Treachery (The Terra Trials Book 1)
Page 35
He glanced over each one for a more detailed description of the Traits.
Durable: Take 10% less damage from all sources
Efficient Metabolism: Food replenishes extra Health and Stamina when eaten
Culler: Deal 15% more damage to creatures below 50% health that have sustained physical wounds
“Well, it’s your choice, Chopsticks. These are your pride and joy.” Max glanced across the three options again.
“Hmmm.” Chopsticks hummed thoughtfully. “It’s boring, but could you get Durable? The less likely she is to die in combat, the better in my eyes.”
“No problem.” Max selected the Durable Trait, confirming his choice, and then seeing it appear on the list of her active Traits before closing the menu.
Max glanced over at Pez who had already folded Abe’s saddle into a neat bundle while the dino stood patiently watching him.
Pez shrugged and looked up to meet Abe’s eye. “I know he’s just watching what I’m up to, but that look is always going to be intimidating.” He looked back toward Max. “Tell you what, I’ll sort the saddle rigs out and stick them in the armory. Everything else is settled for the night. Why don’t you take a well-deserved break?”
“What about you, though? You’ve been going just as long as I have.” Max’s shoulders drooped, and his eyes itched to do the same as the thought of sleep called to him.
Pez walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sure, but I haven’t been traipsing around the wilderness in a noob suit. Go get some rest and think about where you want to take Murf with all of the experience you’ve gained today.”
Max smiled. “Thanks, man. Really, thank you for going through all of this for me.”
Pez waved him away. “Don’t mention it, I’m happy to be the man of the hour any time.”
With a chuckle, Max stepped out of the large stable and pulled up the game menu, selecting the option to quit.
Max pulled off the headset, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temples. He was tired, so tired he could close his eyes and go to sleep right there.
Sam clapped her hands together. “Okay, phase one complete. Now onto phase two.”
Max groaned. “There are phases?”
“Oh, yeah, she’s been very thorough.” Chopsticks eyed the remaining cold pizza from earlier before looking back at his friend with bloodshot, tired eyes. “You should have seen her figuring it all out, I’ve never seen anyone scribbling things down so fast.”
Sam leaned forward and sifted through the messy pile of scrap paper covering the table. “I’ve set us a time limit of about three weeks, that should give you time to get Murf leveled up, and us enough time to prepare ourselves, and the base, for war.”
“Who-oh!” Chopsticks held up his hands. “The ‘W’ word?”
“Oh, yeah.” Sam nodded. “We’re going to decimate those fuckers.”
Chopsticks looked at Max with wide eyes. “Whew! Someone’s fired up.”
“Yeah, I am.” Sam ground her fist into her palm. “Murf’s at the base, he’s already going to have some good levels from the journey back, I’ve figured out the resources we’re going to need. It’s doable. It’s so doable.” She brought her eyes up to her two friends. “We can do this.”
“How about a nap first?” They all turned toward Roderick standing in the doorway to his room. “Because I am beat.”
“And you both need to go home,” Max added as he got up from his chair and stretched, unkinking his body as he paced the room, which was now lit in the glow of sunlight through the closed curtains.
“We do.” Sam stood up and handed Max a piece of paper. “A little light reading before bedtime.”
“What is it?” Max asked as he looked at it through tired eyes. The writing blurred, and he yawned as it came back into focus, then read, “‘Murf’s Boot Camp.’”
“Sam sat and worked out a training schedule while you were getting back to base.” Chopsticks could barely conceal his smirk.
“Great!” Max said less than enthusiastically.
“Hey, someone has to organize you boys.” Sam gathered up her stuff and headed for the door. “Get some sleep and I’ll see you in-game in a few hours.”
“Can’t wait.” Max skimmed his gaze over the very thorough training schedule. She had set out each day that they would be in-game, outlining activities such as hunting, weapon crafting, and combat. “It’s gonna be fun.” He looked up to the drawn curtains which were just starting to leak sunlight.
