With about fifteen feet between us the group....squad....murder.....of Muskrats moves up the embankment and spreads out. The ones in the front are all the bigger level ones and they seem to be protective of the smaller guys emerging from the rivers edge.
That works for me I need to check my notifications and stats.
Levels seemed to affect hit points, stamina, and Mana Energy, taking a peek at my sheet I notice my numbers jumped up, as well as providing a couple of new class points.
----------------------------------------
Name - Benjamin Bateman
Also Known As - Ben
Active Title: -
Race - Human
Active Class - (a) Stealthy Skirmisher
Inactive Class - (b) Gambler, (b) Card Mechanic, (b) Drunkard, (b) Crafter, (s) Parkourist, (b) Medic, (s) Opportunist, (b) Warrior/Ranged, (s) Gunfighter, (s) Visionary, (s) Courier, (s) Scavenger, (s) Pathfinder, (s) Restorer, (u) Spatial Artificer
Level - 3
Loyalty - None
Notoriety - None
Health - 301
Passive Health Regeneration - 21 per hour
Mana Energy - 473
Mana Energy Regeneration - 66
Stamina - 92
Stamina Regeneration - 129 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)
----------------------------------------
Keeping one eye on the Horde....Mob....Pack....I think a multitude of rats is called a Mischief. My other eye...my third eye...is scanning my stats.
Having been attacked by a level two quick beaver rat and according to my log a mob of level one whatevers, I was surprisingly undamaged. My clothes were dirty and my shoes were muddy from the mucky ground, but no wounds or bruises.
Sliding my columns over to the tab labelled equipment I see a list of everything I have on with blank spots for other gear.
Equipment:
-Chest / Back - Shirt - 1 of 5pcs
-Legs - Pants 2 of 5pcs
-Left Hand - Glove of Grip -
-Left Rings - 20% 1 Ring of Reflection
-Left Arm - Tactical Watch
-Right Hand - Glove of Grip
-Right Fingers - None
-Right Arm - Band of Minor Regeneration
-Head - None
-Neck - None
-Feet - Socks 3 & 4 of 5pcs / Boots of Ability
-Other - None
The tab for equipment has a handy list feature and a button for.....a diagram...you know for the simple folk.
Pressing the button the list converts to a digital replica of me slowly spinning In a circle, similar to what you would see at some video game character creation screens. Each piece of gear is highlighted and labeled and empty equipment slots easy to identify. This view shows my staff as well as empty spots for other types of gear, It looks like you can layer protection items.
My glaring weakness is my head, no helm or hat. I swear I had a hat or something, I wonder where I put it, it was part of the 5 pieces of clothing I bought.
I'm interrupted by movement, the muskrats are assembling in front of me like a military squadron. The chief guy is in the back and on either side of him two gigantic....bodyguards? Scattered around them are low level zeroes scrounging through the dead bug parts looking for cores I bet every now and then there's a flare of power and an evolved rodent runs to the front line of.....soldiers? Which are spread out in two rows forming an arc all facing....me.
51......54....58.....just shy of 60. That's alot of teeth and claws. Have you ever seen a muskrat they look like a beaver sexed up a rat, large front teeth, long scaled rat tail, dense fur and massive digging claws. The zeros are using all four feet with their average size similar to a small cat, once they get a core they size up about half again all while developing some type of power. The back row of upgraded ones are standing on their back legs chattering at each other, the front row is crouching, if I had to guess they are getting ready to run or leap at me.
I see six varieties if you don't count the leadery type chief rat. four of them are easy to identify one is a larger burly type with longer claws, another is a streamlined muscle type built for speed or jumping, and three different magicky ones similar to the water one I noticed earlier. Watching the second row which seemed to consisty mostly of the Mana Energy using muckrats a better name for them, I could identify the water using rats by the blades they were attempting to conjure, sometimes looking like a tiny sword or wiaterblade and other times like wolverines claw hand but made of liquid and magic. The second magic type if I had to guess is mud magic or maybe earth, these rats are making little balls of mud suck up from the ground and pile near themselves. The last ones are, I don't know what they are doing, they are taking bits of bugs and critters and sticking them together with magic to create....stuff, I'd call it armor but that's not really what it is and it wasn't weapons either, Truly odd.
The last and fewest of the level ones seems to be a Healer or enchanter class, I could only make out 2 of them but they would touch one of the others, magic would flare up then they would move on.
A calmness overcomes the Field of Muskrats? Colony of Muskrats? I'm going to have to google that or it's going to haunt me......the leader type chatters then screeches. The tension is thick and you can tell they are going to charge me.
