For the next several miles, the interstate ran along the border between Texas and Mexico; and while there was a small town not far ahead, not half an hour past that was El Paso; which would bring him, finally, to the edge of Texas. They’d passed the first town with a bus station due largely to the fact it was on fire; dozens of buildings visibly burning, sirens everywhere, the sounds of gunshots in the distance…
But when the next town seemed fairly peaceful, Marcus gave a nod. “If you wouldn’t mind stopping here, please. You can head on. I’m gonna go get some food, and then I’ll catch a bus, or something else, to California whenever one arrives.”
She looked at him again, then out her window. “I… need to stop at a mechanic. The car’s sounding a bit funny. If I… end up staying the night, would you like to meet for dinner?”
“You’ve got a wedding to get to tomorrow. If it takes that long, you should take the bus, like me… or hit the airport in El Paso. You could make it there by dinnertime, if the planes are still flying.”
Would flying insects be as dangerous as ants? Was a jet going to get pounced on by a giant mosquito looking to drink its occupants?
She gave a slow nod… and pulled off the interstate into town… and into the first gas station she saw. “I’ll see if they can give me directions to a mechanic. Good luck!”
He nodded, smiling… and looked around. After he swapped, he wouldn’t want to use his powers any further. Part of him wanted to empty out his bank account before he kept going; but… he had other options.
Dumping his revolvers into his storage space, he looked at the nearest hotel; not a fancy one, just a Best Western; and walked into the lobby, heading up to the counter, smiling at the man behind the desk; who looked at his bedraggled, bloody form for a moment. “Hello…. Sir. How may I help you?”
He looked at the man, and gave a low sigh. “Look. I just had to fight about a thousand mutant ants, my car got totaled, and I just want to take a shower and relax for a few, then catch the next bus out of town in the morning. I don’t have a wallet, or any cards, or any ID; they literally got eaten. I’ve got cash, jewelry. I’ve got one of those extradimensional space things, hell, I could pay you in buckets of ice cream. What would it take to get me a room?”
The man behind the counter looked him over for a few more seconds. “...If you don’t mind that you’re on video, and the cops will come looking for you? Pay the 60$ for the room and the 250$ extra cleaning deposit up front. If the room’s in decent shape when you leave and you didn’t steal anything, I’ll give you the 250 back after. Gotta warn you, though… I gotta report anybody who shows up here without a US ID or Visa. I doubt anyone is listening, but ICE might stop by in the morning.”
Marcus shrugged. “Don’t really care. I’m an american. Have a house in Oregon I’m trying to get to. If I give you my address, can you just mail me a check after? Assuming the mail is still running.”
The man blinked, looking confused. “I… suppose so.” He was looking at the money, and Marcus, oddly as he accepted the neat stack of 20s; and handed him a room key. “Room 214. Elevator is down the hall, it’ll be on your right.”
***
He didn’t think getting cleaned up would matter, or wearing clothes for that matter. But he wanted to take a shower before he changed; and figured if he swapped into his boxers, worst case scenario, he lost a pair of boxers. The ‘new him’ could go shopping at Wal-mart tomorrow.
As he stepped out of the shower, looking at the two queen-sized beds… he thought for a bit, in a moment of paranoia… and used both the bar and chain for the lock on the door… before pushing one of the two beds in front of it; the entryway of the room wasn’t as wide as the bed, so he had to lift up one side, and slide it in at an angle.
It wouldn’t stop them from breaking in. But it would make it an absolute pain in the ass; they’d need to practically destroy the door, and crawl through. He should definitely be awake by then.
He lay back on the bed, closing his eyes… and tried to focus. Wondering if, just maybe, he could trigger the effect, instead of having to wait to fall asleep naturally.
***
Welcome to level 5, Marcus Jonah Grey!
Congratulations, you are in the first 10 million humans to reach level 5!
You will now be guided through a three-step process; choosing your new race, choosing your new class, and choosing your new Alias. This can be your name, but most take a new title or callsign as their name going forward.
He blinked. He seemed to be floating in a grey void, the box appearing before him… and when it vanished, he was surrounded by a circle of figures; most at least vaguely humanoid; and with some basic details above each. One of them, amusingly, was a clone of himself, and most of them were wearing his boxers.
Race
Serine(Elves)
Tall and slender, these beings are weaker and more fragile than humans, but faster.
Brakkinar(Orc)
With grey skin and bulging muscles, these beings are stronger but slower than humans.
Yarran(Squids)
Massive, lightweight, and betentacled, Yarran are a floating species who are not humanoid but fully sentient, and while slow and weak, quite durable and magically powerful.
