For a moment time seemed suspended.

The woman hesitated, her eyes darting from me to the large horned warrior only twenty paces away. A small red skull appeared over his head along with an Identifier.

Hive Lord Level 13

Warning, this enemy exceeds your level by ten or more. Proceed with caution.

Oh boy, that was not good. I shoved the door open a bit farther with my shoulder, careful not to make a sound. This time I held a hand out to the lady. I saw her throat bob once before a look of determination crossed her face.

She watched the Hive Lord and waited until his back was turned. Then she rose from her crouch and dashed towards me.

She made it three-quarters of the way there before shit went sideways. One of the warriors nearby turned his head, his bulging black eyes catching movement. He reacted quickly, spreading his wings and letting out an alarmed cry as he prepared himself to spring.

Out of options I raised my hand, reaching for the hum of magic I had felt earlier. It stirred, but too slowly. My stomach clenched as the woman pelted towards me, hair flying behind her. There was no time.

Cursing I stepped forward and brought the spear up with one sharp thrust. The buzzing insect warrior twisted in mid-air, trying to slow his momentum but it was too late. His thorax slammed into the point of the spear, spraying me with blue blood.

I twisted the spear and jerked it back as the lifeless husk fell to the ground. At the same time the woman dove through the door behind me, holding it open for me.

“Thanks!” she said as I hurried in after her. There was an angry buzzing from beyond the glass. We had earned ourselves the attention of the Hive Lord, and I doubted a few inches of glass were enough to protect us.

“Keep moving,” I said, gesturing towards the elevator. We jogged across the tile and I jammed the button even as the first heavy thunk sounded behind us. A warrior had landed on the deck outside the door. Followed by another.

“C'mon cmon,” I growled, jamming the button for all I was worth. The first warrior slammed his spear into the glass with a weighted thud. It bounced off and hit him in the head. Small victories.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. We were inside and the woman rapidly pressed the close door button as outside the hall the glass shattered. The Hive Lord burst through, mandibles clicking as his head swung towards the elevator.

He let out a shriek of anger as the doors began to slowly close.

The last thing I saw was his spear, which struck the doors with enough impact to dent them. The elevator began its descent.

“Holy shit,” The woman wiped blue blood from her face and I realized for the first time that she was armed. She was holding the wooden leg of what had presumably been a chair.

I raised my eyebrows.

“Name’s Zade,” I said, sticking out a hand. I thought better of it when I realized it was covered in more bug goo.

“Natalia. You can call me Nat.”

I nodded as the elevator counted down. The smooth jazz music seemed out of place in the chaos.

“What’s your class?” I asked her.

“Berserker.” She gave a shy sort of shrug and I grinned.

“Pretty hardcore. I chose mage.”

The elevator dinged and I glanced at the level indicator. It wasn’t the floor I had expected. I opened my mouth to ask but before I could Nat strode out, leading the way.

“The Kitchens,” she explained. “The best place to find weapons and supplies. I have a feeling that if we or any of the others want to survive against that… that boss guy.. then we’re going to need more than a broken chair leg and a prayer.”

Alright, saving Nat had been a pretty damn good decision if I did say so myself. I followed her out of the elevator and took stock of our surroundings. The restaurant was, understandably empty. There were several sets of long tables along either wall. At the center of the room was a bar in the shape of a half-moon.

My eyes snagged on the backlit shelves upon which sat dozens of bottles of liquor. Jackpot.

I crossed the room in a few strides, my feet making no sound on the soft carpets. I vaulted the counter and began rummaging around behind the counter. A stack of carefully folded white linen napkins caught my eye and I snatched them up.

Crafting Item: linen strip x8

A smile tugged at my lips. So, there were crafting materials, huh? I could work with this. I turned and began perusing the shelves of liquor. Damn, some of this stuff was expensive. I found three bottles of vodka and a bottle of dry gin which I set on the counter.

