I tried using Medical Genius via my will on the finger I had left a small faint scar upon years ago when I tested my body''s durability with the knife gramps passed down to me.


    After trying to will it, I started questioning whether I was doing something wrong, and right as that thought crossed my mind, a soft glow emitted from the scar on my finger. Following a few seconds, the light rapidly extinguished, revealing my finger, which was now pristine with not a single blemish in sight.


    That''s an awesome power to have in my tool belt. I wonder how fast it can regrow limbs and missing body parts. I don''t want to put my own body up to test it so I guess I''ll have to wait until I get out into the wasteland where there will be plenty of trash to experiment on or I could capture and keep several molemen to experiment on, that is also an option.


    Okay, with that perk''s ability checked out, let me check out the map.


    Calling upon my system, a holographic window came into existence. The instant it appeared, I navigated to the map tab and started zooming the map out, transitioning from my house to the undercity as a whole. Then to 50 square miles of the wasteland with the undercity smack dab in the center of the map.


    I kept zooming out from there, getting to the point where the map was showing the entire state of Nevada, with numerous unvisited locations spread across it. Continuing further, it went from that to the former U.S. that lay in ruins to the planet and then to the solar system, surprisingly displaying more than a few locations on the far parts of the system.


    Oh, look what we have here. The Zetans have a station on the outskirts of the system by Pluto, cute.


    I looked around the rest of the system to see if they had anything else and the most they had was a couple of outposts on Mars and Earth''s moon.


    I''ll have to move up my Zetan elimination plans, it would seem. I don''t need those greys interfering with my goal of conquering the wasteland. To do that, I''m going to need to capture Area 51 as soon as possible so I can begin reverse engineering whatever tech the military installation possesses.


    Hopefully, the place has an alien ship or two. Otherwise, I''m going to have to waste a shitload of time playing catch-up to get remotely near their level of tech. At that point, it might just be worth coming up with a plan to capture one of their vessels.


    The question is, how am I going to do that from all the way here on Earth... I could try and brainstorm it now, but it would be better to wait and hold off until I capture the installation to see what cards I''m playing with. There''s very little point continuing down this line of thinking when there very well may be a ship sitting in the place.


    That said, I believe it would be wise to change my plans a bit. So instead of having my forces making their movements on the surface gathering and transporting resources, I would be better off connecting tunnels from my places and linking up to the preexisting metro tunnels.


    Doing that would give me an underground highway of sorts and would allow all my future movements to go unnoticed by Zetans and the powers that be of the wasteland, giving me plenty of time to amass strength in secret.


    Ding, New Quest!


    Ding, New Quest!


    And would you look at that, I got two new quests to go with my idea. Let''s see what the details are.


    | Metro Connection | Objectives: Connect the nearby metro rails with your places. Rewards: Perk | Apprentice Miner |, 10 Repair Points, 50,000 exp.


    | Undegrounder | Objectives: Clear all Nevada metros of hostiles and take control of them. Rewards: Perk Mole People, 10 Attribute Points, 1,000,000 exp.


    Cool, more stuff to add to my ever-expanding list of things I need to do. At least both quests provide suitable rewards.


    Two new quests added to my quest log, I resumed my exploration of the map to continue my search for Zetan locations. I didn''t find any more in space, thus I zoomed in on Earth and resumed my search back around Nevada and the nearby states.


    Surprise, surprise, the little bastards even have a site on Earth out in Wyoming. I don''t like how close they are, however if I don''t find a ship at Area 51, them being as close as they are to me will give me another target to raid for a possible Zetan ship.


    Even if I don''t find one there, I can at the minimum ransack the place for alien tech. And since I''ve found one site here on this planet, there must be more than just the one Zetan site here in the States. They probably have more spread out across the planet.


    Continuing my search, I found another, then another, followed by another after that, bringing the total of them to four on Earth.


    Good, I got several places to raid in case Area 51 is a bust.


    Alright, that''s enough searching for one night. It''s time I''ve turned in for the night and got some sleep.


    Content with my findings, I closed out of the map, but not before testing out the minimap function I got from Space Farer. Once I was satisfied with the positioning of the minimap in the top right corner of my vision, I toggled it off and closed my eyes to get some rest for the big adventure I had ahead of myself tomorrow.

 Chapter 38: Into The Mines

    Date Friday, August 9th, 2261


    The next day I spent the early, early morning continuing to hone my body and getting used to my new abilities as much as I could at home. Eventually my parents and Alice woke up and after a quick breakfast my mom and dad headed off for work while Alice and I waited for gramps to arrive. It wasn''t long after my parents had left that gramps showed up in his armored truck.


    "Mornin, you two ready for today?" Gramps asked while walking over and joining us in the living room on the opposite couch.


    "As ready as I can be." I answered him.


    "Yeah, ready to watch you two go and have all the fun." Alice answered somewhat sarcastically, clearly making it known that she wanted to come along.


    "Well, maybe you can come next time, kid, although you''ll have to clear that with your boyfriend."


    Alice turning her attention to me now I responded. "If the situation isn''t as dangerous next time, you can come, Alice."


    "You promise?"


    "I promise."


    Hearing my reply, she lit up and smiled happily.


    Following our brief conversation, we covered a few other things and left for the truck, and departed only a minute later. The old man drove the bunch of us through the metal and concrete undercity to the foundry and the second the truck was put in park, we wasted no time and unloaded from the vehicle and went inside. Upon reaching the main area where the bulk of the manufacturing takes place, the Prospectron I had my Multibots working on the past ten days was finally finished being put together.


    | Prospectron |


    Armament: 2 x integrated palm lasers


    Carry Capacity: 650


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 185,000


    Description: The Prospectron is a bulky humanoid shaped robot that was designed with the purpose of finding and extracting resources from the earth. The robot model comes with emp shielding, making it immune to emp weapons and comes equipped with two beefed up manipulator arms with integrated lasers built into the palms. So they can use a wide assortment of tools and be able to fend off hostiles that may be lurking underground. On top of its useful manipulator arms, the robot also has an assortment of other in-built tools, such as its ore and mineral detectors, which help it easily track down resources underground. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    Good, I have a bot that can passively scan the surroundings for resources as we scour the mine and caves, killing off the molemen. I also didn''t use Mechanical Domination nor that presence hiding field I got from Shadow Lurker yesterday, so let me test those two perks out starting with Mechanical Domination on my newest robot.


    It took me a minute, but I eventually figured out how to use the ability and the instant I did, it felt as if I myself was the robot. Further testing the ability revealed that I had absolute control over it and could control it as if it was my own body.


    Alright, that''s fucking cool. This perk, along with my second thought process, basically gives me the ability to be in two places at once. And if I integrate the rest of my robots, I could have eyes and ears anywhere my robots are that I could swap to in an instant.


    On top of that, this power would allow me to issue new orders to any of my robots, no matter where they are. That ability will give me a ton of versatility and will allow me and my forces to adapt to various situations extraordinarily quickly.


    I could also use it to manage my manufacturing and from just about anywhere I wish, which is very handy. Ahh, I can see it now chilling on the beach somewhere with family while still being productive...


    Leaving those thoughts behind, I tested out several other things with the Prospectron to see the extent of what I can do. Once I was satisfied with my testing, I moved to the robots I had called over when I first got here to see how fast it would take control of one of them and how close I needed to be to do it.


    On average, it seems to only take one second to take full control of a robot, but when I tested it out on the Crusader, it took about three to gain full control over it. I suppose it takes longer because of its larger size. I''ll have to do more testing in the future to make sure that is the case.


    Happy with how useful the perk was and how much easier and efficient it was going to make life going forward, I moved onto the next thing and started testing out the effects of the presence hiding field with my robots. A couple minutes of testing showed that I couldn''t find out shit with their help, so I called gramps and Alice over to see if they could help me find out if the perk''s ability was useful or not.


    "I''m going to activate it. Tell me if you notice anything peculiar or odd." I asked them.


    Receiving a nod from the both of them, I activated the presence hiding field and after testing several things out for a few minutes; I asked for their input. "So, did it do anything?"


    "Yes, it basically entirely removed your presence and any noise you were producing prior to you activating the field. So, if you were to be standing beside me without me having seen you, I would have no idea that you are even there." Alice answered.


    "I agree with everything Alice said although I noticed one other effect."


    "What?"


    "It obscured you to an extent just not by much. You''ll more than likely have to spend a bunch of your skill points on stealth to increase the effectiveness of that effect."


    "Hmm, so that''s what that was. I thought it was just something from the activation of the field."


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    "Thanks for the help guys and if you see anything, no matter how miniscule the effect may seem, tell me next time, even if it seems unnecessary, Alice."


    "Yeah, sorry about that, darling. I''ll be sure to tell you everything I notice next time, no matter how small it may seem."


    "No problem, babe."


    The testing wrapped up; we went and sat down in a planning slash relaxation area I had set up when I took the building over.


    "I''m guessing you''re done testing out your new perks?" Gramps asked right as I joined them.


    "Not all of them, but most of them, and it''s going to make life a hell of a lot easier for me, too."


    "Good, so what''s the plan, Dom?"


    "Alice, will be watching us from the desktop over there, and if anything goes wrong, she can make a call to her dad." I answered while pointing at a PC 30 feet away.


    "While she is doing that, you, I, and the robots will head into the mine with several pieces of heavy equipment, clear the blockage, and reinforce the tunnel before we go in to get rid of the moleman problem."


    "Sounds like a plan, and what sort of gear are you bringing? We''re going to be facing quite a number of molemen, I imagine, so you''re gonna need to bring something with a lot of ammo."


    "I''ll just use what I was using at the range yesterday. Can''t go wrong with the NPDM. Although I''m going to bring along a second FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle and a bunch of T-4 Plasma Grenades."


    | T-4 Plasma Grenade |


    Damage: 200


    Weight: 1


    Value: 5,000


    Item Description: A plasma grenade that was developed by the U.S. military prior to the nukes. The grenade can either be set to explode on impact or after 4 seconds have passed since it was armed.


    "Gimme a belt of those nades and one of those Laser Assault Rifles too. I won''t necessarily use it, but it''s good to bring something that doesn''t run out of ammo, just in case."


    "Sure, take as much as you want gramps, I can always produce more."


    We covered a few other topics and when everything was just about wrapped up; I turned to Alice and said. "Alright, wish me luck, Alice. I''ll be back in a bit."


    "Good luck, darling, make sure you come back to me in one piece and if things look like they''re going south, I''ll do whatever I can to get you out of it, even if I have to go in there myself." She said, sounding and looking very determined.


    "I appreciate the thought, but let''s hope it doesn''t get to that."


    "Agreed."


    "Okay, we''re going to head to the armory and get geared up. Love you, Alice." I told her before she closed in on me and caught my lips.


    "Love you too, Dom." She responded sweet as honey after ending the kiss she initiated several seconds later.


    "You two lovebirds done yet. I want to get a move on." Gramps piped up from the side, causing Alice to gain a blush and feel embarrassed because of her actions.


    "Alright, let''s go, old man. I know you aren''t getting any younger." I said jokingly.


    "Let''s get to it then, youngin."


    Ending the conversation there, I grabbed the streaming device that was already setup and signaled for my robots to all head for the armory via Mechanical Domination while gramps and I made our way there so we could all get kitted out to the teeth the bots included.


    The moment we got there, all the robots minus the Crusader were already doing their thing streaming out of the armory with FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles in hand and war belts with plenty of T-4 Plasma Grenades attached magnetically on the various magnetic attachment points.


    | War Belt |


    Resistances: DT 1


    Class: Light


    Weight: 2


    Value: 500


    Item Description: A leather belt with attachment points for different pouches, holsters, sheathes, and adjustable magnets for quick drawing of ranged weapons, melee weapons, and explosives.


    Gramps and I, not willing to delay our excursion by another second, quickly joined my robots in getting geared up. Once I made it past the armored door into the armory, I headed to the large locker in the back where I kept my normal kit and unlocked it. Next I began pulling out my shit and getting it set up on the stainless steel table located right in front of the mannequin that was wearing my Heavy Trooper Set.


    After getting everything placed in front of my armor to speed things along, I removed my armor from the mannequin and wore it. Quickly getting it on, I wrapped my war belt that had most of the stuff I needed already attached around my waist and secured it. Pretty much ready to get this show on the road, I slung both FBLARs onto my back and picked up the NPDM from the stainless steel table, putting the sling up and over my head and letting the light machine gun hang in front of me.


    Wracking the charging handle, I turned to gramps and asked. "Are you ready to do this, gramps?"


    "Fuck yea, I am. It''s been so long since I''ve gotten some action, hahaha."


    Gramps, more excited than I expected he would be, was ready to roll. With nothing else to hold us up, I mounted the streaming device on my chest securely and asked Alice through it if she could hear and see everything clearly. After hearing her say crystal clear gramps and I started making our way to the mine.


    The two of us reached the heavily armored doors of the mine entrance and after taking them over with Mechanical Domination I began the process of opening them via my will instead of the usual door controls. The lights sitting above the door lit up and began rotating within their housings while releasing high pitched chirps. Following several chirps, the massive door split in half, one part grinding and receding off to the right and the other going off to the left into the foundry''s wall.


    "Let''s head in." I said aloud to my group.


    Entering the mine, we first passed by the many laser turrets I had set up in case shit went down and later the other improvised mines that were still in place serving their purpose, both of which I took control of with mechanical domination. Not too many minutes into the mine, we arrived in front of the artificial cave in.


    Needing the blockage removed before we could proceed, I had my robots begin dismantling it and hauling the rubble off to the side for now with the heavy equipment I had them retrieve with Mechanical Domination while gramps and I were equipping our kit. With nothing to do but let them do their thing, we waited in anticipation, thankfully we didn''t have to wait all that long.


    Around ten minutes of clearing is all it took for my robots to have the cave in cleared and with it cleared, it revealed a dark mine tunnel that had all its wall mounted lights extinguished due to the previous collapse.


    "Those two molemen that have been guarding the rubble for the last year are gone; they must''ve gone off to inform the rest of their group and get reinforcements." I said upon not seeing the two molemen that were supposed to be watching over the rubble.


    "That''s most likely what happened, so what do you want to do? We can either wait for them to come to us or go forward and find them ourselves."


    "Let''s do the latter and turn your night vision on and your IR light so we can see."


    "Guys, start reinforcing the collapsed section so we can get a move on."


    "Rodger." The many Multibots and the singular Prospectron I brought along responded before going and setting up reinforcements to prevent the ceiling of the tunnel from further collapse.


    Whilst my robots were doing their work, I turned my night vision on and my IR light so I could see in the complete darkness that lay ahead and guarded them along with gramps and my Crusader''s help.


    Approximately 15 minutes is all it took for them to complete the reinforcement and so with nothing holding us back now and not wanting to waste time twiddling my thumbs while waiting for the molemen to show, I took the lead. As I was taking my first step to head into the depths and exterminate the molemen, I enabled my presence hiding field covering myself, gramps, and a good number of my robots in its radius and began walking further into the mine beyond where the rubble used to be.

 Chapter 39: First Blood

    As we journeyed further and further into the mine, I kept up my scanning of the environment, keeping an eye out for anything that would pose even the possibility of a threat. After walking for many minutes through the boring tunnel that was mostly the same throughout except for an occasional branch leading off somewhere else.


    And the hollowing out of the tunnel wall most likely because of ore or other resources being extracted, I saw the branch of mine tunnel we were traveling on was coming to an end via the mini-map. What lay ahead at the end of the tunnel was the entrance to an extensive network of caves that held the target we were after.


    With the tunnel ending and the cave beginning, I directed most of my focus ahead and what would you know here come the molemen reinforcement, and fuck, there were a lot of them. Using the non-verbal signals I rehearsed with gramps in the past, I gave the signal that a significant amount of enemies were up ahead and coming towards us. Upon giving the signal, they came streaming out of the cave''s entrance armed with numerous firearms.


    The enemy, unaware of our presence due to us being covered by my presence hiding field and the lightless environment we were in, we took the initiative and opened fire from our spread out formation we''ve been proceeding in this entire time, sending a shit load of lead at the incoming swarm. Although that lead mainly comprised laser fire instead of actual bullets.


    Bracing my light machine gun, I held down the trigger and dumped my 100 round mag into the many molemen running in our direction, putting plenty of holes. Their heads popped one after another similar to watermelons in my previous world being shot, though a hell of a lot more grotesque with blood and brain matter flying about the mine tunnel.


    While the bunch of us were laying into them I was continuously scanning the weapons of the incoming swarm and directing most of my fire at the targets that possessed larger caliber rifles, the ones that could potentially cause harm to gramps, I, or one of my robots. Thankfully, they didn''t possess too many of those sorts of weapons, so I spent most of the time just unloading on whatever molemen gramps and my robots weren''t shredding to pieces.


    Shortly into the bout, they began shooting back, thus we had to deal with bullets whizzing by us. I even had a few hit me in the chest and the stomach, but because I had my armor, they were unable to do any harm, so I shrugged them off like they were nothing and kept on blasting one moleman''s head after another.


    The old man took a few hits too, but he had a sturdy set armor as well, hence he wasn''t really affected all that much by it other than some of the beefier rounds messing with keeping his aim on target. As for my robots, they were more heavily armored than either of us, so they were essentially invincible against the molemen and just kept pouring laser fire on anything that moved.


    ¡­


    Our cacophony of gun and laser fire continued for the next couple of minutes when their numbers began to trickle; thus we kept it up till we mopped up the remaining ones, leaving our weapons hot from the continuous gunfire. Unsure if there were any more remaining ahead and not willing to leave things up to chance, I went forward with gramps and my robots following right behind me.


    Quickly closing in on the cave entrance, I checked everything around the entrance and including the area on the other side.


    Finding nothing but the corpses of dead molemen reinforcements and whatever weapons they were carrying strewn about, I announced my findings simply. "Looks clear. Let''s back up and check our gear before we proceed further."


    Having us back off, we retreated the way we came, no more than a hundred or so feet, so we could take a breather and check our equipment.


    Before I could go through my equipment checkup, gramps wandered over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder and asked. "You good kid?"


    "Yup, why do you ask?"


    "Well, most people have the predisposition to feel a certain type of way when they''ve killed for the very first time."


    "Ohh, you''re talking about that, yeah, I don''t feel bothered by it all. I just see it as something that needs to be done. Can''t leave a molemen nest unchecked, now can I."


    "Mmm, correct, and it''s good that you feel that way. That''s the sort of mentality you''re going to need to accomplish that dream of yours."


    "For sure." I agreed whilst nodding my head.


    Gramps and I talked for a short bit longer when he gave me some words of encouragement. "Alright, I''mma go check my weapon over and make sure everything is right. And Dom, you did good, and your call to check the equipment is smart. Keep that kind of thinking up because it will one day save your life."


    "Will do and thanks, gramps. Those words coming from you mean a lot."


    Gramps going off to check his gear, I started doing the same. In the process of doing so, I began reflecting on the slaughter I played a major part in, with my second thought process while my main one checked over my gear.


    I thought I should''ve felt some kind of way or had some kind of bodily reaction due to exterminating over a hundred humanoid beings, but for whatever reason I don''t feel any different than I normally do¡­ Actually now that I''m giving it thought I don''t feel the least bit remorseful or saddened about all the lives I took. In fact, I''m actually quite happy about the whole thing because I got a shit ton of exp from slaughtering the whole lot of them.


    That, and I finally got a reason to use my weapons and combat skills I''ve been training and working on for so many years. Though now that I''ve had my first kill, I wonder if I''ll feel something when I inevitably take my first human life¡­ If it''s a me or them type of situation I believe I won''t feel a damn thing, same for if some asshole is trying to hurt my family and friends.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    However, in a hypothetical situation, I end up accidentally killing an innocent bystander or many. I know I would feel remorseful and upset about it, but that''s all. I definitely wouldn''t let it consume me and take over my life to the point where I''m left as nothing but a shell of my former self.


    The goal I''m pursuing is a path of war and conquest, hence it''s a foregone conclusion that there''s going to be plenty of unfortunate casualties. That''s just an unfortunate part of war. Obviously, I''ll do my damndest to negate and reduce it as much as possible, but it would be na?ve to think I could prevent it entirely. That just isn''t going to happen.


    All that said, whatever mistakes I end up committing in the pursuit of my goals, I''ll try my best to right.


    My second thought process wandered off from there, running through various scenarios I might face soon, as I went over my gear. Within less than 5 minutes myself, gramps, and everyone of my bots had everything checked.


    Finding no issues with our equipment, I toggled Restorer''s repair field on to help keep our gear in tiptop shape. I hadn''t ever used it before, so I inspected the incredibly minor wear and tear on my machine gun to see what would happen. Seconds ticked by as I saw the wear slowly begin to revert to its original state when the weapon was first produced, though at a stupidly slow pace.


    The ability to have our equipment repaired passively is pretty cool, however given its current rate, it won''t prove all that useful until I have a ton of points in my repair skill. Nevertheless, it''ll make our weapons and armor more durable and cut down on the frequency of actual maintenance.


    With that perk''s effects tested out, I started leading again, keeping my wits about me as I passed through the bloody carnage. We will soon duplicate. Walking through the puddles of red blood and stepping over the many body parts, I reached the cave entrance and took a moment to scan the path ahead with my perception field.


    Not detecting any dangers, I pushed on with the old man and my robots following close behind in a spread out formation that they''ve been keeping up this entire time. Finally, entering the molemens'' home turf, I checked my minimap in the corner of my vision and kept moving forward.


    ¡­


    At some point, our group arrived at a split and since I''ve checked the minimap already, I chose the path that would lead us to the largest chamber in this entire cave system. As we kept progressing deeper and deeper into the cave, my prospectron kept doing its job of scanning the cave for resources, finding plenty of veins and different deposits of minerals that I would later have my bots harvest once this entire ordeal was over.


    The next couple of hours we kept moving further and further into the cave system, occasionally killing off entire groups of molemen, adding more and more kills to our kill count and increasing my banked level ups.


    I wish I could spend my level ups, but I don''t have the time to adjust to whatever changes the new perks and improved stats will cause my body to undergo. Looks like I''ll be in for a world of hurt later, sigh. Hopefully, I''ll be able to adjust to the changes my body undergoes quicker the more level ups I experience.


    Not looking forward to having to undergo that experience once again, I ramped up my killing two fold and took my feelings of discontent out on the poor molemen. Sucks to be them. We continued our slaughter through the cave system and 15 minutes later, our squad neared a large chamber, the only one we would encounter on our route to the main chamber. Unsure if there were any molemen up ahead, I had everybody hang back while I stealthily snuck forth to check things out.


    Within moments, I was upon the entrance to the chamber. Not detecting anything with my perception field, I stuck my head out from around the corner and peeked inside. I immediately saw a large cave chamber lit by luminescent moss, mushrooms and other plants and tons of unarmed molemen moving about, appearing to be farming cave shrooms on mounds of dark substance spread all across the floor and walls of the cave.


    This looks to be their growing area and food supply. I take this out and there goes their food unless they have more of these and seeing how many molemen we''ve exterminated so far, this isn''t the only growing site they got.


    Having seen enough, I backed off and slunked back to my group and once I informed gramps of what I found; we started moving towards the chamber. As soon as we neared the entrance, we all collectively aimed our weapons, each finding our own target to eliminate. I grabbed gramp''s attention silently and counted down from three with my fingers and upon putting the last finger down we poured laser and gunfire into the chamber.


    Due to us having the element of surprise, we dropped two hundred of them dead in less than thirty seconds. After making quick work of them, we made our way into the chamber and dispatched whatever survivors were clinging to life. Following that, we looked around to see if we could locate anything of interest, but we didn''t find much besides the luminescent plants which I took note of since they might hold some value for research, specifically medical.


    "They''re all dead and there''s nothing of any real interest here. Let''s continue moving." Gramps said.


    "Alright, let''s go."


    Heading out of the grow chamber, we continued off into a new tunnel making our way in the direction of the main chamber. Minutes into departing from that chamber, we encountered another group of molemen that likely heard all the gunfire from a short while ago and so with more enemies to deal with; we got to blasting.


    ¡­


    An hour of traversing and battling throughout the cave system later, my robots, gramps, and I arrived at a stretch of tunnel. The last stretch we needed to go through to reach the largest chamber in this massive cave system.


    "We''re almost there, gramps, we just need to go through this passage and we''re at the largest chamber. Are you ready to do this?"


    "Yeah, but if things go south, Dom, you leave your robots and I all behind and escape, you hear me!"


    "But-


    "No buts-"


    "Gramps, just shut up for a second!"


    He wasn''t pleased, but he did as I asked, so I began explaining why it was completely unnecessary. "You''re worried and being over dramatic for nothing, gramps. All those robots can self-destruct if necessary, so we''re basically walking with a bunch of mini-nukes that can cover our backs if the need arises."


    "Oh¡­ Disregard what I just said then." Gramps replied nonchalantly, playing things off as if he wasn''t ready to sacrifice himself if the need arose.


    Turning my attention to Alice now, I asked. "Alice, is everything still clear on your end?"


    "Yeah, everything is clear and coming in without issue. It hasn''t dropped even once this entire time."


    "Good, have you been having any issue with what you''ve been seeing so far?"


    "Not really, just general disgust for all the blood, guts, and gore."


    Imagining Alice looking green, I said. "Yeah, I hear you on that, but you''re a strong girl, so I''m confident you''ll have gotten adjusted to it after all the molemen have been dealt with. That aside, getting used to seeing this kind of gruesome stuff will be a big help to you when you have to take a life down the road for the first time."


    "The kid''s right about that one." Gramps chimed in.


    I talked about a couple of other things with her and when I wanted to wrap this conversation up and get a move on; I said. "And Alice, if things look like they are going to become dire, you know what to do, although I highly doubt we''ll encounter any real trouble."


    "I got you covered, Dom."


    "Alright, I''ll leave it to you, Alice."


    "Good luck and stay safe, you two."


    "We will. No need to worry." I replied.


    "Let''s go, gramps."

 Chapter 40: Massacre

    Taking position at the front again, I began proceeding down the tunnel and only two minutes in we met resistance. Raising my weapon alongside gramps and my robots, we sent a storm of bullets and laser fire through the passage, easily slaughtering the armed molemen we stumbled upon on the way.


    Stepping over their corpses that were filled with leaking bloody holes that were left courtesy of gramps and I and burning ones that were caused by my robots, we progressed along the passage coming across more and more armed molemen reinforcements the closer we got to the main chamber.


    Our group killed our way through what must''ve been a minimum of 1,000 armed molemen. We fired so many rounds that it had even gotten to the point that we needed to retreat to let our weapons cool down before we could continue butchering them and making further progress. After fighting for a little over an hour, we started encroaching on the main chamber''s entrance.


    Slaughtering our way in the massive chamber we''ve been making our way towards these last several hours came into view. Scanning the area as we were killing our way in I saw what must''ve been cave ceiling of fifty feet in height and an area that covered tens of thousands of square feet that was all covered in luminescent plants providing light to the many, many thousands of human mole rat hybrids that currently inhabited the space.


    "We''ve found the nest gramps, let''s kill them all." I said, letting go of my NPDM.


    "Leave none of them alive, kid." Gramps responded with a bloodthirsty grin from behind his armored helmet.


    As my weapon came to rest against my abdomen, I opened the pouch I had magnetically attached to my war belt and started taking the many T-4 Plasma Grenades I had within and setting them to explode on contact and chucking them into the crowds of molemen. The instant the first one made contact, it blew up, releasing super heated plasma and annihilating 50 of them right out of the gate.


    With the first going off, the many more I had sent flying across the massive space soon touched down, deleting swaths of them from existence and leaving the chamber''s floor scorched. Gramps, seeing what I was doing, followed suit, becoming a human pitching machine like myself whilst my robots covered the place in a laser light show.


    When I had depleted my plasma grenade stock, I swapped back over to my NPDM, placing the red dot''s reticle on a nearby moleman''s head and pulled the trigger, blowing its head apart with the 7.62 bullet I just fired. As that target''s body began falling over, I kept applying pressure to the trigger and rapidly transitioned from one moleman to another, dispatching them with insane speed and ruthless efficiency.


    We kept up the fire, sending hate at anything and everything that moved while tanking rounds from the hostile molemen. Ultimately, we killed and killed until there was but only one singular moleman remaining alive in the chamber. Walking up to the last remaining moleman, I saw the creature was broken and trembling in fear, not putting up even an ounce of resistance.


    Not wanting this to go on any longer than it needed to, I took my FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle that I had swapped to since my NPDM needed to cool. Aiming my laser assault rifle at its head, I pulled the trigger, sending a burst of laser fire through its dome, ending the killing there for the moment. At the end of it all, we had laid waste to the molemen, leaving the expansive chamber covered with streams of blood and piles of burnt and broken bodies.


    "Damn, that was a hard fought battle. I even had to resort to my combat knife more than a few times there. Do you have any injuries, gramps?"


    "Nothing serious, just some bruising." Gramps answered in his deep and rough voice, though it was missing the energy it usually had.


    "Mm, what do you want to do now, old man? There are obviously more of them throughout this entire cave system that need to be exterminated, however our gear is getting more worn down than I''m okay with and both you and I have run completely dry on 7.62 ammunition. You also sound pretty tired, so why don''t we call it here for today and pick things back up tomorrow?"


    "Sounds good to me. I could use a nap."


    Nodding my head, we looked around the place and gathered whatever loot we could bring with us without interfering with our combat ability and started the long journey to the foundry while keeping an eye out for any more molemen we may meet on the way back.


    The return journey was relatively light on the molemen numbers, so it only took us slightly less than two hours to arrive back to the Genesis Foundry. If we hadn''t encountered any molemen on our way, we could''ve cut that time even further, but I can''t complain about being able to farm some more exp, equipment, and skill.


    Whilst coming up on the facility''s entrance, gramps said. "Dom, you did good today. Keep it up and you''ll have no problem accomplishing what you want to."


    "Thanks, gramps."


    Just as our group closed in on the large armored doors of the facility, we heard rumbling, so we turned around to see what was up. What we saw as we turned around was a large swarm of molemen rapidly approaching us.


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    "Gramps, it seems like we still have work to do."


    "It would appear that way, kid. Let''s mow ''em down quickly and get some rest."


    How do I want to handle this, I could trigger all the microfusion cell mines I have laid throughout the tunnel and kill most of them in an instant. However, I''d rather not collapse the mine tunnel and have to waste a ton of time clearing rubble and refortifying the tunnel.


    If I fight it out normally with the two laser assault rifles I have with me, I''ll more likely have to engage them in melee combat, which is something I''d rather avoid since it will just drag things out... I''ll just contact Alice and have her bring me a weapon that can thin their number by quite a bit without bringing the tunnel down.


    "Alice, you there?"


    "Of course."


    "Can you go to the locked room next to the mine entrance in the facility and grab the 5.56mm minigun I have ready and loaded there, I''m going to need it."


    "I''m on it."


    While Alice was going to retrieve that for me, gramps, I, the robots, and the many turrets that were positioned all around the door began firing at the coming horde, cutting them down and turning them into sieves one by one. As that was taking place, I used my second thought process to open a large enough gap in between the massive armored door to allow the retrieval of my incoming minigun.


    The fight kept going on for a number of minutes, with us keeping the waves of them at bay when Alice neared the opening with a metal cart she had the weapon placed on. Thus, with my minigun arriving, I left the old man, my bots and the turrets to handle things whilst I retrieved my weapon upgrade.


    Speedily running through the gap, I went over to Alice, who was standing behind the right side of the armored door, and said. "Thanks Alice."


    "No problem, that''s what I''m here for." She responded, happy to be of help.


    Ditching my NPDM because it had no ammo, I placed the backpack magazine on my back and grasped the front handle of the minigun. Lifting the heavy weapon off the cart, I started running back with the weapon in hand, leaving Alice behind in the safety of the facility.


    But before I passed through the gap in the door, I said to her. "I''ll catch you in a bit, babe."


    "Alright, I''ll see you soon then, darling. Stay safe."


    Closing and resealing the door behind me with mechanical domination, I sprinted to the very front while holding down one of the two triggers to get the minigun''s barrels spooling. Blasting past my many turrets that were firing 1,600 laser pulses a minute and gramps and the robots that were all unleashing hell with their laser weapons, I made it to the front.


    With nothing I didn''t want to shoot in my line of sight, I took a stance that would best allow me to handle the recoil of the minigun. Straining and locking my muscles to keep the weapon from flying all over the place, I lifted and aimed the minigun at the continuously swarming molemen, and held the trigger down.


    *Brrrrrrrrr¡­*


    The stream of bullets I sent out of the six rotating barrels of the weapon flew towards the incoming molemen and the very moment the storm of rounds arrived at the first victim, they penetrated and ripped right through it, passing as easily as a hot knife through butter. Continuing to hold down the trigger and maintaining control of the recoil that very much wanted to get out of my control, I directed the 5.56mm rounds from their abdomens'' to their heads now that I had a handle on the recoil.


    Once I started directing and concentrating my fire there, the molemen began dropping like flies one after another, with many of the rounds taking out two if not three molemen at a time. Tanking and easily shrugging off the rounds coming from the molemen, I kept up the fire for the next 15 seconds when I expended all the ammunition held within the minigun''s backpack magazine.


    Running dry on the minigun, I dumped it and returned to using the two FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles I brought with me originally. Dual wielding the two of them, I aimed the two laser assault rifles at the remaining moles that weren''t decimated yet, like most of their group was at this time, and squeezed both triggers.


    *Bzzzzzt-Bzzzzt-Bzzzzzt*


    Spewing 1,600 laser pulses a minute now, the gang and I kept laying the fire upon them and began pushing forward. As we kept increasing our collective kill counts, they started to retreat, back pedaling into the cave system. Continuing the push, we walked them all the way out of the mine tunnel and continued to slaughter them until we couldn''t see them any longer from where the mine tunnel and cave system met.


    "You think that''s it for now or what, gramps?"


    "It could be, but since a group of them came swarming after us, it pretty much guarantees that they have a moleman king or something amongst them calling the shots. So we''re going to need to kill him before the waves stop coming or kill so many of them that the king can''t gather enough of them to send another wave."


    "Hmm, that sounds about right. I suppose I''m going to need to work on beefing up the defense more to kill off any molemen swarms that might come when we''re away."


    "That would be the best thing to do until we can come back tomorrow to continue where we left off."


    Heading back the way we came, we had to step on literally hundreds of bodies since we killed so many of them in the tunnel. After doing so for the next several minutes, we made it to the armored doors for the second time today and hopefully the last. Wanting to remove my armor and get a bit of rest before I got to work on bolstering the defenses, I quickly opened the heavy armored doors of the foundry. As soon as everyone picked the loot that they dropped to fight the molemen horde, we headed on through the now open doors.


    Once everyone was through, I closed them again via the same method as when I opened them, sealing them shut and making a beeline for the armory along with everyone, including Alice, who had now rejoined us from the planning/lounging area.


    Returning to the armory we stripped our kit and stored whatever weapons and ammo we had looted from this trip, my Multibots and prospectron being the exception since I was going to have them carry at least one weapon from now in the event that anything ever happens. My robot workforce now armed with much better weapons than their inbuilt ones, we departed from the armory and went to the planning/lounging area to take a much needed breather.


    Before I could even take a seat, Alice came to my front and locked her arms around me, hugging me.


    Wrapping my own arms around her and hugging her back, I asked. "You good, Alice?"


    "Nnn, I''m just happy you returned to me in one piece."


    "I told you everything would be fine, didn''t I?"


    "That you did." She responded sweetly, letting go of me for a second and letting us take a seat on the couch before latching onto me once again the millisecond she took her position next to me on my right side.

 Chapter 41: Traveling Deeper

    Simultaneously, as this was taking place, Gramps passed out almost immediately on one of the other couches a ways away from us, leaving Alice and me to cuddle up together and talk. After chatting about this and that for some time, I decided to see how she was doing regarding what she witnessed today.


    "Alice, how''re you doing regarding what you saw today? I know it was a lot, so I want to see how you''re holding up."


    "I''m fine. It got easier and easier to watch and experience as it went on, so I believe when my time comes, when I''ll have to do something similar, I''ll be more than ready for it."


    "Hmm, in that case, why don''t you join gramps and I after we''ve gotten rid of the moleman king? I pretty much know what to expect from the molemen at this point going off of this trip, so I can basically assure your safety when we''re in there."


    "You really mean it?" She inquired excitedly, with a glimmer in her eyes.


    "Yup, we''ll jus-." Before I could finish my sentence, Alice excitedly jumped on me.


    ¡­


    After dealing with Alice''s excited state, I continued from where I hadn''t finished. "As I was saying, we''re just going to need to make you a heavy trooper suit, and you''ll be ready."


    "So, when are we going to make the armor?"


    "When we''ve dealt with the moleman king so probably in the next several days."


    After our conversation, we talked for a bit longer, got up, and proceeded to the manufacturing area to get some work done. Whilst Alice was doing her studying on her personal laptop, I was busy assembling more turrets to add to the ever-increasing defenses I had set up in the mine tunnel. A few hours flew on by when it was time to wrap things up and head home for the day.


    I accomplished a substantial amount today. I ventured into the mine and cave system, eliminated thousands of molemen alongside the old man and my robots. On top of all that, I assembled 10 more ZBR-2 Laser Turrets in the last few whilst the robots were working feeding materials to the various automated manufacturing machines and handling their many tasks in the production area to keep everything moving at a smooth pace.


    Finished and ready to head home, I wandered over to Alice, who wasn''t that far off from where I was doing my work, and said. "Hey, Alice, I''m going to have the Multibots install the last turret and then we''ll wake up, gramps, and go home."


    "Okay, I''ll wrap up my studying and follow along."


    Calling several of my Multibots with the unique ability I gained recently, I had them take the turret I threw together moments ago and go install it with the other nine I had them install earlier, and in only 15 minutes they had completed the job I had given them. With everything handled that needed to be, I and my partner in crime made our way to the planning/relaxing area and woke up the sleeping bear, gramps, so he could take us home.


    "What do you two rascals want?" Gramps grumbled out still half asleep.


    "It''s time to go home, gramps, it''s the end of the day."


    "It''s been that long already, has it? Alright, let''s pile into my truck and head home."


    Piling into his truck, he dropped Alice and me at my home and took off when we waved him goodbye and had gone inside. Entering through the front door, we saw my mom was busy whipping up dinner in the kitchen, thus Alice and I walked in there and greeted her before joining her in preparing the meal. Following the large dinner we both assisted in making, we turned in for the night with the rest of the family.


    ¡­


    The next day, after going through all the usual stuff that happens in the morning, we were back at the Genesis Foundry.


    "Here''s the plan for today. Gramps and I are going into the cave system to continue clearing out the molemen and if we come across the Moleman King, cool, if not, we''ll keep looking until we do or it''s time to wrap things up and head on back." I said, getting a simple nod of the head from gramps.


    "As for you, Alice, you''ll continue watching from here and studying."


    "Okay." She replied simply.


    Getting up from the couch in the planning slash relaxation area, Alice pulled me aside whilst sending my gramps ahead to plant a kiss on my lips.


    "Quite aggressive today aren''t we." I commented, smirking.


    "Hehehe, only doing what a good wife is supposed to do." She replied sweetly in her usual soothing voice.


    We shared a few words with each other before I detached from her and said my goodbyes. "Well, I''m off. I''ll catch you later, babe."


    "See ya darling, and good luck finding the Moleman King."


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    As Alice was waving goodbye to me, I waved back as I departed. Leaving the planning and relaxation area behind, I sped off to the armory to get kitted. Directly after reaching the armory, I made my way inside, meeting back up with gramps who had most of his gear on already. Not looking to have him waiting for me, I quickly reached where my own gear was located and began throwing it all on.


    Getting my armor on as well as the rest of wearable gear, I grabbed the three weapons I was using yesterday, yet as I was slinging the FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles onto my back, a thought occurred to me.


    I ran out of ammo for my NPDM the previous day. Maybe I should swap to something else¡­ I would take the 5.56mm minigun, but the 1,000 round backpack mag is just too small for my liking. With its current capacity, I would only be able to fire the weapon continuously for 15 seconds before emptying the magazine in its entirety. Hence, that weapon is out at least until I make larger capacity magazines for it.


    Honestly, I''m gonna need to resolve this issue sooner or later since I can''t be running out of ammo for my primary weapon and being left to akimbo two FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles as cool as that is. To resolve this dilemma of mine, I can go about this a few different ways, one I can just make a significantly larger backpack magazine, or two I can take the gatling laser design I have on hand that''s currently implemented in the Crusader robot design and modify it to fusion breeder power, or three I can make a whole new weapon that specifically fulfills my needs and wants.


    Hmm, or I could do all three, going down that route will give me more versatility and give my growing arsenal more selection that everyone part of my group including myself to choose from¡­ Yep, I''ma go that route and it''s not like it would take me all that long to do all three so why the hell not.


    Plans to expand my armory''s selection even further, I pulled a bunch more NPDM drum magazines and placed them on my war belt, nearly doubling my ammo capacity as compared to the previous day. Taking my NPDM into my hands next, I put the sling over my head and rested the light machine gun on my front before walking for the armory''s exit the very next second.


    Meeting back up with gramps who had finished gearing up before me, the two of us set off for the mine tunnel entrance. We quickly arrived at the huge armored doors I had blocking the entrance to the mine tunnel faster than yesterday since we were pretty gung ho about getting in there eliminating the moleman king.


    Joining my robots that were already there armed to the teeth and ready to go on another moleman killing spree, we quickly left the facility behind us and entered the incredibly dark cave system again, that was sparsely lit up by luminescent plants in certain areas.


    Deciding to backtrack through the same route we took the day before to the main chamber, we encountered molemen once again on route, although drastically fewer compared to the previous day. Quickly taking out whatever we came across, our group made record time and reached the passage to the main chamber again. Continuing forward, we met the heaviest amount of resistance in the tunnel we had experienced thus far throughout this entire molemen extermination mission.


    Over the next several minutes, we killed and slaughtered a whole shitload of molemen while we tanked dozens of rounds from them that did absolutely nothing to us when their bullets met our armor. Dispatching the last of them, we pushed onward into the main chamber and came face to face with the chamber filled again with plenty of molemen, so with the target rich environment we had for ourselves we pointed our guns in the direction of the crowds vermin and opened fire repeating the massacre we committed the prior day.


    I don''t know how long it took, but we had refilled the chamber with well over a thousand molemen corpses. Thus, with nothing else left to shoot here, we stepped over the many bodies strewn about as best we could, blood splashing about at nearly every step we took.


    Thank god I got my helmet on and it''s fully enclosed. The stench has got to be something else, with these bodies leaking all sorts of fluids and that''s not even considering the mass amounts of burnt flesh our laser fire caused.


    Crossing the corpse covered cave floor, we continued our journey on a path that led deeper into the cave system. The reason we were going this way instead of taking one of the many other passages was because this route led to a comparatively smaller chamber deep within the cave system that I believe has a pretty high chance of being the moleman king''s lair.


    I have nothing to go off of to say if it will even be there other than my intuition but it is the deepest chamber so might as well go check there first to see if he''s taken up residence in what could be considered the safest place in this entire system.


    Right off the rip, we immediately began having to fight large numbers of armed molemen, leading credence to the idea that we were going down the right path. Traversing the expansive cave system, we fought tooth and nail with the many molemen that inhabited this part of the cave network and entered into melee combat with the molerat folk more than a dozen times.


    With all the melee combat I''ve been doing, I''m going to need to expand my firearm upgrade to include melee weapons, too. My gramps old combat knife just ain''t cutting it with this many enemies.


    Another weapon added to my growing arsenal upgrade, I ripped my gramp''s old combat knife from the now deceased moleman''s flesh whom I had just killed moments prior. Before the blood could start spraying from the dead moleman''s neck and dirty my armor any further than it already was, I kicked the body back, sending it flying into the group of molemen we were currently fighting it out with. The dead mutant''s body struck three of its kind and took them down to the passage''s floor, and once they were down, I raised my NPDM and fired off a three-round burst, one bullet for each of three lucky molemen.


    Those four molemen eliminated, I raised my weapon and continued to slaughter and dispatch one hostile after the next over the hours, with my prospectron scanning all about for resources. After said hours, we finally began closing in on our destination and as we got closer and closer to it, we encountered even heavier resistance, as if that was even possible. Pouring lead and laser fire down the passage, our rounds and beams impacted the many molemen that were charging towards us, ripping through and burning sizable holes in their bodies.


    When the last of them dropped dead and collapsed onto the cave tunnel''s floor, I looked at gramps and said. "That appears to be the last. Let''s go see if that moleman king is truly down here."


    "Lead the way then, kid." The old man responded in his usual rough and masculine sounding voice.


    Leading the way forward with gramps following right on my flank, ready to take out whatever we come across along with my small robot army, we climbed over the bodies and moved the ones blocking our path out of the way and closed in on the entrance.


    Reaching the entrance, we forewent stealth and pushed inside since there was no reason to stealthily peek inside to see what the situation was when we had more than already announced our presence to whoever and whatever was inside with all the killing we were doing.

 Chapter 42: Hunting The Moleman King

    What appeared in our collected vision was a few dozen molemen that were much larger than the ones we''ve been encountering up to this point. Along with their bigger builds, they had better guns and actual armor that wasn''t just a few thin pieces of metal attached to leather that most of their brethren were scurrying around in.


    All those six foot tall molemen guards were surrounding one huge moleman that stood at a bare minimum of eight feet in height. That particular moleman was equipped with its own set of makeshift armor too and a DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun which was far superior compared to the weapons its guards were using.


    Good, we''ve found the moleman king. Once I get rid of it, mopping up the rest should be no issue with their leader gone. Although it will still take me quite some time since I''m going to need to scour every inch of the cave system and clear it in its entirety.


    Wanting to wrap things up here so I can get back to clearing the cave system and locking it down, I charged into the chamber with everyone while unloading my NPDM that was getting rather low on ammo again with all the molemen hunting I''ve been doing. In the midst of firing at the many hostiles within the chamber, I made the decision to leave the guards to the old man and my robots to take care of while I focused on the number threat amongst the molemen.


    Thus leaving it to them, I took aim at the moleman king''s head and shot a controlled burst of three rounds. Within far less than a second, they struck his helmet, digging into it but not making their way through its armor.


    Mm, his armor is thicker than I expected, smart. Let me disable his weapon first before I figure out how I want to kill him. I don''t particularly want to get laid into by two 7.62s simultaneously.


    Not able to penetrate its armor, I swiftly adjusted my aim the very next instant to the moleman king''s weapon and fired another burst, putting three sizable holes in the receiver of his double-barreled machine gun. The vermin, not knowing I had made his weapon inoperable, attempted to fire its weapon at me, but when it pulled the trigger, all it provoked was a click and no other response.


    As it was about to begin inspecting its weapon to see what was wrong with it, I realigned my weapon with its head; however, instead of just targeting its skull as I had done previously, I aimed for the eyeholes of its helmet because they were the only weak point I could take advantage of. All while this was going on, gramps and my robots were keeping the approximately six foot tall armored molemen entertained, easily taking them down one by one.


    Pulling the trigger once again I fired one round and after it left the muzzle brake at the end of my NPDM''s barrel it sailed through the air and right into the moleman king''s eye taking it out and causing a burst of blood and bits of the annihilated eye to fly out of the helmet''s socket. The following instant, the big fucker started screeching and moving erratically as it was experiencing the pain of losing one of its essential sensory organs.


    Damn, this bastard''s durable. I was expecting that round to pierce right through its eye and deal massive damage to its brain. However, seeing as it hasn''t keeled over and dropped to the floor of its den, it must have a pretty thick skull to stop a whole ass 7.62x39mm round.


    After firing that last round, I was out of ammunition, so I tossed my light machine gun aside and went to engage the moleman king in melee combat. I could''ve swapped to the two laser assault rifles I had on my back, but if my NPDM couldn''t penetrate its armor, there is no way those two energy weapons would be able to.


    Super heating it with continuous laser pulses was an option however, it would''ve taken quite a lot of time to do so hence why I''m not. Sprinting ahead, I pulled the combat knife from the holster on my war belt and held it in reverse grip with the blade facing downward.


    Rapidly approaching my prey, that was still flailing about and screeching in pain, I rammed my armored shoulder into it, trying to tackle and bring the moleman king to the ground. Sending the much larger and heavier creature than myself to the cave floor, I swiftly brought the combat knife in my hand down, precisely stabbing it in between the gaps in its armor. I got a few more stabs in before the brute threw me off of him and sent me flying around two meters away onto my back.


    Rolling over, I quickly got on my feet and charged forward as the moleman king was struggling to its feet. Slamming into it again, I returned it to its place on the chamber''s floor before jumping on top of it, and activating the new Martial Weapon Master qi I gained recently.


    As soon as I coated my weapon in the energy, I inserted my knife wherever I could slide it in. Getting several more stabs in and drawing increasingly more blood from it, I got thrown off another time, but instead of being thrown on my back for a second time, I twisted my body while in midair, landing upright on my feet this time around.


    Not willing to let it have any sort of breather, I hurried over to it and took its other eye, making it screech even louder than before. From there I kept stabbing and ripping my gramp''s old combat knife through the gaps in its armor plates and after several minutes of doing so and getting a punch sent at my head that rocked me a decent bit, the king started to go limp.


    With the creature losing strength, I pried its helmet off that I attempted to do multiple times before. Removing and throwing its helm away, the grotesque moleman king''s face was revealed.


    "Damn, you are one ugly bastard." I commented aloud.


    Receiving a tired screech in reply, I brought my knife down and stabbed it into its neck and began slicing it to the opposite side of its neck. It took some effort, but I got the job done and separated its head from its body, thus ending the fight then and there. Getting off of the moleman king''s corpse, I took a deep breath and looked behind me, seeing gramps with his helmet off looking as proud as he could be at me.


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    "You did it, kid. I guess you will accomplish those dreams of yours some day."


    Taking my own helmet off as well, I replied confidently. "I will."


    "But I couldn''t have done it without you, gramps. If not for all the training you put me through and all the things you''ve shown and taught me over the years, there is no way I would be where I''m at today without you. Not to mention all the help you''ve provided to Alice as well, right Alice?"


    "Dom, is right grandpa John, if it wasn''t for you we wouldn''t be anywhere near the level we are now. Thank you for spending so much time helping us improve and become better and better every day." Alice chimed in appreciatively over the durable streaming device I was wearing.


    "Yeah, thank you for taking the time to help us, gramps. We both really appreciate it."


    Gramps showed a twinge of emotion before covering it up and practically smiling from ear to ear at what he just heard. Obviously happy as can be to hear that we both appreciated him and the help he had provided to not just me but Alice too over the years.


    "As long as you two keep striving to improve, that''s all I''ll need to see to know that you two appreciate what I''m doing for you little rascals." The old man said prior to coming over to me and bear hugging me like the bear of a man he was.


    The three of us talked for a bit more before Alice decided to get some words of appreciation for herself. "Hey, Dom, since grandpa John is getting some words of appreciation from you, what about me? I believe I deserve some as well."


    If she were here with us now, I know with absolute certainty that she would be utilizing her glistening blue eyes and staring at me expectantly. Unable to deny her request, I came up with something quick on the spot.


    "You were also instrumental to my success too, Alice. If not for you always helping me out and supporting me as much as you do, I wouldn''t have been able to accomplish nearly as much as I have, let alone take down the moleman king."


    "And¡­" She followed up with seeking a bit more than just words.


    "And I suppose I should reward my ever helpful and loyal wife-to-be, who has stood by my side for nearly the entirety of my life."


    "Nn, that''s more like it. I''ll be waiting to see what you have in store." She responded happily in her typical sweet voice that was laced with satisfaction and a bit of anticipation.