Minoan
Massive bull-like humanoids, slow but strong, one of the few species whose durability exceeds humans.
Catfolk
Swift, agile, but weak and fragile, Catfolk are both better and worse than elves in various ways.
Serpentfolk
Swift but weak, Serpentfolk make up for their low striking power in melee with their venomous fangs and claws.
Arkoth(Birdfolk)
These winged humanoids are unusually fragile and lightweight, the only known flying sentient species.
Dire
A race of centauroid insects; fast and strong but fragile.
Certaen
A crab-like species of exceptional durability but low speed.
Human
Humans are not quite as strong or magically powerful as some other species, but have boundless stamina and excellent durability.
He was immediately able to ignore most of the races; the only ones that looked like good options were the serpents, the cats, and the elves. Whatever else he was, he wanted to be fast; with his weapons, quite often attacking first was all he needed to win.
He selected the Elves to start off.
Serine(Elves)
Elves are the founders of the system, generally considered the baseline to which other species are compared. They and Brakkinar are both reasonably close to human in appearance, and can pass without a mask. Their senses are, by default, more keen than a human. Becoming an Elf will apply the following adjustments:
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Strength: -1, Endurance: -3, Stamina: -13, Agility: +4, Mind: +3, Power: +9; Keen Senses. Natural spellcasting talent.
He blinked. 13 less points of Stamina? That… was crazy. And if his math was right, elves had one less stat point than humans. Was that a big deal? He checked Catfolk and Serpentfolk next.
Catfolk
A deliberate creation blending Serine with feline characteristics, Catfolk are an even more agile version of their naturally evolved kin, but much of their innate magical power has gone to augment their bodies. They naturally have side-effects from being part-feline, including claws for climbing and combat, and have even more keen senses than their natural elven cousins. Becoming a Catfolk will apply the following adjustments:
Strength: -1, Endurance: -2, Stamina: -11, Agility: +5, Mind: +5, Power: +3. Exceptional senses. Claws. Lesser natural spellcasting talents; Movement, Stealth.
That looked better. Less of a Stamina and Endurance loss, but even more agility. It seemed like a strong contender.
SerpentFolk
A deliberate creation blending Serine with the characteristics of their native reptilians, Serpentfolk are slightly weaker than elves, but faster; and have both innate scales to provide protection, as well as venomous fangs and teeth, among other side-effects of being part-serpent. Becoming a Serpentfolk will apply the following adjustments:
Strength: -2, Endurance -1, Stamina: -11, Agility: +5, Mind: +4, Power: +4. Thermal vision. Venomous fangs/claws. Vulnerability to Cold. Lesser natural spellcasting talents; Venom, Scales.
Less strength. More endurance… but still not as much as a human. From what he’d been reading, ‘reflexes’ were a blend of both Agility and Mind, so catfolk would be better natural gunslingers. And spellcasting talent for movement and stealth? That might be exceptionally useful. Maybe he could be a focused gunslinger or sniper class, and still be able to climb walls, turn invisible?
Sounded good. Should probably check? Would it give him any additional details about the whole ‘’side-effects’ bit?
Catfolk are known for both their extreme malleability to members of the opposite gender during their seasons, as well as, for the males, barbed..
He cut if off there, not bothering to read the rest. Nightfire was a woman. God forbid some hormonal imbalance prevent him from killing her at the appropriate time. He wouldn’t accept only killing the Golden Boy.
Serpentfolk it was. Now just to look at classes.
Would it tell him what the best classes for killing people were?
Class Selection:
Welcome to class selection! This is not irreversible; but the longer you stay with a given class, the more focused you’ll be on that class, and thus, the weaker you’ll be compared to others of your level. All classes follow one of three types;
Warrior: Typically focuses on improvements to Strength and Agility; possibly Endurance/Stamina as well. Flat-out the most powerful subtype in a one-on-one duel.
Caster: Typically focuses on improvements to Mind and Power; possibly Stamina/Agility as well. Less effective in a direct fight, but has a variety of special abilities to manipulate the battlefield, heal or augment allies, or handle large numbers of weak enemies.
Hybrid: Rather than focusing on one category, continues the trend from levels 1-5 of increasing all or almost all attributes. Either a specific ‘Hybrid’ class or a blend of a Warrior and Caster class. Never as capable as either Warriors or Casters; cannot defeat an equal-level Warrior in an even fight, nor wield magic as well as a Caster.
That… well. While Hybrid sounded like a good choice, in that being okay at everything was nice, it seemed as if ‘Warrior would be the best option. Some kind of Hitman, or Assassin, perhaps?
