Clad in his usual hi-vis gear and jacket, Adam strode through the door and met the chilly winter morning with tired abandon. Stepping down the stairs and out onto the freshly plowed street he started towards the car parked just about a short walk away. The hum of the diesel-heater welcomed him as he approached the pickup and swung the door open. The hinges of the door creaked in the crisp winter air, breaking the snow-dampened silence of the parking lot before he sat himself down in the drivers seat.
''Just a few more days until Christmas, Adam,'' Sanna's gentle voice rang over the silent hum of the heater slaving away. He slid the car key into the ignition, leaving it unturned as he leaned his head back onto the headrest.
''I know. I still need to do some shopping, I guess,'' he sighed, thinking of the gifts he'd need to bring for his nieces and nephews. ''You think Amanda would like a new teddy?''
''You already got that for her last year, remember?'' The reflection of Sanna smiled in the rear view mirror, eliciting a smile from him in response.
''Oh yeah, I forgot,'' he said softly as he looked out over the parking lot again. The ice having covered the car overnight had melted into drops of water slowly rolling down the windshield. Well, it was still technically night as it was just past four in the morning now and no sun in sight. Or that's what Adam thought as the sky suddenly turned bright and blue for a few seconds. A flash of day in the dark of night completely took Adam unaware and startled him wide awake.
''What the actual fu-...'' the words didn't fully form before a computerized voice suddenly rang out in his head.
-System has been initialized. Executing startup function.-
Frozen in shock, Adam found himself unable to move at all. Beads of sweat started to form in all thinkable places, the heat of the cars interior working against his overdressed self.
-Startup function finished. Executing merge into the multiverse.-
The sky lit up as if it was day once more, staying that way for a few seconds before beginning to flicker in between the dark of night and daylight repeatedly. The whole experience disoriented Adam as he sat, frozen in shock and fear, at what felt like the center of an increasingly surreal scene. Homes all around him began to light up bit by bit as people no doubt had been startled awake by the eerily robotic voice. Then suddenly, the flashing stopped and the dark of night returned.
-Merge successful. Welcome to the multiverse, creatures of new earth.-
The words thundered through the air from the skies above this time, unhindered by anything as they pierced through to the cars interior. With a growing panic amongst the confusion, Adam flung the door of the pickup open and began sprinting back to the apartment.
-Adam Johnsson, Human of New Earth. As per your assimilation into the multiverse you'll be given the option to choose a class in a few moments time.-
The voice thundered through his mind, completely deafening the sound of his boots slamming against the pavement as he was running back and up the stairs to the apartment. Fumbling with the lock for a few seconds before opening it, he burst into the entrance way only to quickly shut the door behind him. Finding it hard to catch his breath amidst growing panic, his field of view suddenly flooded with boxes of text.
Class: Warrior
The Warrior stands on the front lines
of battles and either brings death to
their foes or defends their allies. A
versatile class much needed in any
well rounded party.
Suitability: 90%
Class: Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is the magical artillery
that abandons all sense of defense
for a full offence approach.
A specialized class not easily overlooked.
Suitability: 90%
Class: Crafter
The Crafter is the backbone of any
civilization. They utilize various
techniques to shape the things around
them into tools, food or structures to be
used by any in need of it. The Crafter
is specialized in their craft and highly
valued in any society.
Suitability: 74%
Special Class: Revenant
The Revenant is a rare class not often
seen. They're that which walks on the line between the living and the dead. While not yet dead, the Revenant is never far from that which death has touched. A hybrid class that mixes elements of the Warrior, Guardian and Sorcerer classes.
Suitability: 100%
-To choose a class, merely focus on the choice you wish to make and follow the instructions given.-
Adam struggled to catch his breath, his chest heaving, as he tried to read through the boxes, growing more and more confused with each passing moment. This 'multiverse' thing was starting to look alot like one of the RPGs he'd played when he was younger. The questions he currently wanted answers for it felt like he would not get any for. Was some kind of god gameifying the world? Was all of this a simulation? Is life even re-...
''Just follow your gut, Adam,'' Sanna's voice cut through the deafening sound of his own thoughts, bringing him back down to earth once more. He met her gaze with his own before taking a long, deep breath.
No matter what was going on, rare is rare, is it not? In games that'd usually mean it's the better choice. He began to shift his focus onto the box with the Revenant class, fully following his gut feeling on the 'suitability' percentage.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
-Do you wish to choose the Special Class: Revenant? If yes, then speak the word yes. If not, speak the word no.-
''Yes.''
-The Revenant class has been chosen. Applying special status to Adam Johnsson-
''Cleo!'' Adam took a few steps forwards as he shouted for the little white cat, completely disregarding the fact that he was still wearing his work boots and was dragging snow and gravel through the hallway with him.
-Special status has been applied to Adam Johnsson. Would you like to open your status window and view your status, Adam Johnsson?-
Catching sight of Cleo laying on the coffee table in the living room, all spread out and watching him like she always did, he let a sigh of slight relief escape.
''Yeah, sure. Show me whatever the fuck this entire thing is, won't you?'' the knot of anxiety having taken root in the pits of his stomach continued to make itself known as he spoke, his tone trembling ever so slightly.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Adam Johnsson
Race: Human (Common)
Age: 26 years
Affinity: Life, Death.