Sam turned away from the door and came back to Max. “No, it’s not, it’s going to be hard work.” Her fists clenched at her side. “But the payoff of seeing those Ravagers destroyed will make all the pain worthwhile.”
“Yeah.” A smile spread across Max’s face. “Yeah, it is.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Okay, I changed my mind, this is so not worth it!” Max gripped the thin length of wood in both hands as he swung it through the air at Ticket, sacrificing stamina for a Heavy Attack.
His sparring partner stepped to one side, spun her stick around, and knocked his feet out from under him for the fifth time. He landed with a thud, twisted his legs in the air, and leaped back to his feet.
Lunging forward, Max struck Ticket on the arm. Hard.
“Better.” She winced but didn’t take her hand off her pole to rub her arm. “See, training is paying off.”
“You’re not just saying that?” Max asked in a pouty voice. He grinned and jumped from one foot to the other. “We’ll know I’m ready when I can take you down.”
“We might have a long time to wait.” Ticket feigned an attack and as Max swiveled around to evade the blow to his chest, she dipped her pole and took his legs out once more. “The Ravagers will be little old men by then.” She pretended her pole was a walking stick as she hobbled around with her left hand on her back.
Max lay on his back looking up at the canopy of leaves above his head. “Doesn’t our schedule say to move on once Murf has ended up on his butt six times?”
“Yeah, I think it does.” Ticket tucked the pole under her arm and offered Max her hand. “Even kicking your ass gets old eventually. Let’s go check the traps.”
“That sounds like something I can do.” Max took hold of Ticket’s hand and she pulled him to his feet.
“Hey, don’t be so pessimistic. I know you’re nowhere near Holic’s level, but we’re making some real progress. Murf’s quickly becoming a half-decent character.”
Max nodded as he dusted himself off. “Thanks. I guess I just feel a lot of pressure at the moment.”
Max opened up his character overview screen, selecting the option to see it in more detail.
Health: 1268/1710
Stamina: 491/1560
Hunger: 84/100
Thirst: 79/100
Carry Capacity: 16/33 lb
Character stats:
Strength: 24
Constitution: 41
Dexterity: 28
Agility: 54
Intuition: 23
WUTT: 5
Current Traits:
Strength:
Encumbrance I: +10 lb weight carrying
Heavy Attack I: Spend 150 stamina for an attack dealing 150% damage and increased chance to stagger an opponent
Unarmed Combat: Learn the ability to perform basic unarmed punches and kicks
Constitution:
Conditioning I: +10% Health
Tough Skin: +5% Damage reduction [Cutting + Piercing]
Endurance I: +15% Stamina
Brace I: Take 25% less damage from all damage types for 1 second
Recovery: 30 seconds
Conditioning II: +20% Health
Bark Hide: +5% Damage Reduction [Piercing + Blunt]
Shrug Off I: Successful blocks of light attacks will restore 50 stamina
Duration: 10 seconds
Recovery: 1 minute
Dexterity:
Simple Crafting: The ability to work with basic
materials to form simple tools
Basic Ranged Weapons: Gain the ability to use simple weapons designed for ranged attacks
Basic Construction: Gain the ability to work with larger materials to create primitive structures
Basic Traps: Learn how to craft simple traps-Deadfall, Pit
Retouch: Gain the ability to repair moderate damage to tools
Agility:
Terraining I: -10% Stamina drain when moving over difficult terrain
Dash: Burst of speed, gain +25% run speed for 5s, using double the amount of stamina
Recovery: 30s
Terraining II: Basic skill in climbing and swimming
Marathoner I: +10% Movement speed when jogging
Creep: -10% Passive noise when attempting stealth
Sidestep: Dash 1 yard in a chosen direction
Cost: 60 Stamina
Cragsman: Gain the ability to see safe handholds within reach
Self-Preservation I: Slight chance to automatically react to a life-threatening situation
Terraining III: Jogging through rough terrain is as easy as walking
Duck and Weave: Gain the ability to perform attacks and dodges simultaneously
Intuition:
Foraging I: Identify common resource plants
Tracker I: Gain the ability to see signs left behind from animals, and be able to identify trails when enough signs have been spotted
Directional Hearing I: Sounds leave vague impressions as to which direction they originated from
WUTT: Primal
Hotfoot: Move 15% Faster when fleeing
Blood Sense: +10% Increase to intuition when following tracks of wounded creature
Slow Metabolism: -15% hunger rate
Hunter’s Nose: Detect strong scents of animals
Dim Vision: See during twilight hours as if it were daylight
“We’re getting there. I just hope I manage to pull this off.” Max closed his character screen.
