Time skip — 2 days later — Current time 9:34 am
Twisting the last bolt into place, I stand, looking at my cobbled-together motorcycle in pride. As I do, I notice Sunny walk in through the door.
"Are you finally done?" she asked, gesturing to the mechanical monstrosity in the center of the room. I grinned, letting out a few manic sounding giggles.
"Yeah, I'm done. You want to be the one to turn it on?" I ask, dangling the intact fusion core I grabbed from one of the vans in front of her. She hesitated a moment before shaking her head.
"No, I want to, but no. I feel like the moment I even touch the thing it'll fall apart or explode." She said, moving out of the doorway and leaving. She couldn't be blamed, though. These things are basically rolling mini nukes. I know it'll work though, since the fusion core I found was in near perfect condition. The only thing really wrong with it is the low amount of power inside the fusion core itself. I'd probably be able to get to New Vegas in one go…though that's considering I don't go off the main road and won't need to take detours. So I'll have to swap it out every so often.
Fun fact, the fusion cores inside vehicles are different from the ones inside power armor. They admittedly look similar, though the power armor version is like a battery with the 'positive' and 'negative' on one end. Whereas the vehicle versions have them all along the left and right side. That's why you never hear about anyone trying to take fusion cores from vehicles for their power armor.
Grabbing the handles, I push the motorcycle out the door of Victor's old shack. That's right, I took Victor's old shack for myself. Anyways, after already saying my goodbyes before leaving, I pushed the motorcycle out of town and down the hill a ways. As I brought it to the bottom, I noticed something. A fridge. It tickled something in the back of my mind. Walking up to it and seeing that it was oddly untouched—not from the elements, mind you, just that no one has touched it. Following my instincts, I opened it.
"Why hello Mr Jones!" I say, kneeling next to the fridge. It was one of the Wild Wastelander events. A nod to the Indiana Jones scene where he hid in a fridge to survive a nuclear blast. This time, though, not so lucky, it seems. Reaching in and grabbing his hat, I look at it for a second before shrugging. "Guess it's mine now," I say, putting it into one of the bags I put on the side of the motorcycle.
"Well, time to make history." I said, swinging a leg over and taking a seat. I pulled out the fusion core and readied it over the core holder. I shifted things around, rewired the ignition to the act of inserting and extracting the core itself. I moved the insertion location to where the key would go. Hesitating for only a moment before–
Klunk.
It clicks into place, though it made no noise beyond a low hum. It's not surprising considering it's nuclear powered, but I kinda miss the roar of an engine…what? Did you expect it to sputter out or explode? Do you think I'm stupid? Fuck no! I'm not that insane. I tested, double tested, and triple tested every part of this thing before putting the pieces into place.
Ding! Make a motorcycle from nothing but other motorcycles!
1x Gold Skill ticket acquired!
Ding! Increase Novice Mechanics to Intermediate Mechanics in less than a week!
1x Random Platinum ticket acquired!
Seeing the notifications, I decided not to hold off on rolling these for later.
Rolling Gold Skill ticket.
Ding!
[Jack of All Trades]
|Rare Skill|
You have novice-level expertise in all basic trades (Novice Blacksmithing, Medicine, Mechanics, Cooking, Interfacing) with competence of an apprentice and are fairly talented in those fields. Does not extend to combat skills.
My skull thrums for a moment, feeling like it was vibrating just as much as the motorcycle under me before ending. It took me a few moments to acclimate, then I remembered something, I didn't know how to ride a motorcycle before this.
"Heh, guess my luck's doing a lot of heavy lifting, huh?" I said, feeling glad that I didn't try and drive this thing before rolling the ticket. Pulling the kickstand up and readying myself to drive. Rolling the next ticket as I start to drive.
Rolling Random Platinum ticket.
Ding!
[Concrete Conduit Physiology]
|Epic Ability|
Infamous - Allows you to wield the powers of a Concrete Conduit, alongside giving a mild increase to your physical attributes. Being a conduit allows you to absorb, generate, manipulate, emit, and encase your body in armor of concrete that boosts your physical abilities, shoot spikes of concrete, etc. Whenever you are absorbing Concrete, you can use it to augment your own regeneration. Conduit abilities do not use the user's energy but instead require them to absorb outside sources of the element to fuel their reserves. You only start with the very basic uses of the ability and have to train to achieve more complex techniques.(In the absence of concrete, Sedimentary rocks can be used as a substitute)
As I drive, I feel the Concrete Conduit Physiology change me in a way that's hard to explain, I can feel the concrete under me like a sixth sense in the back of my mind. My body actually starts to get denser and stronger as I unconsciously start absorbing the loose bits of concrete from the road beneath me. I feel my reserves getting fuller and fuller before topping out. As I drive, I decide to start practicing the ability, raising one of my hands off of the handle bar and generating concrete on my fingertips before being distracted by something. The shack at the intersection.
