[User Cynthia has logged out]
Dags stared at that for a moment and let out a sigh. He was back to being alone again. Well, at least this gives him some time to sort through everything he'd learned so far. He could recall everything that they'd gone through so far with extreme clarity.
"It's almost like a recording… actually, wait, is it a recording? I'm an AI so maybe it is…" He shook his head. It would take some more getting used to being this digital entity, but he was glad that he had this ability. After reviewing every scene in his head over once again, he made several judgements on things Cynthia could improve upon. Since he could only repair himself by assisting her, it was imperative that he helps her in any way he can to make her stronger.
Dags brought up the map to the city, and made a plan on the next things they should do. Dags was quite into firearms before his death, and he could help teach Cynthia the basics. Currently her aim was all over the place. While it's somewhat fine in those alleys where the enemies were close up, that won't always be the case. She was a [Marksman] class after all, and she needed accuracy to take advantage of her kills. The class had a unique advantage over the others. The specialty of the class was 4x damage on critical hits! All other classes only got a 2x bonus for a critical hit. This information was found in the guide, which he gave a more thorough read of now that he had time.
"Alright, first things first, she should head to Resolute to turn in her quest and offload those nasty rats. This will give her some spending money and XP. Hopefully she can also level up from that since she's close." He nodded while rubbing his smooth blue chin. He then got a little sad as he kind of missed his old beard, but there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it.
"After that, I'll advise her to go to the shooting range that's a short walk away from Resolute. She definitely needs to train her aiming skills. If she's engaging anything over 5 meters away, she'll definitely just waste all her ammo and not do much damage." As she only had a pistol with iron sights right now, her maximum range for effective fire was probably within 30 meters. She had to at least be able to reliably hit a target that far consistently he thought. Eventually when she leveled up more and earned enough money, she'll need a proper [Marksman] weapon. Hopefully some kind of designated marksman rifle (DMR) or a precision bolt action rifle. He wasn't yet sure on if there were any class restrictions on types of guns for classes.
"Next she can check out a weapon and equipment store. She needs to replenish her ammo, and can check out her options for the future." Cynthia was currently down to about one and a half magazines worth of ammo, about 16 rounds total. She'll need extra magazines and ammo to take on tougher opponents. It was a shame she could only hold 3 magazines on her current gear, otherwise it wouldn't be so troublesome.
The way the inventory works is that you have to open your menu and grab what you want out of it. This takes too much time normally in the middle of combat. If you take items out and put them onto your person, they are readily accessible without having to fumble with the menu screen. Because of this, getting the proper gear to store everything you need on your person is important. Storage items include belts, tactical vests, pants, or pouches. Backpacks would work as well, but at that point it would make more sense to store it in your inventory.
Dags had also gone through the [Marksman Basics] in the information tab, but it was mostly stuff he'd already learned in his previous life. It wasn't very detailed, truly being just the basics of how to use the class. Perhaps they wanted the players to figure the rest out themselves. [Marksman Basics] basically included information on staying far away from the fight, keeping yourself concealed, bullet drop and how wind affects it, taking your time to aim, and making shots count.
With that out of the way, he turned his attention to the last item on his list for now. He pressed on the [Helmet Systems] button that he hadn't had a chance to use yet. A new menu popped up, showing a list of what he could do with the helmet.
[Helmet Microphone]
Turns on the microphone. Able to hear nearby audio sources.
PP: 1
Energy Cost: 0.1 per minute
[Helmet Visor Vision]
Projects the current view of where the NanoPhase helmet is facing.
PP: 5
Energy Cost: 1 per minute
[Transmit Sound]
Transmit sound through the speakers built into the NanoPhase helmet. Audible range is quite small. Works even while User is in-game.
PP: 100
Energy Cost: 20 per minute
[Hologram]
Project hologram onto any surface near the NanoPhase helmet, or even the visor itself. Works both in the real world and in game.
PP: 5000
Energy Cost: 1000 per minute
Dags frowned at the first two. If he wasn't a person with a conscience, this could easily lead to an invasion of privacy.
"That's pretty suspicious… Why are these a feature for an AI? Those designers could potentially be a little malicious…" He didn't want to think about the moral implications this brought up. Still, these could come in handy to gather information. He was in the dark about the outside world since it had likely been decades past his original death.
"These last two are too expensive for me right now, but I look forward to being able to utilize them." These functions let him actually talk and show himself. They were out of his reach for now, but someday he should be able to. He would finally be able to have a conversation instead of just talking to himself or typing.
Now, Dags was undergoing a bit of a moral dilemma. He wanted to know what was going on outside, but he also didn't want to intrude on Cynthia's privacy. He assumed that the helmet was resting somewhere in her room, and he might see something he shouldn't. After an agonizing few minutes of contemplation, Dags begrudgingly decided to use the systems of the helmet. His curiosity got the better of him, and he was tired of this dark black space around him.
[Audio and visual transmission has started]
"Uh…" The first thing he saw was a giant stuffed bunny in front of his eyes. It blocked most of what he could see. Fortunately, he could see a little past the side of it. From what he could tell, it was a fairly large room. Dags surmised that he must be sitting on a bed, seeing as there were sheets at the bottom of his vision. Everything looked fairly normal, albeit girly. That should've been expected though for a young girl's room.
Eventually, his eyes fell on a device projecting what appeared to be some TV show. It was a 3D hologram that was almost real looking if not for the transparency of the projection. It didn't seem like the audio for it was currently on, as his microphone wasn't picking up anything either.
"Quite advanced, huh? Wonder how much something like that costs. Doesn't seem Cynthia is in here right now either." After looking around, released a bit of tension in his mind. Thankfully he hadn't seen anything he shouldn't have. At that moment, he started hearing some noises that seemed to be coming from farther to the side. He couldn't see that far over though and could only try to discern what it was.
The sound of a door opening and closing reverberated through the room, and then a quiet voice was heard.
"Sigh. Father is still too busy. I wish he would at least come to attend dinner with us." Cynthia, who had just walked in, grumbled.
"Her father is a busy man by the sound of it. Well, that should be the case if he can get his hands on this experimental helmet." Dags felt a little bad for the girl. Judging from her words, she didn't get to see her dad often.
As he was lost in thought, Cynthia flopped down onto her bed face first, making the helmet bounce up and tumble around.
"Ah! Whoops forgot I left it sitting there. Sorry Mr. Snuggles!" Cynthia apologized to what he guessed was the giant bunny and picked up the helmet putting it on her lap facing up at her. Dags scratched his cheek, slightly looking away. She was wearing some casual housewear and glasses. It was just some thin and loose crop top. From the angle of the helmet, it was a little risqué.
"Alright, time to get back in there." Cynthia suddenly said, psyching herself up. She laid down and put the helmet on, closing her eyes. Seeing that, Dags quickly shut off the two helmet functions, going back to his dark space.
[User Cynthia has logged in]