Scion of Humanity

Blake finished his double breakfast and checked his dwindling supplies.

Just enough for lunch.

Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Hey mom, how long until you and dad get here?

Donna Summers: We’re almost there now. Where should we meet you?

Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Just park at the trailhead and start hiking. I’ll join you on the trail once I find out if you have a tail.

It would be difficult for his parents to discover someone following them on the busy roads and Dall-mart parking lot. Out here, however, it would be extremely apparent. If the police were stalking them, he needed to remain unseen. Harboring a fugitive and concealing them was a crime in every state.

So far, the corrupt cops had limited their reprisal against his parents to the closing of their restaurant. The last thing he wanted was to give them a reason to throw them in jail.

Maybe mom can figure out a way to hide the purchase of land. Once I create the faction, we can all live there. They won’t be able to enter, no matter how hard they try.

He smiled at the thought.

The biggest perk of a faction town was the shield which protected it. It not only prevented monsters from appearing inside it, but also repelled armies outside. That would include his police pursuit. Every time you leveled up the building which produced the shield, it grew larger and became harder to destroy. The barrier could be breached, but it would take far more than a few law enforcement officers to do so.

Yeah, I don’t think I’ll need this.

Blake unfastened his sword and its sheath from his belt and leaned it against the wall next to his spear. The last time he encountered the sheriff’s deputies, they had only drawn their firearm because of the presence of his sword. Since he had no plan to use it against them, there was no need to make them wary.

He opened the trap door to the metal stairs below and descended the tower. The cold morning air bit against his face with a light breeze, but it did little to hinder his enhanced body. With a Physical Resistance of eleven, it would take far more than morning frost to harm him.

Once he reached the trailhead, a half mile away, he hiked along the trail until he reached a heavily wooded area. The underbrush was thick with evergreen plants, and he easily hid himself among them. While he waited a short distance from the trail, he messaged his parents and let them know he was waiting for them.

Peter Summers: I think that person is still following us.

Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: That’s fine, just start hiking the trail. If you get far enough ahead, you can drop off your pack and keep going. I’ll grab it and they’ll never know any better.

Donna Summers: Won’t they know something happened if we come back without the backpack?

Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Are they in the parking lot with you?

Donna Summers: No, they drove past.

Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Then put it on and hurry down the trail before they see you.

Ten minutes later, he heard the crunch of footsteps along the ground. When he was sure it was his parents, he left his cover and met them along the trail. He gave each of them a quick hug.

“It’s so good to see you again,” his mother said. “Have you lost weight?”

“It is,” he smiled. “And I probably have, but, I need to go before your tail catches up.” Then he added, “Assuming he follows you down the trail.”

“Okay,” his father agreed and handed over the pack. “This should be enough food for a week.”

“So, it’ll last me three or four days then, thanks.”

“Why are you eating so much? Does your combat thingies make you that hungry?” his mother asked.

Blake shook his head. “No, it’s all the nanomachines I have to power.” He realized it would be a long explanation, so he said, “Here, let me open up a holo-chat with you two so we can continue the conversation.”

After he initiated the call, he stalked back through the woods with a quick wave, and hid in the thick junipers while he explained his problem with a whisper. A few minutes later, he heard footsteps along the trail, and quieted.

Sure enough, an older man in his forties with a large belly stalked along the trail. He was not in uniform, but had a radio attached to his chest and a pistol along his waist. True to form, he was out of breath from the short excursion already. When the man raised the microphone to talk, he strained his ears to listen.

“Still no sign of the boy.” the man stated. “They may actually just be hiking.”

Blake heard a response, but it was muffled.

“Ten-four, I need the exercise anyway. I’ll keep you updated.”

By the time the short conversation ended, the plain-clothes cop was out of sight and out of range. Just to be certain, Blake waited another few minutes before he left his cover and jogged effortlessly to the trailhead. Before he reached the gravel lot, he stepped off into the cover of the forest. He saw two vehicles, one was his parents, and the other belonged to the deputy.

You know what? Screw him!

He approached the unmarked sedan and kneeled down next to the tire. Blake withdrew his knife from its sheath and placed the tip of the blade between the tread. With just a bit of pressure, the blade pierced through the thick rubber. The hiss of air escaping brought a grin to his face.

That’s for harassing my family.

He was not worried about the cop blaming him or his parents. After all, he had driven along a lengthy gravel forest road. Flats were common, and he had made sure to hide the knife entry where it would not be easily discovered.

He left the parking lot with a wide grin.

Once he re-entered the fire tower, he dropped off the pack, warmed some food, and filled the bottomless void that was his stomach. After his meal was eaten, he re-equipped his long sword and grabbed his spear.

He had almost three point three million nano. If he entered an average scenario, it should supply him enough to purchase his last attribute enhancement. Then, he could begin the long grind to a billion for his faction.

With one last check to ensure he had everything he needed, he entered the portal.

With a decisive slash of his sword, the fourth and last Ursa died.

You have successfully completed the Combat Scenario. Would you like to choose your reward now?

Blake answered yes and swiftly chose a new pair of leather pants. He did not need any of the items he was offered, but decided it would be good to have an extra set of armor in case his current clothing was damaged. It was also a good idea to save up armor sets for his future faction. He did not want his family anywhere near the portals, but there would be other members that would form combat teams he would help outfit.

Hopefully, I can invite Montgomery, Jeff, and Rajesh right soon.

While he waited for the reward to finish assembling, he checked his status and saw he had just over eleven million nano. He finally had enough to purchase his last enhancement. Blake ate a granola bar as he stared at his status and he contemplated his choices.