Bringing my motorcycle to a stop, I look at the shack, trying to remember if anything inside is worth actually stopping my engine to go inside for. Deciding to take a look, I kick the stand out and pull the fusion core, cutting off the low hum of the engine. Grabbing my Service Rifle, unsheathing the combat knife from my belt and affixing it to the barrel of my rifle. Walking up to the door I twist the handle and crack it open, pushing slowly before finally opening it all the way. Nothing inside except a generator, ham radio on a table, a few lockers in the back, and a bunch of junk scattered around.
Walking up to the table I see a key along with an opened Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle and a Star bottle cap next to it. Grabbing the key and Star bottle cap, I pocket the bottle cap in a separate pouch on my backpack and move to the lockers. Using the key on all of the lockers I find some 5.56 ammo, some bottle caps, energy cells, and a laser pistol. Looking at the laser pistol for a second, I realize it's from Fallout 4, not Fallout New Vegas.
"Honestly, it's a lot better than the older models from the other games." I say, pocketing the laser pistol in the main compartment of my backpack. Looking around the rest of the shack I check to see if there is anything else worth taking, finding nothing. I mark the location on my Pip-Boy and walk to the door, as I do the same as when I entered, scan the area from right to left before walking out. Deciding to check around the back I find the corpses of a few Powder Gangers and some bits and pieces of bloatflies lying on the ground. Beyond those I see the remains of a plane sitting there.
Looking at the corpses, they look so badly mangled by what bloatflies survived their skirmish that it's not worth looking for what's left on them. Walking back to my motorcycle I think about whether or not there's anything left around here I stop. Looking to the South, I spot a small camp over the ridge.
"Well, hello~," I say, beginning to walk to it. Pulling my 10mm and dropping my service rifle so it hangs just in reach for me to pick it back up, I creep closer. Coming up on it I find two mobile homes with their wheels off filled with boxes. Peeking through the broken out window I spot two Powder Gangers sitting at a table and drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey.
"You heard anything from the boss yet?" The first one asks, passing the bottle to the second.
"No, haven't heard anything since Cobb came through." The second said, referring to the leader of the group of Powder Gangers I beat and kicked out of Goodsprings.
"What was up with him anyways? He looked like he saw a deathclaw coming at him."
"Not a clue, said something about a bounty hunter finding him or something? A kid maybe? Don't know really, since he was shaking like an overcharged power pack and slurring like he " The second said, starting to laugh his ass off, being joined by the first. Deciding I heard enough, I started moving to the left side of the mobile home, generating a chunk of concrete in my palm. Looking back to the right side, I spot a makeshift tripmine in the path. Tossing the chunk of concrete a bit passed the tripmine.
"The hell was that?" The first one asked, the sound of a chair falling over coming after he spoke. A second chair sounded as his buddy joined him.
"Not a clue, should we check it out?" The second asked.
"No! Are you stupid?" The first reprimanded, sounding like this wasn't the first time he had to call out his partner.
'Really?! Now is the time when a Powder Ganger decides to be smart!' I shout mentally, moving further around the side of the mobile home. I peek, seeing them still looking where I threw the piece of concrete. 'Fuck it. I'm not wasting bullets on just two grunts.' I think, holstering my 10mm and slinging my Service Rifle over my shoulder as I raise my hand, pointing an open palm at them.
Alternate point of view — Travis Carney (The 'Smart' Powder Ganger)
As me and Marc aim in the direction of the noise I get a feeling like something is wrong, like I'm being watched by a bot that knows too much about me. Before I can find the source though I feel myself get hit by something. 'Is that…WATER?!' I screamed internally, sputtering and coughing as the water got into my mouth and nose. I shut my eyes and raise my hands, feeling my gun fly out of my grasp. I panic a little before feeling the jet of water shut off suddenly. Placing my hand against Marc's mobile home I try to stand before hearing the quick steps of someone running.
I wipe my eyes and squint to see whatever it was only to see–
Crash– Kersplat!
I saw some skinny motherfucker swing a fist covered in concrete at Marc so fast it blurred and whistled, as it made impact I almost felt the hit myself. Watching as the things fist basically disintegrated Marc's torso, leaving only the lower half, arms, and head intact. My face twisted in horror, not being helped by the fact that the hit itself both indented and rocked the mobile home on its side. Before I could jump away and look for my gun it spun. My eyes widened and before I could do anything I felt something move against my throat, seeing my answer in its left hand.
'Are those…claws?' Those were my last thoughts as my vision went black and I fell on my back. Dead...
Isaac pov
"Holy shit, that…was…AWESOME!" I shouted, feeling the strength and durability that the Concrete Conduit Physique brought to me. That punch alone should have broken my arm with how much force was put behind it, but I didn't even feel a scratch from it. Then there are the claws. I should have felt my fingers strain or stretch, but they didn't move from the position I locked them into after swinging. Yet that isn't even the most incredulous part of the whole thing, because when I swapped to Claws right after Concrete I got this feeling in the back of my mind. A feeling like they could…fuse?
Following the feeling, I activated Claws first before summoning concrete around my hands. It took a few seconds but I finally got…something.
Ding! Safe location found! Distributing system-issued rewards!
Ding! Activation system function, Menu!
Ding! Synergy found! Unlocking Synergy tab in the system menu!
