I was so excited. I had passed level 5 and could now choose a class. Looking at the prompt to select a class, I selected YES.

- You have been awarded the following classes:

-Cleric: As a Cleric, you are skilled in all weapon classes and hand-to-hand combat. You are also skilled at divine magic with many healing and curative spells, and focus heavily on repelling undead. You have an affinity for light armor and receive bonuses to light armor when wearing a complete set. You can wear medium armor, but gain no bonuses for medium armor and suffer debuffs when equipped with heavy armor. You may choose 1 Cleric spell and 1 Cleric ability if the class is chosen. You gain 1 attribute point in wisdom and 1 in constitution every level as well as your 3 attribute points and 2 skill points.

-Warrior: As a Warrior, you are skilled in all weapon classes and hand to hand combat, you can wear all armor types but have an affinity for heavy or plate armor, you receive bonuses to heavy armor when wearing a full set. You may choose 1 Warrior spell and 1 Warrior ability if the class is chosen. You gain 1 attribute point to strength and 1 to constitution every level as well as your 3 attribute points and 2 skill points.

-Ranger: As a Ranger, you are a skilled hunter and woodsman using bow mastery with a crossover between bladed weapons and hand-to-hand combat. You have an affinity for light armor and receive a 25% bonus to your armor class when wearing a complete set. You can wear, but gain no bonuses for medium armor and suffer a 25% decreased movement debuff when equipped with heavy armor. You may choose 1 Ranger spell and 1 Ranger ability if the class is chosen. You gain 1 attribute point to dexterity and 1 to constitution every level as well as 3 attribute points and 2 skill points.

-Druid: As a Druid, you are skilled in blunt weapons, daggers and bow mastery. You have a large number of nature-based spells that target plant and animal life. You have an affinity for light armor and receive bonuses to light armor when wearing a complete set. You can wear medium armor, but gain no bonuses for medium armor and suffer debuffs when equipped with heavy armor. You may choose 1 Druid spell and 1 Druid ability if the class is chosen. You gain 1 attribute point to wisdom and 1 to constitution per level as well as 3 attribute points and 2 skill points.

-Builder: As a Builder, you are skilled in various construction and crafting methods that can be used for building structures or siege weaponry. You may be trained in all weapon types and hand-to-hand combat. You can only equip light armor and receive bonuses when wearing a complete set. You receive debuffs when wearing medium or heavy armor. You may choose 1 Builder spell and 1 Builder ability if the class is chosen. You gain 1 attribute point to strength, 1 attribute point to constitution and 1 bonus skill point for every level. In addition, you gain 3 attribute points and 2 skill points.

I reread the class options again, making sure I understood the nuances of each class as this was a big decision. This would determine my progress from here on out. I needed to think hard about what was right, not only for me but for the family as a whole. I needed to choose the class that would benefit everyone in my circle the most, not just now, but in the future to come. As far as I was concerned, warrior was out of the question.

Warrior on its own was a strong class but offered no further benefits to my family beyond attack and defense. If it were just me, I would probably jump on this class. A powerful and strong warrior that had healing abilities and could tame animals, could become a killing powerhouse. But I didn’t want to be just some powerful killer. And I didn’t want to focus the rest of my life on battle.

Likewise, the cleric class was out too. It was definitely a very strong class with lots of potential, but I did not see myself as a man of God. One of my best friends growing up told me once, “You should enroll online and get ordained as a minister of your own church.” I laughed so hard at my friend, saying “What would the church be called? The Church of Let’s Get It On? No thanks. Besides, if the Lord sent me to save your souls, we're all condemned to Hell.” Besides, I couldn’t see myself chanting a religious prayer to cast spells in battle. Not that I had any clue how clerics would cast magic in this new world, but that possibility still turned me off to this class.

I put more consideration into the Druid class however. For the most part, the class was identical to the Cleric class, but instead of wielding divine magic, you wielded nature-based magic. During my time as a survivalist, I researched and practiced ways to survive "off the fat of the land" with minimal resources as possible. I learned not to use nature, but to adapt to it. I learned very quickly that you can’t tame nature, because she will destroy you. You can only adapt to what she throws at you using whatever skills and tools you have on hand. The class also allowed me to maintain bow mastery as one of my main skills.

