《Blood Merchant Empire》 Prologue: Resigning from The Guild As Millicent Van Gard dropped into her large office chair with a soft thump, she gently tossed a packet of paper onto her over-sized, wooden desk. The slovenly pile of off-white papers looked out of place on the blue-grey behemoth, the rest of the surface was meticulously organized. Millicent spun her chair around to face the cabinet behind her, grabbed a platinum drink shaker and began the ritual process of making herself a nice, strong drink. She wasn¡¯t some heathen to make her drinks any which way. Ice goes into the shaker first, followed by a hefty portion of the booze, a dash of mixer and a chunk of fresh fruit. The ingredients contained in the two-piece drink shaker, she shook vigorously waiting for the tell-tale frost to form on the exterior before removing the top half and straining the liquid into its new home. Drink in hand Millicent finally glanced at the coversheet of the guild-contract she had just been handed. There, stamped diagonally across the front page in bright-red were two words. RESIGNATION ACCEPTED. She downed her drink in a single gulp and began emptying her desk of personal effects. 5 Hours later Millicent Van Gard sat quietly at her usual booth. She had stopped frequenting the Guild pub years ago, preferring to spend time in this little hole in the wall bar to hobnobbing with the Guild Officers, Elites, and fellow shareholders. The guild had been everything to her for the last 17 years, it was practically a second family to her and now she had given it all up. With a sigh, she lifted her drink and thought to herself to starting over before quaffing the drink in one smooth motion.
¡°This is bull Millie, and you know it¡± a figure said as he slumped down into the booth with her. ¡°And how long have you been here. I¡¯ve been looking everywhere for you since I heard.¡± Millie looked up from the bottom of her empty mug. With a small frown she looked at the young looking man across from her. ¡°I wanted out . I am done with all the stupid infighting. Done with all the bureaucracy. I started to feel like I had to fill out a request sheet to take a dump. ¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just quit because you got outmaneuvered Mil.¡± ¡°Apparently I can Bill¡± she snapped at him. Then, feeling a little guilty for her outburst, she added ¡°besides, this wasn¡¯t just about the Kakos incident. I¡¯ve been unhappy for a while. Don¡¯t you ever feel like we should be doing more?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t¡± the man rolled his eyes while running his hands through his midnight-blue hair. ¡°The world is a cruel and unforgiving place. The best thing to do is to secure your own power and take as few chances as possible.¡± ¡°You sound just like them Bill. We weren¡¯t always like this. YOU weren¡¯t always like this. What does this matter¡± a small black orb crackling with energy suddenly appeared between her thumb and index finger ¡°if people are dying out there. On top of that, if we never take chances, we will never become more than what we are.¡± ¡°People are always dying, I just don¡¯t want it to be me or mine. Besides, I am pretty happy with how WE are.¡± ¡°O yeah, where would we be if everyone thought that way Bill? Do you think you could have survived the whole Onset? Do you think all four of us would have made it? Strangers helped us, and it''s because of them that we are in the positions that we are now and now we are just pissing it away to be safe and minimize risks.¡± ¡°Stop being an idealist Mil. People don¡¯t help people just because they have big hearts. They must have gotten something out of it. Either that or they are just zealots.¡± ¡°You are an asshole Bill. You weren¡¯t always like this. Helping people used to be important. It used to mean something to you...now all you care about is protecting your own bottom line. We would have been screwed if no one stepped in and showed us the ropes. Maybe it wasn¡¯t pure altruism- but don¡¯t forget, well over 70% of the total population of our planet died in the first year after integration. Billions of Erassians wiped away in practically moments¡­¡± ¡°People die every day. This is a cruel world Mil. Now that we have carved out a niche for ourselves we have to protect it above all else. Erras as we knew it is gone. It¡¯s now ruled by a two-bit despot who is exploiting every resource he can before someone knocks him off his throne. You can¡¯t snap your fingers and make bad shit go away.¡± ¡°I just wanted us to take a chance for once. To be a early move in on a transitioning planet and try to make a real difference. But the fucking Guild board won¡¯t risk anything. It won¡¯t even let me lead a fist of twenty people to lead new territory exploration and aid efforts. I am leaving the guild because its goals no longer align with my own. I am done with self-serving assholes who want to build a bigger pile of creds to sleep on at night but aren¡¯t willing to take chances to make something special happen. It¡¯s unbelievable that moves were made to block every new zone exploratory mission I proposed, which can yield huge guild profits by the way, but we managed to entrench ourselves in what seems like a never-ending galactic war.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°We needed allies M, and we don¡¯t have spare members to send on a fool¡¯s crusade¡± Billy spat at her with venom. Millie finally met her brothers eyes, suspicions finally morphing into certainty within her heart. ¡°It was you wasn¡¯t it. You were the one leading the faction blocking me. You used your pull as Guild Leader to convince the board that I was trying to complete a fool''s errand. That I was, how did you say it, a zealot. How rich, I dug around everywhere to see who was throwing up blockades¡­ everything always pointed at you. I assumed it was a setup because no brother would go out of his way to squash his twins dreams. I assumed that you were being set up by the operating board, I assumed they just formed a block to strip me of power. I¡¯ve been trying to get a mission through for six years Bill- and this whole time you¡¯ve been stopping it? That¡¯s six years of dreams you shot down time after time.¡± ¡°Yes! You got me Mil, congrats on figuring it out. I blocked your dangerous plans to send people into life or death situations with absolutely no promise of future gains. You couldn¡¯t even guarantee us an ally to help maintain our territory much less that you would stay alive.¡± ¡°Well, you just made this decision a lot easier on me Bill. I was actually sad to be leaving you. Now... now, I am just happy to get a break from you.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t going anywhere Millicent. You just need to let go of this need to save the world. Come back to the guild, be our eyes and ears again. No one can make the connections between events like you can. You make leaps of intuition that our guild analytics department can¡¯t even dream of. We NEED you to steer us through this territory dispute, that way we can keep growing. This way the guild grows and you stay nice and safe. I promise after this is over I will help take back Erras. Win-win for everyone involved.¡± ¡°A win-win is when both sides get what they want. Not when just you do, douchebag¡­ and I am leaving. The guild already accepted my resignation. Remember.¡± ¡°Nice try Mil, according to guild bylaws, ones that you wrote by the way, I as Guild Leader can stipulate emergency powers to require all stakeholders remain at Guild HQ for up to six months. And the system enforces it, so you better frog march your ass back to HQ and get comfy, you are going to be there a while.¡± ¡°Two things Bill. First, you really are an epic douche. Second, I already sold my stake in the Guild. It was the one of the conditions required by two of your loyal and trustworthy board members. What, they didn¡¯t tell you that VanGuard purchased back my 15% stake to be split evenly amongst board investors?¡± ¡°What?!¡± Her twin exclaimed, shock evident on his face. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve got more troubles than little old me, brother. I think it is time you go. I don¡¯t have anything more to say to you right now.¡± Bill got out of the booth and began to walk out of the bar. ¡°We¡¯re going to talk about this later Mil¡± he said before walking out the door. His sister didn¡¯t even turn her head to look at him, she simply raised her hand with one finger up, indicating her desire for another drink.
