"Urgh, my head. What hit me?"
'USER IS SUFFERING FROM AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE 'EXISTENCE REALIZATION BREAKDOWN'. USER IS ADVISED TO REMAIN CALM AND PURGE THOUGHT-PROCESSORS.'
"Purge what?!" Jamie then winces in more pain. "Fucking stupid junk pile. I'm gonna need more comfortable sleeping arrangements than this."
'USER IS SUFFERING FROM AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE 'EXISTENCE REALIZATION BREAKDOWN'. USER IS ADVISED TO REMAIN CALM AND PURGE THOUGHT-PROCESSORS.' The blue boxes repeat this message.
"Stop it already. I get it. Stupid system."
Jamie then realizes why was he unconscious once more on top of the junk pile.
"No. Nu-uh. It's not real. I'm not in the future. No I'm-YEOWCH!!!"
'COUNTERMEASURE ADMINISTERED.'
"Stop that!"
'COUNTERMEASURE WILL BE ADMINISTERED UNTIL USER IS NO LONGER SUFFERING FROM 'EXISTENCIAL REALIZATION BREAKDOWN.'
Jamie was silent for a while then speaks.
"It really happened, right? I'm in the future."
'AFFIRMATIVE.'
"Can you bring me back?"
'NEGATIVE.'
"Why?"
'THE SYSTEM UNIT IS NOT CAPABLE OF TEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT.'
"Nothing you can do?"
'THE USER CAN STUDY TEMPORAL MECHANICS AND QUANTUM PHYSICS. USER CAN HARNESS TEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT WITH SUFFICIENT SKILLS.'
"You mean I can do it. By myself."
'AFFIRMATIVE. NOT WITH THE USER'S CURRENT CAPABILITIES BUT AT A LATER TIME. USER MUST INCREASE HIS CAPABILITIES ON A VERY HIGH LEVEL TO ACCOMPLISH THIS ENDEAVOR.'
"Really. Heh, thanks."
A moment of clarity.
"Hey. Why I'm thinking of going back? I've got no family. No friends. All the people I know are only professional acquaintances. The only relative I know of is a fucking asshole which I'd rather die than see once more. I'm called a nerd at shcoll, bullied due to that. Even the girls stay away from me. Got rrejected by each and every girl I asked out. Fuckers."
"The only thing I'm gonna miss are the modern conveniences. Well, fuck it. Time to go 'Mad Max' then.
'CONTINUE WITH 'TUTORIAL'?'
"Yeah, sure."
'USE COMMAND 'JOURNAL' TO CONTINUE.'
"'Journal'."
'PART 6: JOURNAL'
'THE 'JOURNAL' IS A RECORD OF THE USER'S ACTIONS AND GATHERED KNOWLEDGE. THIS CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:'
QUEST LOG: (The record of the tasks that the user has received. This 'Quests' can be tasks given by the system or any other being. They has the following details: Quest Name, Quest Giver, Description and Details, Objectives, Time Limits [if any], and Rewards.)
ACTIVE QUESTS: (Quests that the user is currently being accomplished.)
COMPLETED QUESTS: (Quests that the user has already accomplished and the rewards has been received.)
FAILED QUESTS: (Quests that the user has failed to accomplish.)
MAP: (The record of the users current and previous surroundings. Coverage is limited by users skills pertinent to exploration and map-making.
NOTES: ( The records of all gathered information. Can be used by the user to create personal records.)
"Okay, the system combined the Quest Log, Map and Notes into one function."
'AFFIRMATIVE. THIS IS TO STREAMLINE SYSTEMS FUNCTION AND REDUCE CLUTTER AND ERRORS.'
"That's okay, I guess. Can't complain about that. As long as those functions are available, I'm good."
'INQUIRES AND QUERIES? IF NONE USE COMMAND 'RELATIONS' TO CONTINUE.'
"'Relations'."
'PART 7: RELATIONS'
'THE 'RELATIONS' FUNCTION IS THE RECORD OF THE USER'S CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS AND FACTIONS. THIS RECORD INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING DETAILS: INDIVIDUAL/GROUP/FACTION NAME, GROUP/FACTION ALLEGIANCE [IF ANY], RELATION POINTS AND LEVEL TO USER, RELATION TO OTHER INDIVIDUALS/GROUPS/FACTIONS, AND RELATION LEVEL BONUS/PENALTY GIVEN TO USER BY THE INDIVIDUAL/GROUP/FACTION.
