Daemonorg Prison-Lab: A Dark LitRPG / LitFPS SciFi-Shooter (Overtaken Online Book 1)

by Ben Ormstad

  In the long run, even if she turns out to be an enemy, it might prove advantageous to show her mercy now, I thought, bit my tongue and stared out into the hallway. The roasted stench from the cloakers I burned still hung between the walls like a ghost. So ultimately, I’m only capable of helping if it somehow reflects something good back at me, is that it? I grit my teeth at the shitty, but truthful realization. I had stuff to work on, for sure. Breathed out, turned and looked to Darius, before meeting Frida’s hazy gaze.

  “Okay,” I said at last, took off the backpack and found the MedKit. I grabbed the apple-sized red box with an engraved white cross on top. A soft, red glow emanated a deep warmth into my palm. “This’ll fix ya right up.” I placed it in her hands.

  “Damn,” Darius said. “What are you – a saint or some shit?”

  I snorted. “Not even close, man.”

  “Thank you, Dex,” she whispered. The MedKit disappeared in a bright, red light that covered her body.

  “I’ll check my stats and what not,” I said, relaxed my posture and leaned against the wall. Closed my eyes to block out the environment and give it my full attention.

  Show me a summary of all the most important notifications and messages withheld during the battle, starting with the Level Up-message.

  A swishing sound effect accompanied the notifications log screen that popped up in my mind’s eye. Utterly blown away by everything I’d accomplished and gained by the tumultuous experience, I mentally scrolled through the messages:

  *

  CONGRATULATIONS

  You’ve gathered 200 experience points and may upgrade to Level 2!

  Find a resting place to level up and manage your stats.

  *

  Killed 30 Corpse-Spiders – Level 1

  +300 XP

  *

  CONGRATULATIONS

  You’ve gathered 500 experience points and may upgrade to Level 3!

  Find a resting place to level up and manage your stats.

  *

  Battle-Marine Abilities Increased!

  +2% Melee Weapons Bonus

  +4% Ranged Weapons Bonus

  *

  Killed 50 Corpse-Spiders – Level 1

  +500 XP

  *

  CONGRATULATIONS

  You’ve gathered 1000 experience points and may upgrade to Level 4!

  Find a resting place to level up and manage your stats.

  *

  Killed 31 Corpse-Spiders – Level 1

  +310 XP

  *

  Battle-Marine Ability unlocked!

  THROWING WEAPONS

  Current intensity: 2%

  *

  Holy shit, how awesome is this? I thought, practically gaping in awe like a kid standing in front of a pile of presents the size of a Christmas tree. I had no idea I’d killed so many corpse-spiders, but I wholeheartedly believed it. After all, the grenades alone wiped both platforms clean, easily destroying thirty or more in one giant swoop. Also, I was happy to see the increase in my Ranged and Melee Weapons abilities. Good to know they improved as I used them. And the unlocking of a Throwing Weapons ability was pure gold. It meant I could unlock unknown abilities simply by trying something new and focusing on mastering it.

  Where do I even begin?

  I brought up the Character Statistics screen. A new message appeared in front of it with a swoosh:

  In total, you have accumulated 1310 experience points. Do you want to use XP in order to level up your character?

  If yes, how much?

  Is that even a serious question? Of course I wanna level up! I was about to intend it to use everything, but something stopped me and made me think. Why ask the question for no reason? Before potentially doing something stupid, I had to investigate. Tried asking a question directly to the interface:

  Can XP be used for more than simply leveling up?

  Indeed, Dexter Jonathan. XP might be used as a form of currency in certain territories. In fact, the use of XP for functions other than leveling up is still evolving among the Players and NPCs of this world.

  Here, XP is akin to the life force itself. Its potential is therefore open-ended.

  Hence, it is advised Players always keep a stash of ‘Unbound XP’ not bound in your character’s growth cycle.

