Darren remembered then about the other thing he'd asked EDS for.
"What about the party features?" Darren asked. "I'm grateful to have this money, but how is it going to help me give Aiden and Ava access to the party features?"
"Well, I just came up with something for that very purpose. You only need to open the Store in the interface and purchase the Knight's Beacon. If you give one to each Aiden and Ava, they will have limited access to my features. You can also purchase the Companion Band, which is a device worn on the wrist which provides further benefits," EDS explained.
Darren hurriedly opened the store and searched for the items EDS had mentioned to him. Once he found both items, he selected them and added them to his cart. A prompt came up asking if Darren wanted more information, to which he said yes. Suddenly, the screen changed and was filled with a ton of information.
- - -
Name: Knight's Beacon + Companion Band
Type: Device + Wearable
Function: Limited access to EDS for non-Knights
---
Description:
The Knight's Beacon + Companion Band is a combination of a hand-held device and a wearable that works together to provide non-Knights limited access to the Earth Defense System (EDS). This combo is designed to offer seamless integration for non-Knight allies, granting them party features, stat monitoring, and enhanced communication with Knights. The Knight's Beacon is the core device, while the Companion Band ensures continuous access and provides some additional passive benefits. Users of these devices will be granted the title of Squire.
---
Knight's Beacon:
This sleek hand-held device functions as the primary hub for Squires, providing them with vital features to support their Knight allies.
Key Features:
Party Connection:
- Function: Links Squires to a Knight's party system.
- Details: Allows the Knight to track the status of their Squires and vice versa. The Squire's basic stats (health, stamina) are visible to the Knight, and any status effects can be monitored.
Status Display:
- Function: Displays health, stamina, and basic stats.
- Details: Provides Squires with a basic HUD to monitor their own physical status, offering clarity during stressful or dangerous situations.
Minimap:
- Function: Shows the immediate environment.
- Details: Marks allies, enemies, and terrain features within a 250-meter radius.
Command Relay:
- Function: Allows Knights to communicate with non-Knights.
- Details: Enables the Knight to issue orders, warnings, or instructions, streamlining team coordination.
Basic Augmentation:
- Function: Temporary stat boost.
- Details: The Beacon can enhance a Squire's physical capabilities by 50% for 10 minutes with a one-hour cooldown.
---
Companion Band:
The Companion Band is a wearable device that pairs with the Knight's Beacon, enhancing the connection and providing passive boosts and continuous communication. It is worn around the wrist and looks like a sleek, high-tech bracelet with a faint, pulsing glow when activated.
Key Features:
Continuous Status Monitoring:
- Function: The Band tracks the wearer's health, stamina, and basic stats in real-time.
- Details: Unlike the Beacon, the Band keeps constant track of the user's vitals and stats, automatically alerting the Knight if the wearer is in danger (e.g., low health or stamina). The Knight receives an alert through their own HUD.
Auto Sync:
- Function: Syncs automatically with the Knight's party system.
- Details: Once paired with the Knight's Beacon, the Band maintains a constant connection, even if the Beacon is not actively in use. This ensures seamless communication between the Squire and the Knight.
Mini-Boost:
- Function: Provides a passive stat boost to the wearer.
- Details: Wearing the Companion Band grants a permanent 25% boost to the wearer's stamina and agility. This bonus is useful for keeping Squires in the fight longer and more efficiently.
Emergency Pulse:
- Function: Automatically enhances the wearer's physical abilities when they are in immediate danger.
- Details: If the wearer's health drops below 25%, the Band releases an emergency pulse of energy that boosts their vitality and stamina by 50% for five minutes. This feature can only be triggered once per day.
Communication Pulse:
- Function: Keeps Squires and Knights in constant communication.
- Details: The Band allows real-time voice and text communication between the Knight and the wearer.
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Combined Functions:
Link-Up Mode:
- Function: When both the Knight's Beacon and Companion Band are used together, they provide enhanced coordination features.
- Details: Squires can see not only their own minimap but can also view a more detailed map of the larger area, including enemy and ally movements detected by the Knight.
Party Tactics:
- Function: Allows Knights to assign tactical roles to Squires.
- Details: Knights can designate specific tasks to their Squires through the devices, including defense positioning, recon duties, or support roles. The Companion Band will issue real-time feedback and guidance on how to best fulfill these tasks.
Coordination Bonus:
- Function: Grants a temporary bonus when Knight and Squires work in close proximity.
- Details: When the Companion Band is within 200 meters of the Knight, both parties receive a 10% boost to defense and resistance as long as they are in sync (coordinating their movements or attacks).
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Usage:
- Purchase: Knights can acquire the Knight's Beacon and Companion Band through the EDS store.
- Activation: The Knight's Beacon must be linked manually to each Squire's Companion Band. Once paired, the Band will continuously monitor and communicate, even without direct input from the Knight.
- Limitations: The Companion Band does not grant combat abilities to Squires but provides them with support features to assist Knights in battles or missions.
- - -
Darren felt a rush of excitement. "Man, this is unreal. It's like the ultimate RPG, but I'm actually living it."
"I aim to provide the most effective tools to ensure your success, Darren," EDS said, sounding almost... proud. "You have much potential. I look forward to seeing how you apply it."
Darren stared at the minimap and power gauge, feeling more prepared than ever. "Me too, EDS. Me too."
Darren saw that the total price for two Knight's Beacons and two Companion Bands was a whopping five million gold coins. He grimaced at the cost, but remembered that was only about a fifth of the total amount he'd already earned through leveling up and auto-looting. Besides, it would be worth it if he could really grant Aiden and Ava some level of access to EDS and protect them from the seemingly ever-evolving threats out there.
