After everything he’d been through—suffered through a severed toe, a chopped off finger, a missing hand, his skin sloughed off by acid and insects biting chunks of flesh… not to mention struggling through a change in morality and coming out the other side a jaded man. After all of that, Logan could admit to a bit of what the fuck when he read the latest System message.
Ding!
[Good news, human! The daily pollution eliminator purge events are completed. Humanity has now reached the required threshold for class eligibility. Congratulations!]
[Class rarities will be generated based on how well you advanced and grew during the purge tutorial.]
[Calculating options…]
[….]
The purge tutorial? What the frigging hell? Was the System saying that each daily purge event had been part of some crazy tutorial, a time for humanity to level up in a kill-or-be killed world?
Was that its idea of a joke? It had killed millions of people—no, billions! With no instruction, no warning. It was only through the luck of the draw that Logan had survived when others hadn’t. Ten more seconds and he could have been in his truck when the System blew up all the cars in the world, another minute and he could have been inside the speedboat when it sucked all the engine-powered boats through a black hole.
If it had warned humanity, given them a smidgen of instruction, so many people could have survived. So many people could have leveled up.
Logan knew he wasn’t dealing with the same System anymore. The original, staid and boring System had ‘assimilated’ the glitchy AI minion, but what did that matter when the rules were still FUBAR? Whoever had programmed the original System deserved a hell of a smack down. For all he knew, it was Ernie’s ‘sky people’ who were at fault and at the heart of it all!
Ding!
[User is currently in the one percent top ranking! Bypassing common options…]
[Calculating…]
[….]
[…]
[User is in the top 100th ranking! Bypassing uncommon options…]
[Calculating…]
[….]
[…]
[Class options calculated!]
[Call Centre Rep—Rare—A class that focuses on persuasion and proactivity. You are the master of all within your domain. Stat bonuses: 10% static boost to wisdom, 20% static boost to perception, 10 free attributes. One skill available.]
[Charlatan—Rare—A rogue class that hides your true level and interferes with Identify, forcing users to see your highest attribute as your lowest. You are the trickster, and all other users are peons not deserving to breathe the same air. Stat bonuses: 10% static boost to dexterity and agility. 20% static boost to perception. Two skills available. 10 free attributes.]
[Monster Tamer—Rare—A class that gives unbending control over animals and sentient weapons. You are the tamer, and your hand is the whip. Monsters shall tremble at your feet. Stat bonuses: 20% static boost to strength and constitution. Three skills available. 20 free attributes.]
[Willowing Vine—Rare—A druid class that gives the user the power over everything that grows. Even themselves. Stat bonuses: 30% static boost to wisdom. 20% static boost to intelligence and perception. Two skills available. 50 free attributes.]
[Insect Hive—Rare—A class that gives the user the power over arthropods. You are the hive mind. All will be swallowed underneath your swarm. Stat bonuses: 20% static boost to intelligence and wisdom. 50% static boost to perception. Two skills available. 30 free attributes.]
[Fabled Creation—Epic—A class that gives the user the power over life and death. The world is in the palm of your hand. You only have to will it and you shall have it. All shall tremble at your feet for a snap of your fingers will be their undoing. This class has empire building possibilities. Stat bonuses: 30% boost to wisdom, intelligence, and perception. 100 free attributes. Three skills available.]
[Book of the Dead—Epic—A class that gives the user the power over death. Annihilation is your name. All shall tremble in fear for your will is uncompromising, unending and undeniable. 30% static boost to wisdom, intelligence, and perception. Two skills available. 90 free attributes.]
[Audacious Liche—Epic—A class that transforms the user into an undead master with the power to create and control unlimited minions. You are a power beyond Earth. Beyond the Collective. This class will result in a species change and has empire building possibilities. Stat bonuses: 30% static boost to perception, agility, and dexterity. Three skills available. 100 free attributes.]
Logan blinked, reeling. There were so many possibilities that he didn’t know where to start. Until now, he hadn’t even known what a ‘class’ was! It was like the S Grade vs. A Grade items all over again, the System giving him terminology that meant nothing on the face of it. But based on these results, classes were tremendously valuable, awarding attribute boosts and skills.
They had to be ways to focus your build… like a race car driver before a race—with equipment—a fireproof uniform, a helmet—and the skills learned through a lifetime. Whatever Logan chose would point him in a certain direction, molding, sculpting his way forward. Just like with everything else in the last week, he could make the wrong decision, or he could make the right choice and gain an advantage.
He needed to be careful here. Consider every option, no matter how ridiculous it seemed.
After he saved Lara and the kids, his overreaching priority was to save humanity. To do that, he needed to do the impossible:
[Quest: Save Humanity! Save 5.9 billion people in less than one year by catching and storing 930 billion tons of carbon. This is a running Quest, and your progress can fluctuate up and down.]
[Reward for completing the Quest: You will save 5.9 billion people.]
