“Ow…” Shaggy muttered as he came awake in the darkness.
His body hurt like hell, but he could still bring up his menus, so he hadn’t been forcibly ejected from the game. If you went too long unconscious in-game, the VR Pod’s safety measures would kick in and toss you out of the game. His vision had also not gone completely grey, so he knew he wasn’t in Deathville either. Shaggy focused his eyes upward to the top of his vision until his health bar appeared.
HP: 25/223 (Regeneration Halted)
“Jesus…” Shaggy whispered as he tried to wiggle his arms and legs.
He had his right leg free, but the left was pinned. His arms would take some wiggling, but he thought he could get them free. But Shaggy stopped his moving as he heard voices come from above him. Rock began to shift around him as footsteps came closer and moved farther away. All Shaggy could make out was low murmuring, so he stayed quiet and waited.
As the movements above him continued, he decided to use his time and opened his Skill Trees and checked for points.
Lycanthropy Mutation Tree
Attack Lvl 5
Claws Lvl 15
Sharpness Lvl 3
Bone Claws -
Defense Lvl 5
Tough Bones Lvl 0
Utility Lvl 5
Regeneration Lvl 25
Limb Regen Lvl 2
Pain Suppression Lvl 0
Partial Transformation Lvl 1
Points: 10
General Tree
Toughness Lvl 16
Thick Skin Lvl 5
Skin Resistances Lvl 1
Reflexes Lvl 15
Quick Hands Lvl 5
Manual Dexterity Lvl 2
Mind Lvl 15
Enhanced Focus Lvl 1
Points: 20
Skills:
Werewolf
Werewolf Senses – Beginner Level 2*
Werewolf Form – Beginner Level 2*
Werewolf Speed – Beginner Level 1
Werewolf Durability – Beginner Level 3*
Normal
Claw Fighting – Beginner Level Maxed
Leaping – Beginner Level 3
Enhanced Senses – Beginner Level 2
Endurance – Beginner Level Maxed*
HP: 25/223 (Healing Halted)
SP: 70/443
Shaggy grinned as he saw all his new upgrades and points. He was thankful that M.A.O followed tradition and marked which skills had increased. He never was a fan of the constant notifications in his face all the time. With simple indicators, he could tell which Skills had increased with a glance. He also avoided the constant notifications that his skills were ready to Combine or Rank Up. At least while he was in combat.
He knew that Endurance was a combinable skill. But he wasn’t sure what combining it with Claw Fighting would do. Shaggy sat in the dark, thinking about it until he eventually set the thought aside and started assigning his points. The gains he got from his new Evolutions could help him get out of here faster than any skill. At least, that’s how he thought.
Lycanthropy Mutation Tree
Attack Lvl 5
Claws Lvl 15
Sharpness Lvl 3
Bone Claws -
Defense Lvl 5
Tough Bones Lvl 0
Utility Lvl 5
Regeneration Lvl 25
Limb Regen Lvl 2
Pain Suppression Lvl 0
Partial Transformation Lvl 1
Points: 10
Ten points in his Mutation Tree wasn’t the greatest. But it was ten more than he had beforehand. Shaggy would also have to do some playing around to see how much each point was ‘worth’ to the tree. But he knew he wanted to raise Tough Bones for sure. So he started with that and put points into it. Hopefully, with its low level, it would be easier to raise.
Tough Bones Lvl 1
Points: 5
Shaggy grit his teeth. Five points for one level? That was crazy. Then he thought about all the bullets he had just taken and shut his mouth. He was already a tough ole bastard, and he had just gotten tougher. Sure, not by much, but with how tough he already was. It was probably a good trade. At least that’s how he consoled himself, trapped in the dark. He glared at his next choice as he seriously thought about saving his points.
Pain Suppression Lvl 0
It was another glaring 0 on his skill tree, and he really wanted it gone. Also, ignoring the pain he was in might help him in his current situation. Realizing he was rationalizing again, Shaggy bit his lip and dumped the points.
Pain Suppression Lvl 3
Points: 0
Almost immediately, the pain in Shaggy’s arms and legs lowered to a dull ache, and he felt like he could breathe easier. He smiled in the dark and listened for the sounds coming from above. The constant shifting dirt and murmur of voices convinced him that whoever was up there was still looking for him. Sighing, Shaggy brought up his General Tree. He had twenty points in that one and he almost knew what he wanted to do.
