Project Alpha 2

by R. A. Mejia

  A hand on my shoulder brings me back from my self-pity, and I look up to find the same man. There is both pain and understanding on his face as he speaks. “Thank you for your tears. We know you worked with Lady Dantès and the rebellion to bring us to this moment.” He turns and gestures to the crowd around us. “Our country has much to discuss and decide upon. We planned for how to pull down our monarchy, but not what to replace it with.”

  I wipe the tears from my eyes and stand up. They do not have time for grief yet. There is still much work to be done. They’re going to have to learn from their past mistakes and figure out move forward. The same goes for me. “It is a big decision--one that may take a long time to work through with those with power. But I wish you well.”

  “Thank you.” He holds out his hand, and I shake it as he continues speaking. “I thank you for your aid in helping the rebellion.”

  With those words, the entire dungeon seems to come apart, and everything around me goes black.

  Chapter 12

  In an instant, the real world returns around me, and I find myself standing back in the alley, my hand still outstretched and making a shaking motion and with the Dungeon notification hanging in the air.

  You’ve completed the quest - Murder the Monarch

  You receive 110,000 XP and 11,000 credits

  Congratulations on clearing the Dungeon - Dame Rebelle

  I smile wearily after reading the notification. The XP is nice, and it even bumps me up to level 12, but it feels like a hollow victory after losing Pierre and Lady Dantès. I sigh wearily, clench my still-outstretched hand into a fist and put it into the pocket of my pants. Touching the leather, I realize that I’m still wearing the Leather Armor Set of the Caster and look around to see if anyone has seen me. The alley is deserted, and it’s no wonder. As I look up and see the stars in the sky, I realize that it’s the middle of the night.

  A few taps of my inventory, and I’m wearing the normal clothes I started with, and the dark leather armor is put away, though my inventory is maxed out. Another tap of my inventory, and my phone is in my hand. It updates, and I see that I spent 4 days and 17 hours of real time in that dungeon. It felt like I was there for a couple of weeks, and I marvel at how powerful the time compression is inside dungeons. I have to return home as I’ve already missed some classes, and from the many texts on my phone, people have noticed that I was gone for longer than I intended.

  I find the nearest door, insert my Home Base Key, and turn it. The door turns green, and I open it and step through into a black void. A moment later, I step out into my room at my mom’s house. The sun is streaming through the windows, and I recall that the time difference between Paris and here means that it’s still daytime here. I look at my bed and briefly consider just flopping down onto it and sleeping. Clearing that dungeon was hard work, and I feel like I could use a good rest. Instead of giving in and relaxing, I head to the shower to get cleaned up. After all, from my perspective, it’s been a couple of weeks without one.

  While in the shower, I look over the changes to my character sheet.

  Anthony Tinoco

  Level 12

  Unspent stat points: 4

  Unspent skill points: 21

  XP to next level: 192,747

  Health 260

  Mana 310

  TP360

  Strength10

  Dexterity12

  Constitution 15

  Intelligence 20

  Wisdom25

  Charisma14

  Credits 11,200

  Golly gee. No wonder it seemed like it was so easy to catch up to Lillian last year. After level 10, it looks like it takes as ton more experience to get another level. Heck, according to my character sheet, it’ll take me over 192,000 XP to get to level 13. I can only imagine how much XP it will take to reach level 14, much less something like level 20. Without regularly running dungeons, it must be really hard to level. Still, those aren’t the only changes I note on my character sheet. A bunch of my skills have increased in level too: Analysis - Level 8, Bludgeoning Weapons - Level 6, Deception - Level 5, Dungeon Mapping - Level 9, Inspect - Level 10, Sneak - Level 6. Basically, all the stuff I used in the dungeon got massive level increases, which makes sense. After all, that’s what the skills are there for: to be used to clear dungeons.

  As I study my character sheet, I notice that the skill Inspect seems to have a plus sign next to it, which I don’t recall having seen before. When I tap on the symbol, a new notification pops up.

  Skill Inspect has reached level 10 and can evolve. Evolution choices are based on the abilities, skills, and choices that the User has made.

  Please pick a skill evolution option: Disposition, Inducement, Credits, Stats

  I stare at the notification as the water from the shower runs down my body. I’m not sure what this means. At level 10, Inspect can evolve into something else. But does that mean I lose the skill, or that it just changes? And what about these evolution options? I tap on Disposition to see if I can get more information on what that means, and a new window pops up.

  You have chosen disposition as your skill evolution choice. Skill evolved to Inspect II - Level 1.

  Noooooooooo. I didn’t mean to choose that. I berate myself for just tapping away at the notifications without researching them first. I pull up the new skill description to see if there is some way to undo the choice.

