The light of the sun filtered through the closed draped speckling across his face and woke him up. Groaning and stretching he slowly woke his body up from its tired state. Swinging his feet over and looking into the mirror across from his bed he thought the same thing he did every morning looking into his reflection. ‘Fuck I hate you.’
Asher Bleak. The only child of Linda and Damon Bleak, still alive. His mother,father, little twin brother and sister, all dead, were lost in that fire. So why? Why was he still alive? He knew it was because of his weird gut instinct that told him to get out, still why him? He didn’t get out completely unscaved.
He had been in the backyard looking up at the stars and moon when it had happened. There was just fire coming from the house. He wasn’t sure why it had happened or how. He ran back in hoping to help his family but it was too late the whole top floor where they were was completely in flames. He could still hear his mom yelling for him and yelling back. He could still hear her every morning. “Run! Get out! Honey… I love you more than you can ever know.”
Snapped out of his memory he finally looked at the mirror and saw himself again. Average height, black short hair, blue eyes, and just very plain. And the thing that drew everyone's attention was his left hand and arm completely covered in burn scars going up to his shoulder. Tracing the scars with his fingers it was like he could still feel the pain. Phantom he knew that the therapist even told him it was phantom but that didn’t matter what mattered was the fact it meant he was still alive.
“Fuck.” He said. Dreading what came next he forced himself to his feet and started to head to the washroom getting ready for the rest of his day. The same thing every time he got up kept going through his head. ‘Why me? Shouldn’t it be better to just end it now? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone?’
Then it happened as it happened every day. The knock on his door and a gruff voice followed “Foods ready. Come on you fuck.” Pulling open the door with the towel still around his waist he saw the man in front of him. Tall and with the same black hair as him, only longer and a bit shaggy, with dark eyes and a bored expression on his face. Cole, his cousin and best friend, well one of them. “Also put on some fucking clothing no one wants to see what you aren’t packing” He joked a small smile broke his usually bored look.
“Alright you creep then stop looking” He replied with his own smile. Earning himself a finger and an eye roll as he started back down the stairs to the kitchen. Putting on some clothes ,the usual long sleeve t-shirt and jeans, and then following Cole down to the Kitchen the smells of food being his guiding light. At the table were five plates of food Cole in front of one and the other four empty for now. Each plate piled high with eggs,bacon, and toast. Cole was the resident chief and while the breakfast looked simple he knew it wasn’t, something was going to surprise him. It was the eggs. There was something in them that added quite the kick. What it was he had no idea and he knew Cole would never tell him like always.
Just as he started to dig in. He heard his other housemate and Cole's partner coming down the stairs.Katlyn or Kat, she was quite a looker with long platinum blond hair that reached down to the small of her back and bright green eyes, small but with a confidence that just filled the room. “Hey boys, how's the morning going?” She said as she planted a kiss on Cole’s cheek and ruffled his hair as she passed, going towards the plate next to Cole.
He just gave a grunt in replied and kept shoveling food into his face because fuck it was good shit. “I see manners are still a thing we don’t use in this house.” She said with a roll of her eyes right as the backdoor to the kitchen opened letting in two more people from the combo yard beyond.
“Hey guys’ and girl morning.” Said a deep booming voice that filled the room. David, He was tall and built. With brown hair and eyes he stood an easy foot over even Cole and looked like he could lift the whole table with his wide shoulders and short cut hair. While he was big and could easily beat up most people he was a gentle giant.
“Would you move, you big ox?” a slightly annoyed voice said from behind the man filling the door. Sam, she was David’s sister and had the same brown hair and eyes as him, nearly as big too. She was built the same as him, just slightly smaller and more ready to throw a punch. He knew. He had seen it happen… More than once.
“Hey Sam and Dave ready for work?” Kat said as they walked into the kitchen each going for a plate of food.
“As long as I get you guys there on time and you actually work this time we should be good.” Sam said as she started to shovel food into her gullet. Luckily they all worked together and perhaps unluckily Sam was their supervisor.
