Chapter 131: Agile Combatant
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 17]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 18]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 19]
Afton raises a brow at the fact there only seemed to be three levels... In the past killing hundreds of ghouls would net him enough exp to advance four times or so, hmm. Each level's requirement is increasing rather quickly. He hoped it wouldn't get too ridiculous before he reached whatever the max level was.
Whatever the case, he currently had 45 skill points to spend. He knew he'd max out his Melee Weapons skill as it only required 9 points, but what to do next? He was tempted to just dump it all in Energy Weapons to see what the maxed out Perk for it would be, but felt that perhaps he could hold off on that for now.
Maybe Medicine or Science? The former would definitely be very useful, maybe the Perk would give him something usable in combat as well?... Alright.
He dumps the 36 remaining points into Medicine and presses confirm, immediately rediscovering the fun sensation of having your skull cracked open with books being forced inside it. Obviously, medicine was a "broad" science, and had a lot of intricacies that needed to be memorized.
It didn't just include knowledge of the human body, he also learned how to create stimpacks, how to create vaccines, and other work that'd confine you to a laboratory. Shaking his head, he focussed on the new things he'd learned from the Melee Weapons skill.
That'd granted him the rest of his missing knowledge on martial arts, breathing cycles he hadn't known before and manoeuvres that previously seemed impossible felt familiar.
[SuperHot Block gained!] : Ability to block projectiles with a Melee Weapon, chance depends on Perception, Agility, and Luck.
Hm, well that might very well make melee combat viable... In this world where everyone carries a firearm, you'd either need to be crazy or ungodly powerful to pull off primarily using a melee weapon. This didn't mean he'd be changing his fighting style though, he found that he liked the gunslinger weaponry and felt it suited him.
Onto the Perks, there weren't actually any new Perks for him to grab... Of course there were the Melee one's he now had access to after levelling the skill, but he didn't really feel like putting points into them.
Shaking his head he looks at the [Intense Training] Perk and decides to try and upgrade his S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats. He looks through all of them for a moment and eventually decides to put a point in Agility. Faster reflexes would always be helpful, especially now that he's gotten [SuperHot Block]. That combined with [John Wick Style] would definitely be a force to be reckoned with.
He nods to himself and takes one last look at his status before allowing time to resume.
Afton Parker
Level : 19
S.P.E.C.I.A.L :
Strength : 8
Perception : 7
Endurance : 7
Charisma : 4
Intelligence : 6
Agility : 8
Luck : 4
Skills :
Barter : 21
Energy Weapons : 55
Explosives : 20
Guns : 100
Lockpick : 10
Medicine : 76
Melee Weapons : 100
Repair : 100
Science : 47
Sneak : 20
Speech : 100
Survival : 30
Unarmed : 30
Perks :
[Trigger Discipline], [Heavy Handed], [Rapid Reload], [Torture Techniques], [Educated], [John Wick Style], [Toughness], [Stonewall], [Bug Stomper], [Lord Death v1], [Spies Guise], [Quick Draw], [Adamantium Skeleton], [Ranger Tactics], [Ranger Targeting], [Ranger Awareness], [Mechanicus], [Jury Rigging], [SuperHot Block]
Companion Perks :
[Old Wisdom]
With that, time resumes and Afton finds himself standing next to Boone as Milo walks away. He'd just been told that he should wait for his bounty reward in Novac. He looks to his temporary partner and nods, "Let's head back, we'll split the bounty when it arrives... Hopefully I'd have completed my 'other' job by the time that happens."
Boone shrugs, "If you want to look then fine, I don't think finding the person responsible is possible though... Otherwise I'd have found them."
"Have faith my miserable friend, me and Karl'll find them somehow or another... Probably." he sheepishly adds the lat part as they start walking back towards Novac.
As they walk, Afton idly notices that the blood covering his body is slowly disappearing... His [Mechanicus] Perk seemed to be regarding it as something that needed 'Fixing', and so was removing it as time progressed. He was hoping Boone wouldn't notice the fact he'd be completely clean by the time they got back to town.
Just to make sure the man knew nothing untoward was happening, Afton occasionally brushed his clothing as if he were attempting to clean it... It was just an act of course, coagulated blood was notoriously difficult to rid yourself off, but it was something to fall back on.
They made small talk as they walked, but Afton felt that Boone was consciously holding himself back from socialising too much. It was peculiar but he didn't pursue it, decided to just let it be.
Once they got back it was the afternoon, the duo split from each other and Afton immediately headed to check on Ada to make sure she didn't 'treat' anyone. Fortunately for her and her victim's health there didn't seem to have been any patients today. Nodding he went to check on how his bike was doing, grinning when he saw that it was coming along nicely. Daisy was obviously very good at her job, she'd probably never fixed up a pre-war motorbike before, but she looked like an old-hand while working on it.
With that sorted he went to check on Karl, he hoped to whatever god's existed that he wasn't still balls deep in a saggy well, otherwise he might just tear his eyes out from it.
