“You said there were ten foes. I counted nine bodies,” Rowan said as he walked away.

  [Cory]: Let me check the logs… The Beast Master accepted your offer and left the area. With his bear becoming a lawful pet, you also cleared the Monster quest. Talking about foes. When you go back, loot the bodies. Take only the weapons and the Stealth devices; the rest is of no interest.

  “Great. I always thought taking the boots out of the dead was gross.”

  [Cory]: Have you? Taken the boots from the dead?

  “A few times,” Rowan confessed.

  [Cory]: From someone you killed?

  “I never killed anyone before today. When I was a kid and living on the streets, I took the boots off from an addict who overdosed and an old geezer who croaked out. Sold them and bought a huge pizza with the money, both times.”

  [Cory]: I’m sorry you had a rough childhood. I would have bet you had killed before. You were… efficient.

  “I guess I had time to use myself to the idea an Apocalypse is about kill or be killed,” Rowan shrugged, sitting on a stump. Walking and chatting, he had arrived at the tree line about three hundred feet from the battle scene. In the distance, Isla and Thomas argued, gesticulating.

  [Cory]: This is the first time Isla killed someone, as well, and she’s more affected than you are. She’s scolding Thomas for going into the fight. But she’s as guilty, she left the cover herself. At least Thomas has a rotation of invulnerability, reflecting projectiles and damage reduction. Overall, for now, Thomas understands his class the best. Isla did the most damage, but you performed better and kept your head cool.

  “Yeah, Thomas is neat… I should start gaming, I guess. Why don’t you ask them to loot the bodies since they’re already there?”

  [Cory]: You do realize Thomas is a kid, and Isla had a near-death experience, right? Why traumatize them further?

  “If you say so,” he wrinkled his nose, unconvinced by her arguments. “I wonder… Those guys were many and higher in level than us, and we still beat them. How is it possible?”

  [Cory]: They were only tier E, didn’t use any active skill, and had normal human gear, which is subpar. Your spear took me a week to build, and with the proper skills, it could cut a tank in two. Isla’s gun and bullets are also enhanced.

  “Looks that Technoforge was well worth it… What’s this?” the young man picked something from the grass. It was a cigarette butt, shining blue, unlike any other cigarette Rowan had ever seen.

  [Cory]: NO!

  “Yeah… Littering is terrible… pfff… some people…” Rowan tried to sound convincing because he had done the same in his wild teenage years without any second thought.

  [Cory]: It’s not about the littering. That’s a sophisticated cloaking device.

  “The butt is a cloaking device?” Rowan widened his eyes.

  [Cory]: It contains a magical drug allowing you to enter Hyperspace, a place between dimensions. If you smoke that, you can get through forcefields and, sometimes, take other people with you. Err… What are you doing?

  “Safekeeping the joint,” Rowan said after storing the butt in his spatial inventory. There’s a bit of it left. You never know when it could come in handy.”

  [Cory]: Guess you’re right. Gross, but right.

  “You think someone helped the attackers pass the barrier by using that?”

  [Cory]: Yes. Something else worries me. That drug isn’t something a local could get.

  “You think other aliens noticed the Awakening and came to investigate?”

  [Cory]: Outsiders won’t intervene in local politics; they won’t care. The simplest explanation is some convicts might’ve escaped the Traipenent and sold their services to the government in exchange for protection.

  “Fuck! How many convicts are we talking? And how dangerous?”

  [Cory]: Depends.

  “Depends on what?” Rowan snapped, annoyed by the evasive answer.

  [Cory]: On factors I do not know. Let me explain. When your Town Core expanded, it accidentally connected with the ship’s deck and AI. I guess that’s why I became sentient; a part of its processing power and data transferred to me.

  Here’s what I know: The Traipenent crashed due to a Dungeon Break. Convicts escaped and attacked the crew. Following protocol, all the dungeon cores were ejected. Afterward, the ship went down and killed the crew and the escapees. The shock should have been too big for them to survive.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  However, the new evidence suggests some did. I just lodged a ticket with the System. It replied: You do not have clearance to access information regarding the Traipenent’s survivors.

  “The way the answer is worded means there were survivors,” Rowan pointed.

  [Cory]: Yes, but who? The crew would have stayed with the ship. I still have access to the cameras, and the Traipenent is empty. As for the convicts, those inside the ejected cores are supposed to be in stasis, and the ones involved in the dungeon break were max level. You three wouldn’t have lasted a second against them. So why bother to ally with the government?

  “Hm…” Rowan rubbed his chin. There were some possible explanations. Maybe there was only one survivor who didn’t like risks. Or… He shook his head, chasing his thoughts away. Ruminating on theories was useless with so many novelties around. “Maybe we should investigate the ship, you know, for more clues and stuff. Where did it land?”

  [Cory]: Just outside the county, a few miles from here… I tried to issue a quest about it, but the System refused. It says: After the crash, an automatic distress signal was sent. Before an answer is received, the locals are denied access. Forcefields have been erected to ensure obedience.