The five of them had been friends for as long as Asher could remember; they went to the same school and had even gotten apartments next to each other. They seemed a bit of an odd dynamic with Kat being into fashion and glamor very girly. Sam and Dave are both into body building and sports. Asher and Cole into gaming and reading and being general nerds. But fuck what people thought they all had things that people wouldn’t expect either. Kat was an ace shot with guns and even bows, and absolutely loved anime. Sam was into baking and liked to collect small crystals. Dave was into gardening and was an expert in 4x games. Cole was, as seen previously, an expert chef and liked to cook in general. Asher well he was a great swimmer and liked to run as well as help Dave in the garden.
As the five finished up food and Dave did the dishes because it was his turn. In fact Dave and Sam didn’t really have food other than snacks in their apartment. The reason was they always ate at their place. They started to head over to work with Sam leading the way ,all of us getting into her beat up car, and the group falling into the usal talks about what anime they were watching or books they were reading.
Suddenly he just stopped. He felt it. That feeling, the same as the night his parents died. Like cold water running through his stomach. ‘Fuck! What’s going on, what's happening?’ Glancing around with nervous eyes looking for anything out of the normal. There was … nothing. Nothing seemed to be happening, no explosions. No fire. No floods. No earthquakes. Nothing. What was going on with his gut? it had never been wrong before. He had even saved Cole one time from a falling bookcase crushing him.
Seeing that he wasn’t moving, all his friends except Sam stopped and looked at him. Kat finally grabbed his hand. “Hey you okay?” Her eyes are full of worry and concern.
“Bad feeling. Gut is going crazy, not sure what's wrong.” He replied in a bit of a strained voice. All of his friends knew about his gut feelings he had told them after the bookcase incident and had even got all of them off a bus that ended up in an accident because of it. They all knew his gut was basically a form of divination. Dave was immediately guard up and looking around over and out the windows making sure nothing was coming closer.
“I don’t see anything.” Dave said in a low whisper.
“Should we keep going? Well it's not like we can pull around here. The best place to stop is in the mall parking lot anyway.” Sam said as she kept her eyes on the road, knuckles white on the steering wheel and extremely focused on the road looking for potential dangers.
As they pulled into the mall parking lot the feeling got worse by the second. “Guys I’m not sure what’s going on but it’s the worst I've ever felt. Keep an eye out because I'm not sure what we are about to get hit by.” Just as the words left his mouth he felt it, a giant wave of… Something.
Then the world went white.
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It was blinding,disorientating and other wise a fucking pain in the ass. The light seemed to burn and fill him up with something akin to freezing cold water and burning lava. His entire body felt like it was being ripped apart and put back together… Fuck it hurt.
Being able to think clearly again once the pain was gone and the light subsided Dave looked around hoping to see his friends. They were nowhere to be seen. Hell he was nowhere, just a blank empty white void.
“Hello!?” He bellowed out hoping to attract whatever had brought him here. Yeah he could have just waited to go back and hope everything was okay, but while he wasn’t as aggressive as his sister Sam he wasn’t someone to just sit around and wait either.
“Welcome.” Came an almost mechanical sounding voice. It came from nowhere but everywhere. It was inside his out but also not. “Your world has become one with the System and has been remade with mana. Your body has also been remade with mana and you will soon be returned to your world. Know that with mana in your world, your world is now far more dangerous and deadly than before. Due to that the system will grant you power so that you may hopefully survive.”
“Wait what? What is going on and what do you mean hopefully?!”
“Mana and with it the system has been brought to many worlds and universes before yours and each has undergone drastic changes. The system was created by mana to help more intellectual species adapt and thrive in this new environment.” The Odd voice continued without even having seemed to have heard Dave. “The System will now begin a scan of organic life form to better assign the increase in power. Please hold.”
Dave felt like someone had dunked him into a bath of ice cold water, letting out an involuntary shiver as the feeling passed over him. Suddenly what looked like odd blue boxes from some game interface popped up in front of his face.
“Scan complete the following options have been presented to oragism as suitable options to advance in power.Small abnormality is present in host, options will be upgraded. Please pick an option within the next five minutes. Thank you and good luck.”
Soldier (Common): A soldier knows the battlefield like the back of their hand. A soldier focuses equally on speed defense and strength for they know to survive you must be able to adjust and adapt.
Free Points- +3
Str - +3
Dex - +3
Agil - +3
End - +3
Vig - +3
Per - +2
En - +0
Sp - +0
Foc - +0
Con - +0
Warrior (Common): A warrior is a combatant who focuses on their own raw strength. Able to beat their opponents with their might alone. They are often slower and lack defense, preferring to let their muscles do the talking for them.
