May 14, 2025; Clay sat in his lazy boy recliner and looked at the roll of money in front of him and the pistol that did have the serial numbers ground off by a rotary tool. The clip and extra .38 bullet set next to the gun and money. "So this is happening?" He took a deep breath and nodded to himself and then remembered what the voice had said in his dream.
He focused on a small golden orb just at the edge of his vision and after a second felt something give, like a water balloon except instead of water it contained information. Information flooded into his brain as he suddenly saw an interface overlay in green. The screen read.
Clay Benton, Human Male, Age 40
Level: 1
Class: Sovereign
Health Points: 210
Mystical Points: 20
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 10
Passive Abilities - Adaptable Conversion
Skills - Vicious Strike
Remaining ability points to be allocated: 4
"Ability points. Like for Strength or dexterity right, Kris?" He asked the voice. He thought that had been the name attached to the sultry female voice in his dream but his memory had been better! He had a lot to take in.
"Correct. Just focus on the ability you would like to increase and the amount of points you want to put into it and the system will automatically assign them per your wishes." Kris said.
"Ah, okay then. Let's try it." He focused on his strength and decided to put 2 points into it. He saw the interface change. It now showed he had 16 in strength and 2 remaining ability points to distribute. He felt like he got a little stronger. He couldn't explain it but he felt like he had gained strength.
"Nice!" He remembered playing video games with his brother when they were kids that had a similar layout. He wished he would have been a little more interested in it now! "Okay, then let's put the other 2 points into Wisdom bringing it to 12."
He focused and watched the display change to 12 and the available points to be allocated disappeared. He watched as his Mystical Points rose from 20 to 24. He couldn't tell that he'd gotten any wiser other than the numerical change in the display.
"Oh, that's nice. So raising my Wisdom gains me Mystical Points?" He asked.
"Each point of Intelligence or Wisdom you gain will increase your Mystical Points by 2." Kris said. "At certain level milestones, you will gain a slight increase in your Mystical Points as well."
He thought for a moment and chuckled. So this was fucking happening. "So we're screwed huh?"
Kris was quiet for a moment before she responded. "It'll take a little bit, but yes."
He sat there and looked at the table holding the roll of money and the gun for a long time before looking at his lunchbox, open on the floor holding the lump of meteorite. He finally decided he couldn't do anything immediately. And if it was going to take some time before shit really got bad then he was going to damn sure try to get ready to survive whatever else was coming.
He pulled out his tablet and started searching for things he knew he was going to need. He immediately noticed the Internet running extremely slow. So slow he decided he'd just look at the products and physically go to the store to buy them. At some point, he dozed off into a restless sleep.
The next morning he woke to his phone vibrating as the name displayed read "WORK". He answered it half asleep and listened as a monotone voice said, "Work will continue as normal. Please leave early to ensure you are on time and ready to be a productive team member. Remember, the logistics of our company ensures..." He ended the call and looked at the time.
"Seriously! Thirty minutes before my damn alarm." He fumed as he got out of bed. He showered and shaved as usual and made his way to work. He knew he had to walk so he stopped and grabbed a coffee at the corner and made his way down the street. He could see police tape fluttering and a chalk line of a person around where he had the altercation with the three thugs last night and made his way straight to work. He looked at the time and was a couple of minutes early.
The day went by smoothly, even though they were understaffed and by the end of the day the bus routes were running again in the City. So he took the opportunity to go to a few stores and pick up some supplies. Including a good rucksack, a bedroll, and some sturdy camping gear. He didn't buy to much though as he was riding the bus. Still, he felt a little better as he got home with some supplies.
Tomorrow he would see what else he could gather. If he was being honest he was going to have to bust out his bike and go into the suburbs to a sporting goods store if he could find a decent one. He ordered pizza and watched the news as the night passed. The reception only cut out twice that he recalled.
The next morning his alarm went off and he could hear a siren going off across the street as the fire department worked. He did his routine and left for work. The day was uneventful but being Friday he collected his paycheck with the substantial bonus and made his way to the bank. He was going to use the weekend to get some more supplies. He even grabbed another rucksack and filled it with supplies. Bought a crate of MRE rations that at least sounded decent, and several cases of water.
By Monday the news was that strange mutations had begun showing up in everything except humans. Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Snakes, Mammals, Fish...everything. It begins to rain. Everywhere around the world. Some places it is only a light drizzle or a mist. Other places are hit by heavy downpours.
And doomsday theorists were screaming the human species was next.
Most everything had returned to normal though within the City and trucks were in and out all day leaving Clay exhausted as he punched out and made his way to the bus stop. He had done various things to try to level up over the weekend but hadn't had any luck.
The week went by pretty smoothly. He passed up an opportunity to have dinner with Jill on Friday but felt good with the kiss she had given him after he politely declined to follow her up to her apartment. He liked her a lot and didn't want to make a bad impression on her mother. He hadn't showered and had just gotten off work like her.
