CWD: GA ~ Seven

Nacho looked around at the mall surrounding a central abyss, and his inner safety-minded self was happy there were railings. He found himself without the backpack he’d strapped on before the Juxtaposition began, but he was confident he’d have it in the Starter World. His left arm was also completely healed, and he felt full and hydrated.

All dressed up and formal, he walked over to gaze down into the dark nothing below. Normally, there might be a first floor down there. Not in the Evaluation Mall. The stores here were illuminated by bright neon lights, with even more light pouring from fluorescent bulbs covered by plastic amidst the ceiling tiles. What lay above? Nacho figured it was some kind of cosmic horror that would drive him completely insane if he were aware of its existence, but he might try and sneak a peek anyway.

The mall’s store signs were written in Patronese, the universal language of the Starter World—which everyone could understand. A common language made talking with everyone rather nice. Nacho recognized all of the shops from last time: Terraseth’s Body Pavilion, The Obliterator’s Mind Wares, Gary’s General Store, Big Al’s Armory and Steelworks, Saavi Candoo’s Skills Stall, and Wheezy’s Weapons.

But what really caught his attention was the new store across the way. Had it been there the last time Nacho had been in the Mall? It was strangely hard to remember, but he knew that he would’ve checked it out, so he could only assume it was new.

“No… Cinnabunny’s Satiation Shoppe wasn’t there before. I know it wasn’t.” Nacho would’ve remembered the plump, pink unicorn bunny on the sign. He’d have to check the place out this time around.

A welcome message hit him like an annoying, unskippable UTube ad.

Hello, Player!

You survived your evaluation!

No, you didn’t. We all know you were killed in the end, but good job returning to your updated body. While you were gone, we made some changes, so things will never go back to normal for you and everyone you love. How exciting!

Unlike everyone else, Nacho knew that changes to his body were critical. He wouldn’t process food and water as he had before, as his levels of hunger would be tied to his skills, but he would need to eat. Everyone else would be clueless about that, and he hated that part about everyone he ever loved. It was a threat, and he knew it, even if no one else did.

Another message followed.

Remember those Evaluation Points you earned? Well, this is where you get to spend them like a boss. This is the shopping spree of a lifetime! Buy your future character class, magic items, and other cool things.

To reach the Starter World, just go to the elevator near Gary’s General Store. May your future be delicious!

Nacho shook his head at the inane messages that carried hidden context. He walked into the Terraseth’s Body Pavilion—the place was divided into seven sections like his local supercenter, except instead of Men’s Sportswear, the departments were based upon the seven Body Player classes:

• Warrior (100 EPs)
• Rogue (150 EPs)
• Assassin (200 EPs)
• Archer (300 EPs)
• Berserker (500 EPs)
• Ranger (750 EPs)
• Paladin (1000 EPs)

The Paladin section—which had been impossible to see clearly the last time he was shopping—exhibited suits of gleaming armor around a central basin which presumably held holy water. The Ranger’s section sported studded leather armor, bows, arrows, and cool swords, all displayed among fake plastic vines and a plaster tree set into the wall. Rogue was all sleek black leather, while the Archer alcove had wrist guards and finger guards. Lastly, the cheapest option, Warrior, presented a variety of chainmail armor with a cool central shield in the middle.

No one bought the actual clothing, weapons, and armor here. There were other stores for that. This was merely where a player purchased their class.

A welcome message from the shop appeared in his vision:

Greetings, Player!

Do you like chopping off the heads of your enemies? Do you enjoy close-quarter combat, or are you just an all-out hack-and-slash type of person?

The Body Pavilion is a stop-and-shop heaven for those players wanting to armor up, grab a sword, and get busy sweating and questing. Any questions? Just ask Terraseth.

Note: Terraseth can’t speak, but he can offer you moral support as you make your way through your options.

A naga ran the place, though the snake man was a true non-player character: not very helpful. Presumably, this was the aforementioned ‘Terraseth’. The naga slithered over, showcasing his midnight scales and dark flesh, though he incongruously wore a jaunty red vest and a fez on his bald human scalp.

