Alive Gear Massive Update (IV)

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Thursday. July 2, 2054. 10:00 am.

Eve scrolled through the Growth website and checked for any new updates. The soft humming of her air condition room cooled her surroundings. Her tank-top and jogging pants kept her even cooler.

"Hmmmm." She scrolled down and stopped at a very eye-catching, colorful page. A new update was posted.

Thursday. June 25, 2054. Updated at midnight.

Welcome, fellow players of Growth!

We have a very special midnight update today. Your Alive Embryo gear will be updating automatically. From today on you will be able to take on quests in the real world to strengthen your avatar! How does this work, you ask?

It's very simple.

Interact with the people and environment around you. Anyone will do, but remember not everything that you do will become a quest. To be more precise, only 1% of your everyday activities can become a quest. Each quest is unique to the player and has its own requirements. We won't tell you the rules; where would the fun be in that?

Your avatar will be able to hold three in-game quests and two real-life quests. Quests can be viewed anytime to check your progress, but once the slots are filled you won't be able to take on more quests until you complete one.

Also on the special note our new translation technology Babylonian has been updated to accommodate the language barriers between different players. It can now handle 99% of all languages worldwide. These past few months we have seen an explosion of number of amount of people joining the game.

Go out and make some friends and enemies alike!

Become the movers and shakers of this world!

"Unbelievable," said Eve. She brushed her long, bluish-silver hair behind her ears. They really did incorporate the Alive gear game system with the world. How deeply it was incorporated, she hadn't had the slightest clue, and after all it was just the beginning. Who could say how far this technology could be pushed, and she looked forward to its growth and development. She scrolled through the Growth forum for any clues of the new real-life quests.

Growth> Forum> New global Growth update!

Navi> Kya! This is so exciting! Innovative interactive real life quest!

Slyphon> It's been done before. It's just on a grander scale. Nothing to be surprised about.

Tuneup> I just got a quest in real life. This is so cool!

Navi> What did you get?

Tuneup> It a level E quest called Delivering Package. I received a package that wasn't mine but my neighbors'. The mailman apparently delivered the package in the wrong mailbox. I was wearing my Alive gear at the time when I went out to check my mail. All of a sudden a quest message popped up asking if I wanted to do a delivery quest. Because I was curious, I picked yes to check what it was all about. I left the package at the front door and left. But for some reason, it didn't state quest complete right away. Apparently I had to deliver it personally for it to be completed.

Navi> And?

Tuneup> I got something like a blueberry candy. It raised all my character stats for a duration of three days by +10. This is so neat!!!Pompom> That's it? Some kind of status increase?

Sim> It's useful when you're soloing. So it's not such a bad thing. It's expected for such low level quests.

Sara> I wonder what you will get from higher level quest.

Sim> I don't know, but I bet it is something really cool.

There is no clear answer on how to get one, thought Eve as she leaned back on her chair. There was always little news with just enough information for the products, and the rest was usually found out through the customers.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a kid's scream and the sound of running. Her little brother Luke burst into the room.

"Eve! Tell Logan to give me back my toy!" he screamed. But Logan, Luke's older twin, was right on his heels.

"No! It was mine in the first place!" yelled Logan.

"Guys! Guys! Guys! Calm down! How about we go outside?" said Eve as she quickly thought of it on the spot to try to quiet them down.

"Outside? Really?!" they both said in unison.

"Yes, really. Go put on your shoes and let's go."

Eve lazily got up from her couch, still wearing her Alive gear. Her Alive gear had thin glass-like films that could be hooked onto the Alive gear as a secondary layer used to block out the sun, since she knew it was going to be sunny today. In seconds, the twins forgot about their squabble and rushed towards the door.

This is how you get kids to forget what they are fighting about. Give them something else they like. Eve felt satisfied with the outcome and smiled contentedly.

"Come on Eve! We are ready to go!" Logan shouted from the front door.

"Okay. Be there in a second," Eve called out towards them.

Eve picked up her keys and left the house with her brothers. It was a beautiful summer day. It was perfect weather, with a light cool wind that tickled her face and nose. Eve breathed in deeply and exhaled while she walked with her brothers to the park. The smell of fresh air made her feel relaxed and calm.

As they arrived, she noticed there were quite a few children running around the park while their parents talked amongst themselves. Logan and Luke bolted off towards the playground and joined the other kids.

Eve walked toward an empty bench. She dusted off the fallen leaves and sat down to enjoy the light breeze.

"Call status menu."