The weekend crawled by. He still didn't manage to gain a level and he had trained his ass off at the gym. He felt better though. The boxing instructor complimented him on his defensive skills and striking capabilities. He still didn't gain a level.
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Thursday, the 29th he woke up to a small golden orb flashing at the very edge of his vision. He sat up and could see a system notice with a flashing (!) off to the right side of it. He focused on it and it opened.
"Worldwide System Seed initiated. New mutations activated. Congratulations. Your species genome is compatible with multiple other Sovereign species. The system has integrated the changes necessary and initiated the proper protocols." It read.
"What the fuck?" He asked. It really wasn't a question he was asking anyone. It was just his initial reaction. He read it again and closed it. "Well damn. I guess something is going to happen soon." He got up, got ready, and made his way to work. A lot of police were on the streets and several large green Lord of the Rings-looking orcs were being loaded up in a police van, not twenty feet from the bus stop.
A woman on the bus had a golden halo around her brown eyes. She tried to hide them behind sunglasses after an older woman brought attention to her. By the time he made it to work and clocked in he was immediately called to a meeting. They were down by another third of their normal manpower and everyone was exhausted due to receiving the System Seed. So work was about as hectic as it could be and Clay was drained by the time he clocked out.
Jill walked to the bus stop with him and she was quite excited about the new system. She had selected the Mystical Warrior starting class. Clay has no idea you could pick your class. He was almost jealous but then again she was level 0 and her stats were all 10 across the board. His starting package had been much better and he wasn't going to complain. She asked about his class and he told her "Sovereign. And I didn't get to pick my class."
She was surprised for a moment but then asked him if it was a good class. He shrugged and said, " I think so. I gained a Passive Ability. Not exactly sure how to use it yet or how good it might be though."
Her bus was pulling up and she asked him hurriedly. "Umm, Clay," her cheeks flushed crimson as she continued, "Would you like to have dinner with me Saturday." He was about to decline her invitation but she quickly added, "My mother is going to my brother's house in California for the summer and I had the apartment to myself and I just thought..." She bit her lip as the bus stopped and opened the door.
"Sure, Jill. I'd love to dear." He gave her a wink and she seemed to get even happier.
She waved and giggled as she said, "Great! I'll see you at 7, hun." As she got on the bus. She didn't see or hear his sigh. It had taken a lot for him to accept her invitation. But he honestly didn't see Jill ever turning into the bitch his ex-wife was.
His bus pulled up right after her's left and he was quiet as he went home, deep in thought. There was a much greater Police presence around the streets and he couldn't help but think about heading home to Missouri. His brother Jake had been a survivalist and had even sunk a small fortune into a damn bunker he had given him an undue amount of ribbing over. Now Clay could only think about getting there and pretty soon too.
"DING! System Side Quest activated. The host must return home. If completed, the host will be able to select from the following Abilities or Skills. Cast Iron Stomach. Minor Spatial Storage. Summon Familiar. Healing Light. Dark Bolt." Kris said.
"Well damn." He said out loud as his bus slowed down for his stop. A few people looked at him, but quickly disregarded him when they seen he wasn't speaking to any of them. He made his way off and started to his building. He was almost to the door when he heard a woman's muffled cry from the alleyway. He knew he should just ignore it and go inside but it had started drizzling while he was on the bus and he was already soaked from the walk from the bus stop so he figured he would take a look.
It was probably just a prostitute peddling her wares but you never knew nowadays. He peeked around the corner and could see one man holding a woman down and another forcing himself in between the woman's legs. Something was shoved in her mouth and the first man was holding both of her arms pinned above her, one hand grasping her breast as she tried to thrash around. She had a dark red mark on one cheek from where she had been struck hard.
"Hey, get off her you fuckin' douchebags!" He yelled as he rounded the corner, already running towards them. As the first man looked up Clay realized two things. One, this was the same guy that ran away from him the night three of them had tried to rob him. And second, he was fucking green and much more muscular. And was that tusk's?
He didn't think to much more as he swung his lunchbox right into his surprised face. The impact shattered the plastic igloo lunchbox but sent the man sprawling on the pavement. He turned to the second man and swung his fist as he said, "Vicious Strike!"
His fist impacted the man's nose and Clay saw it flatten on his pockmarked face. Blood gushed out of it as he crumbled to the ground, he had only been on his knees and the force of Clay's strike knocked him backward. The woman scrambled up, pulling out whatever cloth was in her mouth, he thought he recognized her from one of the buildings nextdoor but wasn't sure. She ran into the street crying as Clay noticed the first man scrambling up himself.
He pulled a switchblade out and lunged at Clay. He barely managed to dodge it as he drove his fist into the orc-looking bastard's sternum, driving the wind out of him. He grabbed a handful of curly black hair and viciously drove his knee into the man's face. He heard and felt bones crunch under the impact and he instantly regretted it as his knee felt like it had been frogged. "Shit, you have a hard head!" The man didn't go down though. The blow had stood him straight up and stopped him dead in his tracks.
