“I know it’s not a new Playstation, but…happy birthday.”

Miguel looked down at the weapon in his hands. It was a compound bow not unlike the one Roman still carried, but it had been made from scratch by Carmen. The same could be said for the wide variety of arrows in the paired quiver.

Alyssa and Carmen had gone back and forth trying to decide on an appropriate gift for Miguel’s birthday. In the past, he’d usually gotten various electronics, games, or toys like Legos. But the world had changed, and not only were those things unavailable, but it was also irresponsible to devote any significant time to such frivolous pursuits.

Still, they wanted their son to have a childhood. Or whatever passed for one in the new world. So, in addition to the bow, they’d given him some homemade toys and scavenged board games. None were in perfect condition, but they were the best Alyssa could gather.

The young boy’s face lit up, and he exclaimed, “I love it!”

Then, he threw himself at Carmen, wrapping his arms around her as he profusely thanked his mother. Then, he did the same for Alyssa, announcing that he was going to be a Marksman, just like Uncle Roman.

Carmen tousled his hair, then told him to go outside and practice. He’d already been taught the basics of the weapon – all of the settlement’s children had – and he was eager to test it out. So, he quickly scurried from the small cottage that Carmen had built, intent on following his mother’s instructions.

That left the two women alone.

The moment he was gone, Alyssa’s shoulders sagged. Carmen put her arm around the slenderer woman’s shoulders and hugged her close as she said, “This was the right decision. Everything we’ve seen suggests that people get archetypes based on their past experiences. Being a Marksman will keep him off the front lines. It’s a strong option.”

Alyssa shook her head. “I just wish it wasn’t necessary,” she stated. It was a useless sentiment. As she well knew, the world had been irrevocably transformed, and there was nothing she could do about it. What she could do was prepare her son to thrive, at least as much as possible.

Leaning into Carmen, she thought about how far they’d come. It had been a difficult winter, and more than a few people hadn’t made it. Some had starved. Others had passed away due to exposure. But most of the casualties had come at the hands of the wildlife. Most of the monsters they encountered were clearly mutated versions of Earth animals, but there were other, less natural creatures – like the bat-monkeys they’d had to clear out of the station.

But deadliest of all were the scaled monsters like the one that had killed Trish and Tony. Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any others nearly that powerful; if they had, the settlement wouldn’t have made it. But the ones they had fought were just as dangerous, especially considering that they often targeted people much less powerful than Alyssa.

And the results had been predictable. To date, they’d lost almost two-dozen hunters and gatherers to the scaled monsters. But there was hope. The night that Trish had died, Alyssa had gained the ability to choose a class, and since then, ten others had done the same. It was slow-going, but if everyone gained a class, there was a chance that they could stand up to the monsters.

So, even if there was hope for their continual survival, it was tempered by the reality of their losses. Still, with spring had come solutions to some of their problems. A few of the Scholars had planted some crops, and a couple of the Tradesmen had figured out how to get power from scavenged solar panels. The yield wasn’t nearly what it should have been, but it was progress.

In short, after a hellish beginning to the end of the world, things had begun to look up. It was all different, but Alyssa thought they’d survived the worst of it.

Or at least, she hoped so.

“How is Roman?” asked Carmen.

Alyssa sighed. “Outwardly? He’s fine,” she said. “He’s doing everything right, and I think people recognize that.”

“But?”

“He’s still not over what happened to Trish.”

“Who would be?” asked Carmen. It had been months, but the Healer’s death still weighed heavily on the settlement’s leader.

“I don’t know. The problem isn’t that he’s still grieving. People expect that. It would humanize him. But he doesn’t let it show. For all everyone knows, he just kept going like normal. Meanwhile, only those of us who really know him can see just how much he’s hurting. I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “I don’t know how to help.”

“It’s not your responsibility,” Carmen reminded her. “He’s a grown man. If he doesn’t want to address it, there’s not really anything you can do.”

Alyssa sighed, then pushed away from her wife’s embrace. Standing, she said, “I know that. But I can’t help but feel…I don’ t know…”

“He doesn’t blame you, does he?” asked Carmen.

Alyssa shook her head. “No. I don’t think so, at least. Maybe? I don’t know. I blame myself, though.”

“That’s stupid. You couldn’t have done anything differently,” Carmen said without a hint of hesitation. “You did what you could. I know you don’t want to hear this, but Trish was never cut out for this world. You saw that on the first day when she almost got killed. She was always going to end up –”

Just then, there was a knock at the door, cutting Carmen off. Their cottage only had three rooms – a common area and a pair of bedrooms – but each space was incredibly small. So, it only took Alyssa two steps to reach the door. When she opened it, she saw Fiona, who’d established herself in a position of some prominence after what had happened in the cabin. Since then, she’d become the highest-leveled mage-type, and she’d distinguished herself on more than one occasion.

