《Mechs? Mex? Mex's mechs!》 One ring to- uhh, I mean, One VRMMORPG to rule them all! CHAPTER 1: Today, the newest VR game on the market comes out for public release. It is entitled¡­ Actually I don¡¯t care about the name, It¡¯s an open world, sci-fi, MMORPG. I hope you know what that means, if you don¡¯t you¡¯re clearly uncultured, it means MECHS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I¡¯m currently in line for the game, and I literally cannot wait. If there wasn¡¯t security for the line, I would have run ahead, not unlike many others I presume. I am Max, a hardcore gamer and mech fan, 24 years of age, single. I have been anticipating this game since its trailer 2 years ago, in 2047, 7 years after the first release of ¡°Full-dive¡± VR technology. Boy did that get people¡¯s blood pumping, and ever since the physical feedback system enhancement, it¡¯s been doing that literally too. VR is amazing isn¡¯t it, ahh¡­¡­. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- I am so sorry for gushing like that. It¡¯s just that¡­ I¡¯ll say it out-right, I¡¯m a nerd, and I¡¯m proud. Also, VR is pretty much my life. I¡¯m just gonna get back to standing in line¡­Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- I got the last one they had for sale today, * whew * that was a close shave, now, to go home and play, eheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh * gasp * HUEHUEHUEHUEHHUEHUEhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha¡­ -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- ¡°Welcome to Universal Proportions Online.¡± Said a robotic female voice to me. Also, that was the name huh, I¡¯ll just call it UPO. Either way, the robo-lady started speaking again. ¡°I am the AI Janice, and I¡¯ll lead you though creating your character today. I will provide information on your choices as needed. Now, please choose your starting race.¡± Okay, a table with all the races popped up in front of me, hmm, what shall I choose¡­? -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- I decided, I¡¯ll choose the race Anigma, with the lizard-like sub-race. I touched the options and the screen asked me if I was sure, of course I said yes. Two mirrors then came into existence, one showing my scrawny self, with my brown hair, eyes, and expressionless face. It was so lacking in emotions, that even I could tell, and I was biased. The other mirror showed myself, except with a scale covered tail, patches of scales all over my body, and with my pupils turning into a vertical slit. I was 5 foot 10 inches normally, but the lizardy me was a good 6¡¯ 3. ¡°Please customize your character.¡± And customize I did, I had turned my persona into a 4¡¯ 10, silver-scaled, platinum blond-haired, little girl¡­ I dare you to question my tastes, I took karate classes for 3 years. COME AT ME BRUH! * Ahem * Anyways, I moved onto choosing my class. ¡°Please choose your class, and then you may finalize your character with a name.¡± There was only ever one class choice for me, Mech Pilot. (Also technically a mech engineer as well, just thought I¡¯d warn you readers ahead of time for the badass custom mechs that this dude is gonna make.) I¡¯d get to pilot and engineer mechs in any way that I see fit. I didn¡¯t see any downsides, except for the disadvantage to my physical stats, but by choosing the Anigma race, I pretty much have it all covered. ¡°Please choose a name for your character.¡± Hmm, I didn¡¯t think of that¡­ Well, Max works. I type it in. ¡°The username is taken.¡± ¡­ Oh shit, really? Uhh, I¡¯m Max, I like mechs¡­ * Light-bulb turns on * Mex, I¡¯ll be Mex. I hurriedly type in the name. ¡°The username ¡®Mex¡¯ is available,¡± Oh thank God, ¡°Welcome to Universal Proportions Online.¡± And on that note, my vision goes white. And so began the legend of The Mechsican, Mex. CHAPTER 2: After the blinding light dies down, I see my character from a third-person point of view, and she is working on a mech. Man am I jealous! I think this is a cut-scene though¡­ I suddenly hear fierce knocking on a door and someone say ¡°UBI, open up!