Broker

Imperious 004 - Getting Somewhere

Added 2025-03-04 13:00:04 +0000 UTC

The precinct lobby was empty, just like everything else. Only the faint light from the skylights added any sort of illumination. Anna rubbed her neck as she walked past the front desk, frowning at the scattered documents and pens. All the chairs were toppled over as well though she was pleased to see that the long couch at one end of the room was still in one piece and she wouldn’t have to try to flip it back over. She turned her attention to the biggest source of light, the pair of glass doors that led out into the city street. Or at least, it was supposed to.

The moment she saw the doors her heart sank. There was light coming through but even from the angle she was at she could tell something was very wrong. She raced over to the door and slid to a stop, her chest rising and falling as she stared in horror at the scene outside. There was a small portion of the path leading away from the door and then it just… stopped. After that there was just tall stalks of golden grass, blue sky, and almost nothing else. It looked like a photo out of a safari advertisement.

“What the hell?” she breathed, pushing the doors open with shaky hands and stepping outside. A wash of heat buffeted her face and she winced, coughing a little against the sudden change of temperature. The sun beat down on her face, hot enough that she began to feel the tingle of sunburn start up. She brought her arm up to give herself some shade as she walked further out, peering around. Cracked shards of concrete were scattered around the outside of the one-story precinct before stopping abruptly where the savanna grass began.

She moved further out, squinting and trying to see anything in the distance but only saw more grassland. She turned left, grassland. She turned right and finally spotted something. A large boulder-shaped rock formation in the distance. Less a mountain and more just a town-sized rock jutting out of the earth. Looks kinda like… what was that big rock in Australia? Uluru? That was it, she thought before tensing, Am I in Australia? No fucking way. That’s… impossible right? No, no no no, She felt her strength leave her knees as she dropped to the ground, running tired fingers through knotted hair.

A scream bubbled up in her throat that nearly broke out until she noticed something else. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something dark. She turned and looked up. A black cloud hung in the air, forming from something that billowed up towards the sky directly behind the precinct. She raced around the building, tripping over a few rocks before sliding to a stop. Far, far in the distance, she could see a pillar of eerie smoke that coiled angrily, crackles of green lightning sparking off of it.

A new buzz joined the others in the back of her head and she took a step back, looking over her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes. I better go back inside for now.

She wandered back around the building and through the front door, standing in the lobby with a helpless feeling hanging on her shoulders as she swept her gaze over the lobby. She was very, very alone. On top of that she was starting to suspect her fever was getting worse. The alcohol hadn’t been enough to purge out whatever was on that bony bastard’s claws. She groaned and hobbled over to the couch at the far end and threw herself onto it, sweat beading on her brow.

She rubbed her eyes and concentrated, Okay, notification thingies. Just focus on the buzzing and… Several windows popped up, flooding her view.

You have acquired a new proficiency:

One-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons (Mortal-Common-Base)

You are proficient in the use of single handed weapons that deliver bludgeoning and crushing blows to your targets.

She glanced down at the crowbar that she was still clutching in her hand. Alright, so I can get skills and proficiencies. Just like in a game. She thought and sat up a little, turning to the next notification.

Quest Complete!

Escape the Precinct (Hard)
Rather than simply escaping, you have chosen to take the fight to your attacker and have slain it. You will receive additional rewards for your performance.

Rewards granted: 500 Iron Coins, 100 Essence, Ability Token: Wraithsight

As soon as she finished reading it she got that same feeling she’d had before the backpack fallen on her head and shifted to the side, another one of those tokens landing in the spot where she’d been sitting a moment before. She plucked it up and turned it over in her hand. Unlike the ones before it this one had a strangely textured surface to it.

Ability Token: Wraithsight (Uncommon-Grade)
Crushing this token will provide you with the Mortal-tier ability Wraithsight, giving you enhanced ocular senses. This token may only be used once.

“Okay… neat, super vision or something,” she muttered and set it down, “I’ll get to it in a second,” she said and focused on the remaining notifications.

You have acquired a new skill:

First Aid (Mortal-Common-Base)

The first step in surviving is knowing how to take care of your own wounds. Your ability to treat your own injuries and the injuries of others improves as this skill does.