Free Points- +2
Str - +8
Dex - +2
Agil - +2
End - +2
Vig - +3
Per - +1
En - +0
Sp - +0
Foc - +0
Con - +0
Defender (Common): A defender focuses on keeping themselves alive and is able to take more damage than most others. What they lack in offense and speed they make up for in their sturdy defense.
Free Points- +2
Str - +2
Dex - +2
Agil - +2
End - +5
Vig - +5
Per - +2
En - +0
Sp - +0
Foc - +0
Con - +0
“What the Acutal Fuck!” Dave yelled. Okay Okay Okay… get a hold of yourself this is just like one of those novels Ash and Kat liked right? And What did it mean that their would be an upgrade all the options are fucking Common right? With that thought still having barely been in his head he watched as one of the options started to shimmer and change.
Guardian (Uncommon): A Guardian focuses not only on their own defense and well being but those around them as well. Willing and able to defend and protect they are a shield and bulwark for their allies.
Free Points- +3
Str - +4
Dex - +3
Agil - +4
End - +7
Vig - +7
Per - +2
En - +0
Sp - +0
Foc - +0
Con - +0
That's more like it. Giving off real protagonist vibes now. Well maybe not it wasn’t a rare class or anything but hey better than common. Looks like it replaced Defender which seemed right given that it was basically a direct upgrade to that class. It also looked like there was a 10 point stat difference from Common to Uncommon which was nice. Well never been much for just sitting around doing fuck all Dave thought and with a mental shrug picked the Guardian Class.
With a sudden ding noise another blue box appeared in front of his face again.
Name: Dave Horce
Level: 0
Class Level: Guardian (0)
Exp: 0/1
Health 100/100
Stamina 100/100
Mana 100/100
Fp - 0
Str - 10
Dex - 10
Agil - 10
End - 10
Vig - 10
Per - 10
En - 10
Sp - 10
Foc - 10
Con - 10
Skills:
Okay cool but what do all these different numbers and shit mean? Dave thought and with that thought came the white light again.
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-Dave-
The light was not pleasant. That was… well an understatement if there ever was one. His gut burned with such intense pain and everything else for that matter but his gut more so.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Slowly Asher opened his eyes, blinking back the tears that came from the searing pain that stabbed into them a moment ago. Ugh what the hell was that and where am I? Looking around he was in some odd blank void all white and nothing else.
“Welcome.” Came a voice like you would hear from an elevator but inside his head and also around him as well. “Your world has become one with the System and has been remade with mana. Your body has also been remade with mana and you will soon be returned to your world. Know that with mana in your world, your world is now far more dangerous and deadly than before. Due to that the system will grant you power so that you may hopefully survive.”
“Mana and with it the system has been brought to many worlds and universes before yours and each has undergone drastic changes. The system was created by mana to help more intellectual species adapt and thrive in this new environment.The System will now begin a scan of organic life form to better assign the increase in power. Please hold.”
Umm okay what is going on? Mana? Is that what the blinding light was? Was that the feeling in his gut? He had so many questions but he had an odd feeling that the robot voice wasn’t going to answer him. Well no harm in trying he thought.
“Excuse me can you answer a few quest -” He was cut off but what felt like being dunked into icy water the chill was deep followed by a slight burning again from his gut.
“Scan complete the following options have been presented to oragism as suitable options to advance in power.Extreme abnormality is present in host, options will be upgraded. Please pick an option within the next five minutes. Thank you and good luck.”
Soldier (Common): A soldier knows the battlefield like the back of their hand. A soldier focuses equally on speed defense and strength for they know to survive you must be able to adjust and adapt.
Free Points- +3
Str - +3
Dex - +3
Agil - +3
End - +3
Vig - +3
Per - +2
En - +0
Sp - +0
Foc - +0
Con - +0
Rouge (Common): A rouge stays in the dark and strikes with quick powerful blows to feel a foe in one hit. Known to stick to the shadows they move unseen and swiftly picking their opportunities and gaining advantages few others have.