    Sigh, I know she''s going to attempt to push the boundary again, but that ain''t happening. I already don''t want to be doing what we''re doing currently with her being a kid even though a big five foot six inch tall one with a very abnormal mental maturity.


    If there wasn''t the issue of her possibly developing issues mentally from me rejecting her advances like I''ve thought about in the past, I wouldn''t be allowing what''s been going on since I''m into actual developed women with sexy full figures and tight bodies like most men and not kids. But things are what they are even though I''d much rather they not be. Guess I''ll just have to keep putting up with it for another seven years until she''s an actual adult and I have the green light.


    "You two lovebirds done. I''m about to start throwing up over here." Gramps joked from the side.


    "Yeah, we''re done, gramps, let''s head on back and end things here for today. I think we''ve achieved enough for one day."


    "Sounds good to me. I''m gonna take a nice long nap when we get there."


    After our conversation, gramps, I, and the robots scoured and looked through the cave for loot and anything else of interest. In our search we stumbled across what I thought to be the moleman king''s family in a connected space in the chamber''s rear, which consisted of two adult females and a litter of pups that they were attempting to protect by covering them with their bodies.


    Entering the space, fear was clear as day on the two adults'' faces. I felt a twinge of emotion at what I was about to commit. Child killing wasn''t my thing, but I needed to do what had to be done and not leave a single root that could germinate and come back to bite me later on.


    If Alice and I were in the same position, the molemen would''ve ruthlessly butchered us, so why should I show them compassion and give a damn when they wouldn''t have shown us the same.


    Hardening my mentality, I brought one of the two laser assault rifles I was carrying with me to my right hand and pointed it in their direction, and ruthlessly pressed the trigger. The red laser pulses lit the dimly lit space up for several seconds before things returned to how they once were when we first stepped into this room.


    Finished tying up loose ends, we searched the room and gathered a decent haul to take with us and headed to the previous chamber. Ready to get this show back on the road, I had several of my mulitbots grab the four molemen guards; I had them leave alive. One might ask why they were left alive, well the answer was rather simple: I require test subjects for my medical and drug experiments I plan on doing real soon, consequently the reason why they haven''t been exterminated like the rest.


    With things wrapped up, we dragged the four molemen guards away with us. Though not literally, since they were being carried to keep them from being harmed any further than they already were, we began tracing our way back to the Genesis Foundry.


    ¡­


    Likely, due to them no longer having a leader to direct them, we faced very little resistance while we were traveling through the expansive network of passages and chambers. It took us a few hours, but we made it back to the well defended armored doors of the foundry in one piece.


    Coming upon the armored doors of the facility, I had them begin opening as we were closing in on them. And right as all of us had passed through, I shut them behind us, sealing the facility off from the danger the remnant molemen posed. Finally, at base, we moved to the armory and dropped our gear off there, along with a good amount of the weapons and ammo we hauled with us.


    Leaving the armory behind as my robots went off to the warehouse area of the foundry to deposit the rest of this trip''s rewards, including locking up and the four molemen guards, gramps and I walked to the planning/relaxation area. As the both of us came strolling through the door, I was unsurprisingly jumped by an excited Alice that was happy to see me and gramps return from our excursion unharmed, mostly.


    Back in the foundry''s safety, we took a seat and started conversing about what transpired and after doing so for a decent while the old man left Alice and I here to continue while he occupied a couch for himself along with a soft gray blanket and whatever else he needed to take a comfortable nap.


    "It''s good you only got some light bruising from your fight with that moleman king. You know you could''ve gotten seriously hurt from that close combat fight of yours, right?"


    "I know, but I knew if I had any trouble, gramps and robots would''ve rushed over to my aid and in a heartbeat and curb stomped the ever living shit out of the moleman king, so it wasn''t that dangerous in fact. The fight also allowed me to gain some real hand to hand combat experience, which knowing my goals will make my future endeavors safer for both you and I when we start exploring the wasteland."


    "So overall I would say it was well worth it and besides, I injected a couple of medstims already, thus I''ll be good as new in no time at all."


    As we wrapped up that bit and moved onto what she had learned today whilst I was in the cave system with grandpa John getting rid of the molemen infestation, I received a sudden notification.


    Ding New Perk Unlocked!

 Chapter 43: Breakthrough

    Curious as to what sort of perk I unlocked, I suddenly interrupted her. "Hold up a second, Alice. I just got a new perk."


    Alice, understanding the importance of the situation, paused mid sentence while I pulled up my system to see what I got and for what reason. Gramps, also hearing what I said from afar, got up and headed over here to find out what the latest perk was.


    | Herculean Strength | Requirements 11 Strength: You''ve surpassed the human limitations for strength, thus your physical abilities have improved significantly. First off, your carry weight is now in line with the amount of force you can exert, so for every point of strength you have will now grant you 100 carry weight instead of 50. Besides your carrying capacity improving, you now have access to an item box of sorts based on said carry weight and both your melee as well as your unarmed damage are increased from 5% per point of strength to 10%. Last but not least, your carry weight is increased by 350.


    Sweet, I''ll be able to carry a hell of a lot more weight and exert a ton more power when striking with my fists and attacking with melee weapons. On top of that, I''ve gotten an item box too. I can already think of a shitload of uses for such an ability, for example using it to bring a small arsenal of weapons with me wherever I go so I''ll be prepared for any situation I may face. It''ll also be incredibly useful for moving and dumping all of those molemen corpses.


    Quickly discerning how useful this perk will be for not just me but anyone traveling with me, I opened up my mouth and began spilling the deets. "Alright, so the perk I just got is a major game changer. It not only boosts how much I can carry by over 100% and how much damage I can deal in melee combat it also gives me an ability called an item box, which will allow me to store as much stuff as I want as long as it doesn''t exceed my carry weight."


    "That is a game changer. You could use that new ability of yours to carry tons of weapons and ammo, thereby solving that ammo issue you''ve been having." Alice commented.


    "Right, that was the first thought that came to mind when I saw that ability."


    "But alongside using it to bring along a literal arsenal, you could also use it to move mass amounts of material all on your own when you eventually get enough carry weight."


    "Very true, but in the meantime, I can use it to move those stinking molemen corpses and bring turrets and other defenses into the cave system. With that said, I think it''s time I brought up what we''re going to do now, now that the moleman king is dead."


    "Mm, what do you have in mind, kid?"


    "I was thinking, since their leader is dead, what is stopping the rest of them from fleeing the cave system besides all the other threats that exist out in the wasteland?"


    "Not much." Both Alice and gramps replied in unison.


    "Exactly, so the plan tomorrow is to go into the caves again and collapse the multiple exits that lead into the wasteland. This will stop them from escaping and possibly reestablishing themselves and causing more trouble in the future. Aside from that, it will prevent any more mutants or other creatures from having any way of getting into the undercity besides the official undercity entrance."


    Looking to the both of them to see if they had anything to say, gramps piped up first. "This is your operation, Dom, and I have no issue with your idea, so we''ll go with what you came up with."


    "So after you close off every one of their exits, it will be time for me to get my armor?" Alice asked, hinting that she wanted to get involved in the action instead of being left behind in the foundry.


    "That''s the current plan, so if all goes according to plan, we''ll be making your armor the day after tomorrow and departing for the cave the following day."


    Alice, getting a relatively definitive date of when she''ll be joining me excitedly and happily latched on to me. As Alice was showing her affection and beginning to get a little handsy, gramps took this as his cue to bounce and left for far away couches he came from to get to napping. Not wanting to display some of the things Alice and I got up to affection wise, I lifted her up provoking a yelp from her and carried her away to give her the affection she was seeking.


    ¡­


    The next day I woke up in the night as I normally did and after taking care of my morning routine, I stealthily left my bedroom that I shared with Alice and snuck to the gym in the basement to test out my new strength. Walking in from the stairs, the first thing I did was go right to the barbell I did my deadlifting with and started loading 100 pound plates on each side. The minute I had five loaded onto each side, I threw on two 25 pound plates for a total of 1,095 pounds.


    With the weight loaded onto the barbell, I got into position and grabbed the bar. As soon as I was content with my grip, I flexed my muscles and lifted the bar up, exerting quite a bit to pick it up off the floor. Locking out the rep, I lowered the weight as slowly as I could to prevent it from slamming into the floor and waking everyone in the house up.


    Fuck, that''s a great feeling. I could never lift that much weight in my previous life. The most I was able to deadlift back then was in the low 700s and each and every time I did it was one hell of a fight to get the weight up¡­ That''s enough reminiscing of the past, let me get back to it and see what my new max is now that my strength attribute is at 11.


    Ecstatic that I had surpassed my previous life''s strength by nearly a whopping 400 lbs, I began increasing the weight incrementally to discover where my new limit was. After lifting for quite a number of repetitions, I found my new personal best to be 1,121 lbs. Quite happy with that number, I injected a couple of medstims into myself and started doing sets with that new personal record weight.


    At the end of the sets, I was able to add a couple more pounds onto the bar, increasing my limit by a smidge. Done deadlifting for the moment, I moved onto the other exercises and lifts I needed to do.


    ...


    Nearly five hours later, I finished exploring my current limits, so with everyone waking up shortly, I hopped into the shower to clean myself off. Once I was done with that, I headed upstairs and climbed back into bed with Alice until she woke up.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    She awoke shortly thereafter and once she did; we went through the usual morning stuff before my typical crew and I were back at the foundry by 8:30 AM. With a lot on our plate today, Gramps and I immediately set into motion and got to work, leaving Alice to go to the planning/relaxation area while we two went right to the armory. Quickly getting my kit on from yesterday, I started going over what else I should bring along since I had a ton of extra space now that I had an item box.


    The two of us discussed it for a bit before I ditched my NPDM in favor of a 7.62mm minigun and a 1,000 round backpack magazine that was still inadequate in my personal opinion. Happy enough with my latest primary weapon, I began loading up on more backpack magazines for the 7.62 minigun and grabbing various explosives and heavy weapons. As I was piling the weapons into the space, I began feeling as if weight was piling up on me slowly but surely as I was stuffing the item box full.


    This will be useful for training, but right now I need to be nimble and light enough to run at my fastest speed in case we come across something unexpected¡­ Hmm, let me check out the system to see if there''re any features or toggles associated with the new item box.


    Following that thought of mine, I pulled up my system and navigated over the item box section to see if there was anything to take advantage of and indeed there was a toggle located right beside the item box that read felt weight. Toggling it off, I was immediately relieved of the heavy weight that was being exerted on my body.


    I tried and tested out several other things after that, attempting to figure out the extent of the control I had over the weight. Eventually I found out that I could control how much weight I wanted the item box to exert on my body via my will. In addition to that, I also discovered I could toggle the felt weight on and off with the same method eliminating the need to open up my system to do it every time, which was convenient.


    The last thing of note I found was that the item box''s weight was separate from what I was actually carrying physically, so that was a nice plus. Luckily, it works that way since I can already envision myself trying to workout at home but unable to do so because I have a literal arsenal on me that I don''t exactly want either my mom and dad to discover. Even if the chances of them doing so are unlikely if I keep it stowed away in my room¡­


    Leaving that hypothetical behind this item box is going to make increasing my physical attributes so much easier, I can basically be training almost the entire day with this ability. The future gains I''m going to make with this are going to be insane, especially so when I combine it with Maxigen. Though that will unfortunately have to wait until I remove the extreme negative side effects from the compound.


    Another thing for me to use to my advantage, I got back to filling my item box that shared its carry weight with whatever I had on my person physically. After filling my item box with a sizable arsenal, I threw a number of drugs and other medicines and was basically carrying along enough meds for myself and ten other people.


    Loaded up with over a 1,000 lbs of weapons, ammunition, armor, meds, and gear spread across myself and the item box, I turned the felt weight on to where it was heavy but not to where it would affect my abilities negatively. Feeling the weight that was constantly exerting pressure all across my physique, I left the armory and proceeded to the mine tunnel, where my robots were ready and waiting. Quickly leaving the foundry behind, we entered the cave system and set off for the furthest cave exit.


    ¡­


    The journey there wasn''t all that quiet nor peaceful, but we reached the last stretch we needed to go through to get to the exit.


    "We''re nearly at the first one, gramps. We just need to pass through this bit ahead of us and we''re there."


    "Good. Once we close this entrance, we''ll move on to the other four. Hopefully, by the time I need to bring you and Alice home, we''ll have the lot of them secured."


    "Hopefully."


    Heading through the rocky passage, it opened up into a sort of wide cavernous room with a large craggy hole laying on the far end of it that led to the wasteland. In addition to the new scenery, we were met with several armed molemen as we entered. And so, with more targets found for elimination, we instantly dispatched them before we casually grabbed their corpses and threw them out of the cave into the wasteland for the mutated wildlife to feast upon.


    With the vermin removed, it''s time to seal this exit.


    Getting immediately down to business, I took out dozens of demolition charges my robot workforce prepared over the night for today''s mission. Handing a good many of them to my bots and gramps as well, we got to placing them around the exit.


    In no time at all, we set the bunch of them up where they needed to be. Thus, with charges placed, I had everyone, including myself, fall back into the passage we took to get here. Detonator in hand, I lifted the cover on button and pressed the now exposed button, triggering dozens of explosions in the cave room we were just in moments before.


    Waiting a few minutes for the dust and collapsing rock to settle, we walked back down the tunnel to check our handy work. Not even reaching the end of the passage, we came upon rubble that was entirely blocking our path forward. Mission accomplished, we turned right around and began moving to our second target.


    My group and I successfully made it to the next objective without much issue besides having to exterminate the occasional molemen group we encountered on the way there. After clearing the exit of any and all hostiles and checking the general vicinity outside of the cave, we placed our demolition charges and hightailed it out of there. When the bunch of us had regrouped a safe distance away, I repeated the same actions I had taken with the first one and activated the detonator, setting off dozens of explosions in an instant.


    Checking our work minutes later when a majority of the debris had settled, we left satisfied and continued on from there to the third exit. Our group traversed the cave system for about an hour before we started nearing the third exit and as we were getting closer to it, I began picking up on gunfire coming from the direction of the exit we were traveling to.


    "Yo, gramps, we might have trouble up ahead."


    "What kind of trouble?"


    "There''s a ton of gunfire coming from the direction of the exit up ahead. So I''m guessing we now have something else to deal with besides the molemen now."


    "Hmm, it could be a lot of things, but there''s no point speculating when we''ll just find out when we arrive. Let''s go check things out, kid."


    Not knowing what was happening up ahead, we sped up our pace to find out what the situation was sooner rather than later. As we reached closer and closer to the exit, the gunfire became more audible and louder the closer we got.


    No more than five minutes is all it took for us to reach the end of the cave passage we were traveling through. Coming upon the end, I kept my presence hiding field active like I''ve been doing this entire time and stayed in the passage''s darkness with gramps and my robots while observing what was taking place.


    If it was before when our group first started exterminating the molemen, I wouldn''t have been able to get this close with everyone standing right behind me. But since then, a majority of my skills have undergone a significant increase with all the combat and constant skill usage I''ve been doing the past few days.


    Because of that, my presence hiding field''s capabilities have become increasingly more powerful, allowing myself as well as whoever else is with me in the field''s range to creep up unnoticed as long as nothing is looking in our general direction. I wonder how strong it will get when I have several hundred skill points in stealth. It''ll probably be pretty busted then.


    Imagining the sight of moving a small army of robots in the dead of night to take out an enemy force, I saw several dozen molemen attempting to take down a group of five Giant Gila Monsters. Watching them fight it out over the next minute, it was quite obvious the molemen were on the losing side of things and were struggling to even breach the massive venomous lizards'' scales.


    I''ve seen enough time to kill them off, seal this exit, and move on to the final two exits.

 Chapter 44: Rumble

    Prepared to move and involve ourselves in the fun, I wordlessly signaled to gramps via a hand signal and we quickly poured into the rocky space the next second and slaughtered the molemen fighting the giant black and orange-colored lizards. The instant we had mopped up the molemen defenders, we switched our sights to the giant approximately 5-7 foot tall and 25-35 foot long lizards, my robots were busy holding back.


    Spooling my 7.62mm minigun fired off a burst of rounds at the head of the nearest reptile. As the rounds impacted the Giant Gila Monster''s head, they initially tore holes into its scaley defenses before traveling beyond them and sinking into its flesh.


    No more than a couple of seconds later, the casings of the many rounds I had just fired off clinked and clattered onto the cave''s floor. That was soon followed up with a thump sound of the now deceased monster''s body hitting the hard stone floor.


    With that lizard swiftly dealt with, I repeated that same burst four more times, effortlessly dispatching the rest of them.


    That was easy.


    Thinking the battle was over, we began wandering over to the corpses of the Giant Gila Monsters to take a look at them. As we were nearing them, I heard and felt a rumbling through the cave floor. Looking to where I sensed the rumbling originated from, a massive black and orange draconic looking head poked into the cave from the exit.


    I didn''t expect to see a Colossal Gila Monster this early on in my life. But they''re basically considered a massive threat, so I better handle it quickly before it releases a poisonous breath attack.


    Not wanting to start my next life so soon when I''ve yet to really accomplish much of anything in this one, I let my minigun go, leaving it to rest against my abdomen while I retrieved the only weapon that would be help me here in this given situation besides having my robots swarm it and self destruct themselves on it.


    Making the Carl Gustaf appear in my hands from my item box, I hastily set it up on my shoulder and said. "Gramps, fall back. I got this."


    Gramps, seeing the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless rifle poofing into existence from thin air, immediately started high tailing it out here at his fastest possible speed, getting out of the way of the back blast zone along with all of my robots. With my comrades out of both possible kill zones and the pseudo dragon ramping up to unleash a deadly venomous breath attack, I took aim at its dragon-like head and waited for the perfect moment.


    A brief moment was all it took for the right moment to appear, thus with my time to shine, I adjusted my aim to its open maw and pulled the trigger, firing the HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) round I had preloaded.


    *BOOM*


    Back blast firing out the rear of the Carl Gustaf, the round near instantly hit my desired target and when it did it blew up and sent the creature reeling back with blood pouring from its massive maw as it released an incredibly loud, pained roar. Whilst the gargantuan flightless black and orange lizard was dealing with the massive injury I had just dealt it, I brought the weapon down from my shoulder and pointed it at the ground.


    Opening the rear of the Carl Gustaf, I removed the spent shell and slid in an APDS (Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot) round and closed the back of the recoilless rifle. Locked and loaded, I shouldered the weapon again and saw the lizard retreating from the exit.


    "Where are you going, big guy? The fun is just starting!" I said aloud while pursuing the massive lizard out of the cave and into the wasteland.


    Stepping beyond the underground for the very first time since I''ve been born in this world, I took the sights in and scanned my surroundings while making sure I kept more than enough attention on the Colossal Gila Monster.


    As I was making sure I wouldn''t become a red smear on the ground, I saw I had stepped out from the cave onto a rugged and a relatively flattish area located in between two mountains that were covered in massive pine trees and numerous other species of foliage that had also undergone mutation since the bombs.


    Looks like I''m in a valley and the coast appears to be clear except for the massive creature in front of me.


    After making that discovery, I returned my full attention to my current foe. Getting a good look at the entire beast, I could help but be impressed by the colossal creature''s size. However, as impressed as I was, I still took aim with my weapon, this time locking onto the Colossal Gila Monster''s eye.


    It''s too bad I have to kill this Colossal Gila Monster. It would''ve been cool to have a creature that basically looks like a land dragon, but I have no way of doing so, nor do I have the ability to explain how I got my hands on it. Not to mention, even if I did somehow manage to tame it, how would I bring it into the undercity?


    I sure as hell can''t bring it through the cave system with the beast being at least two stories tall and ten stories long¡­ Sigh, unfortunate as it is there is no way I''ll be able to make this creature mine therefore I might as well put it down and at least get a sizable amount of exp out of it.


    Not too happy that I couldn''t tame it and get my very own dragon, I pulled the trigger, firing off another shell.


    *BOOM*


    The round was a direct bullseye and as soon as it struck; the sabot destroyed its eye and pierced right through as if it never existed, penetrating into its skull and, hopefully, its brain. Unloading the spent shell and loading another APDS round, I waited to see if it would drop dead.


    As I was waiting around to see if that was enough to take out this final boss tier creature, gramps and robots came rushing out of the cave behind laying fire onto the beast. With the introduction of the new attacks, the reptile continued to roar in pain and thrash about.


    Gramps and my robots weren''t dealing all that much damage with their laser weapons due to the enormous lizard having incredibly thick scales, although my crusader could have if I had allowed it to use its missile pods. So, not wanting to drag things out any further than I needed to, I took aim at its other eye like I had done the day prior with the Moleman King and fired, destroying that eye too.


    This round didn''t cause it to collapse either, so as the Colossal Gila Monster struggled, I unloaded the spent shell and rapidly loaded another APDS round into the 84mm recoilless rifle and shouldered it. Now that its sight was out of commission, I moved onto the next vulnerable location I could think of and aimed at the ear of the beast.


    But as I was lining up the shot, the beast suddenly rolled. My target out of sight, I patiently waited for it to enter my sight once again and the very instant it did, I took my chance and fired at the lizard''s proportionately small ear.


    The round launched from my recoilless rifle and struck the beast''s ear and I suppose because of the angle I shot it from; the beast passed away almost immediately. Although not before struggling to release one last pained roar and finally collapsing to the not so arid ground of the Nevada wasteland. One of the few positives the state of Nevada has experienced since the nuclear war and most of the human population across the planet being turned to ash.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    As I was changing out the expended APDS round for a fresh HEAT round, gramps and the robots came speeding over from the short distance they were laying into it from moments ago.


    Gramps arrived at my side as I was returning the loaded Carl Gustaf to my item box and commented, amazed at what had just taken place. "I can''t believe you took that Colossal Gila Monster down. Do you realize what you''ve just done?"


    "I do. I near single handedly took down an apex creature of the wasteland that could easily flatten many wasteland settlements and towns all on its own." I responded, still irked that I couldn''t make the poisonous dragon like lizard mine.


    Gramps, hearing my response, was surprised to hear the unhappiness in my voice, so wanting to find out the cause, he asked. "What the hell could you be upset about after taking down that monster?"


    "Well, for your information, I wanted to tame that creature and turn it into my pet/mount. However, given the circumstances and my current capabilities, that simply isn''t realistic nor possible. So, my chance to have my very own pseudo dragon has disappeared, hence why I''m not all too happy about the kill."


    The old man was astounded when he found out why I was bummed out and remained silent as I left him behind and walked off in the direction of the pseudo dragon''s corpse with an idea in mind.


    The chance to obtain my very own dragon hasn''t completely escaped my grasp, just need to see if it was female and if it was carrying any eggs. Hopefully, it was and has at least a single fertilized egg for me to take home with me, so I can still have my dragon one day. I''ll just need to spend a lot of time raising it from birth to do so.


    Not losing all hope, I continued my stride to the massive reptile''s body. Upon reaching it, I started inspecting it to see if it was the correct gender first and as luck would have it; it was indeed female. Prerequisite met, I moved onto the next step and turned the focus of both of my thought processes to my perception field and began scanning its body with my now enhanced perception field.


    Though not before issuing a new order for my robots to keep a close eye on the surrounding environment. You never know what the wasteland will throw at you next when you aren''t paying attention, so it''s never a bad idea to be overly cautious.


    As my robots were keeping a close watch on the area, I used my focused senses to peer into its body, searching around the general area of where the eggs should be if it was carrying any. It took a couple of minutes, but I eventually found what I was searching for with my enhanced perception field.


    Oh, thank god it''s carrying eggs. Let me check and see if they''re fertilized.


    Directing my focus to the five black and orange eggs it was carrying, I inspected them closely to see if they had an embryo developing and indeed one of them did just not the other four, sadly. My future pet/mount located I upholstered my gramp''s old combat knife from my war belt and reinforced it as much as humanly possible with the qi like aura from Martial Weapon Master.


    With the knife reinforced and emitting a white glow with a slightly reddish tint that it had gained recently, I approached the area of its body that I needed to go slice through to reach the eggs. Now where I needed to be, I looked at the armored scales and attempted to route my knife through its flesh after getting a few of them lifted.


    Unfortunately for me, its skin and flesh were extraordinarily durable and dense, thus the process I needed to go through to reach the eggs was going to take more than a few minutes.


    An hour and a half of digging my way through its dead but still plenty warm body, I made it to where the eggs were located. Careful as to not damage the one I wanted, I sliced my knife through the red bleeding flesh and retrieved the five foot tall egg after re-holstering my hand-me-down combat knife.


    Backtracking through the bleeding tunnel I carved into the Colossal Gila Monster''s flesh, I popped back out of the corpse after a minute, my armor covered head to toe in blood and other bodily fluids.


    "Alright, I got what I wanted. Let''s head on home." I said happily, with my future companion in hand.


    "Guess you got your dragon in the end, huh, kid?"


    "Yup."


    "Good luck trying to convince your parents to let you keep it when it hatches."


    "Thanks, but I won''t be needing it since I''ll be keeping this little guy in the foundry."


    "Up to you."


    My reward for putting that monstrous foe down in hand and things wrapped here, the bunch of us returned to the cave to continue the original mission. After setting up a bunch of demolition charges and moving to a safe distance away, I handed the egg to two of my multibots to hold and activated the detonator. Following a large booming explosion, I went and checked the destruction when the dust and debris had settled somewhat and things were mostly safe.


    As I had expected, the cave exit was completely sealed, thus I turned right round and led the way to the foundry, with my companions following directly behind me in their combat formation. The return journey was especially uneventful and whatever molemen we encountered were a whole lot fewer in number, making it obvious that all the killing we were doing was causing their population to dwindle.


    Back at the foundry, I sent everyone inside with only the egg and I remaining behind because we both needed to get cleaned off. A couple of minutes later, a few of the Multibots came back dragging hoses and, as soon as they were close enough, they commenced the washing.


    Several minutes passed before both I and the egg were clean as a whistle, but the second we were, I headed inside with the egg to the armory while the robots were setting up one of the many rooms in the foundry into an incubator.


    Placing it on a stainless steel table in the armory, I took my gear off and stowed it away. Finished here, I headed to the planning/relaxation area to take a break with gramps and Alice. Right as I was coming through the door, Alice was going to race over and give me a hug. However, seeing the precious cargo I was carrying, she stopped mid step.


    "Ohh, so this is the egg you retrieved from that enormous gila monster. You really plan on keeping it?" Alice inquired.


    "Absolutely, this guy''s mom was a Colossal Gila Monster, so why wouldn''t I want one of my own when the opportunity is right there? Also, if I raise this little guy well, it could be used to protect my family and friends when I''m not around. Adding to that, I don''t think there will be too many that would want to deal with a colossal draconic looking lizard that can fire off poisonous breaths."


    "You do have a point¡­ Well, you''ll have no complaints coming from me. It''s actually quite exciting imagining that we''ll have a pet that''s basically a dragon, although a flightless one." Alice responded with a glimmer in her blue eyes.


    "Right."


    Whilst gramps was passed out on one of the many couches, Alice and I sat on another a decent distance away from him so we wouldn''t disturb him.


    Shortly into our conversation, she asked. "Do you mind if I hold on to it for a moment?"


    "Sure, it''s very heavy, though."


    Carefully handing the black and orange egg to her, she immediately felt the weight and placed it on her lap. With the egg sitting on her lap now, she looked it over curiously and ran her finger over its pretty smooth surface.


    "I can''t believe how large it is. It reminds of those dinosaur eggs we read about in our younger years."


    "Mm, it does indeed resemble them quite a bit."


    The two of us talked about the dragon to be for a bit before she was content with looking at it and tried to hand it back. But due to its weight, she struggled, so I easily removed it and placed it over on its own couch since it was really much too big to be on the couch we were sitting on.


    We chatted for a while about what Alice had learned so far today before she asked. "You plan on returning to the cave system to close up another exit, or is that it for the day?"


    "No, that''s it for today. The old man is already passed out napping peacefully, so I''d rather just pick things back up tomorrow."


    "You want to spend the rest of the day with me, then?"


    "I was planning to get a weapon design churned out." I said, instantly causing her to look saddened.


    "But I suppose I should take a break from work every once in a while to spend some time with my partner, ain''t that right, babe?"


    "Nn, that''s right, you should, darling." She followed up sweetly and smiling happily.


    Now that I forwent my original plan, I spent the rest of the remaining time until we needed to show up at home with Alice. The first hour and a half we spent cuddled up together, watching an old pre-war movie we had yet to watch in the connected theater room. When it ended, my robots had finished preparing the incubation room, so with the egg needing to be moved to its new home for the foreseeable future, we made our way there.


    A relatively short walk later, we deposited the black and orange egg in the temperature controlled room. Satisfied with the preparations my workforce had made, we returned to the planning slash relaxation area and spent the remaining time we had left coming up with ideas for weapons and other robots I may want to produce in the not so distant future.


    ¡­

 Chapter 45: Cleared

    Date Tuesday, August 27th, 2261


    A little more than two weeks later.


    Waking in the wee hours of the night as I normally did, I laid there for a bit, thinking back on what we''ve accomplished over the last 15 days.


    Gramps and I spent August 12th collapsing the last of the exits and continued clearing the cave of molemen while Alice did her thing back in the foundry. Over the next two weeks after that, I gramps, and Alice, who joined us on the second day when her armor was ready, spent most of our time clearing the cave system of all remaining molemen.


    We didn''t get a whole hell of a lot of things accomplished in this period, the molemen extermination mission being the exception, which is finally out of the way. However, since it''s no longer occupying most of my time and focus any longer, I can start sending my robots into the mine and cave to start mining. In addition to that, I can initiate my plans of expanding the foundry into the mine for the extra storage space that I''m getting very close to needing for all the shit I''m accumulating.


    While the robots are taking care of most of that, I can return to working on my projects and tasks such as designing the new weapons and robots to further build out my growing force. Establishing drug and medicine production, and seeing if those luminescent plants I discovered have any worth.


    Furthermore, I need to deliver the last shipment of weapons and ammo to both Alice''s father and my own, not to mention all the other things I want to put time into, so I got a monstrous amount to do in the coming days.


    And if that wasn''t enough, I also have that leveling I need to take care of since I''m no longer being held back by the moleman extermination, which is the sole reason why I haven''t used any of the huge amount of exp I''ve earned.


    I probably could have leveled without issue, however I don''t believe it would''ve been worth the risk, at least in my eyes when I could already handle basically everything we encountered in the cave. Hence, why bother going through something that could fuck with my combat ability and accuracy when I can simply delay the leveling till a later date where I''m not trying to remove a looming threat.


    Speaking of which, now that I''m not dealing with the molemen anymore, with them all dead, even the newborn pups I came across. I think I''ll undergo that leveling today, though it will have to wait until gramps drops Alice and I at the facility, so in the meantime I''mma go hit the gym and keep grinding and building my physique.


    [ Loot Gained ]


    | Weapons |


    7.62mm Hunting Rifles (576) - Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolvers (934) - CSG10 Submachine Guns (699) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun (1) - M240 Machine Guns (15) - Pickaxes (4,121) - Remington Model 870 Shotguns (1,765) - Sawed-off Double Barreled 12 Gauge Shotguns (2) - STAR-25 Assault Rifles (24)


    | Weapon Magazines |


    5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazines (189) - 7.62 STANAG 10 Round Magazines (2,757) - CSG10 Submachine Gun 30 Round Magazines (2,651) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun 75 Round Box Magazines (6) - M240 Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (44)


    | Ammo |


    .357 Rounds (27,813) - 10mm Rounds (76,334) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (53,843) - 5.56x45mm Rounds (4,812) - 7.62x51mm Rounds (31,735)


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    | Miscellaneous |


    Metal (98,794) - Stealth Pack (1) - Other Misc Items (88,111)


    [ Creatures Killed & EXP Gained ]


    Colossal Gila Monster (1) exp 22,500 - Giant Gila Monsters (5) exp 5,063 - Molemen (6,435) exp 1,082,486 - Molemen Guards (39) exp 21,938 - Moleman King (1) exp 2,250 - Total exp 1,134,237


    Done thinking for the moment, I got up out of bed and headed off downstairs and got to work. A good many hours later, I arrived at the Genesis Foundry with Alice and gramps although gramps took off since he didn''t need to hang around with us constantly with the molemen threat dealt with. As the old man went off to do whatever he had planned for the day, Alice and I went on inside and to the planning and relaxation area so I could inform her of what I had planned for us today.


    Walking in, the two of us sat down together on one of the several couches before I started giving her the lowdown. "So here''s the plan for today. First, I''ve gathered a ton of exp from the molemen extermination mission and have two quests to turn, so I need to undergo another level up."


    "Shouldn''t grandpa John be here in case something happens?"


    "Nothing major happened last time, so we should be alright without him."


    "As to what we''re going to do after the level up, we''re going to go hit the gym here and when we''re done, we''ll work on the ideas we came up with recently and get the designs and necessary paperwork drawn up. We''ll do that for a few hours before you have to go work on your studying while I continue to work on designs and getting robots assembled. Sound good?"


    "I don''t have any issue as long as I get to study next to you."


    "Fine by me."


    The two of us discussed several other things and as soon as we were ready, we departed the planning/relaxation area for the small room I used not too long ago for my level up. Arriving there quickly, I was about to head in but before I could, my Alice turned me around and gave me a kiss on the lips.


    "Good luck, Dom."


    Grabbing hold of her, I planted a kiss of my own and said while looking into her beautiful and glimmering blue eyes. "I''ll see you in a bit, Alice."


    With a good luck kiss from my girl, I proceeded into the small space and began retrieving the medstims and p-dex syringes I was going to use for this event. Drugs in hand, I spent the next several minutes filling myself up full with the medstims'' cocktail of chemicals and super nutrients. The instant I was finished with the medstims, I moved onto the p-dex and injected two doses, the same as the previous time.


    Ready to level up once again, I sat down in the comfy chair that I partially destroyed previously due to the pain I was feeling then. Opening the holographic system window, I looked at all the stats that have increased in the short period since I''ve last leveled up. More satisfied with the pretty huge progress I''ve made, I navigated over to the level up section of the system menu and right before I was about to initiate it I had a thought.


    Hold up, I got that Molemen Removal quest ready to turn in and with it rewarding three attribute points, I could net myself well above a hundred additional skill points if I dump them into intelligence. Do I really want those extra skill points over getting luck to 11 and using the remaining two points on charisma...


    No, the extra skill points aren''t really worth it when compared to getting a new perk and if I delay turning in the quest further until I get charisma to nine I''ll get two new skill perks at the same time.


    That actually doesn''t seem like too bad of a plan. It''ll save me from having to waste perk points on Growth to raise my attributes on both luck and charisma, both of which are a kind of problematic to raise. Yeah, I''ll delay turning it in for now and wait till I''ve raised my charisma attribute to nine.


    With that decided, what do I want to do with my Master All Trades quest, I could turn it in now and gain one more level up and get everything done in one go or do so after my level up and hope my intelligence attribute increases in the leveling process so I might get a wee bit extra exp from the quest turn in.


    Well, every little bit counts, so might as well put it off, and besides, reducing the amount of knowledge being stuffed into my head all at once, even by a miniscule amount, is definitely worth it to me.


    My quest turn ins planned out, the effects of the pain suppressant I injected moments ago began kicking in.


    Time to face that excruciating pain again.


    [Do you wish to level up?]


    [Yes] - [No]

 Chapter 46: Wide Selection

    Selecting yes the perk screen popped into a split second later.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 36


    Level 0 Perks


    | Speed Loader | Requirements Level 0, Agility 6: Loading and reloading has never been better, gain the ability to load magazines at a substantially faster speed and see a decent increase to your reload speed. +50% to magazine loading speed and +35% to reloading speed.


    Level 2 Perks


    | Cat Eyes | Requirements Level 2, Perception 6, Stealth 30: Grants low light vision.


    Level 6 Perks


    | Nature Affinity Rank 2 | (Ranks 3) Requirements Level 6, Charisma 6, Survival 85: Your nature affinity will improve further and because of that animals and other such creatures will now find your presence pleasant. Last but not least, they are much more receptive to you and can understand you to an extent.


    | Nature Affinity Rank 3 | (Ranks 3) Requirements Level 6, Charisma 6, Survival 85: Your nature affinity will improve even further causing animals and other such creatures to come to your aid in your time of need. On top of that, they are even more receptive to you and you also gain the ability to create a special type of bond with the creatures of nature. However, this bond can only be created between you and the desired creature when both of you trust each other entirely. Once a bond has been established between you and your companion, the two of you will be able to communicate telepathically with each other, no matter the distance between the two of you. Lastly, for every bond you establish, you gain a +1 to charisma.


    Level 12 Perks


    | Another Skill Talent | Requirements Level 12: Gain a fourth skill talent to distribute wherever you please.


    | Iron Fist | Requirements Level 12, Endurance 6, Strength 6: Your fists will increase in hardness and strength and you gain +20% to unarmed damage.


    Level 14 Perks


    | Infiltrator | Requirements Level 14, Agility 4, Perception 7, Stealth 45: When you are infiltrating, you are harder to detect and you move 10% faster. On top of that, your stealth attacks do 35% more damage.


    | Patcher | Requirements Level 14, Repair 45: Gain the ability to magically repair any item using random junk.


    | Recipe Improvement | Requirements Level 14, Medicine 60: All aid, chemicals, and drugs you produce or use are twice as effective. +100% Aid, chemical, and drug positive effects and their duration.


    | Smash & Bash | Requirements Level 14, Strength 3, Ballistic Weapons 50, Energy Weapons 50: +25% to ranged weapon bashing damage.


    Level 16 Perks


    | Commando | Requirements Level 16, Ballistic Weapons 35, Energy Weapons 35, Explosives 35, Melee Weapons 35, Unarmed 35: +25% Accuracy, +10 to energy weapons, +10 to explosives, +10 to melee, +10 to unarmed.


    | Lady Killer | Requirements Level 16, Charisma 5: Deal 15% more damage against female opponents and gain similar benefits to the Sex Appeal trait when dealing with females.


    | Man Killer | Requirements Level 16, Charisma 5: Deal 15% more damage against male opponents.


    | That''s A Lot Of Damage | Requirements Level 16, Luck 7: +50% critical hit damage.


    Level 18 Perks


    | Calculative Individual | Requirements Level 18, Science 70: Reduces all stamina costs by 20% and increases your calculation ability by 100%.


    | Explosives Expert | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 18, Perception 5, Explosives 50: +20% explosive damage.


    | Lighter Load | Requirements Level 18: All weapons weighing 10 or more pounds will have their weight cut in half.


    | Seasoned Soldier | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 18, Agility 5, Intelligence 5, Perception 5: Gain many years of experience with all things firearms and their maintenance and the taste of your cooking is enhanced. +5 to both repair and ballistic weapons and +10% increase in both accuracy and range for ballistic weapons.


    Level 20 Perks


    | Assassin | Requirements Level 20, Melee Weapons 80, Stealth 80: When attacking a target unaware of your presence with a melee, unarmed, or thrown weapon, your crit chance is 100%. On top of that, stealth attacks deal 25% more damage.


    | Quick Learner | Requirements Level 20, Intelligence 1: Gain experience rate equivalent to your level. For example, if you are level 5, your experience rate will increase by 5%.


    | Ravager | Requirements Level 20: All kills restore some stamina and mental energy.


    | Thick Headed | Requirements Level 20, Endurance 6: Your limbs are 15% harder to cripple and the effects of crippling are 50% less. The lower your intelligence, the higher the modifiers.


    Level 22 Perks


    | A Hunger For Knowledge | Requirements Level 22, Intelligence 4: Doubles the speed at which you can read and receive the ability to learn the entire contents of books by destroying them.


    | Efficient Weapon Handling | Requirements Level 16, Strength 3: The stamina drain for weapon handling is reduced by half.


    | Mutant Slayer | Requirements Level 22: Deal 25% more damage against mutants.


    | Savage | Requirements Level 22, Survival 85: +20% DT when taking damage from mutated animals, mutated insects, and other such creatures and gain +25 to poison resistance.


    Level 24 Perks


    | Ammo Depot | Requirements Level 24, Strength 7: Ammo and magazine weight reduced by 40%


    | Heavy Gunner | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 24, Strength 8, Ballistic Weapons 50, Energy Weapons 50, Heavy Weapons 50: +20% Damage and +10% accuracy when using heavy ranged weapons.


    | H.U.D. | Requirements Level 24: This perk grants you a customizable heads up display that you can use to visually track important information, such as your health and stamina, for example. You can even use it to track your nearest quest objective with a holographic line to show you the way. The H.U.D. and other elements can be toggled on and off freely on the fly. +2 Perception.


    | Resource Hoarder | Requirements Level 24, Strength 10: Resource weight is reduced by 40%.


    Level 26 Perks


    | Bone Head | Requirements Level 26, Endurance 9: 50% Less likely to be knocked out.


    | Child Of Light | Requirements Level 26: +1 to agility, endurance, strength, and gain 1 health per second when exposed to light.


    | Computer Whiz | Requirements Level 26, Intelligence 8, Science 80: +100% to typing speed and gain the ability to basically perform magic on a computer.


    | Tough Skeleton | Requirements Level 26: +50% to bone durability and strength.


    Level 28 Perks


    | Cautious | Requirements Level 28, Perception 6: When not moving, your senses are heightened and you gain +2 perception.


    | Grand Slam | Requirements Level 28, Strength 9, Melee Weapons 90: When swinging at an adversary''s head with a two-handed melee weapon deal 100% more damage if the swing lands on the desired location.


    | Metal Detector | Requirements Level 28, Perception 8: Acquire the ability to sense metals you consider of value are within a 100 meter radius that increases by 100 meters for every point in perception after 1 perception.


    | Outdoorsman | Requirements Level 28, Survival 45: Gain experience and knowledge of a man who has spent most of his life outdoors. Additionally, when outdoors, your perception and agility receive a boost of +1.


    Level 30 Perks


    | I Smell Ammo | Requirements Level 30, Luck 6, Perception 7: Gain the ability to detect nearby ammunition and find considerably more of it somehow.


    | Mental Pressure | Requirements Level 30, Speech 50, Endurance 7, Strength 7: Your presence is intimidating and has the tendency to terrify. With the increase in your scary factor, you also gain the ability to control it and manipulate it however you like.


    | Strong Back | Requirements Level 30, Strength 6, Endurance 6: +100 Carry weight.


    | Tech Junkie | Requirements Level 30, Intelligence 10, Repair 100, Science 100: Gain immediate understanding of any technology when touched, no matter its origins.


    Level 32 Perks


    | Braced | Requirements Level 32, Strength 7: While bracing a weapon, any recoil you experience is significantly reduced. Furthermore, your weapon accuracy is raised by 20% and +10% DT when bracing.


    | Leader Of The Pack | Requirements Level 32, Charisma 6: When in combat alongside your companions and your people, they deal 10% more damage.


    | Penetrator | Requirements Level 32: Your attacks will have an added -15 DT once this perk is taken.


    | Water Breathing | Requirements Level 32: Gain the ability to breathe underwater and no, you won''t get gills.


    Level 34 Perks


    | Armor Smith | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 34, Strength 8, Repair 100: All armors you''ve produced or modified are now 20% better across all parameters.


    | Silent Steps | Requirements Level 34, Agility 8, Stealth 95: Your steps become silent and no longer produce sound and vibrations unless you wish to.


    | Warrior | Requirements Level 34, Agility 7, Endurance 7, Strength 7, Melee Weapons 70, Unarmed 70: The attack speed of all your melee and unarmed attacks are increased by 50% alongside your damage with those two categories.


    | Weapon Smith | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 34, Strength 7, Intelligence 7, Repair 100: All weapons you''ve produced or modified are now 20% better in all parameters.


    Level 36 Perks


    | Great Sword Preference | Requirements Level 36, Strength 10, Heavy Weapons 40: Your strength in combination with your preference for using heavy melee weapons has unlocked the ability to exert your carry weight behind your swings. In addition, your damage output when using such weapons is increased by 25%


    | Lead Foot | Requirements Level 36, Endurance 7, Strength 7: Any vehicle that you are in can go 25% faster and any damage you inflict with your legs and feet is now increased by 25% as well.


    | Quick Hands | Requirements Level 36, Agility 8: Your hands can do everything they could before but at twice the speed.


    | Sniper | Requirements Level 36, Ballistic Weapons 75: Gain a large amount of sniping experience and, whenever you are aiming at a head, gain a +25% to your headshot accuracy. Alongside that, when you land a headshot, the damage dealt to the target is increased by 35%.


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    Level 38 Perks


    | Auto Loader | Requirements Level 38, Herculean Strength: Any weapons you store in your item box are reloaded after a certain period. However, for this ability to function you are required to have the ammo stored in your item box.


    | Commander | Requirements Level 38, Charisma 8, Speech 80: You gain exceptional leadership skills and charisma to match. Besides that, you will have a much easier time persuading others to join under you much more easily, and finally a +10% to all damage done by all forces under your command.


    | Death From Above | Requirements Level 38, Ballistic Weapons 75, Energy Weapons 75: +50% More damage dealt when dealing damage above a target.


    | Death Sense | Requirements Level 38, Perception 10: You''ve gained the unique and incredibly useful ability to sense when life-threatening danger is near. +2 to Perception.


    Level 40 Perks


    | Healer | Requirements Level 40, Intelligence 8, Medicine 85: +25% More effective healing.


    | Regeneration | Requirements Level 40, Endurance 10: This perk grants you the unnatural ability to regenerate, so if you lose a limb or just want to rid yourself of some old scars, then man is this the perk for you. +100% to health regeneration rate.


    | Pain Resistance | Requirements Level 40, Endurance 10: Acquire the ability to deal with an incredible amount of pain with little to no effort while also gaining a +5 to DT along with a +2 to endurance.


    | Tech Scav | Requirements Level 40: When salvaging robots and other electronics and technology, you have a very high likelihood of looting mostly intact components.


    Level 42 Perks


    | Combat Medic | Requirements Level 42, Medicine 35: The speed at which you do anything medical-related is increased by 20%.


    | Eagle Eye | Requirements Level 42, Perception 8: You''ve gained the ability to see out to extreme distances. This ability grows stronger the higher your perception.


    | Leave Nothing Behind | Requirements Level 42, Strength 6, Endurance 6: +1,000 to carry weight.


    | Terminator | Requirements Level 42: Gain the ability to seamlessly drive and shoot accurately at the same time.


    Level 44 Perks


    | Gatling Gun Specialist | Level 44, Strength 10, Ballistic Weapons 80, Energy Weapons 80: All gatling-style weapons gain a +25% damage increase and can no longer overheat.


    | Human Warehouse | Requirements Level 44: You gain +100% carry weight.


    | Pleasure | Requirements Level 44: You''ve gained the ability to induce pleasure in others via touch. Can be controlled at will as well as being able to control how strong the pleasure felt is.


    | Travel Heavy | Requirements Level 44, Survival 90: While wearing heavy armor, your movement speed is increased by 15% and your DT is raised by 3.


    Level 46 Perks


    | Flame Resistant | Requirements Level 46, Endurance 8: +25 Fire resistance.


    | Ghost | Requirements Level 46, Stealth 100: While you''re surrounded by darkness, you can phase through objects for 10 minutes each day. The duration of this perk increases in duration by 1 minute for every 10 points in stealth beyond 100.


    | Second Wind | Requirements Level 46, Endurance 10: If your health reaches 1 or lower, it will restore back to full but this can only happen once a month and that cooldown is lowered by 1 day for every 10 points of endurance you have beyond 10. This ability''s cooldown is capped at 1 day which will happen at 300 endurance.


    | Venom Resistance | Requirements Level 46, Endurance 5: +25 Poison resistance.


    Level 48 Perks


    | Human Smelter | Requirements Level 48: Obtain the ability to smelt any ore or metal that is in your inventory instantly and +1,000 to carry capacity.


    | Ice Resistant | Requirements Level 48, Endurance 8: +25 Ice resistance.


    | Leapfrog | Requirements Level 48, Agility 10: Your jump height is doubled and you gain the ability to double jump somehow.


    | Tank Commander | Requirements Level 48, Intelligence 9: You''ve gained intrinsic knowledge of how to best command and use heavy armor, as well as a multitude of different strategies and tactics to use for varying scenarios. +25% to armor, maximum speed, and damage output of all of your heavy armor units and forces. This perk affects all things that are considered heavily armored such as heavy tanks, power armor, heavy class personal armor, warships that are heavily armored for their class, armored gunships, etc. Adding on to that, if you are wearing heavy armor and or piloting a craft that is within the specified category these benefits apply to you too.


    Damn, there are a ton of new perks, and from the brief look I had of them, I know I''m going to have a tough time deciding which of them I want over the others. On the other hand, there are a number of them that are pretty much worthless to me, such as Patcher, for instance. Reason being I already possess a perk that basically has the same effect, though that one requires time to accomplish the same thing.


    Finished thinking about that, I returned to the beginning of the long list of the perks and started carefully weighing the positives and negatives of each one of them and whether it was worth taking it over the many other options I had laying right in front of me.


    Starting with the level 0 perks, I''m going to pick up Speed Loader first since it will be very useful for reloading any weapons that take a pretty long time to reload, such as my Carl Gustaf and minigun.


    Imagining myself reloading a recoilless rifle with lightning quick speed, I continued on down the list and picked up Cat Eyes, so in the unlikely event my equipment was damaged or disabled at night or in a low light environment I would still possess the ability to see. After that, I took a moment to inspect the level 4 perks before quickly moving onto the level 6 perks because none of the level 4 perks stood out as something I absolutely had to have.


    I have that egg I''m going to be raising, thus it would be wise to grab the two remaining ranks of Nature Affinity, so the little guy and I start off on the best foot possible when it someday hatches.


    Spending two points easily, I continued scanning down the list until the level 12 perks where I picked up Another Skill Talent for obvious reasons and Iron Fist because having a fist as hard as iron sounded pretty legit. Moving right along from there, I arrived at the level 14 perks.


    Infiltrator wouldn''t be a bad choice, but I don''t see it being all that useful to me at this given moment. That said, I''ll keep it in the back of mind and pick it up if I have some points left over. Recipe Improvement, in contrast, is a must have since it will enhance the effects of whatever chems, drugs, and aid items I use and produce.


    That perk will increase my gains by a huge amount and provide innumerable benefits to myself and those I give my products to, and if I want, I can take advantage of the enhanced effects of my products, making all other pharmaceuticals produced by others irrelevant.


    Taking that perk, I looked to the level 16 perks and picked up Lady Killer simply for the extra charm it will provide me when dealing with the fairer sex. Besides that, I also acquired That''s A Lot Of Damage for the huge damage boost it will give my critical hits.


    A 20% reduction to all stamina costs and a doubling of my calculation sounds pretty legit, so I''ll add Calculative Individual to my perk selection. Lighter Load will cut my primary weapons'' weights in half, thereby allowing me to carry a hell of a lot more shit wherever I go.


    Taking that perk as well, I moved on to the level 20 perks. Although, not before taking note of Seasoned Soldier, food can never taste too good.


    Yeah, I''m 100% taking Assassin, a guaranteed critical strike isn''t something I can pass on. And to go along with that pick, I''m going to grab Quick Learner for the increased experience rate it provides that increases with each new level up and Ravager which will keep me fighting for longer if not in the fight till I run out of enemies to slaughter.


    Done having my pick of the level 20 perks, I proceeded to the level 22 perks.


    A Hunger For Knowledge would have been super useful back when I was undergoing my study and knowledge acquisition arc, but that is long over with, so the extra boost to my reading isn''t all that worthwhile for me any longer. As for the other perks, I''ll pick up Efficient Weapon Handling because I can never have enough stamina and Savage for the poison resistance it provides, though the additional 20% DT is nice too.