“Howdy, Seth,” Nacho called to the shopkeeper. “What deals do you have for Assassin classes?”

A black tongue slithered out of the thin lips. Yellow snake eyes regarded Nacho with very little interest, then flicked to the assassin robes: everything from ninja black, to cutthroat crimson.

A System information box appeared in his vision:

Assassin class! Includes two deadly but fun killing skills of your choosing!

To be an Assassin is to strike from the shadows and destroy your enemies, unseen and silent, leaving behind nothing but their death rattle.

Basic cost: 200 Evaluation Points

Browse for more info?

Y/N

Note: Additional skills can be purchased at Saavi’s Skills Stall, on the other side of the mall.

Nacho figured he would just be an assassin again—he’d been a great assassin, and he planned on spending the rest of his life backstabbing beasts and people alike. There was no need to browse for more info; the skills were pretty self-explanatory. It came with the classic Backstab, Lethal Anatomy Knowledge, Distance Death, Midnight Blend, Shadow Speed, and Ninja Hush.

Being an assassin again did have its benefits, but… he had fourteen hundred extra points to spend. There was no need to dive into anything right away. Nacho could afford the Paladin, but he couldn’t picture himself in plate mail with a long sword. Ranger might be an option, or Archer, since both prioritized bows, and he’d liked not being close to things trying to kill him.

He could buy those classes easily and then max out skills and gear; maybe he could even combine Archer with the Lethal Anatomy Knowledge. “That might be cool. Is multiclassing a thing?”

Terraseth sighed at him, slithering away to adjust the chainmail in the Warrior’s section. Nacho figured that Paladin would be what Brie would choose if she could afford it. Once again, he wondered how well she’d done during her Evaluation. She had the athleticism and physical endurance to do very well, but could she stomach the slaughter? Could Reuben? He was a sensitive, happy-go-lucky guy. Murder involved luck, yes, but not necessarily happiness… unless a person had been born that way.

He wondered what the System would assign his people as their native skill. Nacho stood there, torn between upgrades, but the scent of pastries invaded his thoughts. He knew the truth: there would be no way to choose a class until he checked out the Cinnabunny’s Satiation Shoppe.

Just the name made him hungry for a cinnamon bun. Sweet, sticky, hot out of the oven. Not that he was hungry—all his Evaluation World hunger was gone. Just one of the many benefits of his forever changed body. Leaving the naga’s store behind, he popped into the Obliterator’s Mind Wares to procrastinate.

The Obliterator was a mysterious figure dressed in black cloak and embellished robes. On her right arm were the words ‘Happy, Happy’ stitched into the black fabric. Her left sleeve stated ‘Joy, Joy.’ At least the Obliterator seemed like she enjoyed her work.

Again, there were seven sections to the place for the seven Mind Player options.

• Warlock (100 EPs)
• Illusionist (150 EPs)
• Elementalist (200 EPs)
• Necromancer (300 EPs)
• Healer (500 EPs)
• Druid (750 EPs)
• Wizard (1000 EPs)

A second later, like before, another shop message hit him.

Greetings, Player!

Do you like standing back, casting spells, and causing collateral damage? Do you want to use your mind and spirit to delve into the darkest depths of forbidden knowledge? Or do you just like fire, lots and lots of fire? Either way, being a Mind Player might make you weak at first, but you’ll become a living weapon at higher levels. Or, there’s a lame Healer class for those softies who can’t stand seeing their fellow players in pain.

The Obliterator Mind Wares is where you can find your magic and get your mojo working!

Any questions? Just as the Obliterator!

Note: The Obliterator can’t speak, but she can listen to you make your way through your options.

The Obliterator floated over with her sleeves clasped so her hands remained hidden.

“So, little O, can you tell me the difference between a wizard and warlock?” Nacho stood with his hands on his hips and addressed the character, wanting to see what the shopkeeper would do. She extended a slim hand with long scarlet nails… pointing to the section where the warlock robes hung near various statues of other robed men and women.