'RELATION POINTS CAN BE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, AND CAN BE INCREASED OR DECREASED WITH THE USER'S ACTIONS. USER CAN GAIN REALATION POINTS BY COMPLETING QUESTS OR DONATIONS. CAN ALSO AFFECTS THE RELATIONS BETWEEN OTHER INDIVIDUALS/GROUPS/FACTIONS.
"Okay, that's nice. If I know somebody from around here."
'EVERY SYSTEM FUNCTION HAS A TANGIBLE PURPOSE AND CAN AFFECT THE USER GREATLY.'
"Yeah, got it."
"TO CONTINUE, PLEASE USE THE COMMAND 'SUPER-NET'."
"Yeah, I'm interested what this 'Super-Net' is. Okay, 'Super-Net'."
'PART 8: SUPER-NET'
'THE SUPER-NET' IS THE USER'S ACCESS TO THE QUANTUM-WEBS.'
"Quantum Webs? What's that?"
'QUANTUM WEBS IS THE CURRENT EQUIVALENT OF THE INTERNET IN THE USER'S NATIVE TIME PERIOD."
"Wait, you mean I've got access to the internet? Real time, anywhere access to the internet?"
'ANALYZING QUERY.'
'ANALYSIS COMPLETE.'
'ANSWER: AFFIRMATIVE.'
"Oh. Oh wow. That's... Hehehehe..." Ominous hum from nowhere.
Jamie panics. "Wait, I'm good. No more maniacal laughter here."
The humming stops.
"Fucking System."
'CONTINUE?'
"Yeah."
'THIS FUNCTION ALLOWS THE USER TO ACCESS THE QUANTUM WEBS. UNLIMITED ACCESS WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS. EXCEPT FOR ANY INFORMATIO NREGARDING THE SYSTEM'S EXISTENCE. THIS ALSO GRANTS THE USER ACCESS TO THE MARKETPLACE.'
"Marketplace?"
'THE MARKETPLACE IS THE LOCATION WHERE THE USER CAN BUY AND SELL GOODS AND SERVICES. ALSO THE MARKETPLACE PROVIDES INSTANTANEOUS EXCHANGE AND DELIVERY OF SAID GOODS AND SERVICES.'
"Instantaneous exchange and delivery?"
'ANY ITEMS BOUGHT THE USER WILL BE INSTANTLY DELIVERED TO THE USER. ANY ITEMS SOLD WILL ALSO BE INSTANTLY DELIVERED TO THE CUSTOMERS. THE SAME IS ALSO DONE WITH THE AGREED PAYMENT.'
"That's really great. And so convenient."
'ANY ITEMS SOLD BY THE USER THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE WILL HAVE THE 60% OF THE SALES PRICE DEDUCTED AS PAYMENT FOR THE SERVICE. ANY ITEMS BOUGHT WILL HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 20% MARKUP.
"And now we get the downside."
'THESE CAN BE REDUCED WITH THE APPROPRIATE TITLES AND SKILLS.'
"That's what I'm talking about. Nice."
'ADDITIONAL QUERIES? USE COMMAND 'SETTINGS' TO CONTINUE'
"'Settings'."
'PART 9: SETTINGS'
'THE 'SETTINGS' FUNCTIONS ALLOWS THE USER TO MODIFY THE SYSTEMS CAPABILITIES AND FUNCTIONS TO AN EXTENT. USER IS ENCOURAGED TO CHECK THE 'SETTINGS' SUB-FUNCTIONS TO CUSTOMIZE THE USER'S EXPERIENCE.'
"Self-discovery, huh. Well, it can't hurt a bit."
----------------------------------------
A few moments later (Well, technically an hour later)
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"Wow this thing is really fucking extensive. Good thing every has description labels."
"Volume Up/Down (can be negated by enemy special attacks and skills). Subtitles. Even Visual Setting like Color Filter (Sepia, Grey-Scale, etc.)."
"Notifications, minimize and place in lower right of my vision. Notification sounds, lower to 10%. There, much better."
Jamie sighs.
"Yep, this is like a real game settings menu."