Clay dodged a swipe of the knife and slammed his fist into the side of the man's head with a right hook. Followed it with a left jab and took the opportunity to disarm the dazed man, the blade clattered onto the asphalt. He dodged a wild swing from the man's large green fist and seeing his opportunity from the man being overextended and wide open, swung a haymaker at the man's square jaw. "Vicious Strike!" He said.
The blow caught the man on the jaw and Clay watched as his head twisted at an odd angle, snapping violently as he heard a "pop". The green man with tusks fell to the ground in a puddle of dirty water as the drizzle picked up to a steady, slow rain. He could hear footsteps running up behind him and he went ahead and put his hands up. His pulse pounded in his ears as his adrenaline dumped.
"DING! Congratulations! Level 2 obtained. 4 unassigned Ability Points gained." Kris said as he was roughly grabbed, handcuffed, and thrown into a car. He could see the woman he had saved talking to a Sargent and pretty quickly an ambulance showed up and then what seemed like twenty fucking more SUVs sporting Chicago's finest.
"Fuck. I might have messed up." He said to himself. "That guy was big, but maybe I shouldn't have swung so hard." He shut up as he saw the sergeant stop talking to the woman and let her be led off to the ambulance. Another ambulance pulled up and the Sargent followed them into the alley.
Ten minutes later he came out shaking his head. After speaking with a couple of officers he turned and made his way to Clay. As soon as the door opened he could feel the temperature was dropping. The sergeant had Clay's wallet in his hand as well as several statement papers. "Mr. Benton?" Clay nodded, resigning himself to the worst.
"Mrs. Winters said you saved her from those two." He nodded towards the alley and Clay noticed the man who he initially knocked out, was being led out by two officers, a gurney carried the big green man out in a black body bag. Clay winced.
"You are pretty good with your hands Mr. Benton. Don't worry, I'm not arresting you. I need a statement and then you can go home. We'll send you a court date." Seeing Clay's shoulders slump he added, "Don't worry. You did a damn good thing! I'll make sure you don't get in any trouble." He clapped Clay on the shoulder. "Let's get those cuffs off you."
"It was the right thing to do Sir." Clay said as he looked at the body bag on the gurney. "I didn't mean to do...that."
The sergeant handed Clay a coke as he asked him questions about the encounter with the two men, starting with hearing the muffled cry through the fight, right up to the point he was detained. After that the sergeant let him go home. He couldn't fucking believe it!
He didn't question it, he hurried into his building and feeling exhausted, took a hot shower and soaked. Feeling a little refreshed and famished he ordered some Chinese food through door dash and watched the News as he ate.
So far two distinct mutations have been found among the population worldwide. Roughly a third of the 8 billion people around the world mutated into one of the two.
The first mutation mentioned in the human genome is what people are calling the "Saint Mutation". These people look exactly like they did before the mutation except for a gold or sometimes silver halo that hung around their pupils. They can produce a healing aura through their hands, have enhanced Strength and Wisdom scores, and only need around 4 hours of rest to be fully rested. Clay whistled as he listened to the report.
The next report was bad and pertained to the other mutation linked to our genome. The "Orc Mutation" as it was dubbed unanimously worldwide. These people develop pointed ears, larger lower canines, and excess muscle mass, and have enhanced Strength and Dexterity. Their skin turns a pale, pea-green and their eyes develop a reddish haze that allows them to see just as well in the dark. Worst of all, their initial transformation was very painful and caused an aggressive sex drive that was very difficult for them to control.
However, roughly one percent of the mutated "Orcs" grows thinner. These people become passive and refuse to do violence, even when provoked or to defend themselves to their misfortune. People have already been reported for forcing themselves onto these people.
The next morning he was feeling rejuvenated and after his normal routine, he made his way to work stopping to get a sausage-egg and cheese biscuit on the way. A lot less people seemed to be out. Especially for a Friday.
He clocked in and said hello to Jill, picked up his first invoice and noticed Tonya hiding behind her desk. He thought Jill looked nervous but he didn't say anything.
At noon, though, a commotion down on the loading dock caught his attention but he was busy eating lunch. However, after he clocked back in and finished the truck he had been loading he found the office empty of all three of the company Secretaries. Something he'd never seen before. He could hear an argument downstairs and then a gunshot caused him to duck reflexively.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" His brain screamed as the first thing that he thought of was an active shooter in the warehouse. That's when he heard Dillon's voice as he yelled over the screaming.
"Shut the fuck up! The government declared martial law and every fucking thing is collapsing right now! This is my Goddamn warehouse now. You all work for me. Do a good job and you'll be rewarded." Clay was close enough to see the group by a small storage closet used for cleaning supplies. Dillon motioned to the door. "I might even let you take a turn with one of them."
He heard Mary yell from inside the closet, "Fuck you pig!"
Clay heard one of the men standing nearby says, "Dillon, this ain't right man. Let's just let them..."
Whatever he had been about to say cut off as a loud "BANG!" sounded amongst the crowd and he heard Mary scream as the man that had spoken up dropped clutching his stomach in pain.