You know what? This whole situation is a lot less scary when I think of the voices in my head as a status effect. It makes more sense too. I didn't ever get the voices until I chose the class, and the class gave me a title that literally tells me I go insane for the price of power, so I can put two and two together.

Wait a minute. Why have I not thought of this? Just ask the voices in my head what they are. Great idea!

"Hey there voice in my head! What are you exactly?"

...

"Oh, now you're silent. I see how it is."

...

"KEEP YOUR SECRETS FOR ALL I CARE!"

...

Yeah, I'm insane. Doesn't stop me from trying my darndest at living though. Speaking of which, I should probably start making an effort to do just that.

With my mind made up, I decide it's about time to stop goofing around, and start acting seriously. No matter how surreal this situation is, I shouldn't throw my life away. I may be a mentally-ill bastard, but at least I'm a fairly powerful mentally-ill bastard.

...

I need to stop getting lost in thought.

Anyway, attribute points. Almost forgot about them. What should I put them in?

"I would strongly recommend Wisdom..."

You seriously pick the worst times to chime in. I guess the information was helpful though. If there's one thing I've learned from schizophrenia documentaries, it's to always listen to the voices in your head.

So I do.

Name: Jacob Bates

Level: 5

Exp: 555/1500

Class: {Dark Magus} Race: Human Health: 165/165 Mana: 310/325 Strength: 13 Endurance: 10 Dexterity: 10 Agility: 12 Intelligence: 25 Wisdom:

20

Attribute Points:

0

Skills:

[Blood Trance] {Mire}

Titles:

[Cool Headed] [Murderer] [Monster] [Predator] [Sadist] [Traitor] {Cursed Mage}

I put 2 points into Intelligence and 8 into Wisdom. This was just to round them up to look more presentable. Who am I showing my stats to? The voices in my head of course. They seem nice enough.

After confirming the stat distribution, I feel new mana being inputted into my body, as well as the current mana being powered up slightly. The new mana is from Wisdom and the power of the mana is being amplified by Intelligence. The power kept coming and coming, and I could feel exactly how much stronger I was getting.

The feeling I was getting wasn't as pleasant as when I first put points into Intelligence, but it isn't as bad as when I chose the {Dark Magus} class either. It's a weird in-between feeling. It isn't so much worms infesting my body anymore as it is worms trying to give me a massage. They aren't great at it, but it's the thought that counts.

The process ended shortly after it started and I began to think clearly again. Well, as clear as a nut case such as myself can think.

I slap myself and note that I need to stop rambling.

"But I'm not rambling? Your thoughts are jumbled! You know what I mean!"

I am snapped out of my thoughts as my nose picks up on something. It smells like confusion and anxiety. Wait, what?

The point is I smell something that I didn't smell before, and as I look up, I see what exactly that was.

It's a group of 3 people. Humans. Humans other than Carl, whom I realize is dead on the ground a small ways away from me. Maybe they won't notice.

The group in front of me consisted of two men and a woman.

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The first man I noticed, looked to be old enough to be my dad. He was of Caucasian descent and had a moderate build. Not too muscular, not too fat, maybe a little skinny. He was the same height as me, 5"10. He wore a casual blue office shirt, with khakis. He doesn't look to have a weapon on him.

The other guy was a young black man with a large build. He was about Carl's height, maybe taller, being 6"2 or 6"3, towering over the other two. He was wearing a varsity jacket and jeans, making it obvious he was a jock of some sort. He had a full-sized shovel in his hands.

The woman was Caucasian like the first man but young like the other, with the smallest build of them all. She was at least 3 inches shorter than me, making her around 5"6 or 5"7. Not short per se, but comparing her to the two beside her, she was a munchkin. She was adorned in a button-up sweater with a light blue shirt on the inside. She had a metal baseball bat in her clutches, obviously too large for her to use effectively, as she is currently struggling to keep it above the ground.

I noticed a peculiarity with two of them. The white man with no weapon had his shirt drenched in blood, especially at his side. Looks to be a stab wound.

The other two seemed to be almost perfectly clean. The woman had a few small dots of blood near her shoulder, but even that didn't appear to be hers.

...

I still have time to think even after noting all of that? What's up with that?

"Your Intelligence allows you to think quicker, registering information at higher speeds, thus creating the illusion of time slowing down when you think."

You know what? I think I'm starting to like you.

The black man stepped forward with his shovel pointed in my direction, and spoke first.

"What happened here?!" The man boldly questioned.

Welp, might as well try and make a good first impression.

"A fight. A bloody one."

Not the best conversational skills I've ever displayed, but surprisingly not the worst.

They all looked taken aback. I don't blame them. I didn't exactly respond how someone surrounded by dead bodies would normally respond.

Not that any of them knew how someone surrounded by dead bodies would respond, but still, surprising nonetheless.