Administrator note: As per request, the top four classes in terms of ability to kill a single target have been chosen by the AI. Note that this template was not applied by the admin, and the admin does not recommend specific classes.
Class
Subtype
Description
Assassin
Warrior
Focusing on stealth and poison, the Assassin is skilled at getting into position and killing a target with a single devastating attack, whether ranged or melee, then vanishing to strike again later.
Hunter
Warrior
Focusing on precision ranged attacks, traps, and stalking, the Hunter is skilled at pursuing a victim and bringing them down, often after slowly wearing them down over time.
Necromancer
Caster
The Necromancer has the ability to control and summon an arsenal of Undead servants, bestow curses that drain the life from its enemies, and create sentient undead which are only relatively under the master’s control. It requires significant time investment and a lack of morality, but has the potential to create countless numbers of servants, at the cost of only being able to directly control a handful. While ‘Contagious’ undead capable of spreading their condition exist, and can be created, this practice is illegal in virtually every established nation of the Committee.
Summoner
Caster
The Summoner has the ability to control and summon a variety of magical creatures, through either creating bargains with creatures, subduing and controlling them, or manifesting energy constructs. He is also able to buff himself and his allies. This is one of the few casters capable of directly defeating an equivalent Warrior in single combat once the right skills are acquired, but is generally able to be crushed by the Warrior if allowed to get close; this is a delicate, precise skill to master.
Interesting. So. If he went Necromancer, he could build up an army of undead… create some catastrophe to draw in Nightfire and her friend. Then when they arrived to what they thought was a trivial effort, call down a horde. Even if he couldn’t control them, it wasn’t like he was trying to conquer the world; he would simply be unleashing them on some Chosen.
Assassin, on the other hand, seemed as if it were also an excellent idea; if Serpentfolk already had poison abilities, would the Assassin’s class abilities augment them? Or make them irrelevant?
Could he make a hybrid class, out of Assassin/Necromancer; or even something entirely unique, a hybrid class focused on animating undead and supporting them by attacking at range with poisoned bullets?
Administrator note: Abilities from multiple sources combine and magnify. Combining two classes into a Hybrid class will result in a reduced progression; instead of acquiring one ability or upgrade each level for a given class progression, you will alternate, gaining one for each class at alternating levels. As abilities grow dramatically better with each of the first four upgrades, this means that you will either only have a tiny number of effective skills, or be significantly weaker than either a Warrior or Caster of your level. Such a Hybrid can be created, but is not recommended.
Hand of Death
Hybrid
A class combining elements of the Necromancer and the Assassin, this spellcaster is modestly effective at creating and using poisons and curses on his ranged and melee attacks, and also moderately capable of animating and controlling Undead. He is neither as effective in a fight as an Assassin, nor as capable at commanding Undead as a Necromancer; but with appropriate preparation can still be dramatically dangerous.
Perfect. How would that make him improve with levels?
Progression:
* Note; Some specific classes, such as ‘Tank’ classes, may focus on Endurance rather than Agility, or other such options, such as a more speed-focused Warrior receiving 'Mind'.
Classless
+2 Strength, +2 Endurance, +2 Stamina, +2 Agility, +2 Mind, +2 Power
Default Warrior
+3 Strength, +1 Endurance, +3 Agility, +1 Stamina; +1 Free Point, +1 Class Ability per level.
Default Caster
+1 Agility, +1 Stamina, +3 Power, +3 Mind, +1 Free Point, +1 Class Ability per level
Default Hybrid
+1 Strength, +1 Endurance, +1 Stamina, +1 Agility, +1 Mind, +1 Power, +3 Free Points, +1 Class Ability per level.
Well then. A Serpentfolk Hand of Death. He’d kill enough humans to get the Slayer bonus, make sure to match up to them in levels… and build up an army of undead. He could stuff some into his storage unit for use in the field, if it worked that way, and then… just start preparing a trap.
From here, today, square one… he’d prepare. He’d get them bogged down fighting zombie ants or something, get them tired and weak… and then take them down with a few precision poisoned rounds from the Right Hand of Death.
First, though… they’d already been level 20, and fully decked out in rare gear. If this was anything like games, leveling would get slower with time, and he’d need to work hard. Focus that hate. Let it drive him to do whatever it took. He might never catch up... but he needed to get close enough, and learn enough about them to lure them into a trap.
If there was a bit of collateral damage, well. So be it. Those 'Committee' assholes should have been more careful when picking their ‘Chosen’.