¡± UBI¡­ Sounds like FBI, so¡­ The universal bureau of Investigation? Am I a criminal? ¡­ Wait, don¡¯t answer that¡­ The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mex seems to hear the sound too, as she gets out from underneath the mech and grabs a plasma pistol. A window shatters and Mex dashes her way into the nearest cover, flicking off the safety. She eases around the corner and prepares to fire. Seconds go by¡­ Minutes blur¡­ A lone UBI officer then appears behind her. A teleporting apparatus I presume. She turns as fast as she can, with a mixed look of shock and horror on her face. Sadly, she was too slow, as she was hit by a laser and drops to the floor, paralyzed. I assume the officer had his phaser set to ¡®stun¡¯ instead of ¡®vaporize¡¯. Soon, the rest of the team comes in and roughly drags Mex away. Oi, that¡¯s loli cruelty, you know!? Then, surprise surprise, I¡¯m blind again. God damnit. Any mech you want, thats the one you need, any mech you want! (part 1) CHAPTER 3: I finally decided to say it, "Oh dear god, my eyes, my eyes! I''m blind!" But instead of the shout in my manly man voice I had planned it to be, it came out as a hoarse whisper from the voice of a pre-pubescent little girl. Uh, am I in control of Mex already? I''ll find out if I touch myself, geheheheheheheheheheheh *drools profusely in mind*. Wait, I don''t need a second run-in with the UBI. Wait wait, if the UBI takes the fun out of everything... hmm... oh well. "x... Hey Me... Mex are you okay?!" I open my eyes to find a hulking man towering over me, and calling out to me. "I... guess," is what I say in response to his calling, in an involuntary deadpan. Though, something''s off about this guy... It''s the green skin and tusks isn''t it? This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. (SEAMLESS EXPOSITION) He looks to be an Ogran. They were designed to be one of, if not the, ugliest motherfuckers out there. I''m not being racist okay, even they admit it in the lore. Maybe it''s the fact that they''reALL super beefcakes. Maybe it''s the fact that they look like Hulk Hogan, a WoW orc, and a Japanese orc had a threesome, and the ugly meter was turned up all the wayfor the child... Who knows...? (END OF SEAMLESS EXPOSITION... SEAMLESS...) "Can you stand?" He asks. "Uh, sure," I replied and tried to move. I failed. I tripped over my own tail when I hopped off the bed I was laying on, and fell to the cold, hard, merciless floor. Oh, I nearly for got to ask but, "Who are you?" "Me?" asked the Hoga- I mean Ogran, "I''m the medic on the ship that got you out of prison." Wait, I went straight to prison? Don''t I get a trial? "No, no you don''t get a trial. All people who have a bounty on their heads have been ''confirmed of their crimes'', and thus don''t get ''the right to be heard in a fair and just trial''," he starts mumbling, "Damned tyrants." *Mental Gasp* He can read minds! More importantly, since when did I have a bounty? Moreover, how does he know my name? "Man, that memory erasing procedure sure messed you up bad. You''re gonna have to learn eveything from scratch, huh?" "Such as?" I ask, still face down on the floor. "Nevermind that, just get to the obstacle course and try to get used to moving your body again." _- Quest -_ Jungle Gym: Your memories have been wiped, and your movements have become awkward, reacclimate yourself with your body. Rewards: Starter gear, basic class and race skills, knowledge of the universe. _-_-_-_-_-_-_ Any mech you want, thats the one you need, any mech you want! (part 2) Chapter 4: First quest, GET! On that same track of thinking, there¡¯s a small arrow in the corner of my vision, which I presume, means that quest tracking is a thing in this game! It is literally one of the most useful things ever. I rise to my feet, making sure to keep my tail out of the way this time, and make my way over to the obstacle course. Slowly¡­ Slowly¡­ Ever so slowly¡­ I made my way there. The height difference and tail are things I¡¯ll have to get used to. I look at the ¡®obstacle course¡¯ skeptically. It¡¯s a track filled with tires, pits, barbed wire, flame-throwers, and all the other military shenanigans you see in cartoons. I have to get through that? Presumably with a vein nearly popping on my forehead, I say ¡°Isn¡¯t this worse than going to jail?!¡± I slowly drop down into a crouch, then fall on my side in the fetal position. Seriously. What the hell!? There¡¯s a reason that obstacle courses only contain flame-throwers in fiction! Oh¡­ Wait¡­ This is a game¡­ That still doesn¡¯t console me any! ¡°I know it looks tough, but at least try it first,¡± says the sadistic medic, but he added under his breath, ¡°Before I die of cuteness...¡± I heard that! I totally heard that! Damn lolicon! I¡¯m willing to say so too! ¡°I heard your little add-on at the end, damn lolicon.¡± He looks¡­ Shocked would be an understatement. I think that he¡¯s trembling from embarrassment. He won¡¯t meet my eyes. Did I always have this pout on my face? Whatever. I get off the ground and throw a glare at the Ogran. I¡¯m just gonna call him Jeffrey. I mean, who likes people named Jeffrey anyway? ( I am immensely sorry for anyone named Jeffrey, whom I may have offended. You should change your name you poor, poor, pitiful soul.)A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I¡¯m going to need some training music for this. Good thing I hooked up my phone to the VR pod beforehand! Training montage! ¡°It¡¯s the eye of the tiger¡­!