    The level 24 perks aren''t bad per se, however there are better options ahead, hence I''ll pass on these for now and look at the level 26 ones instead... These four are a hell of a lot more useful to me, Bone Head will make it harder for me to be knocked out which is something I''d rather avoid especially in the wasteland since if I get knocked there''s a good chance I won''t be waking up.


    I don''t necessarily need Child Of Light, but the perk will increase my health regeneration substantially, which in turn will cause my body and physical attributes to improve much faster from training. Additionally, since all it takes for it to be active is for me to be exposed to light, I''ll be able to take advantage of its effects nearly all the time.


    Computer Whiz is a new perk that wasn''t in any of the three games and the +100% typing speed will be useful for programming, research, hacking the last of which isn''t something I really need to do any longer now that I have Mechanical Domination, and its other effect has me intrigued, so why not. As for the fourth perk Tough Skeleton, I''m taking it over other perks because I want tougher and stronger bones, I didn''t break any bones in the entirety of my previous life and I don''t plan on letting it happen in this life if I can help it.


    With all four of level 26 perks selected, I looked at the level 28 perks next to see if there were any of them I wanted to add to my current selection.


    They''re all great perks in their own right, but I''ve already spent more than half of the perk points I have available. So I''m going to need to start being frugal with how I invest the rest of my points and out of the four perks here, Metal Detector is hands down the most useful and valuable to me, given my current life circumstances.


    Thus, with that decided, let me check out the next four... None of these stand out as something I gotta have. I''ll for sure take Tech Junkie in the future since it will be extraordinarily useful when I someday raid Area 51 but if I were to take it now, it would be essentially useless to me seeing as there isn''t a single piece of human tech within the confines of this undercity that I do not understand.


    Selecting that lone perk, I began inspecting the level 32 perks and out of the four; I ended up going with Braced simply due to the defense boost it gives me whenever I''m in combat and Leader Of The Pack because of the 10% damage increase it will give all of my comrades when fighting alongside me.


    When that bonus is applied one day to the many, many thousands of robots I plan building, let''s just say I don''t think anyone would want to be on the receiving end of their weapons, including myself.


    Of the level 34 perks I would love to have all four, particularly Armor Smith and Weapon Smith however seeing as I how my combat phase will basically be nil for the next several years it''s kind of pointless to invest in skills that won''t be able to really prove their worth till the day I leave the undercity for the wasteland.


    I could say the same for the other combat perks I''ve taken up to this point but they aren''t just providing a 20% increase and will increase my combat power by a very substantial amount like in the case of Assassin with its ability to guarantee a critical strike. And since I''ve selected perks such as Assassin, it would only make sense to take Warrior as well, since it will further empower my previous choices.


    Done there, I moved my focus to the level 36 perks and saw two that immediately stood out to me.


    Gotta have quick hands, doubling the speed of my hands is just too good to pass on and Sniper will make hitting headshots easier and increase the already high damage I inflict when normally targeting someone''s head, twenty-six perk points ten more left to spend.


    All of level 38''s perks are great, but I''m going to have to go with Commander for the damage upgrade it will provide to all my forces. Death Sense is another perk I can''t skip, there ain''t no way I can pass on having a sixth sense that will warn me of danger.


    Continuing onto the next four perks, we got Healer, Regeneration, Pain Resistance, and Tech Scav. They''re all decent perks, Healer would be a great perk to have in my arsenal for when I''m dispensing aid to others and myself and because it raises effective healing, it would speed up my body''s regeneration.


    In turn, lessening the time needed for my body to repair all the damage I deal to it every day from my daily workout and training regime that sometimes occurs multiple times a day depending on how much spare time I got.


    However, when compared to Regeneration, it just can''t compete and as much as I would like to add it to my picks, I think I would be better off spending the point elsewhere on a different perk. As for Tech Scav, it''s entirely useless to me at this time since I''m almost entirely producing my own equipment and parts and doing next to no salvaging.


    Ignoring that perk, I can''t possibly do the same with Pain Resistance. The extreme pain I''m going to face in a short while from now is going to be the worst of yet with how many level ups I''m doing in one spurt. Hence, it would be wise to take advantage of everything I can to lessen the amount of suffering I have to go through.


    Allotting a point for each of those two perks, I turned my sights to the proceeding four.


    Eagle Eye would allow me to spot foes from an extraordinarily long ways out, thereby increasing my survivability. In addition to that it would be useful for doing precision work and will be of help with long range shooting. So I''ll add it to the list and while I''m at it, I''ll do the same for Leave Nothing Behind, an extra 1,000 carry weight is too good to pass on.


    I could''ve taken either Ammo Depot instead, but an extra 1,000 carry weight is just simply better at this time, although that won''t remain the case forever when I''m one day carrying a literal ammo depot around with me wherever I travel.


    Proceeding to the level 44 perks, I looked at the bunch of them and quickly deduced which of them I wanted.


    Yeah, I have to have Human Warehouse, doubling my carry weight will allow me to carry so much more. Aside from that, I''ll take Pleasure, to make Alice''s first time enjoyable though that won''t be happening for another seven years. However, in the meantime I can use it in the massages I give her after our workouts and training and whenever she requests them.


    Hmm, I''m not too sure about this but I could probably use it as a torture method and for extracting information from said victims. Although there is only one gender I would be willing to use it on because there is no way I''d be participating in edging another man. Moving onto the next perks, I''m going to grab Ghost because why wouldn''t want to phase through walls and shit.


    Together with that perk, I''m going to select Second Wind, for the simple fact that it''s a lifesaver and a major trump card to have in my back pocket. Although I have no plan on using it nor putting myself in the kind of situation where it kicks in since that''s more than likely a death sentence but it''s nice to know I have something to rely upon if shit ever hits the fan and becomes that desperate.


    Finally, I''ve arrived at the last four new perks, let''s see if any of them are worth replacing any of the previous perks I''ve already selected.


    I want Tank Commander, however I don''t know whether it will affect any of my robots. I consider them all heavily armored, but I don''t know if the perk will or not, so it''s kind of iffy. That said, I think the benefits outweigh the concerns I have and if the robots I possess are considered heavy duty enough, I can always modify their pre-existing designs and up armor them until they qualify. Now what perk should be swapped out for it...


    I''m not going to be doing any sort of killing anytime soon let alone be seeing combat so I''ll remove Ravager from my list and while I''m at it I''m going to replace Leave Nothing Behind with Human Smelter since it does the same thing and also gives me the ability to smelt and refine resources in my inventory. Probably won''t really use since I have two not so small arc furnaces already, regardless it won''t hurt to have.


    All 36 of my perks points allocated, I started exploring the large, growing perk list in front of me to see if I wanted to modify my current selection of candidates.


    ...


    I''ve looked back over the whole list of perks multiple times now and overall, I''m satisfied with what I''ve chosen. That said, I wish I had more perk points at my disposal to spend since there are a ton of perks I wish I could''ve taken... There''s no point thinking about this further when I could be better spending my time completing this level up and getting back to the grind and continuing to progress towards my lofty goals.

 Chapter 47: Powering Through

    Overall happy with my selection, I wasted no time and locked in my perk choices, changing the holographic perk screen to the skill distribution one.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Talents Left: 1


    Skill Points Left: 972


    Ballistic Weapons: 145


    Energy Weapons: 131


    Explosives: 128


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 235


    Leadership: 113


    Lockpick: 104


    Medicine: 107


    Melee Weapons: 113


    Piloting: 103


    (T)Repair: 125


    (T)Science: 123


    Speech: 103


    Stealth: 111


    Survival: 112


    Trade: 105


    Unarmed: 108


    ¡­Well that''s a shit ton of skill points. How do I want to allocate them because as many of them as there are, they''ll quickly disappear when I start spending them. I suppose I''ll begin by dumping points into survival since I need to find out whether Wild Man reduces the amount of food and other nutrients I need to consume to recover and grow from my workouts.


    Okay, 188 should be enough to see what it does. What skill should receive skill points next... My damage is good enough and I can make half way decent progress training them over the seven remaining years before I depart for the wasteland. Thus, I''ll skip my combat skills and focus on my other skills. With the combat skills removed from the potential candidates, I think I''ll just dump points into medicine, repair, and science, considering those are the three things I''m going to be doing the most in the coming years.


    The three of them have been brought to a solid 300 points now where should the rest of the 239 points be put... Stealth could use some love, so let''s put 189 there and bring my presence hiding fields range to 30 meters so I can actually cover all of my robots in its field. The last 50 points I''ll dump into speech for the reason that it''ll give me a point in charisma when it reaches 200 and maybe on the off chance it could push my charisma up just by being raised.


    The skill talent point is the last thing remaining here before I have this mass level up wrapped up. Now what skill should receive the upgrade, I could put it into another combat skill like Melee Weapons. However, I''m already pretty happy with heavy weapons progress, so I''ll pass on the combat skills again in favor of something else.


    Stealth wouldn''t be a bad idea, being that the higher it is, the less likely anyone will be aware of me and my force''s presence when they are within the confines of my presence hiding field. That''s a possible candidate.


    I will also be doing a ton of leading in the future because of my goal of taking over the planet hence it wouldn''t be too bad of an idea to place the skill talent there. The only other skill I would consider putting it into would be medicine, since being able to research and develop new and improved drugs and medicines could give myself and my people a real boost and possibly prevent their deaths from injury.


    Along with that, there are drugs such as Vital-X which overtime will increase the average lifespan of its user to 120 years so if I want to live a longtime which I do and possibly forever if I take advantage of all the other medical sciences like genetic engineering it would be smart to put the point here.


    ...


    I believe doing everything possible to extend my lifespan would be the best thing to do since I can always improve as long as I have more time.


    Decision made, I placed the talent point into medicine, making it my fourth skill talent. As soon as I had done that, I took a second to contemplate whether or not I was 100% sure of what I had chosen. Satisfied with my choices, finalized it and before I knew it, new information, knowledge, and experience started pouring into my head. However, unlike the previous times, the pain I was expecting was significantly lessened and nowhere near as difficult to handle.


    The pain is still excruciating, but this amount I can handle and power through.


    Gritting my teeth through the pain, I was as happy as can be that what I had to go through every time I leveled up had been alleviated so much. Due to my new relief courtesy of Pain Resistance, time appeared to tick on by faster than the previous bulk level up I had undergone, even though this one was quite a number of levels more.


    At some point, the huge amount of new information that was being stuffed into my brain moments ago began to lessen and eventually that became a trickle before that was then rapidly cut off completely.


    Fuck, man that was rough, though nowhere near as bad as before, thank god.


    Taking a moment to breathe for a few seconds, I brought my system screen back up and took a brief look at it.


    ...Damn, I''ve grown strong, but I''m not done yet. I still have a quest to turn in.


    Quickly moving on from the stats screen that had underwent a massive increase across the board, I navigated to the quest tab. Locking onto the Master All Trades quest, I turned it in and netted myself a hefty reward of 77,825 exp, a +5 to all of my skills, and a new perk. Just enough for two more level ups.


    | Master Of All Trades | Congrats! You''ve mastered all of your base skills. For accomplishing such a feat, you will have a far easier time from here on out discovering and mastering all skills, no matter if they are newly obtained or those that have been with you since you''ve come to this world. In addition to that, +200% to skill gain speed, +25% to skill points gained per level up, and +10% to experience gain.


    Not a bad perk at all, the effects from Master Of All Trades will boost my skill gain speed by a huge extent and raise the number of skill points I''ll get each level up from now on by a substantial amount. Which will compound even further the higher my intelligence becomes.


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    Alright, let''s get these level ups spent.


    Wasting no time, I swiftly initiated the process once again, bringing the perk window into view one final time.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 2


    Level 50 Perks


    | Back From The Dead | Requirements Level 50: +10 Health per 100 kills, +50% damage, and immunity to critical hits. Also, you can come back from the dead once, though it will not work if you died from old age.


    | Double-Edged Sword | Requirements Level 50, [ Warning! ] Must be taken at level 50: Gain 1 more perk point per level at the cost of doubling the amount exp you require from this point forward and reducing your exp as well as your level back down to 0. [ Additional Information ] This perk is required to gain access to mutations and [???]. [ Warning! ] all pending level ups beyond 50 will be eliminated once this perk is taken.


    | Strong Body | Requirements Level 50, Endurance 10, Strength 10: The durability of your body is increased by 100% as well as your body''s DT. On top of that, your Strength and Endurance improve at a much faster rate and for every 10 points you reach in either Strength or Endurance gain a +2 to that special (Example: 19 strength + 1 strength = 20 + 2 = 22 strength). +250% to both strength and endurance gain.


    | Weight Management | Level 50, Strength 10: You''ve unlocked the unique ability to manage your weight and what effects you wish it to have on your surroundings whether that is lowering your weight and your equipped items so you''re as light as a feather when you don''t wish for your weight to disturb your surroundings or increasing your weight to the max to crush and destroy. You are limited to making yourself as light as a single feather or as heavy as your max carry weight and the weight you have control over can be applied and focused over your entire body, items, or just a specific body part such as your right leg.


    I know I''ve used quite a bit of profanity already today, but holy fuck, those are some strong ass perks. Back From The Dead from the dead can literally resurrect me, grant me immunity to critical hits that particular effect is great for if I ever get headshotted or hit in my vitals. Besides that, I''ll gain 10 health for every 100 lives I take. Wish I had this when I was butchering the molemen, but that''s alright. I''m sure I''ll have plenty of lives to harvest when I begin my long awaited journey.


    That said, I may not even take it since I have three other candidates that are just as great in their own rights. Strong Body, for instance, will double both my body''s durability and damage threshold. Having twice the amount of DT will allow me to tank 7.62 rounds with my body alone.


    Just the thought of it alone is crazy to think about. On top of that, it will more than double my endurance and strength gains and will provide me with an immediate increase to both of those two attributes. That +2 to strength or endurance when they reach another 10 higher sounds pretty sweet too.


    Weight Management looks useful and could become extraordinarily strong as well. I could see myself using it to jump off of buildings and land on ground unharmed or lighten myself when I get a suit of power armor down the road so I don''t collapse and bring down structures that can''t support my weight normally.


    On the other hand, I could use the perk to max my weight while jumping from a building to come crashing down to deal a shit load of damage on whatever I''m targeting. The only obvious issue with doing that would be if my body could take the forces and pressure being applied to it on impact. Hmm, I suppose I could negate that by focusing the weight on an item instead of using my body as the instrument of destruction. However, since I don''t know how the perk actually works, all of this is just baseless speculation in the end.


    Excitingly looking their various effects over, I returned to the singular problematic perk amongst the four of them that I had skipped over initially.


    Lastly, we have Double-Edged Sword. This perk provides some nice benefits, that being the additional perk point per level up at the cost of a +100% to my exp requirement. The increased exp requirements aside, it has another glaring issue that is it''ll reduce my exp along with my level all the way down to zero, thereby reducing the amount of exp I gain from all sources because of Quick Learner. That''s not even the end of it, my health will also be lowered by a whopping 1,000 points, so there''s that as well.


    Despite those issues, mutations and whatever [???] is are locked behind this perk and if I don''t take it now, I won''t be getting access to either of them, not that I really know what either of them are since this wasn''t a perk from the game. But I got a pretty good guess what the former could be and that would be the ability to become a marked one or a transcendent and, if not those, maybe access to a whole assortment of new abilities.


    There is [???] too, however, I have literally no idea what it could be. But it might be something powerful, so it would probably be wise just to take the setback just to see what it is. It''s not like I''ll be losing out on all that much since I''ll be able to level up again significantly faster than I had done in the past thanks to my much higher experience rate. I''ll also be receiving an extra perk point to spend every level so I can pick up a lot of the lower level perks I didn''t take previously... Fuck it, I''ll pull the trigger and return to level zero, it''s not like it''ll be that hard to get back to level 50.


    Now that that''s decided, I have one perk point to spend before I select Double-Edged Sword and from the perks available, including the ones I had passed over in previous level ups, I''m going to have to go with Strong Body. Someone else in my same position might say that''s a dumb choice over Back From The Dead, which literally grants you the opportunity to come back from death.


    The issue I have with it is how does it work, is it instantaneous, fast, or slow and if I got put in the dirt once, why can''t the one who killed me once not do it again. Since I don''t know the answer to these questions, it''s a risk, at least in my book. So why not just simply take the perk that will literally double my body''s own defenses and will make said defenses far easier to improve in the safety of the undercity over the next 7 years.


    Combine that with the performance-enhancing drug maxigen, I plan on modifying to rid it of its negative side effect. The gains I''ll be able to make over the coming years will be insane. I wouldn''t be surprised if I could lift a couple of tons and tank .50 BMG with my body alone by the time I set out for the wasteland.


    For those reasons, it makes more sense to invest in the perk that will let me rapidly increase my strength and capabilities than to invest in a perk that will allow me to come back from the dead one time.


    My mind made up, I selected the perk Strong Body first, and then Double-Edged Sword. Finalizing my choices, the holographic screen swapped to display the skill distribution window.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 70


    Ballistic Weapons: 152


    Energy Weapons: 138


    Explosives: 135


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 248


    Leadership: 120


    Lockpick: 109


    (T)Medicine: 307


    Melee Weapons: 126


    Piloting: 108


    (T)Repair: 307


    (T)Science: 307


    Speech: 158


    Stealth: 305


    Survival: 311


    Trade: 112


    Unarmed: 121


    I''m pretty happy where most of my skills are at but I need to increase my charisma so I''ll dump the points into speech and bring it to 200 so I can raise my charisma by 1 point... There, that should do it. Now I can turn that Molemen Removal quest once I''m done here. All that''s left to do is to figure out where I want to put the remaining 28 points. I can always use more gold and silver so I''ll pump my trade skill up a bit.


    Good, time to take care of that quest next and the following level up.

 Chapter 48: Wisest Wizard

    Completing the skill point distribution, a sizeable amount of new information and knowledge came flooding. But it was nothing in comparison to what I was subjected to in the past, thus I absorbed all of it without any difficulty whatsoever.


    Finished soaking up the small flood of knowledge and experience, the system screen changed. However, instead of changing to the status screen like how it had done so in the past, it unexpectedly changed to display an entirely new screen I hadn''t seen before.


    [ Mutations ]


    Mutation Points Left: 1


    | Acidic Blood | Your blood becomes acidic to the point that it can easily eat through stone and metal.


    | Animation | Gain the ability to animate inanimate objects with the ability to move and act on their own.


    | Biological Manipulation | Acquire the ability to manipulate all things biological.


    | Bone Armor | Gain bone plating all across your body that you freely manipulate however you wish.


    | Brute | Transform into a brute.


    | Dragons Breath | Gain the ability to release an explosive, fiery breath from your mouth.


    | Earth Manipulation | Receive the ability to manipulate earth.


    | Fire Manipulation | Receive the ability to manipulate fire.


    | Fungal Symbiosis | An intelligent fungal colony will integrate itself with your body and form a symbiotic relationship with you.


    | Ice Manipulation | Receive the ability to manipulate ice.


    | Mana | Gain a beginner level of mana and some basic information about it, several simple spells, and knowledge about how spells are constructed and what not.


    | Marked One | Transform into a marked one with a random set of abilities and have a certain percentage of your body covered in tattoo-like marks. You will have the ability to customize the color of your tattoos and their shapes.


    | Qi | Gain a base of level qi and some basic information about it and how to cultivate it.


    | Plant Manipulation | Gain the ability to manipulate plants.


    | Pure | Forego your mutation point for another perk point per level up.


    | Random Bloodline | Receive a random bloodline.


    | Random Mutation | Receive a random mutation.


    | Random Perk | Receive a random perk.


    | Transcendent | Become a transcendent with a random set of powers.


    | Transmutation | Acquire the ability to transmute matter and its various elements into whatever form and elements you desire.


    | Vampirism | Take on the traits of a vampire, both those seen as positive and negative.


    | Water Manipulation | Receive the ability to manipulate water.


    After scanning all the options presented, I''ve narrowed down the ones I''m interested in to Biological Manipulation, Mana, Qi, Plant Manipulation, Pure, and Transmutation. They can all increase my abilities significantly in numerous ways, unfortunate as it is, I can''t take all of them. Thus I will have to see which of them presents the most benefits out of the bunch.


    Biological Manipulation would be a great ability to have in my arsenal because of the many things I could do with it. For example, using it on myself to speed up my body''s regeneration and fix injuries I obtained from working out and combat. I could also probably use it on others and to modify my body in all sorts of ways.


    If I can do that, I could use it to turn my Colossal Gila Monster Egg that has yet to hatch into an actual dragon with wings and all. It would be pretty sick to own an actual dragon instead of just a flightless one.


    Even though owning a dragon is something I wish to possess, I still have five other mutations to look at before I can come to a decision. So moving right along Mana is next on the list. Having access to magic could open up a lot of avenues to me and will certainly empower me a great deal.


    Despite that, I''m already stretched thin enough for time, so to actually turn this into a powerful asset, I would have to cut back on other areas to turn this into something other than just a novelty. Which is something I''m just not willing to do at this moment, thus magic will have to be delayed till a later date. I could also more than likely learn magic from those tomes I know about out east, so there''s that too.


    With magic crossed off the list, Qi is next. From all the xianxia novels I read back in my previous world, I''m certain this mutation would put me leagues above others in the future. However, it''s in a similar boat as Mana and will more than likely require more time than I can currently dedicate to it, so it isn''t really an option as well if the novels I read are anything to go by.


    Continuing on from Qi to Plant Manipulation. This mutation is most likely similar to Biological Manipulation but more specialized for plants. And seeing how I''m going to be moving to an even more arid environment in the future, the only real use this mutation will see will be when I''m growing plants for food, medicine, and drugs. That doesn''t really sound all that appealing to me, honestly. Therefore, this specific mutation can join the others I''ve crossed out so far.


    On to the next one. Pure isn''t really a mutation, it just allows me to dispose of the mutation point in exchange for another perk point from now on. That really isn''t a terrible trade at all, I can pick up a hell of a lot of perks with 3 three points every level up. That''s the sole benefit of going with that, so let me look at the last of my picks.


    Transmutation wouldn''t be too bad of an option. The ability to convert whatever matter I want into materials I need sounds great to me. The only potential issue I see with it is there has to be some sort of energy drain on me for using such a power. If the drain for using it is too high, it pretty much makes my choice worthless.


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    Unless I use it solely for extremely rare materials, I can''t get a hold of, which isn''t something I ran into too much. It also does the same thing as Currency Maker, except it can convert any matter into any element I wish so it would make that per redundant, at least somewhat until I raise my trade skill high enough. Thus I''ll scratch this one off the list too.


    So with all the mutations I''m interested in covered, I''m pretty much left with only Biological Manipulation and Pure. And of the two, I believe I can grow my overall strength and capabilities far more with Pure. Especially now when I have a quest waiting to turn in that''s going to net me at the very least 245,000 exp. I suppose I have my answer.


    Selecting Pure, I locked it in and as soon as I did; the screen changed once again. But instead of returning to the status screen, it presented another new screen.


    I guess my power up continues.


    [ Classes ]


    Class Points Left: 1


    | Cleric | Gain apprentice knowledge regarding this class and how to sense and absorb divine energy, and gain access to a new skill and attributes. +1 divine power, +1 endurance, +1 strength, and +2 divinity skill for every increase in level.


    | Mage | Acquire beginner mage knowledge and how to sense and absorb mana, and gain new attributes and a skill. +2 intelligence, +3 magic power, +2 perception, and +2 to magic skill for every level gained.


    | Martial Artist | Receive beginner knowledge regarding this class and how to sense and cultivate qi. Besides that, gain access to new skills and an attribute. 1+ agility, +1 endurance, +1 intelligence, +1 perception, +1 strength, +3 qi power, +3 martial arts skill, and +2 qi skill upon every increase in level.


    | Random Class | Acquire a random class.


    | Ranger | Gain basic knowledge regarding the ranger class and access to new skills and attributes. +2 agility, +1 endurance, +2 perception, and +3 bowmanship every level up.


    | Rogue | Gain beginner knowledge regarding this class and access to new skills and attributes. +3 agility, +3 perception and +3 lethality skill for every level increase.


    | Warrior | Gain beginner knowledge regarding this class and access to new skills and attributes. +1 agility, +2 endurance, +1 perception, +2 strength, and +3 combat skill for every level increase.


    I didn''t expect to see classes since that was never a thing in the wastelander series. That said, I''m more than happy to see them because I''ll be getting one hell of a power up after all this is over. Picking Double-Edged Sword was 100% worth, going all the way back down to level 0.


    Leaving those thoughts behind, I went through each of the classes, scanning over the various benefits they provided.


    I would be happy with any one of these classes but I''m gonna have to make a decision on a single class to take at some point. Thus, I''m going to have to think long and hard about which of them best fits my wants and will assist me the most in accomplishing my goals. So what class am I going to go with... I could continue down the beefed up jack of all trades warrior route I''ve been traveling on.


    Of the classes, martial Artist and warrior would be the most suitable for that specific route. Or I can further expand upon my jack of all trades trait and take cleric or mage and of those two I''d rather go with mage, since it provides more stats and versatility from the looks of things. If I was to take mage with my current time, I wouldn''t be able to take proper advantage of it until I had a solid foothold in the wasteland. That won''t be happening for some years, so the main benefit of this class will lie unused for many years.


    On the other hand, if I select this class, my intelligence will increase at a stupid rate which will allow me to gain exp at exponential rate due to my experience rate rising alongside my intelligence. That would be the main reason to go with this class and it''s a pretty enticing reason, if I do say so myself.


    Looking at the other options here, ranger would increase my agility and perception quite a lot. Having said that, I have no real need for bowmanship when I''m a heavy gunner slash heavy sword user, so this class isn''t as appealing as let''s say rogue, which provides more substantial stats compared to ranger. Even with that being the case, I still think the mage, martial artist, and warrior are better overall, at least for me, thus I''ll pass on these two classes.


    The last option I''ve yet to cover here is the random class. This wouldn''t be a bad pick per se if I had a metric fuck ton of luck to rely on, but I don''t. And since I don''t, I''d rather not leave my choice up to chance, thus this is a non option. With that knocked off, I''m left with mage, martial artist, and warrior to pick from.


    Now do I want to level faster with the mage class, increase my stats overall stats with martial artist, or raise my current combat significantly... There isn''t one right answer here, but I''d rather have the massive intelligence increase provided by mage. Magic is a huge plus, even though it will most likely see limited use until a decent number of years later.


    Nevertheless, adding magic to my ever-expanding arsenal will certainly increase my versatility, to what extent I have no idea. At the very least, it will supply me with valuable knowledge regarding the mystical things that exist in this world and maybe those of others.


    Locking in the mage class, I had a large amount of information regarding basic magic, mainly consisting of the many elements, types, and schools it was made up of. In addition to all of that information getting stuffed into my brain, there was also a ton of knowledge about magic circles, runes, symbols, and many other such things. There was also a good bit of information on ranks for both spells and mages themselves.


    They had a whole system involving their ranks and from what I saw; it shared a number of similarities to cultivation stages and realms that I read about in my old world. As I was in the midst of devouring all this information, I turned my sights to the basic technique that came along with the class''s gargantuan amount of information.


    Hmm, this nameless foundation technique doesn''t seem all that complicated. Let me try this out.


    Following all the steps of the technique, I remained seated as I was and shut my eyes while trying to focus my senses on a point right behind the bottom portion of my sternum. A few minutes went by before I pulled my second from the task of digesting all the information I had absorbed. With the combination of my two thought processes working in sync, I began to sense a minute amount of energy within the area I had been focusing on a minute later.


    Seeming to be on the right track, I didn''t let up and continued, as I was directing my entire focus to the task. The minutes ticked on by and before I knew it; I started to feel the mana that had been inside me all this time without my knowledge.


    [Ding!]


    [You''ve Become A 1st Level Mage Initiate!]


    [+100 Mana, +100 Max Mana Capacity, +1 Magic Power, and +10 Magic]


    Sensing my mana core was easy enough. Let''s see if I can''t succeed in the following step.


    Forgetting about my level up for the meantime, I moved onto the next step and tried my hand at sensing the mana of many elements that supposedly existed in the air and the surrounding environment. I was unaware of how long I spent sitting there doing so but I eventually began to sense and feel the mana around.


    As I kept it up, I slowly but surely attained the ability to distinguish between the elements that the mana particles made up of. Scanning my surroundings with my newly acquired skill, I found an abundant amount of neutral mana particles which had the appearance of clear motes and were the most common out of all the mana particles.


    The second most common mana particles were the five elements that were made up of fire, water, nature, earth, and wind. Of those five, earth was the most plentiful of the bunch because I was underground and wind the least so because again I was underground.


    There was a decent bit of the advanced elements too metal and darkness being the ones I could sense the most. But there were some light, ice, lightning, blood, life, and death particles, too. Especially blood and death particles in the direction of the mines and life particles in the direction of the undercity center. Aside from those, I was able to sense a rare few space, void, chaos mana particles too, but very few and far between.


    Alright, now that I''m able to sense the mana and all of its variations, I can proceed to the next step of gathering the mana particles in my mana core. However, before I move to that step, I think I''ll need to go over this technique and modify it since it''s telling me to only gather neutral mana particles. And from the knowledge that has been supplied to me via the class, I would have to convert that type of mana at an incredibly inefficient rate anytime I want to use magic of another element.


    That sounds pretty shit to me, so why not see if I can''t try my hand at experimenting and modifying the technique so I can absorb and utilize all elements with 100% efficiency. Becoming a powerful mage isn''t my current priority, so I might as well prepare as best a foundation as I can to ensure that I don''t have to usurp it later on to start anew.

 Chapter 49: The Power Up Continues

    Satisfied with the idea, I returned my focus to the system screen that had finally changed back to the status screen. Not bothering to give my massively increased stats even the briefest of looks, I headed right for the quest section and proceeded to turn in my Molemen Removal quest.


    For my reward, I obtained 3 attribute points, 2 of which I dropped into charisma and 1 into luck, bringing the both of them to 11. Along with getting both of those attributes to 11, I received 245,000 exp and the Beginner Miner perk.


    Ding New Perk Unlocked!


    Ding New Perk Unlocked!


    I wonder what these new perks can do.


    Swapping to the window I desired, I pulled the perks up one by one.


    | Beginner Miner | Your mining methods have been improved, resulting in you becoming a qualified beginner miner. +20% to mining speed, +20% to mining efficiency, and +10% to mining yields. This perk affects you as well as those under your leadership.


    | Silver Tongue | Requirements 11 Charisma: You''ve surpassed human limitations for charisma, hence you can now converse with all sorts of different animals and creatures as if you were speaking to a normal human in your native tongue. Some animals and creatures may not be so receptive to you so keep your guard up.


    | Walking Treasure Detector | Requirements 11 Luck: You''ve surpassed human limitations for luck because of that you''ve gained the ability to sniff out treasure wherever it may be. Additionally, situations that should go horribly wrong for you, now somehow end well for you. Lastly, your base critical chance is increased from 1% to 2% and your luck now gives you double the amount of skill points. So instead of only receiving +1 to all skills for each point of luck you have, you will now be awarded +2 instead.


    Beginner Miner will 100% come in handy when we begin our mining operation in the mine tunnels and the connected cave system. Besides that, Silver Tongue and Walking Treasure Detector aren''t bad at all. The former will allow me to communicate with all sorts of beings that will definitely be of great help when that little dragon of mine hatches.


    As for the latter, being able to get a lock on where more loot lies is always something I''ll take no matter what. So acquiring a perk that has that sort of effect is already a huge plus in my book, let alone this guy, which also doubles my critical chance and the amount of skill points I get from luck.


    Three pretty great perks added to my growing perk list. I returned to the main status page and got the level under way. A split second later, the system window changed to display the perk screen for the third time today.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 45


    Level 2 Perks


    | Growth | (Ranks Unlimited) Requirements Level 2: Gain 1 attribute point that you can distribute freely.


    Level 4 Perks


    | Addiction Resistant | Requirements Level 4, Medicine 60: Half as likely to get addicted to drugs.


    | Character Builder | Requirements Level 4: Take 1 more trait.


    | Marathon Runner | Requirements Level 4, Endurance 5, Agility 6: +15% to stamina and stamina regeneration.


    | Reading Fanatic | (Ranks 4) Requirements Level 4, Intelligence 5: Gain 2 more skill points from skill books and +25% to reading speed.


    Level 6 Perks


    | Brute | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 6, Endurance 6: +3 DT


    Level 8 Perks


    | Boomstick | Requirements Level 8, Ballistic Weapons 85: +50% damage to shotguns, and when shooting with one, whatever you are targeting tends to go boom and get ripped to shreds.


    | Observant | Requirements Level 8, Perception 5, Medicine 50: When looking at someone or something, you will now know how much health the target has and what their DT is, as well as any other resistances they may possess. Additionally, you gain a +1 to perception and your eyesight improves by 100%.


    | Heavy Weapon Expert Rank 2 | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 8, Endurance 5, Strength 5, Heavy Weapons 50: +20% Damage and accuracy with heavy weapons.


    Level 10 Perks


    | Always Aware | Requirements Level 10, Perception 5, Survival 55: Unlock the ability to sleep comfortably anywhere and remain aware of your surroundings at all times, even while asleep.


    Level 12 Perks


    | Iron Fist | Requirements Level 12, Endurance 6, Strength 6: Your fists will increase in hardness and strength and you gain +20% to unarmed damage.


    Level 14 Perks


    | Infiltrator | Requirements Level 14, Agility 4, Perception 7, Stealth 45: When you are infiltrating, you are harder to detect and you move 10% faster. On top of that, your stealth attacks do 35% more damage.


    | Patcher | Requirements Level 14, Repair 45: Gain the ability to magically repair any item using random junk.


    | Smash & Bash | Requirements Level 14, Strength 3, Ballistic Weapons 50, Energy Weapons 50: +25% to ranged weapon bashing damage.


    I got a hell of a lot of perk points to spend. Now what perks am I going to spend them on.


    Scouring the list of perks all the way to the level 14 perks, I started selecting perks one after another as I wished.


    I''ll take all the level 14 perks to begin, for obvious reasons. The level 12 perks only has Backpacker as its sole level 12 perk remaining and because I possess Herculean Strength now, there isn''t much reason to pick it when I can get the same benefits from increasing my strength with Growth plus an additional damage bonus. Thus, I''ll be skipping it for the foreseeable future unless something changes.


    Of the level 10 perks I''m going to bring along, the only remaining perk there, Always Aware, being able to remain aware of my surroundings at all times even while asleep is one hell of an ability to possess.For the level 8 perks, I''ll grab the other four ranks of Heavy Weapons Expert, boosting my heavy weapon damage and accuracy by another 80%.


    Good luck to any enemies standing in my line of fire when I finally produce my primary weapon. Moving on from that, I''ll pick up the other two level 8 perks, Observant will be useful for combat information, especially when I''m going up against powerful and heavily armored foes.


    Boomstick isn''t all that useful to me currently, since I don''t use shotguns all that frequently. However, since I will have a perk that will turn my shotgun rounds explosive, it wouldn''t be such a bad idea to design a shotgun to take advantage of such a perk.


    I''m thinking a double-barreled large capacity one with a select fire switch would do the job. And while I''m on this topic, I might as well add a side arm to my list of things too, probably a large caliber one with good penetration capabilities.


    Of the level 6 and 4 perks, I''ll select all five ranks of Brute, increasing my body''s defenses by 15 DT, and take four ranks Reading Fanatic so I can use the many skill books I''ve been sitting on for years at this point. The +100% to my reading speed is a nice extra, too. Additionally, I''m going to get Marathon Runner, Addiction Resistant, and Character Builder, which I will use to pick up the Critter trait to raise my crit chance by 10%.


    Alright, with all those perks chosen, I''m left with only the level two perks now. Dad''s Favorite and Mama''s Boy are not entirely worthless but are mostly unneeded. Thus, I''m going to pass on them and dedicate the remaining 13 points I have left to growth. Hmm, what attributes should I choose... I could place 3 points in agility, bringing it to 11.


    Doing that will net me a new perk and finish the last objective for the Surpass Your Human Limits quest, which I''ll get even more rewards from... Yeah, I''m gonna have to take a hard pass on that. I''m already digesting an overwhelming amount of information as it is, so I don''t need to make that issue any worse. And besides, it''s not like it''ll take me much longer to get it up there through my workout/ training regime.


    Back to the problem at hand, I''m going to be staying in the undercity for about another seven years. So to make the most it would be in my best interest to invest in the one attribute that will raise my exp gain that being intelligence. The higher level I am when I leave here, the stronger I''ll be and the less likely I''ll meet my end out there.


    My mind made up dumped the 13 attribute points into intelligence, raising my experience rate by a whopping 65%. When that''s added to the exp reward of the Surpass Your Human Limits quest, that''s an extra 65,000 exp. Add all the daily workout quests I''ll keep completing every day and I should be able to level up several more times prior to my departure, honestly can''t wait for the day I set out on my quest to conquer the wastes.


    With all the points distributed, do I want to make any changes to what I''ve selected... I already have a perk that does what Patcher does so I could trade it out and throw the point in growth. That said, there''s a pretty decent chance its ability to repair any item using random junk might be instant.


    Just the possibility of it having that effect is reason enough to pick it up in my book. If it has that effect, I can see it being a lifesaver in a number of scenarios ranging anywhere from repairing my weapon and armor in the battlefield to fixing up a busted mechanism that''s impeding my way forward.


    Now that that''s taken care of, it''s time to continue to the skill distribution segment of this mass power up again.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 795


    Ballistic Weapons: 178


    Energy Weapons: 164


    Explosives: 160


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 260


    Leadership: 148


    Lockpick: 122


    (T)Medicine: 332


    Melee Weapons: 138


    Piloting: 121


    (T)Repair: 332


    (T)Science: 332


    Speech: 215


    Stealth: 318


    Survival: 323


    Trade: 168


    Unarmed: 133


    Magic: 72


    I''m so over this shit, man. There will be no more level ups after this for at least a good while.


    Not looking forward to another flood of experience and knowledge getting stuffed into my head for the second time today, I began brainstorming where to best use my skill points.


    I could bring magic up and get a free perk out of it, but I really don''t care about it at this moment and it''ll get there on its own with my class effects alone, thus there''s no need to waste points on it. So with that as it is, I''ll just start out by simply increasing trade to 300 to increase the rate of return of my Currency Maker perk.


    Next I''ll up medicine, repair, and science to 500 because those are the 3 skills I''ll be using the most in time I have remaining before my journey, and the higher they are the greater my preparations will be when I set forth into the wasteland. Left with 159 skill points, I''ll just dump them into piloting since I can always use more reaction speed.


    Taking a moment to make sure I was happy with the placement of my 795 skill points, I locked in the skill distribution seconds later, bringing on the final flood of experience and knowledge I''ll have to go through for some time. Having an easier time dealing with the effects of the painful process, even more so than the last, due to my intelligence attribute increasing by such a substantial percentage, I got through it with little difficulty.


    Phew, that was far easier than the previous mass level up I went through. I didn''t even have to grit my teeth. I would say the pain was around a wicked headache or a slight bit worse than that. If these are the sort of benefits I can expect from investing in intelligence, I suppose I''ll have to continue doing so. As long as I don''t have another attribute, that requires the investment.


    Ding New Perk Unlocked!


    Ding New Perk Unlocked!


    And there are the perks for my new magic power attribute and magic skill. Guess I''m a sort of master in the magic arts now, even though I just became a mage within the last hour. Although not really, since I''ve yet to actually integrate any of that knowledge and experience gained into my skill set. But when I do, I''ll become one in no more than a day, maybe even today, so I can get it over with...


    Pushing thoughts of that off to the side for the moment, I pulled up the new perk to check it out.


    | Magic Supremacy | Requirements 11 Magic Power: You''ve surpassed the limitations for a mage initiate because of that you''ve gained the ability to overcharge any of your spells with mana to increase their effectiveness and damage by 1% for every 1% increase in mana cost. On top of that, your mana regeneration is increased by +100%, +1,000 to max mana capacity, +100% to magic learning speed, and +100% to magic skill gain.


    | Wisest Wizard | Requirements Magic 101: Your skill in magic has surpassed master tier. As a result of this, you''ve unlocked duplicate cast the ability to duplicate whatever spell you cast. So instead of casting a spell and only getting the desired effect once, you''ll now be able to cast a spell such as fireball, for example, and be able to send forth two fireballs. However, as nice as this ability sounds, it is not without its faults and requires twice the mana it would usually cost for doing so. This ability can be used and controlled freely via your will and the max duplicate effect will grow by 1 for every 100 skill points you possess in your magic skill beyond 100. In addition to duplicate cast, your magic damage, magic effectiveness and mana efficiency increase by 0.5% for every skill point you have in magic.


    They both sound pretty strong. Too bad I won''t be using either of them for quite a while. I already have way too much on my plate as it is currently. Although since my intelligence has seen such a major increase, I think I can fit in the technique upgrade, but that will be it.


    Alright, let me check my status out to see where I currently stand in terms of power.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Closing that window out, I navigated to my status and brought my massively powered up stats into view.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 11


    Height: 6 Feet 1 Inch


    Body Weight: 235 lbs


    Race: Human


    Class: Mage Initiate 1st Level


    Level: 15


    Experience Points: 5,000/32,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 2,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 245,000


    Experience Rate: 475% ? | Formula: 120 + (Intelligence x 5) + (Level x 1)


    Health: 1,820 | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 10) x 2


    Healing Rate: 2.2533 Health Per Second/135.2 Health Per Minute ? | Formula: (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) + 1 + 60 x 2


    Stamina: 3,154 ? | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 4.15


    Stamina Regeneration: 2.2825 Stamina Per Second/136.95 Stamina Per Minute ? | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 4.15


    Mana: 100 | Formula: 100 + (Mage Realm Gains, Mage Level Gains, & Integrated Mana)


    Mana Regeneration: 9.4 | Formula: (0.1 Per Second x Magic Power) x 2


    Max Mana Capacity: 4,500 | Formula: 1,200 + (Endurance x 100) + (Mage Realm & Mage Level Gains)


    Carry Weight: 1,108.20625/5,700 ? | Formula: 1,450 + (Strength x 100) x 2


    Critical Chance: 32% ? | Formula: 10 + (Luck x 2)


    [ Effects ]


    Child Of Light: Agility +1 - Endurance +1 - Strength +1 - Health Per Second +1


    ??? Necklace: [???]


    Heavy Trooper Armor Set: DT 65 - Radiation Resistance 20 - Perception +1 - Stealth +20


    War Belt: DT 1


    [ Armor ]


    Total Damage Threshold: 172 ?


    Armor Damage Threshold: 66


    Body Damage Threshold: 106 ? | Formula: 20 + (Endurance x 1) x 2


    [ Resistances ]


    Addiction Resistance: 50%


    Poison Resistance: 58 ? Formula: (Endurance x 1) + 25


    Total Radiation Resistance: 53 ?


    Radiation Resistance: 33 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    Armor Radiation Resistance: 20


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 13 (14) ?


    Agility: 8 (9) ?


    Endurance: 33 (34) ?


    Intelligence: 68 ?


    Perception: 50 (51) ?


    Charisma: 11 ?


    Luck: 11 ?


    Magic Power: 47 ?


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 238 (239) ?


    Energy Weapons: 224 (225) ?


    Explosives: 190 ?


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 260 (262) ?


    Leadership: 178 ?


    Lockpick: 152 (153) ?


    (T)Medicine: 530 ?


    Melee Weapons: 138 (141) ?


    Piloting: 310 (311) ?


    (T)Repair: 530 ?


    (T)Science: 530 ?


    Speech: 215 ?


    Stealth: 348 (370) ?


    Survival: 323 (324) ?


    Trade: 330 ?


    Unarmed: 133 (137) ?


    Magic: 207 ?


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 86 ? | Formula: 4 + (Intelligence x 1) x 1.2


    [ Traits ]


    | Critter | - | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks: | Currency Maker | - | Ghost | - | Medical Genius | - | Patcher | - | Pleasure |


    Passive Perks: | Addiction Resistant | - | All The Loot | - | Always Aware | - | Ambidextrous | - | Another Skill Talent | - | Assassin | - | Beginner Miner | - | Bone Head | - | Bookworm | - | Boomstick | - | Braced | - | Brute Rank 5 | - | Calculative Individual | - | Cat Eyes | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Character Builder | - | Child Of Light | - | Commander | - | Computer Whiz | - | Death Sense | - | Double-Edged Sword | - | Eagle Eye | - | Efficient Weapon Handling | - | Escape Artist | - | Growth Rank 13 | - | Heavy Weapon Expert Rank 5 | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Human Warehouse | - | Infiltrator | - | Iron Fist | - | Knowledgeable Sponge | - | Lady Killer | - | Language Master | - | Leader Of The Pack | - | Lighter Load | - | Looter Shooter | - | Marathon Runner | - | Master Of All Trades | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Natural Born Learner | - | Nature Affinity Rank 3 | - | Nerves Of Steel | - | Observant | - | Pain Resistance | - | Quick Hands | - | Quick Learner | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Reading Fanatic | - | Recipe Improvement | - | Regeneration | - | Savage | - | Second Wind | - | Silver Tongue | - | Skeleton Key | - | Smash & Bash | - | Sniper | - | Speed Loader | - | Strong Body | - | Talented | - | Tank Commander | - | That''s A Lot Of Damage | - | The Great Leader | - | Tough Skeleton | - | Walking Treasure Detector | - | Warrior | - | Wild Man |


    Combo Perks: | All Seeing | - | Bulletstorm | - | Certified Forklift Operator | - | Devastator | - | Herculean Strength | - | Human Smelter | - | Magic Supremacy | - | Martial Weapon Master | - | Mechanical Domination | - | Metal Detector | - | Overcharged | - | Restorer | - | Shadow Lurker | - | Space Farer | - | The Power Of Atom | - | Unarmed Master | - | Wisest Wizard |


    Perk Points Gained Per Level Up: 3 ?


    [ Mutations ]


    | Pure |


    [ Classes ]


    | Mage | +2 Intelligence, Perception, and Magic and +3 Magic Power Per Level Up


    [ Gear & Item Box ]


    Weapons: A-50 Anti-Material Rifle (1) - Carl Gustaf (1) - Demolition Charges (20) - Detonator (1) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (2) - Grandpa John''s Combat Knife (1) - M76 Minigun (1) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (50)


    Weapon Magazines: 7.62mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (20) - 7.62mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazine (1) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (20)


    Armor: Heavy Trooper Set (1) - War Belt


    Apparel: ??? Cross Necklace (1) - Set Of Clothes (5)


    Aid: IFAKs (2) - Medstims (100) - P-Dex Bottle (1) - P-Dex Syringes (10)


    Ammo: .50 BMG Rounds (300)- 7.62x51mm Rounds (11,000) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (50) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (20)


    Miscellaneous: Lockpick Sets (2) - Stealth Packs (6) - Undercity 7 Credstick (1)


    Money: Undercity 7 Credits (53,457,144)


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Accuracy: Braced Weapon Accuracy +20% - Headshot Accuracy +25% - Heavy Weapon Accuracy +100%


    Attack Speed: Melee Weapon Attack Speed +50% - Unarmed Attack Speed +50%


    Attribute: Endurance Gain +400% - Intelligence Gain +50% - Strength Gain +400%


    Bodily Needs: Food & Drink Requirements -22% - Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Body: Blood Circulation +50% - Body Durability +100% - Bone Durability +50% - Bone Strength +50% - Eyesight +100% - Ligament Strength +300% - Ligament Growth Speed +300% - Muscle Growth Speed +100% - Muscle Density +100% - Reaction Speed +77.5% - Tendon Strength +300% - Tendon Growth Speed +300%


    Brain: Brain Processing Power +600% - Calculation Ability +100% - Knockout Resistance +50% - Reading Speed +250% - Thought Processes 2


    Cooldowns: Second Wind Cooldown 29 Days


    Critical: Stealth Attack Crit Chance With Melee, Unarmed, & Thrown Weapons +100%


    Currency Maker Rates: $1,000 For 3 lb Of Silver - $10,000 For 3 lb Of Gold


    Damage: Ballistic Weapon Damage +119% - Critical Hit Damage +50% - Damage +10% - Energy Weapon Damage +112% - Explosive Damage 95% - Female Damage +15% - Headshot Damage +35% - Heavy Weapon Damage +230% - Magic Damage +573.5% - Melee Weapon Damage +249% - Ranged Weapon Bashing Damage +25% - Shotgun Damage +50% - Stealth Damage +234% - Unarmed Damage +266.5%


    Defense: DT +5 - When Taking Damage From Mutated Creatures DT +20% - While Bracing A Weapon DT +10%


    Duplicate Cast Max Amount: 2


    Energies: Martial Weapon Master Energy Range 13 Meters - Unarmed Master Energy Range 13 Meters


    Fields: Metal Detector Range 5,000 Meters - Perception Field Range 50 meters - Presence Hiding Field Range 34 Meters - Repair Field Range & Rate 53 Meters, 53% Per Hour


    Ghost: Duration 34 Minutes


    Hands: All Around Hand Speed +100% - Typing Speed +100%


    Health: Health +100% - Health Regeneration Per Minute +1 - Health Regeneration Rate +100%


    Heavy: When Wearing Heavy Armor Or Piloting Similarly Classed Craft Armor, Damage, & Speed +25%


    Leadership & Forces: Force Damage +10% - Force Efficiency +1% - Force Performance +1% - Heavy Force Armor +25% - Heavy Force Damage +25% - Heavy Force Speed +25% - Loyalty Gain +100% - When Fighting Alongside Force Damage +10%


    Lockpicking Reward: 15


    Mage Realm Level Limit: 23


    Magic: Magic Effectiveness +573.5% - Mana Efficiency +1,283.5% - Magic Learning Speed +100% - Magic Skill Gain +100% - Mana Absorption Speed +1,180%


    Medical: Aid Duration +100% - Aid Positive Effects +100%


    Medical Genius Heal Limit: 5 Use A Day


    Mining: Mining Efficiency +20% - Mining Speed +20% - Mining Yields +10%


    Movement Speed: When Infiltrating Movement Speed +10%


    Other Weapon Stats: Explosive Radius +95% - Magazine Loading Speed +50% - Reloading Speed +35%


    Martial Weapon Master Energy Range: 10 Meters


    Resistances: Addiction Resistance +50% - Poison Resistance +25


    Shotgun: BOOM!