  Inspect II

  Current Level: 1

  What, you want to know more about something? Then this is the skill for you. One of the most basic skills the System provides, it’s also one of the most useful. The skill provides information about an object, person, or thing. The user has to both be looking at something and intentionally seeking more information about it for the skill to activate. At early levels, Inspect reveals basic information. At higher levels, it will give detailed information including relating to material composition, social implications, and may even reveal hidden knowledge about the object of person.

  Bonus: Reveals basic information which will now include the disposition of the target of the skill.

  Well, based on the description, it doesn’t seem like my skill has been erased, just modified. The description isn’t exactly clear about what defines ‘disposition,’ which means that I’ll have to test it out. If I’d chosen any of the other options, does that mean that I would have gotten that info added when I used Inspect? I would have much rather seen what someone’s stats are than whatever disposition means.

  As the shower turns from hot to cold, I realize that I’ve just been standing there for a while now. I quickly finish getting cleaned up and step out of the shower to dry off while my mind wonders what influences these skill evolution paths. Does everyone get the same options? Or are they unique? The message said something about them being based on each Users skills, abilities, and choices. Something to research I suppose.

  When I check my abilities, I also see that they’ve grown in level too. Most of the levels gained increase their damage or the amount of time that I’m able to use them. Ice Needle has made the most gains, reaching level 8, with Hidden Vision and Shadow Step coming in at level 7. Fireball is level 3, and Spider Climb is at level 5. But Smash and Roll are at level 10 with a plus sign next to them.

  Tapping the plus signs confirms that Smash and Roll can both be evolved now that they’ve reached level 10, but I dismiss the windows, deciding to put off doing anything until I can either do research or ask Lillian about what choices I should make.

  By the time I’ve made the decision, I’m dry and dressed in clean clothes. I consider momentarily just leaving again but think back to the messages my mom has left on my phone. Even though I sent her a text saying I’d be out of touch, she must be worried. Well, that, and I can smell food cooking downstairs, and I’m hungry.

  The delightful aromas wafting from the kitchen make my stomach growl, and I remember that it’s been a while since I came home for a home-cooked meal. As I make my way through the house
, the kitchen comes into view, and I see my mom at the stove. She is wearing her apron and is holding a spatula in one hand and a pan in the other.

  For just a moment, I stand there and watch her. I’ve watched her cook a thousand meals, and each time, I’m amazed at what she can come up with. She must have some super mom senses, though, because even over the Spanish music playing, she says without turning, “Hello, Anthony. So good of you to bless this house with your presence.” I wince at the verbal jab, and she continues, “Marie called you, mijo. She wanted you to come home since it was such a long weekend. I've missed seeing you around the house too.”

  My first instinct at hearing how my mom and Marie missed me is to apologize and make up some lie about studying all weekend. After all, for over a year, I'd had to regularly deceive them about going to dungeons and being a System User. But I remember that I don't have to do that anymore.

  “I'm sorry, Mom. I was working all weekend on a dungeon I found in Paris.”

  There's a clank as my mom drops the pot she's holding onto the stove. Her shoulders bunch up slightly, but she asks in a carefully controlled voice, “Oh? Did you get hurt, mijo? Was it scary fighting those fantasmas?”

  I’m not sure if my mom is being sarcastic or not and just wish that I could tell. Then I remember that maybe I can. I use my newly evolved Inspect skill.

  Teresa Tinoco

  Mother to Marie and Anthony Tinoco. She raised her children alone and has worked since she was 12 years old.

  Likes: Her Children, Spanish Music, cooking, and root beer floats

  Dislikes: Her children in danger

  Disposition: Worried

  Bonus: She would like it if her son called or came home from college more.

  The blue box confirms what I already suspected, that my mom is worried, and I wonder if I should lie after all. I mean, why make her worry? I take a moment to consider what would hurt her more: a comforting lie or a difficult truth. My mom isn’t weak, and I admit the truth. “It was challenging sometimes, mom. I was by myself, and I fought, but even if I got hurt, I always healed, and I'm stronger now because of it.”

  My mom starts mixing the food again, and I think she feels better, but another use of Inspect tells me that she is still worried. She turns toward me, pan and spatula in hand and with a small smile on her face that is apparently meant to hide her feelings. “Lunch is almost ready. Why don't you tell me about it?”

  As the two of us eat breakfast together, I tell her about what the Paris dungeon was like and how it feels like you're being sent on some magical adventure. The danger is real, but so are the rewards. She listens, but it’s hard for her to understand the System since she can’t see any of the blue screens or notifications. She does, however, understand fast travel.

  “I wish I could have gone to Paris when I was younger or maybe traveled just a little more.” She has a wistful look in her eyes as she says it, but then she pats my hand and continues, “But it was not meant to be. Instead, I was blessed with my son and then my daughter.”

