Preview - Safe Zone Hunter (Working Title)

Summary:
Mason finally had a day off. Of course that was when Earth was selected for the newest world in the Inter-Dimensional Games. Now he's fighting monsters, supplying safe zones for those in need, and meeting a lot of interesting women.

A World System story with action, adventure, and adult situations.

AN: I'm working on a couple of ideas that I could market on Kindle. Roughly 20k to 30k words per story priced around 2-4 dollars.
Comments very much appreciated.

1.

Congratulations!
You have been selected as an active contestant in the Inter-Dimensional Games!
Put on a good show!
System Activating . . .

"What, the actual fuck." He stared at the words that floated in the air before him.

Mason lurched back in his chair as an icy dagger of pain shot through his skull. A ragged scream whistled through his clenched teeth. When the pain faded, he found he was flat on his back on the floor. The mother of all brain-freeze migraines disappeared without any lingering pain.

Passive Skill Acquired- Translation
Verbal and written words now appear as your native tongue.

Passive Skill Acquired- Mental Fortitude
Allows Player to remain calm through adversity

Skill Acquired- Status
Activation- Mental or Verbal Command
Summon an information window to review your Skills, Active Effects, and Quests

Skill Acquired- Inventory
Activation- Mental or Verbal Command
Open a personalized pocket dimension to store items

Skill Acquired- Store
Activation- Mental or Verbal Command
Open the Store Interface Window to purchase or sell items

Player Assessment Beginning . . .

He braced himself for another lance of pain. Instead, a wave of tingles swept along his body. It started at the top of his head and continued all the way down to the soles of his feet.

Name: Mason Page
Species: Human - Sol 03
Class: TBD
Level: 1

Experience: 0
Experience Threshold: 1000
Viewers: 0
Joules: 0

Active Quests:
-Survive 24 Hours
Show the Viewers you are worth their time
Reward:
-Unlock Class
-Common Skill Box

"Skill box?" Mason reread the last line. "What?"

He wasn't sure who he was supposed to answer, but then, he wasn't sure what the hell had just happened.

<<Welcome MASON PAGE.>> A stilted, mechanical voice echoed around his skull. It made his teeth vibrate when it said his name. <<As a new player you are able to access the HELP function for the next TEN MINUTES until the game starts.>>

"Am I going crazy?" He asked the voice.

<<If you were, how would my answer help?>> It came out smoother that time.

"Good point." Mason chuckled. "What is going on? Who are you?"

<<Your dimension has been acquired by the Omicron Corporation of the Persei Cluster and has been integrated as the newest expansion in the Inter-Dimensional Games.>> The voice sounded almost human now. <<I am the temporary system assistant.>>

Mason nodded. A voice in the back of his head told him that he should be panicking.

<<The skill 'Mental Fortitude' is in place to prevent self-induced panic.>> Now the voice was familiar, with a feminine tone.

"That's an odd way to word that." Mason realized he was still on the floor.

He got to his feet and took a look around his apartment. It was a small studio that had once been a business class hotel room. Basically, it meant he had a compact kitchen and an actual fridge rather than a kitchenette. Today was his day off. Technically. He worked as a temp, which meant he could potentially have a job that lasted as long as a year or as short as a couple of days. It also led to stretches of sort-of unemployment. His last assignment, yet another construction gig, had ended the day before. That was a small mercy, he didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he was on-site. Brain-freeze migraine plus heavy machinery does not equal a good time for anyone.

<<There are other forms of panic.>> The voice replied. <<Do you have any more questions?>>

Mason crossed to his fridge and got himself a wonderfully cold bottle of water. He held the door open for a moment when the light didn't come on. It had worked a few minutes ago. He reached to flip on the kitchen light only to find it was already in the correct position. Mason flicked it a couple of times just to be sure.

"Did you knock out the power?" Mason asked.

<<Your native mythology, folklore, collective subconscious, and popular culture is implemented in the integration period.>> The voice said.

"That doesn't answer my question." Mason left the light switch alone.

<<Yes. The native power grid has been disabled.>> The voice answered. <<Eventually, you will be able to connect with to one of the Inter-Dimension Power Sources. Such items are available in the Store which can be purchased for Joules.>>

"What are Joules?" He snagged the water bottle out of the fridge as fast as he could.

He didn't drink. The temp agency liked to do mandatory random screens. Failing would lead to a long stretch of unwanted free time.

<<Joules is the standard measure of currency.>> The voice explained. <<Similar to your dollars.>>

"And are fifty joules like fifty cents, or dollars?" Mason settled on his couch.

<<Dollars.>>

Mason took a drink and tried to think of something else to ask.

"Status." He commanded.

The window appeared again. He read down the list, now with his skills at the bottom. Two things stood out among the others.

"Why are viewers listed? What is a skill box?" Mason asked.

<<Viewers are how many people have decided to watch your progress.>> The voice explained. <<They can donate joules, purchase reward boxes, and even chat with you in safe zones.>>

"That brings up even more questions." Mason muttered.

