The two of us wake up not long after the light begins streaming in through the bedroom window. I immediately check my Status, partially to make sure nothing is horribly off, and mostly because I want to be sure that all the events from yesterday actually happened.
[Name: Seraphina Mortensen]
[Level: 3]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 174 / 174; [Ether]: 64 / 64; Current Experience: 85; To Next: 25]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 12; [Speed]: 14, [Vitality]: 19; [Mind]: 21]
[Class: [Planetouched Mechanist]]
[Class Skills: [Tinkerer], [Flash of Insight]. 4 Open Class Skills Remaining]
[General Skills: [Basic Ether Manipulation, Rank I]. 5 Open General Skills Remaining]
[Unique Trait: [Touched by the Multiverse]]
Well, it appears that either the apocalypse did happen yesterday and I’m as healthy as can be, or I’m still in a hallucination that no amount of pinching myself is going to get me out of.
I pool two points of my [Ether] into my palm and practice manipulating it some more. I still have trouble compressing it as much as I’d like, so I try other things. I try swirling it about like a top, which goes well. I try stretching it out into a torus, and that nearly explodes in my face. I’m thankfully able to dissipate the energy before it causes anything more than a light flash, and quickly decide to save future testing of my abilities for somewhere that’s not my best friend’s bed. Chloe’s indignant evil eye redoubles my commitment to that decision.
“By the way, I talked with your mother for a few minutes last night,” I say. “She called after you were already asleep, and considering everything that happened yesterday, I felt she should know that we were both okay. Apparently there were some riots downtown and she’s holed up in her office complex while the police try to get a handle on the situation.” I pause for a few moments. “I decided not to wake you up to tell you; figured there wasn’t anything we could do about it, and you deserved your rest.”
She takes a moment to think about it. “I’m glad she’s okay. And thanks for thinking about me.”
I give her a thumbs up. “That’s what friends are for, right?” I don’t correct her misconception that her mother is necessarily still fine now. She probably realizes it as well, but better to maintain the illusion.
“What about your parents?” she asks. “Did you let them know?”
“I messaged them letting them know that I was staying at your place. I didn’t get a response back from either of them.”
“Do you think–” She trails off.
The thought hits a bit closer to home when I think about my own parents. Considering that neither of them work in the greatest parts of town, nor with the most stable and well-adjusted populations, I can’t dismiss the possibility outright.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “I’d like to just say that they’re both definitely alright and at home and waiting for me to let them know to pick me up, but I can’t say either way.”
Chloe nods. “How did things go last night otherwise?”
“I didn’t make as much progress with [Tinkerer] skill as I would have liked. I think that I might have to wait until I get more examples of Ether-based technology to work with before I can really make use of it. However, I did gain the [Basic Ether Manipulation] skill, and I think it could be useful for you as well.”
“Oh? I think I have that skill, actually. Got it as a class skill. It’s supposed to help me cure illnesses and other diseases that affect the body’s system of Ether flow. I’m not entirely sure about how that works either.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little strange?” I ask. “The System is giving us these Skills, but not the information to contextualize exactly how our Skills work or how best to make use of them? That part seems kind of odd.”
“Maybe we’ll find out more later?”
“Maybe. Maybe it’s our responsibility to figure out how best to use these abilities.” Especially me. I guess this is the price I pay for having such an amazing class that explicitly asks that I study and understand the System and its technology. I silently request a little assistance. I swear I hear the sound of someone blowing a raspberry in response.
“Huh,” Chloe says.
“Did something catch your attention?”
“Well, it seems that there’s a pretty large new dungeon that sprouted up a few miles away.”
“You already have one of those in the basement.”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “The president is supposed to give a speech about the System this afternoon. Apparently the government is still insisting that it’s some mass hysteria event, even as the death toll rises.”
“Is it all people trying to start The Purge in the pursuit of gaining levels? Mass hysteria leading to rioting? The System reshaping the landscape and leveling people’s homes? All of those?”