"Well, there's no Graphics Quality Settings or Anti-Aliasing. Or even RTX."
More fiddling.
"Hey, RTX effects is a Color Filter preset. Wuuut? That's crazy."
'VISUAL SETTINGS ARE NOT VISION ENHANCEMENT SKILLS. WHAT THE USER PERCEIVES WITH THE USER'S OPTICAL SENSORS IS WHAT THE USER SEES. IF THE USER HAS GAINED ANY TYPE OF VISION ENHANCEMENT WILL REFLECT ON THE USER'S VISION.'
"So no cheating with sight, huh. Can't remove grass or other blockages from my visions to see through them."
'USER MUST GAIN THE APPROPRIATE SKILL, VISUAL ENHANCEMENT ITEM, OR IMPLANT TO BE ABLE TO DO SO.'
"Wait, there are implants'?"
'TO LEARN MORE OF THE SYSTEM ADVANCED FUNCTIONALITIES, ACCESS THE 'HELP' FUNCTION.'
"Really gonna need to read that help menu after this."
'ADDITIONAL QUERIES?'
'THE TUTORIAL IS NOW COMPLETE.'
"Really? Huh didn't notice the time."
GROWL!!!
Jamie looks at clock on his cellphone.
"What the? It's lunchtime already? You really don't notice because I can't see the sun. Or the moon and the stars as well."
Jamie grabs two energy bars and the water canteen.
"Well, let's access the 'Help' function while we're at it. No need to waste time."
"'Help'."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jamie is now under the grip of an information overload.
He's learned lots and LOTS of things about the System. Too much information in fact.
He's going to have a really big headache. Again. For the third time in day singel day. That's gotta be record, right there.
Let's give you a sample of what he's learned. We'll start with manipulating the user's capabilities.
Want to pump up your Attributes? Stat Booster are for you. One for each Attribute. Some even boosts two or more Attributes. There are even rare ones that give Attribute Points.
Want to increase you Skill levels? Get some Skill Orbs. One type can boost a specific Skill or a group of Skills. Another type increases available Skill Points. Another one can even give you a Skill you can't normally unlock or not even available in the Skill Tree.
Want some other types of boosts? Get Training Modules that gives you Perks that bestow special bonuses to the user.
A little bit on the wild side? Mutagens are for you. Twist your own DNA by incorporating DNA from other species. Felines, canines, reptiles, primates, avians; if can name an animal, there might be mutagen for that. Whiskers, webbed feet, claws, scaly skin, shell, nightvision, infrared sense. Heck, it's not even limited to animals. Want to become a tree? Now you can. Turn yourself into an existencial horror. Of course, it's possible. Just mind the side effects. Like causing gibbering nightmares to unsuspecting stranger.
If turning your body into a machine is for you, then you'll gonna love CBMs. CBMs or Compact Bionic Module, are high-tech implants that can give you abilities beyond human. Want to breathe underwater or in thick, poisonous smoke? Oxygen Scrubber CBM is for you. Want to see in different energy spectrums or even in total darkness? There are a multitude of vision enhancement CBM to choose from. Need to power your CBMs without using an external power pack? Energy Storage CBM is the way to go! Be independent from charging outlets.Get your Kinetic Converter CBM today. Even charge your tools and gadgets with the UPS Plug CBM. And go superhuman with the Skeletal Augment, Tendon Reinforcement, and Artificial Muscle CBM. Just remember some of these implant can't be removed once installed.
If you're more on the mystical side, there is the Soul Crystsl. Crystallized energy from the death of a powerful enough being, these Soul Crystal can boost a user as long they are 'wearing' it. 'Wearing involves creating pockets in your soul and shoving the Soul Crystal into the pocket. This causes an indescribable pain to the one that has the Soul Crystal implanted. Or in the case of the user, simple place/remove as long as the user learns the Soul Grafting skill. Gain the sense of smell of a wolf. See the surrounding even in low light like a cat. Achieve the heat sense of a rattlesnake. Unleash the strength of the being from which the Soul Crystal was formed.
Cool tattoos with big buffs? You can rely on runes. Different patterns give different effects. Even forms runewords that give special bonuses on top of the runes themselves. There are even rare techniques that can only be used when you have specific rune phrases, an amalgamation of runewords.
And we're just getting started.
