by Lucas Flint
Cy slapped his hands together. “Okay, so you already seem to have a pretty good, if simple, understanding of the Alignment system. Like you said, every decision you make affects your Alignment. If you save a kitten from a tree, for example, that brings you closer to the Hero Alignment, whereas if you steal a purse from an old lady, that makes you more like a Villain. Got it?”
“Yeah,” I said, thinking back to my Origin. “So far, so good.”
“Good,” said Cy. “So, although Heroes and Villains can learn many of the same Powers and all of the same Skills, there are certain Powers and even Stats only available to people of a particular Alignment. Do you see the Hero Stats on your character sheet.”
I glanced at the section labeled ‘HERO STATS.’ “Yeah, I was just about to ask about that.”
“Basically, when you become a Hero, you get access to Hero Stats like Courage and Justice,” Cy said. “Unlike normal Stats, Hero Stats can only be leveled up with Hero Points, which you get from doing heroic things and completing certain missions. Villain Stats and Villain Points work the same way.”
“How do Hero Stats affect gameplay?” I asked.
“They make it easier to do certain things,” said Cy. “Take the Trust Stat, for example. That refers to the general level of Trust you have with Civilians. The higher your Trust Stat, the more likely Civilians are to call you for help or trust you to solve a situation or problem you are involved in. Conversely, the lower your Trust Stat, the less likely Civilians are to like you. Get it too low and they’ll avoid or even hate you outright.”
Despite myself, I found myself becoming more and more interested in the game’s mechanics. “What about my Reputation? It says I’m Unknown.”
“Oh, that just refers to how well-known you are to the general public,” said Cy. “It doesn’t really affect things too much. If you want to be more well-known, you just go and complete missions and do good things. Your Reputation will automatically improve the more good you do, although it can also be harmed if you do bad things.”
“That explains why my Fame is so low, but why are the rest of my Stats so high?” I asked. “I haven’t even done anything yet.”
“Your Origin Story affects your Alignment Stats,” Cy explained. “What you did in your Origin Story is calculated into determining your base Hero Stats when you reach your Alignment. I don’t know what you did in your Origin to get such high base Stats, but I can only assume it must have been pretty good.”
Ah. I could see how the actions I took in my Origin would boost my Courage, Justice, and Willpower. I wondered how all those Stats worked but decided to ask Cy about my normal Stats and Powers first.
“Right,” I said. “How do I level up my Stats and Powers, anyway? What are Stat Points and Power Points?”
“Pretty simple,” said Cy. “When you level up, you automatically earn four Stat Points and two Power Points, which you are free to distribute as you see fit. You can also save them up for later if you don’t know which Stats or Powers you want to level up right away. Sidekicks get about half of that when we level up, so two Stat Points and one Power Point for us.”
“How do I get more Powers?” I asked, glancing at my lone Power, Super Strength, which sat at a lowly Level 1.
“Every ten levels, you automatically earn a new Power dependent on your Class,” said Cy. He leaned forward, looked around conspiratorially, and whispered, “But you can also get new Powers from Costumes and Equipment. Just so you know.”
I had no idea why Cy was acting like it was some great big secret he was sharing with me. Maybe it was actually a game mechanic you were supposed to find out yourself? Or maybe Cy was just being Cy again. That was probably it.
“Also, you can’t level up Powers forever,” said Cy, standing upright again and speaking in a normal voice. “The level cap for Powers is ten, although there are rare Ultimate Powers that can be leveled up to fifteen. Don’t ask me about those, though. I don’t know anything about them because I don’t have an Ultimate Power myself.”
I stroked my chin again. “I take it that leveling up my Powers makes them stronger?”
“Correct!” said Cy, clapping his hands together excitedly. “Take Super Strength, for example. At Level One, you get a ten percent boost in Strength, which basically makes you strong enough to lift a car. At Level Ten, however, you will be able to lift a full-sized aircraft carrier full of people and planes.”
“Really?” I said. “That’s interesting.”