<<That is what I am here for.>> The voice chimed in. <<Skill Boxes are a type of Quest Reward. They are the only kind that cannot be purchased by viewers. Item, Equipment, and Weapon Boxes which can be purchased. The contents of each are randomized and have an assigned. Common, Rare, Epic, and Mythic. These are the assigned rarity which will provide a base quality.>>

"How do I recognize a safe zone?" Mason asked.

<<They will be marked as such.>> The voice replied simply.

Mason looked around the room as he took another sip of water. It wasn't marked as a safe zone. He hopped to his feet and started to walk around his apartment. The power was out. How long would his food last? Was the water off too then?

He tried the tap. It sputtered but nothing came out. Mason looked from it to the fridge. He paused.

"And why shouldn't I just find one of these and stay there?" Mason rubbed the bridge of his nose.

<<You could if you would like.>> If the voice had a body they would have shrugged. <<They range in size and have limited resources. Once those are exhausted, you would need to attain, or provide your own.>>

The voice paused to let the words sink in.

"And the best place to find more resources would be out in the world." Mason said.

<<Correct.>>

"Can I create my own safe zone?" Mason asked.

<<No. There are a finite number of designated safe zones.>> The voice answered. <<The free period for the HELP function has expired. Good luck and put on a good show.>>

Ten minutes had gone by much too fast. He felt a zing of panic race down his spine even with Mental Fortitude. The skill made it only last a moment, but it was still there. The fact that the quest was to survive for twenty-four hours he didn't think that he could camp out in his apartment.

"Inventory." He commanded.

A five-by-five grid appeared in the air in front of him. Twenty-five spots total. It floated out of his line of sight up to the right. He noticed three buttons on the bottom of the grid. One was an arrow pointed down, the other was empty, and the last was a symbol he didn't recognize. He tapped the last button.

The grid was replaced by a store front that looked like it had been copied directly from a webpage template.

+5 Inventory - 150 J
+10 Inventory - 250 J

Mason swapped back to the grid. He held out his water bottle. It disappeared and an image of the bottle appeared in the grid. Mason transferred the items from his fridge to his inventory. Thankfully, the items stacked. Otherwise, he'd have four spots of cold pizza instead of just the one.

With the fridge cleaned out he still had most of his inventory open. With a steady paycheck he had gotten into the habit of ordering take-out rather than cooking. Usually, he would start making his own meals when he wasn't on an assignment.

He moved through the rest of the apartment for useful items. His clothes except his shoes all went in the inventory as Casual Clothing. The steel-toed boots he had gone into their own spot as Common Reinforced Leather Boots.

There wasn't anything he could take as a weapon. He wasn't sure if guns still worked. It didn't really matter since he didn't have one. Spending an extra hundred or more dollars on something he'd probably never use never made sense to him. He didn't even have the old standby of a baseball bat.

He grabbed one of his kitchen knives from the block.

Acquired: Knife - Tool
Small Blades Skill: Rank Nil
Minimum Rank F to use as an effective weapon

"Fuck." Mason muttered.

It was better than nothing. He wrapped the blade in a kitchen towel and stuck it in his belt. Any further thoughts were interrupted by an explosion outside. It was close enough feel, but not break the windows. He ducked down on instinct.

Crouch walking wasn't nearly as smooth in practice as it was in videogames. Mason pressed his back against the wall beside the window. He peeked out of the curtains to the parking lot outside. His thought process stalled for a moment as he took in the scene. Once again, he felt Mental Fortitude kick in. The skill had proved incredibly useful in a short amount of time.

Three green-skinned creatures danced around a car that was on fire. He had played enough videogames to recognize a goblin when he saw one. They weren't exactly how he imagined them. At most, they stood at about four feet tall while their arms reached down below their knees. Their faces were flat with a porcine nose and short tusks stuck out of the corner of their mouths.

Green eggs and ham popped to the front of his mind.

Mason carefully opened his door. He couldn't just wait around for the goblins to get bored or wander away. He froze as one of his neighbors ran outside.

"Get out of here you stupid kids!" The old guy screamed. "I'm calling the police."

The trio of goblins looked at each other. It was then that Mason noticed the crude clubs a couple of them held. One held a chunk of concrete. The goblins sprang into motion. They attacked the old guy with ruthless efficiency. The goblin with the chunk of cement stood a few steps behind the other two. Their clubs had more reach, and they wouldn't let it get close enough to join in.

Mason slipped out of his apartment while they were distracted. The door drifted open without a sound. He didn't know how long the old guy would hold their attention. All it would take was a stray look for them to focus on him. He drew his knife and hunched over as he headed over to them.

He didn't have any experience fighting with a knife. The tool tip had made that clear. He couldn't allow this to become a fight.

Mason slapped a hand over the goblin's mouth and drove the knife into its throat. The creature dropped its rock to try to grab his arm. It went limp faster than he expected. He lurched at the sudden dead-weight in his arms.

