She’s how old!?! No freaking way.

 “Okay, back up a bit. Are you really 50 years old? That’s freaking wild. What kind of wild skills did you get to reverse your age? You are definitely still human, right?”

She frowned a bit at that.

“I am fairly certain I am human still, as my skill sheet considers me human. My power apparently revolves around cellular energy. I can generate it, absorb it, and stimulate it in others. I guess when I got the ability it simply started passively regenerating my cells, reverting them to a healthier state.”

“I... guess that makes sense, I suppose. When you stimulate someone else’s cells, are there any drawbacks? We have a lot of injured people here who could use a hand, if you are willing. I’m also pretty curious about the difference between the ‘supers’ and the ‘shifted’ if you will. I’m wondering what the differences between us are.”

“Absolutely, I don’t mind looking at some people. I’m guessing you want me to take a look at miss dryad over there first? Those bruises look pretty nasty.”

Taylor looked very pleased with that, saying, “If you can really heal me that would be freaking awesome. My name is Taylor, by the way. I have some friends that could use your help too.”

Steph smiled, explaining, “It’s really no problem Taylor. Most of the energy comes from you yourself. You will be very tired and will probably fall right asleep afterward, but it shouldn’t have any effect beyond that.”

With that said, Steph came up next to Taylor and gently laid her palm against her forehead. I watched as the gentle glow that surrounded Steph transferred over to Taylor. I watched as the glow propagated from the place where Steph touched until Taylor was glowing all over. The Ivy on her body started moving and twitching with joy as it started to grow more green and vibrant in the healing light. Pretty soon, I watched as the nasty green-purple bruises faded away altogether.

“Taylor, are you okay?”

She smiled, but her eyes were already closing. “Yeah beautifulll… jusss real sleepy.”

I walked over, picking her up from the chair. She didn’t react in any way, just closed her eyes are continued nodding off. I brought her to her bed, and laid her down. I hadn’t seen her bedroom since before the first wave. It was freaking wild in here.

I mean that literally, of course. Plants grew seemingly out of the walls, with their small roots worked into the sheetrock itself. I saw lots of roots extending out of her window into the alley, where presumably they could find water and grow more leaves to absorb sunlight. I wonder if she could try and grow some vegetables to eat. I bet it would save us a bunch of time and effort as opposed to foraging. I should for sure look into getting some plant pots because I’m not sure Mr. Garcia is going to be super happy about the small leafy greens growing into his walls.

Leaving the room, I walked back into the den, joining everyone else. I didn’t really have a place to sleep, but I didn’t really mind as I tended to just drift around. I could barely feel the clothes on my body when I was flying, and it didn’t really bother me to sleep in what I was wearing. As far as I could tell, I no longer had the ability to sweat, so the only thing on my body was dirt from flying around, and even that was rather minimal. I could wash it off in the shower very quickly.

Thinking about taking a shower actually managed to give me an idea. I decided to make full use of the magic skills that I had been neglecting as of late. I summoned about two gallons of water in the air, feeling the familiar drain on my mana pool.

I ran the globe of water in a circular motion around my whole body, sucking off all of the dirt that had gathered while flying. Once I reached my face, I was able to thoroughly clean my hair. My hydrophobic skin refused to cling to even the smallest droplet of water, and the quick makeshift shower left me feeling calmly refreshed. I tossed the globe of water out of the still open window and dried myself off with a quick burst of wind.

Skill Alert! Level Up!

Magic Skill: Hydrokinesis – lvl 12-> 14

Clearly the finer manipulation of water was useful for increasing my skills. I wonder if I could get a specific water spell for cleaning, considering that my first water spell was a utility one as well.

I looked up, and realized that the whole room was staring at me.

“What’s up guys? Is there something on my face?”

Cindy chuckled a bit, responding with, “That seems like a pretty useful skill. Just… Don’t do it around the guys, alright?”

Ah, I see how that could look rather awkward. I blushed but didn't think anyone could see because of my skin tone.

“Ha, sorry about that. I’ll be more careful next time. Anyway, Steph, go ahead and get comfortable. There’s plenty of seats. I’ll make up a small pallet of extra blankets for the kid in the dining room, so he can sleep. Join us on the couch, and we can talk a bit.”

I did just that, and once the young boy was settled, I too settled myself on the couch. I had found a nice fleece throw that I forgot I had, and I wrapped it around my shoulders to warm me up a bit. It was still winter, and while I didn’t really mind the cold anymore, warming up was still pleasant.