Feeling ridiculous about facing this horde I stand tall and flare out my Brawlers Intimidation Skill. I roar while glaring at the mass of rodents, each time I make eye contact the lower leveled muskrats shiver and back up. The entire group begins to break apart as they quiver in fear. The three bigger rodents in back are unaffected but the main rat makes a decision.
With a sound like a whirrrr slap meets a pig grunting all the muskrats freeze then like lemmings to a cliff they race to the waters edge and disappear. The last one looks back and chatters at me before diving into the water. Rude.
As they swim...slither away I was able to catch a few with my newer Identify skill.
Muskrat / Mud Tunneler / Level 1 / Strength / Specialty - Digging / Claw Swipe
Muskrat / Muskrat Whipper / Level 1 / Agility / Specialty - Tail Whip / Leap Attack
Dammit I should of captured one, does my capture Item let me charm anything or does size matter, and where are my muskrat buddies heading off to.......I add it to the list of questions.
Scanning around I assume there are no cores left, I did get the one from 'ShisskeeBob' sending my staff to general inventory I withdraw the level 2 core from the same space. Holding it in my hand I notice a new pop-up notification.
LEVEL 2 CORE , ATTRIBUTE
-ABSORB
-IMBUE
-LINK
-DRAIN
-DESTROY
Interesting choices. Sensing an attack I look around then look up, a large dark colored bird is racing at me claws extended, aligned with the core held in my hand. Right before the raven? It's to large to be a crow, reaches the core I Bitch Slap errr bird slap it into next year with my other hand.
HIT / AVIAN / SWIFT RAVEN / LEVEL 1 /
SWIFT RAVEN IS STUNNED FOR 170 SECONDS
SKILL LEARNED - STUN ATTACK
Damaged Avian / Swift Raven / Level 1 / Agility / Specialty - Wing Strike / Keen Eye sight
Not a quick learner I fend off two more birds trying to snatch my core. Sending it into inventory I look at the finch and pigeon, there's not much left of them as they were zeros and just kind of exploded when I smacked them.
Switching to my Medic Class I examine the stunned black bird.
----------------------------------------
Basic Class - Medic
Attributes - Intelligence +1, Dexterity +1, Perception +1, Unlocks Healing Magic+2 (20%)
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
-Class skill - Identify and Heal Minor Wounds, Poisons, and Conditions.
-Class Item: First Aid Kit
----------------------------------------
I use the class skill Heal Minor Wounds. Removing the stunned condition and bringing the birds health up a little. Not wiling to sacrifice my Level 2 core I pull out the little core from the spider in the stairwell and present it to the Raven, who quickly gobbles it down.
Not sure what I was expecting but what I got was nothing.
Checking the river it seems to have leveled out at just below the crest of the island about 2 feet below both pedestrian bridge walkways. The ball field, park building, and bathrooms are flooded with water and I can see shapes moving through the lake like area. Moving off towards the roadway I head North on N Arlington Ave.
Behind me I hear a loud "Kraaaaa" and the raven flashes past me to land on a street sign "Kraaaaaaaa"
"Go away, you're too loud" I make shooing motions at the big black bird. He.....she? how do you sex a bird? Tilting its head and much quieter this time "kraaaa?". Passing me by it flies ahead to land on a building ledge, then watches me walk past again.
"At least you seem smart, If your going to follow me at least keep watch." As we head North every time I pass the Raven it wings up another half block or so to watch the area. Hunting as we go along he, she, it, should I name it? do birds have their own name, I wonder. My mind is wandering all over the place. Every now and then the Raven swoops down and snatches a small critter, after the third time I notice that it's prey is all level ones and each time there is a quick kill and a core.
By the time we are approaching 4th street the Raven has gobbled down at least 6 snacks and appears to have grown in size. With Mana Sense I can see misty shadow energy or similar surrounding the bird.
Bird / Swift Shadow Raven / Level 2 / Agility-Speed / Specialty - Wing Strike / Keen Eye sight - Blend
"Kraaaa Kraaaaa Kraaaaaaa" The Raven is perched on a truck rack staring down the street to the west. I realize I'm still a medic class, pausing for a minute I take a seat at the bus stop bench and look over my class list for a better traveling class.