Last time he had raised Mental and gotten Enhanced Focus. Which he was noticing less and less. But it was still incredibly useful. Although given what had just happened, he wondered about his reflexes. Maybe if he had just been faster, he could have gotten away. Or at least not mashed by a building. Getting another evolution from any the skills in the General tree was probably out though. Shaggy sighed again and started assigning points.
General Tree
Toughness Lvl 17
Thick Skin Lvl 5
Skin Resistances Lvl 1
Reflexes Lvl 18
Quick Hands Lvl 5
Manual Dexterity Lvl 2
Mind Lvl 17
Enhanced Focus Lvl 1
Points: 0
Shaggy was almost glad with the point distribution this time. He had gotten a few levels in everything and could almost feel himself get tougher and faster. Mind was always a weird stat to classify in any game. But in M.A.O it seemed to make him think faster. So he was happy with getting an overall boost to everything. He would have to wait until [Toughness], [Reflex], and [Mind] were level 25 before he could get another Evolution, though. But he felt good about things overall. Then more dirt cascaded onto his face.
He sputtered for a moment before he remembered he was hiding. But from above, the shifting footsteps stopped for a moment. Shaggy held his breath and ignored his burning eyes. Pain Suppression was doing overtime as Shaggy felt tears fall down his cheeks. A low murmur came from just above him and he heard the shifting of rocks. He did his best to wriggle his hands free and transformed them into claws.
But suddenly he heard a loud crack, and the inaudible murmurs became indiscernible shouts. More cracks resounded and Shaggy was sure he heard the loud snap of a laser rifle. Before footsteps came running and he could tell some kind of fight had broken out above him. Given that he was in Rak territory, it wasn’t a surprise. The Phreaks had probably been looking for him, but now the Raks were here to defend their turf.
Shaggy got comfortable and listened to the sounds of gunfire, and thought about his situation. He was probably clear from the Phreaks. But if the Raks started snooping around, he was in even deeper shit. Especially with the condition in was in. He needed to eat and this time he would make sure to store food in his pockets. In fact, he vowed to buy a new jacket with as many pockets as possible.
Shaggy thought about his Skills again. The real question was whether to combine Endurance with Claw Fighting or take them both to intermediate level. On the one side he would get a new Skill. On the other, his Claw Fighting and Endurance Skills would drop to Level 1. While he wasn’t too concerned with the loss in Stamina from losing Levels in Endurance, the thought of being a less effective fighter bugged him.
But the thought of a new skill enticed him. Who knew how the Skill would affect him? It could bolster his way of fighting even further. Plus, skills seemed pretty difficult to acquire. It was with a grimace that Shaggy brought up both skills and hit the Combine button. He felt more tired as his Stamina dropped, and he almost immediately regretted the decision. But a glance down at his skills showed him what he earned.
Normal
Claw Fighting – Beginner Level 1*
Leaping – Beginner Level 3
Enhanced Senses – Beginner Level 2
Endurance – Beginner Level 1*
Fight Like An Animal – Beginner Level 1*
Now there was a mouthful. Shaggy tried to scratch his head in confusion as he stared at the Skill Name. He quickly brought up its notification window and read its description.
Fighting Like An Animal
You are prone to and highly capable of fighting like an animal. The type of animal depends on the type of Claws/Talons/Fangs the User possesses. You are more effective with your {Claws} and can use them like your native animal.
Shaggy nodded in understanding. The system would now guide him to fight more like a wolf. But how the hell did a wolf fight? Shaggy silently wondered as the gunshots died down and footsteps seemed to recede. Shaggy thought about trying to escape, but talked himself out of it. For all he knew, the Raks were still up there waiting for him or searching for more Phreaks. He checked his HP and SP again.
HP: 85/240 (Regeneration Halted)
SP: 220/240
With the increases in Toughness and his decreases in Endurance, both his HP and SP were now identical. Shaggy gave a wry smile as he saw it. But the standard resting healing rate for players was garbage. All players could lay or sit down and gain health slowly. But compared to his Regeneration it was shit. According to the forums, and his recent experience, HP came back at two per minute. Stamina was slightly better at five per minute.