An hour after her brother left, Millie finally got up from her booth. She reached into her pants pocket, pulled out a wafer thin hexagonal card with her personal signet embedded on it, and tossed it on the table before walking away. The card contained over a thousand credits, far in excess of what a few measly drinks cost. Millie didn¡¯t care though, she had liked this bar and she wouldn¡¯t be back for a long, long time.Besides, she had just made a shit-ton of credits selling he guild shares. As she exited the bar she looked back, a sense of nostalgia setting in, before beginning the long walk home. Varanthis was a sprawling megalopolis in one of the older parts of the Integrated Worlds. The city was tremendously well-fortified, its defenses added to constantly for at least the last hundred years, in order to protect against incursions from enemies of any kind. It had been quite a while since a sentient had laid eyes on the city and thought of it as a target,but Integration did have the nasty side effect of creating an endless supply of dangerous, hostile creatures of varying degrees of intelligence. Word on the street said that the city walls had been breached by a horde nine years ago, but tonight was destined to be a quiet one. Thirty-five minutes later Millie arrived at her home on the outskirts of the city. She trotted up twelve flights of stairs before entering her unit. She owned the whole building, but rented out most of it while keeping the entire top floor as her living space. As Millie walked into the apartment after passing through the multitude of layers of security, she stopped to look at herself in huge entryway mirror. While Integration had many downsides, such as having to constantly be aware that the world was trying to kill you, there were a few perks. The Onset, or the first-phase of Integration, hit her world when she was just a 23 year olds trying to get a job in the financial industry. Now, she was 42 years old and she didn¡¯t look a day older than when her planet began the transition into full-integration. Luckily, she had been crashing at her brothers apartment while she tried to nail down her first job. Who knows how long she would have survived the horrors that followed if they weren¡¯t together. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she walked to bed and collapsed without even taking her clothes off. It had been a very long day, and tomorrow was going to be a whole lot busier. Ch.1: Willing to Make a Sacrifice

Big day, Big Day Millie thought, a sense of elation rushing through her mind as she woke-up a the first sign of sunrise. Out of habit she quickly glanced at the simplified view of her Interface to see where she stood as she moved mechanically through her morning routine. Still level 248, she thought as she let out a soft laugh, it¡¯s going to be a long time before I hit 250. As she got dressed a bright green notification popped up in her vision alerting her that she was do to work at Guild HQ in one hour. With a sense of euphoria, she quickly turned off the notification. Thanks be to the Integration and all that was holy in the world that she was done with that constant drudgery. Just as she finished getting ready for the day, she received a notification that someone was approaching her front door. Quickly pulling up her security camera through her interface, she confirmed that it was her expected guests and rushed to the front door to greet them. When she opened the door Millie saw three other people standing there. ¡°Shit MVG you actually did it.¡± said a tall man with massively muscled forearms as he scooped her up in a hug. ¡°I told you that I would, you didn¡¯t doubt me did you?¡± Millie gasped out as she pried herself out of his arms. ¡°We would never doubt you Millicent- it''s just hard to imagine someone giving up everything that you have...er¡­ had¡± replied a short, rail-thin woman to her left. ¡°Please, no more Millicent. It was worth quitting the guild just to never be called that again¡± ¡°Sorry, Millie¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Yash. I see most of the crew showed up, but where is Torran?¡± ¡°Ahh..., Well, apparently he got the last minute jitters and backed out, the little weenie.¡± The tall man said as Millie finally pried herself out of his grasp. ¡°The rest of us went through with quitting though.¡± The man quickly added ¡°Don¡¯t be to hard on Torran, Kore. This wasn¡¯t an easy decision to make. It¡¯s never easy to give up what you worked on for half your life and we all know he was working on something big. Now everyone get inside, there is no reason to be having this conversation standing in a hallway when there is a perfectly good table in my dining room.¡± Millie looked around the table as everyone dug into the smorgasbord of food that the three had thankfully brought with them. God knows that she couldn¡¯t cook, even in this world where picking up skills seemed as easy as walking some days. Deebo sat directly to her right, the two of them had started concocting this crazy plan together and over time they had pulled the other three with them. As they pulled the group together Millie and Deebo made sure that everyone brought skills to the table, but most importantly, they made sure everyone worked cohesively together. Millie and Deebo were both from VanGuard and both saw how useless an entity was when no one could make a decision. All that resulted from that type of arrangement was everyone agreeing to protect the assets and the two wanted much more than that. Deebo was a true tech head, he specialized in developing technology for the guild to use in field assignments as well as data informed risk analysis. Since the guild had largely been ignoring his input for the last decade, he had turned to his newest passion, studying worlds during the course of their onset and transition into full Integration. Five years ago his passion had morphed into obsession because of a lucky discovery Millie made while they were raiding a settlement in the ongoing war the guild was embroiled in. Ever since that discovery, they had begun planning for this eventuality, attempting to reach out and recruit like minded individuals. That is how Torran, Kore, and Yash came into the picture. None of the three were from VanGuard, but they were all part of other large organizations in the same social circles. As they encountered each other in social situations over time they had expressed similar dissatisfaction to what Deebo and Millie experienced. Yash was, as she called herself, an Assault Mage. It wasn¡¯t her class, that was something people tended to keep hush-hush, but rather her mindset. Time had shown that she had an exceptional talent for manipulating system-skills to become ever more lethal. More important to her guild, she had a propensity for teaching others. Because of that she was removed from combat situations and placed in the safe-haven of Varanthis where she spent everyday teaching new guildies rudimentary system-skill development. At first she enjoyed it, but after 3 years she wanted to return to the frontier and start developing her own skills again. The guild put her transfer on hold, now it was 11 years later and she was doing the same mind-numbing thing far from the excitement the frontier contained. Kore was unique from the rest of the group. Despite his large and imposing frame he was a non-combatant like Deebo. What made him different from the rest is that he was always in the frontier, which he loved. However, during his worlds Transition and Integration Kore developed a unique skillset for resource identification and harvesting. This skill set that had started with him cleaning kills and searching rubble for potential resources had evolved to the point where he was basically a walking bag of money. He could easily identify valuable resources with his skill activation and he was capable of completely harvesting even the highest level kills the guild made with no loss in quality. This ability had been a massive boon in allowing him to join the region''s largest and most prosperous guild called Chevalier, but it had also become a shackle as the guild smothered him in guards whenever he was anywhere near potential danger. He was always escorted from potential resource to potential resource, harvesting whatever he was told to. The pay was massive, but over time he had begun to feel like little more than a slave with no real control over his future. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Millie looked to her left to where Torran would normally sit, her gaze a mixture of disappointment and sadness. Torran was the first person Millie and Deebo had pulled into the group, and she thought the one who would be the most gung-ho of all of them for this opportunity. The oldest among them and undoubtedly the highest level, he had thrown himself into dangerous situation after dangerous situation throughout the course of his life in order to make money and help people in the process. He was not a member of any guild, instead he was a member of an elite tactical mercenary group. Mille had really been hoping he would come along, it would make their vision a lot easier to realize with his insights. Letting out a soft sigh, she reached down, picked up her breakfast sandwich, and began chomping the delicious sandwich with gusto. Seeing that everyone had finished eating and that she had their full attention Millie stood up and walked over to the wall. Her apartment was austere as she never really planned on living here long term, initially she had just viewed it as another investment. Because of this austerity, there was no painting or mirror hiding the window-sized wall safe. She smiled to herself as she felt Kore¡¯s and Yash¡¯s anticipation building to a crescendo as she punched in the twelve letters, numbers and symbols to successfully open the lock. Once the door was open she pulled out what looked like a large, metal, shell-casing; walked over to the table and gently set it down in front of her. ¡°So that¡¯s it?¡± Kore said, ¡°You weren¡¯t just messing around with us to trick us into joining VanGuard after all.¡± ¡°Wait... you two thought¡­ why would I ever? Nevermind, just pull up the item description and you will see.¡± Deebo tried to act disinterested, but Millie could see that he was pulling up the status like the other two. With a seconds concentration she activated the item description in her mind as well and the familiar descriptive box appeared, overlaying her vision in semi-transparency.