    Skill: Skill Gain Speed +250% - Skill Points Gained Per Level Up +25% - Skill Points Gained From Skill Books 10


    Stamina: Stamina +415% - Stamina Costs -20% - Stamina Regeneration +415% - Weapon Handling Stamina Cost -50%


    Vehicle: Speed When Piloting +77.5% - Handling When Piloting +77.5%


    Velocity: Ballistic Weapon Velocity +119% - Energy Weapon Velocity +112% - Heavy Weapon Velocity +130%


    Weight: Carry Weight 1,350 - Carry Weight Percentage +100% - Item Weight 5lbs & Lower -50% - Weapon Weight 10lbs & Higher -50%


    Kill Counter: 6,461


    [ Property ]


    Weapons: 7.62mm Hunting Rifles (576) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifles (100) - AALP-3 Laser Pistols (1,000) - AALR-6 Laser Rifles (1,000) - AAGL-5 Gatling Lasers (100) - AK-108s (100) - AKMs (100) - CA12 Combat Shotguns (100) - Carl Gustafs (99) - Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolvers (934) - Combat Knives (5,000) - CSG10 Submachine Guns (699) - Demolition Charges (980) - Detonators (9) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun (1) - F-60 Flamethrower (100) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (2,998) - HK416s (100) - M2 Browning Machine Gun (100) - M240 Machine Guns (15) - M56 Miniguns (100) - M76 Miniguns (99) - M90 Frag Grenades (5,000) - Microfusion Cell Mines (24) - NPDMs (100) - Pickaxes (4,121) - Remington Model 870 Shotguns (1,765) - Sawed-off Double Barreled 12 Gauge Shotguns (2) - STAR-25 Assault Rifles (24) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (1,950) - TBT Sniper Rifles (100) - Z-2 Plasma Rifles (100)


    Weapon Magazines: 5.56mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (500) - 5.56mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (300) - 7.62mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (480) - 7.62mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (299) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (980) - AK-47 30 Round Magazines (1,000) - AK-47 75 Round Drum Magazines (300) - CA12 Combat Shotgun 12 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - CSG10 Submachine Gun 30 Round Magazines (2,651) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun 75 Round Box Magazines (6) - M240 Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (44) - M2 Browning Machine Gun 100 Round Magazines (1,000) - NPDM 100 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - 5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazines (15,000) - 5.56 STANAG 60 Round Quad Stack Magazines (10,000) - 5.56 STANAG 100 Round Drum Magazines (5,000) - 7.62 STANAG 10 Round Magazines (2,757) - 7.62 STANAG 20 Round Magazines (2,000)


    Armor: War Belts (99)


    Clothing: Sets Of Clothes (25)


    Aid: IFAKs (10) - Medstims (1,000) - P-Dex Bottles (10) - P-Dex Syringes (50)


    Ammo: .357 Rounds (27,813) - .50 BMG Rounds (300,216) - 10mm Rounds (76,334) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (166,737) - 5.56x45mm Rounds (2,946,814) - 7.62x39mm Rounds 1,058,167 - 7.62x51mm Rounds (3,053,882) - 80mm Missiles (2,000) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (1,950) - Flamethrower Fuel (1,000) - Microfusion Cells (1,250,023) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (5,000,000)


    Skill Books: All Things Gun (4) - Atomic Power (3) - Bigger Is Always Better (3) - Book Of Engineering (3) - Boom! (2) - Conversationalists Notebook (3) - Drifting & Racing Weekly (2) - Encyclopedia Of Medical Advancements (3) - Entrepreneur (2) - Future Science (3) - Last Man Standing (3) - Leaders Of The World (4) - Martial Master (2) - Martial Weapons Guide (2) - Master Of All Trades (1) - Security Systems Monthly (3) - Stealth 101 (2)


    Miscellaneous: A Large Assortment of Automated Manufacturing and Processing Machines - Small Arc Furnaces (2) - Automated Ammo Manufacturing Machines (1) - Automated Weapon Manufacturing Machine (1) - Automated Weapon Magazine Manufacturing Machine (1) - Lockpick Sets (8) - Metal (65,271,620) - Ore & Minerals 148,686,823 - Stealth Packs (2) - Other Misc Items (50,961,273)


    Money: Dollars (25,000,000)


    Robots: Crusader (1) - Multibots (37) - Prospectron (1)


    Turrets: ZBR-2 Laser Turrets (80)


    Vehicles:


    Creatures: Colossal Gila Monster Egg (1) - Moleman Guards (4)


    Locations: Genesis Foundry


    | Production Capacity |


    Aid:


    Ammo: 100,000


    Apparel:


    Dollars:


    Metal: 500,000


    Miscellaneous: 300,000


    Ore & Minerals: -600,000


    Robots: 0.1


    Turrets: 1


    Vehicles:


    Weapons: 100


    Weapon Magazines: 1,000


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 4


    In progress: 15


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Business Tycoon | Objectives: Obtain 10,000,000,000,000 Dollars worth of assets by any means necessary. Rewards: New Perk?, 15,000,000 exp.


    | Harem | Objectives: Enter a long-term romantic relationship with at least 3 women. All women must be aware of each other and okay with the arrangement of sharing you. Reward: 5,000 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Metro Connection | Objectives: Connect the nearby metro rails with your places. Rewards: Perk | Apprentice Miner |, 10 Repair Points, 50,000 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 1,000,000 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Surpass Your Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 11 in every attribute.


    Rewards: Perk?, 10 attribute points, and 100,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | Undegrounder | Objectives: Clear all Nevada metros of hostiles and take control of them. Rewards: Perk Mole People, 10 Attribute Points, 1,000,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    Yeah, I''m strong as fuck now. When I get out of here, I''ll be able to take on a good portion of what the wasteland has to offer in terms of enemies all on my own, let alone with my robots backing me up.


    There are obvious exceptions still, those being certain colossal mutants on land and certainly whatever lurks in the ocean nowadays, the major wasteland powers and the zetans. But besides those, I''ll be able to handle most of what I come across.


    Scanning through my status, I couldn''t be any happier with the exponential growth I''ve made today. Content with what I''ve seen, I closed out the system window and got up from the comfy I had undergone the level up in.


    Getting a nice stretch in, I made sure I had a good grasp on my newfound strength and headed for the door and opened it. As soon as I did, I was expectedly greeted by an Alice missile who was happy to see I had undergone the whole ordeal without issue.


    "See, just like I told you, Alice. I would get through it with no issue."


    "Nn, you did, but I still can''t help worrying about you."


    Giving her a comforting hug to relieve her worries, we later shared a kiss, which caused her worries to be replaced with thoughts of trying to push the boundaries I set even further. Unfortunately for her, she had no such luck in that endeavor, hence we wandered back over to the planning/relaxation area to chill for a bit before the two of us got back to work on our tasks.


    Once we returned, I began giving her a summary of what I had gained in this mass power up and once she learned that I had become a mage. Although only a mage initiate, she excitedly asked me to display one of the many spells I learned, courtesy of my mage class and my magic skill.


    "Sure, but don''t expect anything too amazing since I just became a mage."


    My words did little to damper the excited gleam in her eyes. Not wanting to disappoint, I activated the fireball magic circle I had branded in my mind scape and conjured three fireballs at the cost of two due to dupe cast.


    The second that came into existence and began emitting heat and light, Alice''s already excited state increases exponentially so. After displaying my skill for a bit and playing around with it by manipulating the fireball into different shapes, I extinguished it.


    "That was amazing, darling. I didn''t think magic existed in our world."


    "It is surprising. I presume it may have been more prevalent at one point in time, but disappeared for some reason or another."


    "Maybe the zetans had a hand in it. They are the reason why human civilization has been reduced to its current state, after all."


    "Perhaps." I responded before we continued talking about this and that, although it mostly revolved around magic due to Alice''s interest in it.


    "Dom, would you be able to teach me magic? I mean, from what you''ve told me so far, I should be able to learn it, right?"


    "I don''t see why not. However, I need to upgrade, if not outright, create an entirely new technique for cultivating mana. The one I currently possess just isn''t good enough and there''s no point in wasting your time building a foundation that you''ll just have to demolish later on. Thus, you''ll have to wait until after I''m done creating the new technique."


    "Also, if you do start learning magic, Alice. You can''t let your other areas fall too far behind." I followed up.


    "Nn, nn, I''ll make sure not to fall behind in any other areas." She responded, pumped to become a mage.


    We continued our discussion for a short while longer before Alice returned to her studying, while I directed all of my focus to digesting the absolutely massive amount of information I had implanted into my brain.


    Doing that for a few hours, I eventually sifted through all of it and discovered I was going to have to scrap the existing technique pretty much and start from scratch. After taking a break to have lunch with my partner in crime, I got to work on creating my new magic technique. So I could at least have a solid foundation to work with later on when I actually have the time to start growing and properly utilizing my magic powers.


    Dedicating the next five hours to creating my new technique, the clock began speedily closing in on dinner time. Thus, we paused our work there for the day and called the old man for a pickup. Following a short ride aboard, the gramps express, we arrived back home once again and made our way inside gramps included.


    "Mom, dad, we''re back." I announced whilst coming through the front door.


    "Welcome home you two, I''ll have dinner ready in a bit." My mother responded from the kitchen in the midst of preparing dinner.


    "We''ll come help, mom." Alice said lastly.


    "I''m here too." Gramps informed.


    "Ohh, you''re here too, dad. Are you joining us for dinner?"


    "That was the plan."


    "Okay, I''ll whip up some extra."


    Moving to the living room, gramps plopped onto his usual spot on the couch as Alice and I headed off to the kitchen to assist.


    Shortly thereafter, dad showed and after going through the usual rigamarole, he joined the old man in the living room. With two more sets of experienced hands, we made short work of the preparations and had everything out on the dining room table in no time flat. Chowing down, we cleared the table and at a decently fast pace and once we had done so; we let the miss maid bot take care of the cleanup while everyone sat down for a movie.

 Chapter 50: All Element Core Technique

    Date Wednesday, August 28th, 2261


    The very next day, I found myself right back at the genesis foundry.


    I did some thinking between yesterday and on the card ride here. I''m going to put off creating the technique for a few hours, so I can focus on designing the many weapons I have in mind. Once those designs are produced and being manufactured by the automated manufacturing machines, I can return to making my new foundation technique.


    My first task to accomplish today figured out, I went to the planning slash relaxation area of the property and got both Alice and her sister Bella setup on what they needed to progress on.


    "That should be it. Let me know if you guys encounter anything you need my assistance with. I''m going to go work on some weapon designs."


    "Will do." Alice responded sweetly.


    "Okay, I will, big brother." Bella said cheerfully.


    Walking off to my personal office, I sat down in the comfy black leather office chair and directed my focus to the task at hand.


    ...


    Working away for the following four hours, I finished up a good number of the designs I had been working on in my head for god knows how long. With all the designs on paper and made in digital form, I sent them off to my robots so they could begin producing them.


    While my robots and automated manufacturing machines were working hard on their newly assigned task, that will result in a whole new assortment of weapons getting added to my constantly growing arsenal by the end of the day, I left my personal space to have lunch with my two companions.


    "You guys ready to take a break for lunch?" I asked the two girls.


    "Yeah, and I got a few questions regarding a couple of things I came across." Alice responded, still thinking of what she was learning about.


    "Nn, I''m hungry, big brother Dom. What are we having for lunch?" Little Bella asked cutely.


    "Whatever you want, sis." I answered, rubbing the blonde, blue-eyed twin tailed little girl''s head.


    "Hehe."


    Setting off for the kitchen in the relaxation area, I prepared a large lunch for the three of us. After eating and feeding the two hungry sisters, I resumed progress on creating my magic technique. Although, in a different part of the facility so I wouldn''t get Alice and Bella involved in the side effects of my experiments.


    From where I left off previously, I pretty much figured out how to gather mana from each element. The only issue I''m having with it is getting the mana to stay together. And until I can resolve that, I don''t particularly want to find out what happens when one stuffs an unstable bunch of mana particles of each element in their mana core.


    Yeah, I''d rather not cripple myself right from the get go. So since that''s the case, I''m going to need to do a bit of brainstorming to come up with a solution to this issue I encountered. Thankfully, I already have a few ideas, so I''ll try those out first on the gathered mana outside of my body and go from there.


    Standing in mines, I utilized both of my thought processes and started out by simultaneously sending out two strands of neutral element mana. Controlling the both of them, I sent them forth to the desired particles and grabbed hold of the ones I wanted. I did that another 15 more times and had one of each element gathered in 15 seconds flat.


    Now that the preparations are completed, let me perform the first of my tests by adding rotation to them. Hopefully, I see some sort of positive result from this.


    Beginning to add rotation to the 17 different element particles, I didn''t see any genuine change from what I had seen previously. Thus, trying something else, I ordered them into a ring and rotated the ring of them similar to a tornado, just not as violently. Letting the ring revolve for a few minutes, I discovered that lining them up in a circle and having the continuously revolve seemed to have done the trick.


    However, as soon as I stopped sustaining the rotation with my own mana, the mana particles I had gathered flew off violently in different directions. Even more so than when I bunched them up together yesterday.


    Well, that didn''t work, but I think I''m on the right track. Let''s try adding magic formations to it next to sustain the rotation.


    Speedily gathering the particles that had gone flying off, I got the ring setup and created a simple rotation formation midair to keep it going, at least until the mana I used to make it ran out. The single formation kept the ring of 17 different elements going until it eventually depleted all the mana I had created it with, as expected.


    Yeah, this is the right route to go down. Now I just have the issue of sustaining the rotation to resolve. Hmm... I''ll just combine the rotation formation with a mana gathering formation to sustain it that should get the job done.


    ...


    With the new formation designed and branded upon my mindscape, I regathered the particles and got them going again for the third time this day. Adding the formation right after it kept the ring of 17 mana particles going minus the previous issue and continued to do so with no end in sight.


    Let''s try adding a few more formations to speed things up. I want to see where the limits lie.


    Implementing that idea immediately, I conjured up 3 formations and evenly distributed them around the ring, speeding up the rotation speed by 300%. No issues popping up with the additional speed, I decided to add more and more formation to see where the limit was. After adding seven additional formations, it destabilized firing the mana particles in all directions, causing sizable dents in the tunnel walls.


    Mm, maybe I could make a new spell from this but that can wait till another time. I still need to refine this foundation technique of mine.


    Not satisfied with what I created so far, I recreated the ring again with ten of the sustainable rotation formations. Although this time a bit further away because I was going to throw in a whole new formation into the mix. Quickly designing a condensing magic formation that could sustain its effects off of the ambient mana in the surrounding environment, I added it to the existing ten formations that were hard at work.


    The second the new formation was implemented, the ring of 17 different mana particles closed in on each other, causing the ring to shrink in size. Observing it for a while, I didn''t find any issues cropping up, thus I added another condensing formation to see where the limits were, just like I had done with the rotation formations. Implementing one after the next, the ring kept reducing in size with the many elements growing ever closer to each other with each additional formation I added.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    After letting my mana regenerate for the umpteenth time, I added the hundredth condensing formation. The moment I did, the many elements that morphed from a ring to a sort of jumbled mess started spazzing out crazily.


    Uh oh. That can''t be good.


    Seeing the experiment beginning to go south, I injected my own mana into the many condensing formations, upping the pressure they were exerting in an attempt to keep the elements from firing all across the mine tunnel. I did that for what felt like an hour before the jumbled mess emitted a blinding light.


    God damn, that''s bright.


    Shutting my eyes and turning my head away from the painfully bright light it was producing, I stood there, paying close attention to the bright, glowing mass. But nonetheless primed and ready to dash off at a moment''s notice if it looked like the formations weren''t going to be able to keep this thing under control.


    I stood there for several minutes or so before the mass of mana particles began to calm. And as soon as it had, I reopened my eyes and looked upon the perfectly round, pitch black sphere that was letting off a somewhat dim multicolored light.


    I didn''t expect this result, but it does look promising.


    Curious about the oddity I created that I had zero knowledge of, I started up my researcher mode once again by first ridding it of the formations to see if it was stable or if it required the formation to even exist.


    Once I eliminated the last of the magic formations, I watched the black core closely, looking out for any potential issue my creation might possess. As the minutes ticked on and I continued to observe it, nothing I could perceive as a problem occurred and it just kept slowly spinning in place.


    Not letting up on my observation, I watched it for the next hour and discovered the sphere was growing ever so slightly the longer I stood there.


    This thing may possess the ability to let me passively cultivate without having to do a damn thing. That''s honestly amazing.


    Hmm, what should I name it... I don''t want to name it something stupid like the almighty overlord element or some other name just as retarded so I''ll just call it the all element since that is what it''s composed of.


    My new element named I returned to experimenting with it and quickly found that the all element particle could absorb and grow with all mana particles no matter the element. Upon making that find, I persevered in my experimenting and when I was eventually satisfied and was sure I could use it for all types of magic; I started the process of absorbing and integrating the all element particle into my mana core. Grabbing hold of it with two mana threads, I brought it towards me.


    When it arrived at my chest, I passed it through my body before I absorbed it into my mana core and positioned it in the center of it, where my neutral element mana was. As soon as it came into contact with that mana, they were near instantly absorbed and added to the all element mana, further growing its size by at least five times what it was previously. With my old mana converted over to the all element mana type, my system started spamming me with notifications.


    [Neutral Element Mana Converted To All Element Mana]


    [+20 Mana]


    [Ding New Perk!]


    [Name Your Newly Created Mage Cultivation Method]


    Not bad for two days'' work. What should I name this new cultivation technique of mine... It doesn''t need a complicated name, so I''ll just call it the all element core technique. Now let''s check out that new perk.


    Excited to have received a perk out of the blue, I opened my system to see what the newest addition''s effects were.


    | All Element Mana Generator | Your newly created cultivation method has given you the ability to cultivate mana passively at a rate of 24 mana per day. In addition to that, because of the properties of your new element, your mana regeneration speed is increased by 1,700%.


    Yeah, that''s some insane mana regeneration. But that aside, it appears I''ll be moving through the mage ranks after all, although passively, since I still won''t have much time to spare for it.


    Alright, that appears to be everything I can return to what I needed to do before I got sidetracked with this magic stuff.


    More than satisfied with the mage cultivation technique I created, I left the mining tunnels behind for the facility. Passing by a few of my robots on the way, that began extracting resources from the tunnel and connected cave system within the last day or so. I found my way back to the foundry and got to work on assembling more multibots to speed up production. Although, in all honesty, I was really making them because I needed more workers to begin constructing the new additions I wanted to build.


    Spending basically the rest of the day assembling robots, I managed to churn out 5 multibots at the end of it. If this was before, that sort of production speed wouldn''t have been possible. However, thanks to my recent power up, I was now able to accomplish such feats with ease. If I had spent the entire day assembling them without a break, I could no doubt throw together 24 of them by the end.


    That about does it for today. I''ll continue adding to my growing robot army tomorrow. But before I head home, I''m going to go check out the new weapons designs I introduced to the production line.


    Getting up from my personal workshop, I walked to the main manufacturing area and went right to the weapon racks and tables that were holding my newest creations. Once I reached the spot that was used to stow the weapons temporarily prior to them being brought to the armory, I picked each of the new weapons up and gave each of them a solid look over.


    | FBGL-6 Gatling Laser |


    Damage: 45


    DPS: 750-4,500


    Fire rate: 1,000 - 6,000


    Resistances: DT 170 Rear


    Weight: 180


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: Fusion Breeder Reactor


    Value: 1,500,000


    Attachments: Laser Sight, Heavy Weapon Sling


    Description: The FBGL-6 Gatling Laser is a heavy 6-barreled gatling laser that takes inspiration from the AAGL-5 Gatling Laser. Though this gatling laser takes inspiration from the AAGL-5 Gatling Laser, it is quite a different weapon and features a number of improvements compared to the weapon it took inspiration from. The first two being the addition of another barrel and the implementation of an armored quick-release fusion breeder reactor backpack that can be quickly dumped in case it becomes compromised. On top of the addition of another barrel and the power source allowing the weapon to not run out of ammo, the damage output has been upgraded and a variable fire rate control has been added. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBLMG-9 Laser Machine Gun |


    Damage: 45


    DPS: 1,125


    Fire rate: 1,500 Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Weight: 25


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 195,000


    Attachments: Canted Red Dot Sight, Laser Sight, Variable Zoom Scope, Vertical Fore Grip, Weapon Sling


    Item Description: A large double-barreled laser light machine gun based on the FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifle that was then modified and upgraded with beefier barrels, dual microfusion breeder cells, and hardier materials. The weapon''s barrels alternate fire to increase weapon uptime and to combat heat. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | AP-6 Hand Cannon |


    Damage: 90


    DPS: Variable


    Fire Rate: Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 6


    Reload: 10


    Weight: 8


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: .338 Lapua Magnum


    Value: 19,000


    Attachments: Laser Sight, Red Dot Sight


    Item Description: A large and durable double action revolver chambered for .338 Lapua Magnum and designed to be a powerful sidearm for the express of dispatching armored foes effectively and efficiently in close quarters. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun |


    Damage: 18x8


    DPS: 150x8


    Fire rate: 500 Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 50


    Reload: 3.7


    Weight: 25


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 6 Gauge Shotgun Shell


    Value: 28,750


    Attachments: Laser Sight, Red Dot Sight


    Item Description: BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun is a double-barreled large capacity magazine fed monstrosity that can clear entire swaths of unarmored enemies in seconds. The weapon is made of extremely durable materials and is designed to endure sustained fire for quite some time without issue. Hence, this is a very reliable weapon any wastelander would love to possess as long as they have the strength required to wield it. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | 7.62mm Minigun 10,000 Round Armored Backpack Magazine |


    Capacity: 10,000


    Resistances: DT 55 Rear


    Weight: 85


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 7.62x51mm


    Value: 36,900


    Item Description: A large decently armored massive backpack magazine for 7.62x51mm miniguns.


    Not bad, not bad, but I''m not satisfied yet. So I''ll continue my weapon designing tomorrow since I''ve yet to make my primary weapons and those weapons I want to craft personally.


    Happy with what I saw, I continued on my way to the planning/relaxation area to tell Alice and Bella that it was time to head home. After doing so and giving gramps a call, the old man picked us up in his armored truck not too many minutes later and dropped us off back home.

 Chapter 51: Expanded Arsenal

    Date Thursday, August 29th, 2261


    The next day I woke up in the middle of the night as I normally did and after going through my usual morning routine, I went and hit the gym. Doing that for the next five hours, I left the gym behind with a nice pump all across my body and returned to my bedroom and to wait for Alice to awake.


    As soon as she did, she hurried into the bathroom, although not before fooling around with me for a short bit. When she came out, we met my parents in the living and chatted with them for a couple of minutes.


    "Alright, I''m going to make breakfast this time. What do you guys feel like having?" I said, ready to eat.


    "What about a bacon egg and cheese on a bagel? I could go for one of those." Dad answered.


    "That doesn''t sound bad. Are you okay with that, Alice?" Mom followed up.


    "I''m happy with whatever Dom makes for me." Alice responded sweetly.


    "Okay cool, I''ll get to work then."


    On the way to the kitchen, my stomach announced it needed fuel, thus I quickly got to cooking. Shortly thereafter, I had everything prepared so once mom, dad, and Alice helped me bring everything out, we sat down at the dining room table. However, before we could begin eating, gramps showed up with Bella. Since this was a normal occurrence, I already had their food prepared as well. So with two more hungry mouths to feed joining us, we started eating the breakfast I whipped up minutes ago while making small talk about an assortment of topics in between bites.


    Not too long later, my parents headed off for and not much longer after them, us four followed suit, although in a different direction. As we were riding upon the gramps express, I began thinking.


    I kind of wish I had my own vehicle to drive so I wouldn''t have to inconvenience gramps with our transportation. I know he doesn''t mind and enjoys spending the time with us, but it still doesn''t change the fact that it would be a hell of a lot more convenient to have my own ride. As for how I''ll do that, I''m not exactly sure because the legal age required to drive down here in the undercity is 16... I suppose I could go the route of using my connections.


    It probably wouldn''t be all that difficult considering my family''s wealth and power along with me being engaged to the eldest daughter of the undercity''s governor. Acquiring the car also isn''t a factor since I more than have the funds to buy one, so I guess I''ll just have to talk to mom and dad about it to make it happen.


    Continuing my contemplation for a while longer, the four of us began making conversation in the car, discussing all sorts of things and before we knew it we were once again at my genesis foundry.


    "Thanks for the ride, old man. We''ll see you later this afternoon."


    "No problem kid, I''ll catch you kids later. Stay out of trouble."


    "Bye grandpa John." Alice and Bella said simultaneously.


    With the gramps driving off, me and my two companions ventured inside. Arriving at the planning relaxation area of the facility, Alice and Bella sat down and started working on whatever they were doing the day before. Leaving them to their own devices, I strolled over to my personal space and sat my ass down in my comfy leather office chair.


    Alright, what weapon design do I want to begin with today... It doesn''t really matter, but I''ll start off with my eight barreled minigun design I made a while ago since it''s the closest one to completion.


    Breaking out the design paper, I laid it out on the large desk in front of me and got to work. The first action I took was looking over the original design in my head and when I finished doing that I began brainstorming, trying to come up with any other improvements I could make to the old design.


    The design is basically as good as I can get it right now unless I want to increase the caliber of the weapon, but I don''t really need to do that at this time. Therefore, the only thing I can really add is an armored panel to protect most of its essential components from damage and a fire rate control system to change the fire rate of the weapon on the fly. Oh, and I''ll throw on an ammo counter too so I can keep track of how many rounds I have left at all times.


    That should do it. Now I can move onto personalizing my own unlimited ammo gatling laser.


    Moving on from my unique minigun design, I started customizing a FBGL-6 Gatling Laser for myself. The original design was already very good, so I just implemented a number of better components into the preexisting design, added an armored shield like I had done on my previous weapon, upped the armor on the reactor backpack and implemented a feature to turn the backpack into a portable nuke.


    I don''t think there will be very many situations that will require that sort of explosive firepower. But if I end up in a situation where I know I''m not getting out of it alive, I will 100% make sure all those coming for my life join me in my grave.


    With that last feature added, I finished that weapon blueprint and moved onto the third one, which wasn''t just solely a weapon but also a robot. Spending the following hour hard at work, my effort paid off in the way of bringing to life a deadly weapon that the wasteland has yet to face, the Spider Mine.


    The wasteland isn''t ready to face this little guy. It''s small and can traverse all kinds of terrain with its four specialized spider-like legs, climb vertical walls, and hold on to many kinds of surfaces even entirely upside down. On top of that, it''s emp proof like the rest of my robots and is powered by a microfusion breeder cell which it can overload to blow itself up along with the rest of its explosive payload.


    Aside from those features, I could also use these little buggers to explore and gain intelligence stealthily thanks to their small size and my Mechanical Domination perk. They are capable of sending whatever they''re seeing back via an encrypted wireless signal that said I probably won''t use that feature myself all too frequently.


    Because one it''s kind of a hassle when I can simply use my perk''s ability and two, that signal can be compromised, although I''ve done my best to make its encryption as tough as possible to crack. So for those reasons, I won''t be using them the typical way they were designed to be used, but I''m sure my troops, when I eventually recruit some, will appreciate their normal scouting abilities even if it will require more than a few men and a bit of time to go through all the spider mine cameras if there are a ton of them deployed.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    That aside, I can for sure see these guys being a huge asset to me and my forces, most definitely when I begin expanding and conquering the surrounding powers. Alright, with that new robotic weapon made, what else do I need to create... I suppose I should expand my turret variety instead of just having only the ZBR-2 Laser Turret. Yeah, it is about time I''ve designed some more powerful turrets.


    | ZBR-2 Laser Turret |


    Damage: 50


    Fire rate: 1,600


    Resistances: DT 125


    Weight: 120


    Value: 265,000


    Description: The ZBR-2 Laser Turret is a twin-barreled laser turret that alternates fire between its barrels to increase weapon durability and cooling. The turret utilizes a pair of microfusion breeder cells to power itself and has armor rated to stop .50 BMG. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    This shouldn''t take very long.


    Driven to keep expanding my combat capabilities, I took the FBGL-6 Gatling Laser blueprint and started using it as the base for my new turret. With that gatling laser as the foundation, I made an armored shell for it, gave it an inbuilt fusion breeder power, and designed the rest of it so it could be installed just about anywhere, like I had done with the ZBR-2 Laser Turret. After that, I finished the rest of the miscellaneous details and proceeded to the other turret design I had in mind.


    With lunch time on the horizon, I went into overdrive and decided to implement my idea of making a retractable turret that I could set up just about anywhere in plain sight. It took an hour of diligent work, but I eventually got every part of the idea implemented and at the end of it, I was left with another fully functional turret design. This beast was most heavily armed and armored out of the three turret models I possessed and was sure to strike fear and soon thereafter death to any who encountered it.


    This monstrous turret of mine could be disguised as part of the floor of a building or ceiling and when an enemy was detected it would lift up with whatever portion of the floor it was positioned at to shred whatever target it needed to with its FBGL-6 Gatling Laser and dual 50 caliber chain guns.


    Yeah, I''m going to have to get several of these manufactured right away.


    Okay, time to get some grub.


    Pausing my work for the minute, I got up and left my office to see if the two sisters were ready to take a break for lunch.


    Walking to where they were, I asked the two of them. "Are you guys ready to grab some lunch?"


    "Of course." Alice answered in her pleasant voice.


    "Nn." Bella responded right after.


    My two compatriots gathered, we headed for the kitchen and prepared the meal we were going to have for lunch. Making everything speedily, we returned to our previous location and sat down with ten crispy chicken sandwiches and several sides that Alice and Bella made. We quickly devoured all the food in no time at all, with me eating the most out of us, Alice coming in as a close second, and then Bella.


    Finished with the meal, I let one of the multibots clean up the mess for us while the three of us made our way to the planning and relaxation area to chill for a bit before we headed for the gym to get our daily workout in. We spent the following half an hour talking about this and that when I decided to cut our relaxation time there and head for the gym.


    The workout went on for the next 3 hours before we all called it quits. As sweat was dripping from our bodies, we hit the showers with Alice, taking her little sister to the girls'' section while I walked into the designated male section. Done showering, I left the girls to do their thing while I advanced to the manufacturing area of the facility to begin making what will be my primary weapons for the foreseeable years.


    However, before I began, I set the robots and the automated manufacturing machines up with the new designs I created. With things on their way, I put my nose to the grindstone and got back to it.


    The hours quickly flew by and soon enough, I had two fearsome new weapons that will one day come to strike fear in the hearts of my enemies.


    | Mulcher |


    Damage: 50


    DPS: 833-5,000


    Fire rate: 1,000 - 6,000


    Capacity: 10,000 Armored Backpack Magazine


    Reload: 5


    Resistances: DT 150 Front


    Weight: 150


    Ammo Type: 7.62x51mm


    Value: 350,000


    Attachments: Ammo Counter, Laser sight, Heavy Weapon Sling


    Item Description: A huge 8-barreled 7.62 gatling gun that was created for the expressed purpose of slaughtering large radioactive mutants and cleansing the wasteland of filth. When the original design was later modified, an armored shield was attached towards where the barrels of the weapon begin to extend to provide additional protection to the wearer and the weapon''s main components from damage. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Mulcher Armored Backpack Magazine |


    Capacity: 10,000


    Resistances: DT 150


    Weight: 120


    Ammo Type: 7.62x51mm


    Value: 69,500


    Item Description: A large heavily armored backpack magazine made for the Mulcher gatling gun. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Purge |


    Damage: 50


    DPS: 833-5,000


    Fire rate: 1,000 - 6,000


    Resistances: Total DT 400, DT 150 Front, DT 250 Rear


    Weight: 250


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: Fusion Breeder Reactor


    Value: 3,900,000


    Attachments: Laser Sight, Heavy Weapon Sling


    Description: Purge is a unique variant of the FBGL-6 Gatling Laser and features a number of upgrades the first of which is the added armored shield attached towards the midsection of the weapon to provide additional protection to the wearer and the weapon''s components from damage. In addition to the armor upgrade, components all across the weapons have been replaced with much better components, thereby increasing the weapons durability, reliability, and damage output. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Purge Reactor Backpack |


    Resistances: DT 250


    Weight: 150


    Value: 2,750,000


    Item Description: A large heavily armored fusion breeder reactor backpack for the unique Purge gatling laser. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    That''s one hell of an upgrade from my previous loadout.


    Taking Mulcher into my hands, the minigun felt quite good to hold. Spooling up the barrels, I was left plenty satisfied and extremely happy to have invested the time in building the weapon with my own two hands. Placing it back on my workbench, I took hold of Purge and felt another rush of the exact same feelings.


    I would hate to be on the side of wherever this weapon is facing.


    More than content with my primary weapons, I walked over the main area to inspect my newest robot model and the two brand spanking new turrets.


    | K-1 Spider Mine |


    Armament: Overloaded Microfusion Breeder Cell With Additional Fuel


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Weight: 10


    Value: 35,000


    Description: The K-1 Spider Mine is a small four-legged robot designed to be a mobile kamikaze robot. The little guy is capable of traveling over all sorts of terrain and climbing up and hanging off of all kinds of surfaces. Because of that, it''s capable of surprise attacking most enemies and when that happens they''ll more than likely than not be obliterated by the explosive and extremely lethal package it carries. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBGL-6 Gatling Laser Turret |


    Damage: 50


    Fire rate: 6,000


    Resistances: DT 200


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Weight: 300


    Value: 4,000,000


    Description: A heavily armored self powered turret designed solely around the FBGL-6 Gatling Laser to dish overwhelming amounts of laser fire. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | S-3 Trapdoor Turret |


    Damage: 50, 120


    Fire rate: 6,000,


    Resistances: DT 250


    Armament: 1 x FBGL-6 Gatling Laser, 2 x F-750 Chaingun


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Weight: 800


    Value: 6,000,000


    Description: The S-3 Trapdoor Turret is a large, very heavily armed and armored self powered retractable turret intended to stay hidden until the right moment appears for it to pop out and shred whatever target or targets its controller wishes for it to shred to pieces. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    Yeah, there ain''t no one here in the undercity getting past my defenses, with these two holding down the fort.


    Sending them off with my increasing number of multibots to install, I went to gather Alice and Bella so we could head on back.


    "Okay, you two, it''s time to head home."


    "Ahh, okay, you need to call grandpa John?" Alice said after stretching both her arms into the air.


    "Nope, I already gave him a ring."


    Wrapping up the day there, we waited for the old man to show up and once he did, we loaded into his truck and headed home.

 Chapter 52: Weapon Shipment

    Date Friday, November 1st, 2261


    Two months later.


    Back once again at the Genesis Foundry, I found myself taking a short breather from my workout.


    Man, I''ve been hard at work these last couple of months and the progress I''ve made really shows it.


    Pulling up my stats, I couldn''t be any happier looking at all the increases my stats have undergone in this short period. Throwing that to the back of my mind, I began thinking about the other areas that have experienced improvement.


    Besides, my stats steadily increasing, the robots and I got that firing range built we''d been constructing for some time in the mine. With its completion, I can finally put the many weapons I manufactured for pops and father-in-law through a multitude of trials to ensure that they''ll be more than satisfied with this final shipment. Guess Alice, Bella, and I will be having a range day... might as well call gramps and have him come over too. I''m sure he''ll enjoy letting off some steam by firing off a bit of lead down range.


    Going back to my progress, I''ve been keeping an extra close eye on my All Element Core Technique to see if any issues would pop up with it. But nothing has occurred, thus I suppose it''s time I impart the magical technique unto Alice as well as all the magical knowledge I''ve acquired through my magic skill rising. That girl is sure to be more than a little stoked when I give her the news since she has asked more than a few times about how things were coming along, so...


    Adding to the magical stuff that cross necklace of mine that my girl gifted me ended up being something pretty amazing. If it wasn''t for me taking the mage class, I doubt I would''ve discovered its effects until much later.


    | Ancient Runic Cross Necklace Of Protection |


    Ability: Bubble Shield


    Class: Light


    Weight: 0.15


    Value: 100,000,000


    Item Description: A magical cross of protection from a long dead civilization. This cross is inscribed with magical runes of protection and when the wearer''s life is in danger, the cross will activate and enclose its wearer in a bubble shield that will protect them from harm. The bubble shield can provide a protection of 500 DT for 3 minutes before it is depleted and requires 24 hours to recharge.


    The effects are honestly pretty busted. I''m actually half tempted to start pursuing magic right this second, just so I can replicate it and give each one of my family members and friends an item of protection. Aside from that, because of this discovery, it got my creative juices flowing and got me thinking about the possibility of combining magic with technology.


    I can already envision myself adding and stacking all sorts of enchantments onto a heavily armored suit of power armor. It would be pretty sick to trick out my robots with it too. However, as useful as this piece of jewelry is and all those ideas of my sound, my plate is already more than full enough, hence I''ll have to delay those projects until later, unfortunately. Nonetheless, I can''t wait for that day to come. I will certainly see a huge power up when the time comes.


    Moving on from magic to the skill books I''ve accumulated. So I was going to spend them, but on second thought, I decided to delay it for a couple of reasons. One, I''ve been making decent progress in all of my skills, generally, so why increase that difficulty even a smidge when it''s totally unnecessary. And two, why spend them when I can just wait till it''s time to depart from the undercity. It probably won''t make that big of a difference, but every little bit of advantage I can eke out wherever I can is worth it in my book.


    Other than the progress I''ve been making alongside Alice and her little sister, I''ve been spending a bit more time recently with my two buddies, Big Tom and the little genius Bob. The two of them both appear to have good characters and with how things are progressing, I''ve been thinking more and more about adding them to my little group, I got going on over here.


    It would be nice to have a couple more people to rely on, but since I''m still not 100% sure as of yet, I''ll continue to monitor and feel them out. Hopefully, I can add them to my group and later the entity I will establish years down the road.


    That is about all I''ve accomplished these previous two months. The only other thing of some note was I did try to acquire my own means of transportation. However, I haven''t had any luck on that front thus far, so I''ll need to put a bit more work into getting mom and dad on board with that idea. That said, it shouldn''t take me too much longer to make it happen.


    Alright, I''ve done enough resting and thinking. Time to return to hitting the weights and once I''m finished, I''ll give the old man a ring and get that weapon shipment sent off and on its way and collect my payment.


    ...


    Phew, that''s the last rep of my workout.


    With my extensive all encompassing workout completed, I hit the showers before moving to the planning and relaxation area of the facility to check up on the sisters.


    Coming in through the door, I asked Alice and Bella how they were doing. "How are you guys making out?"


    "I''m doing just fine."


    "Me too." Bella answered happily, clearly enjoying whatever she had been reading about moments prior to me arriving.


    "How''d your training and workout go, Dom?" Alice inquired sweetly.


    "Pretty good. I''ve seen another slight improvement across the board."


    We chit chatted for a bit following that, and eventually I gave gramps a call.


    "Hey gramps we''re going to have lunch and later shoot some guns at the recently completed firing range. You want to join us?"


    "Sure kid, I''ll be right over."


    Ending the call quickly with the old wasteland veteran, I turned to my two companions and asked. "Alright, gramps will be here shortly. What do you guys want to eat?"


    "I''ll have whatever you feel like having, dear."


    "And you Bella?"


    "... I''m happy with whatever we make, big brother."


    "Okay, we''ll just throw together a smorgasbord then."


    No one having any clear desire for anything in particular. The three of us proceeded to the kitchen and got to work on preparing lunch for ourselves and my grandpa John, who will be arriving here soon enough. Opting for dishes that were easy and quick to make, we speedily had everything whipped up in no time and not long after that, the old man showed up. So, with everyone gathered, we sat down and had a pleasant lunch.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ...


    "That was a fantastic meal. Thanks for that youngins."


    "No problem, gramps. I''m always happy to have you join us. You guys ready to head off to the range, or do we want to take a short break?"


    "No, I''m ready to go shoot some steel." The old man answered.


    Alice and Bella looked at each other before responding at the same time. "We''re ready as well."


    "Alright then, let''s go have some fun." I said last.


    Leaving the mess we produced from our meal for my ever-increasing number of robots to clean up, we sped out of the planning and relaxation area. From there we headed for the armory, where we started gathering the weapons we would be testing out at the range. Rapidly preparing everything we would need for this activity, we departed from the armory with a squad of multibots in tow carrying loads of arms.


    Walking through the spacious gray concrete halls of the Genesis Foundry, we neared the giant doors that led into the mine tunnels. But instead of going through them, we four walked a ways away from them and headed down a newly constructed hallway located a couple hundred feet or so away. Proceeding down that freshly built hall, we came upon our destination and went inside.


    What came into view as we entered was a large and very long shooting range that was a hundred feet wide and 1,000 meters long. While the group was admiring the sight of the new addon, I had the robots begin laying out the arsenal across the many large metal tables near the shooting stations.


    | A-50 Anti-Material Rifle |


    Damage: 120


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Bolt Action


    Capacity: 10


    Reload: 2.5


    Weight: 22


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: .50 BMG


    Value: 150,000


    Attachments: 8x Scope


    Description: A large 50 caliber bolt action anti material rifle built to stop lightly armored vehicles and punch holes in armored targets.


    | AALP-3 Laser Pistol |


    Damage: 21


    DPS: Variable


    Weight: 3.5


    Class: Light


    Value: 9,500


    Description: A laser pistol that was developed and sold across the former united states a few years before atomic annihilation.


    | AALR-6 Laser Rifle |


    Damage: 30


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 50


    Reload: 2.5


    Weight: 8


    Class: Medium


    Value: 25,000


    Description: The AALR-6 Laser Rifle is a laser rifle developed for military and police use by the American Atomic Energy corporation and due to its popularity among those two groups it was then later sold to the civilian market as well, though it was quite a bit pricier than compared to its conventional ballistic brethren.


    | AAGL-5 Gatling Laser |


    Damage: 30


    DPS: 2,000


    Fire rate: 4,000


    Weight: 70


    Class: Heavy


    Value: 250,000


    Description: The APGL-5 Gatling Laser is a five barreled gatling laser that was designed and manufactured by the American Atomic Energy corporation for the U.S. military.


    | AK-108 |


    Damage: 30


    DPS: 450


    Fire rate: 900


    Capacity: 30, 60, 100


    Reload: 2.7


    Weight: 8


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: 5.56x45mm


    Value: 17,450


    Item Description: The AK-108 is an AK style assault rifle developed with a well-balanced recoil system in mind to eliminate felt recoil and to allow for controlled accurate, rapid fire. This particular model can take all standard 5.55 STANAG magazines.


    | AKM |


    Damage: 42


    DPS: 420


    Fire rate: 600


    Capacity: 30, 40, 60, 75


    Reload: 3


    Weight: 7.5


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: 7.62x39mm


    Value: 12,450


    Item Description: A revolutionary rifle developed in the old world many years ago by the defunct Soviet Union.


    | CA12 Combat Shotgun |


    Damage: 10x8


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 12


    Reload: 3


    Weight: 8


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: 12 Gauge Shotgun Shell


    Value: 11,650


    Item Description: A large capacity 12 gauge shotgun with wood furniture that was designed by the company Capital Arms as a home defense weapon but was then later adopted and used extensively by the U.S. armed forces as well as the various police forces around the U.S. before nuclear Armageddon due to it being a very reliable weapon and having a comparatively larger magazine to other shotguns on the market.


    | Combat Knife |


    Damage: 15


    DPS: Variable


    Weight: 1


    Class: Light


    Value: 500


    Description: A standard 8-inch long hardened steel combat knife.


    | F-60 Flamethrower |


    Damage: 15 + 8 for 20 seconds


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: 7


    Capacity: 100


    Reload: 5.5


    Weight: 15


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: Flamethrower Fuel


    Value: 9,600


    Item Description: A standard military-issue flamethrower with a small tank of propellant and fuel attached to the underside of the weapon. The weapon also has a port towards the rear of the weapon that allows the attachment of a fuel and propellant pack.


    | HK416 |


    Damage: 30


    DPS: 425


    Fire rate: 850


    Capacity: 30, 60, 100


    Reload: 2.7


    Weight: 8.5


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: 5.56x45mm


    Value: 14,600


    Item Description: A well built AR-15 style rifle used by many militaries and special operation units across the world years ago.


    | M2 Browning Machine Gun |


    Damage: 120


    DPS: 1,200


    Fire rate: 600


    Capacity: 100


    Reload: 6


    Weight: 84


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: .50 BMG


    Value: 215,000


    Item Description: A heavy machine gun that''s been serving the former U.S. military since the second world war.


    | M56 Minigun |


    Damage: 30


    DPS: 2,000


    Fire rate: 4,000


    Capacity: 500, 1,000


    Reload: 7


    Weight: 65


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 5.56x45mm


    Value: 100,000


    Attachments: Heavy Weapon Sling


    Description: A standard military issue 6-barreled 5.56mm gatling gun that excels at taking out and dispatching unarmored targets.


    | M76 Minigun |


    Damage: 50


    DPS: 3,333


    Fire rate: 4,000


    Capacity: 500, 1,000


    Reload: 7.5


    Weight: 80


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 7.62x51mm


    Value: 149,000


    Attachments: Heavy Weapon Sling


    Description: A standard military issue 6-barreled 7.62mm gatling gun that excels at taking out and dispatching unarmored and somewhat armored targets.


    | M90 Frag Grenade |


    Damage: 100


    Weight: 1


    Class: Light


    Value: 250


    Item Description: An ordinary and very common fragmentation grenade that is mostly green and has a pin that needs to be pulled to arm it.


    | TBT Sniper Rifle |


    Damage: 53


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 10


    Reload: 3


    Weight: 10


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: 7.62x51mm


    Value: 27,000


    Item Description: A lightweight semi-automatic 7.62x51mm sniper rifle that usually comes mounted with a 1-6x magnification scope. The design also features a threaded barrel to allow the mounting of various muzzle devices.


    | Z-2 Plasma Rifle |


    Damage: 65


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 30


    Reload: 2.5


    Weight: 8


    Class: Medium


    Value: 48,000


    Description: The Z-2 Plasma Rifle was an energy weapon that was being developed for the military by the American Atomic Energy corporation. The new energy weapon was distributed across the U.S. military shortly before the end came.


    "Okay, Alice, Gramps, you two start. I''ll take care of Bella and show her the ropes since this is her first time."


    "Sure." The old man said before wandering off with an A-50 Anti-Material Rifle in hand.


    "You want me to help, Dom?"


    "If you want." I responded to Alice. before she joined Bella and I.


    She and I then introduced her little sister to the world of firearms. She was somewhat scared in the beginning due to the loud noise they produced. But she quickly got used to them and honestly began to get a little gun crazy with all the firearms she could handle, which were mainly the ones that were stationary on mounts. This impromptu range day went on for the next couple of hours, with all four of us having a grand ole time for ourselves letting off steam.


    "Looks like we''re out of ammo finally." I commented aloud.


    "It would seem so." Bella followed up, sounding a little sad and deflated.


    Uh-oh, I think I might''ve awakened something in her that should''ve been left buried... I''m sure it''ll be fine.


    Whilst I was thinking about Bella''s newly gained interest in weapons, Alice asked her sister in her pleasant voice. "Did you enjoy your time Bella?"


    "Nn, I wish it hadn''t ended, though."


    "Well, all things must come to an end at some point, especially the fun kind, but we''ll have another range day before you know it."


    "Really???" She asked her big sis excitedly with bright expectant eyes.


    "Of course."


    "Yay, I can''t wait."


    The four of us conversed before I sent my three compatriots back along with my robots, who were going to deliver the weapons to the loading area of the facility while I began handling business. Calling up dad, I informed him that I had everything prepared and once he was told I added my father-in-law Alice''s and Bella''s dad to the call and gave him the down low. The three of us then arranged the transport of the arms along with the payment and the minute that was taken care of, I got off the phone and rejoined my grandpa John and the two girls who would hold a ton of power in my organization one day.


    Swiftly rejoining them, I asked gramps if he could help me out with persuading my parents into helping me get my very own means of transportation.


    "Yeah, that''ll be no problem, Dom. I''ll talk to them when I bring you three home."


    "Thanks, gramps. I appreciate it."


    The rest of the day was spent like it used to be spent previously, when the old man used to accompany us all the time. It was honestly nice having him around again.

 Chapter 53: The Cat鈥檚 Out Of The Bag

    "We''ll see you Monday, Bella. Have a good weekend." Alice told her sister while waving goodbye.


    "You guys have a good weekend, too." She responded energetically while waving back as well.


    Wishing her well, gramps drove us to my home and threw his armored truck in park before all three of us exited it and entered my home.


    "Mom, dad, we''re back. Oh, and I brought gramps too." I announced, coming through the entrance.


    "Welcome home, sweety, Alice, and dad, what brings you here today?"


    "Do I need a reason to visit my little girl and her husband?"


    "Mm, I suppose not. Well, since you''re here, you might as well join us for dinner. We''re having barbecue tonight."


    "Ohh, then definitely count me in." The old vet said while displaying a hungry expression and rubbing his hands together.


    While mom was getting the meats ready for dinner, we three headed for the living room and met up with my father. Plopping on the couches, the four of us made small talk for the next several minutes. We continued chatting when mom called for the men to man their stations, thus we wasted no time and got busy getting the equipment ready in the backyard. Not long after that, my mother Jane came out with tray after tray of meat. Hungry, we went right to work and threw the various cuts of seasoned meat onto the grill.


    I could get used to this. It''s almost like I''m back in my old world with my family.


    Reminiscing of my previous life I left behind way too soon, I continued grilling and handing the meat off as they were finished cooking on the grill. Shortly thereafter, everything was hot ready, so we collectively walked over and sat at the large outside table and began eating to our hearts'' content. Time passed on from then and eventually we finished the meal and let the miss maid robot begin cleaning up.


    The five of us conversed about our days and at some point, gramps decided to open up his mouth and help me out with my ride situation. "So, Jane, it''s come to my attention that you''re preventing my grandson from getting his first vehicle. What''s that about?"


    "Well, isn''t it a bit early to be letting my son drive around in his own car unsupervised when he''s only 11?" Mom countered, ready to battle it out with her dad.


    "Sure, if he was a normal 11-year-old boy. However, since he isn''t, that point won''t work here. So what''s the real reason?"


    "... I just don''t want him to be driving around on his own isn''t that good enough?"


    "He wants to be, and you can''t expect me to be chauffeuring him around all the time. So why don''t you give in and allow the kid to do what he wants? It''s not like he''ll get into any trouble."


    "..."


    "Oh, come on mom it''ll make things easier for me and I won''t have to inconvenience gramps every time Alice and I need to get somewhere that isn''t close by." I piled on trying to get her to cave to my request.


    "They have a point, honey. And he''s already more than capable of driving around all on his own if he''s already manufacturing weapons and all sorts of technology." My dad followed up trying to help but not realizing that he just informed my mother about something I didn''t wish for her to know of just yet.


    "...Wait a minute, what did you just say he was making???" Mom asked very seriously, focusing right onto the weapon manufacturing bit, no doubt.


    Fuck, of course dad would let the cat out of the bag.


    As the old man and I were staring daggers at my dear ole dad, along with my mother, dad reiterated what he just said while beginning to nervously sweat. "Ahh, weapons and technology."


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "WEAPONS, Sweety, when did this start? No, you can''t do that. It''s too dangerous-"


    Before she could go off and the old man interrupted and stopped her in her tracks. "Jane, stop and I''ll explain what''s been going on."


    "B-but-"


    "Jane." Gramps said, exerting some of that pressure he obtained from his many years exploring the wasteland.


    With her going mute, the old man looked at me and asked. "So you want to tell them, Dom?"


    Understanding what he was getting at, I answered. "I didn''t plan on it, but I suppose since we''ve arrived at this point, they should be made aware. It is only a matter of time before it comes out, after all."


    "Alright, let''s head inside, then. We can''t be having that sort of conversation out here, even though the property has plenty of space in between it and the neighboring ones."


    Nodding my head in response as both my mom and dad wore looks of confusion, we got up and went inside. Returning to the living room, I waited for a second to organize my thoughts and began. "As I said moments ago, I didn''t plan on revealing what I''m about to tell you so soon. But since dad has already let loose about my weapon manufacturing, I should probably just reveal the rest of the secrets I''ve been hiding from you mom and dad."


    *Sigh* "Sweety you know you don''t have to hide anything from us, right?"


    "Your mother is right son, you can tell us whatever it is you''ve been keeping mum about."


    "Okay, I''ll tell you. But don''t try to change my mind because what I''m about to tell you is about what I wish to accomplish one day and I''ll stop at nothing to achieve it."


    "We would never try to stop you from attempting to achieve your dream, sweety. So go ahead and tell us." Mom encouraged, whilst dad nodded along in agreement.