She narrowed her eyes, finally starting to get what was going on. So I got the blunt weapons proficiency from using the crowbar to fight. I got that stealth skill earlier from sneaking around and got this from treating my own wounds. Makes sense. I wonder how hard it is to increase my skill level. I don’t see a number or anything next to it, weird.

She shook her head. There was only one notification left. C’mon, give me something useful, she thought and started to read only for the screen to flicker and buzz, the words blurring and changing. The screen went fuzzy with static and she suddenly felt small. An odd sense of foreboding washed over her, like something impossible was looking in her direction. It was oppressive, it made her feel small, insignificant, angry?

She scowled as her blood went hot and she looked around but there was nothing there. The presence vanished and she let out a sigh of relief as the flickering screen settled.

Main Quest Alert!

Alone - Part 1 (Variable Difficulty)

[Due to unforeseen circumstances, your tutorial is being actively revised. Escalating. ERROR! Escalation failed.]

[ERROR! The difficulty of your tutorial and possible rewards cannot be tailored properly outside of the Tutorial. ERROR! Unable to access tutorial data outside the tutorial zone. Data corrupted. Access revoked.]

You have survived your escape from the precinct and are now faced with the reality of your situation. The integration of your world into the multiverse has come with a shuffling of the natural formations of your planet. What’s more, as a result of ERROR you are the sole member of your species to have been left behind as the others enjoy the benefits of the tutorial.

The world has changed and you must adapt and fight to survive. The forces of the multiverse have been given an opportunity to establish a beachhead on your world and one such force occupies the area you now stand in. You must choose whether or not to flee and find safety or stand your ground and seize the opportunities before you. Complete as many Main Quests as possible until the integration period ends and humanity returns to Earth.

Your first task is to acquire enough essence to level up and unlock your base class. You may do so by slaying enemies or finding other sources of essence. You may check your progress on your character sheet.

Time Remaining: 364 Days, 2 hours, 19 minutes.

Rewards: 1000 Iron Coins, Uncommon Equipment Token

For a moment. Anna could only stare as that heat in her blood turned to ice. She felt her heart drop down into her guts, her mouth went dry, her chest heaved, every thought becoming jumbled and inconsistent. It was a nightmare. It had to be. She wasn’t just alone. For the next year, there’d be no one else. Not her mother. No one. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rest her head against them, closing her eyes as she felt her entire world crumble. She was used to solitude, but not like this.

Anna wept.

The tears kept coming for a while. The fever felt like it was getting worse. She felt woozy, bitter, angry, and so fucking tired. She wondered for a little while if she’d even last a few days let alone the entire year set aside for her. She had food, a little bit of water and maybe some more she could scrounge up around the precinct but she didn’t see any active sources of water outside at first glance. As night fell she remained curled up on the couch, staring into space.

When a low creak drew her attention, she glanced up but didn’t move. She didn’t have the strength to. She was sweating at this point, the fever overtaking her. Everything felt hot and cold at the same time. Her dark eyes glared at the glass door of the precinct as a shape moved into view. Another one of those fucking hounds, faintly illuminated by the moonlight above. Her lips fell into a frown as it approached, stopping at the door and tilting its head a little as if it were curious. She glared into that one smoldering eye as her blood boiled.

She wanted to blame it, someone, anything for what was going wrong. For where she was and what she was stuck with. To throw her solitude at it like a weight and scream. It pressed its head against the door and the door slowly swung open, the predator urging its shoulders forward to step partially inside. She gripped her legs tighter as it swept its head, one eye finally meeting hers as that heat in her blood soared. She was mourning. She wanted to be left alone. How dare this disgusting bony thing step into her space, her territory.

Its jaw opened and a low hiss rang out.

She growled back, “Fuck. Off.”

That heat in her blood roared to life like a lion waking from its slumber and she felt something burn in her veins. The flames of the creature’s eyes flickered and shrank. It took a step back, its shoulders hunching forward as it lowered its head. Sowly, as if watching her for any sudden movements, the hound retreated before darting off into the night.

