"All clear" I hear from above, the guy in front of us motions over at the cleared area "Follow me, the cars are just here for added defense". There is a path through the placed vehicles but you need to weave around a bit. "Wait here, I'll try and find Joan."

"If shes busy don't worry about it, I am mainly here to drop people off and head back out" not wanting to be delayed as it was late already, Then Karen pipes up "what about my daughter!"

"It shouldn't be a problem, she is coordinating the defense and we have teams out rescuing people. you said your name's Ben?"

Before I can answer from across the way one of the guys with a re-bar staff shouts "Ben! Is that you?"

Looking over I see one of the guards from earlier heading towards us waving his arm around. Lifting my arm up in a wave I say to my guide "Yeah, I'm Ben" turning to the two following me I add "I think we're gonna be here a bit guys, I guess relax and I'll find you before we head out and see if you still want to go with me."

With an 'Ok' from both Sam and Thomas I head towards.....John or maybe Rick? behind me Karen's voice gets frantic but I ignore her, that part of my night is done.

"BEN! Good to see you." holding his hand out we shake "you are John or Rick I think."

"I'm John, Rick's out helping another group of people. This night is crazy after you left we had another, smaller wave of beetles chasing a group of people. Since then we've had multiple groups all heading towards the lights we have here, every one of them with the craziest stories. I mean 10 minutes ago we must of killed over a 60 mosquitos that were the size of my fist. Where's your bird?"

"He's around, it's to crowded here and someone would probably attack him, we just took care of some giant spiders that were just down the road. That's where those three came from." Pointing back at the bewildered looking trio "they were webbed up and looking to be spider chow."

"We heard gun shots from that direction, was that you? Giant spiders, how big?" Holding my hand up to my chest and then spreading my arms out he adds "Seriously, that's just wrong. Joan wanted you to see her if you showed back up. Check this out." Holding up his rebar staff he stares at it for a second and I see the tell tale flash of a skill and Mana Energy use as the end turns reflective and an ice tip appears about six inches long. "I couldn't get your dark fire to work but Ice, I can do ice magic. Haha"

"That's pretty cool John. How many people are here?" Noticing people everywhere, even camped out in the cars and mini vans making up the inner perimeter. "You expanded to fill the whole area it looks like, and left one lane open for speeding SUVs. Haha."

"Walk this way if you don't mind talking to Joan again, she is just over there" John points over the way. "I think with the three you just brought in we must be over 90 now, though we expect the buses to show up shortly and take away the civilians. Anyone needing help is being taken to a one of the arena's so they are easier to defend as a group. We have more military and police helping now and most of the main roads are being cleared. Anyone who can get here in a car is welcome to head out but we try to warn them it's not much safer farther out."

"What's the story with the guy up top." I motion back towards the sniper nest.

"That's Kyle, I believe he is an Army Ranger. He was staying at one of the nearby hotels and saw our lights. He wandered in to join us just a little while ago. He has a Rifleman class or something. He purchased an option to systemize his weapon from the starting store so at least we have ranged damage now with him and Chris, He just has a normal rifle but he's keeping watch the other direction."

In the distance I hear another "Incoming" I can just make out screams getting closer from the south of us. With my Perception I can make out a large group of people running in the dark, several children frantic and exhausted as they are dragged and carried along by the running adults, behind them dark shapes are leaping in and grabbing the stragglers.

A loud voice from behind me "Form up, prepare to help."

I add in a louder voice "More than twenty people, with children, to the south being attacked by something. They are just coming up the road."

Still undecided how to assist them, and before I could act a few things happened. First one of the guys sitting at a picnic table shoots a flare into the sky. Second the eleven people using the rebar staves run towards the running people and the shadowy creatures. Third two people begin to push and roll the cars out of the way creating an opening so the people could run into the area without stopping.

Standing the with a dumb look on my face I watch as two guns one from the west and one from the east start firing, the re-bar wielders, now that's a band name, let the running figures pass them then began to attack......shadows? Even in the light of the flare slowly falling from above and the two spot lights now aimed in their direction the forms are gray and black and actively blending with the shadows cast by the light. The shadows and darkness seemed to absorb the light leaving them shadowy and hard to track.