Sam shrugged. “I mean, this entire plan, and possibly the future of our Crew is riding on you...but we’re all here to help you out. Every step of the way.”
“Wow, that was heavy.” Max flashed her a smile. “I appreciate what you’re all doing to get Murf through this. He already has a lot of the essential skills, you know, the dodges, the blocks, being able to start tracking, and whatever.”
“Murf has a good foundation of skills. Now we need to focus on building him up.” Ticket punched him in the arm. “You’ll get there. You just need to do the work.”
“Come on, let’s go see what’s for dinner.”
Max took one last look at the screen. His character was heavily leaning toward Agility and Constitution, which he could explain with all the running back and forth and getting his ass kicked by his friends and the local wildlife. Max would be able to hold his own playing Murf for now, especially if he came upon some poor player who wasn’t expecting someone who’d only just hit level 50 in one character Stat to act like they had been playing the game for years.
He closed the screen just in time to see TOD leap from where it had been sitting idly at the edge of the clearing and land gently on Ticket’s shoulder, folding its wings away.
Max led the way out of the clearing down one of the winding paths around their base that they kept clear of encroaching vegetation.
“Have you been keeping up with your five a day?” Ticket asked.
Max laughed at the comment. “Why do you keep calling it that? And yeah, Chopsticks has kept a steady supply of fried Acrilica Shoots and Clipweed salad for me. I’ve also been picking up any of the Staples that I’ve come across.”
Sam nodded. “Good to hear. That’ll help speed everything up.”
“Yeah, it’s obviously helped, seems I’ve already got one Stat up to level fifty.”
“Hm. How is work?” Ticket ducked under a low-hanging leaf to walk next to Max as she changed the subject.
“Work is work.” Max kicked a loose stone as they walked. “Still crappy, still no promotion.”
“Haven’t you been there for like a year now?”
“Eighteen long months.”
“And Pez?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Max could see Ticket watching his face.
“Pretty much the same, you’re probably best asking him, though.” Max turned to meet Ticket’s eye. He could guess where this was going.
“That’s not what I was going to ask.” Ticket half-smiled. “He got a little riled up last week about Jag and I wondered if he’d mentioned it again.”
“Yeah, he did get a bit red-faced. I always thought that the two of them got along pretty well. And Pez didn’t seem mad when Jag left.”
Sam laughed softly. “See, I always thought that there was this kind of silent rivalry between them, but it wasn’t anything serious. Not enough for Pez to get that funny.” She paused. “Why didn’t you tell him about Jag’s box?”
Max took a deep breath and looked away. He had wondered if that would be brought up again. “Pez was already bent out of shape over Jag, but I’m still not sure why I didn’t tell him, in all honesty. I kind of wish I had just told him; I don’t like keeping secrets...but it felt like it would have just made him madder. And we don’t really need that, with everything else we’ve got going on.”
The jungle sounds filled the silence as Ticket kept her eyes on Max.
He glanced up at her. “Look, if I have to tell him, I’ll tell him. But the chances are it’s nothing. Jag had probably just scored big and pissed someone off in the process and needed it off-world for a while. And besides, Pez is only going to get madder if I tell him I lied to him.”