[Penalty for not completing the Quest: You will kill 5.9 billion people.]
[Quest Progress: 0% complete. 354 days remaining.]
930 billion tons of carbon was so massive that he didn’t have a way to quantify it. Even worse, if he returned to a world where the wildfire situation had escalated, he’d be storing carbon while the world was on fire. To reduce carbon, it couldn’t just be up to Logan—could it? That wasn’t a job of only one man. He would need help, others to contribute. Humanity to contribute.
But first he had to figure out how to reduce carbon… was it by growing trees? Through olivine? Logan had to believe that once he found Lara, she’d be a huge help. She was great at figuring out solutions to huge problems. But even with Lara, he had to keep his overarching goal into consideration when deciding on a class.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
To start, Logan would need to review each one and eliminate the classes that weren’t great fits.
[Call Centre Rep—Rare—A class that focuses on persuasion and proactivity. You are the master of all within your domain. Stat bonuses: 10% static boost to wisdom, 20% static boost to perception, 10 free attributes. One skill available.]
That was his first indication that the System had taken his life events into consideration when calculating these options. The System had only invaded Earth a week ago, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Logan had been struggling to pay the bills, jumping from job to job, but his last job, well—he worked in a call centre.
But the thing about it was… it had been a job. Something that earned him money so he could afford to pay his rent and buy groceries, but it wasn’t a thrilling profession. Even though the System classified the class as rare, Logan immediately put that one in the ‘no’ pile. He hadn’t enjoyed being persuasive and proactive in the first place, and like hell was he going to chain himself to something he hated.
[Charlatan—Rare—A rogue class that hides your true level and interferes with Identify, forcing users to see your highest attribute as your lowest. You are the trickster, and all other users are peons not deserving to breathe the same air. Stat bonuses: 10% static boost to dexterity and agility. 20% static boost to perception. Two skills available. 10 free attributes.]
This next class was intriguing. The description was a dead giveaway that the System had given him this option due to the Silverdagger Clan’s constant harping of him being a ‘trickster,’ but it also fit his stealth player status. He couldn’t deny that a class that allowed him to disguise his level would be massively beneficial.
Logan could walk into a crowd, and everyone would underestimate him. He could lower someone’s guard and then go in for the kill. Not to mention that he could trick [Identify], which had been Tasha’s version of [Idiot’s Inspect]. Logan had to believe that the skill was the same for everyone.
Tricking [Identify]! Logan hadn’t known that was possible. It would have to be something to keep in mind in the future. That he couldn’t always trust what [Idiot’s Inspect] told him, and to trust his instincts rather than a System message.
Although the class was valuable, it wasn’t Logan. It also wouldn’t help him with the Save Humanity Quest and to create more offensive capabilities beyond [Life Cycle Master]. For now, Logan put that class in the ‘no’ category.
[Insect Hive—Rare—A class that gives the user the power over arthropods. You are the hive mind. All will be swallowed underneath your swarm. Stat bonuses: 20% static boost to intelligence and wisdom. 50% static boost to perception. Two skills available. 30 free attributes.]
Ugh. Logan knew where this one came from—from the dexterity trial. Just looking at it made his stomach slosh, bringing to mind the hell of those buggers crawling all over him and eating his flesh.
Despite his disgust, he wasn’t blind to the possibilities. [Life Cycle Master] gave him the ability to influence insects, but eventually, they’d push back. The class would solve that problem, allowing him to control them and direct them.
Plus, a 20% static boost to intelligence and wisdom was huge, helping him upgrade his Karma pool and Karma regeneration rate and better position him to use [Life Cycle Master] for the Save Humanity Quest. Not to mention the perception increase—a 50% boost! That was as good as [Undead Stamina].
And yet, even seeing all of that, Logan wasn’t tempted.
Ugh ugh ugh.
If he never saw another insect, it would be too soon.
That class went into the ‘hell no’ category.
[Monster Tamer—Rare—A class that gives unbending control over animals and sentient weapons. You are the tamer, and your hand is the whip. Monsters shall tremble at your feet. Stat bonuses: 20% static boost to strength and constitution. Three skills available. 20 free attributes.]
The System had to have given him this option due to Ernie and the Cursed Rope. Although Logan knew Ernie would find it insulting, he saw possibilities here. If this class let him control monsters… even monsters like the queen serpent, it was a tactical goldmine. All he’d have to do is force them in place while he slaughtered them, gaining level after level. Or alternatively, if he controlled them, he could command them to go after his enemies.
It would also allow him to get a handle on the Cursed Rope once and for all. No more worrying about removing it from his spatial collar around people like Lara and the kids. And yet, the static boost to strength and constitution wouldn’t help him with the Save Humanity Quest. Logan already had enough strength from the tripling effect of the True Grit Rings. And constitution was useless while he had [Regenerate].
Even though the class was attractive, he had to put it firmly in the ‘no’ category.