Each staff user had a power, John was on the left and his ice tipped staff was impaling one of the shadows causing the shadows to freeze, next to him another man had a staff sheathed in light dripping sparks as it fought the beasts, the light from his staff causing the blending effect of the beasts to fail. Another person was spinning theirs like a baton causing a tornado like vortex to grab three of the dogs....? and throw them into the side of a truck. A pair of ladies were stomping and with a thrust a wave of force split two of the shadow dogs....? Down the middle. I was able to identify one before they killed it.

Canine / Night Coyote / Level 2 / Agility / Shadowed Stealth

Another team raced forward and collected the cores and moved the bodies off the road, three of the staff wielders disappeared into the dark and found two of the people the Night Coyotes had grabbed, on their return the cars were rolled back into place and life resumed, with more people added to the area. two people looking like ambulance crew saw to the wounded, using skills began to heal the injured. I realized there was nothing for me to do to help.

John and I arrived at an easy up set up against the cement barrier and a delivery truck. Maps were set up on the side of the vehicle and inside I could see boxes of cores and piles of random stuff? Joan was sanding there talking on an old school walkie talkie, not a cool military one, more a radio shack kids party version. Turning around she spots me with John and mutters into the radio "We will see you soon, The man I've been looking for just got back, Out."

"Ben. I was hoping I'd see you again." pointing around at the set-up she adds "What do you think of my command center?"

"It's something else, I'm not sure what you've got going on here."

"Well, In small part it's thanks to your timely rescue. We checked in with our supervisor and discovered the cell phones were going out, luckily we had a crew still out and they brought us good old walkie talkies. Three of the other checkpoints were overrun but we were able to share some of the information from you and we now have a patrol using busses to collect people, six main checkpoints to help anyone as they try and escape this disaster, and you've seen our re-bar spears, they are modeled after you, haha"

"It's a little much to take in, I wasn't here that long ago."

"We were already set-up for some type of disaster and in place before......everything started, and between people disappearing and cell phones going out it's been crazy. We were able to switch over to radios before the phones stopped and with being positioned here at a crossroads, people keep showing up, usually being chased by something strange or crazy. The biggest thing was your advice on learning to use Mana Energy, it helped us learn new skills quickly.

"I brought a few people with me, one or two will probably need help. I might hang out here a bit though if you don't mind, maybe hitch a ride on the bus if it heads West."

"You are welcome to whatever you need, I'm not sure we would still be here without your timely aid." The radio in her hand crackles "2 minutes away, over." Responding with a "Received, over." she looks at me and adds "The bus convoy is almost here, that should free up some space. Can I get your help with Mana Energy before you go?"

"Sure thing, I'm just going to sit for a bit and go over my stats and stuff"

From the East of our position I could hear rumbling engines approaching, many of them. Next headlights began to light up the road, over the noise of the engines I could hear the screech of something angry in the sky, and the occasional shot sounding off from the convoy?

Darkvision and my Perception allow me to see a bat......a big bat......a big bat crossed with a raccoon, maybe.

Unknown / Batcoon / Level 5 / Agility - Dexterity - Speed - Intelligence / Ability - Hunt in the Dark / Stunning Shriek - Silent Flight - Bandit Snatch - Sharp Claws

"Ooooookayyy...." Switching to my warrior class

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Basic Class - Warrior/Ranged

Attributes Strength +1, Agility +1, Perception +1

-Class Skill - Increased Accuracy and Speed. When attacking with a ranged weapon your speed and accuracy are increased.

-Luck and Perception allow for increased one shot kills and critical and disabling hits.

-Class Item: Generic System Mana Rifle

----------------------------------------

I move to a position near the edge of the encampment and draw out my Mana Rifle, Taking aim on the....Batcoon?Concentrating on using my Mana Energy with each shot I fired three round bursts. Still a ways out I Aim for crippling shots, each of my strikes has a visible effect as bits of leathery skin and chunks of bone or cartilage go flying with every strike. Concentrating on one side my rifle throws overpowered rounds at the wing causing the bat to over correct and fall from the sky. With a loud "Kraaaaaa!" The Raven strikes from above tearing gouges in the raccoon like face. Behind me other weapons open fire on the falling creature, most rounds bouncing off, missing completely, or causing minimal damage.

While we pepper the beast with shots the 2 buses, 3 rvs, and 4 jeeps pull up alongside our area. I can hear the sniper joining in now with his oversized rifle.

