Level Up
I couldn't do this. Why did I think I could do this? I was way in over my head. I had come to the Trainyard yesterday and saw some drug dealers that were relatively off the beaten path. I knew they were drug dealers because they offered to sell me drugs before they shouted some stuff that nobody should shout at a woman.
Now I was here in my costume on Saturday evening and I could see that they were still there. This must have been their spot. There were three of them, and as far as I could tell only one had a gun, tucked into the waistband of his pants.
This would be easy. All I had to do was muscle up and take out the one with the gun. After that the rest would probably fold. Right? Right yeah. Okay I could do this.
I took a deep breath and muscled up, wincing as I did. It wasn't exactly a feeling I could get used to. It was go time.
I turned the corner I was spying from and just started running.
"Huh? Is that a-" The one with the gun noticed me and started reaching for his waist but it was too late. I slammed my fist into his jaw and he went stumbling back. A second later the attack was doubled and he fell to the ground, hopefully out cold.
"Give up and- fuck!" As I was trying to give them a peaceful way out one of the drug dealers had grabbed a wooden plank and swung it at me. I was able to block with my arm but even through triple muscle it still hurt. I kicked him in the shin and he jumped back cradling his leg. From that position a second later when his shin was kicked again the force knocked him down.
I looked for the third dealer but all I saw was his back as he ran away. Two out of three wasn't bad. I moved to the downed dealer and kicked him in the side.
"Stay still or you'll feel that again and again and again." The man whimpered and nodded. Of course it was a lie. I could only double my attacks and I hadn't used Divergent Fist on that blow.
I reached down at the knocked out dealer and found what I was looking for, a phone.
"911 what's your emergency?"
"Hi. I'm a cape, a superhero, and I just caught some drug dealers. Could you send somebody to arrest them?"
"What's your location?"
I quickly rattled off the address and the dispatch lady said a squad car would be there soon.
Twenty minutes later two officers showed up. One immediately went to the drug dealers and began searching them, quickly finding an amount of heroin that I could only assume would result in intent to distribute to the courts.
The other cop spoke to me.
"What are you still doing here?"
"Umm." I did not know how to respond to that question. Shouldn't he be asking about the criminals? "Giving a statement?" I hazard a guess.
The cop just sighed. "Listen, based on the fact that we haven't heard about you in our weekly meetings I'd guess you haven't registered as an independent with the PRT." I nodded. "So technically what you're doing is vigilantism. Which is illegal." Fuck. "This your first night out?"
"Yeah." I said quietly.
"Okay so here's the deal. My partner and I will say that you weren't here when we arrived. Then you will get your ass down to the PRT to register as an independent hero."
"Right, thanks." The cops quickly left after that, taking the dealers with them. I had forgotten to give them my name.
As I stood there processing my power popped up in front of me.
Quest Complete! And The Winner IsGained:
200 EXP
1 Power Roll
Defeated 2 Merchant Drug DealersGained:
100 EXPLevel Up!
Level 4
+1 Loose SP
Holy shit this was happening. I was about to get my second real power. I needed to process and get somewhere safe to think this through. I moved away from the crime scene and changed into my civilian clothes and then one bus ride later I was back home.
"Hey Taylor."
"Dad! Hey. Sorry I'm back so late." My dad just gave a shrug.
"Taylor, as long as you weren't buying drugs or breaking windows it's fine if you stay out a few extra hours."
I was technically doing the opposite of buying drugs so that's a win for me. "I'm still sorry I missed dinner. Do we have any leftovers?"
Dad nodded and went into the kitchen bringing back a ham sandwich that looked very appetizing after the night I'd been through. "Thanks dad!" I grabbed it and went up to my room to eat and think.
Name: Taylor Anne HebertNeophyte Crimefighter LVL 4SP Cap4Loose SP3Tier 1 Powers(1)Mover(0)Shaker(0)Brute(0)Breaker(0)Master(0)Tinker(0)Blaster(0)Thinker(0)Striker(1)Changer(0)Trump(0)Stranger(0)Tier 0 Powers(4)Power Roll Available
Between my quest rewards and the level up I could raise my SP Cap all the way to 7. Of course there was the trade off of getting a random tier 0 if I went below the cap and getting something I might not want/need. Some of those abilities were…let's just say weird. I definitely didn't want to be able to grow a beard and then manifest a fist from it.
Powers were weird.
