Bab 369: Swept Away...
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 47]
[WELCOME TO LEVEL 48]
Afton is awoken from his sleep by notifications suddenly appearing under his eyelids. He was wondering when he'd level up, after all, he'd killed Deathclaws, Supermutants, and an Army of Legionaries. It was about time.
Though, he wondered why he'd levelled up now?... Did Boone kill something during the night? Regardless, it didn't matter he supposed. Now he just needed to distribute points, which was fairly easy since the only two options he had were Barter and Lockpicking.
Barter would be useful for his future plans, but he knew Lockpicking would grant him further knowledge that might help in his scientific endeavours. It'd give him a pretty clear idea about how his devices could be accessed by external sources, he knew that if anyone ever managed to access Glados, everything would be fucked.
So, in the end Afton puts all his points into Lockpicking, raising it from 29 to 59. Next, he turns to Perks, but ends up ignoring most of the new ones. There were quite a few but most were generally just small boosts...
[High Ground] : +30% damage when on a higher position than your enemies... Afton smirks at this despite having just woken up, 'You underestimate my power' he mutters while chuckling to himself. Regardless, this Perk ain't all that great.
[Higher Ground] : +200% damage while at least 100 meters above your target. Despite how it sounds like an extension of the last perk, it was actually a perfect sniper Perk, something he'd choose if he hadn't already decided on one.
[Death's touch] : Your hands deal small amounts of damage when touching a living person (Damage = 0.01 per second). This Perk just feels like a gimmick, he couldn't even be bothered to do the maths to figure out how long it'd actually take to kill someone.
[Mime] : You are unable to speak, but gain +5 to all stats. Yeah, no.
[Mimick] : Enables you to almost perfectly copy the actions of people you have observed for a while. Sounds useful but really isn't when you realise Afton was perfectly capable of mimicking people already... That, and he was already way more advanced than anyone else in most fields.
[Stick your hands up!] People for some reason mistake your fingers as weapons, allowing you to command them as if you were really threatening their life! Again, just a throwaway Perk some chucklehead decided to include. Though, it would allow him to break out of prison fairly easily if he needed to. That, or it'd make him unable to ever surrender...
He'd already been intending to raise his Endurance to the max level to acquire the Perk it'd grant. So, he takes the Endurance upgrade while wondering if level 50 would be the max he could reach, or if there was something else after it...
[Endurance has been maxed out! Perk granted : A Pool of Dead]
[A Pool of Dead] : You possess incredible regenerative properties! Anything lesser than being decapitated is eventually healed!... To be honest, Afton was pretty salty he'd not discovered this Perk when his arm had gotten blown off... Additionally, Afton can't help but scoff at the Vault boy wearing red and black tights wielding two katanas.
Fortunately, unlike most other times where he'd acquired a Perk that changed his physiology, the only effect after confirming everything was a slight twinge under his skin... And all of his teeth falling out before quickly growing back... Yeah, not a fun moment, and would've likely scared someone half to death if they saw it.
Afton tosses the teeth into a pouch and slowly gets to his feet, rolling his shoulder and marvelling at just how tough he currently felt. Drawing his knife, he jabs his regular arm with the tip, not doing anything at the light thrust.
He tries again but with a little more effort, eventually managing to draw a tiny amount of blood, though, the wound seals itself up as if it'd never existed in the first place. Afton smirks, wondering just how broken his [Grit] Perk would be when combined with his regeneration.
A couple days after the group had arrived and assisted Novac a contingent of NCR soldiers approach the town, though, the only reason they weren't immediately shot was because of their uniforms...
Of course, they were not well received by the townsfolk at all, most scoffing at them and refusing to speak. If Afton had to vote on the funniest reaction it'd definitely be Daisy...
(Flashback)
"Ma'am, we appreciate what you're saying but-" a soldier tries to placate the elder woman but is interrupted yet again.
"You 'appreciate' it? My that's a mighty fine way of saying nothin'! You boys left our town and even your own men alone to face an army, and you still have the face to come down here and ask around for our guests!?!" she loudly scolds as the other townsfolk stick their heads out of whenever they are to watch.
Afton himself was sitting a good distance away on a piece of scrap metal he intended to use for his new vehicle.
The soldiers continue to try and explain their actions and blame the Legion, but Daisy isn't so easily convinced, eventually causing her to grab a nearby broom. "You better be on your way! You want to talk? Show some shame for abandoning a settlement under your protection... Why on earth would we start paying those god-damned taxes if you'd just run like sissy-shit pansies! Go on! Get!" she shouts, prodding them with her broom.
The lead soldier allows a couple of pokes but eventually looks as if he's about to lose his temper... However, he's 'convinced' to reconsider his options when the other townsfolk send angry, almost blood-thirsty glares at them.