“Well, at least I can run away with my Stamina how it is.” Shaggy thought as he listened for more sounds from above.
Shaggy sighed and settled in. He was probably being paranoid, but he wanted to make sure the coast was clear before he tried to emerge. As far as he could tell, he was in okay shape and he had plenty of air. So there was nothing to do but wait. He belatedly hoped the rest of his crew got away and they weren’t trying to find him. He calmed his breath and brought up the in-game forums and read through a few entries as he waited.
He had just gotten into a discussion on whether the games Heroes should be as regulated as they were, when a sudden shifting the rocks above him caught his attention. Shaggy had to think quickly as he dropped his screen. With nothing better to do, Shaggy readied his claws and pretended to be unconscious.
“I’m telling ya, there ain’t nothing down here.” A male voice said as Shaggy felt light hit his face.
He tried not to flinch as he heard a second male voice shout in triumph. “HA! I told you they was looking for somethin’. One of their boys got caught under the rubble and they was trying to dig’em out.”
“Oh, sonofabitch!” The first voice said. “Why the hell is he naked!? Also, what do we do with him?”
“No clue and maybe we shoot’em? He is a Phreak, y’know?”
“Naw. I don’t think Rita would like that. Plus them Phreaks were looking for him. So he has to be important.”
“I don’t know.” Said the second voice. “He don’t look like no Phreak to me. What them scientist do to him? Make him short?”
Shaggy grimaced as he felt a large pair of hands grip his torso. He was given a few tugs before he was dropped unceremoniously to the ground again.
“Man, he’s in there good.” Said voice number One. “Besides, we can’t see his legs. He might have a set of them insect legs. And look at them hands. Them look like normal hands to you?”
Voice Two grunted, but said nothing else. Shaggy felt the rubble shift around him again as One and Two dug him out. Their work drew the attention of other Rak Gang members who all helped, and soon Shaggy was free of the rubble and hoisted over someone’s shoulder. He was just contemplating making a break for it when he felt large manacles being slapped on his ankles and transformed wrists. He gave a mental sigh as a woman’s voice broke through the random conversations.
“What did we find, boys?”
“Some Phreak buried in the rubble, Rita. We think he’s one of their higher ups with the way they was looking for him.” Said voice two.
“Really? He does look familiar. We should take him to the boss. Might get us a fancy reward for turning in a high-ranking Phreak. You sure he’s out cold?” Rita asked.
“He had a building dropped on him, Rita.” Voice one said tiredly.
“Still could be faking.” Rita complained and Shaggy started to sweat.
He felt the heat of someone’s face come close to his own and he tried to slow his breathing. His werewolf claws twitched as a hand grabbed his face and twisted him this way and that before dropping him. Rita must’ve not seen anything because she dropped his face and grunted.
“Well, let’s get him to Scholer. She’s the nearest boss, right?”
“Well, Saul was at the market just a minute ago.” A new voice spoke up.
“Saul ain’t a boss!” Rita shouted.
But the third voice wasn’t stymied. “He ain’t a boss yet. But he’s about to be. We gotta get in good with the new blood, y’know.”
There was a meaty thud as Shaggy guessed Rita had hit the third speaker. “What are you gonna do if Scholer finds out we went to someone else besides her? We work for Scholer, not Saul! You bunch of neanderthals got that?”
There was a general murmur of agreement as whoever was carrying Shaggy moved. Rita got her men together, and they started moving. Shaggy tried to sneakily stretch the manacles on his hands, but they were not only tight, but they seemed to be designed for an enhanced person. Shaggy briefly wondered where they would get something like that when he heard whispering. It was the third voice complaining.
“Stupid bitch doesn’t know how this gang works. This is the problem with letting women in the gang. They don’t know how things are supposed to be.”
Whoever he was talking to only grunted in response. But the third voice kept up his quiet tirade against woman for almost the entire trip. Shaggy gave another mental sigh as he tried to think of a way out. He could probably fight his way free, but with his Regeneration down, it was going to be a slog. If they had any heavy weapons or rifles, he was mostly likely screwed.
“Well, this can only go terribly.” Shaggy thought as his body was shifted on the shoulder he was carried on.
