The Player Plague Page 19
Secret Identity: Winter
Real Identity: Nyle Ash Maxwell
Level: 26
EXP: 0/15,983 (15,983 EXP to the next level)
Available Stat Points: 5
Available Power Points: 3
Alignment: Hero
Class: Fighter
Reputation: Household Name
Powers: Super Strength [Level 2], Ice Beam [Level 3. Next Level: 10 PP], Freezing Touch [Level 2. Next Level: 10 PP], Hero Sense [Level 2. Next Level: 2 PP], Dual-Wielding Ice Dagger [Level 1], Ice Shackles [Level 1], Ice Slide [Level 1]
Skills: Scan [Level 3], Perception [Level 2], Dodge [Level 3], Negotiation [Level 1], Dual-Wielding [Level 1], Blade-Throwing [Level 1]
Combo Powers: Blizzard [Level 1]
Equipment: Ice Man Costume [Powers: 5/5], Energy Cannon, Snowshoes
Kids Mode: Enabled
Health: 40
Stamina: 20
Strength: 30
Defense: 18
Charisma: 10
Intelligence: 15
Agility: 18
Evasion: 10
Accuracy: 15
Dexterity: 17
Energy: 44
Luck: 2
HERO STATS
Courage: 10
Justice: 11
Trust: 6
Fame: 511
Willpower: 9
I tapped my chin in thought. I hated seeing my EXP at zero like that, but there wasn’t much I could do about it right now. At this point, it was more productive to focus on leveling up my Stats and Powers than worrying about my EXP. My eyes also landed on the Kids Mode line, but I didn’t see any button I could use to turn it off. I suppose I didn’t really need to, given how it was the only thing keeping me alive at this point, but it still felt embarrassing to have to play with Kids Mode enabled.
Anyway, I realized that the main reason I had died against Giggles was due to my low Evasion. From what I understood, Dodge was based at least in part of a player’s Evasion Stat. Meaning that the higher your Evasion, the easier it was to Dodge. I found it odd that Dodge leveled up independently of Evasion, but I suppose Dodge was a combat Skill, whereas Evasion was useful for evading things in general (like a car running you down on a street, for example).
Shaking my head, I dumped all five of my SPs into Evasion, bringing it up to a solid 15. Still not particularly high, but at least it wasn’t my lowest Stat anymore. That honor went to Charisma. If Cy heard me say that, I was sure he would crack a joke about that. At some point, I would have to increase my Charisma, but right now I felt no urgency to do so.
With my three Power Points, I decided to put two in Hero Sense, thus leveling it up to 2 and giving me this notification:
Congratulations! Hero Sense has now reached Level 2! It is now much easier to sense when a Villain is nearby and you also have a 10% chance to see through even the most cunningly designed disguises. PP to next level: 10.
Good. Hero Sense had been very useful so far and seeing it at Level 2 meant it would only be more so. Hopefully, it would help me avoid getting killed like that again.
With one PP left, I put it in Ice Dagger. Ice Dagger had been incredibly useful, even life-saving, during that fight with the Stalking Shadows. And since it got upgraded to Dual-Wielding Ice Dagger, I wanted to make it as strong as possible.