His retaliatory retort get stuck in his throat as he glances behind him at his soldiers, "We will return and report the situation to our commanders. We thank you all for your time and understanding." he says before leading his men away.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Niggross
Niggross Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Bab 370: Fast Times
It'd been a couple weeks since the soldiers had visited, but there hadn't been any indication of anymore. Afton didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, as if the NCR simply forgot about Novac, the town wouldn't be screwed the moment he and his companions left.
Regardless, the townsfolk seemed fine with that after having decided to take their safety into their own hands. Afton wondered what the expression of the next tax collector would look like when everyone refused to pay.
It was fair though, no protection, no tax. Afton didn't think the NCR would be willing or able to send troops to force compliance either, if they tried Afton would take a stand, even if doing so would cause many, many problems.
He reckoned he could win the PR war though. The people would support a rebel fighting against tyrants as opposed to an oppressive government, especially since Afton was quite well known around the Mojave already... It helped that people in hard times were drawn to going against authorities like the NCR.
During these weeks Afton and the gang had begun putting all hands on deck when constructing the newest vehicle. It would be a relatively large truck with an engine, but that was just to secure another vehicle.
Afton intended to use the truck to tow a Fire Engine to Novac from Camp Searchlight. Afterwards, he had half a mind to give the tow truck to Novac to help secure supplies and other essentials. He was slightly worried about doing that however as it'd just put a larger target on Novac.
Afton, Josie, and Daisy could usually be found in the garage fixing up the truck, while the others were either patrolling around the town or helping secure parts necessary to fix the vehicle.
Of course, the latter was just a cover so Afton could use his [Mechanicus] and [Jury Rigging] Perks without prying eyes constantly on him. The Gibson Scrap Yard up the road helped cover his rather unnatural abilities, to both his companions and to those who might be spying on them.
As everyone was far more familiar with the process of repairing a vehicle than last time during Dirt-Birds construction, it took far, far less time to finish it.
By the time the third week rolled by, the truck was completed. It had previously been a simple truck with a bed in the back allowing it to carry small things. But with some modifications of Afton's design, it now more resembled some sort of Winch truck.
The arm on the back had a rolled-up bundle of steel cables Afton'd managed to 'find' which should be strong enough to tow a Fire Engine. Of course, he'd put in a larger engine and reinforced the chassis to make sure nothing would break before it got back to Novac.
His modifications had made it a great deal heavier, which would help with pulling the larger vehicle, but did put a lifespan on it... The Winch Truck simply wasn't designed for what they were using it for, and would eventually break without occasional repairs.
The reactor engine would burn itself out far too quickly, and the chassis itself was still not comparable to a specifically designed Winch truck, making it vulnerable to bending, breaking, and a whole manner of other potential disasters.
Still, if nothing else at least Josie and Daisy enjoyed the process. The former woman jumping up and down giddily as they prepared to start the engine for the first time. Afton decided to take the first ride to christen it as he felt he'd put in the most effort...
He inserts the makeshift key into the ignition and turns it, causing the reactor to hum to life. The headlights illuminate the dim garage and Josie cheers at the apparent success.
"Let's drive it! Come on!" she urges, and Afton felt that if she could she'd force him off of the driver's seat and start driving it herself.
Afton just smiles and nods while opening the garage door. He gently accelerates it and exits the workshop, causing a couple of townsfolk to move out of the way as he drives through the street. This wasn't the first time they'd seen him driving a new vehicle, so their surprise was limited at best. Though, some of the newer residents gave big enough reactions to satisfy him.
Once they were on the outskirts of town Afton hops onto the back and allows everyone to reposition themselves, Daisy getting into the passenger's seat while Josie excitedly grabs the wheel.
"Now, you remember what we said about driving, right?" Afton asks from the back of the truck, hoping she'd not crash their new creation.
"NOPE!" Josie chirps as she slams her foot on the accelerator, almost causing Afton to rolls off of the back. Daisy and Josie are both forced into their seats as the truck rapidly speeds up.
It's lucky that the highway was relatively clear, even with all the cracks and potholes running across its surface, otherwise, Josie might've flipped and completely totalled the vehicle.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she cheers, pushing the truck faster as it races down the highway, its suspension barely managing to stop the wheels from being torn out from under them due to the rough road.
Despite the rather manic driving though, Josie proves that she's quite a good driver... Afton had expected it after she'd spent most of her life learning about vehicles, but for a first-timer, it was quite the sight.
The trio continued to race the vehicle around Novac until the sky darkened, even then Josie hadn't had her fix of speedster fun, and she was already wanting to go again. Though, Daisy refused to drive with Josie again...
When Afton was in private, even Nyx stated her concern for their safety at Josie's driving, something he hadn't expected as Nyx had been with him when he was driving at top speeds to Camp McCarren.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross
Niggross
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
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