Utterly confused, Jaco could hardly grasp the message in front of his face. Levels, Experience Points, and a System? What was this, some sort of nightmare based on video games? He shook his head, he had to just be dreaming at that point. But before he could even finish processing it all, a new screen suddenly appeared.
Note: The following is a pre-written message.
I greet all those who remain amongst the humans of Earth. I am an Angel of Heaven. And today, I come with both a dire warning and the most sincere apologies for what your kind will now have to shoulder.
For countless eons, Heaven has acted as creation’s bulwark against the dark forces of Hell. Across these many years, we Angels have protected humanity from demonkind’s eternally grasping talons. Such was their ferocity, that new Angels were constantly constructed and sent to war by our Creator.
But-
“No, there’s just no way. The Creator, as in… God?” Jaco muttered in disbelief. There were still more words on the golden screen, but he just had to pause there.
He refused to believe that any of this was reality. He didn’t want to believe in some sort of divine war between Heaven and Hell. The young man closed his eyes and rubbed his fingers against them. He then blinked a few times, but the message was still there. He pinched his thigh, and slapped himself across the cheek. The young man continued to try everything else he could think of. If this truly was all just a bad dream, it was a damn hard one to wake up from.
He eventually glanced back at the screen. Even after his futile attempts to wake up, it still patiently hung in the air. After another moment’s hesitation, he decided to keep reading.
-not long ago, our Creator disappeared without warning. With the creation of Angels suddenly halted, our numbers quickly dwindled. We were unable to hold back Hell’s advance. And today, we have failed you by being unable to stop the demonic incursion into the mortal world. With us Angels now driven to the brink of extinction, I must regretfully admit that we are powerless to intervene directly. Yet do not despair, for Heaven has not abandoned humanity.
As one of the few remaining Seraphim, I and those who are left have collected our efforts to aid mankind another way. We have granted you a System, one that will give a Sheet to let you grow. Through this, humanity might have the power to survive this Hellish calamity.
However, I must be clear that your situation is already very grim. In just the opening act of this Apocalypse, over half of all humankind has already perished. For my final words, I can only again express my regret for having failed you.
Note: To dismiss this screen, please swipe in any direction.
“Half of all humankind. Half,” Jaco repeated the statement. He tried to imagine it, to envision that around four billion people were already dead. But he simply couldn’t, and was left at a loss of both words and any tangible thoughts. Meekly, he followed the note and swiped the golden screen out of existence. But as soon as it disappeared, a new one immediately took its place.
New Classes Available:
Warrior
Scout
Martial Artist
Mage
Jaco barely registered the options presented to him. There was an option to have the System expound upon them, but he didn’t care. Still in a daze, he just dismissed the screen and stumbled away from the lake.
The young man winced with each step. Every time the wind shifted, his various burns stung anew. But he didn’t care to stop, and so he pushed on through the pain. Smoke still hung in the air as large fires still raged on across the area. Avoiding the parts of the neighborhood still aflame, he absentmindedly trudged back to his house.
Yet when he arrived there, even the comforts of home were denied to him. What was once a house and a wonderful young garden were just ruins. The building itself was now no more than a pile of rubble. Jaco reached down to grab a single brick, staring down at it. But just a moment later, his grip weakened and let it fall back into the debris.
His thoughts led to those he knew before moving here. According to the message, there was a fifty-fifty chance that both his friends and family had died. The young man’s stomach twisted at the idea as he suddenly felt woozy. He fell down to his hands and knees, and retched. Jaco heaved and gagged, but nothing came out except for spit.
After some time of being unable to throw up, Jaco just sniveled. Tears streamed down his cheeks and dripped off his chin. Each droplet disappeared into the ash-covered ground as they fell. But eventually, he sat back up and wiped the dried tears from his face.
As the young man continued to stare out of the ruins of his former home, that’s when he heard it. A terrible rattling and scraping that made him wince. The sound seemed to come from all around from multiple sources, and they were only getting louder by the second.
“What the,” He immediately stood up and frantically looked around. But it only took a moment for him to see them.
Dozens more undead were slowly shambling their way in his direction. However, unlike the charred corpses of his undead, these ones were completely skeletal. Their bones were covered with soot and ash. But even through it, he could see that a number of them had cracks or chunks missing from their bones. Their sudden appearance was enough to break Jaco from his stupor and snap him back to reality.
As he continued to stare at the Skeletons, one of them looked up from the ground. Its empty sockets locked with his living eyes. A bead of sweat traveled down Jaco’s face as he didn’t dare make any sudden movements. He slowly took a step back, and a bit of debris shifted underneath his foot. The undead turned its head toward the sky and opened its jaw with a silent scream. Somehow, the others understood this call. The horde then collectively surged straight for him. They were still a fair distance away, but it wouldn’t take them long to close the gap.
“Oh Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Jaco cried out. His thoughts returned back to the screen from just a moment ago. Perhaps that could have saved him. However, he couldn’t focus on it long enough to summon the screen once again.
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He had to run. With nowhere else to go, he rushed for the pile of rubble. Maybe if he could get over the top and to the other side, he’d find a spot to hide. He climbed over the debris as quickly as possible. He swore through his teeth as a shard of glass stabbed itself into his arm. But Jaco could hear the Skeletons already starting to clamber up from the bottom of the hill of rubble. He glanced back at them and swore again. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until they were on him.
From the pile, he grabbed a piece of wood. Jaco’s heart pounded furiously inside of his chest. If he couldn’t get away, then there was no choice but to fight. One after another, they shambled up the hill. With the elevation and uneven footing, it slowed their movements down just enough.
