Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

bars, but more complicated foods require the mess hall to be enabled. Other areas such as various labs and the Foundry are similarly completed, yet unstocked and non-functional. Uniforms are available, as they were necessary for the workers. Garment manufacture is totally automated and upgradeable. There are the general barracks, but I see that you have already found an executive suite.”

“FP? I think I left all of them in my other pants on the station,” Gus said wryly. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”

“Excuse me, Gus, there is so much to explain. FP, or Facility Points, are how you upgrade or unlock features of the manor. You get them as you level up and should receive some legacy FP based on your current level.”

“Can I use FP to unlock one of those food dispensers to be placed in here?”

“It will be done as soon as you can activate facilities controls. Do you wish to go there now?”

“Yes, and after that, let’s go check out some more modern clothing.” Gus toweled off and donned a robe from a nearby closet. Nick directed Gus up the elevator to the control room. After finding the right console, he placed his hand on the scanner and his level was assessed.

You are currently level 3. 1500 legacy FP awarded.

Gus used 50 FP to place the food dispenser in his suite and scrolled through the list of available options. There were many headings, with grayed out sub-sections. Only a few were highlighted, and of those, the training tab caught his eye and he brought up the information on the first entry, training arena.

Training Arena (1250 FP): This area provides a virtual training ground, assisted with robots to provide physical feedback. Training provided centers around primarily melee skills with some limited augmented attack skills. This area is able to sync with supers for additional functions and feedback options. More functionality and options can be obtained by increasing the arena’s level.

He really needed some skills if he was going to take out any more zombies on the island, especially the fast ones. As a henchman, he was only given a gun and minimal amount of training. There was a reason why Stormtroopers couldn’t hit a damn thing.

This arena sounded exactly what he needed. He spent the points and unlocked the training arena, saving the last 200 FP. He had to; nothing else was lit up after he had made his two selections. So much for base defenses. After that, Nick led Gus to an area that appeared like a large department store, with large closets. Gus’ Wreck-ognize skill triggered and he could see the improvement in stats the jumpsuits provided. Dropping his robe, Gus wiggled into a jumpsuit that was his size. The material was stretchy and comfy as he slid it on, but then he started to itch. A little at first, and then all over as if he was having a severe allergic reaction.

“Nick! What’s happening?!” Gus shouted.

“This clothing is above your level; your Nth are rejecting it and you are dealing with increasing amounts of histamine.” Shedding the suit, Gus kicked it away. He watched as the welts on his skin quickly subsided when they were not in contact with the suit.

Naked again, Gus set about putting the robe back on. Looking again, he saw the minimum level was five.

“Hells bells, that sucks. I need to level up faster.” sighed Gus.

“You could always take up the mantle of the Winter Knight…” Nick suggested.

Gus’ mouth dropped open. “Nick! I am loving your handle on pop culture! Keep it up, I’m loving it!”

Nick’s only reply was a small jingle: ‘ba dah ba bah baaah…’

Gus looked around, trying to find something level three or less, but had no luck. He felt like when he had shopped at Ross or Marshalls, where you had to hunt back and forth, hoping something you liked was in your size. He was about to give up when a pulsing alert sounded.

“Gus, please go to the command center. A proximity alert has been triggered.” Nick urged. Gus ran to the elevator, smashing the button for the control center. He burst out when the car finally opened. One of the maps was highlighted. To the west of the large field below the manor was the green expanse of the jungle canopy. One area had a break in the trees, and a path could be seen winding through it. Some familiar gray figures could be seen on that path.

“Zombies! Nick, can you modify my display to show them relative to my position?”

“Yes, now that I have access to that data from the manor, transferring to your display…”

A minimap refreshed in the upper right corner of his display, with overlapping yellow dots clustered on the left side of it. Gus saw them at the center of the circular map, with an arrow showing the current direction he was facing. Wishing he had some time to use the training center, Gus had to waste time running to his room to get dressed. He fumbled with the ties, the urgency making him clumsy. Finally done, Gus grabbed Razorback Prime and rushed to meet the invaders.

Chapter Sixteen

Monsters of Rock

Day 5 9:58 AM

10:03:50 remaining

Gus checked the new minimap in the upper right corner of his display. The yellow dots were very helpful in showing him where to head to start grinding some mobs. A quick check with Wreck-ognize confirmed the Shamblers were from level three to six. The color coding of the dots gave a good idea of the level range of these mobs in relation to his own level—and these were perfect; not too tough, not too weak.

“Nick, can I assume this minimap functions like most RPG games?”

“It would be more accurate to say that games function how the Nth interact with hosts, but yes.”

They were approaching from the jungle on the far side of the lower field, where Gus had first seen the manor. The open field would allow him to run and retreat,