Free Points- +1
Str - +3
Dex - +4
Agil - +5
End - +1
Vig - +1
Per - +3
En - +1
Sp - +0
Foc - +0
Con - +1
Mage (Common): A mage is one who focuses on their own spirit, strengthening it to cast spells. The path of a mage is long and full of peril but those who walk it shall know the power of their own spirit.
Free Points- +3
Str - +0
Dex - +1
Agil - +1
End - +1
Vig - +1
Per - +1
En - +3
Sp - +3
Foc - +3
Con - +3
Okay so like a regular rpg screen well that's nice. Also purple boxes are very sweet. Thought Asher. Odd though all of them are Common I thought it said there would be an upgrade or something. Oh well I've always liked the idea of magic so I guess Mage it is. Before he could finish though and decide on the mage option it started to shimmer and change.
Arance Apprentice (Rare): An arance apprentice has truly started to step upon the path of magic. They know the strength of their spirit and to trust it when all else fails them. They have begun to see the path of magic and can begin to control and bend it to their will. Calling upon the forces of magic to rend foes and heal allies they demand respect.
Free Points- +4
Str - +1
Dex - +3
Agil - +3
End - +2
Vig - +2
Per - +3
En - +8
Sp - +8
Foc - +8
Con - +8
Wait what? That's new… and awesome! Mage was just 20 points this is 50 although I have no idea what any of them do.
“Hey System! Can you tell me what any of these numbers mean?” No response… Well at least I tried. Turning back to the options and taking a large breath. I would be a fool to take anything but the Arance Apprentice option.
With that thought and a quick accept button prompted which seemed odd he had selected his Arcane Apprentice. Which gave off a soft ding and a new purple screen appeared in front of him.
Name: Asher Bleak
Level: 0
Class Level: Arcane Apprentice (0)
Exp: 0/1
Health 100/100
Stamina 100/100
Mana 100/100
Fp - 0
Str - 10
Dex - 10
Agil - 10
End - 10
Vig - 10
Per - 10
En - 10
Sp - 10
Foc - 10
Con - 10
Skills: Mana Sense
Umm odd Mana Sense did he get that with the class? Thinking of the ability pulled up another screen.
Mana Sense:
The ability to sense active and passive mana in the air around the caster. Level (Max)
Wait, why was it maxed? He hadn't even done anything yet. Right? Suddenly the light was back attacking him from all sides with its blinding rays.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Asher-
As the light faded from his vision and the pain subsided, Asher toke a look outside the car windows that the group had been sitting in. The first thing he noticed was the odd blue shine that seemed to curve up into the sky almost like some dome. The second was the black specs that seemed to fall very quickly from the dome high up in the sky. Suddenly another purple box jumped into his vision.
Warning! You have been added to tutorial 515032 due to extreme anomaly difficulty has been adjusted to compensate.
Objective: Slay all Monsters to exit the tutorial dome.
Monsters Remaining: (32,567)
System Users: (32,567)
Reward: To be determined at time of completion based on performance.
Okay monsters… Seems legit. As he watched the number of system users seemed to start ticking down at first just one at a time, then it started to roll down. What was going on? Looking back out the windows of the car he understood… Vividly.
What he thought was black spots were actually large birds that seemed to resemble a vulture with a razor sharp beak and talons. He watched staring wide eyed as the bird swooped down its beak going straight through the eye and out the back of a young woman’s head. Her head snapped back and she collapsed on the ground with the large vulture on top of her.
“What the actual fuck was that!?” Dave said from the front seat his body tense and him staring in the same direction as Asher. “You saw that right! That wasn’t what I think it was… right.” Looking out the other windows he saw more of the birds dive bombing other people around them screaming and running away. Some dived into cars hoping to be safe from the murderous birds.
“We have to go…” Sam said as shelled shocked as the rest of them but she was able to turn the key in the car’s ignition. There wasn’t even a sound as the car sat stubbornly refusing to move. “Fuck i don’t know whats wrong, but the car won’t start at all.” Sam said from the front.
“Should we just stay here, maybe they haven’t noticed us?” Kat said from her position in the middle of the back seat she had the best or worse view of what was going on around them. Looking back out the window he saw a man in his late fifties who seemed to be trying to get his car to work not that far away from them. Suddenly a vulture landed on the top of his car, piercing through the top of the roof with its beak and going right through the top of his head with it. From his position he didn’t see much after the large spray of blood covered the windows of the car.