Name: Agnis

Race: Wood Elf

Level: 57

Main Job: Wind Walker

Secondary Job: Cook

Health points: 2,532

Mana Points: 3,254

Attack: 110

Defense: 70

Agility: 140

Endurance: 60

Luck: 20

Leadership: 60

Magical Attack: 215 (+20)

Magical Defense: 200 (+20)

Wisdom: 175 (+20)

Intelligence: 176 (+20)

Dexterity: 150

Fame: 150 (+30)

Attack/Defensive Skills:

+ Companion Contract (Auto)

+ Call of the Wild

+ Women's Wail

+ Hand-to-Hand Mastery beginner level 6 (30%)

+ Bow Mastery beginner level 8 (56%)

Magical Attack/Defensive Skills:

+ Wiseman mind (Auto)

+ Meditation beginner level 7 (90%)

+ Calling of the wind beginner level 3 (79%)

+ Wind Manipulation beginner level 3 (70%)

+ Wind Arrow beginner level 5 (77%)

+ Rain Dance beginner level 2 (23%)

+ Fire Arrow beginner level 2 (70%)

+ Fire Ball beginner level 3 (7%)

Info: A wood elf who is in a companion contract with Zero. When contract is in effect special privileges are given. This contract cannot be broken without going to a contract breaker. An Undying Holy Fire Stone has been tamed to her will. She is the new master of the Undying Holy Flame.

Eve had worked hard to attain her special job, Wind Walker, by herself through a C rank quest. It took a couple of days to get it, but it didn't stop her at all. She'd been determined to get this job even though she didn't know what kind of specialties it would give her. She had gained all her magic skills through the job quest, and the outcome was better than she expected—especially gaining and taming the Undying Holy Fire Stone. She was a bit worried she wouldn't be able to get a single fire spell. But by having the Undying Holy Fire Stone on her, it was a catalyst for her to use Fire magic.

It took her a while to understand how the Undying Fire Stone worked. Through a lot of trial and error she was finally able to figure it out. By calling upon her wind magic, she was able to draw out the blueish white fire in the stone and encase it with wind without snuffing it out. Eve then amplified the fire's intensity by directing the flow of the wind to make it grow. Even a small spark of flame could turn into a fiery tornado, but it drained an extensive amount of mana to call upon the forces of nature. She had to keep a constant eye on her mana gauge.

There was one peculiar skill she was not happy with, called the Women's Wail. She was too embarrassed to admit she had screamed quite a bit in fear and surprise to have earned the skill. She usually was not one to jump up in fright, but soloing had put her on edge. Her last quest had been like a crazy roller coaster, and she had screamed so often that the dungeon name changed to Cry of the Women's Wail, and the players and the people of the land steered far away from it for the fear of possible hauntings. Eve vowed to herself to never use that move in public except in emergencies.

Eve exited out of her status window and closed her eyes. Breathing in deeply and exhaling all her worries away, she cleared her mind and let her thoughts wander with the wind. Every time she meditated in real life, her in-game meditation skills increased. It made her wonder how the Alive gear picked up on what she was doing, but she wasn't about to complain. She was grateful for the skill level-ups. Over time she felt like her senses were becoming sharper, stronger… and she felt more at peace with herself. Wind Walker wasn't such a bad job; she actually fell in love with it.

Playing Growth gave her alternative to reality. Her family had always moved around a lot, so it had been difficult for her to make close friends. Every three months to a year, her parents were either on duty or were constantly moving to different locations. They weren't your typical parents; they made sure that she was sent to many self-defense schools. There was a couple that she chose herself, such as Aikido, where she enjoyed the calm, fluid forms, and Krav Maga, which was more brutal. She never skipped out once, because she knew one day she would need it.

Two months ago, when she'd turned twenty-one, she decided to settle down in one place. She asked her parents to leave her younger brothers in her care. They agreed and thought it would be best for them not to uproot the kids constantly. Every two weeks, her parents deposited money for the twins' expenses and planned to visit as often as they could. It had been almost two months now, and she was slowly getting use to life here. It still was not easy for her to make friends. It was not only because she'd moved; her quick temper and sarcastic remarks tended to turn people away. It got her into quite a bit of trouble, but she didn't mind it at all. She enjoyed her solitude.

Lately, Eve had been hanging around an interesting guy name Zero who she thought was a bit grumpy and a bit of a prick; nevertheless she didn't mind his company. He was her first real friend in Growth that didn't hit on her for her looks. She especially enjoyed petting him on her lap in his small dog/fox form. The soft fur that would go through her fingers was something that she rarely felt before.

The very first time she remembered him struggling viciously and scratching her hands to get out of her grasp. Eventually he ran out of breath and gave up. Other times he would dash away whenever he saw her in his Origin form. Eve had to be creative to catch him. She saved the contract ability "Heel" for emergency situations. Plus she noticed that his fur got rough and mangy from the static when she used this skill. It completely defeated the purpose of catching him to pet him if his fur became frizzled with shock.

