Sector 4, known as the Rust-Warren, was a maze of suspended favelas, leaking steam pipes, and neon signs advertising cheap mana-potions. It was where the NPCs and low-level players lived.
Kaelen merged into the crowd. He kept his head down, pulling his hood up.
Everywhere he looked, he saw numbers. [Merchant - Lvl 4][Beggar - Lvl 1][Guard - Lvl 20]
But now, he saw more. He saw Durability.
He looked at a metal bridge. [Durability: 45%][Weak Point: Bolt 4-A.]
He looked at an old man coughing in the alley. [Life Expectancy: 3 days.][Cause: Lung Rot.]
"Stop it," Kaelen hissed. "Turn it off."
[Guide: I cannot. You have bound the Aspect of Entropy. You now see the End of all things.]
Kaelen ducked into a narrow alleyway leading to "Old Tooth's Curios." Old Tooth was a Goblin-kin (a sub-species allowed in the System) who bought illegal goods.
The bell chimed. The shop smelled of oil and ozone.
"We're closed," a croaky voice said.
Old Tooth sat behind a counter piled with broken droid parts. He adjusted his monocle.
"It's me, Tooth," Kaelen said, locking the door behind him.
"Kaelen?" Tooth squinted. "You look... different. You look heavier."
"I found something," Kaelen said. "I need an appraisal. Off the grid."
He placed the Black Box on the counter.
Tooth leaned forward. He tapped the box with a metal screwdriver. Clink. The screwdriver rusted instantly where it touched the box.
Tooth dropped the tool. He went pale green. "Where did you get this?"
"Trash Reef 4. Beneath the clouds."
Tooth scrambled off his stool and ran to the window, pulling the blinds shut. He activated a sound-dampening rune.
"You idiot," Tooth hissed. "This isn't scrap. This is Pre-Genesis Ware."
"What is it worth?"
"Worth? It's worth a death sentence!" Tooth whispered. "This box is made of Void Steel. It was used to seal things before the System existed. Before the Code."
Tooth looked at Kaelen with fear. "Did you open it?"
Kaelen hesitated. "Yes."
Tooth cursed. He grabbed a scanner and pointed it at Kaelen. The scanner exploded. sparks flew.
"By the Code," Tooth gasped. "Boy, your ID signature is gone. To the System, you don't exist. You're a Null."
"Is that bad?"
"If you try to use a Teleport Gate, you'll dissolve. If you try to enter the Bank, the alarms will scream. You are a ghost."
Tooth rummaged under the counter and pulled out a heavy cloak made of grey fabric. "Take this. It's a Dampener Cloak. It mimics a Level 5 Civilian ID. Wear it, and never take it off."
"Why are you helping me?" Kaelen asked.
Tooth looked at the rusted screwdriver. "Because I'm old, Kaelen. And I remember stories my grandfather told me. Stories about a time when men could become gods without asking a machine for permission."
Tooth shoved the cloak into Kaelen's hands. "Now get out. And bury that box. If the Silver Masks find it, they will burn this whole sector."