“I don’t think that's a good idea.” he said, turning to see Kat looking in his direction having seen the same thing as him. “I think we need to get inside. We aren't far and most of the vultures seem… preoccupied now.” With a gulp he saw the others give him an odd look before one by one they nodded.
“Alright then I guess we make a break for the employings entrance. It's the closest and we have keys. The door is also steel. It will lead us into the back of the mall and from there well fuck if i know.” Sam said as she grabbed her keys from the ignition and pulled out the one he knew was for the back employee entrance to the mall. As a manager for their store she had access to the back walk as most people called it. “On the count of three?” The others nodded their consent, Sam taking the lead as she usually did. “Three. Two. One!”
With that he slammed his shoulder into the door of the right side of the car and hurriedly climbed out. With a quick look at the others as they piled out of the car, Kat being the last with her in the middle and getting out on Cole’s side, they all started to sprint towards the steel door about fifty meters away.
Sam was in the lead with the keys visible in her hand and keeping an eye on the sky as she sprinted with her long legs and powerful muscles. Cole and Kat were right behind her with Asher behind them, with finally Dave behind him. Dave had made sure that Cole, Kat and him had gotten ahead of him, keeping an eye on the back.
Just as they got to the door and Sam started to insert the keys he felt it. It was less a gut feeling this time though, more like a sense starting from his gut. It was different but still there. Something was coming from behind them… And fast as hell. “DAVE LOOK OUT!” He turned and saw a large vulture heading in their direction. It was closer to ground level and seemed to be gliding in fast from behind.
Suddenly as the vulture seemed to be about to impale Dave in the back he dodged to the side turning as he did and swung his fist out in the opposite direction. His right fist connected with the skull of a surprised vulture as he right hooked it in the head. The bird didn’t stop though as it continued, now completely thrown of course it slammed into the brick of the building barely missing himself and the others. It crumpled against the ground, its head having collided with the stone at a rapid pace. Quickly, before he could even react Dave ran up and stomped on its head. Once. Twice. Three times and with the last stomped there was a sickening crack as the skull caved in.
Almost at the same time they heard another noise, all of them quickly turning to see Sam standing with the door opened. “Well stop fucking standing their you morons come on!” They all made their way inside and when the last one came in Sam gave a quick scan and then slammed the door shut. Suddenly there was a loud crash as a small indent on the steel formed. “Fuck that was close.” She sighed and then slumped against the wall.
“God damn Dave, that was impressive man.” Cole said, slapping him on the shoulder.
“Naw it was Asher that saved me. Without his shout I wouldn't have known. The rest… Well, I guess it was just instinct?” Dave said, with a small nod his way.
“It was nothing. It was my gut feeling but more distinct.” He replied looking up the about three meters wide hall. It seemed deserted with a cart full of boxes a few meters in front of them blocking off the view of the Hall . “So now what?” looking back he saw that Kat had sat down on the floor the same as Sam with Cole wrapping his arms around her.
Congratulations your party has defeated: Slaughter Vulture (Infrequent).
Exp: 40
As the box seemed to pop up in his vision he watched as the others also seemed to jump at the notification. As soon as the pop up was done another dinged into existence right behind it.
Congratulations you have earned enough experience to level up! Level (1) Arcane Apprentice.
You have 1 free skill point to spend.
You have 4 free attribute points to spend.
“Okay is anyone else getting this shit or is it just me?” Dave asked from beside him.
“Depends, I got what I assumed was a kill notification then a level up notification.” He replied, still looking at the purple boxes in front of him.
“I got one too.” Kat said from her position on the floor with Cole still holding on to her. “Says that we killed a Slaughter Vulture which I’m going to assume was the murder bird and that I gained a level in my Ranger class. I also got a skill point and two free attribute points.”
“Hmm maybe… Status.” Asher said into the air in front of him causing another purple box to appear floating in the air in front of him.