----------------------------------------
Active Class - (b) Medic
Inactive Class - (a) Stealthy Skirmisher (b) Gambler, (b) Card Mechanic, (b) Drunkard, (b) Crafter, (s) Parkourist, (s) Opportunist, (b) Warrior/Ranged, (s) Gunfighter, (s) Visionary, (s) Courier, (s) Scavenger, (s) Pathfinder, (s) Restorer, (u) Spatial Artificer
----------------------------------------
Three traveling classes Pathfinder, Parkourist, and Courier. Pathfinder is good for tracking and hiding, Parkourist was great for traveling quickly over obstacles and has the Domain Skill, If I remember Courier had something about a speed bonus to traveling. Switching to Courier to check out if It's faster I review the Class description.
----------------------------------------
Specialty Class - Courier
Attributes - Willpower +1, Vitality +1, Speed +2, Unlocks system contracts +5
-Class skill - Transport
-Class Item: Couriers Bag
----------------------------------------
Pulling out the Couriers bag I can feel the skill dig through my memories and what I get is a messenger bag about the size of a bulky briefcase, but made of soft supple leather. A large buckle on the front and several pouches, the zippers and other metal is a metallic bronze with a strap allowing it to hang across my body or I can carry it with the handle. While holding it I get a sense of it's properties and know that I can carry many times its apparent size as well as being capable of holding non system Items as well as system items. The last piece of information is interesting, as I understand that items inside of the bag and stored within my Inventory for the Courier Class will be un-findable to the system and other classes.
Cool stuff, taking my duffel pack of food off of my back I stuff it into the couriers bag and it seems to be swallowed up by the bag and disappears inside. With a shrug I send the bag back into the Couriers Inventory, Bam! second duffel bag handled.
"Kraaaaaa Kraaaaaaa Kraaaaaaaa" again 3 loud Kraaaas, when the Raven sees I looked over It wings away to a nearby building and.......disappears into the shadows.
That's ominous.
Closing my eyes and listening to the sounds I can hear scrabbling and foot steps as well as a soft jingle or clanking. Realizing there might be danger, did I mention I'm a bit slow, I ease open the door on a delivery van and slip inside leaving the door ajar just a crack.
Whatever is making the noises is getting closer, I can hear more metallic clanking and what sounds like bike tires mixed in with a few snorting animal sounds.
Peering through the steering wheel and activating my Stealth Aura I remain motionless and concentrate on being hidden. In moments a small group of human like creatures walks into view. The first is scanning around looking in all directions, It is dressed in a tattered suit that might once have been dark grey though now it is just dirty and ill fitting.
Following closely was another creature but neither is human, the shape was right, head, body, 2 arms, and 2 legs but the proportions are wrong. The arms are too long and seem to be double jointed with hands that have tendril like fingers long enough to touch the ground. The legs bend wrong so they walk stilted causing their feet to drag across the pavement. No neck just a torso and a head, the ears are lumps of skin, with a wide smooshed nose, the skin color is almost right just a bit to grey green.
The next two come into view, I might call these guys thrift store rejects, their mismatched clothes are ripped in places so their bodies can be stuffed into a human shape. As I watch the third one reaches into the grocery cart it's pushing and grabs one of the human arms in the pile. It stops walking as it stares at the hand attached to the arm then looks at its own fingers, waving each 10 inch long finger one by one they start to shrink and in a moment it has one hand vaguely human like and the other hand not human at all. Opening its mouth and nose creating a huge tooth lined orifice it begins to eat the limb bone and all, then continues moving after the others.
Following them is one more of the creatures herding four wolf dog hybrids each one with a bulky collar seemingly controlled by a handheld device. With a prehensile tail, no ears, and three eyes they give off creepy vibe in a big way, each one is the size of a very large dog. They walk with backward joints and they are what is making the snorting noises as they scent the air. One of the wolfdogs lunges forward at a car and rips at the door trying to get in. The second humanoid thing peers into the car then reaches through the open window and begins to drag a body from the drivers seat, the body must of been belted in because the car shakes and rocks back and forth as the body is pulled and ripped into pieces to add to the top of the grocery cart. When it is finished the whatever it is holds the last leg piece with a foot dangling loosely in a shoe, looking down its own foot begins to wriggle and bulge bit by bit turning into a shoe like appendage.
I use my Identify spell without thinking.
Changeling / Flesh Renderer/ Level 4 / Strength - Endurance - Vitality - Agility / Specialty - Dismemberment / Paralytic Bite, Fear Gaze, Body Morph
Still holding the leg the Changeling must of felt my skill as it paused and is now scanning the area in all directions. There's deep guttural sounds that I can just understand.........."Hhollld, ssomethinnggg iss Herre"