Nat strode back through the double doors leading to the kitchen. She was bristling with chef knives, several in her hands and one tied to her leg with a bandana. A wicked-looking cleaver was clutched in one of her hands. She turned towards me and frowned.

“Is now really the time for a drink?” she asked.

I snorted.

“Watch and learn.”

I focused on the right side of my vision, where a miniature version of my stat screen was visible. If my guess had been correct, then there had to be some sort of menu that would allow me to… there!

I lifted my hand and tried to click on the menu labeled crafting, but my hand merely sunk through the black window. I grunted in frustration and let my arm fall back to my side. How the hell did this thing work?

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“Crafting,” I said out loud. Nothing happened.

“Open Crafting menu.”

Still nothing. I was about to give the system a few choice threats when I realized that focusing my gaze on the mini menu caused the words to light up. So, that’s how it is.

Frowning, I focused my attention on the word Crafting. It lit up, and moments later the black window expanded and white text and icons appeared across the screen.

Crafting Skill has yet to be unlocked. Do you wish to proceed?

This time I was able to manually click the word yes. I read the text quickly, and as Nat walked over to me I popped the lid off a bottle of vodka and slid the end of one of the napkins inside.

An icon blipped at the corner of my screen.

Item requires mana to imbue.

I placed my hand over the bottle and focused, reaching for that energy that I had felt swirling in my core. After a moment, that strange warmth returned, surging through my veins and towards my fingertips.

You have crafted a Molotov Cocktail x1

I grinned.

“Now we’re fucking talking.”

***

“Are you sure this is the floor? They all look the same to me.” Nat whispered as I peered around the corner. She had a point.

The interior of the cruise ship was a maze of twisting hallways and doors that all looked the same. I scanned the numbers on the door and spotted my room. We might make it if we ran but it would be a risk.

A Hive Warrior stood with his back to me, a staff clutched in one clawed hand. At his side, two crab-like insects the size of dogs prowled. One look at their razor-sharp mandibles had me withdrawing my head.

I turned to Nat.

“Three of them,” I whispered. “But they are all below level 5. We might have a chance if we take them by surprise but it’s a risk.”

She nodded, her expression thoughtful.

“What about the cocktails?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, If we want to set the ship ablaze. The carpet would catch in an instant then I suppose the apocalypse would be the least of our problems.”

Natalia grimaced.

“So, it’s close combat then.”

“Looks like it.”

I hefted my spear and readied myself for battle. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins but more than fear I found something else – something I hadn’t felt since my brawler days.

I gave Nat a questioning look and she hefted her cleaver, eyes serious.

“Ready?”

“I think so.”

I swung around the corner and sprinted for the bug warrior, lifting my spear with a snarl on my lips. The plush crimson carpet padded my steps and I was nearly on him when one of the crab-like insects chittered in alarm.

The Hive Warrior spun, lifting his spear and opening his jaws. Up close, his head looked like that of a giant ant. I didn’t hesitate. I used the momentum of my charge to knock the bastard to the ground. We went down in a tangle of limbs and I just managed to tear myself free. Rolling to the side I came up on one knee and stabbed for his chest.

The warrior was scrambling, but he managed to bring the but of his spear up to block my blow. Shit, I’d lost the element of surprise. Behind me, I could hear the wet crunch of a cleaver meeting chitin as Nat fought against the insects.

I needed to end this fast before any reinforcements showed up.

There is a tactic that we use in the Bronx, something like a feint.

Some guy mouths off and things come to blows, it happens. But if you want to end a fight quickly, there is an arsenal of cheap moves you can pull to get the job done.

As the Hive Warrior hisses and prepares himself to attack I plant my feet and wait. When he’s close enough that I can see the reflection of the fluorescent lighting on his buggy eyes, I react. I tense my muscles and jerk forward violently like I’m planning to attack.

It has the desired effect. The bug man does what most chumps do in this situation: he flinches in anticipation of a strike.

That’s when I go for his legs. My spear crunches through his armored leg in a spray of blue blood. The Hive Warrior screeches in pain and lurches sideways. I pull the spear free and jab the sharp end into his head. Once, Twice, until…

Ding!