More importantly, she was Roman’s right-hand woman.

“The Chief needs you,” she said. Looking past Alyssa at Carmen, she said, “Both of you.”

“For what?”

Fiona shrugged. “No idea. He just said it’s important,” was her response, though Alyssa got the feeling that even if Fiona had known, she wouldn’t have let loose with the information. She wasn’t precisely hostile, but she wasn’t friendly, either.

“Alright. Let’s go then.”

After letting Miguel know what was going on, the trio set off across the settlement. It had grown quite a bit, and the area surrounding the old police station now featured dozens of buildings and other homes. Most weren’t more elaborate than four walls and a roof, but a few were a little more complex. It was further evidence that people had begun to adjust to the new world, especially considering that they’d started to move past the scarcity-induced policies of collective survival and into an economy based on barter. The various Tradesmen had begun to hawk their wares, and, as a result, better weapons, armor, and other goods had taken a leap forward.

For her part, Alyssa favored the spear, largely because of the class she’d received at level ten. She’d had a host of options, but none seemed quite as powerful as the one she had chosen. As they walked, she looked at her class’s description:

Class: Dragon Lancer

A powerful lancer meant to combat and kill the most dangerous foes.

Required Archetype:

Warrior

Required Achievements:

Slay a much more powerful creature with a spear or lance. Garner the loyalty of at least twenty people.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

First Ability:

Descending Dragon

Attribute Allocation:

Physical

Compatibility: 97%

She’d gained a couple of levels since then, and her attributes had experienced a huge jump with each level. She had also gotten three new abilities: Descending Dragon, Heart of the Dragon, and Heroic Leap.

At first, she’d considered Descending Dragon a niche ability, but upon reaching level twelve and gaining Heroic Leap, the synergy of the two abilities had forced her to reevaluate. Heroic Leap was just what the name implied, and it allowed her to leap much higher and travel faster through the air than her attributes would normally allow. On its own, it was a useful way to close with her enemies, and it gave her far more mobility than she could have otherwise expected. However, where it really shone was when paired with Descending Dragon.

Descending Dragon

Fall upon an enemy, dealing more damage based on distance fallen. Protected from falling damage while ability is active.

Alyssa had no way to gauge precisely how much damage she could do with the ability, but she did know that she could obliterate normal beasts, so long as she used Descending Dragon at the apex of a Heroic Leap. If her timing was off, the resulting blow would be less powerful.

As for Heart of the Dragon, it temporarily enhanced her attributes. In a way, it was similar to Enrage, but the effect was far less potent. The other differences were more important, though. Not only did it last longer, but it didn’t come with Enrage’s fury, allowing her to keep her wits about her.

Before the trio reached their destination, she checked her status as well:

Name

Alyssa Hart

Level

12

Archetype

Warrior

Class

Dragon Lancer

Specialization

N/A

Alignment

N/A

Strength

16

Dexterity

12

Constitution

12

Ethera

7

Regeneration

7

Attunement

None

Cultivation

Body

Core

Mind

Soul

Unformed

Unformed

Unformed

Unformed

Unlike the first ten levels, after choosing her class, Alyssa’s attribute allocation was automatic, and she’d gained two points in Strength as well as one each in Dexterity and Constitution per level. She worried a little about her low Regeneration and Ethera attributes, but at the moment, there wasn’t much she could do about it. Perhaps she could figure it out sometime in the future, though. After all, she suspected that, at some point, she’d choose a Specialization, which would likely give her more options for improvement. There was also the question of the four aspects of Cultivation to worry about. No one had figured out what any of that meant, but she expected it would only be a matter of time before they did.

Soon, the group reached the central building that had once been the police station. It looked much the same as it always did, though construction had begun to add additional floors. With the abilities granted by the Tradesman archetype, the architects of that plan had promised that it would soon be completed. One of them had even confessed that he envisioned a future where it grew to the size of a skyscraper. Alyssa thought the man – named Toby – was a bit off in the head, but Carmen had insisted that it was theoretically possible, especially if one of the other Tradesmen reached level ten and took something like an Architect class.

For her part, Carmen had chosen the Blacksmith class when she’d been offered the opportunity at level ten. She was the only member of the craftsman population to have reached such heights, but there were a few others who were snapping at the heels of her progress.