In the end I figured raising the SP Cap could only be good but having at least a small SP reserve was also good. Two Loose SP to the power roll and one in reserve to buy something that might synergize with my new power.
As for the classification.
1d12=11=Trump
I decided to bet on trump. According to PHO it was the rarest power type and it could be a lifesaver for when I meet my first cape.
1d20=1=Third Eye
Third EyeCost: 2 SPYou can see the supernatural: you can visually identify areas/objects/people being affected by parahuman powers (Glory Girls awe/fear aura, telekinetically controlled objects, a person with a passive Brute power, power generated material like Kaisers blades, areas under Thinker observation, etc.) as a "buzzing glow" around the affected area/object.
You can't distinguish what the powers are doing, just that they exist and the boundaries of them. You can, however, recognize and identify each unique effect to the point that you can tell the difference between two different overlapping or identical looking effects. i.e. if there were two overlapping Shaker auras, you'd be able to tell where one ends and the other begins, as well as recognize one of those Shaker auras from having seen it elsewhere earlier.
This sight can't identify normal tinkertech or its effects, as they are not by default under the effect of any parahuman powers.
2 SP. I spent so much Loose SP only to get a 2 SP power. At least it was pretty useful and hopefully the four tier 0 powers I get are worth it.
4d77=36+52+34+63=Fitting In+Faker+Clarity+Clothes
Thinker (Fitting In)Cost: 1 SPYou have a perfect instinct for navigating social circles and situations. Able to effortlessly blend into any situation, you are a true social chameleon.
Tinker/Stranger (Faker)Cost: 1 SPYou specialize in making fakes. This includes creating fake weapons, bodies, and other objects. Your imitation items are convincing to most, but thinkers and tinkertech users can detect their true nature. Your creations, no matter how perfect, will still be a fake. If you make a fake gun, it won't fire, and a fake shield wouldn't be able to protect you.
Thinker (Clarity)Cost: 1 SPYour mind has been sharpened, improving your focus, creativity, and memory. With your newfound clarity, your mind effortlessly flows from one thought to the next, completely unhindered by unwanted distractions. While this does not improve your intelligence or comprehension abilities, this greatly improves your creativity, granting countless ideas ready to be acted upon. This also enhances your memory, making it impossible to lose your train of thought, or forget any potential ideas.
Breaker/Striker (Clothes)Cost: 1 SPNo matter what outfit you choose, you'll experience complete comfort, regardless of the circumstances. You can wear high heels and hike for hours without any pain or discomfort, or don a heavy cloak under the hot sun without feeling overheated or burdened. Whether you're dressed for elegance or practicality, your attire will never hinder you, allowing you to move freely and effortlessly in any environment. This doesn't fully affect armor, only affecting decorative parts of said armor.
Fitting In and Clarity were definitely worth getting, hell I had been thinking about getting Fitting In just a few days ago. Clothes was just nice to have as a woman, but Faker though wasn't that useful to me. I mean unless of course I used it for intimidation, or faking orders from a superior, faking somebody's death if I need to help somebody escape a really bad situation.
And there was Clarity putting in the work. I probably should have gotten that earlier. Now though I just waited and focused on my system. I had noticed that I would get quests when I was relaxed and not really doing anything.
New QuestThe Right Side of the LawRegister as an independent hero with the PRTRewards:
100 EXP
1 Loose SP
New QuestI am the LawEstablish yourself as a vigilante that operates outside the PRT's rules.Rewards:
200 EXP
2 Loose SP
New QuestShard's Title MatchSurvive your first fight against a cape. You don't have to win, you just have to not lose.Rewards:
200 EXP
2 Loose SP
Rewards for victory:
500 EXP
+1 SP Cap
1 Power Roll
Huh. My first choice between quests. I could only fulfill one between Right Side and I Am. The rewards for becoming a vigilante were higher, did my power have a plan, a desire beyond making me stronger? Or maybe it was an analysis from which would be easier. From what I read it only took a small examination and some paperwork to be registered with the PRT. On the other hand I'd need to actually go out and make a name for myself to be known as a vigilante.
As for the third quest…that was so tempting. Running high on my first fight going near perfectly. If I managed to defeat a cape before my next level up then I'd level up from the fight and then have two rolls with a SP Cap of 6. I definitely wasn't ready for that though. If I chased the euphoric feeling of rolling for powers I might end up in a situation where I end up dead. It was almost like an addiction I had to keep in place. Was this Clarity giving me better focus to understand my relationship with my power or would I have come to this conclusion without it?