Item Name: Another Shot ( Travel to a non Integrated World) Item Type: Unique System Generated (Item #109883)
Item Description: When charged, this item allows the user and up to seven other group members to travel to a world that has yet to Integrate into the system. Due to system restrictions, any individual who utilizes Another Shot will have all system generated abilities and advancements stripped excepting one. User will be able to choose from list of Worlds with upcoming onsets in the next 10 years. System will construct identity and suitable background to be recognized as an adult in the chosen world... Drill down for more information >
¡°Holy crap, you have a numbered item.¡± ¡°That is your first thought? You really are an idiot sometimes.¡± ¡°We told you that we found something special Kore,¡± Deebo said with a smirk ¡°and come on Yash, how often do you get to see a unique system generated item?¡± ¡°Stop messing around! Is everyone going to be alright giving up everything they¡¯ve have gained over the past few decades? I can¡¯t even imagine what life is going to be like without some of these enhancements. Can you imagine getting tired after a jog again? Heck, we might even be able to get drunk if we do this. I¡¯m going no matter what, but are you guys willing to make that big of a sacrifice?¡± Deebo quickly piped in, ¡°You know I am going Mil¡­ I am ready to go somewhere and make an impact instead of being ignored at every opportunity.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Kore chipped in, ¡°I am ready to do anything that doesn¡¯t involve me living in a closely guarded box in the near future.¡± ¡°No system skills? That means no magic¡­ I don¡¯t know guys that seems pretty rough. Did we have a timeline of when we can expect the Onset to occur? I don¡¯t think I can go 10 years without mana.¡± ¡°I know that will be rough for ya Yash, but you still get to keep one skill. Imagine being the only person in an entire world who can manipulate mana.¡± Kort chimed in attempting to appease her. ¡°We don¡¯t even know if there will BE mana there pre-onset.¡± ¡°Actually, according to my studies there will be ambient mana. The system just hasn¡¯t provided structure for it to manifest in yet.¡± Deebo added, ¡°In addition, Millie and I have narrowed the pre-integration world choices down to three. We were hoping to talk them over with you before we made a final decision. Of the three choices the earliest we would experience Onset would be in 2 years while the latest is almost 9.5 years away.¡± ¡°If there is mana already there, does that mean I will be able to interact with it without help from the Interface?¡± ¡°We just don¡¯t know yet. Sorry Yash, I wish I could tell you more, but we have never met anyone who went from an Integrated World back to a place where the system doesn¡¯t exist yet.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­. That¡¯s fine Mil. I am curious what the results will be¡­¡± after a pregnant pause Yash finally nodded her head and said ¡°I¡¯m in. I basically spent the last 14 years without doing any useful magery. Worst case scenario it''s 9.5 more years. Best case¡­ maybe we can learn to manipulate mana without system interference¡­¡± Deebo and Millie both let out the breaths they had been holding. Yash was the person they were most concerned about signing on. Not because she was unreliable, but because she acted like a mana-addict. Luckily, she gleaned the possibility of experimenting with mana in way no one else has had the opportunity to or she might very well have backed out. Tor might have backed out, but Millie was confident that they could make their plan work with just the four of them. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan? Are we just going to go to this new world and wait for the Onset?¡± ¡°Not quite.¡± Deebo chuckled, ¡°How do you two feel about building an empire?¡± Ch. 2- Laying out the Game Plan ¡°That seems¡­ ambitious Deebo.¡± ¡°Nonsense Yash, think about your worlds transition. What was the part that caused the most problems?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ not having enough weapons?¡± ¡°What about you two?¡± Deebo asked looking at Millie and Kore. ¡°Our world was arid¡­ the beasts swarmed to the only sources of potable water. When the pump systems started going out¡­ lets just say it got ugly.¡± Kore said, His face paling at the the memory.¡± ¡°Our society was very, very advanced technologically. Everything was automated, so when Integration happened and all the sudden systems didn¡¯t work¡­ we lost almost everything right away. We didn¡¯t even have any defenses that weren¡¯t technologically dependent.¡± Deebo nodded calmly as everyone analyzed what exactly had gotten wrong. ¡°I have interviewed dozens of people whose worlds transitioned and everyone has mentioned specific problems. After much analysis, Millie and I deduced that one common thread that linked all of them together. ¡° ¡°People don¡¯t know what affects System Integration has on the world.¡± Millie added quickly, ¡°This means that even advanced worlds with doomsdays cults preparing for the end of the world are caught off guard. When you squirrel all your supplies away, you aren¡¯t planning on your ammunition suddenly becoming inert or worse, blowing up in your face when you try to use it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how that helps us guys.¡± Kore said with a shoulder shrug, ¡°What are we going to do? Spend our time pre-onset as Doomsday prophets? Would you have listened to anyone telling you what it would be like after system integration? Sane people will lock us up because they will think we are dangerous to ourselves.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we aren¡¯t going to just tell people what it¡¯s like. We are going to show them.¡± Deebo said with a maniacal look in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t think make a holo-film is going to prepare people for the end of the world D.¡± ¡°I never said we were making a holo Yash. The reason we have been waiting so long to make this attempt is because I was in the process of developing one very specific skill.¡± And, breaking the typical taboo of sharing skills detailed, Deebo sent them his newly created skill.
Skill Name: Shared World (lvl 18)
Description: Allows user to create an incredibly detailed world of their own design. Other individuals can be access this world, with user permission, through the use of a Neural Interface device. When a subject joins the world, their memories are accessed in order to add more depth to the experience. Mana expenditure is shared amongst all active Shared World participants. As the skill grows user will gain more and more control over the direction of the world and what participants experience while in it. At high levels, the user will be able to function in normal activities as they project the Shared World.
¡°As you can see, I don¡¯t want people to just see what the Onset is like. I want to have them live it.¡± ¡°That skill is NUTS Deebo¡­¡± Kore said, looking astonished ¡°How long did it take to make that one?¡± ¡°The skill itself has been in the creation process for years¡­ it may have initially been intended to be a sophisticated interrogation skill... but that¡¯s neither here nor there. The hardest part was getting the skill to work with a device that wasn¡¯t created with a system skill.¡± ¡°Why would that matter?¡± ¡°We only get to bring one skill Kore. If the device required a skill to be utilized in its creation then one of you would have had to learn it. And it would have to sync perfectly with my skill. It¡¯s just too many variables if we want to make it work.¡± ¡°From reading that skill description it seems like you aren¡¯t able to do anything while you are using it.¡± Yash pointed out. ¡°That would be correct. So far, I have been unable to communicate while I am utilizing this particular ability. In fact, I have been unable to do anything so far, including consume calories or water.¡± ¡°So¡­ how often are you planning on using this skill?¡± Kore asked ¡°I plan to keep Shared World open nonstop for the majority of our time pre-Integration.¡± ¡°So you are alright with basically being comatose for 10 years?¡± ¡°I will do what needs to be done Kore. Besides, it seems like with frequent use I will gain the ability to function normally while maintaining the skill.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Better question. Why would anyone want to live through this if they don¡¯t have to?¡± Yashed asked, clearly befuddled by the concept of putting oneself through the horror of a life and death survival situation for no reason. ¡°Because we are going to make it a game.¡± Millie added. ¡°This part of the plan was actually pretty crucial in narrowing down our selection of worlds for Another Shot. Let me pull up the choices and then Deebo will explain why these were our best options.¡± she said as she shared the information directly to the rest of the group.