    "Alright, but before I do that, I''m going to show you guys a few things first because it will make it easier for you to accept the path I''m going to be pursuing in life."


    With the two''s encouragement, I presented my hand with my palm facing upward and gathered up a number of lightning element mana particles. A split second later, lightning appeared and began to dance erratically on my palm, leaving both of my parents stunned.


    "Well, that''s new. When did you gain the ability to produce lightning, kid?" Gramps asked curiously.


    "Around two months ago."


    "Hmm..."


    My parents remained in their gobsmacked state for a few more seconds before they rejoined the rest of us in reality once again.


    "So, is this all you''ve been hiding from us, son?"


    "Not at all. This is just one of my recently gained abilities and I still have to tell you about my dream."


    "Right..."


    Following that, I started displaying each one of the abilities I possessed from my ability to summon weapons and all sorts of items from thin air to my body''s incredible strength and durability to my magical ability to sense everything within a certain spherical radius around me.


    "Those aren''t all the abilities I possess, but it is enough to display my capabilities."


    ...


    "So you''re either a marked one or a transcendent sweety. I don''t see why you needed to hide that from us."


    Shaking my head, I corrected my mother. "I am neither. My abilities cover far too large of a range for me to be categorized as either of those. I also don''t have a tattoo-like mark on any part of my body."


    "Hmm, that''s strange. I wonder why you have those abilities then, if you are neither." Dad commented.


    "The reason why I have these powers is due to me being born with a system very similar to ones from role-playing games and certain fictional titles."


    "I don''t think I heard that right. Did you just say a system, like the kind of one a novel protagonist would have?"


    "No, your ears are working just fine, dad. That''s exactly what I possess."


    "Well, I suppose that could explain why you have such a wide assortment of abilities, sweety."


    ...


    From there, I went on to answer all the questions they had and the moment they were satisfied; I moved onto the next topic at hand that needed to be discussed. "Okay, now that we''ve got that all covered, let''s continue onto the next subject, that being my dream. So, like anyone else, I have a dream I wish to achieve in the future. However, unlike others, mine is a hell of a lot more challenging, if not impossible, when compared to others."


    Taking a second for suspense, I continued. "What I wish to accomplish is to conquer the wasteland and unite the remnants of humanity under one banner. I know that may seem like something no human is capable of accomplishing, but I believe my odds of success are better than any human alive today, given the massive amount of knowledge I''ve accumulated and my wide array of abilities."


    "I''m not going to say you can''t pursue that dream of yours, son, but you realize how insane it sounds right."


    "I do, but I''ve been planning things out for years at this point all to make myself as prepared as possible before I even step foot out of the safety of the undercity. So it''s much too late to turn back now, not that I would want to."


    *Sigh* "This is a lot to take in, sweety, but if this is what you really want to do with your life, I won''t stop you. However, until you leave the nest for the outside world, I want to see the extent of your preparations. Are you fine with that?"


    "That''s no problem, mom. We can go now if you want."


    "Alright, let''s go now then."


    The conversation paused there for the second and we all headed for gramp''s armored truck, hopped in and got on the road.


    This is going far easier than I thought it would have.

 Chapter 54: Magic Reborn

    Arriving at the Genesis Foundry relatively quickly, we proceeded inside, where I spent the next hour showing them all of what I''ve prepared up to this point. Which eased and significantly reduced whatever worries and concerns they had about that grand goal of mine.


    "This is obviously not enough to accomplish what I wish to currently, but I still have almost seven years left to prepare. I''m sure you can imagine how much my robot army and arsenal will have grown too by then when my production capabilities continue to expand with every day that passes."


    "It will certainly be impressive, sweety, but what do you plan to do when you depart for the wasteland?" Mom asked whilst my father was still in the midst of imagining the force I would have at the age of 18.


    "I have it all planned out already. The first step I''ll take is I''ll travel to the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility located southeast of here, take it over from its robot inhabitants, and fix it up, to upgrade my robot manufacturing capabilities massively. Once that''s done I''ll..."


    From there I went on to explain in detail to both of them what I''ve already told gramps some time ago.


    "Looks like you''ve got it all figured out, son. Let us know if you need anything. We''re always here for you."


    "Mm, he does, doesn''t he. But if you ever encounter any sort of danger that you even have the smallest amount of doubt of handling, I want you to promise me you''ll prioritize your safety above all else."


    "I have no plans of throwing my life away, so I''ll promise I''ll make sure to prioritize my safety." I replied.


    "The kid has already faced a moleman nest in the depths of the mine tunnel. So he''ll be more than ready to face whatever the wasteland can throw at him right now, not to mention when he''s an adult."


    "HE DID WHAT, DOM-" Mom said, immediately getting upset at the danger I''ve already faced.


    Here we go again, haa.


    Calming her down, mom wrapped me in a hug for a few moments before letting me go, and as soon as she did, I decided to bring up the subject of whether to inform several more people of my secrets. "Now that you two have been made aware, should we tell grandpa Henry and grandma and Alice''s family?"


    "I don''t think they''ll show all that of a negative response. Alice''s father David certainly won''t since he was quite the ambitious fellow in his youth, so he''ll more than understand. Her mother Aura, on the other hand, will be more concerned with her daughter''s safety, but I''m sure you have something figured out for that already, son."


    "I do, multiple things, in fact."


    "I think things will be fine, Dom, when you explain to them your plans in detail and they see the extensive preparations you''ve already made." Alice added.


    "... Let''s tell them tomorrow. Mom, dad, can you gather everyone?"


    "Sure, what time are you thinking of?" Mom responded.


    "Let''s do 9:00 AM. We can have breakfast together before we start."


    With that settled, we speedily returned home and, after spending a few hours chilling, we turned in for the night.


    ...


    The next day, everyone gathered, including Bella and Alice''s grandparents, Ronald Ed Steele and Evelynn Scarlet Steele. I don''t know what my parents said to gather everyone, but they were all looking at me with curious gazes, Bella being the sole exception. Unwilling to bring up the topic of today''s gathering just yet, we sat down and had a scrumptious breakfast to get everyone in a good mood. Over the meal, the bunch of us made small talk and once everything was eaten, all the eyes within the room focused in on me.


    "Since we''re done eating, I guess it''s time we''ve gotten down to business."


    Seeing no one say anything, I continued and began the process of revealing my abilities, one after another. The minute I was done, I saw I left all those who were uninformed in a state of shock and awe, so I waited for them to come back to the real world. When they did, I began telling them about my dream and as a result a few of them got upset expectably, though mainly the women. Besides them, the men of our families seemed plenty happy with my ambition to reclaim the wasteland.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Following that, I had to spend the next 10 minutes calming the women down and right as that was resolved; we made our way to my property to show them what I''ve prepared up to now. Reaching our destination in record via two separate vehicles since one alone wasn''t large enough to transport our group, we exited the vehicles and entered the facility. The next couple of hours were spent with me showing off and answering every little question they could possibly come up with.


    "Now that everyone has seen what I''ve accomplished thus far, I''m sure your confidence in me accomplishing my goal one day has increased at least a bit."


    "How could it not have." Alice''s and Bella''s father, David, the undercity''s governor, said happily.


    "You''ve done good, kid. I can''t wait to see the heights you''ll reach in the future, haha." Alice''s grandpa Ronald said while patting my right shoulder joyously.


    "I''m sure it will be something I just don''t know if we''ll live long enough for us old folk to see the day my grandson accomplishes his dream." My grandpa Henry added.


    "You''re very right, but nonetheless, I''ll be happy, regardless, even if I''m no longer here."


    "Actually, you guys will live to see the day."


    "Hmm, why is that? We know your abilities are incredible, Dom, but nothing you''ve shown us so far can beat the continuous degradation of time."


    "Well, that''s not really true. I was just holding off on the details regarding one of my new abilities for this exact moment." I said before lifting and presenting my hand forward while using a level one spark spell, the same one I used the previous day. But instead of using the lightning element particles I had used yesterday from the surrounding environment, I used a small portion of the all element particles from my mana core. Which in turn changed the color of the lightning from its normal blueish white to black.


    Holding the chaotic black lightning in the palm of my hand, I continued. "This may sound ridiculous, but this isn''t an ability granted by the system. This is, in fact, the work of magic, the kind of stuff you may have heard about in legends. And with this magic, you can extend your lifespan by advancing in the mage realms."


    Leaving just about the whole group stunned, I went on to explain in detail the entire system of magic I knew of, as well as a whole assortment of miscellaneous information regarding its innumerable facets. I then went on to tell them they needed to keep what I''m telling them a secret from others, for obvious reasons.


    After getting them to give me their word that they would not disclose anything regarding magic to anyone besides the people present, I began the process of teaching them my All Element Core Technique and integrating an all element core into each of their mana cores. It took several hours to get everyone set up and up to speed. However, once we did, I could literally feel the excitement radiating off each and every one of them, especially the older generation who were nearing ever closer to the end of their lifespans.


    I know this technique of mine is extremely powerful from all the information I''ve been granted by magic skill, so it could bring a whole host of problems if it fell into the hands of others. Despite those issues, I''d much rather not let age take our family members from us, hence it''s better to just let them learn my magical cultivation method even though it comes with a bunch of risks, such as my future enemies getting ahold of my technique.


    Although the chances of that occurring while I''m down here in Undercity 7 is basically nil. However, once I''m out and about on the surface, I''ll have to come up with various protection methods to prevent it from disseminating as soon as possible. I have a few ideas in mind, but I won''t be able to do anything about it until I get established at the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility and begin pursuing magic.


    Those negatives aside, having all the old timers around is a huge asset in and of itself. Having them around would increase the amount of people I trust and can fall back on, and since I''ll be founding and building a nation in the future, I''m going to need a good number of people I trust to man certain positions. I''m not sure all of them will want to, but I know more than a few of them will love to like gramps, for instance. The old guy yearns for the past where he led what was basically a mercenary band, so he would for sure take the role of a general or military commander if I ever asked for his help.


    Not too worried about my magic cultivation getting out for several years, I regained their attention and proceeded to the next part. "Alright, now that everyone is now a 1st level mage initiate, let me give you guys the rest of the information I''ve accumulated."


    Handing them each an encrypted datapad, I began again. "Each of these pads has a bunch of information regarding magic, so you''ll be able to learn and explore on your own."


    "Wouldn''t it be better for you to teach us instead of us exploring this new magical field all on our own?" Alice''s mother Aura questioned.


    "Sure, if I was going to be pursuing this field like the rest of you right now, but I''m not going to be doing that until I get set up in the wasteland. Hence, in actuality, you guys will be better off learning amongst yourselves. That said, if you encounter anything you are unsure of, make sure to consult with everyone here and if that isn''t enough, I may be able to help." I answered.


    "Also, make sure you type in this password every week or the datapad will wipe itself."


    "Why''d you set that up, big brother?" Bella asked.


    "To ensure that the information doesn''t go beyond the people here in case anything were to happen to the datapad or us."


    With that handled, everyone started investigating their datapads and talking amongst themselves, occasionally asking me a question regarding something they were interested in. I let this go on for an hour before I decided to bring up my car situation to get that resolved and the instant I did, Alice''s and Bella''s dad David said he would handle getting me a license by no later than the end of the day.


    Looks like I''ll be able to drive again, sweet.


    ...


    Later on that day, our large group disbanded with mom, dad, Alice and I going home first and then later to a dealership dad had a good relationship with where I picked out an armored up SUV for myself that would be my main mode of transportation going forward.

 Chapter 55: It鈥檚 Like Christmas

    Date Wednesday, December 25th, 2261


    A bit short of two months later.


    Looks like Christmas is finally here.


    I thought as I awoke from my sleep.


    If I was a normal kid, I would''ve been as excited as can be. But since I''m an adult mentally going through my second life, I''ve long lost that giddiness I would feel whenever this holiday rolled around. So sadly this holiday and most others have simply turned into just another day for me, although one gives me a reason to take a break and spend the day with the family... Well I better get up and get my workout in before I get held up for the entire day.


    Getting up from the bed that Alice and I were sharing without disturbing her, I stretched my arms above my head and went into the bathroom. Speeding through my usual routine, I proceeded to the gym in the basement to continue making progress. I could''ve taken a break like any normal person would have in my position if they had been going constantly for days on end. However, because I''m a bit of a self improvement addict, I just couldn''t help myself. Especially nowadays, since I can literally see and feel myself increasing in power and strength after each session.


    ...


    The hours quickly flew by from when I first stepped foot into the gym. And as I was about to finish the last swing I needed to perform with my heavy training sword, the monitoring equipment I had set up in the incubation room for my colossal gila monster egg alerted me that the creature within was finally attempting to break out of its shell.


    "Ohh, that little guy is finally hatching." I thought aloud, excitedly.


    I better get there as fast as possible so that the Collosal Gila Monster''s offspring will imprint on me.


    Finishing that final swing with my several hundred pound heavy training sword, I hurriedly placed it in its stand and raced off to the showers. Washing all the sweat off my body, I dried myself, threw on another set of clothes and utilized Ghost to phase through the walls of my home and whatever obstacles I encountered.


    As soon as I was outside, I forwent my car because it wasn''t the fastest possible method to get there and made a beeline for the Genesis Foundry at breakneck speed on foot whilst using all the abilities at my disposal. What would''ve normally taken 25 minutes at least to get to my facility was cut down to a mere 10 minutes flat.


    Alright, I''ve made it. Time to help this little one break out of its shell.


    Proceeding inside swiftly, I didn''t waste a single second and continued sprinting through every physical object that stood in my path. The instant I made it to the incubation room, I had the sliding doors open for me via Mechanical Domination and entered inside.


    What came into view was the same huge black and orange egg I extracted from its Collosal Gila Monster mother many months ago, with several cracks beginning to appear on its top. Walking up to it checked it out with my perception field to see if there were any issues or if the baby within was experiencing any trouble.


    Mm, that''s good, the little guy hasn''t encountered any problems. Nonetheless, I''ll still help him out since I don''t have long before Alice''s family and my own wake up and gather.


    Short for time, I activated my all element mana core and began supplying the lizard with my all element mana, the main reason this guy was hatching so soon. As I was feeding my mana into it that I hoped would have some other positive effect on it, I began carefully dismantling the egg shells piece by piece to assist in welcoming my new friend into this world. Laying the pieces off to the side, a pair of glowing orange eyes eventually appeared and peered back at me from within the partially dismantled shell.


    "Nice to meet you little guy the names Dom." I greeted it, not expecting any sort of response.


    Unexpectedly, the not so little one responded with a sort of chirp similar to a baby gator, although much deeper because of its many times larger size.


    This wasteland creature might actually be pretty intelligent.


    "Can you understand me?" I asked.


    *Chirp.*


    "Can you actually?"


    *Chirp, chirp*


    That''s not exactly definitive. However, it seems this little guy isn''t just some normal mutated reptile. Maybe the mana I''ve been pumping into it over these past months has something to do with its seemingly increased intelligence... Well whatever, I won''t be able to figure it out right this moment even if I wanted to so let''s worry about that later and get this scaly friend out of its shell.


    Delaying my investigation until a later time, I restarted my efforts of helping my new pet out of what was left of its shell. It took some time, but the newborn and I made quick work of it. And once the not so little one was fully out of its egg, a 3 and a half foot tall and 12 foot long from head to tail black and orange colored wingless draconic looking lizard stood before me looking around inquisitively. Checking the guy out while it was looking around and taking the incubation room, I discovered its gender.


    Guess I''ll have to find you a female in the future if I want to add any more dragon-like lizards to my lineup.


    Continuing to look him over, I noticed something.


    Now that I''m giving him a good look over, he appears to have even more draconic features than his mother did, and his limbs are longer and more built. Besides that, he has small underdeveloped horn-like protrusions on the top of his head and spikes running along his neck, back, and tail. Yeah, there is no way he is the same species as his mother. So he must''ve evolved into something else most likely due to all the all element mana I''ve been supplying him over the months. And if not that, maybe his mother mated with a stronger species I have zero knowledge of.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    He looks even more impressive than his mother did, so I''m not complaining. Let''s check out what species he is with my Observant perk.


    Happy with the changes my new pet had undergone in his time in the egg, I utilized my perk.


    | Newborn Colossal Monster Drake |


    Health: 1,000


    Damage Threshold: 100


    Resistances: ???


    Description: An offspring of a Colossal Gila Monster that has undergone a mutation and evolved into an entirely new species due to certain unknown variables. This species-???.


    A Colossal Monster Drake, huh. Guess I''ll be the owner of an actual dragon one day if I can figure out how to evolve him further.


    Moving on from the species name, I turned to the stats.


    Damn, that''s a lot of health and look at that DT, this newborn can almost tank 50 cal right out of the egg... The resistances are blank for some reason and that description leaves a lot to be desired, but whatever I''ll figure things out in due time, as I always have.


    Not finding anything else of value from my Observant perk, I turned it off and watched on as the little dragon I gained began to eat his egg for some reason. As I watched him chow down, I had a sudden idea come to me.


    I wonder how much of the mana I gave him he''s been able to keep ahold of.


    Turning on my magic senses that I''ve been ignoring for a while since it was overwhelming to deal with all the time, I saw that my new drake had a large All Element Mana Core sitting in his heart many times bigger than the one I possessed. Alongside that, I noticed the egg shell he was consuming was flooded with all element mana as well as the yolk; the stuff was literally shining.


    That egg and yolk he''s eating definitely has magical properties to it, thus it''s probably very valuable in the field of magic. That said, I can''t do anything with the stuff right now since I won''t be exploring the path of magic for quite a few more years. So I suppose it''s a good thing he''s eating it instead of letting it rot away and go to waste.


    That aside, I should probably keep myself in tune with my magical senses going forward. Don''t want to miss out on spotting anything that is magical in origin. Although that relies upon me actually coming across something that is of that nature... Yeah, there may not be any instances of that occurring, on top of it being a pain in the ass to deal with the overwhelming senses at this given moment.


    Nevertheless, I''d rather get used to them ahead of time instead of missing out on the chance to pick up a rare magical item or some other sort of treasure. I''m sure doing that will improve them over the years too, which my future self will certainly be thankful for later on when I begin exploring and pursuing that path.


    Several minutes later, whilst I was distracted by my thoughts and managing my growing robot army slash workforce, the newly hatched drake finished cleaning up the eggshell and its other bits.


    "You hungry little guy?"


    *Chirp*


    "... I don''t know what that means, so let''s try this. Nod your head up and down if you''re hungry and if you aren''t, shake it side to side."


    *Chirp*


    "Alright, let''s try this again. Are you hungry?"


    Receiving a nod in response to my question, I now knew definitively that the beast was, in fact, intelligent and that I could communicate with, albeit simply.


    "Okay, we''ll get you fed in a second here. Let''s give you a name before we do. Now what would be a good fit..." I said while the baby drake looked at me with its head tilted.


    Unwilling to give my newly acquired drake a run-of-the-mill name, I began brainstorming and recalling all the information I had read previously on various mythos. After doing so for a decent while, I found a few that would work, thus I got to deciding and ended up liking Vritra the best amongst them.


    A legendary name picked out for my pet to grow into one day, hopefully. I crouched down in front of him, bringing myself to his level, and said. "How does Vritra sound to you, little one?"


    *Chirp, chirp* The newborn drake responded happily from what I could tell.


    "Welcome to the family then, Vritra." I told him, rubbing his scaly head.


    While Vritra was enjoying my head rubs and making a sound equivalent to a cat purring, my CZ-7 Armored SUV that I upgraded into a self-driving vehicle arrived and parked itself in the parking lot out front. With the clock ticking, I brought my new family member with me to the planning and relaxation area and started preparing a high protein breakfast.


    I got everything whipped up in no more than 15 minutes and the instant it was all prepared; I laid several plates of freshly grilled meat in front of the hungry reptile. Which he immediately started ravenously tearing apart and scarfing down.


    As he was giving me a run for my money in terms of what he could put back, I began eating my own meal and started thinking about how I no longer needed as much food and nutrients for the growth and recovery.


    I like eating but it was getting to be a bit much. Thankfully, my Wildman perk came in the clutch and cut the amount of food and drink I need to consume to fuel my gains these last many months. That perk has honestly been a godsend. I was actually beginning to dread meal time whenever it came around because of the amount of food I was having to shovel and the innumerable protein drinks I was downing each and every day.


    Happy as can be that I could continue to enjoy food, Vritra and I speedily ate everything in sight. Two bellies full, I left the mess behind for my robots to manage and lead the way through the gray halls of my property, with my reptilian friend following right behind me. Reaching the car, I loaded him into the large trunk of the SUV and hopped into the driver''s seat, and started making my way home.


    It took longer to return home than when I had left earlier, but I made it back, nonetheless. Unloading my pet, I opened the garage door and led him into my home and upon entering; I found everyone up and already gathered in the living room that had been turned Christmas themed with a big fake pine tree and the works.


    "Nice of you to join us, sweety. Where''d you go this early in the morning?" My mother inquired as Vritra peeked his head out from behind me.


    "Oh, who''s that following behind you?" She asked before I could respond to her initial question.


    Placing my hand on Vritra''s head, I introduced him to the rest of the family. "This here is Vritra, our new family member."


    Following that, I got our new family member acquainted with everyone here currently and gave them a rundown of what he was, which got a round of gasps from mom, dad, and Alice when they learned of what his species was. After that, the rest of my grandparents showed up and soon thereafter, Alice''s family arrived as well.


    Once they arrived, I went through the entire explanation a second time and when they heard that Vritra was a drake, the kind from mythical legends, they all shared the same reaction Alice and my parents showed, which I found to be quite amusing.


    Introductions dealt with the women of the family, went to the kitchen and prepared a grand breakfast for all those gathered here today. I was still full with what I had eaten not too long ago, but due to it being a holiday and me not wanting to upset the cooks who put their hearts into the meal, I put my discomfort aside and stuffed myself. Thankfully, my drake didn''t have any issue with going for round two and tore into whatever was put in front of him happily.


    What a glutton.


    The remainder of the day was spent festively and at 12:00 AM everyone departed for their respective homes and turned in for the night to catch some zzzs.


    ...


    The next seven days following Christmas were spent at home with Alice and Bella since I decided we could all use a break from the grind. After spending generally just having fun at home with the family and occasionally going out, we once again returned to the Genesis Foundry to continue making progress.

 Chapter 56: The Makings Of A Kingpin

    Date Tuesday, June 1st, 2262


    Five months later, early on in the day.


    Alright, construction has finally been completed.


    I thought as I looked on, satisfied as can be at my chemical and drug production addon.


    It took many months of effort from the crew and I, but with the completion of this expansion alongside the growing facilities, I can now move on to the next step and begin producing and putting the several modified formulas of Maxigen I''ve already developed through actual medical trials. Thankfully, I''ve already acquired live test subjects in the way of the molemen guards that have been sitting in their cells all this time since their capture.


    They''re close enough to humans, with them being a mutated combination of human and hairless mole rat DNA, so whatever effects they experience should carry over to me. Thus, I should be able to eliminate all negative side effects before I start using the performance-enhancing drug for my own use. I honestly can''t wait till hop on the stuff because of what I read it can do. The gains I''ll make with the compound are going to be crazy, no doubt.


    Leaving thoughts of that aside, I''ve gotten a ton done these last five months. I''ve advanced to the next mage level passively while I was asleep, funnily enough, and continued producing resources, weapons, equipment, and all sorts of miscellaneous items.


    [Mage Initiate 2nd Level]


    [+5,100 Max Mana Capacity, +2 Magic Power, and +10 Magic]


    In addition to that, I''ve increased my production capacity again, further expanded the facility into the mines and designed five new weapon designs: one high caliber traditional ballistic weapon and four plasma weapons.


    | X-50 Anti-Material Rifle |


    Damage: 120


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 10


    Reload: 2.5


    Weight: 25


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: .50 BMG


    Value: 250,000


    Attachments: Bipod, Laser sight, Suppressor, Digital Variable Zoom Scope, Vertical Fore Grip, Weapon Sling


    Description: This weapon is a large 50 caliber semi automatic anti-material rifle built to throw hate down range accurately. The weapon is constructed from advanced and strong lightweight alloys and features an Electronic Scope that comes equipped with night and thermal vision. On top of that high end scope, the weapon also possesses an assortment of other attachments that will certainly help the user in all kinds of scenarios. This weapon can also accept standard A-50 10 round magazines. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBPC-10 Plasma Cannon |


    Damage: 250


    DPS: 250-2,083


    Fire rate: 60-500


    Weight: 35


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 500,000


    Attachments: 1-6x Variable Zoom Scope, Weapon Sling


    Item Description: The FBPC-10 Plasma Cannon is a new breed of weapon not seen before in the wasteland. The weapon fires a continuous stream of concentrated plasma that easily melts through armor and energy shields. The fire rate can be adjusted with the two setting fire rate controller located by the trigger for easy access. It is highly recommended to fire this weapon in short bursts and brief streams because of the heat it produces. If this is not followed, the weapon is guaranteed to overload and produce a great explosion for the user and those around them. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBPAR-3 Plasma Assault Rifle |


    Damage: 80


    DPS: 1,067


    Fire rate: 800 RPM Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Weight: 9


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 98,000


    Attachments: Canted Red Dot Sight, Laser Sight, 1-6x Variable Zoom Scope, Vertical Fore Grip, Weapon Sling


    Description: The FBPAR-3 Plasma Assault Rifle is an improved version of the Z-2 Plasma Rifle that has had its micro fusion cell slot replaced with a fixed microfusion breeder cell. The weapon was also converted from semi auto to 800 rpm with an option for semi. On top of those changes, the weapon''s damage has been upped from its original alongside its reliability. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBPMG-9 Plasma Machine Gun |


    Damage: 80


    DPS: 1,600


    Fire rate: 1,200 Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Weight: 28


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 350,000


    Attachments: Canted Red Dot Sight, Laser Sight, 1-6x Variable Zoom Scope, Vertical Fore Grip, Weapon Sling


    Item Description: A large triple-barreled plasma machine gun based on the FBPAR-3 Plasma Assault Rifle. Due to the weapons number of barrels and its relatively low fire rate of 400 per minute with each of them, the weapon can be fired for extended durations. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBPS-7 Plasma Scorcher |


    Damage: 50 + 25 for 30 seconds


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: 50


    Weight: 14


    Class: Heavy


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 135,000


    Attachments: Heavy Weapon Sling


    Description: A plasma flamethrower that is powered by fusion breeder cells to ensure the wielder never runs out of ammo. This weapon is an upgrade from traditional fuel based flamethrowers and doesn''t pose the risk of a compromised fuel tank consuming the wearer. Or in this weapons case, the wielder, since it doesn''t require the user to lug around a cumbersome fuel pack. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    Other than those new weapon designs being added to the production line, I swapped out the plain old red dot sights on the FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles in favor for 1-6 variable zoom scopes and canted red dot sights. I also introduced a number of weapons that already exist in the wasteland as well to my production, which upgraded both my forces and my own combat abilities more than just a bit when everything was considered.


    | F-3 Flashbang |


    Weight: 0.9


    Class: Light


    Value: 100


    Item Description: A flash grenade designed to disable enemy vision.


    | H-40 Grenade Machinegun |


    Damage: 145


    DPS: 1,208


    Fire rate: 500


    Capacity: 45


    Reload: 8


    Weight: 70


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 40x53mm Grenade


    Value: 243,000


    Attachments: Heavy Weapon Sling


    Item Description: This weapon was developed before World War III for the express purpose of laying waste to infantry whether they''re in cover or not and disabling unarmored vehicles as well as lightly armored ones.


    | U-2 EMP Grenade |


    Weight: 1


    Value: 2,000


    Item Description: An electromagnetic pulse grenade that was developed by the U.S. military prior to the end of modern human civilization. The grenade can disable robots and electronics as long as they are unshielded.


    | VT-80 Missile Launcher |


    Damage: 280


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Variable


    Capacity: 1


    Reload: 7


    Weight: 20


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 80mm Missile


    Value: 175,000


    Description: The VT-80 Missile Launcher is a lightweight missile launcher that entered production in the west shortly before conflict broke out across the entirety of earth. This launcher is effective against both ground and air targets and has the ability to track and hunt down its targets, which is especially effective against aerial targets.


    Beside the versatility of my armaments increasing, I was in bed one night a few months back, involved in my thoughts. When I began thinking back on the thousands upon thousands of molemen, I killed. About a minute in, I all of sudden remembered that there was a quest for killing 1,000 enemies.


    So I tried to see if I could shake a quest out of the system with the means I discovered way back, which was by setting a goal for myself in my mind. And walla I generated a new quest for myself that I instantly completed as soon as I received it since I already met the requirements for it.


    | Killing Spree | Objectives: Reach a kill count total of 1,000 kills. Rewards: Perk Slaughterer, 10,000 exp.


    If I turned it in at the time, I would''ve netted myself more than enough exp for a level up, but I didn''t do that. I held off collecting my rewards because I was waiting on my agility attribute to raise just that last smidge that would put it over 10. The sole objective yet to be completed for my Surpass Your Human Limits quest.


    Some may say that wasn''t the smartest thing to do since every time I level up, my exp gain increases so I missed out on gaining a bit more than 100 additional exp off my daily quest. But that''s alright because I''ll be gaining another 500 exp due to my intelligence increasing and that was a while back, so if it raises again I''ll be adding another 500 on top of the previous 500 exp.


    Moving from that and returning to construction for a moment, the facility''s storage has been significantly expanded in these months to the point that I won''t need to build anymore storage for at least the next few years.


    Beyond that, I haven''t done much else of note other than usual and feeling out my two buddies to see if they would be worthwhile candidates. And the more time I spent with them, the more I felt that I should get them involved... I think I''ll extend the offer this weekend and see if they want to join.


    Finished thinking about what I''ve accomplished these previous several months, I ordered the robots to begin planting the different genetically modified seeds I''ve produced so far in the recently built grow area of the facility.


    While they were handling that, I headed to the gym to continue working on my current objective, raising my agility attribute to 11. The rest of that day was spent as expected as well as the days following it and before I knew it, the day to potentially add more people to my currently small group arrived.


    Today''s the day. I hope they''ll join, but if they don''t want to, it''s not the end of the world. I still got Alice, Bella, and the rest of our two families after all... Alright, that''s enough about that. Let me get moving.


    Hopping up out of bed without disturbing the sleeping beauty right beside me, I headed to the bathroom, and got myself in order.


    I have several hours remaining before my two friends are awake, so I''ll go spend the hours I have available until then productively at the gym, continuing to progress.


    Unwilling to just laze around, I stealthily made my way to the gym down below. Reaching my destination in less than a minute, I started my routine and kept working and training until five hours had passed. The moment I was done, I hit the showers, cleaned myself off and returned to my bedroom, where I encountered Alice just waking up.


    Climbing into bed with her, I asked. "How''d you sleep, babe?"


    "Great, now that you''re here, darling." She answered before pouncing on me and going in for a kiss.


    Reciprocating the love she was seeking, we stayed latched to each other for a decent while before I pulled her away and said to Alice, who was ever so slightly out of breath. "You want to eat now or after I give Big Tom and Bob a call?"


    "Whatever you want to do, Dom." She responded in her typical soothing and sweet sounding voice.


    "Alright, let''s go eat first then."

 Chapter 57: Join Me

    We spent several more minutes in bed chatting about this and that, and eventually I sent Alice into the bathroom to do her morning routine. The moment she came out of the bathroom, we wasted no time and headed out and met up with my parents and had a quick breakfast. My parents left soon thereafter, leaving Alice and me to our own devices.


    Getting down to business, I called up Bob first, and once he picked up, I said. "Mornin Bob, it''s Dom."


    "Good morning, Dom. I''m surprised you''re calling me this early in the morning. What''s up?"


    "Well, I was seeing if you wanted to meet up. I have something to discuss with you and Big Tom."


    "Regarding?"


    "Why I haven''t been able to spend as much time with you and Tom."


    "...so you''re finally willing to let me in on that secret, aye?" Bob said seriously.


    "Yes, the time has come." I responded somewhat over dramatically to keep the conversation on the lighter side.


    "Oh, ha, ha. So, what time are we meeting up at and where?"


    "I''ll come pick you up. When do you think you''ll be ready?"


    "I can be ready in five."


    "Alright, I''ll swing by and come pick you up first since your home is closer than Tom''s."


    "Catch you in a bit, then."


    Hanging up the call there, I dialed Big Tom''s number. "Mornin Tom, it''s Dom."


    "Mornin, bro, how''ve you been doing? I haven''t talked to you in a minute." Tom responded, happy to hear from me.


    "Pretty good, actually, you?"


    "You know, same old, same old. So we meeting up, or are you just checking in, bro?"


    "Yeah, I was going to ask you whether you were good to meet up. I got something to tell you and Bob."


    "Oh, what time then? I can be ready whenever."


    "Bob said he would be ready in five, so I''ll go pick him up first and then you. I''ll probably be at your house within ten minutes."


    "I''ll be ready."


    "Okay, I''ll catch you in a bit."


    "Alright, later, bro."


    The moment the call ended, Alice and I went to the garage, hopped in my SUV and departed for Bob''s home. We picked him up in a few minutes and did the same with Big Tom and not a moment later, the two of them asked about what I wanted to discuss. Since it would be easier to have that conversation at our destination, I told them as such. Hence, we just shot the shit and made small talk about menial things while I drove.


    Upon arriving at the Genesis Foundry, I parked in any old space near the entrance and exited the vehicle along with everyone else and proceeded inside.


    "So what''s this place, Dom?" Bob inquired seconds after we entered.


    "I guess you could call this my base."


    "You really own this entire property?"


    "He does, and it''s a lot bigger than it appears from the outside." Alice answered.


    "Wow, that''s impressive, bro. How''d you manage that?" Big Tom inquired.


    "All will be explained in a minute here."


    From there, we walked to the planning and relaxation area and once the four of us took our seats on the couches strewn around the large space with Alice and I seated together facing them; I opened my mouth. "So I called you guys up and brought you here to tell you about what I''ve been keeping a tight lip on for a while now."


    "And that is?" Bob said, already knowing I was hiding something for ages at this point.


    "I want to leave the undercity some day to pursue the nearly impossible goal I''ve set out for myself in the wasteland and Alice will be coming with me."


    "Okay, but what does that have to do with you and Alice not being around as often as previously?"


    "Well, I have a lot to do to prepare for the challenges that await me out there, meaning I''ve been dedicating almost all of my time to preparing as best as I can for them."


    "I see." Bob commented.


    "So that''s why you and Alice haven''t been around." Big Tom said simply.


    "You got me curious now. What''s this goal you''re trying to accomplish out there? The undercity has nearly everything one could desire when compared to wasteland, so I don''t see why you can''t just accomplish what you want here unless it''s something that can''t be accomplished down here."


    "That''s exactly the reason. I can''t exactly conquer the wasteland by remaining here now, can I?"


    "What do you mean by conquering the wasteland? Do you just want to be a wasteland explorer?"


    "Nope, that''s exactly what Dom dreams of accomplishing and the two of us, as well as our families, are now working towards that goal together." Alice chimed in, while Bob looked flabbergasted.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I don''t mean to sound like a downer here, but that sounds absolutely impossible to achieve."


    "I know, but that''s what I wish to pursue in life."


    The conversation continued on from there and as we talked about various things regarding the subject; we started getting off track. So I steered the direction of the discussion back to where I wanted it to head. "Now that I''ve revealed to you guys why the two of us have been missing in action, have either of you thought about what you want to do in the future when you eventually finish school and become adults?"


    "I think I''ll go into the field of science, since that''s what I excel at after all."


    "True, you are the smartest guy I know after Dom." Tom commented, which Bob was obviously happy to hear.


    "And you Tom?"


    Tom scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed, and answered. "I haven''t really given it too much thought. But with me having a big body, maybe it wouldn''t be such a bad idea signing up for the undercity security force or becoming a wasteland explorer."


    "Well, if you plan on going into that line of work, why not join me in achieving my dream? I would be more than happy to have you, brother."


    Big Tom was initially surprised by my sudden offer, but quickly stood up and said with a serious expression and his right hand out. "I love to bro."


    Standing up myself, I grasped his right hand strongly and replied. "Glad to have you, brother."


    "The offer is extended to you too, Bob."


    "If it was more based in the sciences, I would take you up on it. However, it''s too-"


    "There certainly is a lot of danger involved in what I''m trying to accomplish, but it won''t be all combat. And if I reach the point where I''ve conquered even just a small territory, there will be plenty of need for brainiacs such as yourself to perform research and what not." I said, cutting him off.


    "Even so, there are still too many risks for me to justify it."


    "Oh, come on, Bob it''ll-"


    Stopping Big Tom with a gesture, I said. "Understandable, but let''s see if you still have the same opinion after seeing what I''ve accomplished thus far."


    "I doubt you''ll be able to change my mind, but have at it."


    Getting up from the couch, I led the way and exited the planning and relaxation area we were just sitting in and began giving my two buds a tour of the facility. As soon as we arrived at the first location, the armory, they were more than excited with what they saw and soon asked about shooting one of them since they''ve never been lucky enough to fire a gun before.


    So after promising to let them have a go at it with some of the lower caliber ones, later on we moved to the following destination and then the next and so on and so forth. And with each new section, we visited the awe they expressed verbally and through their expressions continued to increase with each new area they visited.


    ...


    "So how about now, Bob?"


    "...Dom, I''m astounded at what you''ve managed to accomplish in such a short period."


    "Right, and I''m sure you can see from what I''ve already established that I, at the very least, have a fighting chance at accomplishing my goals if this is already what I''m capable of as a kid." I responded, which Bob nodded his head to in agreement.


    "Thus, I''ll extend the offer to you again, Bob. Won''t you take the challenge and join us in achieving my dream? It may seem like an insurmountable goal right now, but in due time, I''m confident we''ll be able to one day bring about a new age for humanity, leaving our names in history as the rebuilder of human civilization."


    Bob looked conflicted for a brief few moments. Nevertheless, his childish face hardened, and he said as seriously as he could for a 12-year-old boy. "Fine, I''ll put my faith in you, Dom. Don''t let me die too early."


    Grabbing his presented hand, I responded happily that I got to add my two young friends to the small but growing list of people I could rely on. "You won''t regret this, Bob. I assure you the crazy adventure we''ll be going on in this life will be well worth the effort."


    Following that, I began disclosing the rest of the secrets I had been holding back from them and once they learned of my system and magic that Alice displayed in the way of conjuring a mass of chaotic lightning, their jaws just about detached from their heads. Alice and I had a good laugh at their expense and when they came out of their stupors, they quickly began hounding us about learning it.


    "Yeah, you guys can learn it now. However, I would advise you to wait till you''ve built up your physiques so you can become even stronger mages, especially you, Bob."


    *Sight* "Okay, when do we start?" Bob said, ready to get right to work and not the least bit perturbed.


    "If you''re that gung ho about it, we can start today if you want."


    "Let''s go then." He said impatiently, eager to begin right this very instant.


    "Yeah, let''s go, bro."


    Looks like that childish excitement is getting ahead of them. They have no idea of the hurt that is in store for them.


    "Alright, we''ll start your guys'' training now, then."


    Adding another couple of people to the growing number who know of my secrets could be potentially problematic. But they''re both tight-lipped and trustworthy boys, therefore they won''t willingly give up what they know. The only way I can see them disclosing that information is if they get captured and maybe not even then.


    I have no plans of putting anyone in any sort of position where they could be captured, thus that should be pretty much a nonissue. And even if one of them disclosed information regarding my system and it got to my enemies, all these two know is that I have a gamelike system and not the specifics. Hence, there ain''t a whole lot anyone can do to harm me with just that, since it doesn''t tell you anything about what sort of abilities I possess.


    Alice''s and my family, on the other hand, still pose a risk. Although not a lot because anytime I undergo a mass level up, my strength and abilities improve massively in both power and versatility to the point I normally gain a whole new set of tools to use, along with the many I already possess. So good luck to anyone who even dares to try to use that knowledge to their advantage, they''re going to need it.


    That said, the risk they pose won''t remain the case for much longer since I have been able to allocate a bit of time before bed every night to eke out some magic circle design. The solution I developed from that short bit of time for the problem I made was to create a sort of oath magic that would seal off the memories of the bearer if the information I didn''t want disclosed was ever in danger of being exposed or leaked.


    I have it almost completed, so I''ll finish the rest of the design today and implement it later this same day when everyone gets off work. We can also use this matter to have a get together too. I''m sure everyone will enjoy that. This method can also be applied to Bob and Tom too, which will limit the risk of information getting out substantially. It''s not totally full proof, but it''s a decent enough band-aid until I can come up with a permanent solution when I get set up in the wastes.


    Continuing with Bob and Tom, should I give them my All Element Core Technique¡­ On one hand, the technique will allow them to become stronger and rise through the mage ranks faster as well as passively. On the other hand, I kind of want to keep it as a secret technique that only a select few are allowed the privilege to cultivate it like my family, for instance.


    Keeping it to a select few would also give me a reason to develop other magic cultivation techniques which Bob and Tom can choose from. I could also eventually disseminate those new techniques amongst the population of whatever country or entity I decide to establish one day¡­


    Making specialized techniques for each of the elements would also speed up magic innovation and research, since people''s focus would be centered around a single element instead of 18 of them. Not gonna lie, I like the sound of that plan and if I want to later on, I can use the All Element Core Technique as a reward for those who earned it through merit.


    As I was finishing the magic circle design in my head via my second thought process, the four of us got up from the couches for another time. From there, we quickly left that nice cushy room behind us and proceeded to the onsite gym so that my two buds could begin their journey in the pursuit of strength and power.

 Chapter 58: Time To Collect

    Date Thursday, July 3rd, 2262


    Slightly more than a month later, once again at the Genesis Foundry.


    "You''re doing good, Vritra. Keep it up!" I encouraged my scaly pet, who was currently in the midst of the weighted cardio.


    *Graw* (I won''t give up.)


    Silver Tongue is so useful. I wish I had figured out how to use it back when Vritra first hatched. It would have saved me from quite a number of headaches, but it is what it is. Thankfully, I know how to use it nowadays.


    "Haa... haa... What about us?" Bob asked, barely hanging on.


    "You guys are doing great, too. Keep it up!"


    With my companions doing their respective assigned exercises, I returned to grinding my agility that has yet to breach into level 11 territory.


    This past month has been hard, with no improvement in my agility. I was hoping I would''ve raised it that very last point I needed at the beginning of the previous month. However, I had no such luck, sadly. At least the entire month wasn''t a waste. My robots finished constructing Vritra''s much needed habitat for the not so little fella who has now reached a length of 21 feet and a height of five or so feet.


    It''s a good thing I got that area constructed because he was getting much too big to continue transporting him back and forth in my SUV, not to mention keeping him at home. The place wasn''t exactly designed to house a reptile that was basically a massive saltwater crocodile on steroids that could run at speeds of 40 miles an hour. And that was with him, being not even a year old yet, I can only imagine where he''ll be at when it''s time for me to depart for the wasteland.


    I''m also gonna have to figure out how I''m going to bring him along and accommodate him because I doubt he''ll want to be left here alone in the facility... Yeah, I''ll leave figuring that out for the future since I have no idea how big he''ll be until it starts nearing time to leave. But since I''m on this topic, I should probably start expanding the halls, the mine tunnels, digging out tunnels through that expansive cave system and building an exit to the wasteland, so he''ll have room to move and leave the undercity with me later on.


    If he''s anything comparable to the size his mother achieved, prior to her meeting her death at my hands, I got quite the job ahead of me. Thankfully, I had the foresight to put his area in the mine tunnels, so I won''t have to dismantle and rebuild entire sections of the facility to meet his increasing size. Looks like I''ll have to return to assembling robots to make this expansion happen in a reasonable time frame.


    Besides, Vritra getting too big to keep anywhere else besides here, the Maxigen trials I have been putting the molemen guards through have gone overall pretty well. Only two of them have lost their minds thus far, both of which have been disposed of slash turned into exp since they lost what little value they had to me.


    Although not before testing out my Medical Genius perk on them to see how long it would take for a limb to be regrown. What I discovered from those tests was that the perk wasn''t able to regrow limbs instantly, unfortunately. Nonetheless, it was still able to regrow them at a decently quick pace. Fast enough that I should be able to utilize it in combat as long as I can get away to take a breather. Moving on from those moles, the other two appear to be going strong without any undesirable side effects, propping up.


    If it wasn''t a bit too early to say those variations were safe, I would''ve hopped onto one of the two formulas. But I can''t guarantee that just yet, thus I''ll continue the trials for a couple more months with increasing dosages to see if anything negative comes about. And if nothing occurs, I''ll put the one of amongst them that produces the most benefits into production. Hopefully, everything goes well, but if they both end up being duds, I''ll put the other ones I''ve created since all this started into trials. Maybe I should get some new test subjects ahead of time...


    As my second thought process continued managing and coming up with all sorts of ideas and plans to implement, I made it to the pool and dived into it to begin the first of many activities and exercises in my agility training regime.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ...


    A couple hours flew by speedily and while I was in the midst of dodging a storm of rubber bullets, courtesy of the training turrets I made, I heard the signature sound of a notification.


    [Ding!]


    [Agility Has Improved By 1 Point]


    [Ding!]


    [New Perk Gained]


    "Fucking finally!" I yelled aloud.


    Utilizing Mechanical Domination, I got the turrets to stop firing at me and as I was about to begin walking to the showers to clean up since I had a mass level up ahead of me, I immediately noticed my speed had almost doubled.


    Shit, that new perk is providing quite the speed boost. I''ll have to check it out when I get to my level up room.


    Taking a few minutes to feel out my new capabilities and get used to them somewhat, I quickly washed myself clean, told the squad what was up, and left them behind and proceeded to my level up cell. Once there, I opened up the big metal door that was sealing it off and headed on inside and began loading myself up with medstims and p-dex syringes. Both of which I began producing all on my own recently.


    As soon as I was filled with my standard loadout of healing drugs and pain suppressants, I willed my system to appear. And in the blink of an eye, it made its appearance, presenting my stats that have seen a lot of improvement from nearly a year ago. Ignoring them for now, I navigated to the new section to see what the new perk was and what effects it was going to provide me going forward.


    | Gotta Go Fast | Requirements 11 Agility: Congrats, you''ve surpassed human limitations for agility. As a result of that, you''ve gained the inhuman ability to jump 11 feet. This new jump height of yours will increase by 1 foot for every additional point you have in agility beyond 11. In addition to that, your max speed has increased to 30 miles per hour + however, many agility points you possess. Last but certainly not least, your flexibility has undergone a major improvement, allowing you to twist yourself into a pretzel¡­ not literally, though.


    God damn, that''s an amazing perk. I''ll be able to give that rascal Vritra a run for his money from now on.


    More than satisfied with the perk I received, I wasted no time and went straight to the quest section of the system to collect my rewards. Once there, I turned in the Killing Spree quest first since I wanted to level up from it first to maximize the gains from my Surpass Your Human Limits quest.


    [Rewards]


    [Perk: Slaughterer, 48,500 exp]


    | Slaughterer | You''ve killed so many beings that you now emit a bloody aura filled with killing intent that you can use to intimidate or put pressure on other beings. It has other uses besides that, but you''ll have to discover those for yourself. This aura will become increasingly more powerful and grow in size the more beings you kill or have a hand in killing. Additionally, this aura can be controlled by the user''s will.


    Good, just enough exp for two levels.


    [Ding!]


    [New Quest Gained]


    Oh, and another quest too, nice. Let''s see what it is.


    | The Butcher | Objectives: Reach a kill count total of 10,000 kills. Rewards: Perk Slaughterer Rank 2, 100,000 exp.


    Yeah, I won''t be completing that anytime soon.


    A new quest acquired that would provide me with a hefty amount of exp one day, I turned my focus to the pending levels I had awaiting me. As I was about to continue on to my level up, the new perk''s effect kicked in and I began radiating a bloody aura. My interest piqued, I spent the next several minutes messing around with it and eventually figured out how to control it. And when I did and hid my bloody aura, I initiated the leveling process.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 6


    Level 2 Perks


    | Growth Rank 14 | (Ranks Unlimited) Requirements Level 2: Gain 1 attribute point that you can distribute freely.


    Level 16 Perks


    | Commando | Requirements Level 16, Ballistic Weapons 35, Energy Weapons 35, Explosives 35, Melee Weapons 35, Unarmed 35: +25% Accuracy, +10 to energy weapons, +10 to explosives, +10 to melee, +10 to unarmed.


    | Man Killer | Requirements Level 16, Charisma 5: Deal 15% more damage against male opponents.


    The selection of perks I have to choose from is pretty slim and of the perks I can choose from Commando and Man Killer are the only ones that would be worthwhile besides Growth of course... I suppose I''ll just grab those two and dump the remaining four perk points into Growth and put those points into luck because it''s the sole attribute I can''t raise through training.


    My decision made in less than a second, I placed the points where they needed to go and locked it in, thereby bringing me to the following section of the level up.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 186


    Ballistic Weapons: 292


    Energy Weapons: 292


    Explosives: 225


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 340


    Leadership: 198


    Lockpick: 169


    (T)Medicine: 568


    Melee Weapons: 187


    Piloting: 326


    (T)Repair: 580


    (T)Science: 580


    Speech: 242


    Stealth: 372


    Survival: 343


    Trade: 361


    Unarmed: 187


    Magic: 261


    Hmm, now where do I want to put my points... I''ve been needing increasingly more rare metals so I''ll just throw the skill points into trade and bring it up to 500. As for the remaining 47 points, I''ll place them into stealth to raise both the coverage as well as the effectiveness of my presence hiding field.


    Moving right along, I returned right to the main tab of the system.

 Chapter 59: Surpassing Human Limitations

    The moment I was back on the main tab, I went to the quest tab and turned in my next quest.


    [Rewards]


    [Perk: High Human, 10 attribute points, 487,000 exp]


    | High Human | You''ve surpassed all human limits, taking the next step in human evolution and because of that, your race will change from human to high human. Your race change comes with some benefits and those benefits consist of your health formula changing from (Level# x 10) to (Level# x 20), and +2 to all attributes for every 10 levels you gain (This is retroactive when first unlocked). Continuing on with the benefits, +5 DT, +1 health regeneration a minute, and +500% to stamina and stamina regeneration and finally last but not least, the amount of multi-thought processes you possess are increased by 100%.


    ...This perk alone makes all these years of grinding my attributes worth it. Out of all the benefits this perk provides, the additional thought processes are the biggest gain of all. They''re going to double my multitasking ability, which will allow me to get so much more done in the years I have left until my wasteland adventure.


    Amazed by the effects of the new perk the system rewarded me with, I sat there staring at the holographic screen for a few seconds before I put the two new thought processes to work. One for research and the other for managing my robots and all the machinery I''m controlling with Mechanical Domination. Working on two new tasks, I returned my primary focus to the remaining rewards.


    How do I want to distribute these 10 attribute points... I could throw them in luck like I''ve been doing or I could put them in agility since it is lagging behind the rest of my physical attributes by a lot... I''m pretty happy where my luck is at the moment and seeing how it now has a way of improving through High Human''s effects, I think it would be more beneficial to give them to agility.


    I''d also rather have the extra speed in case I ever get caught up in a situation where I need to haul ass. Hence, I''ll throw them into agility and give it the boost it needs to somewhat catch up with the others. It''ll surpass my strength for the moment, but not for long, since that attribute grows just as fast as endurance.