She blinked, “Did I do that?” she mumbled, squinting at where the doors had shut behind it. She suddenly felt tired. I think I might be sick or something… she thought stupidly as her eyes fluttered shut.

When she finally woke the sun was coming through the sunlight over her head. She squinted at it irritably and sat up, rubbing her temples. Fuck, how long was I out? Her face felt gross from all the tears and sweat but her body felt better, loads better. The fever was gone, whatever it was that had infected her had passed at some point during the night. She dragged the backpack over and tugged the canteen out, guzzling down some water and wiping her lips.

She glared at the door again. It looked like the hound hadn’t come back. She tried to recall what she’d done to chase it off but her memory was a bit foggy. She’d felt hot inside though, like her blood was on fire. She’d also been pissed.

She snorted, “Well that part is easy,” she muttered to herself, “I’m pissed all the time,” she said and got to her feet before glancing back at the couch. Oh right, the ability token. She snatched up the small object and unceremoniously crushed it in her hand. That had been a bit of an error on her part. She felt that strange energy build burst from where she’d crushed the token and spread through her body in a rush. She gasped as it raced up her chest, neck, and finally into her head before her eyes started to burn.

“Fucking hell!” she swore, falling back onto the couch and squeezing her eyes shut. She didn’t open them for over a minute when the pain abruptly stopped. She blinked a few times and squinted, “Ow!” she shouted, “Who the fuck would use one of these on purpose?” she demanded as she looked around the room. Nothing seemed any different.

New Ability Acquired!

Wraithsight (Mortal-Uncommon-Base)
The undead do not possess natural senses. Rather they perceive the world in different ways. One of these senses is the ability to sense the Presence of living things. With Wraithsight active you may see the aural presence of other living creatures, even in the dark.

She read the notification and raised her eyebrows, Oh, okay that’s fair, she thought as she let out a sigh and rested her head on the couch. I can’t just sit here but the only thing I have to go on is the main quest I got. She frowned. The only other option is dying. I don’t like not having a choice.

She leaned forward and stared at the door again, Fuck this, I’m not sitting around and waiting to die. If I need to go around smashing shit in order to get somewhere, so fucking be it. She called up the quest description again and read it over. Now that she was a bit calmer she realized there was a lot more information in it than she’d initially picked up on. First off, my situation isn’t normal even by this screen-system-thing’s standards. And…

She frowned, “The fuck do you mean my tutorial prompts are restricted? The hell did I do?” she demanded to the sky.

A window appeared with an audible pop, the window was red compared to the previous blue windows and fizzled with static. She jerked her head back in surprise as the words appeared on it.

ERROR: YOU DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO TUTORIAL PROMPTS [ACCESS DENIED]

She ran her fingers through her hair and clicked her tongue, Fine, she grumbled and moved on, Also the multiverse is a thing, great. Aliens. Just what I need. Aliens on my homeworld and I’m the only person here. That’s cool, she grumbled. That must be what that weird cloud is, I bet the skeletal hounds came from it.

She tapped her finger on her arm, Complete quests, get rewards, do as many as possible in a year. At least that gives me something to strive for while I wait things out. Fine, I’ll bite. She rolled her jaw left and right and paused as her eyes landed on the last paragraph, Essence is experience then, if it goes towards leveling up. Definitely like a game.

“You may check your progress on your character sheet,” she muttered to herself and furrowed her brows. So what? How do I get the character sheet to show up? Just-

The window appeared and her lips curled up into a smile, “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Name: Anastasia Flitt
Race: Human - Terran
Class: None (225/250)
Profession: None
Tier: Mortal
Heritage: Born in the Gray (Unknown)

Resources:
HP: 30/30 | SP: 30/30 | MT: 0/51

Titles:
(Obtain your Base Class to unlock Titles)

Proficiencies:
One-Handed Bludgeoning Weapons (Mortal-Common-Base)

Skills:
Stealth (Mortal-Common-Base), First Aid (Mortal-Common-Base)

Abilities:
Wraithsight (Mortal-Uncommon-Base), Identify (Mortal-Common-Base)

Spells
None

Currency:
Iron: 550