World: Havas (2 years 1 month 8 days 4 hours 17 minutes until Integration begins)
Brief Description: Havas is inhabited by two seperate intelligent species that have co-evolved in a mutual relationship. World is divided amongst several territories, each with their own lords and vassals. Communication and technology is typically only shared within specific territories where they are developed. Territories tend to be isolationist with very few maintaining close relationships due to geographical and cultural boundaries. People are rarely warlike, instead needing to defend themselves from environmental concerns. Drill down for more details >
World: Earth (5 years 3 months 3 days 19 hours 24 minutes until Integration begins)
Brief Description: Earth is inhabited by a single intelligent species. The world is divided into several Countries each with their own government. Technology is widespread and communication is worldwide. Countries have mixed views on warfare, some pacifistic while others are expansionist. Complex political maneuvering for power occurs on a regular basis. Drill down for more details >
World: Amresh (8 years 11 months 14 days 22 hours 43 minutes until Integration begins)
Brief Description: Amresh is inhabited by a single intelligent species. This species has formed a single warlike theocracy that has continued to expand eliminating all other religions and governments it encounters. The theocracy is tough, but relatively fair to its own citizens but ruthless to all others. It now occupies the vast majority of inhabited lands. Drill down for more details >
After everyone looked over the details Deebo took the lead. ¡°Thoughts everyone?¡± ¡°Why these worlds in particular?¡± ¡°Good Questions Yash. We choose these three potential options from the dozen or so others for a number of factors. First, all of these Worlds have large populations of intelligent humanoid creatures. This allows us to blend in easily, as we don¡¯t know how the system would react if we went to a world inhabited by non-humanoids. I don¡¯t know about all of you guys, but I¡¯m partial to all my parts.¡± he waggled his eyebrows at them. ¡°But most importantly they are in the right place of the technology curve. All of these Worlds have conceived of the idea of Virtual Reality, but none have been able to actually create it yet. This means that Shared World will be believable and desirable.¡± ¡°Where did you get all this information?¡± Kore asked ¡°There is no way that Another Shot tells you all of that?¡± ¡°You know as well as we do that you can find anything in the System for the right price.¡± Millie said ¡°I thought that it was impossible to travel to places until like¡­ well at least for a few years after onset.¡± ¡°That is true Yash, at least for the most part if. If you go to a World to early you start losing levels, however once the system first encounters a World it is added to the frontier maps. People who are looking to explore new territories start using observation tools on the Worlds as soon as they popup on the map.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more of a point me in the right-direction kind of guy. Why don¡¯t you two just tell me what you think and I will agree with you.¡± ¡°Thanks for your thoughtful insight Kore.¡± Deebo said. Kore just shrugged his shoulders. ¡°What? it¡¯s the truth¡± ¡°Well, Deebo and I had been thinking Earth has the most potential. Havas is a little too soon for us to have a real chance at making an impact. The lack of communication between territories makes it exceptionally more difficult to prepare as well, although they will probably manage fairly well during Onset due to their experience struggling against their local environment.¡± ¡°And we don¡¯t really want to deal with a bunch of religious nuts. Which would cross out Amresh¡­ although if we could subvert their religion and¡­¡± ¡°Deebo, be realistic. What are the odds you could rise high enough in a religious hierarchy to affect actual change in less than 10 years?¡± ¡°I think that I would have a decent shot¡± he replied, ignoring the scoffs around him. ¡°Ok, so Earth looks good. Why not just say that and go for it?¡± Yash asked ¡°Well¡­ while most conditions are favorable, it looks like it might be a pretty rough Onset. It seems like they have a three different dimensions that have some overlap. You all know that dimensions like this tend to all maintain a stable connection once the transition begins.¡± ¡°What Deebo is trying to say Yash, is that this has a high likelihood of merging three separate dimensions together in a huge cluster. We can sense that the other two dimensions exist, but we don¡¯t have much information on them.¡± ¡°Mil is basically saying that the life expectancy there is shit unless some major changes happen.¡± ¡°But¡± Millie interjected, ¡°This is also the highest potential rewards of all three of the Worlds.¡± ¡°Fuck it!¡± Kore said ¡°Might as well go all in. Earth is my vote.¡± ¡°I¡¯m with Kore¡± Yash added ¡°Well¡­ looks like we are decided then. I thought that there would be a bit more back and forth there but¡­. Ok. I got my way so I guess I can deal with not making all of my well-reasoned, beautifully articulated arguments.¡± The group collectively rolled their eyes at Millie before Kore asked ¡°So when are we going to use Another Shot then?¡± Ch. 3- Finalizing the Crew As the group began crafting their plan, it was decided that they needed to move sooner rather than later. As they strategized, it became obvious that losing Torran significantly impacted their future plans. Not only was did he have a combat-oriented skill set, but he had been preparing others to deal with the realities of the Integrated Worlds for a long time. Deebo was a tech support and data analysis specialist, Kore was an expert prospector, and Millie had been in politics for the last 15 years. That meant with their current group they only had person who was proficient in direct combat situations, and while she was tougher than some, she was was a bit of a glass cannon. If they didn¡¯t make any additions they were walking into an apocalypse scenario with no firepower. ¡°We need to be on Earth at last five years ahead before Onset.¡± Deebo insisted. ¡°Being there within a couple of days would be best. We need all the time we can get to make this thing work.¡± ¡°I hear you Dee, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s important to survive what we are trying to prepare everyone for? Remember how it is pretty much the worst experience of everyone¡¯s life.¡± Yash said ¡°We all survived last time. Besides Millie wasn¡¯t just the high level guild bureaucrat that everyone assumes her to be.¡± Kore and Ash looked appraisingly at Millie. ¡°So MVG¡± Kore started, ¡°What were you then? Some kind of Guild spy?¡± He chuckled at the thought while Yash continued to state at her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t a spy per say. I like to say I engaged in proactive counter-espionage¡­¡± ¡°What the heck does that mean?¡± Deebo quickly cut in, ¡°It means she killed other spies Yash.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t just kill spies. I gathered information in order to thwart any operations that would hinder guild progress. It mostly was the work of a politician. Sometimes politics had to have a more pointed ending.¡± Kore guffawed at this. As everyone stared at him he added ¡°Pointed. Because she stabbed people. You know what, nevermind.¡± ¡°See, we are all set. We should get ready to go by weeks end.¡± Deebo insisted ¡°We still have a problem. Just because I¡¯ve taken care of a few loose ends doesn¡¯t mean that I am anything like skilled in dealing with the beasts and monsters that come with frontier worlds.¡± ¡°How different could it be. Killing something is killing something.¡± Deebo kept pushing Millie snorted in derision before retorting ¡°I have plenty of experience stabbing and killing humanoids. Do you think that in any way makes me capable to hunting a creature three times my mass?¡± ¡°Well, how did you come through it last time?¡± ¡°Same as you guys.¡± she nodded at Kore and Deebo. ¡°I had help. A lot of help actually. If you don¡¯t recall my brother is a pretty well known tank. He might have gone all in on this xenophobic pogrom now, but while we were trying to survive he put himself in the way of anything that tried to hurt me. I just waited until they weren¡¯t paying attention to stab them back. I don¡¯t see anyone who can do that here.¡± ¡°I want to try and go more direct confrontation this time. I¡¯ve had enough resource harvesting for multiple lifetimes.¡± Kore threw in ¡°You can use this opportunity to do whatever you want Kore, but do you know what to do if a giant mutant creature is running at you.¡± Millie questioned ¡°Errr¡­ hit it.¡± ¡°Your confidence is astounding.¡± she replied sarcastically, ¡°Maybe you should hit it, but do you even know how to do that? We live in a world where the majority of people whoop the shit out creatures or other people for a living and we want to make the decision to figure it out on our own?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, You¡¯re right¡­ I was just trying to be helpful.¡± ¡°What we need is Torran.¡± Yash pointed out ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like he was very interested in hearing out the whole proposal.¡± Deebo said coldly ¡°So screw ¡®em.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so bitter D, we don¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t make. Maybe he just go caught up in stuff and forgot.¡± ¡°Please! We have the Interface in our frickin¡¯ heads and we all knew that everything was going down today.¡± ¡°Settle Down!¡± Millie snapped. It was the tone of someone experienced in leadership and everyone snapped their mouths shut simultaneously. ¡°Let¡¯s slow down for a minute and talk this out. Does anyone know people who might want in. Normally I would say I will handle all the recruiting, but you guys are what I came up with in years¡­ not to mention I burned most of my bridges in the process of extricating myself from guild clutches.¡± ¡°We still need to talk to Torran.¡± Yash insisted Millie held up her hands placatingly ¡°I will find him and talk to him. Dig through your contacts and think see if you might know somebody who would want in. We will meet back here tomorrow night. If you someone you know wants in bring them and we will vet them as a group. It is going to take a unanimous vote to get them included. There is no point grabbing someone who might just cause problems down the road. ¡°Someone who could heal would be nice.¡± Yash interjected ¡°I don¡¯t plan on getting hit. But if I do, I wouldn¡¯t mind having someone around who could put all my pieces back together.¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. They talked excitedly about what they thought this new adventure would be like before splitting ways to see if they could wrangle up another party member from their contacts. Morning rolled into afternoon before Millie finally ventured from her home. She knew Torran slept in when he was in Varanthis and that there was no way he would wake up if he didn¡¯t want to. After a moment''s thought she decided to message him via Interface rather than just show up at his house unannounced. Millie: Where you at. Need to talk to you. Torran: I¡¯m at the company office. What do you want? Mille: Where were you this morning? Millie: ¡­.. Torran: Stuff came up Millie: Meet with me and tell me about it. Torran: I¡¯ve only got like, 15 min. Meet me at at old Hooch¡¯s in 20.