  For a moment, I pondered the information. So the XP used to level up became ‘bound’ in one’s growth cycle. Okay, so in other words, ‘growth cycle’ was the term for leveling up.

  But, I thought, what happens if I have no free – or ‘unbound’ – XP if I ever need it?

  Should you need Unbound XP at a later point in time and not have any at hand, the rules allow you to extract it directly from your character’s growth cycle.

  Beware, though, converting Bound XP to Unbound XP means extracting the very experience you have accumulated throughout your journeys. The repercussions might be grave.

  Extracting Bound XP might lead to your character leveling down if you extract too much and backtrack beyond the previous level’s threshold. Resulting, of course, in losing all points and abilities gained by reaching that specific level.

  Wow, that seems risky. I felt a bit nauseated knowing I’d probably not even receive this information if I hadn’t asked. This game was something else. Fuckin’ different, for sure. Or maybe it was just because I’d somehow been assigned a random quest not intended for beginners. Again I wondered what the hell was wrong with Lily. Was it just her, or did every merge-assistant lie to their Players?

  Okay, I thought and brought myself back on track. For now, I’d like to use just enough XP to reach Level 4, and leave the remaining XP free, unbound.

  Unbound XP Stash created!

  +310 XP added to Unbound XP Stash

  1000 XP implemented in the character’s growth cycle.

  First time level up-info: Each time you reach a new level, you receive the following Leveling Bonus:

  +3 Universal Ability Points

  +3% Class Specific Ability Increase

  +3% Personal Specialty Increase

  +10 Health / Magic Points

  Assign them as you please.

  You upgraded your character from Level 1 to Level 4.

  Leveling Bonus:

  +9 Universal Ability Points

  +9% Class Specific Ability Increase

  +9% Personal Specialty Increase

  +30 Health / Magic Points

  Awesomeness! I studied my Character Statistics screen to get an overview of what had been upgraded, and to find out where I should assign the leveling bonus.

  [ CHARACTER STATISTICS ]

  DEX WALSH - Battle-Marine

  Level 4 – XP : 1000 XP

  Next level : 2500 XP

  Unbound XP Stash : 310 XP

  HP / MP — Unused : 30

  100 / 100 HP

  0 / 40 MP

  ARMOR

  empty

  Universal Abilities — Unused : 9

  — Strength : 1

  — Awareness : 1

  — Speed : 1

  — Agility : 1

  — Focus : 1

  — Stamina : 1

  — Communication : 1

  — Charisma : 1

  — Learnability : 1

  Battle-Marine Abilities — Unused : 9%

  — Melee Weapons : 5%

  — Throwing Weapons : 2%

  — Ranged Weapons : 9%

  Personal Specialties — Unused : 9%

  — Sensing : 5%

  — Lucidity : 5%

  Character States

  — Poisoned : 01:58:26 until dead

  As I scanned the stats I saw changes had indeed happened! For example, the addition of the Unbound XP Stash, the added numbers detailing how many points or percentages I had yet to use in the different sections, made not only the stats themselves, but the entire game, feel fluid and open-ended. Who knew what options might be added or created later on?

  But once again I’d forgotten all about being poisoned. Fear st
abbed me in my gut as I realized I now had less than two measly hours until dead.

  Keep your cool, I thought. Darius or Frida must know a solution. Either way, I had to get this done.

  I noted my health had recovered by leveling up. Great, and as expected. What was interesting, though, was the fact I now had 30 HP / MP that could be assigned to whichever of ‘em I wanted. As a newborn noob, as Darius called me, and a Battle-Marine at that, I didn’t expect to have any Magic Points at all. The first time I saw ‘MP’, I found it strange it was even displayed, as I wouldn’t even dream of being able to manage any form of magic until I at the very least received some form of guidance toward becoming a Cyber-Mage. The question was: Now that I had these 30 points which could increase my HP and/or MP, would it make any difference at all if I added them to the MP pot – or would they be wasted since I wouldn’t be able to use them until I’d put in, like, hundreds of hours of gameplay? As I undoubtedly wanted more HP, I played it safe and split the points.