Letting out a guttural scream, he rushed for the nearest Skeleton. He swung the large stick sideways and into the undead’s ribcage. The young man grimaced as he felt the force of the impact reverberate in his hands.
But from the hit, he immediately noticed that the Skeleton was actually quite light. Enough so that the single hit was enough to knock it back down the small hill. It tumbled down the pile, its body rolling and bumping against the rubble. When its skull did one last smack into the rocks against the body, the Skeleton didn’t get back up.
EXP Earned!
That was one of them down, now there were just a few dozen more left to go.
Okay, I can do this. I can do this! Jaco chanted to himself. Despite the self-assurance, his legs were still shaking from the nerves. It was do-or-die time, but at least he could do something with the high ground. As long as he carefully went after them one at a time, then maybe he’d survive.
The next Skeleton was already near him. One of its ribs was already cracked, so Jaco aimed straight for it. Once again he swung the stick and smashed it straight into the undead’s ribcage. The bone snapped off from the force of the blow as it too was thrown off the debris pile.
EXP Earned!
Jaco’s heart raced as adrenaline coursed throughout his body. He felt the stick splinter into his palms with each hit. Slowly and carefully, he managed his spacing between them. When the timing was right, he knocked them back with a hit. He sent down a third Skeleton, then the fourth and fifth.
EXP Earned!
EXP Earned!
EXP Earned!
Level Up!
Level 2 to Level 3
Each one was fragile enough to be killed by tumbling down and hitting their skulls against the rocks below. But Jaco could feel himself starting to get worn down. His prior burns and cuts still ached. All the running from before and constant tension made his muscles scream for a break. Even the air itself hurt to breathe from all the ash and smoke.
But at that moment, all he could feel was the rush of every swing. If he mistimed even one strike and let them counter, that could easily be it for him. A chunk of his fear and terror almost seemed to melt away with each undead he slew. In its place, an almost indescribable feeling had started to take shape.
Jaco felt the surge of adrenaline refresh itself with each Skeleton he confronted. Every time the System showed that he had earned EXP, he felt his confidence grow. After killing a few more, the screen appeared to show that he gained another Level. Levels! That was the key! With those Level Ups, Jaco had felt himself grow just a bit stronger. He even seemed even get slightly less tired.
When there was a gap between the wave of Skeletons, Jaco dared to reopen his Sheet. At that second he wasn’t even sure exactly how he did it. Only that the moment he willed for it, the golden screen appeared before him.
General Info:
Species: Human
Level: 4
Class: N/A
Stats:
Strength: 13
Agility: 10
Endurance: 14
Will: 12
Spell Power: 0
Unspent Points: 15
Class Abilities:
N/A
Unlike the Class options he was given, his Sheet appeared before him without needing to focus or concentrate. Or maybe he was focusing right now— he didn’t know. All he knew was that for every Stat but Spell Power, he quickly confirmed that they had increased with his Level. But he also now noticed there was a tiny plus sign for just those four Stats too. Before the next undead could reach him, Jaco mashed his finger to increase them.
Right now what he definitely needed was more Strength and Endurance. While Will seemed like it wouldn’t help much in this situation. So he focused on those two and only left a couple of Points for Agility. Within seconds he had already spent all fifteen available Points.
With the boost to Stats, a wave of pure euphoria washed over the young man. Suddenly, the injuries he suffered didn’t bother him nearly as much as before. He swung at the next Skeleton and smashed the stick straight against its head. Both the undead’s skull and his weapon shattered from the force of the impact. Yet breaking his club didn’t bother him in the slightest. Instead, Jaco just felt satisfaction from how much stronger that swing had felt. It had felt good, really good.
Without him realizing it, a grin formed across his face. Jaco tossed away what was left of the stick and grabbed another from the pile. He stared down at the rest of the Skeletons that dared try to climb up his former house.
That’s right, this was his home. He would be damned if he let a bunch of undead kill him here. Even if half of humanity was already dead, Jaco would still fight for it and himself. Hell, even if he was already the last human alive, he wouldn’t lie down and die. No, he vowed to himself that he’d go down kicking and screaming. This was still his world, and if some Angels or even the Creator couldn’t defend it, then he would to the very end.
“Come on!" Jaco yelled. He dared for the next one to hurry up and try him. All nerves gone, his legs were now firmly planted into the hill. The young man kept his grip tight and swung as another Skeleton climbed up.
Level Up!
Level 9 to Level 10
With the last of the Skeletons now slain, it was finally over. Jaco’s hands trembled as he let what remained of his current stick fall to the ground. It wasn’t from fear that they shook, but simply the result of the feedback from each swing. He looked down at his splinter-covered palms. He’d need to take the time to pull those out in just a short time.
The young man took a single step back down the top of the hill, and fell back straight onto his butt. He directly hit it against a chunk of broken wood, but barely registered the impact. The moment his body was allowed to lose tension, all the built-up fatigue finally hit like a truck. Practically every inch of his skin was covered with sweat and grime. He stared up at the smokey sky, gasping for air. Jaco tried to swallow, but his mouth was just too dry.
“I-I’m alive.” Jaco’s voice was barely a whisper. His lips trembled as he tried again.
“I’m still alive!” He hoarsely cried out. The words carried across the now empty neighborhood, greeted only by silence. But Jaco didn’t care whether or not anything heard him.
He had just survived an entire horde of undead. If everything didn’t hurt so much, he might have even laughed at the insane fact he somehow lived through that. He dismissed the notification for reaching Level 10. He’d deal with divvying up his additional Stat Points after he’s had a moment to breathe.
New Class Available:
Druid