    Throwing the 10 attribute points I earned into agility, I navigated through the system to the level up section and selected yes, beginning my mass level up.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 30


    Level 18 Perks


    | Explosives Expert | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 18, Perception 5, Explosives 50: +20% explosive damage.


    | Seasoned Soldier | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 18, Agility 5, Intelligence 5, Perception 5: Gain many years of experience with all things firearms and their maintenance and the taste of your cooking is enhanced. +5 to both repair and ballistic weapons and +10% increase in both accuracy and range for ballistic weapons.


    Level 20 Perks


    | Ravager | Requirements Level 20: All kills restore some stamina and mental energy.


    | Thick Headed | Requirements Level 20, Endurance 6: Limbs are 15% harder to cripple and the effects of crippling are 50% less. The lower your intelligence, the higher the modifiers.


    Level 22 Perks


    | A Hunger For Knowledge | Requirements Level 22, Intelligence 4: Doubles the speed at which you can read and receive the ability to learn the entire contents of books by destroying them.


    | Mutant Slayer | Requirements Level 22: Deal 25% more damage against mutants.


    Level 24 Perks


    | Ammo Depot | Requirements Level 24, Strength 7: Ammo and magazine weight reduced by 40%


    | Heavy Gunner | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 24, Strength 8, Ballistic Weapons 50, Energy Weapons 50, Heavy Weapons 50: +20% Damage and +10% accuracy when using heavy ranged weapons.


    | H.U.D. | Requirements Level 24: This perk grants you a customizable heads up display that you can use to visually track important information, such as your health and stamina, for example. You can even use it to track your nearest quest objective with a holographic line to show you the way. The H.U.D. and other elements can be toggled on and off freely on the fly. +2 Perception.


    | Resource Hoarder | Requirements Level 24, Strength 10: Resource weight is reduced by 40%.


    That''s a larger selection of perks to pick from compared to the previous level up, although not large enough for me to have to decide between perks. With that being the situation, I''ll take everyone of the perks above level 18, including their higher ranks. And for the remaining 8 perk points, I''ll pour them into Growth like I''ve been doing and allocate the attribute points gained from it into luck as per usual.


    Selecting and distributing everything where it needed to go in no less than a few seconds, I moved onto the next portion of the mass level up.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 980


    Ballistic Weapons: 351


    Energy Weapons: 326


    Explosives: 251


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 364


    Leadership: 226


    Lockpick: 197


    (T)Medicine: 594


    Melee Weapons: 223


    Piloting: 321


    (T)Repair: 631


    (T)Science: 606


    Speech: 264


    Stealth: 459


    Survival: 365


    Trade: 528


    Unarmed: 223


    Magic: 299


    Cool, I got skill points for days. Now where the hell am I going to put them all...


    Going right into thinking mode, I started weighing the pros and cons of each skill and what would currently be the most useful and what may be of use in my future venture. I did that for some time and eventually settled on raising piloting to 500, mainly for the reaction speed.


    From there, I placed a ton of points into survival, bringing it to 600 to further improve the nutrition I receive from food. Which will then improve my body''s recovery and directly result in more improvements across my physical attributes, though mainly in strength and endurance.


    After raising that skill, I brought trade up to 600 as well, further increasing the return of Currency Maker''s gold and silver amounts to 6lbs, and poured the remaining 494 skill points into stealth. For the simple reason, it would upgrade my presence hiding field massively, especially the range. That alone would make my life a hell of a lot easier when it comes time to make my move from the undercity to the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility with all my shit, robots, and whoever I decide to take with me.


    On top of making any sort of large movements I make with my future forces easier, my stealth attack damage will be above 500% allowing me to one shot almost all hostiles I could come across. Minus the massive threats like some of the colossal mutants that are on the more armored side of things, but that''s only until I get my hands on gauss weapons. With those sorts of weapons, there will be few who will be able to take a round from me and survive to tell the tale.


    As soon as I was done distributing all the skill points, I took a few moments to see if I was 100% sure of my decision since this would be one of the last level ups I''ll be undergoing in the years to come before my departure.


    ...Yeah, I''m satisfied with the distribution. The ones that got the skill points are the skills that are harder to raise through effort, so my skills should be pretty well balanced when it''s time to head into the wasteland.


    Happy with how things were pretty much, I locked it in and within the blink of an eye; I was brought back to the main status tab, where I was near instantly overwhelmed by a mass of experience and knowledge. Thankfully, this go around wasn''t as painful as it used to be, or at least that''s how I perceived it... It''s probably due to a combination of my perks, my body''s increasing power, my pain resistance, and me getting increasingly used to the pain.


    This headache went for a far shorter time than my previous experiences, surprisingly. And once I was done absorbing that literal ocean of experience and knowledge, I turned my attention to my massively upgraded stats.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods


    Age: 11


    Height: 6 Feet 3 Inches


    Body Weight: 257 lbs


    Race: High Human


    Class: Mage Initiate 2nd Level


    Level: 27


    Experience Points: 41,735/56,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 2,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 797,735


    Experience Rate: 637% ? | Formula: 120 + (Intelligence x 5) + (Level x 1)


    Health: 3,000 ? | Formula: 100 + (Endurance x 20) + (Level# x 20) x 2


    Healing Rate: 2.3266 Health Per Second/139.6 Health Per Minute ? | Formula: 62 + (0.2 Health Per Minute x Endurance) x 2


    Stamina: 8,784 ? | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 9.15


    Stamina Regeneration: 6.5575 Stamina Per Second/393.45 Stamina Per Minute ? | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 9.15


    Mana: 7,546 ? | Formula: 100 + (Mage Realm Gains, Mage Level Gains, & Integrated Mana)


    Mana Regeneration: 167.2 ? | Formula: (0.1 Per Second x Magic Power) x 19


    Max Mana Capacity: 10,600 ? | Formula: 6,300 + (Endurance x 100) + (Mage Realm & Mage Level Gains)


    Carry Weight: 1,807.50625/7,700 ? | Formula: 1,450 + (Strength x 100) x 2


    Critical Chance: 64% | Formula: 10 + (Luck x 2)


    [ Effects ]


    Child Of Light: Agility +1 - Endurance +1 - Strength +1 - Health Per Second +1


    Ancient Runic Cross Necklace Of Protection: Gain a 500 DT bubble shield for 3 minutes when your life is in danger.


    Heavy Trooper Armor Set: DT 65 - Radiation Resistance 20 - Perception +1 - Stealth +20


    War Belt: DT 1


    [ Armor ]


    Total Damage Threshold: 352 ?


    Total Coverage Damage Threshold: 202 ?


    Body Damage Threshold: 136 ? | Formula: 25 + (Endurance x 1) x 2


    Armor Damage Threshold: 66


    Weapon Damage Threshold: 150


    [ Resistances ]


    Addiction Resistance: 50%


    Poison Resistance: 68 ? Formula: (Endurance x 1) + 25


    Total Radiation Resistance: 63 ?


    Radiation Resistance: 43 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    Armor Radiation Resistance: 20


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 23 (24) ?


    Agility: 25 (26) ?


    Endurance: 43 (44) ?


    Intelligence: 98 ?


    Perception: 81 (82) ?


    Charisma: 15 ?


    Luck: 27 ?


    Magic Power: 89 ?


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 399 (400) ?


    Energy Weapons: 374 (375) ?


    Explosives: 277 ?


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 376 (378) ?


    Leadership: 254 ?


    Lockpick: 223 (224) ?


    (T)Medicine: 620 ?


    Melee Weapons: 237 (240) ?


    Piloting: 528 (530) ?


    (T)Repair: 657 ?


    (T)Science: 632 ?


    Speech: 270 ?


    Stealth: 973 (995) ?


    Survival: 608 (609) ?


    Trade: 628 ?


    Unarmed: 237 (240) ?


    Magic: 381 ?


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 128 ? | Formula: 4 + (Intelligence x 1) x 1.25


    [ Traits ]


    | Critter | - | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks: | Currency Maker | - | Ghost | - | Medical Genius | - | Patcher | - | Pleasure |


    Passive Perks: | A Hunger For Knowledge | - | Addiction Resistant | - | All Element Mana Generator | - | All The Loot | - | Always Aware | - | Ambidextrous | - | Ammo Depot | - | Another Skill Talent | - | Assassin | - | Beginner Miner | - | Bone Head | - | Bookworm | - | Boomstick | - | Braced | - | Brute Rank 5 | - | Calculative Individual | - | Cat Eyes | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Character Builder | - | Child Of Light | - | Commander | - | Commando | - | Computer Whiz | - | Death Sense | - | Double-Edged Sword | - | Eagle Eye | - | Efficient Weapon Handling | - | Escape Artist | - | Explosives Expert Rank 5 | - | Gotta Go Fast | - | Growth Rank 25 | - | Heavy Gunner Rank 5 | - | Heavy Weapon Expert Rank 5 | - | High Human | - | Human Supercomputer | - | Human Warehouse | - | Infiltrator | - | Iron Fist | - | Knowledgeable Sponge | - | Lady Killer | - | Language Master | - | Leader Of The Pack | - | Lighter Load | - | Looter Shooter | - | Man Killer | - | Marathon Runner | - | Master Of All Trades | - | Monstrous Physique | - | Mutant Slayer | - | Natural Born Learner | - | Nature Affinity Rank 3 | - | Nerves Of Steel | - | Observant | - | Pain Resistance | - | Quick Hands | - | Quick Learner | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Ravager | - | Reading Fanatic | - | Recipe Improvement | - | Regeneration | - | Resource Hoarder | - | Savage | - | Seasoned Soldier Rank 5 | - | Second Wind | - | Silver Tongue | - | Skeleton Key | - | Smash & Bash | - | Sniper | - | Speed Loader | - | Strong Body | - | Talented | - | Tank Commander | - | That''s A Lot Of Damage | - | The Great Leader | - | Thick Headed | - | Tough Skeleton | - | Walking Treasure Detector | - | Warrior | - | Wild Man |Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Combo Perks: | All Seeing | - | Bulletstorm | - | Certified Forklift Operator | - | Devastator | - | H.U.D. | - | Herculean Strength | - | Human Smelter | - | Magic Supremacy | - | Martial Weapon Master | - | Mechanical Domination | - | Metal Detector | - | Overcharged | - | Restorer | - | Slaughterer | - | Shadow Lurker | - | Space Farer | - | The Power Of Atom | - | Unarmed Master | - | Wisest Wizard |


    Perk Points Gained Per Level Up: 3 ?


    [ Mutations ]


    | Pure |


    [ Classes ]


    | Mage | +2 Intelligence, Perception, and Magic and +3 Magic Power Per Level Up


    [ Mage Techniques And Cultivation Methods ]


    ? All Element Core Technique ?


    Basic Foundation Technique


    [ Magic Formations ]


    Basic Condensing Formation - Basic Rotation Formation - Self Sustaining Basic Condensing Formation - Self Sustaining Basic Rotation Formation


    [ Magic Spells ]


    Oath Magic (Neutral)


    Level 1 Fire Ball (Fire)


    Level 1 Spark (Lightning)


    [ Gear & Item Box ]


    Weapons: AP-6 Hand Cannon (1) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun (1) - Carl Gustaf (1) - Demolition Charges (20) - Detonator (1) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (2) - FBLMG-9 Laser Machine Gun (1) - Grandpa John''s Combat Knife (1) - Mulcher (1) - Purge (1) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (50) - X-50 Anti-Material Rifle (1)


    Weapon Magazines: A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (20) - AP-6 Speedloaders (10) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun 50 Round Box Magazine (11) - Mulcher Armored Backpack Magazines (6) - Purge Reactor Backpacks (2)


    Armor: Heavy Trooper Set (1) - War Belt


    Apparel: Ancient Runic Cross Necklace Of Protection (1) - Set Of Clothes (5)


    Aid: IFAKs (2) - Medstims (100) - P-Dex Bottle (1) - P-Dex Syringes (10)


    Ammo: .338 Lapua Magnum Rounds (120) - .50 BMG Rounds (300) - 6 Gauge Shotgun Shells (750) - 7.62x51mm Rounds (71,000) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (50) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (20)


    Miscellaneous: Lockpick Sets (2) - Stealth Packs (6) - Undercity 7 Credstick (1)


    Money: Undercity 7 Credits (705,849,144)


    Robots: K-1 Spider Mines (10)


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Accuracy: Accuracy +25% - Ballistic Weapon Accuracy +50% - Braced Weapon Accuracy +20% - Headshot Accuracy +25% - Heavy Ranged Weapon Accuracy +50% - Heavy Weapon Accuracy +100%


    Attack Speed: Melee Weapon Attack Speed +50% - Unarmed Attack Speed +50%


    Attribute: Endurance Gain +400% - Intelligence Gain +50% - Strength Gain +400%


    Bodily Needs: Food & Drink Requirements -50% - Required Sleep 4 Hours


    Body: Blood Circulation +50% - Body Durability +100% - Bone Durability +50% - Bone Strength +50% - Crippling Effects -50% - Eyesight +100% - Ligament Strength +300% - Ligament Growth Speed +300% - Limb Durability +15% - Muscle Growth Speed +100% - Muscle Density +100% - Reaction Speed +132% - Tendon Strength +300% - Tendon Growth Speed +300%


    Brain: Brain Processing Power +900% - Calculation Ability +100% - Knockout Resistance +50% - Reading Speed +250% - Thought Processes 4


    Cooldowns: Second Wind Cooldown 28 Days


    Critical: Stealth Attack Crit Chance With Melee, Unarmed, & Thrown Weapons +100%


    Currency Maker Rates: $1,000 For 6 lb Of Silver - $10,000 For 6 lb Of Gold


    Damage: Ballistic Weapon Damage +199.5% - Critical Hit Damage +50% - Damage +10% - Energy Weapon Damage +187% - Explosive Damage 238.5% - Female Damage +15% - Headshot Damage +35% - Heavy Ranged Weapon Damage +100% - Heavy Weapon Damage +288% - Magic Damage +1,080.5% - Male Damage +15% - Melee Weapon Damage +398.5% - Mutant Damage +25% - Ranged Weapon Bashing Damage +25% - Shotgun Damage +50% - Stealth Damage +546.5% - Unarmed Damage +418.5%


    Defense: DT +5 - When Taking Damage From Mutated Creatures DT +20% - While Bracing A Weapon DT +10%


    Duplicate Cast Max Amount: 3


    Energies: Martial Weapon Master Energy Range 23 Meters - Unarmed Master Energy Range 23 Meters


    Fields: Metal Detector Range 8,100 Meters - Perception Field Range 81 meters - Presence Hiding Field Range 97 Meters - Repair Field Range & Rate 65 Meters, 65% Per Hour


    Ghost: Duration 97 Minutes


    Hands: All Around Hand Speed +100% - Typing Speed +100%


    Health: Health +100% - Health Regeneration Per Minute +1 - Health Regeneration Rate +100%


    Heavy: When Wearing Heavy Armor Or Piloting Similarly Classed Craft Armor, Damage, & Speed +25%


    Leadership & Forces: Force Damage +10% - Force Efficiency +2% - Force Performance +2% - Heavy Force Armor +25% - Heavy Force Damage +25% - Heavy Force Speed +25% - Loyalty Gain +100% - When Fighting Alongside Force Damage +10%


    Lockpicking Reward: 22


    Mage Realm Level Limit: 33


    Magic: Magic Effectiveness +1,080.5% - Mana Efficiency +1,980.5% - Magic Learning Speed +100% - Magic Skill Gain +100% - Mana Absorption Speed +1,790%


    Medical: Aid Duration +100% - Aid Positive Effects +100%


    Medical Genius Heal Limit: 6 Uses A Day


    Mining: Mining Efficiency +20% - Mining Speed +20% - Mining Yields +10%


    Movement: Jump Height 25 Feet - Max Speed 55 Miles Per Hour - When Infiltrating Movement Speed +10%


    Other Weapon Stats: Explosive Radius +138.5% - Magazine Loading Speed +50% - Reloading Speed +35%


    Range: Ballistic Weapon Range +50%


    Resistances: Addiction Resistance +50% - Poison Resistance +25


    Shotgun: BOOM!


    Skill: Skill Gain Speed +250% - Skill Points Gained Per Level Up +25% - Skill Points Gained From Skill Books 10


    Stamina: Stamina +915% - Stamina Costs -20% - Stamina Regeneration +915% - Weapon Handling Stamina Cost -50%


    Vehicle: Speed When Piloting +132% - Handling When Piloting +132%


    Velocity: Ballistic Weapon Velocity +199.5% - Energy Weapon Velocity +187% - Heavy Weapon Velocity +188%


    Weight: Ammo & Magazine Weight -40% Carry Weight 1,350 - Carry Weight Percentage +100% - Item Weight 5lbs & Lower -50% - Resource Weight -40% - Weapon Weight 10lbs & Higher -50%


    Kill Counter: 6,463


    [ Property ]


    Weapons: 7.62mm Hunting Rifles (576) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifles (11) - AALP-3 Laser Pistols (10) - AALR-6 Laser Rifles (10) - AAGL-5 Gatling Lasers (10) - AK-108s (10) - AKMs (10) - AP-6 Hand Cannons (100) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotguns (100) - CA12 Combat Shotguns (10) - Carl Gustafs (500) - Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolvers (934) - Combat Knives (1,000) - CSG10 Submachine Guns (699) - Demolition Charges (7,000) - Detonators (100) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun (1) - F-3 Flashbangs (10,000) - F-60 Flamethrowers (100) - FBGL-6 Gatling Lasers (1,000) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (10,000) - FBLMG-9 Laser Machine Guns (5,000) - FBPC-10 Plasma Cannons (1,000) - FBPAR-3 Plasma Assault Rifles (5,000) - FBPMG-9 Plasma Machine Guns (2,500) - FBPS-7 Plasma Scorchers (1,000) - H-40 Grenade Machineguns (250) - HK416s (10) - M2 Browning Machine Gun (500) - M240 Machine Guns (15) - M56 Miniguns (100) - M76 Miniguns (100) - M90 Frag Grenades (30,000) - Microfusion Cell Mines (24) - NPDMs (10) - Pickaxes (4,121) - Remington Model 870 Shotguns (1,765) - Sawed-off Double Barreled 12 Gauge Shotguns (2) - STAR-25 Assault Rifles (24) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (50,000) - TBT Sniper Rifles (10) - U-2 EMP Grenades (10,000) - VT-80 Missile Launchers (500) - X-50 Anti-Material Rifles (1,000) - Z-2 Plasma Rifles (10)


    Weapon Magazines: 5.56mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - 5.56mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (100) - 7.62mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (3,000) - 7.62mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (100) - 7.62mm Minigun 10,000 Round Armored Backpack Magazines (1,000) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (4,500) - AK-47 30 Round Magazines (2,200) - AK-47 75 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - AP-6 Speedloaders (3,000) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun 50 Round Box Magazines (3,000) - CA12 Combat Shotgun 12 Round Drum Magazines (100) - CSG10 Submachine Gun 30 Round Magazines (2,651) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun 75 Round Box Magazines (6) - FBGL-6 Gatling Laser Reactor Backpacks (1,800) - H-40 Grenade Machinegun 45 Round Magazines (3,000) - M240 Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (44) - M2 Browning Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (5,000) - NPDM 100 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - 5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazines (5,000) - 5.56 STANAG 60 Round Quad Stack Magazines (20,000) - 5.56 STANAG 100 Round Drum Magazines (5,000) - 7.62 STANAG 10 Round Magazines (500) - 7.62 STANAG 20 Round Magazines (2,000) - Mulcher Armored Backpack Magazines (50) - Purge Reactor Backpacks (300)


    Armor: War Belts (100)


    Clothing: Sets Of Clothes (30)


    Aid: IFAKs (100) - Medstims (10,000) - P-Dex Bottles (5,000) - P-Dex Syringes (3,000)


    Ammo: .338 Lapua Magnum Rounds (1,009,279) - .357 Rounds (27,813) - .50 BMG Rounds (5,007,219) - 10mm Rounds (76,334) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (256,220) - 5.56x45mm Rounds (5,060,317) - 6 Gauge Shotgun Shells (1,046,276) - 7.62x39mm Rounds (251,021) - 7.62x51mm Rounds (10,010,677) - 80mm Missiles (39,500) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (10,000) - Flamethrower Fuel (5,000) - Microfusion Cells (250,023) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (5,000,000)


    Skill Books: All Things Gun (4) - Atomic Power (3) - Bigger Is Always Better (3) - Book Of Engineering (3) - Boom! (2) - Conversationalists Notebook (3) - Drifting & Racing Weekly (2) - Encyclopedia Of Medical Advancements (3) - Entrepreneur (2) - Future Science (3) - Last Man Standing (3) - Leaders Of The World (4) - Martial Master (2) - Martial Weapons Guide (2) - Master Of All Trades (1) - Security Systems Monthly (3) - Stealth 101 (2)


    Miscellaneous: A Large Assortment of Automated Manufacturing and Processing Machines - Small Arc Furnaces (5) - Automated Aid Manufacturing Machine (1) - Automated Ammo Manufacturing Machines (1) - Automated Weapon Manufacturing Machines (2) - Automated Weapon Magazine Manufacturing Machine (1) - Lockpick Sets (8) - Metal (313,030,164) - Ore & Minerals (413,000,001) - Stealth Packs (2) - Other Misc Items (259,005,714)


    Money: Dollars (25,000,000)


    Robots: Crusaders (20) - K-1 Spider Mines (5,000) - Multibots (300) - Prospectrons (21)


    Turrets: FBGL-6 Gatling Laser Turrets (254) - S-3 Trapdoor Turrets (100) - ZBR-2 Laser Turrets (100)


    Vehicles: CZ-7 Armored SUV


    Pets: Vritra (Newborn Colossal Monster Drake)


    Creatures: Moleman Guards (2)


    Locations: Genesis Foundry


    [ Production Capacity ]


    Aid: 1,000


    Ammo: 100,000


    Apparel: -


    Dollars: -


    Metal: 1,000,000


    Miscellaneous: 1,000,000


    Ore & Minerals: 1,500,000


    Robots: 0.5


    Turrets: 1


    Vehicles: -


    Weapons: 200


    Weapon Magazines: 1,000


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 6


    In progress: 14


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    | Business Tycoon | Objectives: Obtain 10,000,000,000,000 Dollars worth of assets by any means necessary. Rewards: New Perk?, 15,000,000 exp.


    | Harem | Objectives: Enter a long-term romantic relationship with at least 3 women. All women must be aware of each other and okay with the arrangement of sharing you. Reward: 5,000 exp.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Metro Connection | Objectives: Connect the nearby metro rails with your places. Rewards: Perk | Apprentice Miner |, 10 Repair Points, 50,000 exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 1,000,000 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    ? | The Butcher | Objectives: Reach a kill count total of 10,000 kills. Rewards: Perk Slaughterer Rank 2, 100,000 exp.


    | Undegrounder | Objectives: Clear all Nevada metros of hostiles and take control of them. Rewards: Perk Mole People, 10 Attribute Points, 1,000,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    Looking through all the system tabs, I couldn''t help but comment mentally.


    I certainly fulfill the requirements for boss level at this point.


    From there, I continued to browse through my system for the following few minutes.


    Those weight reduction perks I acquired have cut down the amount of weight I was carrying in my item box by quite a lot. I guess I''ll need to fill it up again with an assortment of gear and maybe even some snacks this time... it wouldn''t be too bad of an idea to have a stash of food and drinks on hand. Moving on from that, let me check out what the H.U.D. has to offer.


    The next several minutes were spent with me going through, checking out, and messing with the various elements that were available. Shortly thereafter, I decided to keep things light and went with just setting up a pseudo compass at the top middle of my view, my health, stamina, and mana at the bottom left, a minimap with a controllable zoom at the top right, and the quest tracking function that would lead me to my objectives. But I had none such quests, hence that function was sitting dormant for the time being.


    I could add more features that this, but I don''t really have any need for them. Not to mention I''d rather not clutter up my view.


    Toggling the H.U.D. off since it was unneeded at this given moment, I exited out of my system window and carefully got up, unsure of how much control I had over my newfound power. However, unlike previous times, I found I had complete control over my massively upgraded capabilities for some reason or another.


    That''s certainly going to be useful going forward. Almost makes having this room specifically just for leveling kind of pointless now.


    Taking a few seconds to bask in my much improved power, I left my level up room behind and rejoined Alice, Bella, and my two friends Bob and Big Tom in their training.

 Chapter 60: Time Goes On

    Date Tuesday, September 13th, 2264


    Approximately two years later.


    While I was in the midst of chilling on my bed in one of the few instances that Alice wasn''t attached to me, I began to think of all I had accomplished over the last two or so years.


    It''s been a minute since I''ve last gone over my accomplishments and progress and these last two years have been quite fruitful as well as productive, to say the least. Now where should I start... I suppose I''ll begin with my stats and what not first before continuing onto the equipment and robots that have been designed and introduced in this period.


    So my stats were progressing the same as prior to my mass level up for the following couple of months, for the most part. The only exceptions being my intelligence and skills, due to the doubling in the amount of thought processes I had at my disposal. That said, that situation didn''t remain that way because after those said few months had gone by, the trials I''d been running on the molemen guards had finally come to an end.


    | Maxigen |


    Description: Maxigen is a performance-enhancing non-hormonal oral drug that was developed by the U.S. military with the goal of enhancing troop performance and combat ability. The drug has similar effects compared to anabolic steroids, such as increasing the body''s regeneration speed, the growth of muscle mass, and muscle strength, but at substantially higher rates compared to any other anabolic steroid to date. On top of those beneficial properties, it also increases ligament strength and tendon strength as well. However, those are not all the positive effects it possesses. Unlike traditional steroids, when the use of this drug is discontinued, the gains made while on it will remain and will not be lost as long as proper nutritional needs are met. As for the negative side effects of Maxigen, the drug has one major flaw, being that the user will become increasingly aggressive the longer they continue to use the drug. To the point that if the drug is used long enough, the user will permanently lose all reasoning and self-control, degenerating to the point that they will succumb to a berserker-like rage that has no known cure.


    The result from those trials with increasingly higher dosages was that both formulas were found to be safe and usable for human use. Just that the latter one was the better of the two since it put on 20% more muscle and increased the user''s endurance more when compared to the other. It even seemed to improve agility to some extent, which was a nice surprise.


    Hence, that was the one I put into production and once another month had passed. The time that was required for the modified plants to grow to maturity, a large portion of them were harvested and turned into my new and improved formula of Maxigen. And with it being a new drug, I had come up with a new name for it. I didn''t have any great ideas come to mind at the time of its creation, thus I just chopped igen off from its original name and stuck buff on the front of it, naming it Buffmax.


    | Buffmax |


    Description: An improved variation of Maxigen that no longer causes the user to eventually enter an out of control berserker-like state. This compound also improves muscle and lean tissue growth by 20% more, enhances endurance even further compared to the original formula, increases explosive power and speed, and even grants slight improvements to one''s flexibility.


    When I first introduced that compound into my routine, I didn''t notice its effects immediately. However, as I continued my day and began my workout, the drug eventually kicked in and began showing its effects, boosting my endurance, strength, speed, and basically giving me unlimited energy. All those effects combined allowed me to push myself and workout harder than I had in both of my lives up to this point. The feeling I got from it was very similar to what I felt when I was on gear in my last life, although maybe 5x or 10x stronger. Honestly, this shit was genuinely insane when I first began running it.


    Following my first go with Buffmax, I continued going steady with the dosage I started myself on. I did that for some time and once I reached a few months in making massive gains throughout the entire process and not finding anything negative occurring across every one of my health markers; I began titrating the dosage up to further improve the progress I was making in my physical capabilities. Long story short, I''ve maxed out my height at 6 foot 6 and put on 70 pounds of lean tissue and increased my agility, endurance, and strength attributes massively, especially the latter two and their associated skills.


    Besides the gains I''ve made in those areas and me building a physique that would score remarkably well in any men''s open building show from my previous world, my intelligence breached a limit and reached 101, giving me quite the surprise.


    | Human Supercomputer Rank 2 | Requirements 101 Intelligence: You''ve continued to surpass your limits for intelligence and as a result of that, the amount of thought processes you possess has increased in number substantially. From now on, you will receive 1 thought process for every 10 points of intelligence you have. Aside from that, your brain will operate more efficiently from this point forward and will not become as fatigued as easily as previously. Lastly, your brain''s processing power has improved even further, +200% to brain processing power for every 10 intelligence you have instead of the previous 100%.


    That huge increase in the number of thought processes upgraded my multitasking ability massively and allowed me to get more done than ever before. It is hands down the primary reason why my skills have been improving faster than ever. And since I''ve arrived at this point, I''ll move onto the equipment portion of this progress overview. With these increased mental capabilities of mine, I''ve been hard at work designing and expanding the variety of equipment available to me and my forces.


    | BZB-9 Incendiary Grenade |


    Damage: 15+8 for 60 seconds


    Weight: 1


    Value: 650


    Item Description: An incendiary grenade that was developed for N.A.T.O. long before the establishment of the Commodus Alliance. The grenade can either be set to trigger on impact or after 4 seconds have passed since it was armed. The appearance of this device is that of a canister with a trigger on the top of it.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    | EM Waver |


    Fire Rate: Continuous


    Weight: 14


    Class: Medium


    Value: 99,000


    Attachments: EM Sight


    Description: A new age energy weapon that emits a large amount of electromagnetic waves wherever the weapon is directed. This weapon''s only purpose is to fuck up electronics and disable unshielded robots and vehicles. The weapon''s appearance is similar to a heavy energy rifle but with many metal fins lining where a barrel would normally exist on most firearms. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBARC Rifle |


    Damage: 135


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Semi-Automatic


    Weight: 10


    Class: Medium


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 290,000


    Attachments: Canted Red Dot Sight, Laser Sight, 1-6x Variable Zoom Scope, Vertical Fore Grip


    Description: This design is primarily based on the ARC Rifle design and the difference this one has with the former is that this one has had the majority of its components swapped out for better ones to improve various weapon functions and firepower. The lightning rifle has also had its microfusion cell replaced with a microfusion breeder cell, so that the weapon would never have to encounter ammo issues. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FBPMP-11 Plasma Machine Pistol |


    Damage: 75


    DPS: 1,500


    Fire rate: 1,200 RPM Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Weight: 5.5


    Class: Light


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 82,500


    Attachments: Red Dot Sight, Laser Sight


    Description: The FBPMP-11 Plasma Machine Pistol was initially inspired by the Z-1 Plasma Pistol but in the process of an upgraded plasma pistol being designed the creator decided to give the design a fun switch so it can be fired in both full auto as well as semi. In addition to that, the new design had its damage output improved but lowered when compared to the creator''s other designs to keep the heat buildup under control. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | FU2 Mininuke Launcher |


    Damage: 1,000


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: Variable


    Capacity: 1


    Reload: 6.7


    Weight: 35


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 75mm Mininuke, Microfusion Cell


    Value: 1,000,000


    Description: The FU2 Mininuke Launcher was a weapon that came about shortly before armed nuclear conflict broke out across Earth. The weapon fires a 75mm nuclear bomb via magnetic acceleration to ranges of 1,000-1,250 meters depending on the type of mininuke loaded. This weapon requires some sort of variant of a microfusion cell to function.


    | KC100 Auto Mortar |


    Damage: 383


    DPS: 638


    Fire rate: 100


    Capacity: 5


    Reload: 5.9


    Weight: 350


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 100mm Mortar


    Value: The KC100 Auto Mortar was a 5 round capacity auto mortar developed by D.E.M. Armaments for the U.S. military a decade before the end days. The heavy weapon can use all sorts of rounds, from traditional high explosive and frag to specialized rounds such as plasma, emp, and even nuclear ones.


    | PDB Laser Turret |


    Damage: 40


    Fire rate: 1,000


    Resistances: DT 125


    Weight: 30


    Value: 174,000


    Description: A small compact ball shaped turret that excels in rapidly tracking and taking down incoming projectiles like grenades, missiles, and rockets. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | M101 Frag Mine |


    Damage: 150


    Weight: 1.5


    Value: 350


    Item Description: An ordinary and very common fragmentation mine that is mostly green in color. This mine is a smart mine and can be set to trigger off of pressure or proximity. But unlike more advanced mines, it can not differentiate between friend and foe therefore, any who enter within range of its sensors will set it off.


    | R30 Rocket Rifle |


    Damage: 150


    DPS: 1,625


    Fire rate: 650 Fully Automatic, Semi-Automatic


    Capacity: 20


    Reload: 4.2


    Weight: 24


    Class: Heavy


    Ammo Type: 30x127mm Missile


    Value: 430,000


    Description: An advanced pre-war rifle that fires 30mm micro missiles from a 20 round magazine. The weapon''s rounds when they leave the barrel will track the target they were designated until they either hit the intended target or run out of fuel.


    | SG-7 Sleeper Grenade |


    Weight: 1


    Value: 950


    Item Description: SG-7 Sleeper Grenade is a specialized type of grenade manufactured for pre-war special forces of the west for capture missions and for assaulting urban sites.


    | T-5 Plasma Mine |


    Damage: 300


    Weight: 1.5


    Value: 6,500


    Item Description: A plasma mine that was developed by the U.S. military prior to the nukes. The mine is a smart mine that can be set to explode via variable pressure that is set at the time of arming or for proximity. If set to the latter, it will only detonate when unregistered beings enter its kill zone.


    | U-3 EMP Mine |


    Weight: 1.5


    Value: 2,500


    Item Description: An electromagnetic pulse mine that was developed by the U.S. military prior to the end of modern human civilization. The mine is a smart mine and will detonate when unregistered beings come within range of its sensors.


    In addition to further bolstering myself and my constantly growing mechanical forces, I''ve designed several more robots and added them to the production line. Computer Whiz''s effects came in clutch when I was programming all those A.I.s back then.


    | Defender |


    Armament: 1 x Heavy Sword, 1 x Heavy Tower Shield, 1 x PDB Laser Turret, 1 x Wrist Mounted Plasma Scorcher


    Carry Capacity: 1,000


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 1,000,000


    Description: A heavily armored 8 foot tall robot armed with a 4 foot Heavy Sword that normally sits on the right side of its waist, a wrist mounted plasma flamer to engage enemies within a hundred meters when it decides not to use the range weapon issued to it, and a point defense turret meant for taking down incoming enemy fire, a huge alloy tower shield to shield itself and its allies from damage. Besides all those armaments, this robot also features emp shielding across its entire build to ensure it won''t fall emp weaponry like all designs made by its creator and is specifically designed for defense and excels in that area rather well. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Grease Monkey |


    Carry Capacity: 100


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 87,500


    Description: A spider-like robot armed with 8 magnetic legs that it uses to move across all sorts of surfaces, though mainly those that are metal, to repair and maintain all things electrical and mechanical with its additional eight manipulator arms that are usually hidden within its round body when not in use. Along with those features, this robot arms and legs also possess a whole host of tools built into its legs and hidden manipulator arms from tools as simple as wrenches and screwdrivers to plasma cutters. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Hauling Bot |


    Armament: 2 x PDB Laser Turrets, 1 x ZBR-2 Laser Turret


    Carry Capacity: 5,000


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 500,000


    Description: The Hauling Bot is a large tracked emp shielded robot that has a large bed for moving materials from one point to another. On top of its ability to transport a good bit of cargo, the robot can hold its own thanks to its on board laser turrets that will have no issue dealing with most small fries of the wastes attempting to take whatever cargo it''s busy transporting. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Sparrow |


    Armament: Fusion Breeder Cell


    Power: Fusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 349,000


    Description: A small bird like robot meant for scouting and reconnaissance without any being none the wiser of its presence due to it mimicking a small bird. This robot is filled with all manner of advanced compact sensors and will obtain the information its creator seeks but in the event that doesn''t work out and it is found it can overload its power source for an explosive surprise, potentially taking out its discoverer. Lastly, as with all of its maker''s designs, this one also has emp shielding preventing it from being taken out by em countermeasures. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.

 Chapter 61: Magic Revolution

    That about does it on that front, moving on to my relationships and how everyone has been doing. There hasn''t been a whole lot of change between Alice and I. We''ve just been going steady as usual and taking a day on the weekend normally every week to have a "date". That isn''t necessarily what I would call it since we''re basically just hanging out doing some sort of activity, but that''s the label she likes to attach to it.


    Aside from Alice''s, my relationship remaining mostly in the same state because of me not wanting to progress any further until we''re both adults. Meanwhile, Bella, her younger sister has remained as cute as ever and has stuck it out with her sister and I like a champ. The squirt has made a lot of progress in these couple of years. It''s impressive how far she''s come in such a short period of time. I''m pretty sure she''s made even more progress than me back when I was her age...


    As for Bob and Big Tom, they''ve stuck it out as well and have made momentous gains over these two years, Bob especially. The once short, string bean, nerdy kid has now bulked up and grown more than a foot in height in just a couple of years. That transformation he''s undergone has done wonders for his confidence.


    Big Tom, on the other hand, has become even larger in nearly every proportion and is bigger than ever before. The kid is even taller than me, although not anywhere as built as I am, but I''m sure if I set him up on a Buffmax cycle, he''ll more than be able to compete with me in terms of physique in a comparatively short number of years. Bob would make a hell of a lot of gains, too. Nevertheless, that time will have to wait till they have built themselves up some more.


    Now for my and Alice''s family, they''ve been doing extraordinarily well, mostly because of the magic cultivation technique I gave them way back when. The elderly of our two families actually look decades younger because they''ve managed to breakthrough to the next mage realm Mage Learner and gained a 100 years of lifespan. Now that I''m thinking of it, I wonder how they explained away their younger appearance to the people they know. I have no doubt that I would have found myself rolling around in the background laughing at their expense had I been there.


    Other than those preexisting relationships and our families'' progress, I''ve developed a friendship with one of gramp''s old battle buddy''s grandchildren, an Asian teen by the name of Yoshimoto Takeshi. The kid is on the quiet side of things, but he has a decent personality and makes good conversation when he actually decides to open his mouth and speak. Because of those traits of his and him having an interest in becoming a wasteland explorer like the rest of his family, I''m thinking of recruiting him. I don''t know whether he''ll agree, but I think there''s a good chance he will.


    There''s also his beautiful and full figured older sister Yoshimoto Rei, who I''ve gotten increasingly more acquainted with and have an interest in too, which appears to be mutual from what I can tell. I mean, anytime I encounter her, she gets pretty handsy with me and me alone, so it''s pretty obvious what''s going on there... I''m not too sure if I want to pursue anything with her as of yet, but she does pique my interest and check several of my boxes, so I''ll see what happens.


    Thankfully, I''ve already had the conversation I needed to have with Alice regarding my desire for more women than just her alone. She wasn''t too pleased when I initially brought up the topic, understandably so. But I made her see it my way not long after I began listing off reasons like her stamina being incomparable to mine, which would inevitably bring about dissatisfaction in me. The world''s human population being an extremely minute percentage of what it once was, and me needing trustworthy people for my distant plans. And who I could I trust more if not the women I decided to spend the rest of my life with and have children with.


    The only stipulations that came along with her agreeing was that my first time would be reserved for her, which was already allocated to her in my book to begin with. And that she would be at the top of the pecking order and whoever I wanted to add to the family had to be a good fit with all the women who were already a part of the group.


    I didn''t have any issue with any of those demands whatsoever since Alice was at least owed the top spot for being with me first for all these years. I also had no interest in introducing someone to my currently non existent harem that would cause strife between myself and all those who may be a part of it one day...


    When I agreed to her demands, she asked if I had anyone in mind saying I wouldn''t be bringing this up if I didn''t. Having no reason to not tell her, I shared with her who I was thinking of that being Rei, Takeshi''s older sister that I knew she had a good rapport with. The minute she learned of who I had in mind, she released a sigh of relief and gave me the go ahead, not minding Rei joining as long as none of the barriers that were placed on herself were crossed. Promising that no such thing would ever occur before she and I did them first, I got through that inevitable talk I''d been dreading for a long while, easier than I ever thought I would.


    Leaving his touchy feely sister to deal with at a later date, their entire family is filled with people who fall into the dual roles of assassins and snipers, two roles my current squad is sorely missing. Besides myself, of course, since I''m considered an all rounder. Therefore, recruiting the brother and sister would be in my best interest because it would balance out my group quite a bit. So I''ll have to see if I can''t make that happen here soon enough... Actually, today may not be too bad of an idea. It is Saturday, after all, so they''ll probably be free.


    Continuing on from recruiting new members for my squad and me potentially getting involved with a busty older sister type, Vritra has transformed massively. The very not so little drake has bulked up muscle wise and grown to enormous proportions with a length of over 50 feet and a height of nearly 15 feet. Along with his increased size, he can now spew forth a poisonous green colored flame. He''s really grown to become quite the intimidating and capable monster.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    That about does it on that front let me move onto quests for a brief second.


    So I''ve fulfilled the objectives for both my Maxigen Improvement quest and my Pablo Escobar Jr. I just haven''t turned them in yet. The reason for that is simply because one, I''m pretty happy with my current capabilities and two, I''m saving them for the time right before I depart from the undercity. I don''t really need a couple of levels that bad, hence I''d rather just hold on to them, continue grinding out my attributes, and gain as much exp from the two quests as possible when it''s time to depart.


    What should I cover now, hmm... I guess I should go over my research real quick. No matter how limited it is due to most of my attention and time being focused mostly on constantly training and improving my skill and stats. So, in addition to the Maxigen improvement project being a major success, I''ve been performing experiments with other compounds and researching the properties of the various mutated luminescent plants and fungi found throughout the former home of the exterminated molemen to see if they had any medical or scientific value aside from their luminescent traits.


    From those experiments, I''ve made improvements to Medstims, that I''ve named Medstim Mk II, and figured out the formula for Z-Rox Combat Stims, which I''ve been producing for a good number of months now. Alongside that, my initial investigation into the plants and fungi from that massive cave system revealed that the 7 species I found were not recorded anywhere in the undercity''s databases or libraries.


    When I found that out at the time, I immediately started researching the samples I had on hand to see if they had any value. And from that research, I discovered that 4 out of the 7 new species had no remarkable properties other than the dim light they emitted. As for the remaining three, one produced an abnormal amount of oxygen for its size that I currently had no use for. Another had superb healing properties, and the last was a sort of super nutrient, both of which were used in improvement of the Medstim formula.


    | Medstim Mk II |


    Weight: 0.075


    Value: 2,500


    Description: A new and improved version of the ubiquitous Medstim injector filled with an improved cocktail of compounds for even faster wound healing.


    | Z-Rox Combat Stim |


    Weight: 0.025


    Value: 1,650


    Description: The Z-Rox Combat Stim is a combat drug developed by Gen-4 Pharmaceuticals that dulls pain, improves alertness and overall physical ability for a short period at the cost of a large sudden onset of fatigue when the effects of the drug expire. The drug is delivered via a syringe injector.


    I haven''t gotten a lot done in this area, but what I have accomplished has been decent enough.


    Moving to construction now briefly, there''s not a lot to say here since the facility has remained mostly the same. Mainly because most of my construction crew has been wrapped up in the extensive project of making a massive tunnel connected from all the way down here hundreds of meters underground to the surface, so I can bring Vritra along when it''s time to set out.


    Thankfully, that long project I assigned to my many robots is nearing completion. Thus, a huge amount of workforce will become available in a moment here that I can throw at any number of projects and tasks that need to be completed. The only suitable project I can think of at this second would be assigning them to building and assembling the transport I''m going to require to move the literal innumerable tons of loot and resources I''ve stockpiled to the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility. The only issue with that is I don''t have a single design ready for them to work on, so I guess that will be the most urgent task I''ll need to work on next.


    That wraps up that, let me go back to magic for a quick sec. As much as I would love to, I still haven''t done much of anything in this area, but with my huge increase in number of thought processes, I did manage to find the time to do a bit of magic cultivation and make 16 variations of the Basic Foundation Technique.


    One for each of the elements minus the all element since that wasn''t a natural mana element. And with the completion of those 16 techniques, I''m now prepared to reintroduce magic to mankind once again and begin raising human abilities as a whole. Sadly, I have no intention of doing that just yet. I''ll probably hold off on introducing the wonderful world of magic to the human race until I at least take a hold of the city of Las Vegas, if not the entire state of Nevada.


    [Ding!]


    [New Quest Obtained]


    Oh, would you look at that, a new quest. It couldn''t possibly be related to what I was just thinking about. Definitely not.


    I thought sarcastically as I made my system window pop up and show me the new quest details.


    | Magic Revolution | Objectives: Reintroduce magic to human kind, build an institution with at least 100,000 students attending it and learning about magic, and have 10,000 humans reach the 5th realm. Rewards: New Perk?, 1,000 Magic, 100 attribute points, 1,000 skill points, 10,000,000 exp.


    ...That''s a colossal amount of work right there. Future me can have fun figuring out how I''ll need to go about completing that quest later. Returning to my magic progress again, the only other noteworthy thing in this field that I''ve yet to mention so far is that I''ve continued to passively rise through the mage initiate realm, becoming a 5th level mage initiate.


    [Mage Initiate 3rd Level]


    [+11,600 Max Mana Capacity, +3 Magic Power, and +10 Magic]


    [Mage Initiate 4th Level]


    [+24,400 Max Mana Capacity, +4 Magic Power, and +10 Magic]


    [Mage Initiate 5th Level]


    [+48,700 Max Mana Capacity, +5 Magic Power, and +10 Magic]


    That fifth mage level increase also brought me a new perk because of it raising my magic power attribute to 101.


    | Magic Supremacy Rank 2 | Requirements 101 Magic Power: You''ve once again surpassed the limitations of magic power. Because of that, you''ve somehow gained the ability to further surpass normal mage ranks, meaning your max mage realm level limit has doubled. So instead of gaining a +1 to your max mage realm level limit for each point of endurance beyond 10, you will now gain a +2. In addition to that, you will find that your ability to brand new magic circles, magic formations, spell models, and other magic relating things in your mindscape has been improved dramatically. Lastly, your spell cost is reduced by 1% for every 100 magic power you possess. +1,000% to mana regeneration, +10,000 to max mana capacity, +100% to spell casting speed, +200% to magic learning speed, and +200% to magic skill gain.


    That should do it for magic and my recap of the last couple of years. I''ve accomplished more than just what I covered here, but these were the most significant things. Looking back on it all, I''ve certainly gotten a ton done these previous two years. Thank god for robots. If I didn''t have those guys helping me 24/7 around the clock, I would''ve only gotten an unbelievably tiny fraction of what they''ve managed to achieve done.

 Chapter 62: Expanding The Squad

    Sitting there comfy for a dozen more seconds, I decided to climb out of bed and go do my recruiting. Up on my feet, I headed out of my room and down the hall to the living room.


    Finding mom and dad there sitting together on a sofa, I said. "I''m going to head out for a bit. Do you guys want me to pick up anything while I''m out?"


    "I don''t need anything, do you, dear?"


    "I would ask you to pick me up some whisky, but none of the stores would sell it to you, so I''ll just pick it up on my own later."


    "Alright, I''ll catch you guys later then."


    "Okay, we''ll see you later, sweety." My mom replied sweetly in her usual bubbly mood.


    "Have a safe drive, son."


    Heading to the garage next, I hopped in my SUV and took off in the direction of the brother and sister I wanted to bring into my circle. Due to their whole extended family being involved in wasteland exploring and various industries related to combat and arms, it didn''t take me long to reach their home since they could afford to live in the wealthy district of the undercity. Coming upon a large home surrounded by a tall stonewall I drove up to the gate and entered in the access code I was given a while back.


    Proceeding through the large secure metal gate, I drove to my usual spot and threw the vehicle into park, and exited it. From there, I headed to the hefty dark wood front door and gave it an audible knock, and before long, Takeshi''s older sister came to answer the door.


    "~Ara~ What are you doing here so early, Dom? You couldn''t be here for me now, could you?" The dark-haired beauty sensuously inquired, looking as seductive as ever whilst giving me a hug from the front and pressing her bountiful chest into my own.


    I swear this vixen is always trying to rile me up.


    "Yes, actually." I responded simply while giving her a pinch on her supple but toned ass, which got a cute but sudden yelp out of her.


    While she was blushing, she replied, with a not so hidden hint of desire in her eyes. "Oh, I wonder what for?"


    "Well-."


    As was going to respond, a tall, slender but athletically built, cold looking teen rounded the corner and interrupted simply, looking somewhat surprised to see me. "Dom."


    "Morning, Takeshi, I got something to talk about with you and Rei." I greeted Rei''s younger brother Takeshi.


    "Okay." The teen of few words responded, while signaling me to come inside.


    As he was walking off, I looked down at the seductive fox still latched onto me and asked. "So you want to get off me, or are you looking for me to carry you in?"


    "I''ll take the latter option, please." She jokingly answered before letting go, but before she knew it, she found herself being carried inside by yours truly.


    Catching up with Takeshi with a red eared fox in hand, we proceeded through their family''s house, that was reminiscent of those that used to exist in Japan before the world went to hell in a handbasket. Walking on the pricey dark brown wood floors, he opened a sliding door to a living room sort of space that had a couple of 3 seater couches facing each other with a fitting coffee table located in between them. Since this discussion I was about to have with them was serious and involved them taking a different path than what their family was accustomed to, I delivered and deposited Rei onto the couch her brother was seated on.


    "Moh, why can''t I be seated with you, Dom?" She complained cutely, puffing her cheeks slightly.


    "This is important, Rei."


    *Sigh* "Fine, I''ll get serious then." She replied, putting one leg over the other and taking a serious posture.


    With Rei no longer playing around, I began my recruitment speech. "So my reason for showing up at your door this morning simply put, is to extend and offer to you both."Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ...


    "Go on, I''m listening." Rei said, intrigued, while her younger brother kept silent but interested.


    "You know how Alice and her little sister and my two buddies Bob and Big Tom are always training with me?"


    "We do." Rei answered.


    "Do you know for what reason?"


    "I don''t recall you guys ever telling us, but isn''t it so you guys can become wasteland explorers like our family?"


    Shaking my head, I answered. "No, I intend to leave the undercity in the future to one day conquer the wasteland, so all of us are training to make that dream of mine a reality."


    "Ara, that''s quite the grandiose goal you''ve five have and I''m presuming since you''re bringing this up you want my younger brother and I to join your little group, is that right?"


    "That''s correct."


    "I''m sorry to tell you this, Dom, even though I like you a bunch, but my brother and I have no interest in throwing our lives away for nothing." Rei said, whilst her brother, sitting next to her, nodded his head along in agreement.


    "Well, don''t be too hasty just yet. What would it take for you to join? I''m sure I can make it worth your while." I replied, entering negotiation mode.


    Some desire entering her dark alluring eyes, she responded. "Hmm, I don''t know, but I''m sure you know what my little heart truly desires, nee~."


    "Neesan, we-." As Takeshi was about to begin arguing with his older sister, she interrupted him and told him to pipe down, which he did so begrudgingly.


    "What about a date?"


    "That does sound appealing, but aren''t you in a relationship with Alice?"


    "I am, but she''s alright with me having more than just her."


    "Oh, but would I be alright with that arrangement?"


    "I''m sure I can make you see it my way. I can be quite convincing."


    "We''ll see, but before that, why don''t you sweeten the pot a bit more? A simple date seems a bit lacking, for putting my life on the line for you, don''t you think?"


    "Mm, you have a point. Why don''t we go on a date first and if things go well, I''ll lock you down as mine."


    "My, how forward. But I do like the sound of that." She commented exaggeratedly, though pleased nonetheless.


    Looks like I got the sister on onboard. Time to bag Takeshi now.


    "So how about you, Takeshi, you want to help your good friend in conquering that wastes?"


    "As cool as that sounds, Dom, that''s impossibl-"


    Not willing to waste time going through the rigamarole, I displayed my magical abilities by conjuring a level one spark spell on the palm of my hand that had grown significantly in size thanks to my magic damage stat increasing a ton over the years. "I can teach you and the rest of your family magic. How about that? That sounds pretty tempting now, doesn''t it?"