Once they entered the building, they had to pass through what had become a makeshift market-slash-headquarters, where people tried to organize the settlement’s supplies, defense, and gathering missions. It was a mess, but the building was easily the most secure location within the settlement, and so, it was the natural choice for such operations.

Soon, the trio found their way to the second level, where they passed a few old offices on their way to the one Roman had claimed. When they entered, Alyssa found her mind drifting back to what felt like ancient history. Roman looked much the same as he always did, which was to say he was lean, broad-shouldered, and dark haired. But his face bore a few extra lines, no doubt due to worrying about all the people who’d entrusted him with their security.

The office, though, was almost identical to what it had been before the world had transformed. The same photos. The same old football memorabilia. The same hunting trophies. It was like stepping out of a time machine.

Beside the great wooden slab of a desk was a man Alyssa vaguely recognized, though she couldn’t remember his name.

“What’s up, chief?” she asked.

“Sit,” he said, gesturing to the trio of chairs across from him. “We need to talk about something important.”

Alyssa did as he bade, though she had to keep herself from wilting under the intensity of his gaze. She knew he didn’t blame her for the death of his wife, but that didn’t help much with her guilt. As a result, she found it difficult to look him in the eye.

Carmen had no such issues, and she plopped down in the chair, throwing her arm over the back in a display of comfort Alyssa wished she could emulate. Fiona took a seat as well, looking like Carmen’s exact opposite. Where Carmen’s muscles had only grown larger and more defined, Fiona looked like she would blow away at the first hint of a breeze.

“Who’s the stiff?” Carmen asked, gesturing to the man. “Derek or something, right?”

He adjusted his glasses and said, “Dirk, actually.”

“Right. Sorry. I’m terrible with names. So, what’s going on, boss?” asked Carmen.

“Right,” Roman said. “Dirk here is a Scholar who just reached level ten.”

“Okay? He’s not the first,” said Alyssa.

Indeed, there had been a couple of other Scholars who’d managed to climb to level ten. One had taken a Horticulturist class, while the other had become an Administrator. But both had other choices like Banker, Teacher, and Philosopher. It had become common practice to respect peoples’ choices in regards to archetypes, but it was an undeniable fact that most of the townspeople looked down on Scholars because they offered little in terms of immediate survival. Some had found niches where they could be of use, but quite a few were nothing more than inferior laborers. There was even some sentiment that town should cease providing for them, and if they weren’t already ingrained in the burgeoning society, the idea would have probably gotten a little more traction.

Roman had given voice to the idea on more than one occasion, though never where anyone but his inner circle – including Alyssa – could hear.

“He has a unique class choice,” Roman said. Then, he told Dirk, “Go ahead. Tell them.”

The bespectacled man once again adjusted his glasses, then cleared his throat before saying, “Right. So, it’s called Envoy of the World Tree. The description is, ‘You have been chosen to represent the Cult of the World Tree. Doing so will legitimize your settlement and grant limited access to the Network.”

“Uh…what the hell does that mean?” Alyssa asked.

“That’s a damned good question,” Roman answered. “Dirk?”

“I don’t know. Not precisely. But you know how you kind of get an idea of what a class entails before you pick it?” he asked. They all had progressed past level ten, so they nodded. “Well, I get the impression that this one is…I don’t know…necessary.”

“How so?” asked Fiona, her first contribution.

“I have no idea. I just think it can help us survive somehow. The Network sounds like it might be some means of communication, right? So, maybe it will let us call for help.”

Roman said, “That’s what worries me.”

Carmen asked, “Calling for help?”

Alyssa answered before Roman did, saying, “It could be dangerous. I know we haven’t had much trouble with would-be warlords and the like, but we’d be stupid to assume they don’t exist out there. Someone gets a little power, and then…well, you know how it goes. It’s been the same throughout human history. There are always people out there who will abuse power to enslave or oppress everyone else. And with everything else…I mean, does anyone here think there aren’t bad actors out there? If we start calling for help, we might put a target on our backs.”

“Exactly,” Roman said. “Still, we can’t ignore this. For all we know, we’re completely wrong about how this works.”

“I think we have to do it,” said Carmen.

Fiona agreed, “We can’t ignore a chance like this. We’re already on the verge of ruin. Maybe this Network will give us a chance to do more than just survive.”

Roman nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. So, Dirk, we’re going to need you to take the class. But don’t do anything else, okay? Not until we know what we’re dealing with.”

Dirk nodded. “Alright, here it goes.”