  The words make me feel a little guilty. I mean, I know that my mom sacrificed everything for us, but this is the first time that I’ve ever considered that she had dreams and aspirations before we were born. I ask, “Do you regret it, mom? Marrying dad, having me and Marie instead of …”

  I don’t get to finish my sentence before she squeezes my hand and shakes her head. “No, mijo. Not for one moment do I regret it. None of it.” There’s a fierce, determined look in her eyes, and I want to believe her. Except her disposition changes to Wistful. Still, there’s no point in pressing her on it. She loved us enough to make those hard decisions.

  I wonder how much it would cost to set up a portal to Paris, but when I check using my Home Base interface and coordinates that I grabbed while I was there, the cost is over 50,000 credits. Jeez, for that much, I can fly my mom to Paris and have her stay there for a couple of months. Which is suddenly what I decide to do. I mean, why not? I have the spare credits. Or, better yet, I can get Lillian to help portal my mom, and I can pay for the hotel bill.

  Plans playing out in my head, I kiss her on the cheek and imagine how happy she’ll be for Christmas when I give her the present.

  Chapter 13

  Heading back to my room, I use the portal system to create a connection between my Home Base and Monster Squashers Inc. The portal establishes using the door to my closet, and a moment after stepping through, I’m transported to New York and into the hallway outside Monster Squashers Inc. I walk through the office doors and find Kim, the short brunette office secretary, sitting at the front desk typing is Kim. She glances over while continuing to type and says, “Hello, Mr. Tinoco, the boss was looking for you.”

  I know it shouldn’t bother me, but Kim’s insistence on calling me Mr. Tinoco is annoying. It may be because the name ‘Mr. Tinoco’ reminds me of my father and he’s not someone I want to be like. Still, the lady is only doing her job.

  “Hey, Kim. Is Lillian in? I wanted to talk to her too.”

  “No. I’m afraid she’s out right now. I expect her back shortly, though.”

  I thank her, and she returns her full attention back to her work when she realizes that I don’t have any further questions. I wonder what to do next. I could port back home and go to class; I can still make my afternoon courses. But that wouldn’t help answer the questions I have with skill evolution. Looking around at the other facilities in the office, I recall that I still need to turn in 30% of the loot and credits I got for the dungeon that I cleared. I know that I found it on my own, but I already agreed to the split, and I’d feel guilty if I didn’t keep my word. Especially considering that it’s my girlfriend’s company.

  I open the door to Accounting and find a middle-aged man with a push-broom mustache wearing a striped dress shirt and a tweed coat sitting behind a desk, writing. He looks up, smiles and asks, “Hello, how may I help you?” It only takes a few minutes to explain about the dungeon I cleared. He asks a few questions about the location of the dungeon, its level, and what I received upon clearing it. He takes fastidious handwritten notes as I give my answers. He takes another minute to scribble some calculation before looking back up from his work and saying, “Let’s see here. Mr. Tinoco, you…”

  I hold up a hand to stop him. “Please, call me Anthony.”

  The man nods as if he doesn’t really care. “Okay, Anthony, you owe the company 3,500 credits. That includes 30% of the reward for clearing the dungeon and the estimated value of the equipment and items you received. I should admonish you to report the dungeons you find before you decide to clear it alone next time.”

  Confused, I ask, “Because it was dangerous to go alone?”

  “No, I don’t care if you kill yourself, Anthony. I care that you cost the company quite a lot of money by not reporting it to us first.” He must see the confusion on my face because he continues, “You see, you found a rather rare dungeon that actually allowed you to earn additional items. Had you reported it to us, not only would we have cleared the dungeon, we would have worked every available mission to purchase every magical book, weapon, and item that was there. From your description, you have cost the company something in the neighborhood of 100,000 credits in potential revenue.”

  I stand there, stunned beyond belief. I’d not considered that aspect, much less that it could have been so profitable to do that. I had only thought about how much money I’d get clearing the dungeon. I blink when the accountant hands me an invoice, and I quickly transfer the funds to the company. I leave the room with the accountant shaking his head and muttering something about ‘noobs’.

  I feel foolish after talking to him, but there’s not much I can do about it. What’s done is done. I notice a free desk with a computer and decide to try to find the answers to my questions about skill evolution through the company’s upgraded System Store. I begin my search through the many tabs there, and just as I thought, there is a section on data and information. In fact, there’s ac
tually a whole searchable database of information for me to look through. It has all been collected by Users that specialize in collecting data and doing research. It’s also not free. Each article or collection of information must be purchased. I guess it makes sense if you consider that these Users have to specialize their skill sets toward research and gathering info. Of course, they’d want to get paid for their work. The price tag for common information is around 100 credits, specialty subjects go for 500-1000 credits, and information about dungeon locations, quests, or other places that can potentially make money can go for tens of thousands of credits. It all makes sense, I guess, if you consider that each dungeon may give a User tens of thousands of credits when defeated. When you weigh the cost of getting a team together, outfitting them, and the potential loss of XP if you die versus the likelihood of beating the dungeon, it must make more sense for some Users to just sell the information rather than take the risk and pain of dungeon diving.