Boom....Boom

The bat thing crashes to the ground behind the convoy and the final kill is granted to The Raven who grabs the core and flies away before people realize the battle is over.

The new group is a mix of military, police, civilians, and tourists. The blank look on many of the faces makes it easy to spot the difference between the people who were rescued versus the grim determination in the body language of the people in charge. More spotlights and exterior lighting from the rvs pop-on lighting up the area even brighter ruining the last of my Darkvision. Someone even has drones flying around with powerful LEDs shining in all direction the sound of the whirring blades overridden by the mass of people, but the drones are easy to spot as they illuminate the lines of cars along the road.

A huge man in camouflage exits the lead jeep his authority immediately apparent, More people exit the vehicles and soon he is surrounded by people with a variety of weapons and odd equipment. Some of the equipment is normal military gear but here and there the tell tale signs of system gear is easy to see.

More and more people are disembarking from the buses and RVs. Filling up the available space. Some people are obviously wounded, and again before I can switch classes and help the two people in ambulance uniforms start forwards and began using some type of healing Magic.

With the arrival of what must be her supervisor Joan has disappeared, Which leaves me free to relax for a few minutes. There's a small set up for drinks, So I grab a water and a bag of chips. Find a spot at one of the tables, Not sure where Sam and Thomas went, I'll worry about them later.

If the night is going to be this chaotic I think I need to pick a another class to advance or combine, I like my skirmisher class but maybe a ranged option would be better so I can get less up close and personal all the time. realizing I'm covered in a variety of....just yuck.

With a deep breath I can feel my body relax as i'm now surrounded by people. Especially people who seem to have their shit together. Time to check out my Stats and Skills it's really hard to remember all this stuff.

Name - Benjamin Bateman

Also Known As - Ben

Active Title: -

Race - Human

Active Class - (b) Warrior/Ranged

Inactive Class - (a) Stealthy Skirmisher, (b) Gambler, (b) Card Mechanic, (b) Drunkard, (b) Crafter, (s) Parkourist, (b) Medic, (s) Opportunist, (s) Gunfighter, (s) Visionary, (s) Courier, (s) Scavenger, (s) Pathfinder, (s) Restorer, (u) Spatial Artificer

Level - 4

Loyalty - None

Notoriety - None

Health - 308

Passive Health Regeneration - 28 per hour

Mana Energy - 484

Mana Energy Regeneration - 66

Stamina - 94

Stamina Regeneration - 172 per hour

Class Points - 14

Attributes:

Mind: 20

-Intelligence - 11

-Wisdom - 3

-Willpower - 6

Body: 20

-Endurance - 6

-Strength - 7

-Vitality - 7

Movement: 23

-Dexterity - 10

-Agility - 6

-Speed - 7

Awareness: 21

-Perception - 13

-Mana Sense - 8

Class Attributes:

-Luck +10 (100%)

-Resistance +2 (20%)

-Intimidation +5 (50%)

-System Contracts +5 (50%)

Affinities:

-Healing Magic / Unlocked (+2)

-Ice Magic Unlocked (0%)

-Spatial Affinity / Unlocked (+1)

-Smell / Enhanced (+1/10%)

Other:

-Mana Energy Manipulation / Unlocked (+7)

-Spatial Manipulation (+2)

-Pain Tolerance +2 (20%)

-Poison resistance +2 (20%, Alcohol)

Skill List:

Gamblers Luck +2 (20%)

Lucky Draw

Poison resistance +2 (20%, Alcohol)

Simple Bluff

Read Tells

Sleight of hand

Purify Liquid

Pain Tolerance +2 (20%)

Chill Liquid (Unlocks Ice Magic)

Mechanics

Tracking

Cooking

Running

Jumping

Climbing

First Aid (Unlocks Healing Magic)

De-Tox

Knots

Spot Bluff

Calculate Odds

Concentration

Unarmed Combat

Forage

Cartography

Firearms Proficiency

Quick Reload

Steady Aim

Small Firearms/Gun Proficiency

Fast draw

Stealth

Clear Sight

Translate, Written

Zoom

Basic Piloting

Swimming/Water Travel

Blacksmithing

Repair Small Item

Diagnostics

Salvage

Treasure Sense (Advanced)