“Isn’t it?” Cy agreed. “You can check out how many Power Points to your Power’s next level by clicking on your Power. Oh, and one last thing: Once Power, Stat, and Hero Points are spent, you cannot spend them again, so be careful about where and how you spend your Points.”
“I see,” I said. I closed my character screen. “Well, I think I have a pretty solid grasp of the game’s system now. I want to actually go and do something now.”
“What?” said Cy with a start. “You mean you don’t have any more questions?”
“Oh, I do,” I said with a wave of my hand, “but frankly I’m getting bored of standing around talking. I like to learn by doing. And if I ever need something clarified for me, I’ll just ask you.”
“Okay,” said Cy, though he still looked a little worried. “I’ll go wherever you go, boss.”
I nodded. “All right, then. Let’s go and see the city, then. If this is where I am going to spend the rest of my life, I might as well get to know it.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Leaving my Base was very easy. Cy showed me the exit, which opened and closed like a normal door. I didn’t even have to lock it. According to Cy, no one could enter my Base without my permission, aside from Thieves, Assassins, and similar Villain Classes, but he said it was unlikely that anyone would try to break in while we were gone and that I could always upgrade my Base’s security features later if I wanted.
“So I can update my Base whenever I want?” I said to Cy as we walked away from the warehouse I called my Base.
“Sort of,” said Cy. He practically skipped with each step, rather than walk like a normal human being. “You can’t do it for free. You’ll need to earn some credits so you can buy upgrades and stuff from shops.”
“Stop skipping,” I said. “Walk like a normal human being.”
Cy stopped skipping, but I could tell he did it very reluctantly. “Sorry. I just like skipping.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are credits, anyway?”
“Money,” Cy said. “The universal currency on planet Earth, accepted by every country ruled by the United Nations.”
I stopped. “Wait, the United Nations rules the Earth?”
Cy also stopped and looked at me. “Yeah. Ever since the end of World War II, the UN established a world government that controls pretty much everything. Why do you ask?”
I chuckled, thinking about the UN conspiracy theorists back in my world who made all sorts of weird conspiracy theories about that organization, theories that were mostly untrue. “Oh, never mind. I just wasn’t aware that they were in charge.”
“Well, you should be,” said Cy. “Don’t want to get into trouble with them. They can make life hell on Earth for you if they want. Not that I hate the UN or anything. Just being realistic about the power they wield. That’s all.”
“I see,” I said as I resumed walking. “Back to credits. How do I earn those? Do I need to get a job?”
Cy shuddered as he walked with me. “A job? Nope. You get credits a variety of ways. You can sell equipment and items you find to shops for money, sometimes you’ll get money as a reward for completing certain missions, and sometimes bad guys will drop it upon defeat. That’s where your Luck Stat comes into play. The higher your Luck, the better the loot you’ll get from defeated enemies and the better the rewards you’ll get from completing missions. Increasing your Trust with Civilians also makes it more likely they’ll give you money and good items for helping them.”
I nodded as we e
ntered an alleyway between two apartment buildings close to my warehouse. “Makes sense. What other benefits do I get from having a Base?”
“You respawn there when you die,” said Cy. “So do us Sidekicks. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to leave your Base for a full hour when you respawn. Oh, and you also lose all the experience points you earned, though you keep any levels you gained before you died, of course.”
I bit my lower lip. Harsh penalties, but not as bad as I feared. As long as I didn’t die, I should be okay. “Do I have to stay with that warehouse as my Base or—?”
“You can buy a new one later,” said Cy. He gestured over his shoulder at my Base. “But Bases are ridiculously expensive. The cheapest start at ten thousand credits, while the most expensive go up to ten million. Some are even more expensive than that.”
I glanced at my credit balance, which was also in my character sheet, and grimaced at the big fat zero that I saw. “I don’t have any money.”