Name: Asher Bleak
Level: 1
Class Level: Arcane Apprentice (1)
Exp: 7/100
Skill Points: 1
Health 100/120 (1.2/Min)
Stamina 90/130 (1.2/Min)
Mana 100/180 (1.8/Min)
Fp - 4
Str - 11
Dex - 13
Agil - 13
End - 12
Vig - 12
Per - 13
En - 18
Sp - 18
Foc - 18
Con - 18
Skills:
Mana Sense: The ability to sense active and passive mana in the air around the caster. Level (Max)
You have one free skill point. Would you like to select a skill? (Notice that a skill point gained in one class can not be used on another)
Seeing the screen show up in front of him and different than before. “Hey guys try thinking or saying status it seems to bring up your screen. By the looks of it we leveled up.” he paused for a moment. “Well I guess that was obvious but hey good to see it actually worked.”
As the others started to access their own status screens he was drawn back into his own. More into the last line of text. Free skill point and the fact that you couldn’t use the point on another class. What did that mean? Would he get a second class later? Maybe a class change was possible if he didn’t like Arcane Apprentice? Well whatever, no use saving it if I can't use it for anything else.
Skills
Arcane Bolt (Common): A small bolt of arcane magic fires at a target dealing arcane damage based on the caster's spirit.
Effect: (Deals: Skill Level (1) x Sp (18) in magic damage) 1x18=18
Cost: (Skill Level (1) x 5)
Arance Shield (Common): A barrier of arcane magic springs forth from the caster blocking an amount of damage based on the casters spirit, focus, and control.
Effect:(Protects: Skill Level (1) x (Sp (18) + ½ Fc (9) + ½ Con (9)) from all damage types, last for 3 seconds or until broken) 1x(18+9+9)= 36
Cost: (Skill Level (1) x 10)
Energy Well (Common): The casters energy wells inside them giving greater mana regeneration. (Increases Mana regeneration by 20% per min)
Passive
Okay he had options that was nice at least, but which one did he pick here? The shield seemed like the best idea for keeping his friends from getting hurt but at the same time they needed to be able to deal with whatever else was out there. Well in that case time for a party chat.
“Hey guys what's the plan?” Asher asked, looking around at everyone else. They all seemed to be looking at something in front of them with Sam keeping a wary eye on the boxes blocking the view of the hallway beyond. “If this is anything like an RPG we are going to need to balance the team.” He looked over at Kat who was still looking intently at the air in front of her but was nodding along all the same to what he said.
“It seems that all my skills that do anything right now need a bow to work.” Kat said from her position on the ground. “Right, I already said it but I picked a Ranger, an Uncommon class that is good at spotting things and using a bow. What about everyone else? We need to know what we picked and go from there.”
“I went with Guardian, Uncommon the same as you and well it does what it sounds like i guess good at guarding and tanking.” Dave said with a grunt. “Most of my skills seem to be shield based with one a passive to damage reduction. Probably going for that one. Right now it is the only one I can actually use.”
“Makes sense.” Cole said, sitting down next to Kat on the floor. “I went with Stalker class Uncommon, good at striking from the shadows and dealing burst damage it seems. My skills are stealth based or use bladed weapons to deal damage, no passive. Sam?”
“Brawler, Uncommon melee focus mostly using fists. All of my abilities seem good to go though maybe not great if i have to punch a fucking bird.” She grumbled and got up from the ground stretching and punching the air a few times. “What about you Ash?”
“I went with the Arance Apprentice Rare class that focuses on magic. The class says there was healing magic but I didn't get any. For skills I got a magic bolt and a magic shield. Oh and a passive that boosts my mana regen.” He said, giving everyone else a look. “Right now I’m not sure what to pick. The Bolt has a lower cost than the shield, but the shield could save someone in a pinch… Well maybe I have no idea how strong it is. ”
“Hmmm I would say go with the bolt.” Sam said still shadow boxing an invisible opponent, she seemed to be winning. “I’m not sure about the rest of you, but since that level up I feel different. I actually feel faster and stronger. Besides, if we get a level up and get to choose a skill point from it each time, then having a ranged damage option to get a few easy kills would be for the best.” Suddenly her fist glowed a soft warm light as she turned and punched at the wall behind her. As her fist slammed into the wall a small crack showed from where her fist had struck.
“Well fuck me!” Dave said from behind him.
“Yep skills work though that did take some of my stamina.” Sam said, giving her fist a shake.