    There''s no way anyone in their right mind would pass up on the opportunity to learn magic, especially a Japanese clan specialized in both assassination and sniping.


    "What about me?" Rei chimed in before her brother could.


    "Well, if we''re going on a date, I have this sneaking suspicion that we''re going to end up becoming more than just friends. So I''ll definitely have to teach my girlfriend a thing or two, now won''t I?"


    "Of course you will." Rei said happily before getting up from her couch, making her way over to mine, and taking a seat with me and latching onto my arm.


    "So you in Takeshi, or are you just going to let your sister have all the fun?"


    "You have yourself a deal, Dom, as long as you are able to do as you said."


    "I''m a man of my word, so you have nothing to worry about. Let''s start now."


    Two more people recruited into my small but growing group, I started teaching them about magic. After discussing it with them, along with its intricacies, they both decided to learn the Darkness Foundation Technique because it made the most sense for their fighting styles that have been ingrained into them from a young age.


    Although I did keep in mind that, if I did end up entering into a relationship with Rei, I would make sure she learned the All Element Core Technique so she would be leagues above others. And if that happens, I''ll have to see about giving it to her family as well, since it wouldn''t look good on me if Alice''s family had access to it but not her own.


    Putting those kinds of thoughts to the back of my mind, I informed them that it would be wise to hold off on increasing their mage level until they''ve built up their endurance as much as they could. For the reason that they would have increasingly more mana at their disposal the higher their endurance was.


    They deflated some upon learning that they couldn''t start cultivating magic right away. Despite that, they understood the concept of building and maximizing their foundation, hence; they regained their excitement back rather quickly. From there, I told them to call their father, who was quite high up in their family''s echelons, so I could begin arranging everything. Hearing my request, Takeshi got right on it and departed from the room in search of his father.


    A couple minutes later, he returned with a man in his mid forties who looked like a more masculine and buff version of himself in tow. With the father arriving, I got down to business and began going through the whole spiel I had gone through with the brother and sister.


    And once their old man learned of the existence of magic and that he could learn it, he gained the same giddiness his children had. It was honestly quite amusing seeing a usually stoic man displaying the exact same excitement a young child would, but it was understandable. After that, I arranged a meeting between their family, my own, and Alice''s so we could get them all set up on their path of magic and prevent their clan''s elders from passing away due to old age.


    I wouldn''t want to pass up on the possibility of allying with a clan full of assassins, now would I.


    Now that everything was handled for the most part, I looked to Rei, who had changed her spot from my right side to my lap. "So you ready to head out on that date of ours?"


    "Mm, lead the way, handsome." She replied lastly prior to us getting up and heading off to my car to do just that.

 Chapter 63: A Gathering Of Powers

    Date Friday, December 1st, 2265


    A year later.


    "Alright, I''m done with my makeup." Alice announced whilst coming out of our bathroom wearing a light amount of makeup on her eyes and lips that accentuated her natural facial features nicely.


    Watching her stride over to me, she latched onto me from the front and looked up at me with a certain gaze. Understanding what she was seeking, I leaned down slightly and stole her lips and kept them locked with my own for several seconds before pulling back, causing her cheeks to flush ever so slightly.


    "Are you ready to go, dear?" She inquired sweetly, dressed to the nines in a sleek black dress with deep violet accents that showed off her curvy but still developing figure and set of black heels that increased her tall five foot nine height even further.


    If I didn''t have such a strong mental fortitude, I would''ve thrown my morals away long ago and pushed this succubus down and taken her then and there. As tempting as that sounds, I won''t be swayed so easily and besides, we have a big event to attend where all the city''s powerhouses will be gathered.


    "Ready, when you are beautiful." I answered, easily resisting another of her attempts at crossing the boundary, even though she has matured and grown greatly in many departments, both physically and mentally.


    Nothing keeping us up any longer, us two peas in a pod left our bedroom and met up with my family that were all dressed in various formal wear and ready to go. Sharing a few words, mom broke out the camera and had Alice and I take a few photos posing together before we collectively headed out the front door where a sharp looking futuristic extended sedan waited for us. Climbing into it, we got settled, and departed from home, leaving for the city center where the event was being held.


    A short ride later, we came upon a massive old world government styled building reminiscent of those from either New York City and Washington D. C. prior to nuclear annihilation. So, with our destination finally in sight, our driver entered the busy procession line of cars and kept moving forward as the people of influence exited their rides and went inside the massive gray granite building. Continuing to chat while we waited, our turn eventually came up, hence we piled out of the futuristic limousine one by one. And once I was out on my feet and I turned right around, extended my right hand, helped Alice out.


    "Thank you, Dom." Alice said, smilingly while fixing her dress.


    "No problem." I responded while checking out my fitted black suit that I had to have custom made because the others I tried on would burst at the seams.


    Ahh, the problems one faces when they become a cultivator of mass.


    After several seconds, Alice was done fixing her dress and looked my way before reaching out and adjusting the crimson tie I had paired with my suit.


    "...There, we''re ready to head in." She said with a tinge of excitement.


    My family had already finished organizing themselves since they''ve been through this a number of times over the years. So as soon as Alice and I were set, we walked up the two hundred plus year carpet covering wide steps and entering the building. Coming into a large hall with 30 foot ceilings, my father led the way for the next several minutes when came into a grand expansive space covered with white marble floors and walls and multiple larger crystal chandeliers.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Looking around the huge space, I saw one side of the space set with innumerable dining tables with many chairs around each individual table in front of an elevated stage. And the other left almost entirely empty except for one extremely long white cloth-covered table holding many hundreds of glasses and small snacks and bite size foods and dozens and dozens of fancy looking couches set off to the sides. From there, we proceeded to our designated table that was located at the front, one of the few located near the stage.


    If it wasn''t for my dad''s close relationship with Alice''s dad and me being his daughter''s fiance, I doubt we would''ve been given such a table.


    Doing the gentlemanly thing, I pulled out a chair and had Alice sit down first and after farming my brownie points; I took the seat next to her. Following that, all of us seated at our table began conversing with the topic of the conversations mainly pertaining to those who were attending this gathering and what will probably be talked about later. We passed the time this way for a bit when I felt my other romantic interest show up with her family, including her younger brother Takeshi.


    I was already drawing a number of jealous gazes with a beauty like Alice latched onto my arm previously. Now, with her arriving, it''s only a matter of time before those gazes are taken up a notch.


    Taking note of their arrival, they proceeded to a larger table that was centrally located and once they got seated; they talked amongst themselves about a similar topic to what was taking place at our table. That went on for a bit while Rei was scanning the tables one by one in search of me and moments later, I felt her gaze lock on to me. The moment she found me, the vixen excused herself from her family''s table and made a beeline straight for ours.


    And here comes trouble.


    Prepared to face the coming hate that I was going to most definitely attract from both the guys my age as well as those older than me, Rei strode up in a shortish black and red dress that hugged her shapely figure and asked in her naturally seductive voice whilst I had my back turned to her. "Is this seat taken, handsome?"


    "Not at all. Have at it." I replied, directing her to occupy the open left seat next to me.


    Hearing my reply, she lowered her head next to my ear and whispered, not to be overheard by the adults at the table. "~Ara~, that''s a shame. I was hoping you would''ve directed me to another seat even closer."


    Obviously understanding what she was insinuating, I reached over and kept her head where it was and whispered back in her own ear before blowing a small breath. "Maybe next time, love."


    Playing the game like she wanted, her cheeks were left flushed, similar to my fianc¨¦e''s earlier on. With my family beginning to look our way, I got up, pulled her seat out just as I''d done with Alice, and had her sit down.


    "~My, what a gentleman." Rei said playfully, taking the seat.


    Returning to my own chair, all the attention was focused on me and, as the younger fellows of this generation were stabbing daggers in the back of head with their gazes, gramps commented somewhat amazed. "I knew you had a ton of stamina, kid, but two girls... And showing them off here, of all places."


    "Well, I plan on marrying the two of them one day, therefore they are bound to appear at my sides in a public setting, so why not now. Plus, I couldn''t care less what a bunch of people I have nothing to do with think about me being with Alice and Rei."


    "Mm, I suppose, but you''re still pretty shameless kid, hahaha." Gramps responded in his gruff voice before having a laugh while the two girls were glowing bright red like the maidens they were, but happy nonetheless to hear my declaration.


    The others piped up at the table since this was the first time most of them were learning that I had a whole nother woman besides Alice. Thus I kept them entertained for a bit answering the various questions that came my way when a family of six, two adults in their late forties, early fifties followed by their four kids of varying ages, entered the hall and headed to the table just right of ours. As they closed in on their table, I noticed one of their sons that was around Alice''s and my age discovered the two flowers sitting on either side of me with blatant desire.


    Aye, here comes another arrogant fool that wishes to steal my girls. And this pipsqueak seems to be a young master type too, going by the wealth they''re displaying through their clothing. I wonder what sort of shit he''s going to kick up later... Well, no matter what it is, I''ll handle it as I have when any other suitor, or annoyances, as I like to call them, popped their ugly head up.


    Expecting this young buck to cause a scene later, we kept chattering on and moved on from my relationships to the previous topic.

 Chapter 64: Dealing With A Nuisance

    And as we were going back to what we were discussing, the bigwig entered the hall, Alice''s father David the undercity''s governor along with his family. With the main man having shown up, I informed those at our table and waited for this event to begin.


    Alice''s family went and sat at the center most table closest to the elevated stage and since we were directly next to them, the bunch of us greeted them and made small talk while the governor headed to the stage to get this party started. He first went through an initial bit, welcoming everyone to this annual meeting of the city and then followed that up by going into what the city accomplished this past year.


    From there, he transitioned into what was planned for the coming year and what opportunities would be created. Which was the main reason why all the forces gathered for this event, besides the obvious benefits one can obtain from making connections and establishing deals with the other powerful families, groups, and individuals that inhabited this entirely self sufficient futuristic underground city.


    The minute he got through that portion, he covered a few other matters before wrapping things up and leaving the stage as applause erupted and filled the space, followed shortly by relaxing music of the classical variety. After he joined his family, a swarm of waiters filed in and began taking orders from the many high-profile people attending tonight''s event.


    "What can I get for you, sir?"


    "The filet mignon looks appetizing, so I''ll go with that." I answered.


    "How would you like your steak cooked?"


    "I''ll leave it up to the chef''s discretion."


    "And you young miss?"


    "I''ll have-"


    ...


    My order given, the waiter continued going around the table and as soon as he had everyone''s orders; he departed in the direction of where he came from initially. Not too many minutes since we ordered, our meals were delivered to our table, ready to be devoured. Thus, that''s what we did for the most part, other than chat amongst ourselves.


    Forty minutes flew by with me receiving an increasing number of deathly stares filled to the brim with hostile intent from all around the hall, even from Alice''s own father of all people the instant he learned the number of my romantic relationships increased from the norm of one. When I defused that situation with the promise of more grandchildren and Bella coming to my aid, the younger attendees started moving to the wide open portion of the space that I learned was for getting the various youngins acquainted with each other.


    "Alright, let''s head over, join in on the fun."


    "Okay, big brother, but I''ll be taking the first dance when the time comes." Bella said from my lap cutely much to the jealousy of my two ladies.


    "Bella, that''s not fair. You''re already hogging a space that was meant for us." Alice said, unwilling to let her little sister get away with too much.


    "Yeah, Alice is right. You already got away with stealing our spot, so we should have the first dance with Dom." Rei piggybacked on.


    "Fine, but which of you is going to go first? You can''t exactly dance with him at the same time."


    "I will!" Both of my beauties said simultaneously.


    Before they could start stirring up a fuss and begin battling it out for who goes first, I stepped in. "Who goes first will be decided by rock, paper, scissors."


    With a method established for who will go first, they started the round and fought it out for a total of three rounds, which ended in Alice winning the first dance. Thus, making the order for tonight''s dance, Alice, then Rai, followed by Bella.


    "We''re heading out." I told the adults.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Okay, we''ll come and join you guys when it''s time. Have fun, sweety."


    "Stay out of trouble, son."


    "I''ll try, but no promises that it won''t come and seek me out."


    As my father let out a sigh, gramps piped up. "Just don''t kill anyone, kid, and you''ll be good."


    "That I can promise." I said lastly as gramps let loose a laugh, looking forward to whatever trouble that I would find myself involved in.


    Leaving the adults behind, I had a beauty on each arm and an excited smaller one out in front, leading the way to where many of the younger generation had gathered. Arriving at the floor quickly, we soon found a lot of eyes looking our way due to a combination of my massive build and me having an attractive female on each arm and a cute nine-year-old who had the appearance of a girl just entering her teenage years leading me.


    Ignoring their gazes, we four located Rai''s brother Takeshi in the distance and, as we were about to head there, the troublemaker I discovered earlier and had been following behind us all this time, sped in front of us and blocked our path.


    "Unhand those three girls, you bastard." The six foot arrogant blond, blue-eyed teen commanded.


    And here we go as expected. I honestly don''t know what goes through the heads of guys like this when they decide to insult and annoy someone far larger and stronger than they are. I suppose it has to do with them being raised in an environment where they''re handed everything they desire whenever they want and have never experienced what getting punched in the face feels like.


    Entertaining the dumb but arrogant teen, I responded. "Why don''t you open your eyes and see if it''s me holding them or them holding onto me."


    "I can see them holding onto you, but you must be forcing them to."


    "Uh, no where doing this because we want to." Rei commented, amazed at how low this guy''s intelligence was.


    "Nn, we are, and who are you to stop us?" Alice added, clearly unhappy that someone had decided to bother us.


    "That''s what someone who was being forced would say."


    "Ohh, is that so and how would I be able to force the governor''s firstborn to do anything she doesn''t wish to do, hmm?" I said, throwing the guy for a loop.


    "It doesn''t matter what their status is, unhand them now!" The guy said, still not stopping in his poor attempt at obtaining what was not his.


    As this stupid animal was gathering increasingly more attention with the commotion he was creating, from both those gathered here, including the older generation who were still seated at their tables for the most part. My patience was beginning to wear thin as well as the girls, thus I decided to end this farce here. "Either move out of the way or I''ll make you and crush you like the bug you are."


    "You better do as my friend says, or you''ll be regretting your actions in a second." My squamate Takeshi recommended.


    "Pipe down dog I wasn''t talking to you." The fool said, pissing off both brother and sister.


    Before this retard could run his mouth any further, I utilized a portion of my bloody aura filled with killing intent and spread it throughout the hall with most of it focused on this moron. This caused the bystanders who were enjoying the show up to now to look on fearfully and the idiot to shut up and look about ready to piss himself in fear because of gaining to the privilege to experience the full brunt of my aura that has been grown through the harvesting of many thousands of human mole hybrid lives.


    Having my girls let go for a second, I moved the angry Bella out of the way, lowered my strength so I wouldn''t crush his skull and kill him on the spot, and threw a punch directly at his face. The very second my fist impacted his nose, it folded and was crushed under my fist along with several surrounding facial bones, making a clearly audible sound of bones being smashed that made the surrounding bystander flinch.


    As the fool was knocked out and beginning to fall back, I grabbed him before he could fall and crack the back of his head on the marble flooring. Effortlessly lifting this lightweight by my standards up with my left hand, I walked with dumbass in hand back in the direction of his family''s table, passing mine and Alice''s on the way. Which had my gramps laughing and enjoying the show and Alice''s dad looking on, amused with the situation.


    Upon reaching his family''s table, I dropped him into a seat and warned. "Keep your stupid son under control, otherwise it''ll come back and bite the rest of you in the ass."


    Ignoring the pissed off mother and father of the brainlet, I began walking back to my companions but noting that I made another enemy that I should begin investigating and keeping an eye on in case they get the bright idea to cause trouble for me and those associated with myself.


    It wouldn''t be the first time it occurred and in the event they don''t heed my warning, I''ll just take preventive actions and remove them from the root to ensure they''re unable to cause any harm in the future. Since there''s no point in letting a hostile power germinate and become stronger. I can also benefit from their disposal in the way of wealth too, so I''m fine with whatever route they decide to pick.


    Returning to my group, the event continued on as normal, minus the glares from the younger guys, because they were too scared of being next on the chopping block. Soon thereafter, the adults joined us and not too many minutes later, the music changed, beginning the dancing portion of this event that all three girls were looking forward to the most.


    Offering my hand to my partner, Alice took my hand, and I brought us to a space with plenty of space for us to dance while both her and my mom were acting like professional photographers in the background.

 Chapter 65: Tying The Knot

    Date Saturday, August 8th, 2268


    Three years later.


    Waking up in the middle of the night as I usually do thanks to my Monstrous Physique perk halving the amount of sleep my body requires, I sat up in my bed that was missing a certain someone, namely Alice. Thankfully, it was for a good reason and that reason is we have a very special event taking place today. One that I missed out on having the opportunity of experiencing in my previous life, getting married.


    As thrilled as I am about it, I sure shit didn''t think I was going to get married this early on in my second go at life. That said, it makes the most sense to do it now considering we''ll be departing from the undercity and beginning our adventurous life in the wasteland in less than a week''s time to ensure that I can take proper advantage of certain events that "should" be taking place out there. In addition to that, Alice and I rolled both our birthdays into this coming wedding of ours, since I made the date for our wedding the literal day after Alice''s birthday all those years ago, so that was convenient.


    The two of us were getting kind of sick of having two birthdays back to back every year after all... Hmm, maybe we should just combine ours going forward. It would''ve been one thing if there were a ton of different places to see and activities to do like there was in the old world. But the undercity only has so much to offer before you start repeating the same things you''ve done in former years.


    Getting up from bed, I went inside the bathroom and began going through the motions whilst my mind was occupied with the big event that will be occurring later on today and things related to it.


    It''s really too bad neither of us will get the chance to experience a honeymoon, but that''s alright. It''s not like you can even have a halfway decent honeymoon in this day and age, with the world being a post-apocalyptic one. Nevertheless, I would''ve loved to have gone on a trip to the tropics, for instance to the Caribbean, but I guess that''s just how it''ll be... Actually not all hope is lost for our honeymoon, it''ll just have to be delayed till I can take over a tropical island and rebuild the place with all the necessary amenities.


    Now the question is, will I be able to get away with that without the Zetans throwing a fit and interfering... It doesn''t have any military importance, so it should be fine. I''ll probably get it off the ground once I take over Nevada. Honestly, I can''t wait. I''ve been longing for a vacation for several years now. I obviously could''ve taken one already; I suppose. However, I just don''t see the point of allocating the time for it if I wouldn''t enjoy it, hence why I haven''t.


    Leaving the bathroom behind, I headed downstairs by utilizing my Ghost perk to phase right through the walls and got right back to the grind, continuing to raise my physical attributes. I kept at it for the next five hours when it came time to stop, so I completed the last bit of cardio I had left and hit the showers.


    Cleaning myself off, I returned to my room and threw on a simple plain black t-shirt and a pair of red shorts that showed off a small portion of my extremely toned physique. From there, I left my room and proceeded down the hallway to the living room, where I found my parents, who had just woken up.


    Going through the usual greetings, Dad asked. "Today''s the day, you nervous, son?"


    "Nope, not even the least bit."


    "Mm, I guess you are a lot more prepared than I was back then, so that''s probably why."


    "I mean, I set the date for it several years ago and have been living with her by my side for most of my life, so I''m not really surprised I''m feeling the way I am."


    "That does make sense now that you mention it."


    The three of us made small talk going over what will be taking place later at the venue when mom asked. "So you got your wedding band for Alice on hand?"


    "Yes, I have it right here." Making a small black box appear out of thin air from my item box.


    "Good, make sure you don''t lose it, sweety."


    "I won''t, mom."


    Following that, my gramps barged in through the front door wearing his normal getup with a full suit in hand and plopped himself on a nearby couch. "How you holding up, kid?"


    "Fine."


    "Good, I knew you would be."


    "Then why bother asking, old man?"


    "Cus, that''s what I''m supposed to do."


    "And who are you calling old, brat? I''m now a young 30." Gramps commented jokingly, looking a hell of a lot younger thanks to him adding a hundred years of lifespan via his first mage realm breakthrough.


    With gramps arriving, my stoic grandpa Henry arrived soon thereafter with my grandma Emelia in tow, who hugged my large frame in her arms as best she could when she made it past the entrance. Welcoming them in, they sat down right away with the rest of the family and joined in on the conversation that was being had just before their arrival. Doing that for sometime the women of the family whipped up a lightish breakfast since there was no point in preparing a large meal when there would be plenty to chow on soon enough.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Finishing that meal quickly, everyone went off to go get dressed for the occasion. And the moment we were all ready, my grandmother called for the limo to pick us up and take us to the venue since she was the main person who arranged the wedding for Alice and I.


    Thank god for my grandma taking a good portion of the workload off us and getting the ball rolling a year ago. If not for her, this wedding of ours would''ve become something stressful instead of a joyous event one is meant to look forward to.


    Several minutes later, our ride to the venue showed thus we loaded into the extended sci-fi limo and departed for the city center where the venue was. The moment we reached our destination, I stepped out first since I was the closest to the door and when I did; I took in the surrounding sights.


    What appeared in my vision was an old church in the city center mainly constructed of the same gray granite that most of the city center''s structures were composed of. Along with the impressive church that towered above its extensive garden and landscaping, there was an expansive arrangement of dining tables, seating, and many other such things in the open space of said garden.


    Grandma sure went all out with the after party. It should be quite the fun time once we get through the main event.


    Impressed with the arrangements my grandma Emelia prepared, I waited for my family to empty out of the vehicle before we entered through the grand dark wood doors of the church. Upon passing through the doors, the place opened up inside and what came into view was an old styled church with a dark crimson rug running down the center of the church with dark stained wood pews on either side of it. At the very end, there was an elevated area decorated for the occasion and an organ even further back.


    More than content with everything I had seen, we went into the side room prepared for us and started working on the last of the preparations while the people hired for the wedding busily ran around taking care of their various miscellaneous assigned tasks. Time quickly passed on from then and before I knew it, the place filled up and I found myself standing on the altar surrounded by my family, friends, and those invited to attend mainly people of importance that resided in the undercity.


    The seconds ticked by as we collectively waited for Alice to show and after waiting patiently for a bit, the large dark wood doors of the entrance had begun to open slowly. Mere moments later, she came in through the large dark wood double doors with her father escorting her down the two century old dark red carpet.


    Directing all my attention to my soon to be wife, I watched her slowly make her way to the altar, looking absolutely stunning in her pure white wedding dress. As she closed in on the altar, I could see her becoming increasingly emotional and her eyes beginning to glisten whilst she looked the happiest I think I''ve ever seen her to date. Despite her emotional state, she stayed strong and kept it together, stepping onto the altar.


    When she did, her father said while passing his dear daughter to me. "I''m passing her to you, young man. Keep her safe and make her happy."


    "I will." I replied seriously, taking her hands into my own.


    With the handoff completed, Alice''s father took his leave, leaving us standing there looking into each other, eyes filled with emotion and love for the person standing in front of us. Continuing to look deeply into each other''s eyes lovingly, the priest began officiating the wedding ceremony. This went on for a number of minutes and finally the time to recite our vows came.


    "I, Dom, vow to protect you, Alice, from all dangers, even at the cost of my own life, if it would ensure your safety and shower you with my love every day for the rest of my life. Regardless of what difficulties the world decides to throw our way. Thus, I shall stand strong in the face of all adversity to ensure that we will always remain together till the time both of our lifespans extinguish." I vowed to the gorgeous women who stood opposite of me.


    "I, Alice, vow to support you, Dom, in all endeavors, and love you always for as long as we both shall live. For better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, I will always remain by your side no matter how tough life may get. Henceforth, you will be my one and only from today and till the end of time."


    Our vows said Big Tom, who I had selected as my best man and the first friend I made since coming to this world, came forward and delivered the wedding band I had him hold on to as was customary. Taking the wedding band into my hand, I brought it to Alice''s left hand and slid it into place together with the ring she decided to take as her engagement ring, the one I made with my own two hands for her 11th birthday. It wasn''t really a surprise she made that ring her engagement ring, seeing how she''s a sentimental woman.


    As Alice''s eyes were on the brink of tearing up again, her sister Bella came over with my wedding band and handed it to Alice. The instant she got ahold of it, she took my left hand into her own and slid the silver-colored wedding band onto my ring finger with a couple of tears getting ready to run down her face.


    The priest, seeing us wearing our rings, moved onto the next part and began. "Do you, Dom Mason Woods, take Alice Lawrence Steele as your wife?"


    "I do."


    "Do you, Alice Lawrence Steele, take Dom Mason Woods as your husband?"


    "I do."


    Hearing her response, the priest turned to me and told me. "Then you may kiss the bride, young man."


    Getting the go ahead, I grabbed Alice''s waist with both of hands and brought her closer before I leaned down although not as much as compared years ago because she had grown to a surprising height of six feet and connected lips with her as cheers erupted in the background. As we held the kiss, Alice raised her arms, connected them behind my neck, and rested them there, causing the two of us to deepen our kiss further and me to instinctively use my Pleasure perk, enhancing the experience for both of us.


    Alice was starting to heat up, so I ended the kiss there and pulled away, not wanting things to devolve into something that shouldn''t be shown to others. As soon as I pulled away, Alice gazed at me hungrily with desire, making it readily apparent that she wanted to continue. But seeing as this wasn''t the right moment, I leaned down and whispered in her ear. "What''s the rush, babe? We''ll have plenty of time to get up to all sorts of antics tonight."


    "Ohh, then I''ll make sure to keep you to those words of yours." She whispered back seductively.


    "Just try to keep up with me when the time comes because I''m going to rock your world."


    "I look forward to it."


    That playful bit over with, we left the altar hand in hand and headed out to the prepared after party section and sat down at the center table meant for us and our close relatives and shared a fantastic meal that no expense was spared for. Following that amazing feast, the music began playing courtesy of the band we brought in. So with the music picking up, I took my newlywed wife''s hand and brought her to the dance floor that was setup and put on a spectacular show for all those here.


    ¡­

 Chapter 66: A Wild Night

    Enjoying ourselves over the next however many hours with everyone, we had a grand ole time, but as with every fun event, it couldn''t go on perpetually. Thus everyone started streaming out and leaving for home one by one, including my new wife and I. Heading home from the venue only Alice and I proceeded towards the house since my parents decided to spend the night at my grandparents and give us the place for the night for obvious reasons.


    So with the house to ourselves, we waved my mom and dad goodbye and the instant they were out of sight, us two lovebirds sped inside. As soon as we got past the front door and I shut and locked it behind us, Alice turned right on her four-inch heels, gazing at me like an animal in heat, and launched at me like a human rocket. Catching her mid flight before she could hurt herself, she immediately sought my lips and began laying the love on thick.


    Returning her affection, I began kissing her deeply while she wrapped her legs behind my back to keep herself from falling. Helping her with that, I grabbed her shapely toned ass with both hands and lifted her up, which caused her to let out a cute gasp. Grinning, I started laying kisses on her neck and trailing them down to her collar with the occasional hickey thrown in as I walked to our bedroom, with Alice releasing stifled moans every so often.


    On the way there, our kissing transitioned from the norm and entered the exploratory phase, with me pressing her lips with my tongue that she readily let in when she woke from her dazed state. Keeping her appeased with that in the meantime, I reached our room''s door so I kept her up with one hand easily enough and opened it with my other whilst Alice took pleasure in the new experience. Inside our bedroom, I walked over to the king sized bed we share and laid her on top of it, finally separating from her for at least a few seconds.


    As she was staring me down with a lustful gaze that screamed take me and lightly gasping for breath, I took my as well as her shoes off and flung them to the side of the room. Once that was out of the way, I removed the top of my suit, followed by the white dress shirt I was wearing underneath, and tossed them both onto a nearby chair, unveiling my extremely muscular and built physique that I''d been working on for nearly two decades. Receiving a hungry look from my newlywed wife, I wasted not even a second and joined her on the bed, resuming where we left off and getting her prepared for the main event.


    Sharing a few more kisses with her, I pulled away and started stripping her of her pure white bridal gown. Pulling the zipper on the back of her dress, her bountiful H cup breasts spilled out. Thankfully, for Alice and me, she was blessed in the genetics department and possessed breasts that were both large and had a nice shape. She honestly had the best set I''ve ever laid eyes on. Leaving her pink nipples that were standing at attention for me, I continued to pull the zipper down further, exposing her toned midsection along with her innie belly button.


    Not letting up, I pulled the zipper the rest of the way, revealing her white lacey panties that matched the gown I just removed though lightly stained with a wet spot. Placing the dress in my item box so it wouldn''t get dirtied and possibly ruined, I turned my entire focus to the 6 foot tall fair skinned beauty that had a set of pristine blue eyes and raven hair that ran down the length of her back nearly to her rear.


    "You ready, Alice?" I asked her simply.


    "Yes, I''ve been waiting for this for years, Dom. Now take me and don''t hold back. I want to experience everything." She answered, just about ready to pounce on me and make me hers, even though she was technically a virgin, although one with plenty of experience in the normal face sucking area.


    Unwilling to let her take the lead, I set my sights on her lips again for a short while and quickly moved my way down to her bountiful breasts, titrating the effects of my Pleasure perk up as I advanced. Sucking and playing with her tits for a short bit, she bit her lip and tried to keep her moans of pleasure restrained. Wanting to hear her moaning and screaming in pleasure, I gave her pink nipple a light pinch with my teeth.


    "~Ahn~"


    She''s doing pretty good holding back, but let''s see how long you can last.


    Testing to see if I could make her cum from her breasts alone, I ramped up my efforts, giving both breasts an equal amount of attention. Hard at work, I enjoyed playing with Alice and making her moan out in increasing frequency and when I felt I had her on the ropes; I went in for the kill and gave both nipples a nip while injecting a very minute amount of electrical magic through them.


    "Ahh~ahha~nmm~"


    Well, that certainly did the trick.


    Finished giving her delectable breasts enough pleasure and marking them as my own, I began trailing my lips down her midsection and then to right above her panties while Alice fought for breath briefly in ecstasy. Arriving at my destination, I grabbed hold of her panties and started sliding them off, much to my partner''s anticipation. After reaching a certain point, I lifted her long toned legs up and slid the pair the remaining portion of the way and deposited the soaked pure white lace underwear into my item box temporarily.


    With that barrier removed, let me loosen her up a bit more before we move onto the main course.


    Checking out the scene below, I saw a well maintained cute wet pussy cleared of all hair waiting for me to open it up and reveal its pink soft insides.


    It''s been quite a few years since I last had the opportunity to enjoy this type of meal, but my skills shouldn''t have fallen off that much.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Getting into position, I spread Alice''s legs to sides and got in between them face first and started going to town on her clit. Due to my stats and the inherent control I had over my body, I basically turned my tongue into a pseudo vibrator and got her pussy flowing. Sucking those juices up, I ate her out for a good while and moved onto inserting a single finger intent on making her coming penetration as easy and least painful as possible. Bringing her to the brink again, my wife''s hands found their place on my head, pressing in between my long, wild jet black locks.


    "~Nnnah~ Dom, r-right there. ~aahhhn~" Alice screamed whilst she pressed her thighs strongly against my head and convulsed in pleasure.


    Drinking the nectar straight from the tap, I prepared more than enough, thus I began the main event. Getting off the bed for a moment, I removed my suit pants followed by my black boxer briefs, setting my not so little friend from down below free of his constraints. Climbing back into bed with Alice, I moved over to her and got into place, and teased her with a bit of a smirk with my member standing at attention. "You want this, babe?"


    Rubbing the glans of my cock against her salivating pussy, she urged me with not even a lick of shame in sight. "Dom, stop teasing me and just put your dick in! Haven''t I already waited long enough?"


    I expected her to at least play along a little, but I guess she''s just that horny. Not that I can really blame her, since we have been holding back for years at this point.


    "You have so here I come."


    Alice, in her heated state, took my throbbing member and lined it up with her pretty, but bare, vagina. The instant I was lined up with her, I slowly started inserting and enjoying the pleasant sensation of her warm moist vaginal walls trying to prevent me from going any further.


    "Fuck, you''re tight, Alice."


    "~Ngh."


    Moments into the process, I made it halfway in with my length when my tip came in contact with an obstruction, Alice''s hymen, that had somehow survived not getting torn from all the training we''ve done over the years. Cranking up Pleasure, I pushed gently and broke it and inserted the whole seven and half inches I had at my disposal slowly but surely.


    Seeing Alice wincing somewhat in pain, I asked, concerned. "You want me to help you out with the pain, babe?"


    "If you could, dear." She replied, mixed in both pain and pleasure.


    Getting the go ahead, I utilized Medical Genius healing the minor wound I caused down below in the process of claiming her v card. Due to the injury being very minor and my medicine skill being over a whopping 800 points, I healed her good as new within the blink of an eye. With her healed, I hovered over her with both of my arms planted beside her and slowly pulled back, but not all the way while gauging her reactions to see if she was still feeling any discomfort, which she wasn''t. So, I pushed back in with marginally increased speed to ease her into things.


    Enjoying her wet pussy''s tightness that was gripping me like a vice, I pushed up to the base of my cock and knocked on her cervix, causing her to let out a pleasant ~ahn~ sound along with more juices. Seeing her starting to enjoy and get used to my drilling, I ramped up my speed progressively, along with the strength I was exerting on her. Pulling out again, I slammed into her with her soaked vaginal walls gripping my girth ever tighter.


    "~Ahh~ Dom, there, right there. Yes, there ahhn~"


    As both Alice and I were getting into things and feeling progressively more pleasure, I kept increasing my speed until I found the best speed that suited the both of us. Once I found my desired rhythm, I kept up that speed until she climaxed, releasing a gush of vaginal juices that were quickly absorbed by the sheets.


    It''s a damn good thing I had the foresight to add a sheet underneath that blocks any liquid from reaching the mattress below. If I hadn''t done that, I could easily see her and me ruining this bed of ours tonight.


    Happy that she was enjoying the pounding I was giving her, I didn''t give her a second to rest and continued since I was getting closer and closer myself. Ramping things up as I got closer, I gave her breasts some attention again for a few moments before letting their nipples go with a pop.


    "Dom, kiss me." Alice requested in the heat of the moment.


    Doing as she requested, I moved from the position I held, closed in on her, and locked her seductive red lips with mine. Twirling her tongue with my own and I kept attacking her from multiple angles, making her gush again down below and squirm. I followed shortly thereafter and released my first load, flooding her insides.


    Thankgod this world has better birth control meds that are side-effect free. If not for those, there''s no way I would''ve been shooting my shot inside and filling her up, even if I wanted to have my own set of rugrats running about. But that was for later down the line because it''s simply too early for us to become a mother and father when I''ve yet to establish my empire and build a 100% safe territory for them to grow up in. So until I deal with the threats that exist out there, I''ll be holding off on having any offspring of my own.


    Glad that we could experience the pleasures of flesh to its utmost, unworriedly. My dick remained rock hard due to this being the first opportunity it has had to release its backed up supply since I was born into this world. Thus, with me still raring to go, I kept at it, not giving Alice even a moment''s rest.


    ...


    The two of us battled it out for the next couple of hours before I emerged victorious with Alice passed out because of an overload of pleasure and numerous other pleasant sensations.


    Looks like I met her years of expectations. Unfortunately for me, my not so little buddy isn''t satisfied just yet, meaning I was correct in my assumption that I was going to require more than one woman to tame this vigorous beast of mine. Well, it''s a good thing I have Rei. I''m sure she''ll enjoy what Alice just went through when the time comes, just not tonight, since this is my and Alice''s special day.


    Moving on from those thoughts, I picked up Alice in a princess carry that I''m sure would''ve been mighty happy about and proceeded into the bathroom to get both her and me washed up. The minute I had us cleaned from head to toe, I clothed her in one of her many nightgowns, a pair of panties and deposited her on the couch in our room temporarily while I dealt with the soaked bedding situation. There was no way I was going to sleep in sheets that were soaked in bodily fluids hence, they needed to be replaced.


    Dealing with that both speedily and efficiently, I put on a fresh set of sheets and transported my passed out wife from the couch to the king sized bed and joined her. Laying in bed next to Alice who was sleeping as peacefully, my mind began wandering.


    As great as the sound proofing is in this house, there''s no way my parents won''t hear Alice moans and screams and that''s not even taking into account when I''m going at it with both dark-haired beauties at the same time. Therefore, if my partners and I want to get intimate and have some semblance of privacy, we''re going to have our own space that we can feel comfortable in.


    Hence, I should start seriously considering investing in our own house... We''re going to be departing from Undercity 7 in a few days here so I''ll give it some serious thought on our venture out there and when I come back from the wasteland, I''ll pay a visit to Mr. Birch about buying a house.

 Chapter 67: One Last Look Back

    Date Wednesday, August 11th, 2268


    A few days later.


    "Alright, that should be it. You guys go get ready so we can set out." I told my squad that consisted of Alice, Rai, Big Tom, Bob, Takeshi, and gramps who forced his way in because he was basically in his prime again.


    "You''re not coming with us?" Alice asked.


    "No, I got a few things to take care of, so I''ll catch up with you guys later."


    "Okay, kids, let''s go get you equipped."


    "We''re not kids any longer, gramps. We''re grown adults." Rei stated jokingly.


    "Oh nonsense, compared to me, you all still got a number of years before you can really be considered as such."


    Receiving a number of responses, they all conversed amongst themselves and headed off to the armory to throw their loadouts on. Left alone momentarily, I took in the sight of my robotic forces that numbered in excess of a thousand at this time and watched them busily scurry about and load more and more items and resources into the many armored cargo containers attached to the backs of the 40 armored big rigs I had constructed and assembled following the tunnel expansion project''s completion, that was mainly done solely for Vritra.


    Watching them for a slight bit longer, I vocalized my thoughts. "While my guys are handling that, I''m going to go spend some time with my dragon before I depart."


    We aren''t going to be separated entirely from each other but we won''t be able to spend as much time together for a number of days while I''m making arrangements for him at the new place that we''ll be calling home for the foreseeable future.


    Continuing to think with my many thought processes that have increased a decent bit in these last four years, I turned around and proceeded to Vritra''s domain. On my way there, I passed by many, many robots coming from all over the facility carrying and transporting a huge assortment of items, equipment, and processed materials to the loading area. Although they were transferring items from all directions, most of them were coming from the direction I was heading, since that was where most of my resources were stored.


    Passing by the massive blast doors that have remained open ever since I eliminated the molemen threat within the cave system, I entered the mine tunnels that have undergone a gargantuan expansion to accommodate Vritra''s non stop increasing size, that has now reached similar proportions to his mother. Continuing my stride, I proceeded to my pet''s home and walked inside. Once I had passed the massive entrance that was several stories in height and dozens of meters wide, I came across Vritra who was relaxing and lounging about in his territory peacefully.


    "Hey big guy, how are you holding up?" I asked Vritra telepathically with an ability he and I both acquired when we established a bond together some time ago.


    Hearing my dragon lifted his monstrous head up and responded despondently with telepathy. "Do you really have to leave me behind, master?"


    "I don''t necessarily have to, but it would make things a lot easier for you and I if you would stay here until I can get things set up."


    "Sigh. I don''t want to, but I understand."


    "I knew you would, but even if you can''t come just yet, I can still visit you just about every day since we have a ton of stuff to transfer over that will require many trips back and forth to get everything moved over."


    Hearing what I said, he stood up on all huge fours and asked excitedly with his tail that was dozens of meters long, swishing through the air side to side."Ohh, really, you can visit me every day?"


    "That I can, so it''s not like things will be all that different from now."


    "Okay, then I''ll have no problem, master. As long as you keep visiting me."


    If I didn''t know any better, I would think my scaley friend here is part dog.


    With my large reptilian friend happy as can be that his time spent with wouldn''t be reduced, I spent about an hour playing and keeping him company in his expansive vivarium. After spending our allotted time together, my time to go came. Thus, he brought his snout down to my level and nuzzled against me as best as he could, given our incomparable size differences.


    "I''ll see you later, Vritra. Make sure you eat well and keep up with your exercises and training." I told him telepathically.


    "I will, master."


    Finished saying our goodbyes, I left his space and backtracked the way I came and as I was doing so; I began briefly going over what I''ve managed to achieve in the last four years in my head.


    I got a lot done these past four years. First off, I''ve expanded my group and established a decently large organization here in Undercity 7 named The Founders at the behest of my and Alice''s families, which I took them up on since it seemed like a good idea. The power is made up of my squad and me, my family, as well as Alice''s and Rei''s.


    Besides them, we''ve recruited gramp''s old comrades that he''s spent a lifetime fighting and exploring the wastes with later on for the simple fact that they were trustworthy loyal men. Though it also helped that they were wasteland vets with plenty of experience and knowledge that could be useful in all variety of situations and scenarios.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Since we''ve recruited those old-timers, they have proved themselves invaluable in many ways. I have little doubt that they''ll continue to do so well into the future with their increased lifespans that they''ve obtained thanks to the magic cultivation techniques I''ve disseminated amongst them and the effort they put into advancing their mage realms.


    Their help will certainly prove I was right to recruit them when I begin procuring men and forming the base of my army in due time. So with the establishment of this organization, I now possess a solid foundation that will later be morphed into the building blocks that my future empire will be built from once I conquer a respectable amount of territory.


    Aside from forming an organization, I''ve more than doubled my robotic forces and manufactured more than several dozen autonomous armored vehicles, all capable of combat. They include a tracked big rig model meant for transporting tons of cargo safely called a Buffalo. There''s also a heavy loader/unloader variant called a Retriever that is specially designed to move the 40 foot armored cargo containers the Buffalos will be hauling and a heavily armored tracked escort vehicle named the Wolverine.


    That last vehicle comes equipped with heavy advanced alloy armor plating, multiple laser point defense systems, a 30mm rotary cannon as a main weapon, and a coaxial version of the FBPC-10 Plasma Cannon that has better heat distribution and expulsion systems. A total of eight of those bad boys were built to escort and ensure we get from point a to point b as safely as possible. The firepower they possess is enough to rip apart any tank from my old world in seconds as if they were made out of paper mache.


    | Buffalo |


    Armament: 4 x PDB Laser Turrets


    Carry Capacity: 200,000


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 35,000,000


    Description: A armored tracked big rig that can transport numerous tons of cargo within the safe confines of its armored cargo container. This vehicle can be driven manually, but it also features an in-built A.I. that can drive and operate the vehicle and its defenses all on its own if the user so wishes. The hefty transport also comes along with emp immunity, like all designs its creator has made and also has four laser point defense turrets that can shoot down incoming explosives from almost all conceivable angles. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Retriever |


    Armament: 4 x PDB Laser Turrets


    Carry Capacity: 350,000


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 19,000,000


    Description: The Retriever is a heavier loader variant of the Buffalo and is specifically designed to load and unload cargo to wherever it needs to go. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    | Wolverine |


    Armament: 1 x FBPC-10 Coaxial Plasma Cannon, 2 x M304 Dischargers, 6 x PDB Laser Turrets, 1 x Swisser 30 Rotary Cannon


    Carry Capacity: 20,000


    Power: Fusion Breeder


    Value: 59,000,000


    Description: A heavily armored and armed combat vehicle that is a mixture of a tank and an armored personnel carrier with a rear hydraulic door. This vehicle comes equipped with a 30mm rotary cannon that can be loaded with all sorts of round types, but its usual loadout is smart HEAT rounds. As powerful as it main weapon may be thankfully that is not all it has to offer, it also features a coaxial version of the FBPC-10 Plasma Cannon that has better heat distribution and expulsion as it''s secondary, a laser point defense system that will have zero issue shooting down incoming explosive munitions, two eight shot M304 Dischargers that can launch 65x150mm Grenade countermeasures and last but certainly not least an onboard A.I. that can take over driving and operating itself if the owner wants. In addition to all of that, this vehicle of war also possesses emp shielding all across, granting it immunity to emp weaponry. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    I could''ve easily designed more vehicles than this, but I didn''t see a purpose too when these three serve my immediate demands just fine. Additionally, it''s not like I can''t wait until I get set up at the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility with an entire production line to begin designing and manufacturing vehicles.


    Moving on from that to weapons now. I haven''t created too many new weapons, nevertheless I have made a couple in this period, namely a larger combat knife that fits better in my hand, and a handheld version of the plasma scorcher with an alternate fire mode that basically turns the weapon into a plasma cutter.


    | Commando Knife |


    Damage: 25


    DPS: Variable


    Weight: 2.5


    Class: Light


    Value: 1,350


    Item Description: An 18-inch hardened advanced alloy combat knife featuring spiked knuckles around the handle of the knife for whether the wielder wants to slice, stab, or bash.


    | FBPS-3 Plasma Melter |


    Damage: 40 + 15 for 30 seconds, 150


    DPS: Variable


    Fire rate: 50


    Weight: 5


    Class: Light


    Ammo Type: Microfusion Breeder Cell


    Value: 79,000


    Description: A scaled down fusion breeder powered plasma flamethrower that comes with the normal firing mode and a focused one that allows it to act like a plasma cutter to get through locks, doors, walls, and other kinds of obstacles in a short time. Designed by Dom Mason Woods.


    Remaining on the equipment side for slightly longer, I''ve made suits of armor for everyone who''s coming along on this trip, with each suit customized for their individual needs and wants. Alright, that wraps up that section... I guess I should cover stats next for a second, even though I''ve just been progressing as normal. Although much faster than prior, in part thanks to my higher intelligence and me titrating my Buffmax dosage higher.


    So my strength and endurance attributes have improved significantly these last four years, so much so that they''ve more than doubled. It''s to the point that both attributes have caught up with my intelligence, with my endurance blowing past it by almost two dozen points. Showing off just how beneficial and effective Buffmax has been for me. And as a result of that, my strength and endurance have breached 101 and unlocked two new perks.


    | Herculean Strength Rank 2 | Requirements 101 Strength: Your strength has reached superhuman levels and is now entering unknown territory, +10,000 carry weight. In addition to your carry weight increasing by a substantial amount, you can now freely exert your carry capacity as additional force on top of your strength. For example, if your carry capacity limit is 100, then you''ll be able to exert an extra 100 lbs of force on top of whatever you''re normally capable of. Lastly, the items that are stored within your item box are now held in stasis, so items placed within will remain exactly the same as when you initially stored them, no matter how much time has passed since they were initially stowed.


    Yeah, I''m going to have to start thinking about making a primary melee weapon to properly take advantage of this perk. I got a few ideas floating in my head, but I''m in no rush, so I''ll wait till I get comfortable at my new base of operation before I come to a decision.


    | Monstrous Physique Rank 2 | Requirements 101 Endurance: Your limits for Endurance have been surpassed and because of that, you''ve entered a new realm of toughness. Due to your newfound durability, your body has gained the ability to build compressed muscle, giving you the ability to continue building muscle without expanding beyond what your frame can handle. Along with that, your organs have become stronger and more efficient in their functions. However, that is not all. You have also acquired a second heart located opposite of your original and your lung capacity has doubled, allowing your body to get more oxygen to where it needs to go. On top of that, the amount of sleep you require each night has reduced further from 4 hours down to 2 hours, your health regeneration goes from the previous 0.2 per point of endurance to 0.5 per point, and instead gain 50 health for every point of endurance you have. +100% to blood circulation speed, +200% to bone durability, +1,000 to health, +100 years to lifespan, +500% to both your stamina and stamina regeneration.

 Chapter 68: Powering Up

    Both second ranks of Monstrous Physique and Herculean Strength were, without a shadow of a doubt, two broken perks. But they weren''t the only perks I''ve obtained in these years of progress and training. I also gained two decent ones for my constant use of Medstims.


    | Medstim Addict | You''ve abused medstims so much that you''ve gained a slight regeneration ability. +1 health regen per minute.


    | Medstim Connoisseur | You''ve used so many medstims that you''re now an expert in everything medstim-related. Any medstim you use or apply are twice as effective. +10 to health regeneration a minute and +1 to endurance.


    Together with those two, I got one from my stealth skill as well for it reaching 1,001.


    | Shadow Lurker Rank 2 | Requirements Stealth 1,001: Your ability to remain hidden from those around you has breached certain limits. This has resulted in your stealth attacks dealing 1% more damage for every skill point you have in stealth instead of the previous 0.5%. Along with a boost to your damage, you''ve acquired a unique ability to manipulate shadows and use them in numerous ways that you will have to discover on your own. Apart from that, your presence hiding field has received a major upgrade in the way of being turned into a stealth field. So, on top of the existing benefits provided from the last rank, this stealth field will allow you to manipulate the exterior of the field to appear as if there is nothing there. However, as strong as that sounds, if someone enters that field, they will still be able to notice you potentially if you are in their direct line of sight and aren''t trying to remain hidden. Last but not least, when you are lurking within the shadows, all speed related stats will be boosted by 0.1% per 10 stealth you possess.


    Sadly, that''s the extent of the perks I''ve gained in this period, since none of my other skills have reached a point where they will grant me a perk. Despite that, it''s not that bad because several of them are on the boundary of doing so. Hence, the moment I turn those quests I''ve been sitting on all these years and spend my level ups, I will gain another power boost just before I start my conquest of the wastes.


    And seeing how I''ve basically gone through everything on the stat front and brought up quests, I should go over that next. There''s not much to cover here, but I did gain a new quest as soon as my endurance attribute went over 101 in total value.


    | Exceeding Super Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 101 in every attribute. Rewards: Perk | Evolver |, 100 attribute points, 1,000 Skill Points, and 1,000,000 exp.


    The other quest I received was when I began playing around with the idea of creating my future army''s structure.


    | The Makings Of A New Power | Objectives: Create a military unit that is 5,000 strong with all the bells and whistles. Rewards: Perk | Supreme Commander |, 50 Leadership Points, 250 Skill Points, 500,000 exp.


    This particular quest shouldn''t take me all that long for me to complete its objectives once I bring that robot plant online and begin pumping robots out. So I suppose I''ll be doing quite a lot of leveling shortly after my departure.


    Okay, that does it for quests and really my progress in general for these past four years. I''ve made good progress in magic, but because of my endurance increasing so much and me putting zero work into cultivating, I haven''t gone up even one rank in several years. That said, I''ve increased my mana by 34,272 passively, more than doubling my already massive mana pool, which will increase a hell of a lot more when I actually start pursuing magic seriously...


    Whilst I was looking back on the past four years, I began doing the same for the last eighteen years I''ve lived in this world and kept moving, putting one foot in front of the other. After traveling through the large gray concrete halls of Genesis Foundry for more than a few minutes, I eventually reached my destination, my level up space. Wasting no time, I walked inside and shut the metal door behind me.


    From there, I took and injected over a dozen Medstim Mk IIs and sat in the comfy chair I had placed in the small room. Performing the last of my preparations, I injected two syringes of P-Dex and willed my system screen into existence. A split second later it appeared and the instant it did I navigated to the quest section and turned in both quests I''d been holding on to.


    | Maxigen Improvement | Objectives: Research, improve, and remove the negative side effect of the Maxigen drug. Rewards: Perk | Drug Researcher |, 5 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 2,500 exp.


    | Pablo Escobar Jr. | Objectives: Establish drug production and earn 10,000,000 dollars from the sale of your products. Rewards: Perk | Drug Kingpin |, 10 Medicine points, 30,000 exp.