Darren made the purchase and suddenly two Knight's Beacons and their Companion Bands appeared in his inventory. The Knight's Beacons were sleek, compact objects, about the size of a smartphone but with a more rugged, futuristic designs. They had obsidian black casings with silver accents, etched with faint glowing blue runes that pulsed when in use. It looked like a small holographic display would pop up from the surface when activated. The Companion Bands were sleek and narrow, and matched the obsidian black color of the casing of the Knight's Beacons, down to the same silver accents and faint, glowing blue runes.
Darren looked out of the window. Dark clouds rolled by overhead and a light drizzle fell peacefully on his sleepy little neighborhood. The apartment complex he, Aiden and Ava lived in was not far from the college he'd been attending, and similarly close to the school his siblings attended, which made life a bit more convenient, considering the fact that he couldn't afford a car.
Ever since their parents had died, Darren had just barely been able to get by. He'd worked any jobs he could find and once he went to college he took any paying gig on or around campus that he could get his hands on, from freelance writing and photography to tutoring fellow students, and everything in between. He'd even gotten a part time job at the campus library to help cover expenses.
Beyond those sources of income, he had earned several highly sought after scholarships and grants that fully covered his tuition and even helped pay for their rent and utilities. They didn't have much, but Aiden and Ava never complained, and were ever grateful for the little they did have, which made Darren extremely proud of them. They were also not unlike him in the arena of intellect. They were constantly battling it out for the first and seconds spots in every one of their classes at school. To hear their teachers tell it, no other students even came close to Aiden and Ava's potential.
Darren smiled softly, reminiscing and pondering all that had come to pass in recent years and days. The storm seemed quiet and unobtrusive, and though it made him feel somewhat disconnected from the rest of the world, he had a fondness for the clouds, wind, and rain. He was glad for that, because it seemed he'd live under clouds for the rest of his life. Storms always seemed to follow him now, called by his presence as the Storm Knight.
He wondered how Aiden and Ava would react to everything. He hadn't told them about EDS or the breaches or anything just yet, hoping to let them live in peace for just a bit longer. He knew without doubt that they would love the Knight's Beacons and Companion Bands, though. They were such nerds that they'd probably figure out features and abilities of the devices that even Darren didn't know about yet. He'd wait to give the items to them until tomorrow, though. He knew he had to lay everything out on the table for them, but he wanted just one more night of peace before he did so.
Before he could sink any deeper into thought, the familiar sound of the apartment door creaking open pulled him back. Light footsteps echoed through the hall—a rhythm Darren had grown to recognize immediately.
"Darren, we're home!" came the excited call of Ava, his younger sister, followed closely by Aiden's quieter, "Darren?"
He turned just in time to see his younger twin siblings rush into the room, their faces lit with excitement from their after-school adventure. Ava, ever the firecracker, was already talking a mile a minute about some school project, while Aiden hung back, his hands shoved in his pockets, the calmer of the two.
"You didn't cause any trouble today, did you?" Darren asked with a mock-stern expression, kneeling to their level.
"Me? Never," Ava said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "But Aiden almost got caught sneaking snacks during class."
"I did not!" Aiden protested, cheeks flushing as he shot a glare at Ava.
Darren grinned, ruffling Aiden's hair before turning to his sister. "No tattling, Ava. Besides, I'm pretty sure you were in on it."
Ava crossed her arms, clearly caught. "Maybe…"
Darren's heart warmed at the sight of them. They were his whole world, the reason he fought so hard. Losing their parents had been a devastating blow, one that left him responsible for both Aiden and Ava when they were just kids. They were thirteen now, but Darren still felt that protective instinct surge through him every time he looked at them. The weight of being both their brother and guardian was heavy, but it was one he bore without complaint. For them, he would do anything.
"Hey," he said, pulling them both into a hug. "How about we get some pizza for dinner tonight?"
"Pizza!" Ava practically bounced on the spot. "Yes!"
Aiden's face brightened, though more subdued than his sister's outburst. "That sounds good."
"Alright, I'll place the order," Darren said, pulling out his phone as the twins scrambled to the living room, already bickering over what movie to watch.
For a moment, the noise and chaos of everyday life drowned out the looming presence of his role as a Knight. But even as he placed the order for pizza, Darren could feel it—the storm brewing outside, the energy tugging at him, urging him to pay attention. It was always there now, swirling just beneath the surface.
As the rain began to fall, Darren felt it—the connection between the storm and his abilities growing stronger, more tangible. Storm Call was activate, drawing the storm to him like a magnet. The moment the first drops of rain hit the pavement, Darren's senses heightened. His body felt lighter, faster, more in tune with the world around him. It was as if the storm was feeding him, empowering him in a way nothing else could.
"Darren, something is coming," EDS warned suddenly, its voice cutting through the quiet hum of rain.
Darren tensed, his hand freezing mid-text. "What is it?"
"A disturbance in the balance of space," EDS replied. "It's growing stronger."
Darren's stomach knotted. He had already faced the Rift once, and a breach opening in the middle of downtown, barely surviving the Nightmares that poured out of it. Was this another one? Another battle waiting to unfold?
"What should I do?" Darren asked, instinctively glancing toward the living room where Ava and Aiden were laughing.
"Stay alert," EDS advised. "But for now, enjoy this time with your family."
Darren's chest tightened at those words. EDS was right. He needed to be present for Aiden and Ava—needed to give them the sense of normalcy they craved, even if his life had become anything but.
He joined his siblings in the living room, forcing a smile as they picked out a movie. Ava nestled into the couch beside him, while Aiden grabbed the remote. The storm outside continued to rage, its thunder echoing through the city. Darren's mind wandered as the first flashes of lightning lit up the skyline.
He would fight when the time came. He would protect his siblings with everything he had.
But for now, in this moment, he was just their big brother. And that was enough.