¡± ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4 ) After hours of going through the death trap known as ¡®obstacle course¡¯, I had learned to control my body and even gained a few skills that don¡¯t come from my class or race. _- Skill Gain -_ Composite skill gained: Evasion (lvl 3) Sub skills of Evasion gained: Roll (lvl 2), Dive (lvl 3), Dodge (lvl 4) Skill gained: Enhanced Reflexes (lvl 4) Skill gained: Grip (lvl 2) (Unofficially) Jeffrey gave me a set of light combat gear, a small laser pistol, and a plasma welder. He also said that I would have to choose which mech would be my first, and I absolutely agreed. One cannot pilot a mech that they do not like. There were nine types of mechs, one that carried one of the three roles and one of the three classes. Role was what, well, role that the mech would play on the battlefield. The three were Skirmish, Assault, and Defense. Skirmish mechs are typically quicker and more lightly armored than the other roles. They also usually excel at close combat. Assault mechs are jacks of all trades, masters of none. They have medium armor, speed, and medium weapon range. They did excel in their versatility, though, they could fill almost any role, just not as well as the more specialized mechs. Which brings us to the third role, defense. They are specialized in one area, though, their link is that they are usually more heavily armored and slower. Class, in comparison, is rather simple. It is determined by the weight of the mech. The three types are A, B, and C. A being the lightest and C being the heaviest. The choices for my first mech were three A-Class mechs. Now, what shall I choose? The Skirmish mech, Wasp Model 1? The Assault mech, Badger Version 1.01? Or the Defense mech, Tortoise Mark 1? The Wasp (is a totally original design that I came up with from my own imagination) Chapter 5: The Wasp M1 was the smallest of the three, it was also the most streamlined, and coolest one in my opinion. I¡¯ve always liked going fast, especially when said ¡®going fast¡¯ involves shooting things. I always liked racing games and shooters, so I suppose that it¡¯s not surprising. Anyways, back to the Wasp. It two sprawling, segmented legs. After that, there was the cockpit, which had two roll bars on the top shaped like antennae, and retractable lights on the front that looked like compound eyes, and that came out with mandibles, it was kind of like the thorax and head of an insect were combined. The arms were short, with its weapons directly attached, instead of being held by hands. It also had an abdomen like section which contained its booster, with which, the exhaust came out of where the stinger was supposed to be. The booster is a directional jet with self-replicating, but easily used-up, fuel. The feet were three-pronged, with retractable wheels. It looked like it was covered in black chitin, with gaps being filled with yellow stripes. Over the armor, were 4 solar panels that could be folded back and looked like wings. The cock-pit viewing-monitor (You wouldn¡¯t be caught out in extreme conditions like the ones space includes with your only point of view coming from glass, now would you?) was shaped in a honey-comb pattern. I suppose that they were really pushing for the insect design in this mech. The weapons were¡­ to be honest, plain. There was a stinger missile launcher on top of the mech, in between the ¡°wings¡± (I¡¯m just so clever, aren¡¯t I?). Said launcher was an automatically-reloading, 10-shot launcher. The weapon on the left arm was an automatic grenade launcher, which in itself is pretty cool in and of itself, if you exclude the fact that it shoots shrapnel grenades, that have little to no piercing or explosive power, and are meant to be used against infantry or lightly armored vehicles. The only way for these to be useful for bigger things, is if its armor is literally (I mean ¡°literally¡± as in the way it was meant to be used) shit, or it the grenade lands inside of it. Now, onto the most mediocre of the bunch, the weapon on the right arm AKA, the primary weapon. It was an auto-cannon, with a 900-ish rpm firing speed, which fired armor-piercing high-explosive rounds. I know that that sounds cool as fuck, but the problem was that it couldn¡¯t hit anything reliably after about 100 feet, not to mention the recoil so strong that it can move a 15-ISH TON MECH, and the horrid heat accumulation speed.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Oh, right, I haven¡¯t told you about the heat system. Heat generated by your weapons is circulated throughout your mech, so you can have all your weapons up for longer, but if you hit the ceiling for your heat-sink¡¯s output, then all of your weapons go down at once, which can be detrimental in a first. Not really a problem for the Wasp, because it specializes in short engagements, if you reach the heat-sink¡¯s limit, you should¡¯ve already gotten out of that fight, and if you aren¡¯t already dead, you will be soon. It can be configured to make each weapon have its own heat-sink, but the heat will fill up way faster. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Back to the Wasp, I looked all over it, only the outside of course, scrutinizing every inch, and got a skill. _ - Skill Gain -_ Skill gained: Mech Engineering (lvl 1) I asked Jeffrey (surprisingly, that was his real name) if I could root around in the spare mechs to get my bearings in Mech Engineering, and he was totally fine with it. Apparently the crew almost never has the chance to use these old mechs, so they were just laying in storage. So, after rooting around in the other mechs for a while, I got Mech Engineering to level 5. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m supposed to feel happy or depressed that it¡¯s my highest level skill. I¡¯m just gonna be happy. Apparently scrapping the spares for parts were off limits though, trust me, I asked. And since I got Mech Engineering to level 5, I rooted around in the Wasp¡¯s insides, and rewired several thing to be more efficient. Afterwards, I¡¯m expected to meet the captain of the ship. I¡¯m not really nervous about it, I¡¯m more expectant. I mean, who doesn¡¯t want to meet a bad-ass space pirate captain? p-p-p-p-poll!!!! A''ight, here me out. I personally dislike the name of the series as-is, so I wanted a new one. The current name is redundant and more of a pun (not a good or funny one at that) instead of a persisting title that I''m happy with. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Shit, I came up with the current title the day I wrote the first chapter, so it was always an incomplete/rushed thing Anyways, please vote on the poll, so I can know you guys'' opinion. Ze Capitain! Chapter 6: And so, we went to meet the captain. The halls of the ship were not how you¡¯d expect a pirate ship¡¯s to be, dank and or dirty, no, they were pristine, white, and with no decorations. It reminded me of a hospital somewhat. A hospital run by vicious space pirates, that is. Well, since I got arrested, I suppose I was a criminal too. If I think about it that way, then I can¡¯t really complain, can I? We soon came to a pair of light-gray doors with a black skull-and-cross-bones symbol on it. They slid open to reveal the bridge of the ship. There was little activity, with just the captain and the rest of a ¡°skeleton¡± crew. The night-watch was really bare-bones, there was hardly four people manning the twenty-ish stations of the bridge. Sadly, said skeleton crew were not of the undead-like race, the Malkth-dread, they were of varied races, but not one of them was human, or as they are known in-game, Hoomins. I know Hoomin sounds stupid, but blame the developers, not me. So imagine my surprise, when the captain turns out to be a Malkth! Quick lore section: the Malkth are an elf like race, in fact, they are exactly elves, they even have sub-races that look like high and dark elves. The reason the Malkth-dread are named so similarly, is that they used to be Malkth. All races in the galaxy have a higher form or two that they can evolve into that has better specs than their original race. I¡¯ll go more into it later, but the Malkth-dread are an evolved form of the Malkth, although the M-d (shorthand version of Malkth-dread) [its actually just because the author is lazy but whatevs, bruh, - omnipotent narrator person or something] (be quiet you) are shunned, as the Malkth believe that only evildoers evolve into M-d. There is no scientific fact behind this, just religion. Many Malkth have evolved into M-d over the years, so the Malkth are somewhat rare nowadays, but they are by no means endangered. End of lore. Back to the captain, she was HOT! I mean, you¡¯re gonna get burned hot. Plus¡­ an hourglass figure that most women would kill for. She looked at me and I could feel my heart-rate quicken. ¡°Well, are you going to introduce yourself, or what?¡± ¡­ ¡­¡­.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Did I forget to mention that their haughty as FUCK?! Apparently I did. Wow, that was a boner-killer for sure¡­ Wait¡­ God damn it¡­ As I am now sufficiently turned OFF, I assume a similarly cold tone, ¡°I am Mex, Lizard Anigma, and Mech pilot and engineer extraordinaire.¡± I hear laughing! Who¡¯s laughing!? Oh, it¡¯s the captain. Let¡¯s call her Bitchy McBitchface. My naming sense is top-notch today! ¡°Ahahahaha¡­ Aah, it¡¯s so surreal to hear a little girl say that, that I nearly collapsed laughing!