    [Rewards]


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.[Drug Kingpin, Drug Researcher, 15 Medicine points, 5 Science points, 262,275 Exp]


    | Drug Kingpin | You''ve established yourself in the drug and pharmaceutical industry and have made decent profits from your products, but besides that, you''ve picked up a thing or two in your time in the industry. +100% to drug production yield and your drugs and medicines trade for 10% more.


    | Drug Researcher | Your experimentation and research into drugs, medicine, and other compounds was successful, making you a certified drug researcher. Whenever you perform any further research into this field, you will encounter more Ahaa! moments. Plus, your research speed and the positive effects of drug formulas you''ve created or modified are increased by 100%.


    Those will come in hand when I get drug production set up and going at the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility and begin researching other drugs and chemicals or anything for that matter since it says research speed and not something like drug or medicine research speed.


    My exp rewards received the amount of level ups I had pending jumped to 8.


    Now that I''ve got those quests turned in, I''m ready to level up.


    With nothing holding me back anymore, I initiated the level up and before I knew it; the screen had changed from the previous status one to the perk selection screen I hadn''t seen in a long while.


    [ Perks ]


    Perk Points Left: 24


    Level 2 Perks


    | Growth Rank 26 | (Ranks Unlimited) Requirements Level 2: Gain 1 attribute point that you can distribute freely.


    Level 28 Perks


    | Cautious | Requirements Level 28, Perception 6: When not moving, your senses are heightened and you gain +2 perception.


    | Grand Slam | Requirements Level 28, Strength 9, Melee Weapons 90: When swinging at an adversary''s head with a two-handed melee weapon deal 100% more damage if the swing lands on the desired location.


    | Outdoorsman | Requirements Level 28, Survival 45: Gain experience and knowledge of a man who has spent most of his life outdoors. Additionally, when outdoors, your perception and agility receive a boost of +1.


    Level 30 Perks


    | I Smell Ammo | Requirements Level 30, Luck 6, Perception 7: Gain the ability to detect nearby ammunition and find considerably more of it somehow.


    | Mental Pressure | Requirements Level 30, Speech 50, Endurance 7, Strength 7: Your presence is intimidating and has the tendency to terrify. With the increase in your scary factor, you also gain the ability to control it and manipulate it however you like.


    | Tech Junkie | Requirements Level 30, Intelligence 10, Repair 100, Science 100: Gain immediate understanding of any technology when touched, no matter its origins.


    Level 32 Perks


    | Penetrator | Requirements Level 32: Your attacks will have an added -15 DT once this perk is taken.


    | Water Breathing | Requirements Level 32: Gain the ability to breathe underwater and no, you won''t get gills.


    Level 34 Perks


    | Armor Smith | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 34, Strength 8, Repair 100: All armors you''ve produced or modified are now 20% better across all parameters.


    | Silent Steps | Requirements Level 34, Agility 8, Stealth 95: Your steps become silent and no longer produce sound and vibrations unless you wish to.


    | Weapon Smith | (Ranks 5) Requirements Level 34, Strength 7, Intelligence 7, Repair 100: All weapons you''ve produced or modified are now 20% better in all parameters.


    Same as last time I''m going to skip Backpacker because it only raises my carry weight by 100 lbs, which I get from my strength attribute every time it increases. So if I wanted to raise my carry weight I would be better off going with Growth and putting the attribute from that into strength since it also provides a damage bonus of 10% to melee weapons and unarmed. This goes for the Strong Back perk as well for the simple fact that it literally has the exact same effect as Backpacker.


    Skipping those worthless perks, I picked up everything else that was available, including all five ranks of Armor Smith and Weapon Smith. However, I did not take Dad''s Favorite and Mama''s Boy, which were only beneficial for the +5 they provided in medicine and science. My reasoning for doing so was simple: why waste perk points on two perks that will only provide a small boost to two skills when I''m going to have over a 1,000 skill points to spend in a second here.


    Looking at the perks I had selected, I began thinking of the various benefits they''ll provide me with going forward.


    The heightened senses from Cautious could prove very useful for discovering hostiles and keeping my life out of danger. I could also see it enhancing my senses for magic. That effect would be especially valuable to me, I''m sure. Tech Junkie is also in that category, since I plan on visiting Area 51 to acquire alien technology that I will definitely have little to no understanding of, so I''m sure I will get quite a bit of use out of it then.


    As for Water Breathing, it won''t be that helpful to me for a while, seeing as I''m in an arid state with very few water sources. That said, it will certainly be invaluable when it comes time to venture into the oceans and pay a visit to the undercities I found in the surrounding oceans, mainly the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean.


    Aside from those three Silent Steps will be a nice addon to my already busted stealth skills. And Armor Smith and Weapon Smith will improve my current kit and all the weapons and armor I''ve made for my group by a huge margin. It''ll without a doubt show its effects not long after we''ve left the confines of the undercity and found some trouble ourselves to get involved in.


    The other perks are pretty good too however, they''re not as noteworthy in my eyes compared to the ones I''ve mentioned already. Like I don''t think I''ll need any help in the intimidation department when I''m 6 foot six, weigh 450 pounds lean, and will be covered head to toe in an armored suit that will later be replaced by a power armor suit that will be even larger and heavier.


    Happy with the 19 points I spent so far, I dumped the remaining five perk points I had available into Growth and placed the attribute points from that into luck, considering that it was the only attribute I couldn''t improve other than through leveling, quests rewards, and other such means.


    I wish I had more levels to spend, but this is all I was able to accumulate down here with the very avenues I had available to farm exp from.

 Chapter 69: Top Of The Food Chain

    Finished with the perks section of this level up, the holographic screen changed to display the skill distribution screen with all the gains I made in the last several years.


    [ Skills ]


    Skill Points Left: 1,360


    Ballistic Weapons: 620


    Energy Weapons: 610


    Explosives: 408


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 916


    Leadership: 364


    Lockpick: 309 (310)


    (T)Medicine: 860


    Melee Weapons: 661


    Piloting: 701


    (T)Repair: 910


    (T)Science: 910


    Speech: 340


    Stealth: 1,173


    Survival: 816


    Trade: 777


    Unarmed: 661


    Magic: 681


    Alright, I got 1,360 skill points to allocate what should I spend them on... I unlocked Shadow Lurker Rank 2 when stealth reached a total value of 1,001, so I know when the other skill reaches the same value, they will unlock their own rank 2 versions. Therefore, to maximize this mass level up, it would be in my best interest to raise as many of my skills up to 1,001 to unlock as many enhanced versions of the skill perks as possible.


    Then again, I am going to be doing a ton of transporting of items and materials so it wouldn''t be bad to up stealth a ton to further expand my stealth field either. That said, I don''t think we''ll come across much in the way of trouble, if any at all, since we''re currently a large enough force that not many would want to fuck with us.


    Not to mention the roads and the area we''re going to be traveling in are remote and out of the way, with not much of interest in the area besides some farms and dwellings that have been long abandoned and left to rot, and the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility. That latter no one wants to fuck with since it should still be filled to the brim with hostile swarms of robots.


    So for those reasons, I think I''d be better off just boosting my overall abilities further rather than just a single one of them that will only be useful for making large movements. If my forces were larger, I would be making a totally different decision, but I''m not a big enough target yet to even qualify as a blip on the Zetan''s radar when compared to the numerous powers that exist out there. Thus I''ll just get as many skills as possible to 1,001 and whatever skill points I have left over I''ll dump them into stealth to increase the area of effect of my stealth field.


    Now that that''s decided, what skills do I want to focus on, hmm... Well, I plan on continuing to use heavy weapons primarily, so I''ll throw 85 points into that, reducing my remaining skill points down to 1,275. Continuing with that line of thought, I also plan on raiding and taking over Fort Kern, which should have a number of gauss rifles. Those weapons fall into both the ballistic and energy weapon categories, so if I was to, let''s say, make a gauss gatling gun, I would be able to take advantage of the heavy weapon category as well as the other two.


    Taking advantage of those three different categories would boost my damage and range massively. That sort of weapon would also be affected by all the other perks that affect those three weapon types, too. Hence, making that kind of weapon would upgrade my already high firepower many times over... Yeah, that sounds hell''a broken.


    Looking forward to when I can implement that idea of mine, I distributed 381 points into ballistic weapons and 391 points into energy weapons, bringing my total amount of skill points down to 503.


    Repair and science look like they need some attention, so let''s bring them up as well... There, that should do it.


    Spending another 182 skill points between those two skills, I began looking for the next candidate that needed my remaining 321 skill points.


    I think I''ll go with Medicine as my last one since I don''t think survival will be all that necessary or beneficial compared to upgrading stealth further.


    Decided on what I wanted, I placed 141 points into my medicine skill and dumped the leftover 180 points into stealth, expanding the range of my stealth field by another 18 meters. Taking a moment to see if I wished to make any adjustments, I didn''t. Thus, I finalized my distribution and ended my mass level up then and there.


    [Ding!]


    [Ding!]


    [Ding!]


    [Din...]


    [New Perks Gained]


    [New Quests Gained]


    Shit, that''s a lot of notifications,


    As I was getting spammed with dings sounding off in the background, I was slowly but surely dealing with the flood of information and experience being jammed into my brain. This went for an even shorter time than the last mass level up I had undergone and once I had processed everything, I ignored the notifications for the second and turned my attention to my status.


    [ Status ]


    Name: Dom Mason Woods Date: 8/11/2268


    Age: 18


    Lifespan: 250


    Height: 6 Feet 6 Inches


    Body Weight: 450 lbs


    Race: High Human


    Class: Mage Initiate 5th Level


    Level: 35


    Experience Points: 11,693/72,000 | Formula: Next Level# x 2,000


    Total Experience Points Earned: 1,271,693


    Experience Rate: 905% ? | Formula: 120 + (Intelligence x 5) + (Level x 1)


    Health: 19,400 ? | Formula: 1,100 + (Endurance x 50) + (Level# x 20) x 2


    Healing Rate: 5.0666 Health Per Second/304 Health Per Minute ? | Formula: 73 + (0.5 Health Per Minute x Endurance) x 2


    Stamina: 46,129 ? | Formula: 100 + ( Endurance x 20) x 14.15


    Stamina Regeneration: 37.2616 Stamina Per Second/2,235.7 Stamina Per Minute ? | Formula: (1 Stamina Per Minute x Endurance) x 14.15


    Mana: 61,090 ? | Formula: 100 + (Mage Realm Gains, Mage Level Gains, & Integrated Mana)


    Mana Regeneration: 394.4 ? | Formula: (0.1 Per Second x Magic Power) x 29


    Max Mana Capacity: 116,800 ? | Formula: 101,000 + (Endurance x 100) + (Mage Realm & Mage Level Gains)


    Carry Weight: 7,952.18125/50,300 ? | Formula: 11,450 + (Strength x 100) x 2


    Critical Chance: 78% ? | Formula: 10 + (Luck x 2)


    [ Effects ]


    Ancient Runic Cross Necklace Of Protection: Gain a 500 DT bubble shield for 3 minutes when your life is in danger.


    Child Of Light: Agility +1 - Endurance +1 - Strength +1 - Health Per Second +1


    Cautious: +2 Perception and your senses are heightened when not moving.


    Heavy Trooper Armor Set: DT 65 - Radiation Resistance 20 - Perception +1 - Stealth +20


    Outdoorsman: Perception +1 - Agility +1 when outdoors.


    War Belt: DT 1


    [ Armor ]


    Total Damage Threshold: 798 ?


    Total Coverage Damage Threshold: 498 ?


    Body Damage Threshold: 366 ? | Formula: 25 + (Endurance x 1) x 2


    Armor Damage Threshold: 132 | Formula: Armor RR x 2


    Weapon Damage Threshold: 300


    [ Resistances ]


    Addiction Resistance: 50%


    Poison Resistance: 183 ? Formula: (Endurance x 1) + 25


    Total Radiation Resistance: 198 ?


    Radiation Resistance: 158 ? | Formula: Endurance x 1


    Armor Radiation Resistance: 40 | Formula: Armor DT x 2


    [ Attributes ]


    Strength: 137 (138) ?


    Agility: 69 (71) ?


    Endurance: 158 (159) ?


    Intelligence: 150 ?


    Perception: 117 (121) ?


    Charisma: 25 ?


    Luck: 34 ?


    Magic Power: 136 ?


    [ Skills ]


    Ballistic Weapons: 1,041 (1,045) ?


    Energy Weapons: 1,041 (1,045) ?


    Explosives: 430 ?


    (T)Heavy Weapons: 1,109 (1,111) ?


    Leadership: 388 ?


    Lockpick: 331 (335) ?


    (T)Medicine: 1,023 ?


    Melee Weapons: 671 (675) ?


    Piloting: 725 (730) ?


    (T)Repair: 1,023 ?


    (T)Science: 1,023 ?


    Speech: 346 ?


    Stealth: 1,377 (1,404) ?


    Survival: 822 (823) ?


    Trade: 801 ?


    Unarmed: 671 (675) ?


    Magic: 727 ?


    Skill Points Gained Per Level Up: 193 ? | Formula: 4 + (Intelligence x 1) x 1.25


    [ Traits ]


    | Critter | - | Gifted | - | Sex Appeal | - | Skilled | - | Take Another Rank 1 |


    [ Perks ]


    Active Perks: | Currency Maker | - | Ghost | - | Medical Genius Rank 2 | - | Patcher | - | Pleasure |


    Passive Perks: | A Hunger For Knowledge | - | Addiction Resistant | - | All Element Mana Generator | - | All The Loot | - | Always Aware | - | Ambidextrous | - | Ammo Depot | - | Another Skill Talent | - | Armor Smith Rank 5 | - | Assassin | - | Beginner Miner | - | Bone Head | - | Bookworm | - | Boomstick | - | Braced | - | Brute Rank 5 | - | Calculative Individual | - | Cat Eyes | - | Cautious | - | Champion Level Muscle Genetics | - | Character Builder | - | Child Of Light | - | Commander | - | Commando | - | Computer Whiz | - | Death Sense | - | Double-Edged Sword | - | Drug Kingpin | - | Drug Researcher | - | Eagle Eye | - | Efficient Weapon Handling | - | Escape Artist | - | Explosives Expert Rank 5 | - | Gotta Go Fast | - | Grand Slam | - | Growth Rank 30 | - | Heavy Gunner Rank 5 | - | Heavy Weapon Expert Rank 5 | - | High Human | - | Human Supercomputer Rank 2 | - | Human Warehouse | - | Infiltrator | - | Iron Fist | - | I Smell Ammo | - | Knowledgeable Sponge | - | Lady Killer | - | Language Master | - | Leader Of The Pack | - | Lighter Load | - | Looter Shooter | - | Man Killer | - | Marathon Runner | - | Master Of All Trades | - | Medstim Addict | - | Medstim Connoisseur | - | Mental Pressure | - | Monstrous Physique Rank 2 | - | Mutant Slayer | - | Natural Born Learner | - | Nature Affinity Rank 3 | - | Nerves Of Steel | - | Observant | - | Outdoorsman | - | Pain Resistance | - | Penetrator | - | Quick Hands | - | Quick Learner | - | Rare Cardiovascular Genetics | - | Ravager | - | Reading Fanatic | - | Recipe Improvement | - | Regeneration | - | Resource Hoarder | - | Savage | - | Seasoned Soldier Rank 5 | - | Second Wind | - | Silent Steps | - | Silver Tongue | - | Skeleton Key | - | Smash & Bash | - | Sniper | - | Speed Loader | - | Strong Body | - | Talented | - | Tank Commander | - | Tech Junkie | - | That''s A Lot Of Damage | - | The Great Leader | - | Thick Headed | - | Tough Skeleton | - | Walking Treasure Detector | - | Warrior | - | Water Breathing | - | Weapon Smith Rank 5 | - | Wild Man |


    Combo Perks: | All Seeing Rank 2 | - | Bulletstorm Rank 2 | - | Certified Forklift Operator | - | Devastator Rank 2 | - | H.U.D. | - | Herculean Strength Rank 2 | - | Human Smelter | - | Magic Supremacy Rank 2 | - | Martial Weapon Master | - | Mechanical Domination Rank 2 | - | Metal Detector | - | Overcharged Rank 2 | - | Restorer Rank 2 | - | Slaughterer | - | Shadow Lurker Rank 2 | - | Space Farer | - | The Power Of Atom | - | Unarmed Master | - | Wisest Wizard |


    Perk Points Gained Per Level Up: 3 ?


    [ Mutations ]


    | Pure |


    [ Classes ]


    | Mage | +2 Intelligence, Perception, and Magic and +3 Magic Power Per Level Up


    [ Mage Techniques And Cultivation Methods ]


    ? All Element Core Technique ?


    Basic Foundation Technique - Fire Foundation Technique - Water Foundation Technique - Nature Foundation Technique - Earth Foundation Technique - Wind Foundation Technique - Light Foundation Technique - Darkness Foundation Technique - Ice Foundation Technique - Lightning Foundation Technique - Metal Foundation Technique - Blood Foundation Technique - Space Foundation Technique - Life Foundation Technique - Death Foundation Technique - Void Foundation Technique - Chaos Foundation Technique


    [ Magic Formations ]


    Basic Condensing Formation - Basic Rotation Formation - Self Sustaining Basic Condensing Formation - Self Sustaining Basic Rotation Formation


    [ Magic Spells ]


    Oath Magic (Neutral)


    Level 1 Fire Ball (Fire)


    Level 1 Spark (Lightning)


    [ Gear & Item Box ]


    Weapons: AP-6 Hand Cannon (1) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun (1) - BZB-9 Incendiary Grenades (100) - Carl Gustaf (1) - Commando Knives (2) - Demolition Charges (500) - Detonator (1) - EM Waver (1) - F-3 Flashbangs (100) - FBARC Rifle (1) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (2) - FBLMG-9 Laser Machine Gun (1) - FBPC-10 Plasma Cannon (1) - FBPMG-9 Plasma Machine Gun (1) - FBPMP-11 Plasma Machine Pistol (1) - FBPS-3 Plasma Melter (1) - FBPS-7 Plasma Scorcher (1) - FU2 Mininuke Launcher (1) - Grandpa John''s Combat Knife (1) - H-40 Grenade Machinegun (1) - KC100 Auto Mortar (1) - Mulcher (1) - Purge (1) - SG-7 Sleeper Grenades (100) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (100) - T-5 Plasma Mines (100) - U-2 EMP Grenades (100) - U-3 EMP Mines (100) - VT-80 Missile Launcher (1) - X-50 Anti-Material Rifle (1)


    Weapon Magazines: A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (20) - AP-6 Speedloaders (20) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun 50 Round Box Magazine (11) - H-40 Grenade Machinegun 45 Round Magazine (10) - Mulcher Armored Backpack Magazines (10) - Purge Reactor Backpacks (2)


    Armor: Heavy Trooper Set (1) - War Belt


    Apparel: Ancient Runic Cross Necklace Of Protection (1) - Set Of Clothes (5)


    Aid: Buffmax Bottles (100) - IFAKs (10) - Medstim Mk IIs (100) - P-Dex Bottles (10) - P-Dex Syringes (50) - Z-Rox Combat Stims (50)


    Ammo: .338 Lapua Magnum Rounds (240) - .50 BMG Rounds (500) - 100mm Mortars (300) - 40x53mm Grenades (600) - 6 Gauge Shotgun Shells (1,200) - 7.62x51mm Rounds (111,000) - 75mm Mininukes (100) - 80mm Missiles (100) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (150) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (20)


    Miscellaneous: Lockpick Sets (2) - Stealth Packs (6) - Undercity 7 Credstick (1)


    Food: MREs (100) - Water Canteens (100)


    Money: Undercity 7 Credits (655,849,144)Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Robots: K-1 Spider Mines (100)


    [ Other Stats & Bonuses ]


    Accuracy: Accuracy +25% - Ballistic Weapon Accuracy +1,091% - Braced Weapon Accuracy +20% - Energy Weapon Accuracy +1,041% - Headshot Accuracy +25% - Heavy Ranged Weapon Accuracy +50% - Heavy Weapon Accuracy +1,109%


    Armor Penetration: All Attacks -15 DT


    Attack Speed: Melee Weapon Attack Speed +50% - Unarmed Attack Speed +50%


    Attribute: Endurance Gain +400% - Intelligence Gain +50% - Strength Gain +400%


    Bodily Needs: Food & Drink Requirements -72% - Required Sleep 2 Hours


    Body: Blood Circulation +150% - Body Durability +300% - Bone Durability +50% - Bone Strength +50% - Crippling Effects -50% - Eyesight +400% - Ligament Strength +300% - Ligament Growth Speed +300% - Limb Durability +15% - Lung Capacity +100% - Muscle Growth Speed +100% - Muscle Density +100% - Reaction Speed +181.25% - Tendon Strength +300% - Tendon Growth Speed +300%


    Brain: Brain Processing Power +3,066% - Calculation Ability +166% - Knockout Resistance +50% - Reading Speed +250% - Thought Processes 34


    Cooldowns: Medical Genius Insta Heal 1 Day - Second Wind Cooldown 16 Days


    Critical: Stealth Attack Crit Chance With Melee, Unarmed, & Thrown Weapons +100%


    Currency Maker Rates: $1,000 For 8 lb Of Silver - $10,000 For 8 lb Of Gold


    Damage: Ballistic Weapon Damage +1,041% - Critical Hit Damage +50% - Damage +10% - Energy Weapon Damage +1,041% - Explosive Damage 315% - Female Damage +15% - Headshot Damage +35% - Heavy Ranged Weapon Damage +100% - Heavy Weapon Damage +1,109% - Magic Damage +1,739.5% - Male Damage +15% - Melee Weapon Damage +1,755.5% - Mutant Damage +25% - Ranged Weapon Bashing Damage +25% - Shotgun Damage +50% - Stealth Damage +1,437% - Two-handed Melee Weapon Headshot Damage +100% - Unarmed Damage +1,775.5%


    Defense: DT +5 - When Taking Damage From Mutated Creatures DT +20% - While Bracing A Weapon DT +10%


    Duplicate Cast Max Amount: 6


    Energies: Martial Weapon Master Energy Range 67 Meters - Unarmed Master Energy Range 67 Meters


    Fields: Metal Detector Range 11,700 Meters - Perception Field Range 117 meters - Repair Field Range & Rate 102 Meters, 102% Per Hour - Stealth Field Range 137 Meters


    Ghost: Duration 137 Minutes


    Hands: All Around Hand Speed +100% - Typing Speed +100%


    Health: Health +1,000 - Health +100% - Health Regeneration Per Minute +72 - Health Regeneration Rate +100%


    Heavy: When Wearing Heavy Armor Or Piloting Similarly Classed Craft Armor, Damage, & Speed +25%


    Leadership & Forces: Force Damage +10% - Force Efficiency +3% - Force Performance +3% - Heavy Force Armor +25% - Heavy Force Damage +25% - Heavy Force Speed +25% - Loyalty Gain +100% - When Fighting Alongside Force Damage +10%


    Lockpicking Reward: 33


    Mage Realm Level Limit: 296


    Magic: Magic Effectiveness +1,739.5% - Mana Efficiency +3,029.5% - Magic Learning Speed +300% - Magic Skill Gain +100% - Mana Absorption Speed +2,650% - Spell Casting Speed +100% - Spell Cost -6%


    Manufacturing: All Armor Parameters You''ve Produced Or Modified +100% - All Weapons Parameters You''ve Produced Or Modified +100% - Crafting Speed +102.3% - Drug Production Yield +100%


    Medical: Aid Duration +100% - Aid Positive Effects +100% - Positive Effects Of Your Drug & Medicine Formulas +100%


    Medical Genius Heal Limit: 20 Uses A Day


    Mining: Mining Efficiency +20% - Mining Speed +20% - Mining Yields +10%


    Movement: Coordination +100% - Infiltrating Movement Speed +10% - Jump Height 69 Feet - Max Speed 99 Miles Per Hour


    Organs: Hearts 2


    Other Weapon Stats: Explosive Radius +215% - Magazine Loading Speed +50% - Reloading Speed +35


    Range: Ballistic Weapon Range +50%


    Resistances: Addiction Resistance +50% - Poison Resistance +25


    Science: Research Speed +100% - Scientific Breakthrough Frequency +102.3%


    Shadow Boost: All Speed Stats +11.9%


    Shotgun: BOOM!


    Skill: Magic Skill Gain +300% - Skill Gain Speed +250% - Skill Points Gained Per Level Up +25% - Skill Points Gained From Skill Books 10


    Stamina: Stamina +1,415% - Stamina Costs -20% - Stamina Regeneration +1,415% - Weapon Handling Stamina Cost -50%


    Trade: Your Drugs & Medicine Values +10%


    Vehicle: Speed When Piloting +181.25% - Handling When Piloting +181.25%


    Velocity: Ballistic Weapon Velocity +1,041% - Energy Weapon Velocity +1,041% - Heavy Weapon Velocity +1,009%


    Weight: Ammo & Magazine Weight -40% Carry Weight 11,350 - Carry Weight Percentage +100% - Item Weight 5lbs & Lower -50% - Resource Weight -40% - Weapon Weight 10lbs & Higher -50%


    Kill Counter: 6,531


    [ Property ]


    Weapons: 7.62mm Hunting Rifles (576) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifles (11) - AALP-3 Laser Pistols (10) - AALR-6 Laser Rifles (10) - AAGL-5 Gatling Lasers (10) - AK-108s (10) - AKMs (10) - AP-6 Hand Cannons (5,000) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotguns (5,000) - BZB-9 Incendiary Grenades (100,000) - CA12 Combat Shotguns (10) - Carl Gustafs (1,000) - Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolvers (934) - Combat Knives (100,000) - Commando Knives (10) - CSG10 Submachine Guns (699) - Demolition Charges (25,000) - Detonators (1,000) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun (1) - EM Wavers (1,000) - F-3 Flashbangs (100,000) - F-60 Flamethrowers (100) - FBARC Rifles (5,000) - FBGL-6 Gatling Lasers (5,000) - FBLAR-1 Laser Assault Rifles (100,000) - FBLMG-9 Laser Machine Guns (20,000) - FBPC-10 Plasma Cannons (10,000) - FBPAR-3 Plasma Assault Rifles (50,000) - FBPMG-9 Plasma Machine Guns (20,000) - FBPMP-11 Plasma Machine Pistols (100,000) - FBPS-3 Plasma Melters (100) - FBPS-7 Plasma Scorchers (10,000) - FU2 Mininuke Launchers (200) - H-40 Grenade Machineguns (2,000) - HK416s (10) - KC100 Auto Mortars (300) - M101 Frag Mines (10,000) - M2 Browning Machine Guns (1,000) - M240 Machine Guns (15) - M56 Miniguns (100) - M76 Miniguns (2,000) - M90 Frag Grenades (100,000) - Microfusion Cell Mines (24) - NPDMs (10) - Pickaxes (4,121) - R30 Rocket Rifles (300) - Remington Model 870 Shotguns (1,765) - Sawed-off Double Barreled 12 Gauge Shotguns (2) - SG-7 Sleeper Grenades (30,000) - STAR-25 Assault Rifles (24) - T-4 Plasma Grenades (500,000) - T-5 Plasma Mine (50,000) - TBT Sniper Rifles (10) - U-2 EMP Grenades (10,000) - U-3 EMP Mines (10,000) - VT-80 Missile Launchers (10,000) - X-50 Anti-Material Rifles (10,000) - Z-2 Plasma Rifles (10)


    Weapon Magazines: 5.56mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (1,000) - 5.56mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (100) - 7.62mm Minigun 500 Round Drum Magazines (5,000) - 7.62mm Minigun 1,000 Round Backpack Magazines (100) - 7.62mm Minigun 10,000 Round Armored Backpack Magazines (6,000) - A-50 Anti-Material Rifle 10 round Magazines (100,000) - AK-47 30 Round Magazines (30,000) - AK-47 75 Round Drum Magazines (8,000) - AP-6 Speedloaders (40,000) - BFS-6 Heavy Shotgun 50 Round Box Magazines (30,000) - CA12 Combat Shotgun 12 Round Drum Magazines (100) - CSG10 Submachine Gun 30 Round Magazines (2,651) - DMG-15 Double Barrel Machine Gun 75 Round Box Magazines (6) - FBGL-6 Gatling Laser Reactor Backpacks (17,000) - H-40 Grenade Machinegun 45 Round Magazines (30,000) - M240 Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (44) - M2 Browning Machine Gun 100 Round Box Magazines (30,000) - NPDM 100 Round Drum Magazines (5,000) - 5.56 STANAG 30 Round Magazines (100,000) - 5.56 STANAG 60 Round Quad Stack Magazines (50,000) - 5.56 STANAG 100 Round Drum Magazines (15,000) - 7.62 STANAG 10 Round Magazines (500) - 7.62 STANAG 20 Round Magazines (2,000) - Mulcher Armored Backpack Magazines (100) - Purge Reactor Backpacks (500) - R30 Rocket Rifle 20 Round Magazines (5,700)


    Armor: War Belts (1,000)


    Clothing: Sets Of Clothes (50)


    Aid: Buffmax Bottles (100,000) - IFAKs (246,000) - Medstims (25,000) - Medstim Mk IIs (1,000,000) - P-Dex Bottles (500,000) - P-Dex Syringes (250,000) - Z-Rox Combat Stims (200,000)


    Ammo: .338 Lapua Magnum Rounds (2,000,000) - .357 Rounds (27,813) - .50 BMG Rounds (25,000,000) - 10mm Auto Rounds (5,000,000) - 100mm Mortars (100,000) - 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells (2,000,000) - 2.5mm Gauss (30,000,000) - 30x127mm Missiles (100,000) - 30x170mm Rounds (10,000,000) - 40x53mm Grenades (10,000,000) - 5.56x45mm Rounds (15,000,000) - 6 Gauge Shotgun Shells (5,000,000) - 65x150mm Grenades (100,000) - 7.62x39mm Rounds (1,000,000) - 7.62x51mm Rounds (30,000,000) - 75mm Mininukes (10,000) - 80mm Missiles (600,000) - 84x245R RCL Rounds (200,000) - Flamethrower Fuel (10,000) - Microfusion Cells (1,000,000) - Microfusion Breeder Cells (30,000,000)


    Skill Books: All Things Gun (4) - Atomic Power (3) - Bigger Is Always Better (3) - Book Of Engineering (3) - Boom! (2) - Conversationalists Notebook (3) - Drifting & Racing Weekly (2) - Encyclopedia Of Medical Advancements (3) - Entrepreneur (2) - Future Science (3) - Last Man Standing (3) - Leaders Of The World (4) - Martial Master (2) - Martial Weapons Guide (2) - Master Of All Trades (1) - Security Systems Monthly (3) - Stealth 101 (2)


    Miscellaneous: A Large Assortment of Automated Manufacturing and Processing Machines - Small Arc Furnaces (6) - Automated Aid Manufacturing Machine (1) - Automated Ammo Manufacturing Machines (1) - Automated Weapon Manufacturing Machines (2) - Automated Weapon Magazine Manufacturing Machine (1) - Lockpick Sets (8) - Metal (1,545,000,956) - Ore & Minerals (10,363,647,714) - Stealth Packs (2) - Other Misc Items (4,721,025,007)


    Food:


    Money: Dollars (100,000,000)


    Robots: Crusaders (250) - Defenders (100) - Grease Monkeys (25) - K-1 Spider Mines (5,000) - Hauling Bots (100) - Multibots (1,000) - Prospectrons (50) - Sparrows (100)


    Turrets: FBGL-6 Gatling Laser Turrets (1,625) - PDB Laser Turrets (3,000) - S-3 Trapdoor Turrets (500) - ZBR-2 Laser Turrets (100)


    Vehicles: Buffalos (40) - CZ-7 Armored SUV (1) - Retrievers (2) - Wolverines (8)


    Pets: Vritra (Juvenile Colossal Monster Drake - Bonded)


    Creatures: -


    Locations: Genesis Foundry


    [ Production Capacity ]


    Aid: 2,000


    Ammo: 100,000


    Apparel: -


    Dollars: -


    Metal: 1,000,000


    Miscellaneous: 2,000,000


    Ore & Minerals: 5,000,000


    Robots: 0.5


    Turrets: 1


    Vehicles: -


    Weapons: 200


    Weapon Magazines: 1,000


    [ Quests ]


    Ready to turn in: 0


    Completed: 8


    In progress: 17


    (Daily) | Workout | Objectives: Complete your daily workout. Reward: 10 exp.


    | Area 51 | Objectives: Gain access to Area 51 by any means necessary and explore the site from top to bottom. Rewards: Perk | Alien Researcher |, 40 Repair points, 40 Science points, 40 Medicine points, 450,000 exp.


    ? | Armament Upgrade | Objectives: Design and build a man portable gauss gatling gun. Rewards: Perk | Mass Driver |, 10 Ballistic Weapon Points, Energy Weapon Points, 10 Heavy Weapon Points, 10 Repair Points, 10 Science Points, 5,000 Exp.


    | Business Tycoon | Objectives: Obtain 10,000,000,000,000 Dollars worth of assets by any means necessary. Rewards: New Perk?, 15,000,000 Exp.


    ? | Exceeding Super Human Limits | Objectives: Reach a value of 101 in every attribute. Rewards: Perk | Evolver |, 100 Attribute Points, 1,000 Skill Points, and 1,000,000 Exp.


    ? | Grandmaster Of All Skills | Objectives: Reach a minimum of 1,001 for every skill you possess. Rewards: Perk | Grandmaster Of All Skills |, +100 To All Skills, 1,000 Skill Points, 500,000 exp.


    | Harem | Objectives: Enter a long-term romantic relationship with at least 3 women. All women must be aware of each other and okay with the arrangement of sharing you. Reward: 5,000 Exp.


    ? | Magic Revolution | Objectives: Reintroduce magic to human kind, build an institution with at least 100,000 students attending it and learning about magic, and have 10,000 humans reach the 5th realm. Rewards: New Perk?, 1,000 Magic, 100 Attribute Points, 1,000 Skill Points, 10,000,000 Exp.


    | Metro Connection | Objectives: Connect the nearby metro rails with your places. Rewards: Perk | Apprentice Miner |, 10 Repair Points, 50,000 Exp.


    | Nevada Conquest | Objectives: Become the undisputed number one power in Nevada and take control over the state in its entirety. Rewards: Perk | Territory |, 25 attribute points, 250 skill points, 1,000,000 exp.


    | Power Surge | Objectives: Win the battle for Hoover Dam and become the sole owner of it. Rewards: Perk | Power Surge |, 5 attribute points, 25 Repair points, 250,000 exp.


    | Suited Up | Objectives: Open up the armories at Fort Kern and acquire a suit of power armor. Rewards: Perk | Mobile Armory |, 5 Lockpick, 75,000 exp.


    | Take Over The Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility | Objectives: Clear out all hostile forces and set up shop. Rewards: Perk | Certified Roboticist |, 5 Science Points, 25,000 exp.


    | The Butcher | Objectives: Reach a kill count total of 10,000 kills. Rewards: Perk | Slaughterer Rank 2 |, 100,000 exp.


    ? | The Makings Of A New Power | Objectives: Create a military unit that is 5,000 strong, with all the bells and whistles. Rewards: Perk | Supreme Commander |, 50 Leadership Points, 250 Skill Points, 500,000 exp.


    | Undegrounder | Objectives: Clear all Nevada metros of hostiles and take control of them. Rewards: Perk | Mole People |, 10 Attribute Points, 1,000,000 exp.


    | Wasteland Conqueror | Objectives: Conquer the wasteland and take over Earth in its entirety. Rewards: ???


    That''s one hell of an upgrade.


    Looking through my insane stats, I found I couldn''t be any happier with the progress I''ve made these last four years.


    I continued scanning for a few seconds more before I started investigating the new perks I had ignored in favor of checking my stats out.


    | All Seeing Rank 2 | Requirements 101 Perception: Congrats you''ve surpassed your limits once again. Because of this, you have gained more control over your perception field and unlocked the ability to focus your perception field in one direction to extend its range. The range limit on this new function is 3 times whatever your current perception field range is. Eyesight +300% and Coordination +100%.


    | Bulletstorm Rank 2 | Requirements Ballistic Weapons 1,001: Your damage output has increased further, deal 1% more damage for every skill point in ballistic weapons instead of the previous 0.5%. This 1% also applies to ballistic weapon velocity and accuracy.


    | Devastator Rank 2 | Requirements Heavy Weapons 1,001: Your heavy weapon damage output and velocity has increased from 0.5% per skill point in heavy weapons to 1%. In addition to that, gain 1% to heavy weapon accuracy for every heavy weapon skill point you have.


    | Medical Genius Rank 2 | Requirements Medicine 1,001: Your medical genius has seen improvement thus improving your ability to regrow body parts so instead of being able to only regrow 1 body part for every 100 skill points in medicine you now can regrow 2 and the rate at which they regrow is improved as well. Additionally, you''ve gained the ability to instantly heal yourself to 100% once a day.


    | Overcharged Rank 2 | Requirements Energy Weapons 1,001: Your knowledge and handling of energy weapons has reached new heights and for achieving such skill and proficiency your damage with this category of weapons has increased from the previous 0.5% per skill point in energy weapons to 1%. This 1% increase also applies to energy weapon velocity and accuracy, along with the exceptions.


    | Restorer Rank 2 | Requirements Repair 1,001: Your repair field has improved, allowing you to focus your repair field on a smaller area to accelerate the rate of repair. Besides that, you''ve gained the ability to both add and change the attributes and skills on equipment and the ability to mold, shape, and manipulate constructs, machinery, and all sorts of inanimate objects and materials in crafting. Lastly, crafting speed is raised by 0.1% for every skill point you possess in your repair skill.


    | Mechanical Domination Rank 2 | Requirements Science 1,001: Your knowledge of the sciences has led you to new territory. As a result of that, you experience scientific breakthroughs much more frequently compared to before. Scientific breakthrough frequency is increased by +0.1% per skill point in science. Other than that, your calculation ability and brain processing speed will rise by 1% per 100 intelligent constructs and robots dominated.


    Yeah, I''ve made it to the top of the food chain at this point. I can pretty much come out on top against all the creatures I''m aware of, other than maybe the Sea Titans. I only know about those guys from the Wastelander series lore, so I''m not exactly sure if I could survive a fight with one of them due to me never encountering one and the limited intel I have on them.


    That said, I suspect my chances of killing one would be pretty decent. And even if I wasn''t able to, I''m sure I can deal plenty of damage before I succumb to any injuries I would''ve sustained in a fight with one. I wonder how much exp they would give me if I dispatched one...


    Despite my newfound power, I know I''m still an ant when compared to the Zetans, just a slightly bigger ant in the grand scheme of things. But that won''t remain the case for much longer.


    Moving from the perks, I looked to the new quests now.


    Mm, three new quests to go along with my level up, sweet. And of the three of them, Armament Upgrade and The Makings Of A New Power seem like they wouldn''t be all that difficult to complete. Grandmaster Of All Skills, on the other hand, will take me a decent while to complete. However, if I get production going quickly at the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility, I should be able to get it ready to turn in in the not so distant future¡­

 Chapter 70: Setting Out For The Wastes

    After going through my notifications, I exited my system and sat there for a second and suddenly felt my senses become clearer than they had ever been prior to this level up.


    Damn, Cautious provides a surprisingly large enhancement to my senses. They''re improved to such an extent right at this moment that I can literally feel the vibrations my robots are producing each time they take a step all the way in the loading area... Oh, and that''s not all it seems. My perception field has also become clearer than before, along with my ability to sense mana in my surroundings. That will definitely be incredibly useful later on.


    Sitting there for a few seconds longer to adjust to my improved senses and take everything in, I started moving, losing Cautious effects temporarily, till the next time I stopped. From there I got up from my seat and walked over to the table I had in my level up cell, one of the few pieces of furniture within this small reinforced room. Right as I reached it, I took hold of a skill book sitting on the top of one of the stacks and opened it up.


    [Do you wish to use this skill book?]


    [Yes] - [No]


    Having held off long enough to use my stock of skill books, I showed zero hesitation and selected yes immediately, receiving 10 skill points in the book''s associated category. Once I was done absorbing the small bit of information and skill experience it implanted into my noggin, I sat the book off to the side since it had been used and tagged as such.


    I don''t know if it''s worth keeping them after they''ve been used, but I''ll hold on to them just in case a use for them appears in the future. It''s not like I''m lacking in terms of storage space, anyway.


    Leaving that book there, I picked up the next one and went through the same process again and then again and then again. I kept this up until I spent every skill book I had in my possession. What I gained from my patient hoarding was a total of 40 ballistic weapon points, 30 energy weapon points, 20 explosive points, 30 heavy weapon points, 40 leadership points, 30 lockpick points, 30 medicine points, 20 melee weapon points, 20 piloting point, 30 repair points, 30 science points, 30 speech points, 20 stealth points, 30 survival points, 20 trade points, 20 unarmed points, and 10 points for every skill.


    Level up completed and skill books spent, I flexed the muscles all across my body to make sure I had a good grasp of my increased strength and capabilities.


    I''m not feeling off like I did years ago in my earlier level ups, so I should be good in terms of control.


    Content with the amount of control I had over my body, I opened the hefty metal door that had kept me sealed in my own little space for the protection of those around me and stepped out. Leaving the confines of my personal level up space, I left for the armory and headed there at a quick pace pumped to get out and begin my adventure in the chaotic world above.


    Once I arrived at the secure and locked down location that possessed mass amounts of weapons organized and strewn about its confines, I began loading my item box with heavy weapons and ammo. So I could take proper advantage of my huge carrying capacity and all the weight reduction perks I possess.


    Absorbing one weapon after the next, the weight that was being exerted across my entire frame rapidly rose at an exponential rate. The pressure kept piling on me till it was beginning to become too much, so I adjusted my felt weight to something not ridiculous.


    No longer bogged down, I continued to store away more and more weapons and ammo until I was carrying a brigade''s worth of equipment. Carrying a massive armament securely in my item box that none could touch, I exited the armory whilst my robots continued to shuffle back and forth through the Genesis Foundry, delivering increasingly more items and materials to the loading area in preparation for my expansion into the wasteland.


    Passing by them as they busied themselves, I made my way to the loading area myself to meet up with my crew and the robotic forces that would be coming with us. Which was most of them since just about every one of my manufacturing machines was fully automated and required very little input from workers besides the feeding of components and materials.


    Several minutes later, I came into the loading area and what entered my sights were three lines of Buffalos being rapidly filled with an assortment of different items and materials that I had prepared for my plans. Along with them, there were 4 Wolverines in front of them, acting as the vanguard, 100 Hauling Bots loaded to the brim with cargo located right behind the armored big rigs followed by 2 Retrievers, and 4 more Wolverines right behind them acting as the rearguard of our convoy.


    Satisfied with the progress my robots were making, I directed my attention elsewhere and walked over to my non mechanical companions who would be joining me on my crazy adventure into the wasteland.


    "You guys ready to go, or do you need to make some last-minute preparations?" I asked the boys mainly since I already knew my womens'' situation.


    "Nope." The man of few words Takeshi answered covered head to toe in a form fitting sleek night colored ballistic full body suit and wielding a TSS 338 Sniper Rifle, a semi-automatic sniper rifle chambered in the beefy .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.


    "Nah, I''ve already said my goodbyes to my family." My bro Big Tom responded simply, excited to venture from the safety of the undercity into the desolate wastes beyond to get into the thick of it and put his Heavy Trooper Armor and M56 Minigun through actual battles and tribulations.


    That big lug sure has grown a shit ton in size these last few years. That fucker Tom stands at a height of 7 feet and weighs nearly as much as me now. If I didn''t know any better, I would say he''s part Brute.


    Imagining those sickly green colored humanoid mutants that looked like they were something straight out of a comic book standing beside my buddy Big Tom, Bob spoke.


    "I''ve already taken care of everything on my side, so I''m good to go whenever." The former little nerd, Bob, followed up lastly with his FBPMG-9 Plasma Machine Gun resting against his chest and the rest of his frame decked out in a suit of Heavy Trooper Armor, just like Tom and I were. Minus the spikes since he didn''t quite like the brutal and visceral feeling of pounding metal spikes into flesh, that I had us all experience via my molemen guard test subjects that had long departed from this world for the afterlife.


    Having heard the boys'' response, I asked my newly wed wife Alice and my girlfriend Rei. "And you girls?"


    "I''m ready when you are." Rei answered first, kitted out in a similar suit of armor to her brother''s that accentuated her curvature. The only real difference between hers and his suit was that hers featured additional modular armor plating across it. But in addition to her unique up armored form fitting stealth suit, she had a X-50 Anti-Material Rifle slung on her back more than ready to provide over watch with spicy 50 caliber rounds.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "Me too." Alice answered with palpable excitement, wearing a female version of the Heavy Trooper Set that accommodated her full figure and armed with a FBLMG-9 Laser Machine Gun resting against her front, and a FBARC Rifle slung on her back. She also had a War Belt wrapped around her tight waist full of T-4 Plasma Grenades, a sidearm, and a combat knife like most of the group here.


    "You kids done yet? I''m not getting any younger over here." Gramps half jokingly said from the driver''s seat of the rear most Wolverine of the vanguard.


    "Yeah, yeah, hold your horses old man, we''re coming." I replied to my grandfather, who was probably the most pumped one amongst us to get out there.


    Nearly ready to go, I withdrew my war belt that I had stocked with pouches of different grenade types, AP-6 Speedloaders, and one Commando Knife holstered on both sides of it and wore it. I then followed that up by holstering my AP-6 Hand Cannon on my right hip and my FBPMP-11 Plasma Machine Pistol on my left hip. After that I took out Mulcher, wore the 10,000 round armored backpack connected to it, threw the heavy weapon sling over my head, and rested the hefty multi-barreled weapon against my abdominal region.


    Finished equipping my kit that was all enhanced a ton by my two new perks Armor Smith and Weapon Smith, I turned to my squad mates. "Let''s go guys."


    Whilst everyone loaded up into the rearmost Wolverine of the vanguard via the deployed armored ramp entrance of the combat vehicle, I went towards the optimal position and climbed inside of one of the Buffalos. The one that would allow me to cover the front of my convoy in my stealth field ability. Once we were all aboard, we waited several more minutes for the robots to finish filling up the little remaining space that was left.


    The moment they completed their task, the ones that were coming with us, which again was nearly all of them, streamed over and got into formation. The well over a thousand robots formed one line after the next, and as soon as they were all in position, I plopped my ass down in the back of the big rig''s cabin and had the convoy start leaving the facility.


    We quickly exited the Genesis Foundry via the many big rolling industrial garage doors in the loading area and got on the road that was blocked off specially for us because Alice''s dad wanted to turn our departure into a sort of parade that''s supposed to be about reclaiming the continental United States. It was a slight inconvenience, but it was one I was willing to put up with since my father-in-law, the governor, said it would increase my favorability and reputation with the hundreds of thousands of undercity residents. The very ones that will become my own citizens one day in the hopefully not too distant future.


    Continuing along the concrete road, we passed through the industrial area, got onto the main road that cut through the center of the undercity, and began entering commercial and urban residential districts. As we encroached on the towering metal and concrete ten-story buildings, I took a look around and saw that the sidewalks were covered with crowds of residents that all got the day off for this particular event.


    Most of them looked on with curiosity, excitement, and many other emotions that I didn''t really care to discern. So, needing to play my part, I got up, swung the driver side door open, climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, and took a seat up top waving to the crowds we passed by as we slowly made our way through the city.


    ...


    This parade we were obligated to take part in took around an hour and a half before we arrived at our destination, the undercity''s only exit besides the ones I made. What came into view was a massive blast door that was literal stories in height, specially designed and built to protect the people of this last refuge of prewar human civilization from nukes and all manners of danger that lurk outside. Together with the gargantuan blast door, the surrounding area was covered in military fortifications, turrets, security personnel, all kinds of weaponry, and many other security measures and defenses.


    Wowed by the setup, we closed in on the only thing standing between us and the wasteland and found our families not so surprisingly waiting there for us, ready to say one last goodbye before we leave. So we exited our vehicles and met up with our families to have this final goodbye.


    ...


    "Make sure you come back alive, sweety. You have a lot of people that can''t live without you." My mother Jane told me, beginning to tear up.


    Smiling, I responded while keeping my own emotions from running amok. "I will, mom. I''ll be back no matter what."


    Sharing a few words with my grandparents, dad stepped up. "I''m sure you''ll be back in no time. Stay safe out there, son."


    "Will do, dad."


    Sharing a few hugs with everyone while making sure not to injure them with my spiked armor, Bella, the now 12-year-old blonde twin tailed girl, made her way over to me, practically on the brink of tears.


    Plopping my hand on the top of her head, I asked. "What''s wrong, Bella? Sad to see me go?"


    "Yes." She answered simply and directly with a couple of tears running down her cheeks.


    "Awe, it''s not like we''ll be gone forever, right?"


    "I know, but that still doesn''t make me feel any better."


    "Well, how about this, I''ll be sure to come back and visit you as frequently as I can and when you reach 18, I''ll take you out to come adventuring with me? How does that sound?"


    "Really?"


    "Of course, anything for you, Bella." I answered, ruffling the quickly growing rascal''s hair.


    Hearing my response, she extended her right hand and presented her pinky finger, and gazed at me intently.


    Knowing what she was waiting for, I presented my own pinky finger and wrapped it around hers, sealing the deal and causing her to display a bright, toothy smile. Sharing a hug with her, we all wrapped up our goodbyes soon thereafter, so I put my Heavy Trooper Helmet on and loaded into our transports again along with my companions for the second time today.


    Waving everyone goodbye one final time, the massive blast door began its opening procedure. And after several seconds had gone by, a number of slowly spinning yellow lights activated around the door along with a loud siren announcing to the general area that the door was either opening or closing. Waiting patiently, the metal door slowly began moving, producing a constant grinding and screeching metal sound as it opened. When it had slid and locked into place, the convoy that was made up of dozens of autonomous vehicles, a small army of robots, and several humans moved beyond the undercity''s safety.


    We collectively continued moving forward and the minute the last of our group was past the enormous opening, it slowly started to close behind us as we kept proceeding through large spacious mine tunnels. With nothing much to do for the time being, I passed the time by managing the less than a hundred robots I left at the Genesis Foundry with my many thought processes. As for what I did with my main one, I watched the surroundings as the convoy moved up one level after another, nearing ever closer to the surface and the actual wasteland.


    ...


    The minutes ticked on by and before I knew it; I saw the sunlight entering the tunnel from up ahead. And As we closed the distance between us and the Adaven Mine entrance, I toggled on my stealth field. The instant I willed it to activate, it covered myself and a sizable portion of the convoy in a 139 meters sphere that bent light perfectly and made everything within its area of influence appear as if there was nothing there and out of the ordinary.


    From there we swiftly departed from the mine and as soon as I was out, I took in the sights of the old Adaven mining town that was left to rot. Scanning the surrounding environment for any potential danger, I found nothing but a bunch of dilapidated ruins weathered by the passage of 200+ years and arid mountainous terrain dotted with all kinds of mutated plantlife with various small mutated creatures scurrying about in the distance, for the most part.


    Even though I found nothing of any real concern, I stopped the fleet and got up from the back of the comfortable air-conditioned cabin of the Buffalo and climbed up on top of the tracked big rig to ensure I could react to any situation we encounter with immediate lethal firepower. Whilst I took my spot up top with my 7.62 minigun at the ready, the fleet of autonomous vehicles organized themselves into two lines to take proper advantage of the two-lane road that we will be taking to the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility.


    My robots, on the other hand, surrounded the vehicles and tried to fit as many of themselves as best they could into the stealth field''s cover. Sadly, its area of effect wasn''t large enough to cover them all, hence only 60% of them were able to hide within. Just about as prepared as we could be, I signaled for everyone to move forward. Thus, the convoy started to move at a speed of 15 miles per hour upon the broken and scarred sun bleached asphalt.