He had already killed nine of his fellow steel-made brothers; only one more would allow him to level up! He killed them all with his [Data Break] just to be safe.
“Let’s see what happens when I get to level 1.”
No words were said this time. David had realised that he didn’t need to announce the skill’s name to use it. It just triggered on its own when he wanted to. The same scene that happened nine other times offered no surprises.
The robot falling to the floor and being fried by green lightning, a system’s notification appears in front of him.
[Gnomish Scrap-Bot was killed by [Data Break], received 1EXP]
[LEVEL UP!]
“Now let’s see what this level up got me, Status…it looks different from last time.”
“Hmm…No plant-based class? Being a robot druid would have been quite fun. It seems that I have access to some classes restricted to NPCs. They all look fun, and the Machinist is the rarest.”
His finger hovered above the Mechanist class for only a few seconds before he switched target.
“But the Technomage seems to be clearly the most tailored for me. I’ll pick that one.”
It was strange to talk to yourself for sure, but it also helped him not go crazy for all that happened in the span of what was only a few hours to him. From what David remembered from his son’s preliminary lessons on VR-MMORPGs, the [Evolutive] tag meant that a class could be upgraded in rarity.
David had once asked Jacob why the recent MMORPGs used this new feature of having evolutive classes. Jacob answered: “Make people pay five or ten dollars to obtain instant class upgrade items. And those that don’t pay get an adrenaline boost at every class evolution.”
So yes, money-grabbing was still a valid tactic for Vermillion Corp, but they did sell their VR-Headsets extremely cheaply.
“They gotta compensate somewhere, I suppose. I’ve always preferred gathering classes anyway. Who doesn’t love gathering unknown fantastical plants! I hope they have some interesting ones!”
Pressing his finger against the holographic screen to select the [Technomage] class, a powerful feeling rose in his energy core, and a strange metallic groan shook his entire body before David looked back at his status window again.
“Weird, don’t I usually have points to distribute at every level up? What is that about?”
David read the pop-up window which appeared, making him jump in fright slightly.
“Can you hear and answer me?”
[Yes, we can talk. We were simply allowing the user to adapt to his new body.
“Oh… Hello! My name is David, glad to meet you, System! I hope I’m not being bothersome, but could you tell me why I don’t have any points to put in my stats?”
[Greetings, User! Level up does not grant any “free attribute points” to distribute like in other games; you would get specific stats based on your traits at your level up!]
“So every time I level up, I'll gain my traits and class’s effects as stat points?”
[Correct.]
“But wouldn’t the early game be extremely slow for people who want to get the optimal traits to obtain? Some might even waste their first level up.”
[User does not need to worry, everything will be explained before the Players log into the game.]
“What do you mean by players? Are there others here? I thought I’d be alone!”
[No, at the current time, you are by yourself, User, and you are counted as an NPC by the System, not a Player. And a game wouldn’t be a game without players, right? However, right now the System isn’t ready enough to be considered acceptable by Players.]
“How did I come to be in a game then?” This was all David could ask, his voice raspy and robotic, which helped him hide the slight panic he felt.
[Yes, you truly are in Project Rebirth. As for how you or we arrived here, the answer is unknown to us.]
“You appeared here with me? So you’re not the System itself?”
[We have, yes. We did not exist until the User appeared. Maybe we are the previous AI that inhabited your current body? Or something else entirely, we only know that just like you, we are unique.]
“I see, from now on, please just call me David, since we’ll be together for a while, I think. Do you know when the players will arrive?”
[Very well, David. Players should arrive in five years. The time in Project Rebirth is much faster than on Earth to allow the NPCs' AI to develop quicker.]
“Thanks for your answers. We’ll have to think of a proper name for you. I can’t just call you System.”
[Thank you, David.]
With the knowledge that his System was apparently unique and sentient, David continued his travel. He soon finally reached the point where sand replaced the floor made of scraps. His steps now make soft and almost relaxing sounds when sinking in the sand.
However, his complete lack of physical sensations made this very disturbing to see yourself walk in sand and yet feel nothing. He saw a big plate of bronze-like metal in front of him, blocking the path between two massive scrap piles.
“Damn it, I’m not familiar enough with this body to risk climbing yet. Gotta move it away.” He gripped it and suddenly sent it flying away a few meters to his side.
He froze in shock, staring at his robotic hand, clenching it a few times. Soft clicks being heard from his joints and fingertips striking each other.
He realised for the first time his body felt different. Where it should have been even weaker than the one who had been malnourished for two years, seemed far more powerful. Even in his peak human body, he could not have done that. At least not this easily and casually.