A flood of system windows popped into my vision, showing everything that the system seemed to keep for later. I look through the system messages before redirecting my attention to the aforementioned 'synergy tab'. Opening it, I come to a menu with all of my abilities listed with a plus and three question marks next to them. Though my attention was directed to Concrete Conduit Physiology and Claws.
[Concrete Conduit Physiology] + [Claws] = Tyrants Talons or Obsidian Fusillade or Splintercore Bombs
As I looked at the selections I started thinking about their uses. For the first one I could make massive gauntlets with equally massive concrete claws, or hooks, or just single massive swords like the ones from the game Prototype. For the second option, I could use the claws as an anchor point for shooting concrete projectiles at others at bullet like speeds. To add onto their uses I can just drag my claws against concrete or sedimentary rock to recharge instead of having to put a bit of attention on regaining it, not to mention that I can regenerate my claws with the concrete itself should they get damaged in any way. Additionally, I could make claws that fly along the ground to strike opponents or use the claws as a conduit to make rudimentary structures like walls, a line of spikes from the ground, or even throwing globs of concrete that explode into shredding shrapnel on impact—
Ding! Create your first synergy with two abilities!
1x Random Gold ticket acquired!
My thoughts were interrupted as the system message popped up. I rolled the ticket before continuing with my thoughts.
Rolling Random Gold ticket.
Ding!
[Nazar]
|Rare Item|
An eye-shaped blue glass charm that passively grants the user's decent resistance to curses and negative energy. If the user is afflicted with an Epic rank or above curse, the Nazar will break to nullify the curse.
My thoughts froze, I could almost hear my neck crack as I turned to look at the roll I got. 'Nazar', I thought, reading the description again before my thoughts moved to the item. 'Is radiation considered a negative energy? What about becoming a ghoul, is that considered a curse, or is becoming a feral ghoul the curse? If I bring this thing out next to a feral ghoul will it stop being feral?' My thoughts continued down that line of thought before Novice Discipline kicked in from Jack of All Trades. I stopped, shaking off the unnecessary thoughts in favor of pulling the charm out and hanging it from my belt.
I could feel how the charm actively pushed away the always present low level radiation in the area. I breathed, tasting fresh air for the first time since landing in that grave yard. Standing there, I just breathed for a while, enjoying the air's flavor. Moving my attention back to the system screen again I asked a question to it, not expecting an answer,
"Can I synergize multiple abilities? What about synergies with traits?" I asked, adding the second part as I took one of the chairs the Powder Gangers were using.
Ding! Yes user, if the synergy is logical or obvious, you may synergize them into one! This reduces the amount of ability slots that they take up, allowing for more synergies!
"Wait, there are ability slots?" I asked, not noticing any part where the system said that.
Ding! Yes user, you were given five ability slots, which were previously full!
"Is there any way to get more slots?" I asked, my instincts as a courier wanting as much power at my fingertips as possible.
Ding! There is, user, you only need to roll ten abilities in order to receive one extra ability slot!
"Hm, guess you can't win them all." I commented blandly, looking over the synergy tab again only to notice a synergy I didn't before.
[High Specs] + [Ace of All Trades] + [Jack of All Trades] + [Time Accel (Mutation — Mind only)] = Prodigy Engine or Instant Adaptation
'I guess that's why my brain literally reshaped itself. It didn't like how confining my brain was.' I thought, looking over what Prodigy Engine and Instant Adaptation actually did. Looking, I find that Prodigy Engine takes the near instantaneous learning of [Ace of All Trades], the accelerated thinking speed of [High Specs], the base skills of [Jack of All Trades], and a bit of [Time Accel] to allow me even more time to think and learn skills in a hundredth of the time a normal person would be able to. Instant Adaptation however, takes all of [Time Accel] and uses the skills from [Jack of All Trades] as a base to aid in understanding how combat experts do what they do through science and logical deductions. It calculates everything and uses [High Specs] to process it all, then it uses [Ace of All Trades] so I can learn an enemies techniques in an instant. Coming to the end of the explanations, I shrug and closed the screens.
"Whatever, I've stayed here long enough, time to get moving." I said, moving to loot the area before heading back to my motorcycle.
[Chapter 4 End]
A/N: So, what did you think? Was the synergy tab explained well? Did Isaac's ramblings give you a good idea of how the synergies work? Or did it not make sense at all? Please tell me, I'd like to know so I can go back and clarify for ease of reading.
I know I said I'd be going to Primm this chapter but I remembered that I didn't actually explain a rather important part of the Chaos Gacha. Though, now that I got into a bit of a groove I can more accurately describe things and hopefully start shortening things down a bit for people that are getting tired of reading a whole paragraph about one thing only to read more in the next paragraph.
Though, that will take time, trials, and errors before I can get better at it. That's why I would like you all to tell me where I could shorten my explanations down at, like seriously, I'm kinda struggling here. An AI writing assistant can only help so much until you start needing human aid to polish things up.
Anyways, enough with the rambling and begging. As always, thank you for reading this chapter until the end. I hope that you (and even those who didn't read this far) have a fantastic rest of your day/night!