“Those, some accidents with powers, some people trying really stupid shit of all varieties and… Speaking of ‘oh shit’, apparently strange monsters have started appearing pretty much everywhere.”
“Like giant rats and spiders?”
Chloe gives me the bird. Again! I didn’t even deserve it that time! I throw my hands up and lean back a bit in an attempt for mercy.
“Yes. Among others. Packs of wolves, bears casually shrugging off gunshots and… Sera, do these look like little devils to you?”
I look at the picture on her phone. About two feet tall, red skin, devilish horns, carrying little pitchforks, maniacally cackling as they light things on fire and cause general mischief, traveling in packs of six to eight.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
“Devils, imps, gremlins, or something else that came to Earth, direct from hell, courtesy of our friend the System.”
“Well, we should probably make breakfast, and sooner rather than later. I’d rather not fight literal hellspawn on an empty stomach.”
“Me neither. Do you have bacon and eggs? That sounds really good right now.”
“Not sure if we have any bacon. I think we can do ham and eggs though.”
“And cheese?”
“Yes, Sera. I know how much you love cheese. We always keep some around for you.”
I immediately rush down the stairs, stopping only long enough to grab my toys from the previous night and start grabbing everything we need for omelettes. My celebration is short lived when I notice an odd scratching sound coming from the back door. I grab my baseball bat and peer over to a nearby window and— Oh shit!
“Chloe! Our friends, the hellspawn, are here!”
“What the f–” she says, stumbling down. “Sera, that’s not funny! And I said–”
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that. Not at a time like this.”
“Oh for the sake of– Damnit all!” She sighs. “Do you have any ideas, Sera? You’re the one who can do the most with improvised weaponry.”
“If I had a few more days, I probably would have. And I’m sure they’re going to break a window sooner or later, so…”
I turn to the block of knives sitting on the countertop and pick up the two largest ones. I soak my— really, Chloe’s— shirt with water. It’s cold and I might be looking a bit indecent, but if these bastards really have some sort of [Fire Manipulation] type of skill, I’ll deal with being a bit showy in front of my bestie for a few minutes.
“Stay behind me, and keep your healing ready.” I hand her the Ether canister. “Focus on healing, and if your [Ether] runs low, use it.”
I’m glad that Chloe is starting to adjust to the world around us. Strangely, I feel more at home now than I did before the System arrived. Not that I logically should say such things given it’s barely been half a day before. But the fighting, the danger, the conflict, the prospect of strengthening myself. All of this is… nostalgic in a way. My old world must have had a System very similar to this one. If not exactly the same.
But then, why did I leave my old world? And why did I get rid of my memories? Was I forced out? Did something take my memories from me? Was it the System that did so? And how did I end up being reborn as a girl from Earth? I– I want to know the answers to these questions and many more, but the scratching and knocking at the back door is more urgent, if not important.
I open the door and stab at the devil nearest me with both hands. It breathes fire directly at my chest, but the flames find no purchase against Chloe’s wet shirt. I lunge forward toward the devil’s torso. It proves a crafty and nimble creature, and dodges, but I still manage to score its arm. Green blood spurts forth, and I can only praise the System that it’s not acidic, bubbling at the porch and the leaves. I curse the thought, not wanting to give it any ideas it might not already have.
I get hit with a pair of small fireballs. My forearm singes with pain at the blow, but the lingering water from dousing myself means the flames fortunately don’t take and spread. The rush of adrenaline and other endorphins blocks out most of the pain as I kick the hellspawn nearest me and send it flying into a brick wall. Another quick thrust and my knives find purchase in the damnable creature’s neck. A System notification confirms the kill and I move on to the other five.
They prove more quick and annoying than actively dangerous. Which isn’t to say that their pitchforks being jammed into my asscheeks doesn’t sting like hell, because they certainly do. Not to mention the indignity of it all, and the fact that Chloe looks increasingly pissed about how her clothing that she has generously allowed me to wear has turned to so much confetti. But their attacks are only doing seven to ten points of damage per strike, and Chloe is able to heal for around fifty points every ten seconds.
