- Health Stat
"Damn you, Bryer!" Pantha yelled. "You will not interfere with this one!" he shouted as leapt towards Gus. "This mission is far too important to my people for it to be failed."
"Well, I did warn you," Bryer said, launching a black, spherical projectile from his left hand towards the Cybernetic man.
It slammed into Pantha, and he screamed like a newborn baby. The projectile pulled at every single atom in his body, threatening to separate him on a molecular level.
Forming a fist with his left hand, he recalled the projectile and approached Pantha, who dropped to the floor once he was released from the effects of the sphere.
"Fine. Fine!" Pantha yelled with desperation as Bryer towered over him, his right hand raised in a fist.
"Who hired you for this?" Bryer demanded. "It's not like the Corsairs to get involved in faction disputes. You usually only work for rich individuals. What changed?"
"Nothing changed," Pantha said, breathing hard as the effects of the sphere were still being felt all over his body. "This was no faction, just a rich person."
"A rich person?" Bryer asked. "Who? Who would get involved with faction disputes?"
"You know I can't tell. Client confidentiality and all. I'm a mercenary, not a criminal."
"Do it, or you die," Bryer said.
'How close was I to death?' Gus thought, as a soothing wave of relief washed over his body.
*Would you like a health metre installed into the stats page of the system?*
'That's something I can have? Sure!'
Moments later, the stats page popped into view.
*Level [4] {315 / 2500 EXP}*
*Health [20] / [140]*
*Strength [3 (2)]*
*Speed [3 (2)]*
*Stamina [3 (2)]*
*Leadership [3 (2)]*
*Combat [3 (2)]*
*Durability [2 (1)]*
*Ranged [2 (1)]*
*Proficiency [2 (1)]*
'This thing never ceases to amaze me,' he thought as he looked at the stats page. '140 total health, is it? Since I'm level four now, I must have started at 100. It feels good, but I'm not totally convinced. To know, I would need to know how much damage weapons do.'
*Should the shot penetrate your clothing and hit you directly, a shot from a low impact rifle such as the Repeater would deal the equivalent of 1000 health. This number can be reduced through gear from the store and boxes, as well as increasing your durability statistic. Additionally, this number can be increased with the addition of specific modifications to the weapon.*
*Note: Bleeding injuries, like the one on your back, will inflict a drain effect on your health. You will lose health over time until the drain is complete*
*Note: Dropping below ten percent health will result in a pain induced loss of consciousness. This threshold can be reduced through durability skills.*
'So, the Repeaters would deal 1000 to me if they hit me directly? Any chance I could get this information in the system?'
*Understood.*
*Weapon Statistics has been added to the system main menu.*
*'Health' has been added to the Glossary.*
'It updated the glossary without being prompted? This system really wants to help me. Not that I'll complain.'
"Hey, are you the Reaper leader?" a purple haired girl asked Gus, crouching down next to him. "I'm Beccania, but people just call me Becca. Let me take a look at your wounds."
Her words snapped him out of the system focus he had drawn himself into. "Uh, sure. Who are you?" Gus asked.
"We're third years from the academy. After everything happened the higher ups sent our squad in as a recovery mission for you guys," she explained. "Ooh," she winced. "This looks pretty bad. How did it happen? Was it him over there?" she asked, nodding her head towards Pantha, who had now been released from the grip of the sphere that Bryer launched at him.
Gus shook his head. "Glass. I was covering a family who were caught in the crossfire, and shattered glass scratched up my back. Then I slid through a window which worsened it, just after slamming into a rooftop which caused this," he said gesturing to his stomach.
"This would be your first one as well, right?" she asked. "Mission, I mean."
"Not quite. We had to go to Frankfurt to get something last week. Compared to this, that one was easy."
"They're sure starting you early this year. I hope this hasn't put you off the idea of missions or anything. It isn't always this bad, I promise."
"Nah, I'm still going to do them. I have to," he said with a smile. "We've all got our reasons for fighting, and this isn't enough to make me give mine up."
"Glad to hear it," she replied, offering a friendly smile. "Now, while these are bad, I don't have anything that can help deal with them at the moment. I only brought adrenaline stims to give us a chance to save the dying, so you'll have to hold on until we get out. The EDF should have some medical facilities set up outside the dome by now."
'Stats.'
*Level [4] {315 / 2500 EXP}*
*Health [18] / [140]*
*Strength [3 (2)]*
*Speed [3 (2)]*
*Stamina [3 (2)]*
*Leadership [3 (2)]*
*Combat [3 (2)]*
*Durability [2 (1)]*
*Ranged [2 (1)]*
*Proficiency [2 (1)]*
'It's worsened a little bit,' Gus thought.
"If I pass out on the way back, I apologise. I'll do my best not to," Gus said.
"Don't worry yourself about it. Just make sure you don't hurt yourself more."
"How is he?" asked the boy who attacked Pantha. "He's not dead yet?"
"Not yet," Becca responded. "But he's lucky we got here when we did, Bryer. I don't think he would have survived much longer."
"Tell me, do you know anything about why this happened?" Gus asked.
"Yeah, I do," Bryer responded. " Pantha folded and told me who it was. It was a General, or at least the money for the order was from a General's account. Someone who has an interest in the war continuing until humanity are solidified as the number one power in the known galaxy."
"Who?" Gus asked, slightly annoyed by what felt like stalling tactics from the one Becca called Bryer.
"The General of the UNNCA's EDF. General Ammadeus Dean."