Next I looked at Ranger. Like the Druid class, this appealed to me. It focused on nature and gave me more tools to add to my tool belt in any survival situation. Both classes would aid me and my family in survival situations. And what more of a survival situation did you need besides an all out apocalypse?

The last option didn’t surprise me in the least, but it definitely intrigued me. No doubt I gained these class options from both my experiences pre- and post-apocalypse. I expected the Builder option to be the first option on the list of possible classes. This class would be, by far, my strongest area of expertise.

From a very young age I learned crafting abilities in jewelry, leather working, ceramics, plastics and woodworking. Once in the military, I learned construction concepts and have used them ever since. I used to joke that I could make just about anything with just about any material. Denise sent me a meme that said. “I want a guy that I can send Pinterest ideas to, and he builds them for me." I sent back the guy raising his hand and the heart emoji. Denise loved it when I was building or crafting. Besides me doing the dishes, she said there were few things sexier than when I wore my tool belt and was covered in sweat and sawdust.

Throughout our children's school years, I always helped build or craft their school projects. I love spending time with my kids. I built mini catapults, volcanoes, 3D plant cells, and helped construct a leprechaun trap for my stepson Travis. When my stepdaughter, Isadora, wanted a lighted vanity, I made one for her in a day. This even rubbed off on my youngest son, Jace. Jace always wanted to craft something out of whatever materials he could get his hands on. He built things out of wood or cardboard and used hot glue and duct tape.

I even brought Mike, Alex and Jace to my project sites and taught them various aspects of building. Mike was proficient at tile, Alex was the best at drywall and Jace was a wiz at cutting and slapping in wood flooring at the age of twelve. And now that Travis was an older teenager, almost legally an adult, he had been looking into one of the builder career fields, most likely welding or plumbing. Obviously, this was a significant aspect of my life, and I seriously considered taking it.

I read over the class selections again trying to glean any other information I could. I was concerned that I couldn’t see the options for spells or abilities in any of the classes. When I tried to focus on each class, I didn’t get any relevant information. I wasn’t very happy making such a crucial decision like this without knowing what other possibilities I’d give up if I chose the wrong class. I also wondered why there were two distinctions between spells and abilities. I surmised it was because spells needed to be cast and abilities were passive traits. I had no clue if that thought process was correct but I imagined I’d find out soon. Ultimately I bit the proverbial bullet and selected Ranger.

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Having considered my options, I felt the Ranger class would give me the most well-rounded build. It allowed me to keep and improve my combat abilities, as well as my bushcraft and wilderness survival skills. No matter what has happened throughout my life, I have always maintained my survival skills. They proved extremely valuable, more than any other skill I had at the time. This was especially true in the apocalyptic situation we found ourselves in now. I wasn’t worried about my builder skills in the end. Nothing could ever take that knowledge or experience away from me and I’d always have them to fall back on if needed. With one more look, I hit confirm on my selection and felt the warm sensation roll through me again as my stats increased.

Opening up my stats screen, I noticed level increases had been applied retroactively. I still had my normal level up attribute and skill points to use, including four skill points from leveling up before. Now that I had a class and a direction to take, it was time to spend some points. I had 9 attribute points and 10 skill points to spend. Before I could assign my points, another prompt appeared.

-Choose from the following, 1 Ranger class spell and 1 Ranger class ability:

Spells:

- Gust of Wind: Summon a strong wind gust up to 60 feet away for up to 10 seconds. Gust of Wind can knock enemies back or clear smoky or poisonous gasses. Can be directed. Cost 50 mana, Cast time 10 seconds, cool down 1 minute 30 seconds.

- Cordon of Arrows. Plant 4 arrows or crossbow bolts in the ground, either in a line or in the 4 cardinal directions. If an enemy comes within 30 feet of an arrow, that arrow will hit the target for 30 pts of piercing damage. Spell ends when arrows are used up or the caster cancels the spell. Any other magical effects on arrows or bolts are void. Cost 50 mana, Cast time 5 seconds, Cool down 8 hours.

- Spike Growth: Summon a patch of barbed spikes in a 20 foot radius at a center point designated by the caster anywhere within 150 feet. Spikes do 20 points of piercing damage and the enemy suffers the “rooted” debuff. The spiked area has a blended effect that makes the spikes merge into the surrounding area. Blended effects may be overridden by Detect Traps or higher perception levels. Spike duration 10 min, Cost 100 mana, cast time 10 seconds, cool down 1 hour.