Concealment

Tracking

Locksmith

Simple Mechanics

Disarm / General

Construction

Forgery

Spatial Affinity / Unlocks Spatial Magic

Danger Sense

Critical Strike

Weapon - Basic Staff

Medical - Check Pulse / Life Sense

Sprint

Charge

Speed Bash

Scan

Staff Attack - Critical Strike

Attack - Precision Targeting

Advanced Identification

Stun Attack

Darkvision

Penetrative Shot +2 (20%)

Basic Sword Handling

Sword Thrust

Burning Slice

Enhanced Skill - Dark Fire - Weapon (Advanced)

Scavenge

Heightened Awareness (Passive) - Mana Energy - Items

Looking over everything I study the Class Points. I received 16 from my original classes, 4 from each level I gained, and I used 5 to advance my Brawler class into my Skirmisher class. If I want to advance something ranged I have my two options of the basic level Ranged Warrior Class with the Mana Rifle or the Specialist Class Gunfighter with a Mana Pistol.

Opening up my menu options for Class Advancement and Leveling I see the options again.

CLASS POINTS: 15

(1) Basic Class: 6

(2) Advanced Class: 1

(2) Specialty Class: 8

(2) Combination Class

(3) Superior Class: 0

(3) Unique Class: 1

(3) Advanced Combination Class: 0

CLASS LIST:

Basic Class - Gambler

Basic Class - Card Mechanic

Basic class - Drunkard

Basic Class - Crafter

Specialty Class - Parkour

Basic Class - Medic

Specialty Class - Opportunist

Advanced Class - Stealthy Skirmisher

Basic Class - Warrior/Ranged

Specialty Class - Gunfighter

Specialty Class - Visionary

Specialty Class - Courier

Specialty Class - Scavenger

Specialty Class - Pathfinder

Specialty Class - Restorer

Unique Class - Spatial Artificer

ADVANCE CLASS

SPECIALIZE CLASS

COMBINE CLASSES

CREATE NEW CLASS

Selecting advance class just to see if there are any changes, I notice I can now advance my Skirmisher class again if I want, I wonder what level that would make it.

ADVANCE CLASS: YOU HAVE 15 CLASS POINTS. ADVANCING AN BASIC CLASS IS 5 CLASS POINTS, ADVANCING AN SPECIALTY CLASS IS 6 CLASS POINTS, ADVANCING AN ADVANCED CLASS IS 7 CLASS POINTS. PLEASE SELECT THE CLASS TO ADVANCE.

Having the list show the classes in order of how I received them is annoying with a thought I organize them into a list with basic classes first and the better classes following.

Backing out of this menu I select CREATE NEW CLASS just to see what the options are.

CREATE NEW CLASS: PLEASE SELECT A COMBINATION OF SKILLS, ATTRIBUTES, ENHANCEMENTS, AFFINITIES, TITLES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND SELECT A SKILL AND SYSTEM ITEM TO BE ENHANCED INTO CLASS.

COST AND CATEGORY OF NEW CLASS WILL BE BASED UPON THE SELECTED ITEMS FOR INITIAL FORMATION.

So many choices again, it looks like class creation has a lot of variables, not sure I want to deal with that yet, I wonder what combining classes offers up.

COMBINE CLASSES: CHOOSE TWO OR MORE CLASSES TO COMBINE. CLASS COST FOR BASIC COMBINATION CLASS IS 5 CLASS POINTS, CLASS COST FOR ADVANCED AND SPECIALITY COMBINATION CLASSES IS 7 CLASS POINTS.

CLASS SPELL AND CLASS ITEMS ASSIGNED BY THE SYSTEM WILL BE MERGED AND MODIFIED ONCE BOTH CLASSES HAVE BEEN SELECTED*.

Noticing an asterisk/star at the end of the additional information, I imagine it opening up and I get a pop-up with......

*Additional information not available.*

Not as helpful as I thought it would be. Backing out to my status screen I start skimming through my skill lists thinking about what I need and what I've encountered so far.

Lots of fighting

Skills seem easy to create

Mana Energy is cool

Lots of running and moving about

Identification is very Important

Can I charm The Raven?

There some weird stuff out there

Some safety in numbers

Stealth is effective

Ranged attacks are cleaner than close up

Helping people is annoying

Every person has a few system items

Monsters drop cores / cores enhance monsters

Shits dangerous out there. Someone taps me on the shoulder as I'm lost in thought.......