  20 points to HP, and 10 to MP. Let’s see what happens.

  HP / MP

  120 / 120 HP

  10 / 50 MP

  Next, I considered the Universal Abilities. There were nine of them, and by leveling up three levels at once, I’d received 9 points. I generally enjoyed playing well-rounded characters, and it seemed logical that someone who eventually wanted to become a Cyber-Mage would benefit from having evenly distributed universal abilities as a foundation to build the class’s unique skills upon. Although, as I had no idea how long I would play exclusively as a Battle-Marine, I wanted to be the best soldier I could be.

  Hence, based on my limited, yet action-packed experiences so far, I decided I needed more purely physical skill, like Strength, Agility, Stamina and Speed. Also, a tad more Learnability to quickly grasp new skills and whatever else. After splitting the points, my Universal Abilities looked as follows:

  Universal Abilities

  — Strength : 3

  — Awareness : 1

  — Speed : 3

  — Agility : 3

  — Focus : 1

  — Stamina : 3

  — Communication : 1

  — Charisma : 1

  — Learnability : 2

  Distributing the 9% bonus points for Battle-Marines Abilities was a lot easier. I knew I would do a shit-ton of shooting, fighting and throwing stuff, so I split the points equally.

  Battle-Marine Abilities

  — Melee Weapons : 8%

  — Throwing Weapons : 5%

  — Ranged Weapons : 12%

  As for my Personal Specialties, Sensing seemed a lot cooler than Lucidity, although I expected them to bleed into each other. Even so, I could think of more immediately practical benefits to Sensing, and chose to put everything into Sensing.

  Personal Specialties

  — Sensing : 14%

  — Lucidity : 5%

  Upon finishing assigning the bonus points, I again got a look at my poisoned state:

  Character States

  — Poisoned : 01:49:13 until dead

  Nine minutes, ish, had passed since I started upgrading. Not too bad. I was afraid more time had passed. Feeling good about the upgrades, I closed the Character Statistics screen and my awareness returned to the dark cell.

  Frida’s blue eyes, now fully open and clear, met mine. Her face was clean and looked brand new – not a scratch or cut anywhere. She sat upright against the wall in a good posture.

  “A golden light flashed around you multiple times a few minutes ago,” she said with a smooth, soft voice and smiled. “Did some upgrading, did you?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, first time leveling up. And three times!”

  Still smiling, she said: “Yes, I can see that. Congrats.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m the one to thank you.” She brushed long, white hair from her brow and swept it back over her shoulders, exposing the velvety, white skin on her neck and the cleavage revealed by the black blouse.

  “We both are,” Darius said from the corner. He, too, looked fresh and fixed. His clothes were still dirty and bloody, but his face and body bore no marks of the violence he’d been through. “You’re a motherfrikkin’ hero.”

  Frida’s smile broadened. “Indeed, you are, Dex. Thanks again.”

  “My pleasure. I’m glad you’re happy.” Directed at Darius, I said: “By the way, looks like your HP is restored?”

  “Sure is!” He grinned and clasped a hand on Frida’s shoulder with an audible smack. “Miss Healer over here has magic hands, am I right?”

  Frida giggled. “I wouldn’t say magic, per se, buuut, sure, I have a few tricks up my sleeves.”

  “Ah, so you’re a Warrior-Medic?”

  “Yes,” she said and flashed a row of perfect teeth behind glossy lips.

  “Cool,” I said, but couldn’t ignore my dire situation any longer. Rubbed my neck and tried to dampen the uneasiness coiling like a sick snake in my stomach. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat and get to know both of you better, but I’m poisoned. So, yeah, kinda in a hurry.”

  “Poisoned?” Frida sat up from the wall and straightened herself. Threw a glance at Darius before pinning me with those deep blue pupils again. “Like poisoned poisoned?”