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Millie: Fine. See you there. Good thing I messaged, Mille thought as she flagged down a passing taxi, I would have bet anything that he would just now be waking up. Normally she preferred walking everywhere and with her stamina it was never a problem, but Tor was all the way on the other end of the city and it sounded like he was busy. Probably not a good sign for him wanting to change up his life¡­¡± Minutes later the cab pulled up to Hooch¡¯s Mercenary Supply. Despite the mercenary supply in its name, the store had long ago been converted into a bar for Mercs to drink at when they were off duty. It also served as a place where people looking to hire could count on meeting Merc units looking for work. Millie knew the layout of this institution intimately. She had spent a lot of time here, hiring Mercs for both covert and overt action. She walked briskly past the bar into a room at the back of the establishment where she finally saw Torran. ¡°You look like shit.¡± ¡°Thanks Mil, you know how to make a guy feel great about himself.¡± ¡°Just bein¡¯ honest. Where the heck were you this morning. I thought you wanted this chance to get to somewhere before everything went to shit.¡± ¡°I did. I do. It¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°Just what Tor?¡± ¡°With you out of the picture, some of the crews that get used for under the table work decided that it was ok to act against VanGuard. People assumed that when you went out, there would be some chaos in the ranks. No one told me because they assumed I was sentimental towards the guild because of how often we were together.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get why this matters to you¡­¡± ¡°It was a massacre MV. Who did you leave in charge when you left. Whoever it was doesn¡¯t believe in using the velvet glove. They spread misinformation and setup a trap. It was brutal. Some companies are just gone. My guys, I guess they sent in a hundred of our best. Only twenty-seven made it out. We lost seven of our commanding officers.¡± Millie¡¯s face contorted in anger ¡°Why the hell would they move against VanGuard just because I was out of the picture and how don¡¯t I know about it?¡± After her outburst she calmed down a little ¡°I am sorry for your losses Tor, I really am. I just don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°All involved are keeping this hush-hush. It will leak eventually but for now word hasn¡¯t gotten out yet.¡± He paused a moment before continuing ¡°You just don¡¯t realize how much you were keeping people in line over there. Word is that it is going to get ugly. People are saying your brother¡¯s beliefs are pretty mild compared to the direction some of the board members want to take the guild.¡± Millie saw the sadness in his eyes as he went on.¡°I can¡¯t leave Brightfire, not with it falling apart like this. I¡¯ve spent too much time here, put too much work in to let it just die. If it was in good shape I could walk away but now¡­¡± ¡°I get it. I guess you are getting a new challenge anyway. I¡¯ll let you get to it. We could have really used you though.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ Mil, I think I can help you with that. I know a guy, he is a member, was a member of another Merc company that got throttled in that ambush. Well anyways, the company is folding and he wants a fresh start. Says he ¡®needs a break from killing shit and having shit try and kill him.¡¯, That was a direct quote by the way. He started off in an exterminator crew. He went into Hives and dungeons with a group and wiped them out for free for years until someone told him that Mercs get paid to do that. I think he regretted switching from the crew. He didn¡¯t have the heart to kill people. Has the skill for it for sure, but never really wanted to put people down.¡± ¡°Can you send him to my place tomorrow night. I am not saying that he is in, but we will talk to him.¡± ¡°Sure thing MV.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gunna be a bit before we see each other again Tor. Make sure your still in one piece when I get back.¡± With that, Millie got up from her seat and started her walk home. The following evening ¡°Alright everyone. Let¡¯s get down to brass tacks here. Anyone have people they are trying to include in this foray into the unknown. Tor coming?¡± ¡°You know he would be here if he was in Deebs. Something came up and he can¡¯t leave Brightfire right now.¡± Deebs scoffed ¡°Whatever, he just doesn¡¯t have the sack for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it¡± anger built up in Millie before she pushed in back down. ¡°He gave me a recommendation though. He said the guy is good people who needs a break from the merc grind. He should be here shortly.¡± ¡°I got someone too.¡± Yash said surprising everyone. To the best of their knowledge, the only time she pulled herself away from mana experimentation these days was to see members of the current group. ¡°Who?¡± Kore asked, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you even talked to anyone else besides us.¡± So much for subtlety, Millie thought. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know her. Its someone who I worked with on the frontier. A healer, a combat medic in fact.¡± ¡°Man, you weren¡¯t messing around Yash. How did you get a combat medic to consider.¡± Before Yash could respond there was a thumping at the door. ¡°I got it¡± Mil said before quickly moving to answer. There were two figures, a man and a woman, standing in the doorway. The woman was tall, thick and covered in scars. She had blazing red hair to go along with her pale-white skin. She looked like the statue of a war goddess come to life. The man next to her was not what Millie pictured a respected mercenary to look like. He had a ruddy complexion with long limp brown hair, he came off as vaguely animalistic. Slightly taller and thicker than an average humanoid, there was no feeling of violence or danger leaking from him as so often happened from others of his mercenary brethren. ¡°Please come in. The rest of the crew is anxious to meet you both.¡± The two moved to the table and the group quickly explained the exact parameters of what going to a new world would be. Although Millie and Deebo had been reluctant to share the details earlier, they knew they couldn¡¯t hold anything back with so little time before everything went into motion. After explaining their goals, they began interviewing the newbies to see exactly what type of people they were potentially taking with them. It turned out that the woman, Lota, wanted a change of scenery for personal reasons. Despite her scars she was an attractive woman, her family was in their 4th generation of Integration and, as was common practice, they were attempting to arrange a politically beneficial relationship for her. The problem was that Lota had no interest in any type of relationship at all, other than as a combat healer in her squad. As her parents applied political pressure to have her removed from squad after squad, she had begun looking for a way to get out of their sphere of influence. She had actually come to Varanthis to try and find transport to a different sector, one where her family would have less influence. In running into Yash, she was pleased to find a way out of her predicament. The four original members voted her in with alacrity. It¡¯s not that healers were particularly rare, but the ones who were willing to step in and heal as things went to shit were rarer than a virgin in a whorehouse. The man was the tougher call for the group. The interview had been¡­ unique. Ultimately they had voted to include him, but the vote had not gone as smoothly as the vote for Lota. The main reason that they hesitated to include the man was his reticence to reveal anything about himself. They did manage to get him to tell them some about his specialties, it turned out that he was a capable front line fighter along the lines of Tor but he hinted that losing fighting skills wouldn¡¯t impact him tremendously. It felt like torture even getting him to tell them his name, Dexan.When push came to shove, they still trusted Torran and if he recommended him than they wouldn¡¯t turn down his advice. Now that everyone was secure in the makeup of the group it was time to plan their exodus. ¡°I am ready to leave immediately¡± ¡°We know Deebo. You¡¯ve made it abundantly clear that your are ready to be underway.¡± Kore said with an eye roll. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should see if anyone else has business they need to take care of before we disappear from everyone we know for several years with no chance of contact.¡± ¡°I need a week.¡± Dexan abruptly interjected putting an end to the banter between the two. I will be happy to bring him if he can get these two idiots to shut up that easily Millie thought with as she scanned the rest of the group. ¡°Any issues with leaving in a week?¡± ¡°I, ahh, well I will need somewhere to stay under the radar then. If we are not leaving immediately I worry that my parents will move to ensure my compliance with their wishes. I didn¡¯t leave much room for doubt that I was planning on ignoring their interference in my life, and they made it clear that it was their duty as parents to make me the best me I can be. If you know what I mean.¡± ¡°You can crash here if you want Lota. I will be in and out. I still have some financial things to tie up before I go, but I will set security to let you in and out freely.¡± ¡°Thanks Millie, you don¡¯t know how much I appreciate that.¡± ¡°Fine. One Week. Everyone better have everything wrapped up by then. Make sure you know what skill each of you are going to bring with you. I am setting my Interface to notify me in 124 hours. Anyone who isn¡¯t here is left behind.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have to be an asshole about it.¡± Kore muttered under his breath as the group split up to take care of their last pieces of business before they left the Integrated Worlds behind. Chapter 4- Skill Check Chapter 4- Skill check One Week Later ¡°Did everyone get all their business taken care of?¡± Mille prompted the group sitting around the table. The table looked like it was seating a group of bobbleheads as the remaining five nodded their heads in assent. ¡°OK. So is everyone good to go tonight? No last minute qualms?¡± ¡°The sooner we¡¯re gone, the happier I¡¯ll be¡± Lota stated ¡°Everyone knows that Shared World is the skill that I am keeping.¡± Deebo interjected as soon as they realized they weren¡¯t going to have any last minute desertions, ¡°Everyone else know what they are gunna bring?¡± Everyone looked around the table before they each started nodding. It was so in sync that it looked rehearsed. They all let out an awkward laugh that filled the even more awkward silence. ¡°Don¡¯t everyone jump at once to share.¡± Deebo prodded ¡°I¡¯ll send mine first¡± Kore said as he shared his skill through everyone¡¯s Interface.¡±
Skill Name: One Man¡¯s Trash(lvl 184)
Description: Allows user to break items into its component parts when activated. At the highest levels, this allows a user to separate alloys into base metals. The smaller the parts are broken down the higher the cost for the user.