A while ago she'd found him rolling in a patch of catnip; he was like a cat high off of it. After that incident she harvested many Napata plants from the area, turning them into clumps of catnip and making sure to keep them on her when he changed forms. She would make small toys, stuff them with catnip, and throw one to him. He would pounce on it in a blink of an eye and play with it, forgetting his surroundings. This gave her a small window of opportunity to catch him. After she caught him, she would have a couple of catnip balls in her hand to calm him down, pick him up, and put him on her lap. For the next hour she would continually stroke his fur as they both fell asleep. Every single time he would wake up in his human form and walk off sulking.

The joy of having a pet, she thought as she smiled with bliss. She knew Zero was not a pet, but now she understood what it might be like if she did. She loved animals and he was a great substitute. She knew it irked him from making him into a fool, but she couldn't help it. He would turn into the most adorable looking fox/dog creature she ever saw and reason went out the window. Sadly she couldn't keep pets in her apartment because pets were not allowed. If she had a choice, her apartment would probably end up like a zoo.

There were more times spending time with Zero, then going out on solo mission these past week. She had asked him personally to teach her a bit of his art. She remembered it as if it was yesterday.

"Zero, teach me your style of martial arts. I noticed you had some interesting form that I have never seen before. Please." She begged. She wasn't going to miss this opportunity to learn something new.

"Are you sure? When you learn from me I don't go easy on girls," Zero asked with his arms crossed.

"Yeah. I can take a beating."

"You sure you will listen to every word I say. I don't like teaching people who are not serious. It's a waste of my precious time."

"Of course, I take martial arts seriously. I do Aikido and Krav Maga."

"If you're serious. Meet me at the fountain every day in the morning at 8am sharp."

"Okay."

After that, the training has been hell. The first couple of days, both of them did a marathon, crunches, pushes up, lunges, and many more. It was hell, but well worth her time. She did not stop, nor did she complain. It was hard work, and eventually slowly he introduced to her different skills.

Life these past two weeks had been peaceful with training. They had two more days before the night of the quest, and she was not looking forward to it. Their levels were not as high as needed for the quest, which would make it very difficult to complete. Eve frowned, deep in thought, starting to lose her concentration.

Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Eve's head snapped up at the harsh sound of wheels screeching to a stop.

"Kyaaaaaahhhhhh!" A lady was screaming at the top of her lungs. She huddled behind a chair as if she was going to be protected by it.

"Watch out!" yelled a man as he watched in horror.

CRASH! KATHUMP!

The car was sent flying, flipping over three times. It skidded across the ground, creating electric sparks as it screeched against concrete. It missed a couple of pedestrians by inches. Finally it skidded to a halt right in front of the lady hiding behind her chair; the car lightly tapped it. Broken glass from the windows was scattered everywhere. The sunlight hit the broken glass and made it look like as if thousands of sparkling diamonds were spread on the ground. Eve could see a couple of people injured with light cuts from the flying shards of glass.

"Someone call an ambulance!" screamed an old lady in panic. Dozens of window shards were embedded in her arm.

Eve bolted up and went towards the ruckus. The driver was still in her car, unconscious, bleeding heavily from her head. Her car was flipped over and she hung upside down. Pedestrians looked on in horror. There were a couple that called the police, but everyone else seemed too clueless and confused to act. A few people came out of nearby shops, staring or taking pictures with their phones.

A man in his late 20s walked up to the elderly woman that was crossing the street when it happened.

"I-I-I didn't mean to," sobbed the old lady as she held onto her injured arm, "I-I-I was just crossing the street."

"Calm down. It's alright. Let's go sit down," said the man, who was wearing an Alive gear, as he directed her towards a bench.

Eve's eyes darted through the wreckage, and her Alive gear zoomed in to focus on the car's punctured side. She noticed some kind of liquid was streaming down and forming a puddle underneath the car.

"Is that what I think it is?" said Eve as she walked faster toward the car.

Ding!

Save the lady in the car. There is an 80% chance to save the lady. You have noticed a puddle of gasoline dripping out of the car. The lady is unconscious and cannot leave the car. There is a possibility that you will get hurt. Do you want to save her or just watch?

Difficulty level: AReward: The Seed.If you choose to do nothing you will gain no rewards. Choose wisely for her life is on the line. You have about 15 minutes until the car will possibly burst into flames.

"This is no time for a quest! She might die!" Eve yelled in frustration. She quickly read through the quest and noticed she had a time limit.

Eve ran towards the car as her heartbeat accelerated from the tension. She pulled out a black glass breaker knife from the pocket of her jeans. It was easy to hide under all her clothes, and she always carried it around for safety reasons. Her meticulous preparation was finally paying off.