“So Steph, how much do you know about the waves and the transformations of people? You said you were investigating the Greene wave, right? Does that have something to do with all of this? I’ve personally been able to piece together a lot of information just based on the people I’ve met, but I still feel like I'm wondering in the dark sometimes."

I saw Steph purse her lips. She was obviously giving her response some amount of thought. She cleared her throat, calmly answering, " I have a decent understanding of the waves in general, but I don’t really know all of the intricacies of it. I was able to stay in contact with the rest of the country right up until the second wave, so I know a little bit about what’s going on.

So far, what I know is that the changes are regional. For example, here in Austin almost everyone turned into some form of beastkin or monster race during the first wave. The exceptions, like myself, who became a super are pretty limited.

Comparing that to New York, where my main office was, wherein most people became some variation of super. Beastkin are vastly rarer there.

I know that the second wave transformations were much weaker than the beta transformations. They are practically still regular people, and their ability to advance is pretty limited. They don’t have powerful archetypes as we have. According to my identify skill, their races are weaker, but have inherently more potential. If or when they decide to increase their level, they will have many options to choose from, where you will have only a few.

The rest of what I know is mostly about the intricacies of supers, or all humans now, I suppose. From what I have been able to glean from my earlier brief communications to New York, supers tend to either have a specific ability or a specific stat that is greatly increased. The ability is classified as a Power Skill in the skill list, and they almost always have more than 100 levels. Mine personally has a max level of 500. While experimenting, I was able to reach level 25, where I got an additional skill in my Power Skill list for stimulating cellular regeneration and for flight. Where you have ‘mana’, I have cellular energy, and I generate it passively, but I can also absorb small amounts harmlessly from the people around me.

In exchange for a strong primary skill, supers have very limited stats. Personally, my max for my highest stat is 15, and I have no abilities to increase that any further without strenuous exercise. The max level for a human being is apparently level 200, so there’s really no telling what could happen down that line of advancement without further research.

The exception to this is supers who have powerful stat boosters. There were reports in New York of a super who’s ability simply made his strength have no cap in increase, and made it easier to increase it using exercise.

I know basically nothing about monster races, and I have severely limited information on powerful beta beastkin.”

That was super interesting, pun intended. So I guess Texas was mostly beastkin and monsters, while the east coast had mostly supers. It really makes me wonder what the remaining people are going to get. I also wonder where the heck they are. It’s already a dangerous world, and it would only get worse if the world was both dangerous, and I had no powers to defend myself.

“Well that’s really handy to know. Personally, I seem to be classified as a monster, though I think that it's strange that I'm still humanoid. Most elementals are supposed to be just big clouds of their element, no solid like I am. There’s really no telling what’s in my advancement, and it seems kind of all over the place. My race currently has only 30 levels in it, and when I reach the max I should be able to become a stronger classification of elemental, though I'm pretty sure my upgrade tree would be really different from an elemental changed during the third wave. Whether my racial upgrade changes the current skills that I have, or supplements the skills that I have with more abilities, there’s really no telling at this point. The type of elemental I am has minor abilities to control storm elements, so wind, water, ice, and, lightning, but those don’t get stronger until later in my progression supposedly.

I know for certain that the way that I cast magic is very different from the magical races, but I can’t really classify it beyond that. From what I can tell, monsters have abilities and skills-based largely around instinct and intuition. They are probably stronger at the base level, but in exchange our instincts can drive our actions, and not the other way around. Already, I found my instinctually changeable emotions and desire for both freedom and companionship very annoying. It’s weird to think that my actions are being controlled by something that I don’t really consider me yet. Probably the weirdest thing of all is that I mind it a lot less than I probably should.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Everyone in the room mulled over my speech for a bit. Eventually, Cindy spoke.

“Vic, do you think that is why you keep bringing people back here, but also keep going out? I’ve always found it super weird how you keep leaving even though the apocalypse is basically happening outside.”

I thought about it, and she was probably right. It really had become a pattern at this point. Chances are it’s all bundled into my new racial instincts.

“Honestly Cindy, I couldn’t tell you for sure. It might be just my instincts, but it could also be the effect of my Character Archetype pulling me to do lone-ranger-esque stunts. Hopefully I’ll know more as I get used to these changes. I just ask you to try and ground me a bit. I want to make sure that my instincts aren’t taking control, and having someone there to help if I start going wild could go a long way.”