Actually, in the Mind Player store, it was all robes, all the time, though the healer’s clothes seemed to have a more of a religious feel to them. In stark contrast, the Druid’s section was unfortunate: mostly loincloths. A lone mannequin stood there, sporting the band of leather hanging off plaster hips.

Nacho didn’t bother to go over and check out the warlock class. He wasn’t going to be a Mind Player. As for the difference between the classes, warlocks were jack-of-all-trade sorcerers fully reliant on being powered by a Patron. They could use a variety of spells, but they were significantly less powerful. For example, they could raise the dead, but their undead creatures would never be as powerful as a true necromancer at the same level.

The now-undecided man meandered through the other stores to bother the shopkeepers, all of whom didn’t say a word but merely stood there silently. If his friends’ lives weren’t depending on him, he would’ve punched Big Al just to see what would happen. Big Al was a huge man garbed in a leather hood and greasy leather skirt, who sold all kinds of armor from European mail to Japanese lacquer armor to African wicker shields. Of course, there were some artifacts on display as well, though who would have the Evaluation Points to afford a powerful item like the Emerald Breastplate shining in a display case in one corner? The single item was five hundred points.

Nacho was shocked to realize that he could afford it. Maybe he should just buy back his assassin class? Then he could load up on artifacts… he was dragging his feet because he didn’t really want to go into the Cinnabunny’s Satiation Shoppe, not with what he knew about the Juxtaposition. For the most part, Patrons only liked to complicate things. They liked making the players miserable, and he could easily imagine walking into that new shop and being eaten by cupcakes, or making some Faustian deal and trading his soul for blueberry muffins.

Fighting the inexorable pull of sticky-sweet cinnamon, he went out to the railing and stared down into the abyss. This place was outside normal time and space, as the Evaluation World had been, so he had time to think. Not that thinking was going to help him. No, he knew what he had to do. He just wasn’t looking forward to it.

The truth was… he had heard rumors of Satiation Players, but that was all they’d been. Rumors. There was talk of a brewer up north who not only could take Putrid Mana out of water, but could brew up potions usable by players on different Tiers. Then there was talk of a mountain man to the east who could take dead monsters and make them edible, like the Gorged Guild’s magical oven. It was improbable, but not impossible. Such player classes hadn’t survived all that long. They had no combat skills. They’d all died eventually.

Also, who would want to start out in a lethal world as a chef? Why would a fighter, who had kicked butt during the Evaluation, ever decide to spend the Juxtaposition in the kitchen? Short answer—they wouldn’t. Even the gamers who enjoyed playing the support classes like a Healer wouldn’t willingly choose to be really good at making soup or grilling hamburgers.

But… if the rumors were true, a Satiation Player would’ve made all the difference in Nacho’s life and the lives of everyone else in the Final Victory Guild. Nacho shut his eyes. He had a bad history with cooking. There was one time… it had been the best day of his life, and the worst. But he wasn’t going to linger on those memories. It would be better to forget them forever.

Nevertheless, it was going to be a brutal decision. Part of him just wanted to go be an assassin and forget he’d ever seen the Satiation Shoppe. Also, why the pretentious extra ‘pe’ at the end? Those Patrons were as bloodthirsty as they were inane. Overdone naming conventions aside, Nacho knew that he couldn’t leave without at least checking out the Satiation Shoppe. If he didn’t confirm his suspicions, six months down the road, the regret just might kill him.

Nacho knew he was in a unique position. He knew it down to his bones, so he ambled over to the shoppe with the unicorn bunny sign. That had to be the Cinnabunny, and she smelled cinnamon-y and good. The fact that he wanted to lick her put him on edge.

In the Juxtaposition, nothing was as it seemed. He bet that after the first taste, he would collapse into a hallucination or something. “I don’t trust you, rabbit.”

Cinnabunny’s expression didn't change, but he knew that she was probably devastated at the news.