Havok Bringer

Chapter 3. Galactic Social worker

“Can I at least get some pants first?” I said as I shuffled my way over to the table to try and hide.

“You will be assigned gear based on your class selection; we have one hour to cover pertinent information and select your class. The safe room will dissolve once that hour is up, and you will begin your crawl.” Tiff said in a rushed tone.

“What do you mean class selection? Is this like one of those Dungeons and Dragons games?” I asked jokingly.

“Dungeons? Yes. Dragons? We will have to wait and see, but it's not out of the question.” Tiff answered. “Andrew, listen, we don’t have much time. Think of me as a galactic social worker if that makes things easier for you. You’ve been put in a place against your will without knowing what you were getting into. I’m here to share information and help you get out of this dungeon in any way I can. I am now tied to you; your fate is my fate. I don’t have a choice any more than you do.” Tiff said as she hurriedly walked toward me. "Andrew, the dungeon isn’t fair, but the universal council ensures that participants are assisted, at least somewhat. The Lacertines want to ensure the number of entrants is limited and that participants are eliminated as quickly as possible. The Council is mostly neutral, but they must put on a front of fairness and equality. Any planet that somehow manages to retain the rights of reaping will inherit universal citizenship and become part of the galactic free state in which they reside. This rarely happens, like once in the last several thousand millennia, but the council loves to hedge their bets, and they want to ensure they look like the good guys just in case.”

Tiff started poking the air in front of her, seemingly oblivious to my still naked body, “The council instituted the Rule of Duplicity after the first Reaping. It states that for any boon, there must be a curse. Granted, this sounds bad, but before the rule, the seeding government would unleash chaos in the dungeon. It was utterly unfair to the participants and nearly always ensured that the seeding government would win the right to reap. Now, this doesn’t go for everything; items given to the participants by an outside entity invoke the rule of duplicity, along with some scarce loot,” she said.

“Loot?” I asked, “Are you telling me I get free stuff? So can I get some damn pants to start?!"

“Nothing is ever free, Andrew,” Tiff said, shaking her head. "That saying holds true on Earth as well as rest of the universe. Loot can be found or won by killing basic mobs, higher-level elites, and boss-level Monsters. Killing other participants can also reward loot, though the rule of duplicity will apply to loot obtained in this manner. The Rule of Duplicity is tricky; it is usually attached to some beneficial gear or item, but a drawback will be attached. Some of the drawbacks are minor or seem minor at the time, and some are progression-altering nightmares,” she said.

“In most cases, you will get a glimpse of the curse, a small description or hint. It won’t outright tell you what it is, but you can decide not to equip the item or put it in your inventory and lose out on both the boon and the curse. It can get tricky at higher levels.” Tiff frowned as she looked at me.

“Okay, we need to get started with class selection, but first, let’s look at your base stats.” Tiff said, “I'm going to unlock your interface; after this, I will no longer have direct control over your interface or skill point allocation, so please consult me before making changes after level-ups or spending free points gained from gear.”

As she spoke, I heard an audible “Pop” in my head. My knees got a little weak, and I staggered a bit.

“Whoah,” I said as I shook my head. “What was that? It felt like I was taking off in an airplane or something.”

“Humans brains have an immense capacity for upgrade. Think of it in terms of giving a computer more ram and an all-around hardware upgrade. Now, you’ll have access to the interface, and you will be able to assign stat points. Your body will adjust based on assigned points. You will see physical changes, along with some… other changes,” she said.

“Other changes?” I asked.

“I don't have time to give you an in-depth lesson in bio upgrades and wetware enhancements. For now, let's say that your neural upgrades were the result of super advanced technology given to all participants, but to you, it will seem like magic or the Force…” she said.

“Did you just make a Star Wars reference?” I asked, astounded.

“I’m a walking database,” Tiff said. “We downloaded your world's internet using the seeds when they landed, so I understand cultural references.” She smirked, “Now, focus on your interface; you should see your stats pop up if you want to see stats; it's very intuitive.”

Sure enough, as I started thinking about the word “Stats,” my interface popped up before me and showed my description and stats.

Name – Andrew Timothy Dawes

Race – Human

Level – 1

Class – N/A

Stats –

Strength 8

Intelligence 7

Dexterity 10

Stamina 7

Vigor 7

"What does this mean?" I asked as I read off my stats to Tiff.

"Only one really stands out," she said. "The baseline for humans is pretty much seven across the board. You are a bit bigger than average, which explains the increased strength stat." She looked me over as she spoke. "The dexterity is pretty high for a level one, though. Dexterity usually applies to agility, speed, accuracy, dodge, and the ability to utilize some two-handed weapons that aren't commonly used. Are you left-handed?"

"I thought you knew everything about me?" I joked. Making a joke that fell flat as Tiff just stared and waited for my response. "Yeah, actually I am, but I'm also a little ambidextrous," I said.

I'd switch between my right and left hands, depending on what sport I was playing at the time. For baseball, I batted right-handed but used a left-handed glove; for basketball, I shot left-handed; and for golf, I shot right-handed. I was a nightmare for coaches. Not truly ambidextrous but still having the ability to use both hands in certain scenarios.

"That explains it," she said. "Left-handed humanoids generally gain a point or two in dexterity, and being somewhat ambidextrous must account for the rest of the increase." She said, "Well, that's a start at least; it only gets harder from here, Andrew. We must pick a class now; once we do that, the safe room will disappear, and things will get crazy really fast, but if we can make it to ship selection, things will calm down for a few hours."

"Ship?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you? You're getting a spaceship."