“Ow…” Shaggy muttered as he came awake in the darkness.
His body hurt like hell, but he could still bring up his menus, so he hadn’t been forcibly ejected from the game. If you went too long unconscious in-game, the VR Pod’s safety measures would kick in and toss you out of the game. His vision had also not gone completely grey, so he knew he wasn’t in Deathville either. Shaggy focused his eyes upward to the top of his vision until his health bar appeared.
HP: 25/223 (Regeneration Halted)
“Jesus…” Shaggy whispered as he tried to wiggle his arms and legs.
He had his right leg free, but the left was pinned. His arms would take some wiggling, but he thought he could get them free. But Shaggy stopped his moving as he heard voices come from above him. Rock began to shift around him as footsteps came closer and moved farther away. All Shaggy could make out was low murmuring, so he stayed quiet and waited.
As the movements above him continued, he decided to use his time and opened his Skill Trees and checked for points.
Lycanthropy Mutation Tree
Attack Lvl 5
Claws Lvl 15
Sharpness Lvl 3
Bone Claws -
Defense Lvl 5
Tough Bones Lvl 0
Utility Lvl 5
Regeneration Lvl 25
Limb Regen Lvl 2
Pain Suppression Lvl 0
Partial Transformation Lvl 1
Points: 10
General Tree
Toughness Lvl 16
Thick Skin Lvl 5
Skin Resistances Lvl 1
Reflexes Lvl 15
Quick Hands Lvl 5
Manual Dexterity Lvl 2
Mind Lvl 15
Enhanced Focus Lvl 1
Points: 20
Skills:
Werewolf
Werewolf Senses – Beginner Level 2*
Werewolf Form – Beginner Level 2*
Werewolf Speed – Beginner Level 1
Werewolf Durability – Beginner Level 3*
Normal
Claw Fighting – Beginner Level Maxed
Leaping – Beginner Level 3
Enhanced Senses – Beginner Level 2
Endurance – Beginner Level Maxed*
HP: 25/223 (Healing Halted)
SP: 70/443
Shaggy grinned as he saw all his new upgrades and points. He was thankful that M.A.O followed tradition and marked which skills had increased. He never was a fan of the constant notifications in his face all the time. With simple indicators, he could tell which Skills had increased with a glance. He also avoided the constant notifications that his skills were ready to Combine or Rank Up. At least while he was in combat.
He knew that Endurance was a combinable skill. But he wasn’t sure what combining it with Claw Fighting would do. Shaggy sat in the dark, thinking about it until he eventually set the thought aside and started assigning his points. The gains he got from his new Evolutions could help him get out of here faster than any skill. At least, that’s how he thought.
Lycanthropy Mutation Tree
Attack Lvl 5
Claws Lvl 15
Sharpness Lvl 3
Bone Claws -
Defense Lvl 5
Tough Bones Lvl 0
Utility Lvl 5
Regeneration Lvl 25
Limb Regen Lvl 2
Pain Suppression Lvl 0
Partial Transformation Lvl 1
Points: 10
Ten points in his Mutation Tree wasn’t the greatest. But it was ten more than he had beforehand. Shaggy would also have to do some playing around to see how much each point was ‘worth’ to the tree. But he knew he wanted to raise Tough Bones for sure. So he started with that and put points into it. Hopefully, with its low level, it would be easier to raise.
Tough Bones Lvl 1
Points: 5
Shaggy grit his teeth. Five points for one level? That was crazy. Then he thought about all the bullets he had just taken and shut his mouth. He was already a tough ole bastard, and he had just gotten tougher. Sure, not by much, but with how tough he already was. It was probably a good trade. At least that’s how he consoled himself, trapped in the dark. He glared at his next choice as he seriously thought about saving his points.
Pain Suppression Lvl 0
It was another glaring 0 on his skill tree, and he really wanted it gone. Also, ignoring the pain he was in might help him in his current situation. Realizing he was rationalizing again, Shaggy bit his lip and dumped the points.
Pain Suppression Lvl 3
Points: 0
Almost immediately, the pain in Shaggy’s arms and legs lowered to a dull ache, and he felt like he could breathe easier. He smiled in the dark and listened for the sounds coming from above. The constant shifting dirt and murmur of voices convinced him that whoever was up there was still looking for him. Sighing, Shaggy brought up his General Tree. He had twenty points in that one and he almost knew what he wanted to do.