“I can do that Vic. The inner royalty in me is crying out in thanks for the power you just gave me.”

At that Steph looked incredibly confused. I decided to fill her in. “Steph, just so you know Cindy’s Character Archetype is hidden royalty. We figured out early on that acting out your archetype is the fastest way to level it up. What level are you at this point Cindy?”

Cindy let out another princess laugh, mirthfully stating, “Actually, I just reached level 29 from this conversation. So far, I stopped gaining increases in experience every level, but I did gain a supplementary skill when I hit level 10. I suspect that additional skills will appear as I increase it. I also think that there is a cap on the amount of bonus experience it can grant from any single source, as the experience gain has not increased past 25% for me.”

That actually mirrored my own experience. I checked my skill page again.

Skill

Level

Affect

General Skills: Common skills across all races

Identify

6/20

Gives user information. Amount and clarity based on identify level. Grants basic information from entities.

Athletics

39/50

Increases efficiency of stamina use. (70%) reduction in stamina consumption performing athletic feats.

Dash

5/10

Expend 17 Stamina for a rapid forward sprint for 30 feet. (+50% speed)

Quiet Movement

1/20

Reduces noise generated by movement by (1%).

Crafter

70/100

User is skilled in crafting and has an esthetic eye. Increases dexterity maximum (+2), and growth of all design related jobs.

Enhanced Vision

15/20

Allows you to see objects at (+36ft) with clarity as if the object was 5ft away.

Craftsman’s Trance

9/20

Allows user to focus on a single task, ignoring distractions and outside influences. Increases proficiency with general skills. (+ 9%)

Lumberjack

16/100

Grants enhanced technique and skill when felling trees. (+16%)

Race Skills: Skills gained from race type

Stormborn

11/30

Increases effectiveness of strength, athletics, constitution, and wisdom when in stormy conditions (+11%). Grants enhanced regeneration when touching water (+110%). Gain mana from enemy storm attacks. (+20% mana steal)

Storm Fists

5/30

Your fists contain the might of storms. You can use mana to fuel powerful physical strikes. (+5 lightning damage). 2 mana per strike.

Electroreceptivity

5/20

You gain a 6th sense to sense electricity in a range of 10ft around you. Grows more powerful with use. Can sense movement of creatures within your range.

Elemental Flight

45/70

You gain the ability to fly. Flying speed and height based on skill level and agility. Intrinsic ability has no cost. (98 miles/hour, 98 ft.)

Combat Skills: Skills gained and leveled through combat

Unarmed Combat

6/10

You have started down the path of unarmed combat. You deal (+6) damage while unarmed

Shooting (Pistols)

1/20

You gain increased accuracy when firing pistols (+5%)

Magic Skills: Skills used to control mana

Storm Aspect

1/30

Convert your body into a living storm. Gain (+50%) resistance to physical damage while converted. Contact deals +30 lightning damage per second. 100 mana for 30 seconds.

Electrokinesis

11/50

Control electricity with your mind. How shocking! Cost mana based on skill level and action. Can now form larger amounts of electricity and control it more effectively. Reduces mana cost for general use.

Hydrokinesis

12/50

Control water with your mind. Bring the bath to you!

Cost mana based on skill level and action. Can now form larger amounts of water and control it more effectively. Reduces mana cost for general use.

Aerokinesis

17/50

Control wind with your mind. Blow your troubles away! Cost mana based on skill level and action. Can now form larger amounts of wind and control it more effectively. Reduces mana cost for general use.

Enhancement Skills: Skills which enhance physical traits

Enhanced Physicality

1/10

Grants Minor Proprioception. Health +10, Stamina +10

Rapid Regeneration

1/10

Enhances natural recovery. -50% damage from nonmagical sources. +5 health regen

Resistance Skills: Skills that grant resistance to a type of damage

Intermediate Storm Resistance

12/30

Resist lightning, water, ice, and wind damage from all sources. (-32% from all sources)

Archetype Skills: Skills granted via archetype

Lone Wanderer

27/100

Skill growth is increased while exploring new places alone (+20%). Increased experience gained hunting monsters alone (+20%).

First 1!

1/1

You were the first person to become upgraded. +10% exp for killing roaming monsters.

Lone wanderer gained the monster hunting experience ability right when it hit level 10. I would have to increase it to be sure, but I suspected they all followed the same general scheme. While the additional ability could be called a supplemental skill, I suspected that the supplemental skill that Steph was talking about was fundamentally different.