¡°You said my Shared World was nuts Kore? It sounds like this skill is a crafters wet dream. Does that mean you could pull gold from rocks or something?¡± ¡°There has to be gold in the rocks for me to do that. It¡¯s really best for salvaging things. ¡°You don¡¯t have to take a resource acquisition skill if you don¡¯t want.¡± Ash stated, ¡°I get that it will be nice to have access to easy money, but I thought you wanted out of the material gathering game¡± ¡°Meh, tons of fighters have some skill in the area. It doesn¡¯t make sense to give away easy money just because I want a change in lifestyle. Besides, my big problem wasn¡¯t my occupation so much as what the ability meant to my lifestyle, I just felt like I was some sort of magical beast only brought out of its cage to perform a task. That I am done with.¡± Kore replied with an exaggerated shudder. ¡°Plus, I don¡¯t have any other useful skills anyway.¡± He finished as the group let out a collective chuckle. As soon as Kore finished his sentence a new skill popped up on everyone''s Interface.
Skill Name: Danger Sense (lvl 284)
Description: Allows user to sense any creature that seeks to harm them intentionally. At high levels user begins to develop a sense of potential hazards that are not intentional (ie loose tiles on a roof that are in danger of falling). This is a passive perception linked skill. It does not consume any mana or stamina.
¡°I like to know if I am about to be served a shit sandwich.¡± Dexan said with no prompting from the others. ¡°I thought you would take something¡­ more punchy¡± Millie said, attempting to be delicate. ¡°I¡¯ve been punching, hitting, kicking, biting, and stabbing shit for as long as I remember. It''s much easier to do that if you know that something needs to be punched, kicked, bitten or stabbed. Even better, sometimes it will let me know to turn and run like hell. And if I ever tell you all to run like hell, I suggest you do so.¡± Dexan replied in what was by far the most he has talked in the week they had known him. He sounds like he is a survival instructor, Millie thought, seems like we know how to get him talking now though. Just bring up all the things might be trying to kill him. Then she said aloud ¡°I think that is some of the best advice I have heard in a long time. Lota paused and looked around nervously. ¡°Ok, so I might have lied about being ready.¡± As she said this, two seperate skills popped up on everyone¡¯s Interface.
Skill Name: Targeted Body Transformation (lvl 97)
Description: Single target spell that removes specific damage to a body. Healer must be familiar with body parts intended function and design in order to mend wounds. If body is modified incorrectly results can be catastrophic. The more severe the changes, the longer the spell must be channeled.
Skill Name: Just Like it Was Before (lvl 120)The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Description: Removes any damage decently done to the body. This is a time-reversal type heal. The longer the user needs to turn back time, the higher the costs. This spell can only be cast on one-person at a time. Costs quickly become prohibitive. (Cannot be used on the deceased)
¡°So I was planning on bringing Just Like It Was Before, but we aren¡¯t always going to be standing side by side duking it out in formation. It''s obviously amazing , but limited in that I have to react immediately. Targeted Body Transformation is the opposite. Because it takes a while, it has no practical combat application. On the other hand, if one of us gets hurt severely I can restore you to full capability in hours. Opinions everyone?¡± ¡°Whew¡­¡± A soft whistle came from Dexan ¡°How old are you again girl? That time spell is nuts. Is it a self-learned or did someone teach you.¡± Lota, glowing with pride, said ¡°I made it on my own. And I¡¯m only 23.¡± ¡°I thought you were just a healer, but seems like you have some expertise in some other areas as well if you can design your own time-based spell.¡± Although she was blushing at this point, Lota did not pretend any false modesty. ¡°I studied quite a few areas. I was hoping to become an augmenter as well as a healer. That requires some diverse fields.¡± ¡°Back on topic.¡± Deebo reigned in the conversation. ¡°We will have tons of time for skill-crafting gossip once we translocate. I personally think that the first skill will be the most beneficial in this particular setting. You were right that we aren¡¯t always going to be together, so being completely fixed up sounds like a good option to me.¡± ¡°Gotta agree with him.¡± Dexan said as he nodded at Deebo. ¡°It will hurt to lost that beauty of a skill, but it would just sit on the bench for the next five years. You can always try and recreate it when your Interface comes back¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the Body Transformation, but don¡¯t try and flatter me. I know the odds of recreating that skill again are practically null.¡± As the conversation over Lota¡¯s skill died down, Yash shot her skill to the group.
Skill Name: Ambient Mana Manipulation (lvl 3)
Description: User can utilize their willpower to bend ambient mana to their will. Higher levels will allow mana to be manipulated in greater amounts and with higher levels of intricacy .
¡°You all can probably guess what I¡¯ve been working on throughout the last week. Finally nabbed the skill on sixth day, which only gave me three days to level it. But yeah, I¡¯m hoping, with research, I can maybe come up with some ways to simulate other skills. I am extremely well-versed in skill creation theory and¡­¡± her speech petered out as she saw that no one was arguing with her. ¡°Well, so that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing. I guess that only leaves our lovely Millicent.¡± ¡°Millie.¡± Mille said reflexively, only to see Yash smirk at her. ¡°Well, I must say that I, like Lota was a bit torn. When you develop unique skills¡­ well, it was harder than I thought to choose. But¡­ here is what I landed on.¡±
Skill Name: Quick Learner (lvl 170)
Description: Passive skill that allows the use to learn skills and information more quickly. The higher the level, the greater the benefit in learning knew material.
¡°I figure we are going to have a lot to learn in a whole new world so a passive skill that helps me a little bit with everything would be beneficial. Besides, not planning to be stabby-stabby for a while at least.¡± After sharing their skills that they would bring, the groups gaze was drawn to the spread on the table. Engaging in one last act of nostalgia before they left Varanthis for a long time, each member had brought one of their favorite dishes exclusive to the city. There were kabobs of rare mutant beasts and salads made of the most exquisite plants money could buy. There was no reason to save their credits at this point, so they had decided to engage in large scale gluttony. Still, despite the gusto the food was devoured with, there was a sense of trepidation in the air. Seeing everyone was done eating Millie asked ¡°Nap before we go?¡± The rest of the group stared at her like she was an idiot. ¡°Kidding- Just Kidding¡±. With that she stood up and walked back to her safe in order to retrieve Another Shot one last time. She walked back to the table and set it down gently, the whole ordeal seemed almost ceremonial in nature. With a thought she pulled up the items status.
Item Name: Another Shot ( Travel to a non Integrated World) Item Type: Unique System Generated Item #109883)
Item Description: When charged, this item allows the user and up to seven other group members to travel to a world that has yet to Integrate into the system. Due to system restrictions, any individual who utilizes Another Shot will have all system generated abilities and advancements stripped excepting one. User will be able to choose from list of Worlds with upcoming onsets in the next 10 years. System will construct identity and suitable background to be recognized as an adult in the chosen world... Drill down for more information >
She sent out mental invites to each of the people sitting around the table and waited for all of them to join through the standard Interface group setup. When everyone had joined Millie said ¡°One last chance to back out¡­ Everyone still good?¡± and while there was a nervous air pervading the room no one backed out. ¡°OK then¡­. Here we go.¡± With that Millie mentally told the artifact to activate. As she did a prompting screen popped up on her Interface and she began to input the necessary information to finally arrive in the new World.