  “Yeah… Happened just a few minutes after I spawned about an hour ago.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Darius said. “How long you got?”

  “Uhm, one hour and forty minutes, give or take.”

  “Shit,” he said. “Why the fuck did you come for us when you’re on the brink of death, homeboy?”

  I shrugged. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”

  “So you’re a completionist?”

  “Not really, but if something interesting pops up, I tend to check it out. Anyway,” I said and turned to look at the hallway through the open cell door. “You don’t happen to know where I can get an antidote or something?”

  “First, let me try a thing,” Frida said and scooched closer to me on the floor.

  I looked at her with an arched eyebrow, a subtle smile lurched in the corner of my mouth. “A Warrior-Medic-thing?”

  “Indeed,” she said, positioned herself in a lotus position in front of me. Placed both her hands on my head and pressed down lightly. “Just relax.”

  A few seconds went by. Nothing happened. Then her hands began to shake. The shaking intensified. Suddenly a beam of heat shot through the top of my head, down my spine, all the way to my ass, and heated my butt cheeks. The warmth spread out from my spine until it covered my shoulders and waist. A layer of whiteness appeared in my vision. Soon it grew larger and filled my entire field of vision. I felt lightheaded as if having held my breath too long under water. A pressure built up in my eyeballs and it seemed everything around me started bending and twisting like during a psychedelic mushroom trip.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” I said, my voice sounding dense and strange in my own ears.

  “Never tried it before, so who knows,” she said. To me, the voice sounded muffled as if spoken through a wall of water. “Being a Level 6 Warrior-Medic, there’s only so much I’ve learned yet. Healing physical wounds by increasing HP is one thing. Poison, however, affects the nervous system differently. Buuut I’ve experienced abilities unlock by simply intending to use them, so that’s what we’re trying now.”

  “That’s comforting,” I said and forced a smile through the strange state I suddenly found myself in. Well, I think I smiled. My face stretched in a sort of grimace, at least.

  “Don’t push it too far, though,” Darius’ deep voice said from behind her. I could literally feel the vibrations of his voice move through the air.

  “I doubt I’ll be able to do any irreparable damage to him,” she said, giggling. “He’s pretty tough.”

  “One never knows,” Darius said. “His character is brand new.”

  “Level 4,” she corrected him, “I’m only two levels above him.”

  “Four thousand XP separate Level 4 Fr
om Level 6,” Darius said and laughed. “That’s not in any way an insignificant gap.”

  While they continued discussing, I zoned out. Reality became a blur of sounds, voices and colors swirling and blending. The heat in my head, spine and ass cheeks burned like flames, but in a good way, I supposed. Hopefully. Naw, I didn’t know. Nothing made sense anymore. At least I had a beautiful woman to look at. Well, a trippy Piccazzo-painting-version, for the time being.

  Out of nowhere, I screamed. An intense jolt of electricity fizzed through my body like a lightning strike. My vision exploded in a bright white light before everything turned black.

  17

  Slowly, I realized the soft sound belonged to Frida’s worried voice. Soon colors seeped through the darkness and transformed into my field of vision.

  “Dex…?” Frida’s well-formed face appeared right in front of me. Her white hair glowing with a subtle golden hue from the flickering torchlight outside the cell. Eyes big, blinking quickly, she shook my shoulders. “Can you hear me?”

  “Ye–” I tried. “Yeah.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  I squinted from Frida to Darius, who also leaned toward me. “What… happened?”

  “Looks like lil’ miss Healer over here zapped you real good,” he said, laughed and helped me up, back against the wall. “I cautioned her she’d better take it easy–”

  “Buuut I took a chance,” she said and smiled. “How are you feeling?”

  I rubbed my forehead. Bent my head back and forth to check my neck was intact. Focused on the breath while trying to wiggle my toes. It worked. My feet felt warm and damp in the black leather boots. “Think I’m good.”