“Kaitlyn, could you tell us a bit more about beastkin? I’m pretty curious about what those changes entail.”

Kaitlyn smiled a bit, but it didn't reach her eyes. She nodded and began.

“So... um... from what I can tell from inspect, Beastkin are a cross between the magic races, and the monster races. They have instincts sort of like monsters, but they are much weaker. While Vic has two of those instincts, I have only one that I can only rarely feel the effect of.

From what I can tell, beastkin are the other side of the coin from magic races like Taylor or Cindy. We have very limited magic abilities, like maybe only one or two? Mine has a level cap is 200, so I don’t think I’m going to be maxing it out soon... My total racial level cap is at 100 though, so I might be able to help explain more when I reach that. "

Her tail curled around her, and she held it in her arms in what I guessed was a more comfortable position.

Sheepishly, she stated, "I think... Beastkin probably lean toward physical power over anything else... my magic abilities kinda just help me run faster, not anything special like Vic's do. Maybe other beastkin have the same thing? Where they have a magic that makes their main focus better.”

That makes sense as well. I guess this means that entering in a fight with specific types of beastkin was potentially a very bad idea, depending on their strength. I could already tell that Kaitlyn had way more agility and strength than I did, and I had already gone through a level up.

Seeing Kaitlyn go quiet, I decided to move the conversation along, gesturing towards Cindy, calmly stating, “Alright, I guess that leaves Cindy. Anything to share on the magic races?”

Cindy assented, saying, “Sure Vic. I’ve managed to learn a wealth of facts just by experimenting with my abilities and comparing myself with Taylor who is also a magic race. We have a lot of skills in common, and it makes certain things stand out more than others.

The magic races seem to be similar to the beastkin, but instead of specializing in the physical stats, they specialize in the mental stats. My personal highest stat is Charisma, followed by intelligence. For Taylor, its wisdom followed by intelligence. We seem to each have very specific magic systems, with each one playing out almost like a different language. For me, the language is called fey runic magic, and it is based on small concentric circles. These circles form spells, which I fuel with mana. My magic skill list is pretty short, I only have one of my fey abilities and my runic magic skill on top of that. My spell sheet on the other hand has 15 spells currently. I’ve already had to start a second page to hide the spells that I don’t need anymore.

The spell types seem pretty common between the magic races, and I suspect that the only reason I have the runic magic is because I am a beta. I think that anyone with access to mana could learn to cast this though, granted they had the skill and a small amount of inherent fey magic ability. ”

Also stuff I already knew, but the explanation made sense. It seems like the beta testers have much stronger abilities inherently. I didn’t really seem fair, but it was hard to complain about a system that was stacked in my favor.

“Alright. It’s already pretty late. My watch says its 10:34, and we need to sleep because we are going to have a big day tomorrow. Without the cops, we have no hope of finding any official help for taking on the Gem gang. We need defenses, and we need to try and find James before something can happen to him. I don’t know why they took him, but it can’t be anything good. Worst case scenario, we might need to fight off a whole bunch of angry gangsters, and I certainly don't feel comfortable doing that right now. Of course, we also need to know where the gang is, and where they are holding James too. Personally, I’m going to try and find a place where I can level up a bit. Ideally, I’d like to reach my next racial upgrade, but at the least I want to max out all of my skills. I think that offers the best bet of winning a confrontation.

The final wave is probably coming sometime tomorrow, but everyone gaining a class could be a double-edged sword, as we get stronger, but so do the members of the Gem gang. Let’s try and run recon tomorrow, planning an increase in strength and a hunt for James. For now though, let’s sleep.”

James was missing, and while I wouldn't really consider him a close friend to me, he was very close to Taylor. I wanted to do something about his disappearance. I would have to get someone to stop by his house and wait for a ransom note, just in case they sent one there. I could think of no other reason for him being taken unless... no. I would make no assumptions until we knew for sure. I would have to assume that he was being kept alive. With magic, most wounds could be healed, so as long as he was alive, there was hope.

Everyone found a place to lay down and went to sleep. Cindy went off to her room, and Kaitlyn was on my reclining chair, so Steph fell asleep on the couch. I activated flight, and drifted into the air, falling asleep fairly quickly even through my dark thoughts. It had been a long day, and I was ready to not stress for a while. Striking fear in the minds of my foes would come in due time.