Last time he had raised Mental and gotten Enhanced Focus. Which he was noticing less and less. But it was still incredibly useful. Although given what had just happened, he wondered about his reflexes. Maybe if he had just been faster, he could have gotten away. Or at least not mashed by a building. Getting another evolution from any the skills in the General tree was probably out though. Shaggy sighed again and started assigning points.
General Tree
Toughness Lvl 17
Thick Skin Lvl 5
Skin Resistances Lvl 1
Reflexes Lvl 18
Quick Hands Lvl 5
Manual Dexterity Lvl 2
Mind Lvl 17
Enhanced Focus Lvl 1
Points: 0
Shaggy was almost glad with the point distribution this time. He had gotten a few levels in everything and could almost feel himself get tougher and faster. Mind was always a weird stat to classify in any game. But in M.A.O it seemed to make him think faster. So he was happy with getting an overall boost to everything. He would have to wait until [Toughness], [Reflex], and [Mind] were level 25 before he could get another Evolution, though. But he felt good about things overall. Then more dirt cascaded onto his face.
He sputtered for a moment before he remembered he was hiding. But from above, the shifting footsteps stopped for a moment. Shaggy held his breath and ignored his burning eyes. Pain Suppression was doing overtime as Shaggy felt tears fall down his cheeks. A low murmur came from just above him and he heard the shifting of rocks. He did his best to wriggle his hands free and transformed them into claws.
But suddenly he heard a loud crack, and the inaudible murmurs became indiscernible shouts. More cracks resounded and Shaggy was sure he heard the loud snap of a laser rifle. Before footsteps came running and he could tell some kind of fight had broken out above him. Given that he was in Rak territory, it wasn’t a surprise. The Phreaks had probably been looking for him, but now the Raks were here to defend their turf.
Shaggy got comfortable and listened to the sounds of gunfire, and thought about his situation. He was probably clear from the Phreaks. But if the Raks started snooping around, he was in even deeper shit. Especially with the condition in was in. He needed to eat and this time he would make sure to store food in his pockets. In fact, he vowed to buy a new jacket with as many pockets as possible.
Shaggy thought about his Skills again. The real question was whether to combine Endurance with Claw Fighting or take them both to intermediate level. On the one side he would get a new Skill. On the other, his Claw Fighting and Endurance Skills would drop to Level 1. While he wasn’t too concerned with the loss in Stamina from losing Levels in Endurance, the thought of being a less effective fighter bugged him.
But the thought of a new skill enticed him. Who knew how the Skill would affect him? It could bolster his way of fighting even further. Plus, skills seemed pretty difficult to acquire. It was with a grimace that Shaggy brought up both skills and hit the Combine button. He felt more tired as his Stamina dropped, and he almost immediately regretted the decision. But a glance down at his skills showed him what he earned.
Normal
Claw Fighting – Beginner Level 1*
Leaping – Beginner Level 3
Enhanced Senses – Beginner Level 2
Endurance – Beginner Level 1*
Fight Like An Animal – Beginner Level 1*
Now there was a mouthful. Shaggy tried to scratch his head in confusion as he stared at the Skill Name. He quickly brought up its notification window and read its description.
Fighting Like An Animal
You are prone to and highly capable of fighting like an animal. The type of animal depends on the type of Claws/Talons/Fangs the User possesses. You are more effective with your {Claws} and can use them like your native animal.
Shaggy nodded in understanding. The system would now guide him to fight more like a wolf. But how the hell did a wolf fight? Shaggy silently wondered as the gunshots died down and footsteps seemed to recede. Shaggy thought about trying to escape, but talked himself out of it. For all he knew, the Raks were still up there waiting for him or searching for more Phreaks. He checked his HP and SP again.
HP: 85/240 (Regeneration Halted)
SP: 220/240
With the increases in Toughness and his decreases in Endurance, both his HP and SP were now identical. Shaggy gave a wry smile as he saw it. But the standard resting healing rate for players was garbage. All players could lay or sit down and gain health slowly. But compared to his Regeneration it was shit. According to the forums, and his recent experience, HP came back at two per minute. Stamina was slightly better at five per minute.