Skill Acquired: Sneak Attack
Skill Acquired: Short Blades - Rank F

The text floated along his vision as he stumbled forward. He managed to stay on his feet. The momentum ended with a clumsy shoulder-check on one of the club wielding goblins. He righted himself as the two creatures turned to face him. They screeched as they saw their dead companion. His knife was still lodged in the other goblin. He now faced the two of them unarmed.

Mason didn't have a vast expanse of hand-to-hand experience. The few fights had were in his high school years when he was a stupid kid with something to prove. Since then, he relied on a cold stare to stop conflict before it got too far. So, he did what felt natural when faced with a four-foot-tall menace. Mason slapped the goblin in front of him as hard as he could.

It just didn't feel right to punch something the size of a child.

Mental Fortitude kicked in once more. These were kids. They were blood-thirsty creatures that had just turned a person into bloody goop.

The blow knocked the goblin to the side. Its eyes rolled in their sockets as it turned a dazed look back at him. Mason stepped forward with a solid kick planted in the center of its chest. The goblin went down to the pavement hard. It skidded a little before it came to a stop.

A high-pitched screech reminded him there was one more goblin in the fight. He dodged to the side just in time for the thick club to pass through where his head had been a moment before. The goblin landed, spun to face him, and sprang toward him with the club raised high above its head.

Mason dodged to the side again, but this time he was ready. He grabbed the goblin by the back of the neck as it landed. It let out a confused squeak as he hauled its backward onto its heels before he reversed direction to introduce its face to the pavement.

He held it there for a moment. It didn't move so he let it go. The brief feeling of victory ended suddenly as a club smashed down onto his shoulder. He turned to see the goblin he had slapped back on its feet. It held the club up ready for another strike.

Mason had no qualms punching it square in the face this time. He felt something crunch on impact. A wicked smile crossed his face as he saw one of the tusks had broken. The goblin dropped its club as it stumbled back.

He scooped it up off the ground. It was heavier than he expected, but still manageable with one hand. He swung it like hammer. The goblin's head was the nail. It dropped boneless to the ground. He turned his attention back to the goblin on the ground. It still hadn't moved.

A small window appeared once it was clear the three were dead.

Skill Acquired: Short Blunt - Rank F
Skill Acquired: Unarmed - Rank F

Activate Loot Interface?

"Sure." Mason sighed.

A window like his inventory appeared in front of him.

3x Goblin Tusk
2x Crude Club - Common
1 Stone- Component
Creature Card - Goblin - Common
2 Joules
+15 XP

Mason cocked his head as he read the loot. Fifteen points for the three of them came out to five a piece. It would practically be goblin genocide to reach level two. He figured the tusks were how to track how many of them he had killed. Maybe there was a bounty or something he could turn them in for Joules. It was the Creature Card that he didn't understand.

The card enlarged to fill the window. It had a picture of a goblin with some text under it.

Goblin - Common
Stupid, violent, and cruel. Where there's one, there's probably a dozen more.
Summon Requirements: 1/10

Mason hoped that there wasn't really another dozen goblins close by. The items transferred over to his inventory when he closed the window. Pain replaced adrenaline now that the fight was over. It hurt to breath. The club hit harder than he had thought.

He looked at where the goblin that had hit him had died. The thought of a few cathartic kicks to the corpse faded as he watched the body sink into the ground. He scanned the area to see the other two were gone as well. Only the remains of his former neighbor were left.

Morbid curiosity made him take a step closer. There had to be a reason the old man hadn't been absorbed like the goblins. He got the answer as a Loot Window appeared over the corpse.

Brooks Apartment Key
1 Joule

Mason almost dismissed the window. He paused. How long would the body remain there if he didn't take the loot? Would it attract more monsters?  He sighed as he added the loot to his inventory. A new box with a key in it appeared. One fight left him hurt and his inventory almost half full.

He groaned when he realized that his knife had disappeared with the bodies.

Hopefully, there would be a merchant, or something close to get rid of some of the junk. A thought struck him. He opened his inventory again then swapped it to the store interface. There were two new tabs along the top.

BUY - SELL - HISTORY

The History table was grayed out. Mason swapped over to the Sell function. His inventory appeared on the left portion of the screen with an empty box on the other side. He dropped one of the crude clubs, the stone, and the goblin tusks into the box.

+10 Joules

He shrugged then added the Goblin Card on its own.

+15 Joules

The History tab appeared to be open now. He swapped the display over to it to see the loot he had sold. The prices were listed with each item as well.

Items will be refunded at 25% after 24 Hours

Mason spun to face the sound of approaching footsteps. He held the club up at the ready. The sudden movement twinged his shoulder. He wasn't sure how much of a fight he'd be able to put up, but he wasn't going to go down easily.

He paused when he saw that it was an attractive woman. She was about his height. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She was dressed in a pair of a shorts and a tank-top that was blissfully snug against her modest chest.

"It's ok." She spoke softly as she approached. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Mason arced an eyebrow at that.

"You're hurt." She said. "Come on, let me help you."

Mason nodded. He kept hold of the club until they were in her apartment with the door locked and the curtains closed.