For the avid survivalist and building games enthusiasts, let's look at the VERY EXTENSIVE Crafting sub-system.
Build your own workshop. Craft and repair items from scrap, raw materials, and advanced crafting parts. From scrap armor to teleporters.From a dinky glass shiv to the biggest nuclear-pumped plasma cannon that can be used to shoot down the moon. Or shoot through it.
Build up your own base. Set up farming, defense and work places. Recruit other people to your settlement. Fortify it into a well-protected citadel.
Then make it mobile. Yep, gigantic fortress moving around decimating every opposition you encounter. Or just anything, if you're into that. Make it crawl, walk, or even fly.
A flying fortress of doom. Or even better, a gigantic space-going citadel. With faster-than-light drives to take you anywhere within the universe or beyond.
Well, you'll gonna need a lot of points sunk into differents Crafting-type Skill Trees for that. Yep. Skill Trees. Multiple of them.
That's not all. Enchancements. Imbuement. Sockets. Augments. Even make your own CBMs and mutagens with the right Skills investment.
Build you own vehicles, from the humble pedal bicycle to the most advanced FTL-capable space warship. Even create your own suit of power armor. Or a gigantic stompy mech to crush evertyhing beneath your titanic boot.
After all, they say a mech's just a bigger power armor. And many people would incline to agree. Even our Jamie will, if he can't get that migraine down, that is.
You can even cook to fame and stardom. Or just for the bonuses. Even both. Cooking is so much fun and worthwhile. Buffs galore provided by cooked meals. Gorge yourself while feeling good. It's not even a luxury, it's a necessity.
And when the day ends, you can sit back and relax into the LA-Z Boy you crafted yourself. With sonic massagers, temperature control...
And an advanced defense system capable of wiping out an entire city by itself. Nobody say comfort like having a recliner that doubles as a weapon of mass destruction.
And if you think we're getting halfway there, then you're not a very patient man then.
Advanced System operations. Use your System A.I. as an combat or support assistant. Make the A.I. an early warning system. Or for target acquisition support. Even use the A.I. to operate the autonomous drones the user has. With the right Skills, make the A.I. a versatile part of the User arsenal.
Companions. Other sapient beings, with high enough Relations Level, can be recruited.From frontline combat/support, specialized crafts- and trades-beings, or just plain boosts granted by having the being as a companion. Need a role to be filled? There's a companion for that.
If your're more into making pacts with non- and near-sapient beings, there's the Familiar sub-system for you. Similar to the Companion, but quite different too. Companions can only be revived with special Skills or rare items. Familiars can come back after dying, due to the Soul Contract between the user and the Familiar. Companions can leave anytime, but Familiars can only leave if the Soul Contract is broken.
You want somethign really special. Summons is the answer. VERY powerful beings, making contracts with other less powerful beings. Their demands are varied, but the price paid is worth it. Summon a fragment of their power into the battlefield for a small amount of time. Devastate the battlefield. Or heal and repair everone and everything. With the prodiguous power that the Summons possess, they can turn the tide of the battle in the summoner's favor.
You want to see the VERY EXTENSIVE Skills Tree Forest? Yep, that's right. Skills Tree Forest. A veritable forest of Skill Trees, each suited to a specific task.
You want to be a sneaky thief? The Subterfuge Skills Tree is the way to. A sneaky assassin? Add the Assassination Skills Tree. A sneaky assassin that uses poison. Then get cracking on the Crafting-type Skills Trees that has what you need.
Or go full-on Berserker with Combat and Rage Skills Trees. And that's just if you want start on that build.
Be an Elemental-specialty caster. Or a Paladin. Or a sword-and-spell wielding Spellblade. Go for lots of firepower with the Gunslinger. Youy have a specific class type on your mind? With the right Skill Trees, you can become that you want.
There's a Skill Tree for everything that you can think of.
Well almost everything. Even how extensive The Skill Trees Forest is, it cannot cover everything.
Like special abilities and techniques.
Like the Esper.
The greatest power classification that exists in the galaxy. Abilities, tricks, and techniques. Big or small, there's an Esper for it. Even from something as simple as levitation, to something as complex as creating and manipulating a star.
Imagine the power that these Espers wield.
And Espers are the reason why Earth is turned to an abandoned hellhole of a junkyard.