“Well, at least I can run away with my Stamina how it is.” Shaggy thought as he listened for more sounds from above.
Shaggy sighed and settled in. He was probably being paranoid, but he wanted to make sure the coast was clear before he tried to emerge. As far as he could tell, he was in okay shape and he had plenty of air. So there was nothing to do but wait. He belatedly hoped the rest of his crew got away and they weren’t trying to find him. He calmed his breath and brought up the in-game forums and read through a few entries as he waited.
He had just gotten into a discussion on whether the games Heroes should be as regulated as they were, when a sudden shifting the rocks above him caught his attention. Shaggy had to think quickly as he dropped his screen. With nothing better to do, Shaggy readied his claws and pretended to be unconscious.
“I’m telling ya, there ain’t nothing down here.” A male voice said as Shaggy felt light hit his face.
He tried not to flinch as he heard a second male voice shout in triumph. “HA! I told you they was looking for somethin’. One of their boys got caught under the rubble and they was trying to dig’em out.”
“Oh, sonofabitch!” The first voice said. “Why the hell is he naked!? Also, what do we do with him?”
“No clue and maybe we shoot’em? He is a Phreak, y’know?”
“Naw. I don’t think Rita would like that. Plus them Phreaks were looking for him. So he has to be important.”
“I don’t know.” Said the second voice. “He don’t look like no Phreak to me. What them scientist do to him? Make him short?”
Shaggy grimaced as he felt a large pair of hands grip his torso. He was given a few tugs before he was dropped unceremoniously to the ground again.
“Man, he’s in there good.” Said voice number One. “Besides, we can’t see his legs. He might have a set of them insect legs. And look at them hands. Them look like normal hands to you?”
Voice Two grunted, but said nothing else. Shaggy felt the rubble shift around him again as One and Two dug him out. Their work drew the attention of other Rak Gang members who all helped, and soon Shaggy was free of the rubble and hoisted over someone’s shoulder. He was just contemplating making a break for it when he felt large manacles being slapped on his ankles and transformed wrists. He gave a mental sigh as a woman’s voice broke through the random conversations.
“What did we find, boys?”
“Some Phreak buried in the rubble, Rita. We think he’s one of their higher ups with the way they was looking for him.” Said voice two.
“Really? He does look familiar. We should take him to the boss. Might get us a fancy reward for turning in a high-ranking Phreak. You sure he’s out cold?” Rita asked.
“He had a building dropped on him, Rita.” Voice one said tiredly.
“Still could be faking.” Rita complained and Shaggy started to sweat.
He felt the heat of someone’s face come close to his own and he tried to slow his breathing. His werewolf claws twitched as a hand grabbed his face and twisted him this way and that before dropping him. Rita must’ve not seen anything because she dropped his face and grunted.
“Well, let’s get him to Scholer. She’s the nearest boss, right?”
“Well, Saul was at the market just a minute ago.” A new voice spoke up.
“Saul ain’t a boss!” Rita shouted.
But the third voice wasn’t stymied. “He ain’t a boss yet. But he’s about to be. We gotta get in good with the new blood, y’know.”
There was a meaty thud as Shaggy guessed Rita had hit the third speaker. “What are you gonna do if Scholer finds out we went to someone else besides her? We work for Scholer, not Saul! You bunch of neanderthals got that?”
There was a general murmur of agreement as whoever was carrying Shaggy moved. Rita got her men together, and they started moving. Shaggy tried to sneakily stretch the manacles on his hands, but they were not only tight, but they seemed to be designed for an enhanced person. Shaggy briefly wondered where they would get something like that when he heard whispering. It was the third voice complaining.
“Stupid bitch doesn’t know how this gang works. This is the problem with letting women in the gang. They don’t know how things are supposed to be.”
Whoever he was talking to only grunted in response. But the third voice kept up his quiet tirade against woman for almost the entire trip. Shaggy gave another mental sigh as he tried to think of a way out. He could probably fight his way free, but with his Regeneration down, it was going to be a slog. If they had any heavy weapons or rifles, he was mostly likely screwed.
“Well, this can only go terribly.” Shaggy thought as his body was shifted on the shoulder he was carried on.