¡± I, frustrated, told her my age, ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m twenty three, this year,¡± obviously in my dead-pan tone of voice. I feel I shouldn¡¯t have to say that by now, and you should just know how talk though¡­ Hmm¡­ Oh well. Ms. McBitchface seems shocked. Jeffrey too. Wait, Jeffrey didn¡¯t leave? I, for sure, thought I saw him leave though. Ms. McBitchface thought herself fit to speak, ¡°Ha¡­ Ho¡­ Wha¡­ What in the name of our holy lord and savior¡­?¡± Okay, it¡¯s confirmed, Bitchy is a religion nut¡­ Maybe. Probably. Meh. So¡­ a couple of minutes passed¡­ and there¡¯s this awkward silence that no-one seems to want to break. Obviously I don¡¯t want to, I¡¯m an introvert and it¡¯s fun to watch Bitchy squirm. Jeffrey too I guess. ------------ (A few hours prior, Captain¡¯s point of view) I am the captain of the Brilliant Star, Araines Evereiss. I heard that my crew rescued a little girl from the UBI today. Honestly, I¡¯m kinda excited, it¡¯ll be like getting a little sister! I just hope she wakes up soon. How long is she gonna be asleep? The skeleton crew already came in because it was so late. I¡¯ll go take a look in a few minutes¡­ I lied. I¡¯m too nervous to go see her¡­ please¡­ send help¡­ She came to me apparently, and she¡¯s the cutest thing I have ever seen. She took a look around before her eyes settled on me. I looked back, and I could see her eyes widen a little. It was so damn cute, even though the rest of her expression was unmoving and cold, that I reverted to my pre-therapy, bitchy, attitude, ¡°Well, are you going to introduce yourself, or what?¡± I could see her eyes narrow in anger, and she started to spew some ridiculous lines for a little girl, ¡°I am Mex, Lizard Anigma, and Mech pilot and engineer extraordinaire.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh a bit, of course, bitchily, ¡°Ahahahaha¡­ Aah, it¡¯s so surreal to hear a little girl say that, that I nearly collapsed laughing!¡± The little girl then appeared frustrated, if you can even tell with her lack of expression. She said something in the most flat voice I had ever heard, so much so that I felt like I had to believe it, ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m twenty three, this year.¡± I froze, and so did Jeffrey¡­ Wait when did Jeffrey get here? A status screen in a LitRPG novel? You must be joking! Chapter 7: I was quickly getting bored of the two¡¯s uncertain and anxious expressions. I had ample time to study them, so I decided to do something for the first time, check my stat screen. I chanted the keyword in my mind, Status. And the display popped up in front of my eyes, visible to me alone. )-------( Status of: Mex Race: Anigma Job: Mech Engineer Health: 25/25 Psi: 36/36 Stamina: 16/16 Vitality: 5 Endurance: 4 Strength: 4 Dexterity: 7 Agility: 9 Intelligence: 6 Wisdom: 4 Perception: 8 Charisma: 2Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Luck: 1 {Show Skills Tab: YES / NO} {Show Advanced Options: YES / NO} )-------( Of course I want to see my skills! Skills Tab, Yes. After I thought the keywords, my skills popped up. )-------( Skills: Evasion (lvl 3) {Skills merged with Evasion: Roll (lvl 2), Dive (lvl 3), Dodge (lvl 4)} Enhanced Reflexes (lvl 4) Grip (lvl 2) Unarmed Fighting (lvl 1) Physical Enhancement {Claws} (lvl 1) Mech Engineering (lvl 1) Special Skills: Enigma Anima (lvl 1) Animal Instincts (lvl 1) )-------( Interesting. My regular skills don¡¯t surprise me, but my special skills do. I suppose that they¡¯re my racials. I can guess at the function of Animal Instincts without inspecting it. It should improve my natural instincts and help let me not get caught off guard. The other skill however, I have no clue as to what it does. So, I inspected it. )-------( Enigma Anima: {Transformation type} Lets the bearer of the skill to temporarily enhance the animal-like characteristics of themselves. Doubles stats when transformed. OR Lets the bearer of the skill to transform parts or themselves fully into a humanoid animal state. Triples stats when fully transformed, but halves Intelligence, Wisdom, Perception, and Charisma. When a part is transformed, it will triple the stats in only that part. May cause a disruption in the balance of the user when the forms are used for the first time. Time limit: 1 hour for an enhancement. 30 minutes for a single limb, full transformation or full body transformation. Cool-down: 1 day. )-------( The limitations seem lenient enough, and the boost in power seems nice. The only thing that I¡¯m worried about is the halving of the mental stats. Oh well. I¡¯ll go test it out. I get up from my seat, and started to walk off before Bitchy called out to me, ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± I replied in an efficient and professional manner, ¡°To test something out,¡± and promptly walked out of the bridge. Now that obstacle course might come in handy.