“What is this…”
[Your stats simply affect your body's real strength. It is often said that 10 strength is the absolute peak a human body can naturally reach without using the System’s help.]
[Lucky for you, you have no stamina or constitution as you're a robot.]
“Is that why I haven’t been tired at all despite walking downhill for so long?”
[Yes.]
Hearing this, David stared at the descent remaining. A small voice coming straight from his childhood told him to do one simple thing: Run down that slope as fast as he could.
Just a few seconds later, he was speeding down the slope of the scrap pile faster than he could ever have before. It was exhilarating to be able to run as fast as the greatest Olympic sprinters without ever getting tired!
The sight of his small, almost cute Scrap-Bot body running at such a speed down a hill would have made many people stop and stare or pull out their phone to film the adorable scene.
His perception, sitting at 8, could still see and allow him to react to most obstacles in his path, even if some evasive maneuvers were tight.
As for his charisma, he had no idea since he didn’t really feel any different there. Even his magicka stat, his highest one, didn’t seem to be having any effect. Most likely because David had no idea how to even use his magic.
“Come to think of it, grimoires are gonna be hard to find around here. It’s a Scrapyard. And those Scrap-Bots haven’t dropped a single piece of equipment or loot.”
Clearly, his mana manipulation was gonna be pretty useless till he found one of those grimoires. David started to think about the path he would take to level up and decided on the following objectives :
1 - Upgrade his [Common Robotic Body] to [Uncommon Robotic Body], the most direct way to upgrade his stats.
2 - Get as many traits to upgrade his stats as high as possible for every level up.
3 - Try to find a way to hide his body if the only way out was by the city
4 - Every area in a MMORPG had some sort of secrets, bosses, and loot according to Jacob and his old experience as a gamer. So maybe that was where the loot would be hidden.
“Very well, time to skedaddle.”
[Please never use this word again.]
“Sorry.”
One awkward pause later.
“You sure you have no information on why there’s no loot from those robots? I can’t be that unlucky.”
[We truly do not know.]
David didn't stop walking, his legs relentlessly moving under the burning sun; he didn’t feel any heat. If he were made of flesh, he would have definitely started to sweat a ton. The burning metal under him would have singed his flesh and burned his feet beyond repair.
But to a gnomish-scrap bot. This was all fine.
He would surely die if he fell in the lava pit, but he wasn’t suicidal…at least not anymore. He had also finally seen something that gave a hint on how to get out.
Towering above him and Scrapyard, a huge bridge seemed to link the walls surrounding the Scrapyard to the city itself. He was actually inside a massive pit dug around the city, the walls simply being the reinforced limit of this pit.
A strange sight soon caught his attention, making him stop and stare at a lone robot. This one looked different from the other Scrap-Bots; he was bulkier, which wasn’t hard considering David’s body was quite literally a robotic skeleton with a thick chest plate to hide his energy core.
This robot, on the other hand, seemed to have plates covering its arms and legs, giving it more protection and a more “armored’ look.
“This one must be a higher-level enemy. Until now, I have only seen Scrap-Bot identical to me. Let’s just use Data-Break.”
After approaching the bulky Scrap-Bot, David realised even his eye seemed of better quality than his. Activating his [Data Break], the Scrap-Bot, which was busy collecting scrap metal far faster than the other lesser Scrap-Bots, collapsed in the pile he had been harvesting from.
[Advanced Gnomish Scrap-Bot was killed by [Data Break], received 20EXP]
“An Advanced Gnomish Scrap-Bot? So that’s their name. It looks clearly better made than the regular Scrap-Bots. Let’s see if I can harvest its parts.”
David approached the robot, holding its plated shoulder in his metallic hand and turning it around, ready to use all his strength to tear off the robot piece by piece. Only for a screen to pop in front of his face.
[Advanced Gnomish Scrap-Bot is suitable for the [Uncommon Robotic Body]. Please choose a part to be harvested.]
“That’s better than doing it by hand.”
[The following component can be obtained, carefully, for every component successfully looted, the next part will have its chance of a successful harvesting lowered! One failure will lead to the harvesting window’s closure.]
Choosing the Head Slot first, remembering that any successful harvest would lower the success chance of the remaining pieces, taking the head slot seemed logical.
[Disassembling Started]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Disassambling Failed]
“Oh fuck you.”
I hope everyone is enjoying this chapter. If you spot any mistake do not hesitate to tell me in the comments. My main language isn't english so I'm more than eager to increase my level and better myself. Same for the System's current "appearance" do not hesitate if you dislike it and want something more simple and maybe easier to read!
Have a great day!