Activating Another Shot¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Please Enter Destination World. Earth How many Party members? Six_ Earth¡¯s System Integration will occur in (5 years 2 Months 26 days 11 hours 14 min) Are you sure Earth is the World you would like to migrate to. Yes Initializing Transport Sequence¡­.
With that, the world around them disappeared and Millie was left floating alone in a vast void that seemed to stretch on for eternity. Chapter 5- A New World Chapter 5- A New World The Void was timeless as well as endless. It felt like Deebo had been floating forever and that he just entered at the same time. It was both a welcoming embrace and a suffocating grasp on his soul. Suddenly a new screen popped up on his interface.
Approaching dimensional threshold for World: Earth Earth is not a currently Integrated Realm. Terminating integrated lifeform trying to enter forbidden zone¡­ OVERRIDDEN. Item #109883 detected. Processing¡­ New Directive¡­ Removing all Interface related abilities and skills excepting one. User please select ability or skill to retain. Drill down to make a selection >
When terminate integrated life form appeared in his mind Deebo had reached a level of anxiety that he didn¡¯t existed before. He has been in some pretty harrowing situations before, but having your execution declared in your mind was a whole new level of scary. As soon as the message offered him the choice he quickly selected Shared World from the skill list that presented itself. Once he did, another screen appeared.
Deebo Sunameron Phylmenterus is not a name that has roots in this World. System recommends the adoption of a pseudonym.
Well I guess that was to be expected Deebo thought, What are the odds our naming conventions would have been recognizable. After a moment of hesitation, he decided that he would indeed like a name that seemed like it was from this world. Deebo waited for an opportunity to choose a new name for himself. Time passed until the next screen made it clear that he would have no such choice.
Exiting Integrated Space Per item #109883 Earth information packet for region #00198 being uploaded. Remodeling Physical appearance to resemble native humanoids. New Identity established
Deebo¡¯s mind was flooded with information, and he felt like someone turned his physical body inside out. Finally there was nothing but the void until
Transmitting to final destination.
¡°Well that sucked!¡± Millie heard Deebo complain as she blearily regained consciousness. She looked around her to see five other people standing in a cluster in what appeared to be some sort of unkempt park. The individuals surrounding her were recognizable, but they looked distinctly different from when she initiated Another Shot. Instinctively she pulled up her Interface.
Milicent VanGard
Race: Human
Physical Mental Spiritual
8 12 (+1) 2
Skills: Quick Learner
Interface manipulation suspended for 5 years 2 months 3 days
She tried to change the way her Interface was structured, only to discover that while she could view her information, she could no longer utilize the Interface in any other way. ¡°Umm guys¡­ Anyone else lose the ability to make changes to their Interface?¡± she asked the group. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that we can pull it up at all.¡± Deebo stated matter-of-factly ¡°You thought that this might happen and you didn¡¯t say anything?¡± Kore asked ¡°I assumed everyone was of the same mindset. We were informed that we would lose all system related benefits excepting one¡­¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Shit! I never even considered the Interface as a benefit. It just was. Ya know?¡± Millie looked questioningly over the rest of them. ¡°Where the heck are we?¡± Yash asked, voicing the most pertinent question of the moment ¡°and what did the system mean when it said I¡¯m being remodeled¡± ¡°I got a few system messages during our transfer about changes, but now is not the time to take stock of our more personal changes. Let¡¯s slow down and deal with the things we can at the moment.¡± Deebo suggested rationally. ¡°Let¡¯s do a personal inventory and see if we have anything that we can work with.¡± ¡°We¡¯re blocked from accessing our inventories¡­ remember¡­¡± ¡°While I appreciate the sarcasm Lota, I meant check our pockets to see if there is anything of value.¡± Lota blushed furiously while she and the rest of the group rifled through pockets in search of anything helpful in this new world. As they turned out their pockets a small pile grew in the center of the circle. It contained two of what looked like a primitive wireless communication device and a small pile of paper with peoples faces printed on it. ¡°What the hell good are these going to do?¡± Kore asked Millie opened her mouth to echo his ignorance when something popped into her brain. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird!¡± ¡°What¡¯s weird Mil?¡± Yash asked ¡°I know what this stuff is. These communication devices are called cell phones. Apparently this variety can be used for communication as well as accessing a global information sharing network of sorts.¡± As she spoke, realization set into the rest of the group that they also new what these items were. ¡°And the paper are what serves as currency here. They are called US dollars, and it seems that we have just over 300 of them.¡± ¡°And that gets us?¡± Kore asked, eyebrows quirked ¡°It gives us a starting point at least. We have some local currency. I was scared that we would come here with absolutely nothing.¡± ¡°Forget the money. The devices are what can really help.¡± Astonishingly Dexan was the one that cut in. ¡°Now that you mentioned what those cell phones are I am somehow remembering what they do as well. I was never the best with technology so I doubt I am going to find myself a genius on this primitive tech¡­ but we should be able to use it to get the lay of the land. ¡° ¡°Obviously Deebo gets one.¡± Millie started ¡°anyone else consider themselves a tech wiz?¡± Before she even completed her sentence the heads around her were vehemently shaking themselves to the contrary. All except Kores. ¡°You want to take a stab at figuring this doohickey out Kore?¡± She asked as she flipped the remaining device at him. ¡°Hold up!¡± the older man cut in again. ¡°I am fine with whoever pounding away on that little thingamajig but maybe we should be clear on what we are looking for first.¡± ¡°Obviously we are looking for a way to start our spreading our virtual reality to the masses.¡± Deebo said, a look of incredulity on his face. ¡°Did you miss it in the planning session when we went over the goal.¡± ¡°Oh shit.¡± Dexan shook his head in regret, ¡°When you all said you had done your research and had a plan laid out, I thought that you meant more than step 1 get there, step 2 BE AWESOME.¡± a rueful chuckle escaped from his mouth. ¡°Did we think of any smaller plans, like where we should setup operations? How about where do we stay in the meantime? How are we going to pay for things?¡± ¡°We have 300 US dollars¡± Yash added helpfully. ¡°Take a minute and search your mind everyone. The more you think about things in this world, the more they make sense. As I thought about the money situation, I realized that 300 dollars will not take us very far. In fact, it might not even put a roof over our heads. It definitely won¡¯t long term.¡± ¡°I was too used to taking orders and that I was going to get a few years off of thinking. Alright, here¡¯s how it''s going to go. Deebo, you need to find out where the hell we are using that thing. As soon as you do that, start trying to figure out where we can go to get inside somewhere. A tavern or someplace with food will be ideal. I have no idea how we will fit in here with our current attire¡­ wait, it came to me. We all look idiots, apparently utilitarian jumpsuits are not the attire of choice in this world. Anyways, Kore- you need to see if you can find us some sort of transportation from here to there.¡± ¡°They use automobiles as transportation here Dex.¡± Lota added helpfully ¡°They run on combustion engines.¡± ¡°I just want to know how we get one of those automobiles to take us from point A to point B.¡± Dexan practically growled at her. Thankfully Deebo hadn¡¯t been idly listening in on the conversation. As the groups frustration was mounting he suddenly interrupted. ¡°This cellphone has something called GPS. It shows us where we are in the world and it links us directly to maps that provide directions based off of real time positioning. It¡¯s actually much more sophisticated than I was anticipating.¡± ¡°Quick question before you continue on Deebo. All these spy reports and whatnot you all focused on. When were they from.¡± ¡°The majority of our reports came from 15-20 years ago. That was the last time there was an alignment that allowed the scryers to see past the dimensional interference and¡­¡± ¡°Ughh outdated intel and no plan. I tried to keep quiet when I met you all because I didn¡¯t want to be too pushy and try and take command. Especially with the two of you¡± Dex nodded at Millie and Deebo,¡± spewing nonsense about an empire. But now I am really regretting not being willing to step on the empresses toes and pitch in some common sense.¡± ¡°Empress?¡± Millie laughed out loud at the thought ¡°I have no intention of being an Empress.¡± ¡°Well, if there is going to be an empire there needs to be a ruler¡­¡± Mille could practically see the gears whirring in Dexan¡¯s head as he processed her comment. ¡°Then that means¡­ that little weasel¡­¡± ¡°That will be emperor weasel to you, sir.