We search a few of the nearby houses. We’re outside the city, but still close enough the buildings aren’t too rustic looking. Most are vinyl sided, 1-3 stories tall, with attached garages and relatively large yards. Inside the homes, we find a variety of supplies, mostly cans of food and bottles of water. We store it all in our inventory.
Speaking of, having an RPG game inventory is weird. Reaching into the air and either placing, or removing, items from an alternate dimension only you can access is something not easily explained. But, it does make for a handy way to carry far more stuff than normal. This alternate space is limited by a combination of slots, total weight, and an item’s physical size.
We drop it all off to those at the ranch house. Candy and cookies are a boon to our morale. Four more trips ensure we have enough to last a few more days.
Next is a gas station.
Our first encounter on the way is with a groundhog the size of a rottweiler with razor-sharp claws and teeth.
Very Large Groundhog (Level 5)
HP - 100/100
Abilities - Burrow, Subterranean Attack, Tough
It busts out of the ground and almost takes Justin’s leg off. Brian snatches the animal by its long, wiry neck hair and drags it out into the open. Without the element of surprise, the creature is easy to kill. Easy doesn’t mean quick, and it takes all of us several hits to bypass the thing’s resistances.
Though Justin’s leg is mauled, System alterations include a passive healing factor. According to Justin, watching and feeling injuries heal in real time is, quote, fucking weird. Once he’s able to walk again, we make it to the gas station a few minutes after he’s back to 100%.
Technically, there are two gas stations. The small, mom-and-pop one is our first target. We figure any other survivors would go for the big, national chain one. Having seen plenty of post-apocalyptic movies, no one wants to run into half-crazed cannibal survivors.
The station has eight pumps and a small metallic green painted convenience store. How it stayed open with the national franchise across the street is anyone’s guess. Then again, out in the rural areas, people like familiar, family-run businesses. I liked it for the disgustingly tasty roller meat.
We lay in the grass on a nearby hill and watch for any movement.
“What’s the plan, Jordan?” Brian is looking through a pair of binoculars we found earlier.
I turn to look at Andy. “Feel like putting your Rogue abilities to use?”
Andy nods and slinks away without a word.
Seeing System abilities in action is odd. I watch Andy as he slides down the hill and through the grass like a wraith, and then as he fades from view. I assume it’s his Stealth skill at work. Twenty minutes later, he returns.
“Ok, we got three people holed up in the building. They have at least one rifle and have the place barricaded fairly well. The front windows are spray painted with WE WILL SHOOT.” Andy looks back at the building. “And I think something’s out there watching them.”
Jennifer purses her lips. “That sounds ominous.”
Brian and Justin vote we fight it, then bump their fists.
“I’m going to guess the people in there are either using their gun as a bluff, or they don’t know they’ve been rendered useless. Andy, if you’re right, we need to kill whatever’s out there before we try to talk to them. Hopefully, that’ll change their mind about shooting us.”
Once everyone agrees, we make our way to the gas station.
As we approach, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I see everyone else is on edge, too. We keep our weapons at the ready, waiting for whatever the hidden threat is to emerge. The survivors yell out a warning from inside.
“Don’t try to come in here! We’ve got guns and we’ll shoot.”
The voice is male and full of worry.
With the other four on guard, I walk to within twenty feet of the door. “Listen, we’re here to gather some supplies. We’ve got a decent defensible position at the horse ranch on Beard Road. You’re welcome to come with us.”
A rifle round through the top of the door confirms their choice.
“Jordan, it’s going to be getting dark soon. We should head back.” Jennifer’s eyes never stop scanning the area.
Brian whispers something to Justin before speaking up. “Justin and I think we should stick around and see what this monster is. It’ll be great experience.”
He’s right. Now that we’re dealing with System mechanics, gaining experience is important. After the first day, most people gained a level. The subsequent stat increases and ability points helped fend off the other attacks. Now most of us are fourth level.
Having spent time in System menus looking up whatever I could about my class, I knew I wanted to go the tank route. Especially with what options come once I make it to the Advanced Tier.
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As a Druid, my class has, obviously, a nature theme. To keep me alive, the Basic Tier gives a lot of options for personal strength. I can get passive healing, damage reduction, and access to magic. The higher Tiers provide access to broader powers, though real customization comes via Talents.
Every level you gain an ability point, and every two levels you gain a Talent. Unfortunately, like most things, access to Talents required a Shop. All we need is more people and money, then we can form a Settlement and buy access to one.
Easy, right?
The Basic Tier of my Druid class gives me access to three ability trees: Durability, Nature, and Magic. Under Durability, I’ve put two points into Increased Health Regen, one into Increased Health, and one into Resilient. This gives me a 4% increase to my passive healing, twenty additional hit points, and 5% damage reduction, respectively.
“Team vote. We’ve got Justin and Brian for, and Jennifer against. Andy, what do you think?”