With all of my Points distributed, I looked over my character sheet one last time to make sure everything was in order:
Secret Identity: Winter
Real Identity: Nyle Ash Maxwell
Level: 26
EXP: 0/15,983 (15,983 EXP to the next level)
Available Stat Points: 0
Available Power Points: 0
Alignment: Hero
Class: Fighter
Reputation: Household Name
Powers: Super Strength [Level 2], Ice Beam [Level 3. Next Level: 10 PP], Freezing Touch [Level 2. Next Level: 10 PP], Hero Sense [Level 2. Next Level: 2 PP], Dual-Wielding Ice Dagger [Level 1. Next Level: 9 PP], Ice Shackles [Level 1], Ice Slide [Level 1]
Skills: Scan [Level 3], Perception [Level 2], Dodge [Level 3], Negotiation [Level 1] Dual-Wielding [Level 1], Blade-Throwing [Level 1]
Combo Powers: Blizzard [Level 1]
Equipment: Ice Man Costume [Powers: 5/5], Energy Cannon, Snowshoes
Kids Mode: Enabled
Health: 40
Stamina: 20
Strength: 30
Defense: 18
Charisma: 10
Intelligence: 15
Agility: 18
Evasion: 15
Accuracy: 15
Dexterity: 17
Energy: 44
Luck: 2
HERO STATS
Courage: 10
Justice: 11
Trust: 6
Fame: 511
Willpower: 9
Satisfied with my stat spread, I closed my character sheet just in time to hear Cy scream, “Boss! Boss, get over here now! It’s …”
Cy kept screaming, which startled me so much that I jumped out of my bed. Unsure what was happening, I summoned an Ice Dagger and rushed out of my room, wondering just what the heck had happened to Cy and hoping I would be fast enough to save him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Emerging from my room, I leaped over the railings separating my room from the rest of the Base and landed on the floor with both feet. The initial fall was slightly jarring, but I recovered quickly enough and looked for Cy. I saw him standing in front of the front door, lying on the floor like he had been attacked. It was hard to tell if he was alive or dead from a distance, but I wasted no time in rushing over to him.
When I approached Cy, I knelt down beside him and said, “What happened, Cy? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
I didn’t see any injuries on Cy, but when he opened his eyes, he looked like he had been punched out. “Boss … you won’t believe what I … what I just …”
“What you just what?” I said. “Who did this to you? What happened?”
Cy pointed weakly at the door. “The door, boss … the front door …”
Thinking there must be some kind of trap, I looked at the front door but did not see anything out of the ordinary. I did see, however, what appeared to be a small computer console built into the wall next to the front door. It looked like a keypad with a small LED screen above it. The weird thing was that I did not remember seeing that console next to the front door before.
“What am I supposed to be looking for, Cy?” I said. “I see a keypad that wasn’t there before, but—”
“That’s exactly what I want you to look at,” said Cy. He coughed suddenly like he had come down with a terrible cold. “And I know exactly how it got here … exactly how it got here …”
“How, Cy?” I asked, looking down at Cy again. “Did someone break into our Base and put it there?”
“No …” Cy held up a piece of paper. “Look at this paper. It tells all …”
Puzzled by Cy’s cryptic words, I took the paper and read it over. It was a receipt for two Security Locks, a Security Camera, and free installation from Gerald’s Base Upgrades, along with a phone number, email address, and physical address for the business.
I looked at the keypad again, but this time with recognition. “Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about our trip to Gerald’s. His guys must have come by while we were away and installed the new security features.”
“Exactly,” said Cy in a weak tone. “That’s what I was trying to tell you …”
I looked down at Cy once more, a frown on my face. “Then why are you acting like you were attacked?”
“I was just so surprised to see it that I didn’t know how else to react,” said Cy.
“So you’re not actually injured.”
“Well, I did trip and fall on my butt, so—”
I dropped Cy onto the floor unceremoniously and walked over to the keypad. Examining it, I noticed a small piece of paper taped just above the monitor, which read thus:
Dear Customer,
We came by while you were away and, as agreed upon, installed the Security Locks and Camera in the specified areas.
The Security Locks can be opened with a DNA fingerprint scanner from you and your Sidekick, but there is also a password—05292016—which you can also enter to unlock the doors. Additionally, you can view the outside of your front door at any time by pressing the Camera button on the keypad, which will allow you to see just who is knocking.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at any time and we will be happy to help.
From, Gerald & Sons.
Hmm. Tossing the note aside, I pressed the ‘Camera’ button and the display above the keypad immediately showed a view of the front door. Right now, it was pretty dark outside even with the streetlights, but I could still see that no one was standing at the door waiting to come in. I pressed the Camera button again and it shut off.
“Interesting,” I said. “Looks like it works, at least.”