This entire train of thought made my head spin. In the end I decided that if I couldn't trust my power then I would probably go insane trying to go against it and that I would still need to be careful to not get in over my head chasing level ups or powers.
Part of that was also making sure my power base was secure enough for me to survive situations I didn't read properly or fell into by accident. I thought over the fight I had with the drug dealers. It had gone almost perfectly, except my inability to dodge that one attack. I needed something to help with the technical aspects of fighting while I built up my own experience. I looked through the tier 0 powers to see what could help. Clarity was definitely pulling its weight as I examined most of the powers and thought about their impact on my ability to fight.
In the end there were four I could see helping. One was Reaction, that would give me an edge against anybody who operated in real time by reducing my reaction time to a quarter of what it was now. Second was Bullet Time, even without being able to move more quickly it would still allow me time to breath during a fight with a mental time slowdown. Third was Surge, a high risk high return gamble to gain actual brute level physical abilities for a fraction of a second. Timing those right could let me dodge attacks. Fourth was Graceful, which in its very description had a mention of dodging attacks.
I needed to narrow this down further. Currently I couldn't fully make use of Bullet Time or Surge, but both would be more usable with either Reaction or Graceful. So I would take one of the later and then one of the former. Between Reaction and Graceful which was better for me at the moment? The main issue I had was lack of combat experience. So which would better cover for that. Both had several pros and cons, so in the end I had to make a leap of faith.
Mover (Graceful)Cost: 1 SPYour movements flow easily and gracefully. This enables you to effortlessly dodge attacks, stay balanced in any situation, and pull off extremely difficult maneuvers.
I just had to hope that my power wasn't exaggerating when it mentioned dodging attacks. I stood up and decided to test out my new powers. I lifted one leg up and I didn't feel wobbly at all. I tested even more finding my limits. I could keep my footing on one leg no matter what, and on two legs even the most ridiculous dodging maneuvers were something I could move gracefully in and out of. Hell I was even able to throw solid blows from positions that I couldn't even imagine before. It wasn't absolute though. One foot was fine, and on my toes with both feet was fine; however I was barely able to stay up with my toes on one foot and make any sort of serious movement. I also couldn't do any serious movement standing on my hands, but I was able to keep my balance way better than I ever could have before and even do a few steps with them before I started to feel unbalanced. This felt like the right choice.
Now I had another tool in my arsenal and a plan. I'd register with the PRT to complete The Right Side of the Law and then go out on the streets. Not to find and fight a parahuman, in fact I'd stick to either the Merchants' territory, who's capes rarely went out except for wild parties or to cause chaos, or in unclaimed territory where unaffiliated petty crime was more likely to happen. Now that I knew for sure that stopping criminals gave me exp I could help the city in small ways to get to level 5, and gain a new power to hopefully assist me in fighting an actual cape.
Name: Taylor Anne HebertNeophyte Crimefighter LVL 4SP Cap4Loose SP0Tier 1 Powers(2)Mover(0)Shaker(0)Brute(0)Breaker(0)Master(0)Tinker(0)Blaster(0)Thinker(0)Striker(1)Changer(0)Trump(1)Stranger(0)Tier 0 Powers(9)
A.N.
Decided that one chapter wasn't enough to properly put out the vibe or generate any real discussion, the thing that I require under my stories to further animate my corpse to type, but I will just post one chapter per Monday from now on.
I'll also respond to a handful of not quite questions in the comments. So for the Alt-Trigger some of you may have noticed one of the large changes aside from Taylor not ending up in the hospital or missing school. This change is one of the larger things I'm pursuing with this fic, plus I just kind of like Alt-Triggers in stories. It makes things fresh.
Also one of the things that always stops me from really writing litrpg stories is the stats. I love stats when I read but have no idea how to actually write them in stories. So instead I just decided to combine my love for gamer fics and my love of Trump Taylor stories. Hence the specialized Shard System. I figured it was a way to marry the two genres together. Plus I'm pretty sure I'm not a good enough author to make Taylor discovering Mana Bolt or the meditation skill interesting enough to read. Too many better authors have done so and I may copy a lot of shit I won't copy that.Last edited: 28/1/2025 Award Quote ReplyReport687cooldownnow28/1/2025Reader modeAdd bookmark Threadmarks shadowshadowed28/1/2025Add bookmark#11So, when's the obligatory Lung beatdown? Award Quote ReplyReport23cooldownnowAward RecipientShe/Her28/1/2025