Squinting his eyes in thought and running his hand over his short, curly hair, Andy lets out a long hmm. “We should go back and see if anyone else wants to join us. Be kinda shitty to hog all the XP.”
We let the survivors know we’ll be back soon and head to the ranch, looting several more houses along the way. Gathering up Sarah, Cleric, and wife to Donnie, we head back.
Sarah, an average height, heavyset woman with long, jet black hair, makes an excellent addition to the team. She’s never one to shy from conflict, and, as a Cleric, can heal any hurt any of us might incur.
Her well-worn clothes are functional, and the addition of a few leather hides on her arms and legs, along with a carpet and duct tape breastplate, gives her some protection. The dual meat cleavers aren’t her weapon of choice, but they’ll be effective.
Arriving just as the sun is setting, Andy’s sent forward once again. Appearing out of a shadow behind the convenience store, he waves us all down.
“Whatever it is, it’s behind that shed.”
“Ok, Jennifer, you’ve got the most armor. Care to be bait? Once you draw it out, the rest of us can rush it.”
Dropping her armored shoulders, Jennifer nods her head in reluctance. It’s fun to be bait. She lowers her visor, brings her massive two-handed sword to a ready position, and goes towards the shed.
The rest of us stay back thirty or so feet. Andy hides in a bush with his bow at the ready. Brian and Justin hide behind a disabled car while Sarah and I stay behind a large metal dumpster.
Clanking forward, Jennifer stops behind another car. She feigns looking inside for a moment, then continues on towards the shed. The beast attacks when the armored Asian woman gets ten feet past it.
Like the gigantic groundhog, System changed a normal bobcat into a monstrous nightmare version of itself. The animal, now six feet long, with glowing yellow eyes and teeth dripping with poison, smashes into Jennifer.
Robertcat (Level 15)
HP - 350/350
Abilities - Darkvision, Poison Bite, Prowl
The Fighter rolls with the attack, absorbing much of the impact with her armor. As the beast lines up for another pounce, Andy lets fly an arrow. His Sneak Attack Class Ability gives the well-placed bolt a 2x modifier, dealing a significant amount of damage. The rest of us rush the animal, screaming with our weapons held high in the air.
Distracted by the loud noises, the robertcat hisses and crouches, ready for another attack. I don't notice Jennifer readying her attack, but I notice when she removes the beast’s head with a powerful downward attack.
We celebrate with high-fives and fist bumps. Jennifer, having dealt the killing blow, puts the robertcat’s head into her inventory, while Sarah places the animal’s body in hers. Half of the other survivors picked crafting classes, so the thought is they can make us something with the pelt and bones. That, and having fresh meat will be nice.
Going to the convenience store, I make sure the occupants know I’m here.
“Hey! We killed the big monster thing. You can come out now.”
The sound of rustling goes on for some time before a ragged man appears at the door. It looks like he hasn’t slept in a few days, and his clothing, once a nice suit, is torn and soiled. His once coiffed hair is oily and needs to be brushed badly. He moves a bolt-action rifle around nervously.
“We saw. Who are you and what do you want?”
“I’m Jordan. These are my friends Andy, Sarah, Brian, Justin, and Jennifer. Like I said before, we’re holed up on Beard Road at the horse ranch.” I gesture inside the building. “We’re here to gather supplies. If you want, you can join us.”
Giving the best, friendliest smile I can, I open my hands and motion for them to come out.
The man goes back inside for a few minutes and returns with two others. The woman, obviously his wife, and a boy, his son, are on either side of him. He unlocks the door and they all exit.
“We’re from Columbus” The man motions his chin to one of the cars. “Everything happened when we stopped to get gas, so we don’t know the area. How far is this ranch?”
“Maybe a twenty-minute walk?”
The man lets out a sigh. “Good. My name’s Mason. This is my wife, Amanda, and our son, Charles.”
Amanda, an attractive blonde in a once nice dress, smiles and nods. I can tell she’s doing her best to keep a facade up. Now out of danger, tears well in her eyes. Both she and her husband are somewhere in their late thirties.
Their son, Charles, looks to be around fifteen. He’s lanky, with a shaggy head of brown hair, and wears a loose fitting band shirt and torn up jeans. If he’s freaked out, it doesn’t show. Charles looks around at everyone with wide eyes, especially at Jennifer and her armor. Actually, the kid looks more excited than anything.
With greetings out of the way, we head back to the ranch house. On the way, Mason informs us they didn’t pick a class, because of the insanity happening, so they received a System assigned one. Charles was given Farmer, Amanda received Administrator, and Mason got Wizard.
The non-combat classes seem useful. Several of the other survivors either picked or were assigned them as well. I wonder how Farmer progresses as they reach higher tiers?
Twenty minutes later, we reach the house. As I introduce the newcomers, one guard, an elderly Hispanic man classed as Artist, lets me know there’s been an interesting development while we were gone. Pressing the man for information, he says Donnie wants to keep it a secret until the morning.
I hate surprises.