“I agree with Sam.” Kat said getting up from the floor and looking over at the wall. “If that’s what a skill can do then having a ranged version of that would be good. Besides, we should be able to get more skill points and get the other options soon anyway.”
“Alright I guess-.” Before he could pull up his status again though Kat’s hand was covering his mouth and had a finger held in front of her mouth.
“I heard something.” She said in a barely audible whisper. She pointed down the hall, most of it being blocked by the cart with the boxes. “I don’t think we are the only ones here.”
Almost as if on cue something bumped into the cart ratalling the boxes and electing a grunt from whatever was on the other side. The boxes were heavy it seemed and the cart was turned sideways giving them cover from the rest of the hall. It wasn’t a perfect barricade as someone could easily push the cart and make the rest of the hallway visible. Now that he thought of it none of them had looked farther down the hall. They were mostly just trying to get their heads wrapped around what was going on.
Suddenly the cart was shoved to one side and what looked like a zombie stubbled out from behind it. It had grey skin, hollowed eyes, with blood staining around its mouth and hands. The left side of its face seemed to have a bite taken out of its cheek to the point he could see the teeth from that side of its mouth. It lurched towards Kat who happened to be closest to it, its mouth opening wider than he thought possible ripping the side of its face more.
Sam’s fist flew by the soft glow accompanying it as it smashed into the zombie’s face before it could reach Kat. The creature stumbled back and seemed to be slightly dazed from the strike to its face. Sam’s follow up kick to its shin and then another glowing punch to the face made it fall back words with a grunt. The zombie started to pull itself back up from the ground when Sam’s boot found its face. Suddenly Sam jumped back as another zombie stumbled past the slightly moved cart.
Quickly he pulled up his states page and slammed the point into Arcane Bolt. The zombie started to pull itself back up from the ground as the other one stepped onto its own companion. Okay now how the hell do I do this? Pointing his finger up by instinct he yelled “Arance Bolt!” Suddenly he felt it. The same feeling he got whenever something bad was about to happen but this time it felt different. It wasn’t the feeling of something bad about to happen but it felt like a nice cool breeze was leaving his stomach and racing up his hand to his finger.
The bright flash of purple energy rushed from his finger catching the zombie that was coming around the cart in the face and exploding in a splash of bright purple sparks across its face. It stubbled back into the wall as Sam’s fist came in again, with the soft glow, crashing into it. The other one started to pull itself up from the floor when a quick kick from Cole caught it in the chin snapping its neck to the side and causing it to collapse in a heap on the ground.
“Arcane Bolt.” He said again feeling the same tug and watching as another bolt of purple light slammed into the shoulder of the zombie against the wall. With a roar and a full haymaker Sam’s fist crashed into the zombie again causing it to fall on the ground next to its friend.
Quickly Kat darted to the opening made by the creatures and peered into the hallway beyond. “Fuck!” She yelled. “Three more coming.”
“How Close?” Dave said, having stepped up next to the cart of boxes.
“One is clawing at the boxes and the others are about three meters back.”
“Good give me a hand.” Dave motioned to Cole as he started to push the cart back into place. “Keep an eye out and let us know when the others get up to the other side of the cart too.” Dave started to slightly hoist the top boxes of the cart getting ready to shove them over the other side and down onto the creatures. Sam and Cole, seeing his plan, moved to help each getting another box with Kat looking around the small crack left after the cart was moved.
“Now!” She yelled, giving a nod to the three beside her. With a grunt the three of them pushed and caused the top three crates to smash into the creatures on the other side. “Seems to have hurt them but i’m not sure if it was enough.” all of them held their breath looking at Kat as she looked around the cart. “Fuck seems one of them survived its just starting to get back up.”
“Let me.” He said, stepping up beside Kat and looking around the cart. Seeing the creature starting to stumble to its feet again. It looked like a woman with her head slightly dented in and her left eye nothing but a mess of gore. Pointing at her head he chanted “Aracne Bolt.” With a flash of purple energy and the small puff-like explosion of sparks it hit her right in the face and the creature fell backwards, not moving again. “Coast is clear. No more zombies.” He looked out into the hallway about ten meters ahead, it split into opposite directions. There were two doors on either side of the hall with another set in the middle of the intersection ahead.
Congratulations your party has defeated: 5x Zombie (Common).
Exp: 32