“I know,” said Cy. He jumped to his feet, rubbing the back of his head but otherwise seeming back to his normal self. “Isn’t it cool? We’ve finally upgraded our Base.”
“Yeah, I see that,” I said. “So what kind of benefits do I—”
My question was answered for me when a notification suddenly popped up in front of me which read:
Congratulations! You have upgraded your Base for the very first time! Your Base is now +1% safer! Check your Base Stats under the ‘BASES’ tab in your menu for more information.
Bases tab? Base Stats? I looked at my menu and saw, for the first time, a tab labeled ‘BASES.’ Clicking the tab, I got a character sheet that displayed a miniature 3D model of my Base next to its Stats:
Name: Warehouse 13 [Edit]
Base Owner: Winter
Base Type: Warehouse
Level: 1 [EXP to next level: 100]
Base Points: 0
Security Features: 2x Security Locks [Level 1], 1x Front Door Security Camera [Level 1]
Allowed access: Winter, Cyclone
Size: 100,000 square feet, 30 feet high
Rooms: Winter’s Room, Cyclone’s Room, Kitchen [Added]
Security Level: Basic
Windows: 50
Entrances: 2
Number of occupants: 2/50
Base Powers: N/A
“Huh,” I said as I looked over my Base’s Stats. “I didn’t realize my Base counted as its own character, complete with Stats and Equipment.”
“Sure,” said Cy. “That’s how you upgrade your Base and make it better.”
I looked at Cy suddenly. “But if that’s the case, then how did I add all of that kitchen furniture before? I didn’t even see this tab when I was installing the Kitchen.”
“You don’t need the BASES tab to put in furniture and the like,” Cy explained. “You can do that from your inventory. But if you really want to take your Base to the next level, then you need the BASES tab, which you only get access to when you increase it’s Security Level in some way.”
I nodded. “I see. How do I get experience for my Base and get Base Points?”
“You get experience for your Base by adding stuff to it,” Cy said. “For example, if you added a new room onto your Base, you might get enough experience to allow it to level up once, which would get you one BP as a result. And Base Points basically act the same as Power Points and Stat Points. You can use them to level up Security Features, but Security Features only need five BP to reach the next level, rather than ten for PP. Your Base gets one BP every time it levels up.”
I stroked my chin and looked at my Base Stats again. Once again, I was glad that Cy was willing to explain this stuff to me, because if I didn’t have his help, I wasn’t sure I would have figured it out on my own.
“Sounds to me like Bases level up like characters, then.”
“Sort of,” said Cy. “Leveling up a Base is a lot harder than leveling up yourself, mostly because you can’t really have your Base go around fighting other Bases or Hideouts and getting experience like you can. But that would be really cool if they did, now that I think about it.”
“Right,” I said. “Can you get BP from completing missions?”
“Sometimes,” said Cy. “You can get anything as a reward for completing a mission. Literally anything. But in my experience, most missions don’t give our BP as a reward unless it’s a mission related to your Base somehow.”
I frowned. “Are there any limits to how high I can level up my Base or not?”
“There are,” said Cy. “Bases, unlike Heroes and Villains, can only reach Level One Hundred. Once you hit Level One Hundred, then you can either sell your Base off and upgrade to a bigger one or even convert it into a Team Headquarters.”
“Team Headquarters,” I repeated. “I think you mentioned that to me once during the Blackout when I formed Team Winter.”
“I probably did,” Cy said. “Team Headquarters are basically Bases designed for Teams. Not only do they tend to be bigger and more expensive than single Bases, but they are also much harder to level up. Not too many Teams have Team HQs because most Teams don’t last long enough to do that.”
I scratched my chin and glanced at the ‘TEAMS’ tab on my menu. “My current Base doesn’t count as a Team HQ, even though I haven’t disbanded Team Winter yet?”
“No, it doesn’t,” said Cy. He held up a finger. “First off, your Teammates still have their own individual Bases. If this was a Team Base, they’d all be living here with us and we’d be like one big happy family. Actually, now that I think about it, why not call everyone here? I’d love to have more roommates, especially Recover, and it’s definitely not because I think she’s a sexy beast or anything like—”
“I get it,” I interrupted Cy. “Once a Base becomes a Team HQ, what happens to the Bases belonging to the Teammates?”