[Audacious Liche—Epic—A class that transforms the user into an undead master with the power to create and control unlimited minions. You are a power beyond Earth. Beyond the Collective. This class will result in a species change and has empire building possibilities. Stat bonuses: 30% static boost to perception, agility, and dexterity. Three skills available. 100 free attributes.]
When he read this class description, he could see why the System rated it epic.
It had to come from Ernie. Logan felt a pang of heartache. Although he knew Ernie had survived, there was a big question about what he’d find once he escaped the trial dungeon and returned to the lake. As far as he knew, in every show and movie he’d watched, there had never been a way to cure a zombie infection.
He had to hope that there was something that he could do for Ernie, a serum, an infection purging crystal, a way to heal him. Barring that, Logan would do everything in his power to help him, including slaying the queen serpent to bring Ernie back to the light. Logan didn’t know if zombies worked the same way as killing vampires, but he had to hope.
Ernie was counting on him.
As far as [Audacious Liche], he sure liked the idea of being a ‘power beyond Earth,’ but hell no was he losing his humanity! A species change! Logan hadn’t known that was possible. The System description didn’t say that he’d turned into a mindless zombie, but he couldn’t risk it. It was already too much dealing with an undead Ernie… let alone worrying about himself.
Plus, although boosts to perception, agility, and dexterity would be useful, they weren’t what he needed.
Logan was about to put that class in the firm ‘no’ category, but he hesitated. Empire building? What the hell was that? He couldn’t help feeling a sizzle of intrigue. Before the integration, Logan had struggled with finances, forced to sell the cabin, forced to scrimp pennies to make ends meet. A class that had the potential to make him overpowered at the same time as financially sound… it was tempting.
Still, he wasn’t that much of an idiot.
He wasn’t turning into a zombie, thank you very much.
[Willowing Vine—Rare—A druid class that gives the user the power over everything that grows. Even themselves. Stat bonuses: 30% static boost to wisdom. 20% static boost to intelligence and perception. Two skills available. 50 free attributes.]
This class was intriguing and so far, the one that attracted him the most. It was something he was familiar with; it was less jarring and shocking than the others. If it let him perfect [Life Cycle Master] it would be valuable. Not to mention that it gave him a 20% boost to the attributes he needed to increase the most to tackle the Save Humanity Quest.
Plus, there was something else intriguing.
The ability to give him the power over everything that grows, even himself? Logan had a suspicion that it was something to do with healing or aging. The possibility that a class would let him stop aging would have floored him a week ago, but now, it was just like all the other wizard-shit he’d discovered.
This class was attractive. For now, he threw it in the ‘maybe’ category.
[Book of the Dead—Epic—A class that gives the user the power over death. Annihilation is your name. All shall tremble in fear for your will is uncompromising, unending and undeniable. Stat bonuses: 30% static boost to wisdom, intelligence, and perception. Two skills available. 90 free attributes.]
Another epic class. Logan was reminded of what he’d done to the flies after he’d killed Arsen. Commanded them to stop. Hundreds had fallen to the ground, lifeless, with just a blink of Logan’s will.
It was undeniable that a class that gave him power over death had to be overpowered, but something about it reminded him of the Man in Black. A man who had held out his palms and leached death. Although a 30% boost to intelligence and wisdom was just what he needed—and was beyond attractive—Logan wasn’t that kind of guy.
Not to mention that a class that gave him power over death would be a hell of a tactical advantage, but it wouldn’t help him with the Save Humanity Quest.
Logan put that class in the firm ‘no’ category.
That left one more class.
[Fabled Creation—Epic—A class that gives the user the power over life and death. The world is in the palm of your hand. You only have to will it and you shall have it. All shall tremble at your feet for a snap of your fingers will be their undoing. This class has empire building possibilities. Stat bonuses: 30% boost to wisdom, intelligence, and perception. 100 free attributes. Three skills available.]
First of all, it was rated epic. The name of the class attracted his attention right away—it was Asthea who had referred to Ernie’s ability to regenerate as a fairytale. Beyond Book of the Dead, this class gave him the ability to create life. Logan already had that ability with [Life Cycle Master], but there were limitations.
[Life Cycle Master] allowed him to create life out of something that already existed—a seed, larvae—or combine something that already existed with another being to hatch a new monster. But he couldn’t create life out of nothing. There had to be a base—a reference point. That’s where the skill stopped, and theory began. Logan hadn’t had the chance to experiment, but he suspected that at a certain point, he’d hit a roadblock.
Whereas this class was specific, giving him the power over life and death. That didn’t mean he’d have to stick within the life cycle of a being. The 30% boost to wisdom and intelligence would be what he needed to increase his Karma regeneration and Karma pool, and the boost to perception was also advantageous since that was one of Logan’s lagging attributes.
And lastly, the empire building feature. He’d still have the benefit of that without turning into a zombie.
Between Fabled Creation and Willowing Vine, there was no question which one he’d choose.
Logan mentally hovered over his choice and confirmed his selection.