Abilities:

-Find Traps: By focusing your intent on an area for 5 seconds or longer, you have a 15% increased chance of discovering traps. Duration N/A, Cost N/A, cast time 5 seconds, cool down N/A.

-Dark Vision: You have a 15% increase in vision brightness at night or in dark places. Duration passive, Cost N/A, cast time N/A, cool down N/A

- Magic Resistance: You are 15% more resistant to magic damage. Duration passive, Cost N/A, cast time N/A, cool down N/A

Looking at the list of spells and abilities I had to choose from, I got very excited as any one of these could be game changers. On the same note, I was also disappointed. By only choosing one spell and one ability, I worried that the spells and abilities might not be available later. My greedy little heart wanted them all. But I was a realist who knew I didn't know anything. Including whether or not I’d get a chance to gain other options again.

There was no point dwelling on what may or may not happen in the future. As of right now, I needed to pick options that would help me out as quickly as possible. While the other abilities were very handy, dark vision would help me get to my wife and kids. I was also sure it would help me get to Alex and my mother shortly after that. So without more consideration, I chose dark vision.

- Skill Gained: Dark Vision: Beginner 0. You get 15% increase in vision brightness at night or in dark places.

The immediate area brightened noticeably. It wasn’t bright like daytime of course, but I could definitely see the room in which I stood with greater detail.

For spells, the Cordon of Arrows was effective, but had an extremely long cool down period. I didn’t see myself barricaded anywhere, at least not for the next few days. In the end, it came down to Gust of Wind and Spiked Growth. Gust of wind would be effective at pushing back an enemy, but didn’t do any damage unless that enemy was hurled into an object It was by far the shortest cooldown period though.

Spiked Growth could be activated farther than Gust of Wind, which may negate the need for Gust of Wind. It also does damage, and if used correctly, it could do a lot of damage. The biggest downside was the hour-long cooldown. When I made my final decision, it came down to damage output. With the spiked growth rooting, and possibly killing approaching enemies, I opted for that.

- Spell Gained: Spike Growth Beginner 0. Summon a patch of barbed spikes in a 20 foot radius at a center point designated by the castor anywhere within 150 feet. Spikes do 20 points of piercing damage and the enemy suffers the “rooted” debuff. The spiked area has a blended effect that makes the spikes meld into the surrounding area. Blended effects may be overridden by Detect Trap or higher perception levels. Spike duration 10 min, Cost 100 mana, cast time 10 seconds, cool down 1 hour.

With my spells and skills figured out, I spent the next few moments allocating my points. Once again I opened my stats screen. I put three into Strength, two into Dexterity, and one in Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. I then dropped five skill points into dark vision, which brought the percentage up to twenty-five percent brightness. This would help me immediately.

I dropped two into spike growth bringing the radius up to twenty-two feet. I wanted to save a few skill points in case of an emergency. It was something I had always done in gaming and it seemed like it would be good practice to continue now. I hit confirm on my spending and as the rush of attribute increases came over me, I checked my stats screen to see the improvements.

STATUS:

Name: Derrick Miller Race:

Human Level: 6

Class: Ranger

Attributes:

Strength: 18,

Dexterity: 20,

Constitution: 19,

Intelligence: 18,

Wisdom: 13,

Charisma: 19

Health: 185/185,

Stamina: 195,

Mana: 180,

Carry Capacity: 270 lbs,

Armor Class: 3

Skills:

Hand to Hand: Beginner 6,

Blunt Weapons: Beginner 9,

Axe Mastery: Apprentice 3

Sword Mastery: Beginner 5,

Bow Mastery: Apprentice 3,

Daggers: Beginner 8

First Aid: Apprentice 9,

Building: Journeyman 5,

Crafting: Jour 5

WLDNS Survival: Journeyman 2,

Sneak: Beginner 5,

Herbalism: Beginner 5

Alchemy: Beginner 5,

Inspect: Beginner 1

Arcane:

Minor Heal: Beginner 5

Tame Animal: Beginner 9

Spike Growth: Beginner 1

Dark Vision: Beginner 5

You have 0 unassigned attribute points.

You have 3 unassigned skill points