“Usually, Heroes and Villains sell off their Bases to other Heroes and Villains,” said Cy. “Or just abandon them and let them be used by another Hero or Villain.”
“You mean that Bases sometimes get reused for new players?”
“Sure,” said Cy. He gestured at Warehouse 13. “In fact, this very Base used to belong to a Hero known as Faded Flag. Remember how I explained how Sidekicks are sometimes reused? Same principle for Bases.”
My attention—which had been divided between my Base Stats page and Cy’s explanation—suddenly snapped back to Cy. “Wait, my Base was owned by another Hero before me and you only let me know about this now?”
“Didn’t I mention that to you before?” asked Cy. He scratched the back of his head. “I thought I did, but I guess I didn’t. My bad.”
“How do you know this?” I said. “Was Faded Flag your last Hero?”
“No,” said Cy, who immediately stopped meeting my gaze when I said that. “I don’t even know who he is. I just found the basement and—”
“What basement?” I said. “Where?”
Cy gestured vaguely back in the directions of our rooms. “There’s a basement underneath the warehouse. Didn’t I tell you that?”
Doing my best to keep my temper in check, I said, “No, you didn’t.”
“Oh,” said Cy. He frowned. “You know, boss, I’m starting to think we really need to work on our communication.”
“Yes, I agree,” I said through gritted teeth. “Now what do you mean about a basement?”
Cy clapped his hands together. “Okay, so remember about a week ago when you told me to buzz off because you were trying to sleep and I couldn’t sleep?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I remember that. I was exhausted because we’d spent all day level-grinding and still didn’t level up.”
“Exactly,” said Cy. “So, because I wasn’t tired, I decided to explore the Base a little. And that’s how I found a secret entrance to the basement I didn’t even know was there.”
“What did you find in the basement?” I asked.
“Lots of stuff,” said Cy,
“including a box of Equipment left over by Faded Flag. That’s how I found out this Base used to belong to him because there was a contract in the box stating that this place used to belong to him, but I don’t know what happened to him or—”
“Cy,” I said. “Show me the basement. If we’re going to be stuck here for an hour, I might as well spend that time getting to know my own home better.”
“Sure thing, boss,” said Cy. He bounced past me like he had springs in his shoes and said, “Follow me! It’s not far from here and is easy to find.”
I turned and followed Cy, but unlike him, I didn’t bounce. I did, however, walk quickly, because I was just as interested in learning about what was hidden in the basement as he was. If there were some good items or Equipment leftover by the last owner of this place, then it would be worth the effort of checking.
And if it turned out to be a waste of time … well, I can’t say I have any right to be surprised, given how Cy is the master of wasting time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
As it turned out, the entrance to the basement was located in, of all places, the Base’s bathroom, which was located a couple of doors down from me and Cy’s rooms. Although Capes Online did not require bathing or even using the toilet like you might need to do in real life, players who showered and bathed regularly nonetheless got nice buffs for doing so. One such buff was the Clean buff, which made you smell better and gave you a +5 in Charisma for twelve hours. Given how my Charisma was my lowest Stat, I felt like showering daily was usually a good investment of my time.
But, despite having used the bathroom multiple times ever since arriving in the game, I had never even considered there might be a secret entrance to the basement. As I entered the somewhat small bathroom, I looked around it to see if I could spot the secret entrance without Cy’s help.
The bathroom was small and simple. There was a claw foot tub and shower in the upper left corner, while a toilet stood next to it. To my right was a small bowl sink with a mirror above it and behind the mirror was my shaving gear. Yes, I needed to shave despite the fact that this was a game and not real life. In fact, seeing my razor sitting on the edge of the sink reminded me of the fact that I hadn’t shaved in a couple of days due to how much stuff I had been doing. There was also an empty clothes hamper between the tub and the toilet.