They all stayed silent for a moment before I took the initiative.

"I should...probably tell you EXACTLY what happened here huh?" I questioned.

They all looked even more bewildered than before, but their eyes were staring straight at me, ears perked up, obviously ready to listen.

I told them a majority of what happened, obviously leaving out a few parts.

"So you were attacked by that green thing, but you were saved by that big guy on the ground?" the woman of the trio queried.

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

The woman nodded in confirmation, seemingly taking all I said as fact.

I decided to add a little more in there to stir up some much-needed dialogue.

"So...any of you guys know what exactly's going on?"

The woman and black man turn and look at their injured friend, seemingly asking the same question with their faces.

The man speaks up.

"What are you looking at me for? I haven't got a clue," he exclaimed. "The only thing I know is that there are little green men running around stabbing people. If you wanna know how I found out, then just take a look at my side."

The man turned to the left, revealing where he had been stabbed to the right of his abdomen.

The woman looked down, revealing her feelings of shame.

Something happened between them and I can only guess as to what. The woman was probably attacked by a goblin, and this guy came to save her, only getting a stab wound for compensation. Poor guy.

Moments go by without a sound, but the bloodied man speaks up again.

"I also figured out something else," the man continued. "These blue boxes that appear every now and then...they're like the ones I see on my son's screen when he's playing his internet games."

I mentally applaud the man for coming to the same conclusion as me, albeit for a different reason.

The black man chimes in next.

"You mean to say this whole thing isn't real?"

The look on his face was that of anger for a moment and relief for the next.

The oldest man quickly responded.

"I never said this isn't real," he explained. "I just said this might be related to a game of sorts."

The jock looked at the man questioningly before dawning a look of defeat on his face. It looks as if he couldn't think of a better explanation.

I decided to try and lighten the mood.

"I probably should have started with this, but my name is Jacob. I work here. Well...I used to work here before the blue box you were talking about appeared. You guys have names?"

They all stopped to look at me before the injured man spoke again.

"Oh, how rude of us. I'm John, and I came to the store looking for some things for my wife when this all started. The blue boxes appeared in front of me, and before I knew it, creatures were coming out from these holes in the walls. This young lady to my left-"

he pointed to the young woman next to him.

"-was attacked by one of the said creatures, and I ended up killing the thing by tying a shoelace around its neck. I obviously didn't get out out of that unscathed, but I'll survive."

The woman looked down again, and the jock introduced himself next.

"I'm Peter. I came here to pick up some milk for my mom, and when I pulled the freezer door back, that's when I got the notification. I heard screaming, so I ran to hide behind a shelf. It eventually got knocked over, and I got trapped underneath it, but these two-"

He points to both his allies.

"They found me and helped me get free. I probably could have gotten out by myself, but I was...I was too scared."

Everyone looked down for a moment before looking at the girl.

She quickly spoke up.

"I'm Miya, and I came here for groceries like everyone else. You already heard this from John, but I was attacked by a monster, he swooped in, and the rest is history. I've been following John for these past few hours and we have been avoiding everything we've come across. That is until John figured out something about these blue boxes."

The bloodied man, now known as "John," spoke up at the mention of his discovery.

"It seems the boxes want to help us. It gave me a tip that the others somehow missed. It told me to try and say the word: 'Status.' I thought I was going crazy, but when I did as I was told, a screen appeared in front of me with a bunch of information about me. It had things like name, race, and...level."

Seriously? Did they not already know that?

"I already knew that," Peter added. "It gave me the tip too."

The girl nodded, confirming that she had also gotten the same tip they had.

Okay, at least they were all on the same track...

I was about to add something, but John beat me to it.

"In case you were wondering, the screen said I was level 3, but I don't know what that means exactly. Is that good? Is that bad?" John questioned. "There is so much I don't know."

"I know," I added. "Why don't we all announce our levels and stats to each other and see if there are any similarities. With that, we can form a baseline. If this is anything like a game, as you said, then the higher levels should have higher stats. If you remember to distribute your points, that is."

John looked as if a lightbulb clicked in his head.

"That seems like a good idea." He praised. "Let's get it out there then."

Peter and Miya looked at each other, then at John. Peter spoke out first.

"It says I'm level 0."

"I am too!" Miya chimed in.

It seems that they have yet to kill like John and I have. Welp, better start thinking up a story.

"Well, Jacob? How about you? What level does it say you are?" John asked.

I've made up my mind.

"It says I am level 0. Same as them." I pointed to Peter and Miya.

John nodded.

"I figured as much," John stated. "But that does give me an idea."

"Go for it." I encourage.

"I'm starting to think that people who kill monsters get rewarded with a higher level."

Oh Blood God, please smite me now.

"Be careful what you wish for..."

I take it back...