although my ultimate end goal was the Canadian border I knew that there was no way I could take a straight route directly to the border. first, while I had a pretty good stash of supplies in my bag there was no way it would last me the 100 or so miles I would have to walk to make it to the border.
I was also worried for another reason. people panic in the face of the unknown, the timing of this apocalypse was rather advantageous for a night owl like me as it gave me a head start but I was under no false assumption that I would be the only one to gain Abilities, like the screens said EVERYONE was given a Status screen. this implied that everyone would have the same general opportunities I did.
so my immediate priority was to get out of urbanized areas and into the forest further north. my other reason to not take a direct route was actually counterintuitive, I felt like I needed companions. my goal in this apocalypse isn't just to survive but to thrive. with just myself, I doubted that would be possible, I would always be too focused on survival. not to mention that running with a group provides more protection and sanity. even the loneliest of wolfs would eventually go crazy without some interaction. it was just how humans were.
so I started to walk quietly northwest.
as I walked I started to see the world come awake more and more people rushed outside and started packing there vehicles, I even considered stealing a car at one point but eventually decided that it would make too much noise and bring attention to me.
as I walked I also started to feel more and more worried. society was breaking apart even with the monsters hours off based on what I had heard on someone's car radio people were arguing and fighting everywhere I turned. I also saw clear evidence that I was right to be cautious of other people possibly gaining powers when saw some guy throw a fireball at another person over a tank of gas someone had left behind.
after that incident, I started to be even more careful when moving and was relived almost 4 hours later when my previous suburban surroundings bled away into more rural farms.
at this point, I was extremely tired not sleeping then walking for almost 4 hours will do that to you.
hearing nothing in my surroundings I walked into a small patch of trees laid down and fell into a dreamless sleep.
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when I woke up my first reaction was to check my watch. but I was disappointed to see a blank digital screen staring back at me, I had known when this all started that technology may fail at some point based on things I had previously read and that was part of the reason I had scrapped the idea of stealing a car earlier in the day. but I still held on to some hope that that would not be the case.
clearing my eyes something else stood out to me. it was like a little speck in the corner of my vision. focusing on it a blue screen popped up in front of me.
Congratulations on surviving your first 24 hours!
As your world is now fully saturated with life-force most complex tech will cease to function. Some base chemical reactions now also work differently, proceed with caution when it comes to technology.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Magic is now possible, happy discovery!
the notification, like its past brother bluescreens, gave me some much-needed information. for one it confirmed my suspicion that I had been asleep for a pretty long time. although I had no indication of when the notification was sent the fact that it was bright out and it had been at least 24 hours told me it must be the next day.
it also answered my previous conjuncture that tech as a whole had failed. the warning about chemical reactions made me think that things such as guns would probably not work in the current world.
another small thing was the fact that the screen claimed that magic was only now possible despite me seeing someone do fire magic the day before. this made me consider that there might be a difference between magic and what I had seen. perhaps what I had seen was an ability rather than magic.
leaning with my back on a tree while I woke up more I took an assorted snack bag out of my backpack and ate it while I started to think further about what I should do next. I was realizing more and more that while I had the determination to thrive in this apocalypse I had no real end goal, the Canadian border was over 90 miles away and even if I made it there what would I do next.
putting those depressing thoughts out of my head I opened up my status screen.
Status:
Name: Jake Voidle
Life-force: 20
Ambient Life-force: 1500
Titles:
Rare, sub:Variant: Tutorial, Going Against the Odds - Expand
Affinity: Star Magic, Space Magic
Abilities:
Common: Mental Resistance Lvl.1 - Expand
Rare, sub:Unique: Discoverers Mind Lvl.2 - Expand
Legendary, Unique, Blessing: Astral Empowerment - Expand
Stats: Strength: 12 Intelligence: 13 (13.65) Endurance: 12 Wisdom: 16 Dexterity: 16 Charisma: 8 Hidden Stats: (must be discovered to add points) Willpower: 19 (21.85)
I noticed a slight tick up in my physical stats and figured it was probably from all the walking I did the day before.
the other thing I noticed was astral empowerment was glowing slightly goldish. mentally clicking on it another window appeared.
Do you wish to activate Astral Empowerment?
YES - NO
mentally clicking yes I felt as if the whole universe opened up before my eyes, it was overwhelming and I literally would have fallen over if I was standing up. the feeling lasted about 5 seconds and suddenly I was left blinking furiously with a massive headache. once I could see clearly again and didn't feel like my head was splitting open I took a look at the window that had popped up after clicking the yes button.
Empowerment Gained!
Star Power: can be activated by mentally thinking "star power" it passively imbues all magic performed with starlight dealing increased damage and adding a slight speed boost and tracking to all projectile spells, the effects are further amplified if the spell performed is compatible with star magic. (cost:10 Ambient Life-force per minute)
looking at my new empowerment I knew what I should prioritize next. learning magic.
heaving a sigh and with my headache fading I gathered up my stuff put it in my bag took a sip of water and started on my journey once again.