¡± Deebo snidely remarked. ¡°Look, I get it, it seems like we got caught up to big picture and missed the day to day stuff that we need to get our vision off the ground. I apologize to all of you and promise to be more thoughtful in future endeavors but that doesn¡¯t mean anything right now so please let me give you the details of our location so we can start making plans that do take these considerations into account.¡± ¡°You certainly talk fluffy enough to be nobility¡± Dexan muttered before he said ¡°Well, get on with in then. This weather looks like it might turn to crap any minute and who knows what storms look like here.¡± Ahem, ahem. After clearing his voice softly Deebo proceeded to inform the group of what he had discovered. ¡°We are currently in a city called Columbus which is part of the United States of America.¡± As he spoke, the informational packets implanted in their minds begun to unpack and embed themselves as true, accessible memory. ¡°It is only about a ten minute walk from here to a place where we can sit and eat. I just have to press this button¡± Deebo mashed the navigate button and began walking with the phone held in front of him ¡°and Voila.¡± Everyone took off walking behind him the only noises heard were their feet slapping against the asphalt and Kore¡¯s complaining that he didn¡¯t even get a chance to find them transportation before the Emperor started bossing them around. Chapter 6- Finding Direction Chapter 6- Finding Direction The group completed their trudge, following the phone¡¯s GPS to its destination. They looked up at the giant, glowing sign of where it had guided them. Raising Cane¡¯s Chicken Fingers the sign read in bright red and white coloring. ¡°Do chickens have fingers here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your biggest concern at this moment Kore? Whether agriculture avians have managed to develop digits in this world.¡± Yash snapped at him bitingly ¡°No need to be so pissy. I was just wondering out loud.¡± The group meandered into the restaurant before finding a booth near the back that was large enough to accommodate the six of them, while being far enough away from other parties to prevent eavesdropping. As a whole, they knew their sleuthing was unnecessary and their furtiveness probably drew more attention than it avoided, but they couldn¡¯t help it. The feeling of being on a secret mission had crept into the group and when you are on a secret mission you acted a certain way dammit. ¡°So are we going to consume said chicken fingers or¡­¡± Kore prodded the group. After a heated debate about how to spend their miniscule funding, they decided that they would need to eat regardless of how poor they were and since they didn¡¯t know anything about cuisine in this world, they decided to try these Chicken Fingers the sign spoke of. Kore was sent post haste into the line where everyone seemed to be waiting to tell the cashier what they would like to eat with orders to make sure he got enough food and drink for all six of them. A few minutes later he reappeared with a massive quantity of things called chicken fingers, french fries, and Texas toast. He also flipped them empty cups and directed them to the drink station so they could fill up. Urgency at their situation was temporarily set aside as they completed what would normally be a routine task with an odd sense of wonder. ¡°Omm nomm nomm¡± Kore chomped away as he tried to talk ¡°This is actually really good¡± as he spoke small flecks of chicken escaped his mouth and sprayed onto the table. ¡°Have you guys tried this pop stuff. First time I¡¯ve had something so delicious with no booze in it.¡± ¡°The carbonation is quite delightful.¡± Yash replied. Some of the frustration that she had been displaying earlier melting as she inhaled the grease bombs before her. ¡°Alright kiddos, time to get down to the brass tacks .¡± Dexan interjected as he wiped the remnants of his meal from his hands and beard. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to hijack this whole operation, so let me know if I¡¯m getting in the way. But we need a feasible gameplan of what we are going to do in the immediate future.¡± ¡°According to my research, finding a place to stay the night for the six of us should be within the limits of our funds. ¡° Deebo finally pried his face from the phone to talk. ¡°Finding somewhere more long-term will be a definite challenge as is. Apparently many landowners ask for advance rent as well as security deposits in order to rent a location. In addition, they need to prove your identity in order to do something called a credit check before they begin renting you a location.¡± ¡°You mean you don¡¯t just give them money?¡± Deebo ignored Kore as he continued ¡°Apparently there is a large amount of identity politics in this world. Significance is attached to things like gender, sexual orientation and nationality. Geopolitical divisions are still a significant factor which is good for us. The biggest thing that we didn¡¯t factor in was the need for a proven background and accreditation to perform just about any task from driving one of their automobiles to performing medical services.¡± ¡°It seems like this keeps coming back to lack of proper identification and lack of money. Either of which could probably solve the other. Deebo, how advanced are these identification requirements. Are we talking about biometric markers, genetic sequencing identification, aura identification¡­¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Deebo cleared his throat again out of habit before looking at Millie. ¡°From what I can see, identification is confirmed through photographic evidence as well as the assigning numeric identifiers to individuals.¡± ¡°That seems¡­ insecure¡± Millie opined ¡°Oh it is. There is a whole group of people who steal others identities in order to make money.¡± ¡°So it seems like we have a potential solution to all our problems then.¡± Millie stated with finality. The others looked at her stunned. It took a minute for it to sink in for Millie, while she had hunted down trustworthy people to join her and Deebo that had netted them a group of people slightly out of her comfort zone. Idealists. With her specialties, she had always simply found the easiest means to her end, living very comfortably in the morally gray zone. Confronted with the shocked stares of the people surrounding her she realized that she and maybe Deebo were the only ones comfortable with those choices of convenience. Well this is going to add a degree of unforeseen difficulty to the situation. In reality, while she felt Dexan¡¯s criticism about outdated information was justified, she had also felt that it was over the top. As they say in the Integrated Worlds, credits are only a knife blow away, at least that¡¯s what they said in the circles she swam in. ¡°Creating identification to this World¡¯s standards should not be difficult for me. The issue is that I don¡¯t have any of the tools I would need in order to create a physical form of identification.¡± ¡°I dunno Deebs, can¡¯t you just hack into whatever system they have here and plant us in.¡± Yash questioned. ¡°That is certainly the plan. However in order to do that, I need a device with more oomph than this handheld device. Material costs for creating our new identities are not enormous, but they are not negligible either. Besides that, we are all going to have to have a talk about what false identity each of us is going to build. I know the system recommended that I utilize a pseudonym.¡± ¡°If we just need some seed money I should be able to handle that.¡± Kore said, ¡°One Man¡¯s Trash might make me look like a lunatic as I loot through refuse, but it sure is good at finding me some spare cash.¡± ¡°While that sounds terrific, did you perchance check your Interface upon arrival?¡± ¡°I glance at my stats¡­ this bod is rated a 10 by the way ladies.¡± Kore directed a lascivious wink towards the members of the feminine persuasion. His look was cut short by the glare he received from all three simultaneously. ¡°That¡¯s creepy. Did you guys practice that?¡± ¡°Shut up. Anyways, I was referring to your skill level. I know I had a rather unpleasant surprise when I checked mine out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s level¡­.1! Are you kidding me?¡± ¡°So tell me, my valiant money-making man, what¡¯s your earning power with a level one skill?¡± Millie asked, looking a bit too smug for the situation. ¡°I take it everyone is back to level 1 at the moment?¡± Millie nodded. ¡°That knocks out two of our easy earners. So we have to improvise.¡± ¡°Two?¡± ¡°Lota was about to recommend healing for cash, weren¡¯t ya?¡± Blushing crimson Lota nodded at Millie. ¡°I think I can handle the money part, at least enough to get us started¡± Dexan cut in. He sure has gotten chatty all the sudden, Millie thought before asking ¡°How are you going to handle that Dex?¡± ¡°I am betting there is going to be some betting establishments of the shadier variety somewhere around here.¡± ¡°And what, you gunna win at a card game you don¡¯t even know how to play?¡± Yash said cuttingly. ¡°No.¡± Dexan fixed her with an icy glare. ¡°Where there is betting, there is betting on fights. The hard part will just be getting an invite to the show.¡± With he reached out and grabbed one of the two cellular devices sitting on the table. ¡°Let me know where we are staying tonight. I will probably be back late, hopefully with enough cred to stop acting like hobos.¡± ¡°Want any company?¡± Millie asked as he started to disappear out the front door. She expected Dexan to deny her company, but to her surprise he grunted out an affirmative. Millie quickly downed the remainder of her pop before darting after him, leaving the rest of the group with a quick nod.