“Don’t worry about that,” said Cy, slapping my shoulder. “Every new Hero or Villain starts out that way. As you complete missions and establish yourself, your wealth will also increase. Unless you spend it all on random stuff, but you strike me as a fiscally-responsible guy, so I think we’ll be okay.”
True enough. I had managed to graduate the police academy with no debt and I was generally pretty smart with my finances, which was mostly thanks to my Dad, who was a financial genius. If Dad hadn’t become a lawyer, I was sure he would have made a great accountant or CPA, although I guess then he wouldn’t have been able to become a Supreme Court Justice.
Thinking about Dad hurt, because it was another reminder of my current life. Like everyone else in my previous life, Dad thought I was dead and gone forever. I would never see him again and he would never know what really happened to me.
Once again, I felt burning anger, bordering on outright hatred, of whoever did this to me. As much as I appreciated being alive, it might have been better if I died outright. At least then my friends’ and family’s grief would have been based on something real. Right now, it was based on a falsehood fed to them by the government for no purpose other than to make sure no one knew about all their nasty little secrets. I still wanted to punch out the guy who did this to me, whoever he was.
“You seem angry,” Cy said, interrupting my thoughts. “I hope I didn’t say anything that might have offended you. I’ve been known to say things without entirely thinking them through first, but honestly when you talk as fast as me it’s kind of hard not say something offensive to someone at some—”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just thinking about something that doesn’t concern you. How long until we find other people?”
“Not much longer now,” said Cy without missing a beat. “We should be reaching Main Street pretty soon. Oh, wait.”
Cy grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop and look at him in annoyance. “What?”
“You can’t go out just looking like yourself,” said Cy. He looked me up and down. “Not that you look bad or anything, but if you’re going to be a Hero, then you will need a Costume.”
“In case you didn’t notice, Cy, I don’t have a Costume,” I said, patting my street clothes. “And I don’t have money to buy one, either, if that’s what you’re about to suggest.”
“Don’t worry about money,” said Cy. “As your Sidekick, I was given your initial base Costume after you completed your Origin Story. I was supposed to give it to you back in your Base, but it completely slipped my mind in all of the excitement of getting to meet a new friend. Let me give it to you.”
A notification appeared in my vision:
Sidekick Cyclone would like to give you the Ice Man Costume. Accept? Y/N
Curiously, I accepted the offer and soon found an item marked ‘Ice Man Costume’ in my item inventory, which was located underneath the button that led to my character sheet. I checked out the Costume’s description and stats:
Ice Man Costume
Rarity: Common
Material: Spandex
Description: A full-body superhero Costume produced by the enigmatic Synth Group. In addition to the Powers it gives you, it also looks quite stylish and comfortable, although you might feel a tad overheated in the summer while wearing it.
Powers: Ice Beam Level 1. Fire a beam of pure cold energy at enemies. Can be a continuous beam or a quick, one-off burst. Cost: 5 Energy.
Powers unlocked: 1/5
“So?” said Cy. “Put it on. I want to see how you look in it.”
Seeing no reason not to, I equipped the Ice Man Costume. I expected to feel different, but the only thing that seemed to happen was that my normal street clothes disappeared and I found myself covered head to toe in a full-body spandex Costume.
Although I lacked a mirror in which to look at myself, I could view the 3D model of myself that appeared in my pause screen. It showed an athletic, fairly muscular-looking guy wearing a full-body spandex Costume. It was blue and white, with snowflake designs etched into it. My eyes were now glowing a soft blue as well. It hid my face so well that even I wouldn’t have recognized myself if I didn’t know I was wearing it.
“I look really cool,” I said.
“Of course you do,” said Cy brightly. “Your name is Winter and you have ice powers.”
Realizing what I said, I slapped my face and looked at Cy. “Cy, next time I accidentally make a pun, I want you to stop me, okay?”
Cy pursed his lips. “Okay, boss, but I’m kind of surprised. I thought you were a true pun connoisseur, like yours truly.”
“Well, you guessed wrong,” I said. “Anyway, it says my Ice Beam Power costs five Energy. What does that mean?”