  “Didn’t you say there will be no coming help?”

  [Cory]: Help for the planet. A salvage expedition is another thing… Never mind that for now. Those are worries for another day.

  “Yeah, totally agree,” Rowan nodded. “Let’s talk about my build.”

  [Cory]: Before that… I’m level ten now and able to offer three more Perks. I’d appreciate it if you’d go with my suggestions. First perk: I can revive up to ten people daily, including you. The number increases by one for each of my levels.

  “What the fuck?” Rowan yelled. “Why didn’t you use it on—"

  “All well?” Isla shouted. “I’m OK now; we can go.”

  “In five, please!” he shouted back. “If you feel so well, loot those guys for weapons and the cloaking devices.”

  “What kind of gentleman are you to make a lady work?”

  “Do I look like a gentleman to you? Put Thomas to take their boots off. It builds character.”

  In unison, Isla and Thomas showed him the middle finger and turned their backs to him, heading for the nearest body.

  [Cory]: I told them the boots were unnecessary and shared your childhood experience with them. You sure are good at rubbing people the wrong way.

  “I call it selecting friends until only the true ones remain,” Rowan sighed, knowing inside the core was right and promising himself to invest in Charisma. “If you have access to such a powerful perk, why didn't you tell me when she was hurt?

  [Cory]: It’s a Rezz, not a Heal, and attuning somebody for a slot takes hours. I will start with a funny little creature, six years old, whose name starts with L. Do I have your permission to install that perk and proceed?

  “Thank you,” Rowan whispered and nodded.

  [Cory]: The next ones will be you, Grace, Thomas, and Isla. That leaves five more spots to be determined. The best would be prioritizing the best fighters and their families. The second perk I suggest is an upgrade to the Technoforge. Crafting better stuff in half the time.”

  “OK, I’ll trust you on that. Go for it.”

  [Cory]: Thanks. The third perk I have in mind is an upgrade for the Class Assigner Module. It will still be limited to awarding one hundred classes yearly, but the new version has access to more advanced classes.

  “Fine with me,” Rowan nodded.

  Cory]: Now, about your Stats. Stats are but a means to an end: Perks. Perks. Are. The. Most. Important. Thing.

  Of course. Without my third perk in Will, Isla would have died… Rowan shivered.

  [Cory]: Here is your Character Sheet now.

  Name: Rowan Allinder. Class: The Indomitable, Level 42

  STR: 34 / DEX: 31 / CON: 31 / INT: 25 / WIL: 75 / CHA: 19

  Will Perk, Threshold 1: Will and Wilt: Your Will replaces Strength as your Physical Critical Damage multiplier (1% per every Will point) and inflicts an Unavoidable DOT every 2 seconds on Crits. The Critical Chance depends on your Dex (+1% for every Dex point).

  Will perk, threshold 2: High-Tier Artifact User. Able to use high-tier Artifacts.

  Will Perk, Threshold 3: Full-Fledged Magic User. You can learn Spells or enhance items, skills, or perks with Magic.

  Strength Perk, Threshold 1: Miss? What miss? Your strikes have a 25% chance to ignore Evade, Dodges, Parries, or Blocks.

  Constitution Perk, Threshold 1: Tough Cookie. +25% all physical resistances, +25% to Natural Regeneration (HP)

  Dexterity Perk, Threshold 1: Subconscious Fighting. Even if you’re CC’d, as long as you’re not knocked out cold, your body can move on its own, striking the enemy.

  Intelligence Perk, Threshold 1: Strategic Sixth Sense. You can read a battle situation, politics, or ‘just’ moods with uncanny accuracy.

  [Cory]: Now, look at a simulation of your stats at the cap level, as they would be without more points from quests.

  60 free APs from leveling.

  STR: 46 / DEX: 43 / CON: 43 / INT: 37 / WIL: 87 / CHA: 31

  [Cory]: You have three choices. The easy, the hard, and the ugly. The easy: Max in WIL and threshold two in every secondary stat.

  “C’mon, we’re hungry!” Isla yelled. “We took everything.”

  “One minute, for fuck’s sake!” Rowan screamed back. “I’m checking my build.” Hurry, Cory.

  [Cory]: That will require just a tiny amount of supplementary free APs from quests. Easy enough. The hard way is to go for the third threshold in another Stat and the second in the rest except Charisma. That will require more quests.

  And the ugly is to go for the third threshold in two secondary stats?

  [Cory]: Yes. You’d need many more supplementary APs, meaning hard quests or grinding, and trying not to reach cap level when you stop gaining APs and gain Skill Points, which are a currency for advancing or buying—

  “Skills.”

  [Cory]: Yes.

  “I’m leaving in a minute, with or without you!” In the distance, Isla stared at him with her hands on her hips.

  “Coming!” Rowan clamored.