You have slain Hive Warrior level 3! You have progressed to level 2. One skill point is now available.

I yanked my spear free and shook the bits of bug brain off the blade. When I turned, Natalia was standing over the corpses of two very unfortunate insects. She was covered in a layer of fresh blue goo, her chest rising and falling.

I examined the body and whistled.

“Sheesh remind me never to get on the bad side of a Barbarian.”

Sounds from somewhere down the hall made me wince.

“C’mon,” I said, gesturing her towards the door to my room. I fumbled in my pocket for the employee key card, looking over my shoulder all the while. The voices were loud and they were drawing closer. Not good, Zade, not Good.

Finally, I wrestled the thing free of my pocket and sighed in relief as the door clicked open. Nat and I slipped inside and shut the door behind us just as a pair of Hive Warriors rounded the corner. Nat peered through the peephole, her expression tense.

“Are we fucked?”I whispered and she glanced away from the peephole to give me a look.

“They’re examining the bodies.”

There was a pause and then the sound of angry buzzing. My heart sank. If they had seen us enter the room then I seriously doubted a locked door would be enough to stop them. Especially not if that big bastard came around.

“They’re moving on,” hissed Nat, glaring through the peephole. “Yup, they’re gone.”

My shoulders slumped in relief. We had earned ourselves a bit of time and that had to count for something. I crossed the room past the single bed wrapped with fresh blue and white sheets. My duffle bag lay nearby, and I hoisted it up onto the bed.

Nat had turned around to put her back against the door. She watched me skeptically as I rummaged around.

“So what was so important that you wanted to risk our lives to come down here?” She asked, brow raised.

I snorted.

“Why you got somewhere better to be?”

Her sullen silence was response enough. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.

“This whole end of the world thing really blows, huh?”

Nat sat on my bed her cleaver dropping in her hand. I grimaced as blue bug goo smeared across the formerly pristine sheets.

“I was supposed to be on vacation,” she admittedly suddenly, and I glanced up.

“It was a trip work paid for. The first time I’ve taken a day off in… shit… it’s got to be years now.” She laughed but the sound was hollow.

“Now I don’t know what to think. Is this an isolated incident? Somehow with all the system messages about the chosen ones and the end times I highly doubt it.” Her throat bobbed. “I guess I figured if the world ended it would be.. different. A zombie outbreak or hell, even a nuclear winter. It sounds bleak but this… this slaughter? And we’re just supposed to do this for…” she trailed off, her eyes filling with tears.

I leaned my spear against the wall, feeling suddenly out of my depth. I was equipped to handle the end times, at least in part. Emotional intelligence however was not my strong suit.

“Uh,” I said intelligently, my mind scrambling for something to fill the uncomfortable silence. I thought back to the system’s warning when I had first entered class selection. Five years. That was all humanity had to survive this so-called system integration. After that, the Dead World Protocol would be activated. It was enough to make my palms sweat.

“I won’t try to dress it up,” I told Nat as I pulled a pair of black joggers and a hoodie from my bag. “Things are kind of bleak. But the way I see it we have options here, you and I. We can try to figure out how this shit works and survive long enough that we have a fighting chance. Or we can just… give up. Stay here in this room and hope they don’t find us. But then what?”

Natalia wiped the back of her hand across her face, only succeeding in smearing blue blood.

“You’re right,” she said. “We can’t just sit around and expect someone to save us. The only question is.. where do we go from here?”

I pulled something from the side of my bag and tossed it on the bed between us. Nat’s eyes widened as she saw the words stamped on the keycard. VIP access only.

“How did…”

“It’s better you don’t ask,” I said, waving a hand. “My methods for acquiring some of the uh, items, I now possess aren’t exactly savory. Anyway, you asked what comes next. Here is my answer: We can’t be the only ones who chose a class and decided to fight back. We gather the survivors, we find the Captain, and then,” I gestured towards the door. “Then we take back this fucking ship.”