“Ow!” I scream as one of the bastards squeezes one of my breasts. I grab its neck and grip it with all the strength I can muster. I throw it to the ground, and a stomp to the head precedes another notification.
I add ‘make a suit of armor with some real defensive properties’ to my list of priorities. I’m sure there’s gotta be something I can make out of the materials I have on hand.
My musing is interrupted by yet another pitchfork trying to ram its way up my backside! Because seriously, after a pretty good first day of the apocalypse, I get to wake up to some pricks trying to jam things into me that are most unwelcome and do not belong!
I settle on the most appropriate way of dealing with the gremlin. I yank its pitchfork out of my butt, grab it by the neck, and skewer it straight through like a shish kebab. Or, at least, I try. I don’t manage to make it particularly far. My low [Strength] makes me incapable of striking through even these tiny bones, and so I have to settle for another neck snap before throwing the devil against the fence and out of my misery for good.
I channel a unit of [Ether] through the pitchfork, wondering if I can make any use of it. And to my surprise and great delight, I’m able to generate a small flame that appears on the tip. Two units instead and the sphere becomes about twenty-five percent larger. A third unit and it increases to a bit under a hundred and fifty percent of its original size. Good to know that there’s a proportionality between the amount of [Ether] I use and the volume of flame I produce.
I rush back over to Chloe, who’s able to get in small potshots in between healing the two of us and dodging what attacks she can. Thankfully, these gremlins are too stupid to prioritize her over me, and so she hasn’t suffered more than a few pokes in the sides and other not so inappropriate places. I charge up ten units of [Ether] into my palm, compress it with my [Basic Ether Manipulation], and then throw a [Flash of Insight] into the three remaining gremlins, ensuring that Chloe is unaffected.
The creatures shriek with guttural, hellish sounds befitting their origin. With my new weapon, small and unwieldy though it is, the two of us are able to make quick work of our unwelcome breakfast guests. Scarcely a minute goes by before the two of us are catching our breaths, with Chloe healing the remainder of our injuries. System notifications confirm that the battle is over, and we rush back inside and lock the door before anything else tries to interrupt our meal.
Chloe collapses into the chair, and I follow once I’ve gotten us each a glass of ice water. I quickly down mine as I scroll through the notifications that I’ve been dismissing until now.
[You have equipped a [Small Fiendish Pitchfork]. Attack +6. Special Property: Wielder can cast [Conjure Flames] as though they had the Skill. Usable at will.]
[You have slain six Lesser Hellspawn (Level 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3). You have gained 80 Experience.]
No doubt, the asshole that jammed that pitchfork up my asshole somehow leveled up for doing so. And no matter how much Chloe has healed me, I’m going to feel the lingering pain every time I crap for a week. Mentally if not physically for sure.
[Unique Trait [Touched by the Multiverse] increases Experience gain to 120]
[You have gained enough experience to reach Level 5. [Vitality] +2, [Mind] +2. Please allocate stat points (Remaining: 6)]
I allocate 3 points of [Vitality] during the first level, then one point to [Speed] and two points to [Mind] during the second. Even without any effects that make good use of it, the stat distribution of my class suggests that the stat is important for me.
[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x2 + Current Level + Rand[1, 3] = (51, 56)]
[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0, 2] = (28, 31)]
[Level: 5; Experience: 205; To Next: 145]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 264 / 281; [Ether]: 105 / 123]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 12; [Speed]: 15; [Vitality]: 24; [Mind]: 25]
[You have upgraded [Basic Ether Manipulation (Rank I)] to [Basic Ether Manipulation (Rank II)]
The two of us finish processing our levels at the same time. We turn to each other. “Another shower first, then breakfast?” we both say in unison. We nod and giggle at how we’re on the same wavelength, then we go do just that.