“Only a lie of omission, though,” Ticket reminded him.
Max shrugged. “Still, you know what he’s like. He doesn’t like being left out of the loop.”
“Hm. You’re not wrong there. And besides, what have we got to lose other than account suspension, or a fine for smuggling between worlds?”
“Geez, when you put it that way…”
“I’m joking,” Ticket smirked. “You guys are always so easy to wind up.”
Max chuckled. “It’s only because we take what you say as gospel.”
“Well, someone needs to be right about everything.” She laughed. “Except about dinosaurs, Chopsticks has got that covered.”
After a couple of minutes walking, they cut off the path, heading down a narrow game trail deeper into the jungle, using the sticks they had been fighting with to bat away the undergrowth.
“I see one.” Max caught sight of a large flat rock with one end held up off of the ground by balancing on an upside-down Y-shaped stick, the prong underneath the slab of rock had a piece of string tied around it, which was held down by the end of the rock on the ground creating a tripwire. “Empty.”
They stepped over the deadfall trap and carried on along the small trail. Max could see the vague imprints of tracks covering the dirt, but he could not make out individual prints with enough detail to identify them.
Before long, they came across a second trap, which had been triggered but had not caught anything. Max knelt beside it and lifted the rock up, threading the plant string back under one side of the stone, and wedging the stick back in the ground so that the longer, top prongs of the Y were in the dirt, and the shorter were up in the air, supporting one edge of the slab of rock off the ground. The string now acted like a tripwire, which would dislodge the stick and bring the rock down on any small critter passing along the trail under the trap.
“There, it might catch something now.” Max stood back up.
“Remember that the point of this isn’t to feed the entire base, it’s for your character’s benefit more than anything. Murf needs experience,” Ticket reminded him.
“Right, gotta keep that in mind.” Max brushed a prickly vine out of the way and carried on down the trail.
They walked on in silence, listening to the sounds of the jungle around them, both wrapped up their thoug
hts. Max could tell that the Pez-Jag dynamic was weighing on Ticket’s mind, but he didn’t want to push anything. He knew that pressing Ticket to share what she was thinking about was a sure-fire way to never find out.
“There’s the last one,” Ticket’s voice came from behind him.
Max stepped over a fallen branch, and sure enough at his feet was the third trap. The Y-shaped stick lay to the side of the fallen stone and a long green tail stuck out from underneath.
“Finally caught something!” Max knelt down and lifted the rock. Underneath was a large green lizard, which had been flattened by the fall. He picked it up and turned to show Ticket. “Can I treat you to dinner?”
Sam snorted. “Yeah, that’s a little too fresh for me.”
“What? Any self-respecting Stone-Age babe would love to dine on this.” He dangled his catch by the tail. “Slow roasted on an open flame, a few good herbs, it’d make a good meal for two.”
“One at a push, maybe.” Ticket laughed. “I can’t see why you’ve been single for so long.”
Max gave a wry smile. “Just haven’t found someone that appreciates my cuisine.”
“Maybe,” Ticket looked wistful, before snapping back. “Come on, let’s go catch something bigger.” She took off down the trail and passed Max at a jog.
“Wait, what about my trap? Oh, geez,” Max stuffed the lizard in his bag and followed Ticket, who was quickly disappearing into the thick of the jungle.
Murf’s Terraining Traits helped him keep his feet as he leaped over bushes that hung above the trail, and creepers that sprawled across the jungle floor, but he could not get enough speed to catch up with Ticket.
Just when he thought he had lost her, he burst from the trail and onto a small clearing. He slipped on the wet mud, nearly colliding with Ticket who nimbly stepped to the side, TOD stuck out a wing to help her keep balance.
Max windmilled his arms as he came to a stop. “I didn’t realize we were running cross-country.”
“That was barely anything,” Ticket said. “Have a look around, can you spot anything?”