Titles: N/A
Class: Revenant (0)
----
Attributes: (0 points to spend)
Strength: 6
Agility: 5
Endurance: 7
Regeneration: 9
Intelligence: 7
Mana: 4
----
Cultivation:
Body: N/A
Soul: N/A
Core: N/A
----
Abilities: N/A (One pending skill choice)
----
Unique: Soul Mutation
-------------------------------------------------------------
The box containing his quantified physical being sprang up in the center of his view, making it impossible to not focus on it. A bizarre curiosity slowly grew the more he read of it, his attention sticking to the few oddities in it. The affinity part of it, he could understand, but the Soul Mutation part of it? What did it mean and why was it unique? As for the skill choice—what does that entail?
-------------------------------------------------------------
Abilities: N/A (One pending skill choice)
Option one:
Draining Touch
Drain the life energy of your foe through touch.
Option two:
Energized Slash
Slash your foe with a magically enhanced attack.
-------------------------------------------------------------
''Wha-...'' the status window disappeared only to be replaced by the single box as soon as he focused on the pending skill choice part of the window. Reading through the two, the curiosity he'd felt earlier started to grow stronger. Magic. If this was not a dream but his new reality, the fact that magic seemed to exist was enough to send shivers of excitement through him.
Almost rushing the choice, he almost decided to choose the Energized Slash then and there, only to catch himself last second. Draining Touch seemed like the better option of the two, no? Maybe the drain caused by the ability would magically heal him in the process? Focusing in on the Draining Touch, he made his decision as he felt the knowledge of how to make use of the ability suddenly spring into existence.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Adam Johnsson
Race: Human (Common)
Age: 26 years
Affinity: Death.
Titles: N/A
Class: Revenant (0)
----
Attributes: (0 points to spend)
Strength: 6
Agility: 5
Endurance: 7
Regeneration: 9
Intelligence: 7
Mana: 4
----
Cultivation:
Body: N/A
Soul: N/A
Core: N/A
----
Abilities: Draining Touch (Common - Active)
----
Unique: Soul Mutation
-------------------------------------------------------------
''Common, huh,'' the remark escaped him before he could realize how much he'd already began to calm down compared to before. Kicking his boots off and throwing them to the side, he quickly stripped from the thick layering of clothes he wore for working in the cold and approached Cleo, still very much sprawled out on the table while waiting for Adam to inevitably approach her.
''Really don't think going in to work right now is the call, Cleo.'' Reaching down to scratch Cleo's exposed belly as she rolled around for him, the thought of going outside right now scared the living hell out of him.
''GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!'' the screaming broke the apparent silence outside and startled Adam into action immediately. He ran over to the closet and reached deep inside, grabbing a hold of the machete he'd been given by his crazy uncle when he'd moved away from home. Thinking less about the whole trauma around that series of events, he ran to the front door, making sure to lock it, before getting to the back windows and peering down outside.
The shattering of glass accompanied the screaming of his downstairs neighbour as he threw himself out of one of the windows into the snow covered grass outside of it. The loud growling and barking of his two German Sheperds followed as they both jumped out after the old man, lunging and taking large bites out of him in turns. Frozen in shock at the sight of the scene, Adam found himself unable to move and entranced by sheer animalistic violence of it. A few seconds passed and the man kept being torn apart bit by bit, howling in pain and agony as he continued to dye the snow around him crimson. Then it all suddenly grew quiet as one of the dogs went in for the killing strike, chomping down on the mans throat and crushing his windpipe as well as causing an inordinate amount of blood to spew out on the lawn and soak into the snow around him.
The whole scene was silent for a bit, until one of the two suddenly burst into action once more, running and easily jumping over the fence surrounding the freshly deceased mans yard and disappearing into the row of trees lining the perimeter of the woods behind the complex. The second of the two turned its head upwards and met Adams gaze, holding it momentarily before it too followed the first dog into the woods.
The whole encounter was finished as quickly as it had began, leaving Adam stood in the window gripping the machete's handle hard enough to leave his knuckles white. This was crazy. He should call the police at this point, right? Then, movement caught his attention again as Peter—his other downstairs neighbor—snuck out into the snow and over towards the old man in an attempt to help him if at all possible.
''Impossible,'' Adam thought out loud as he reached down for his phone sat where it always was, right front pocket, and awkwardly fished it out with his free hand. The man was already dead, without a single doubt. Nobody can bleed that much and still live afterwards. Swiping to start unlocking the phone, he pressed the call icon and dialed 911 before bringing it up to his ear and looking out over the scene once more. He saw Peter remove his sweater and lay it over the head of the man, covering it from sight.
"Thank you for calling 911. We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls and are unable to answer immediately. Please stay on the line, and your call will be answered as soon as possible. If this is an emergency, please remain-...'' he let the phone fall to his side again, the automatic answering voice continuing on in its ramblings about how he should only stay on the phone only if it truly was an emergency.
Then everything went black. All the lights in the apartment and the cascading lighting from his neighbors windows winked out of existence, leaving only the pitch black darkness inside and only the moon and stars reflected in the snow to illuminate the outside. Muted shouts could be heard all around him from the various apartments as the outage scared quite a few people in the process. Looking down to his phone, Adam realized it too had fallen silent, a black screen replacing the previously vivid lights of a call in progress. If his phone had died along with the lights, then that was something entirely different than a normal outage.