“Energy is what separates Heroes and Villains from Civilians,” Cy explained. “Scientists believe that the mysterious Energy Heroes and Villains emit is what gives them their Powers. It at least fuels your Powers, but once you run out of Energy, you can’t use any of your Powers. It does refill by itself over time, though, and there are Synth Group-produced drinks that let you fill it up faster if you want.”
Ah. Energy must have been what was called ‘mana’ or ‘magic’ in other games. “I guess all Powers have an Energy cost?”
“Not all of them do,” said Cy. “Passive ones, for example, don’t. Active Powers, on the other hand, do. Like every other Stat, you can increase your Energy with Stat Points you get from leveling up.”
I ran my hands along my Costume. “I see. But if Powers come from within, how do Costumes created by people unlock new Powers within us?”
“Power Crystals,” Cy explained. He pointed at the crystal in my chest. “Synth Group discovered these odd crystals in the earth which can activate Powers within certain humans when they are applied to human skin. No one knows how or why it works, but Synth Group managed to figure out how to weave Power Crystals into Costumes, which is why changing Costumes frequently can be beneficial to your growth as a Hero.”
I nodded and felt the glowing bluish-white crystal in my chest. “Interesting. If I take off my Costume, do I lose my Powers?”
“Yes,” said Cy. He raised one finger. “But only if you do so immediately. You can actually make your Powers part of yourself if you level them up to Level 5. Then you can take off your Costume but still keep your Powers.”
Hmm. I wasn’t a big fan of the Ice Man Costume, but it did remind me of the good old days when I played the original version of this game. Back then, I really did think Winter looked cool and—dang it, I was even making puns in my mind now. Cy was not a good influence on me.
Regardless, I said, “And if I wanted to get a new Costume, where would I get that?”
“You can buy them from Synth Group shops or shops that sell Synth Group Equipment,” Cy explained. “Sometimes they are given to you as rewards for completing certain missions and sometimes you can trade them from other players. But you need to understand that you can only use Hero Equipment and Costumes. Villain equivalents are useless and if y
ou get any you should sell it or throw it away because it’s just dead weight.”
“Once I get some credits, I’m going to do some shopping,” I said. I turned around. “Anyway, let’s get going. I want to see more of this place and—”
I was interrupted by a loud screaming sound above and looked up just in time to see a large chunk of metal crash down on top of me with the force of a meteor.
CHAPTER NINE
The force of the crash knocked me flat off my feet and left me dazed from the impact. Shaking my head, I saw a notification appear in my vision:
Someone fell on you! -5 Health!
What? I lost twenty percent of my rather meager Health with that attack. Was this some kind of Villain getting the jump on me? If so, I was not in the mood to play around, even if this was a game.
Activating my Super Strength, I shoved the chunk of metal off me and looked up at the rooftops above us. “Hey, who did that? Show yourself, you coward!”
“Uh, Winter?” said Cy.
I looked at Cy irritably. “What?”
Cy pointed at the chunk of metal lying on the street. “I think, but am not sure, that that is the person you want to talk to.”
“Person?” I said, looking at the hunk of metal that had nearly broken my back. “That’s not a person. That’s a—”
A loud groan emitted from the metal, which made me and Cy jump. Then, before my eyes, the hunk of metal began to unfurl, kind of like an armadillo, until soon I found myself staring at another Hero, who lay on the ground rubbing his armored head.
Unlike me, this guy was short and stout, but he was also built like a powerlifter, his thick muscles obvious even with his heavy green armor on. He was easily a head shorter than me, but I had a feeling he could beat me up if he wanted. His segmented armor reminded me of an armadillo. In fact, that was what he looked like: A green, humanoid armadillo, complete with a helmet that even looked like a dillo’s head.
Above his head, the tag [HERO DILLO] appeared in glowing green letters, which told me that his resemblance to an armadillo was definitely deliberate. It was really weird, but maybe his armor gave him special Powers or something to make it worth it.