Attributes - Increased by 22%

Physical Power - 19.5

Physical Stamina - 12.2

Physical Resistance - 11

Magic Power - 11

Magic Stamina - 11

Magic Resistance - 12.2

Now, what do I increase?

He ignored the magical attributes as they were already high enough. With a Magic Resistance of twelve point two, he would resist most level one spells completely and would only be partially affected by ones that focused on debilitating effects.

His Physical Resistance was similarly high for his level. The goblins could barely harm him, and only the Ursa were still deadly. Increasing his fortitude would not do much to increase his protection against the deadly beasts. The nano would be much better spent elsewhere.

As he opened the second snack bar, he considered the other stats. If he added to his Physical Power, he would outpace the Ursa by a wide margin and would kill them with greater ease. However, he already had little issues with the task. No, what he needed now was more stamina. It would allow him to heal his sore muscles quicker, as well as his chest injury.

He was going to farm this scenario for weeks, and the more he could complete within a single day, the faster he could create his faction.

Blake increased his Physical Stamina and saw that it would be raised to thirteen point four. Immediately after he bought the upgrade, he was presented with a notification.

You have gained 10,000k nano for completing a directive.

Excellent. Let’s see the list now.

Directives -

Join or create a faction.

Purchase a Combat Classification.

Upgrade a skill.

Blake washed down the food with his bottle of water and reviewed the list. While he waited for his reward to assemble, he planned for his future.

The directives were seen as a tutorial by many. They guided someone new to the Collective and suggested which actions someone should pursue.

After Invasion day, the Architect would also randomly generate them on the fly. Of the remaining directives, only one was a relatively cheap investment for him, but it could not be completed until he purchased his combat class.

Blake held eleven million nano in his reserves. It seemed a large amount, but he would need ten times that amount to purchase a basic ranked class. That, however, was not the plan. Instead, he would need a hundred times that number to purchase a faction. Once that was completed, he would need eight hundred million to gain a master ranked class.

It would take a long, long time, even if he worked non-stop.

If I can finish three scenarios a day, that’s almost thirty million nano. That means it’ll take… thirty-three days until I can afford the faction, and another twenty-seven before I get my class.

Blake massaged his temples.

He was not a machine and would need to take breaks occasionally if he wanted to remain fresh. Even if his body was in peak condition, the strain of fighting all day long for weeks would cause him to make mistakes. Those blunders could lead to a severe injury which would halt his progress, or even death. He again missed his group mates, they always had his back.

Should I try increasing the difficulty?

The thought was absurd, and he dismissed it as quickly as it appeared. He was completing the scenarios entirely by himself. Not only that, he was fighting against Ursa, one of the most difficult opponents in the region. If he were to increase the difficulty of the scenario, he would not be facing a level zero Ursa, but a level one. They would have access to magic, and he would not. Without Analyze, he would not even be able to tell what type of energy they used.

Although, I can buy that for just five million.

The general skill was cheap but necessary. It provided basic information about your target, provided they were initiated into the Collective. At level one, if he were to use it on an Ursa, it would give their species, level, and energy type.

Once he upgraded it to level two, however, it would give a rough estimate of their attributes. After that, the estimate hardened into actual numbers, and in the next level, he learned the name of their spells. Eventually, if enough nano were spent to upgrade the skill, you would be presented with detailed information about every spell your enemy held.

That, however, became costly.

Common practice in his past was to have only a single member of the combat group spend the fortune of nano required to upgrade the skill to that extreme. Blake had not been that person, his Analyze remained at level one.

He had always been envious of the knowledge Rajesh gained with it, and annoyed at the games his friend played. He used to make Blake and the others guess the abilities revealed by the skill. Sometimes they even bet rolls of toilet paper on it.

Am I seriously considering this?

If he were to attempt a higher level scenario, Ursa would still be the ideal enemy. True, they were incredibly physically powerful, but they were always alone.

Almost always.

The incident before was a fluke. He had modified his companion’s instructions to ensure it would never happen again. Since he would fight against a single enemy, he only had to worry about a single spell. Chi was the most common energy type among Ursa. Depending on the ability they gained, it would empower them to an incredible degree.

However, Ursa usually had very little Magical Stamina. Just as he outran the Ursa until it was physically exhausted, he could outlast their magical abilities. All he would need to do is dodge and evade the magic enhanced attacks until they ran out of chi. Once that was accomplished, they would be without magic.

Of course, they’ll have even higher attributes.

He stood and paced across the small glade he occupied. It would be incredibly dangerous without a full group, but the rewards would be insane. Not only would he receive level one treasures, which would make him stronger, but the nano he received from killing them would be five times greater. Instead of two million nano per Ursa, he would receive ten.

I wonder what kind of achievement I’d get?

Now that he imagined the rewards, it was impossible to think of anything else. All he could think about was how quickly he could gain nano.

If I can finish two upgraded scenarios in a day, I can get eighty to a hundred million nano! I can create the faction in less than two weeks!

Once he did the math, it was decided. He purchased the general skill, Analyze, and exited the portal with his prize. If he were successful, he would be head and shoulders above humanity, and his faction would be months, if not years, ahead of the rest of the world.

He tossed the extra leg armor atop his bed, devoured a quick meal, restocked his snacks and water, and then reentered the portal. Once inside the void, he was presented with the standard message.

You have re-entered a combat scenario you have already completed. Would you like to increase the difficulty?

The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Yes.