You have accepted the quest. Time limit starts now.

Time limit: 00:03:00

The timer minimized and moved to the corner of her glasses for her to track.

She arrived quickly at the car, squatting down by the driver-side window. She braced herself and bashed it in. The window wasn't completely broken and was still holding up in place, so she hit it again, more carefully this time. It worked.

Eve cleared out the jagged edges so she could get in safely without cutting herself. Dropping down to her knees, she flipped open her knife. It was an all-in-one glass breaker, seat belt cutter, and hand knife. Thank the lord that I have this.

Time limit: 00:02:31

Her adrenaline rush had kicked into overtime, and the world felt like it was slowing down; each second felt like eternity. With quick precise hand movements she slashed through the seat belt, careful not to let the lady hit her head as she was freed. Eve struggled to pull her out carefully, but she knew she didn't have much time. It was either get blown up or risked getting her more injured. The chance of both of them coming out alive depended on getting away from the car as fast as possible.

I don't have time, Eve thought as she struggled with the lady. She probably has some broken ribs, and moving her around too much could rupture her organs. Even though her mind was screaming at her to leave, Eve moved carefully and gracefully, and finally she was able to pull the woman completely out of the car.

Time limit: 00:01:33

The man who had walked the old lady to the bench rushed over to Eve's side. Reaching down, he picked up the lady's legs and helped carry her towards the grass.

The smell of gas was overwhelming, and Eve could hardly breathe. Coughing, she yelled to the man, "We need to quickly move as far away from here as possible!"

"What? Why?!" said the man as he adjusted himself to better handle carrying the women.

"The car's going to explode!" she said frantically. The timer ticked away in the corner of her glasses.

Time limit: 00:00:20

"Run!" yelled the man with fear clearly in his voice. His eyes were bulging out in fright.

They ran as fast as they could while carrying the lady's body awkwardly between them.

Time limit: 00:00:05

Eve tripped on the curb and fell to the ground.

Time limit: 00:00:04

She caught herself with her right arm, causing her to bleed from the scrape, while balancing the lady from hitting her head with her left, causing her to twist her wrist and sprain her ankle.

Time limit: 00:00:03

She quickly forced herself back up. She felt sharp pain run up and down her wrist and ankle, making it difficult to maneuver much less run.

Time limit: 00:00:02

Time limit: 00:00:01

Time limit: 00:00:00

WARNING!

WARNING!

WARNING!

A huge increase of heat has been detected!

Please stand clear!

KABOOOM!!!!

The noise of the explosion rippled over her. Fiery debris flew in the air, and the car was engulfed in a fiery inferno. But Eve, the man, and the lady were safely out of harm's way.

"Hahahaha!" The man's laugh sounded panicky but relieved. "I swear I thought I was a goner."

"Yeah, me too," said Eve as she flopped down onto the grass. She did not want another day like today for a very long time. Once was enough for now.

"Siiiiiiiiiiisssss!"

It was the twins. They jumped onto Eve.

"We couldn't find you," said Logan, crying in Eve's arms. His snot covered his face and her shirt. He didn't know what was happening and it scared him.

"I'm scared. I want to go home," said Luke as he looked down at her in worry.

"I'm sorry. Everything is going to be okay. Why don't we go home now?" said Eve as she slowly got to her feet. She winced when pain shot up through her right ankle. She shifted her weight to her left side and caught herself from falling back down.

"Are you okay?" asked the man with concern in his voice.

Eve looked back at him. "I'm fine. I'll leave her in your care. I need to take my siblings home now." She put a hand on their heads, and her right wrist sparked with pain.

"Wait! Are you sure?" asked the man.

"Yes." Eve nodded. She didn't want the media up in her face and crowding her apartment. It was enough to deal with just her twin brothers.

"That was very brave of you. Before you go, may I register you on Growth? I notice you are wearing the Alive gear," said the man. He smiled a little shyly. "I want to make sure you're all right."

Well, he's not a bad man. Why not, thought Eve. Usually she didn't take phone numbers, but today was an exception, especially after he helped her carry the lady out of harm's way.

"Sure. I go by Agnis," said Eve as she tried to balance on her good leg. Luke noticed and helped steady her.

"Okay. Register Agnis," said the man.

A message appeared.

Would you like to register Jack as your friend?

"Yes," said Eve. She ran her fingers absently over Logan's hair, and he clung to her good leg.

"Are you sure you are going to be alright?" the man asked. Sirens could be heard off in the distance rushing towards the scene.

"It's alright; I should be able to get home fine. Thanks," said Eve as she brushed his words aside.

You have completed the quest! The seed has been sent to your inventory.

Huh. I wonder what it is, thought Eve. I'll look into it later.