He wanted to check if Karl had found anything on the person who'd sold Boone's wife. It was a long shot as he hadn't personally found anything yet, and Karl seemed preoccupied. But maybe the old man had another trick up his sleeve.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
Chapter 132: Bill of Death
Afton approaches his motel room and sheepishly knocks on the door, "Karl? You're not naked again right?"
...
After getting no response he just shrugs and opens the door, finding his partner sitting at the end of the bed with a prominent scowl on his face. He seemed to be clutching something in his hand but Afton couldn't get a good look at it. "Karl? Is something wrong?" he asks, confused at what might've brought this on.
The man jolts slightly at his voice, his head whipping towards Afton and sighing when he sees him. "Ah, kid... No, nothing's wrong, just lost in my thoughts is all."
"You sure? You seem angry about something..."
Karl shrugs, "Well... There is this one thing..."
Flashback :
Karl had just bullied Afton out of the room so he could resume his 'exercise' with Jeannie. He'd become interested in the woman over the past couple of days, and she'd obviously reciprocated. Something still felt off about her though, the smile she flashed at the citizens of the town aswell as himself seemed almost fake.
Regardless, it'd been a while since he'd bedded a woman, and there was only so long you could spend around sweaty criminals before you start questioning your sexuality...
After another session of roughin' and tumblin' he slumpt against his pillow with Jeannie resting her head on his chest. They'd just begun the dreaded ritual known as "Pillowtalk", Karl wanted to just drift into unconsciousness but knew it wouldn't be polite to leave the woman hanging.
Another thing to note was the fact that people generally spewed their secrets during this time. As a ranger he'd learned to information gather and infiltrate. He couldn't help but fall back into his old training and started subtly interrogating Jeannie.
"Don't know what's wrong with my partner, tryin' ta help out that Boone character seems like a pointless endeavor," he states to see her reaction.
"Don't say that, Boone's a nice person, he's just had some bad influences in his life. He should start acting like his old self soon."
...
What could she mean by that? It sure sounded suspicious... Inwardly frowning Karl releases an audible sigh, "My partner said something about the man's wife going missing, wants us to find her or something."
At this he could definitely feel Jeannie tense up, "Erm, I think it would be best that you give up on finding her. I heard the Legion managed to grab her, it'd be a death sentence to try and save her now."
Karl shakes his head, "It wouldn't be the first time I've risked my life for something similar, it'd be a good thing to die for I think."
...
Jeannie seemed to lose hold of her emotions for a moment as she rapidly retorted, "I don't know why you want to go risking yourself for a person like her, but if that's what you want to do then fine." she rolls over and goes silent, clearly ignoring him.
Karl knew something was wrong now, that wasn't how she usually acted. Sounded like she had some sort of vendetta against Boone's wife. That'd make her the prime suspect in selling her to the Legion... He'd need to investigate this further, if only to clear the air. If not he'd not be able to forget about this.
The next day while Jeannie was out, Karl snuck into her office and started looking around. He'd dealt with the Legion before and knew they always left receipts to people who do business with them. The reason for this? Blackmail.
No one wanted to be identified as someone who worked with the Legion, especially in NCR owned territory. That's why most slavers sell slaves anonymously. One thing about the recept though, was the fact that you'd be hunting down and butchered if you destroyed them. A spy would occasionally drop by to make sure you still had it in your possession as well, forcing you to keep hold of it.
If Jeannie had been involved in the kidnapping of Boone's wife, then there would definitely be physical evidence of it. He'd metaphorically torn the place apart looking for something, eventually finding a floor safe that was heavily secured.
It'd take some elbow grease, but he'd managed to crack it open. Inside was a heap of caps, another one of those weird books that Afton seemed to hideaway somewhere, and... A small note.
[Bill of Sale]
We, the representatives of the Consul Officiorum, have this day bargained and purchased from Jeannie May Crawford of the township of Novac the exclusive rights to ownership and sale of the slave Carla Boone for the sum of one thousand bottle caps, and those of her unborn child for the sum of five hundred bottle caps, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged.
Karl saw red for a moment after reading it, he crumpled the note in his hand as he grit his teeth. This was one of the vilest thing's he'd ever seen. He felt sick to his stomach at the fact he'd actually liked this woman, he didn't know how he'd not managed to notice her true persona...
He quickly stood, closed the safe and cleaned he place up to make sure she didn't know he'd been here. immediately heading up to his motel room to think on what to do next.
Flashback end.
After Karl was done telling Afton what he'd discovered he forced his own hand open and gave him the note. It was crumpled but still legible, it was basically a death sentence as well, as if Karl were in Boone's shoes he wouldn't let the woman continue existing for a few minutes longer.
Afton scowled at the note and looked up to Karl, "Will your relationship with her be a problem?" he asks and Karl shakes his head, "She'll die you know?"
"I know. I hope it'll be as painful as the fate she tried to inflict on Carla and her child." he spits.
Afton nods, "Good. Let's go to Boone and see how we'll go from here. It's his revenge so we'll do it however he wants." he states before marching out of the room.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know.
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