Chapter 29
Wash Night
Mom had made spaghetti, but by the time Leo got home, Lydia had finished off the last of the spaghetti sauce. Fortunately, Leo had plenty of experience with improvising meals. He put some margarine on the remaining noodles, along with the last of the Parmesan cheese, heated it in the microwave for a minute, a little salt and pepper, and dinner was served.
The mutant sand puppies in Lydia's show were battling the evil Cattulla who was trying to take over the beach for some reason. He joined his sister in the living room and watched the show while he ate, grateful for their time together, knowing soon these pleasant evenings would be nothing more than a memory.
He couldn't sleep that night. His mind was full of images from the game and sounds from the Infected, who had a lot in common with the Afflicted. Who created School's Out? Were these creators involved with the aliens? If so, he needed to contact them. And how the hell was he going to save the world?
Finally, he got up, grabbing his dirty clothes he hadn't gotten around to washing. Leo wasn't sure how to use the washer and dryer. But he'd had a lot of experience washing clothes by hand.
So, one o'clock in the morning found him washing his dirty clothes in the bathroom sink.
What was he going to do? Especially since his attempts to warn people had been ignored.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Step one: Stop the world from ending. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to do this.
Step two: If unable to do step one, warn everyone. Particularly those with an implant. But how?
Step three: Get a great character class.
A great character class alone wasn't going to do it. He'd met and heard of implant wearers with powerful characters. Guardians. Paladins. Assassins. They'd gotten their asses kicked along with everyone else. Demigod Bosses were too strong.
Out of curiosity, he pulled up his list of character classes. Each category contained an endless list, but most were grayed out and illegible. The Power-Wielder category was completely grayed out. Fighter, the only thing in black was Swordsman/Common. The one Imp had informed him he qualified for. Under Other, he qualified for Garbage Collector/Common, Housekeeper/Common, and Janitor/Common.
“I did not tell you about the non-combat classes you qualified for, because I knew you wouldn't be interested,” Imp said, noticing Leo's inquiries.
“What can I do to qualify for better character classes?” Leo asked.
“You need to complete the quests and work to improve your stats, Leo. Also, if there's a class you are interested in, performing activities related to that class should help. I believe your VR knife work is what qualified you to be a swordsman.”
“If I performed unusual or rare activities, would that get me an unusual or rare character class?”
“I'm afraid I do not have that information, Leo. But it's possible.”
“How come you haven't given me any more quests?” Leo asked. Last time around, he'd been given five quests in the first few days. He hadn't completed any of them, but...
“Well, Leo. I was going to give you a quest to perform selfless acts of kindness. But you've given your sister food when you were hungry and agreed to watch a show you hate because it would make her happy. To give you a quest or other rewards for something you are already doing would cheapen such an act. But your kindness has been noted and taken into consideration.”
“I guess that's good,” Leo said. It would have been nice to get the Demon Tears, but if his actions were getting him closer to a decent class, then so be it.”
He finished washing his clothes, deep in thought.