《Beast of the Land》 1. Winter Break *Ding ding!* ¡°Alright everyone, that¡¯s all the time you''ll get to work on the lab before break!¡± called out the man at the front of the science lab. Professor Greymore double checked his watch and began putting his things away as he continued, ¡°As you all should know by now, today was your final day to work on the practical applications of this unit as well. If you are planning on staying for the next hour of free tutoring, gather your belongings, head to the classroom across the hall and begin writing down the theoretical elements of the lab.¡± He moved to hold the door for the exiting students, ¡°If you have additional questions then send me an email. I won''t be available this week, during my office hours, as I am traveling and getting away from all of you for Winter Break¡± he chuckled good naturedly, ¡°Or better yet, don¡¯t email me at all. Set up an appointment with Mr. Abrams instead, as he will be staying on campus.¡± As the students began to slip out of the lab, the elderly man adjusted his suit jacket and turned to his Graduate Assistant, ¡°You are still able to cover my office hours, right, Adam?¡± Adam Abrams smiled back, ¡°Yeah, I can cover for you Charles. I¡¯m staying here for the break anyway.¡± They walked together towards the other classroom as he continued, ¡°While this place isn¡¯t anything fancy, it''s way better than going back to Boise.¡± It''s not like Adam hated Boise or anything. Heck, he was born and raised there. Well, basically raised there. He was originally born in Spokane, Washington but had moved to live with his Grandmother in Boise, Idaho before he was 5 so he didn''t have many memories of Washington. As a kid, he was encouraged to explore his surroundings and he loved to go to new places. Unfortunately, being raised by his Grandmother, they didn¡¯t have enough funds to actually go to the new places he saw on TV. To make up for that, Adam turned to books as his primary means of exploration and became an adventurer that explored as many worlds as he could find in the school library. He and his best friend Dante would play make-believe for hours, telling each other about the stories they read as well as acting out their own. As a young adult, that desire led him to dive into books even more, sending him on an accelerated track through school to get a degree in Environmental Sciences and encouraged him to look into graduate schools that would allow him to experience new places. He had seen desert landscapes (but not the big sand dune ones), and some dry forests, as well as snowy mountains (even if they were mainly just at a distance), but the ocean was really high on his list of things to see so, that heavily influenced his decision to move west and go to Yaquina Community College on the Oregon coast to complete his graduate degree. That said, the internship he was offered as part of his decision to go there was a game changer for him, sealing the deal and expediting his move to the west. Adam wasn¡¯t a local by any means, having moved to the coast a little over a year prior, but he had learned so much in that time. The first and most important thing he learned was that he did NOT, in fact, like the ocean. It was very big, very dark, and most importantly, very scary. All of the decisions that led him to this place flashed through his mind as he and the Professor slowly walked away from the classroom. It¡¯s weird to think about it that way but hey, at least here it''s green year round, I get to breath the salt air and if I really want to go to a bigger city, I can drive a couple hours to Portland with the others, he thought as he said bye to Charles. While he was usually the one that led these unofficial study lessons for the undergraduate students, Adam didn''t actually have to be at every class that the Professor was involved in. Thankfully, since he was going to serve as a representative for Professor Greymore through the rest of the week and all of winter break, Charles was taking over today¡¯s. Thank God. As he walked around the corner, heading for the rear door of the Health and Science Building, Adam ran straight into a large body walking the other direction, surprisingly, bouncing off and stumbling for a second. Adam wasn¡¯t a small man by any means and had always been ¡°politely¡± referred to as husky or big boned. At just under six feet tall and roughly 230 pounds, it wasn¡¯t often that Adam was the one to bounce back when bumping into someone but, after seeing who he had run into, he wasn¡¯t all that surprised. Grabbing him by the shoulders to steady him was his friend Otto. Otto Williams was at first glance, the opposite kind of person that Adam would be expected to interact with. Otto was 270 pounds of pure muscle perfectly packed into an athletic body close to six and a half feet tall with short black hair and deep green eyes. Adams'' slightly pudgy frame had rarely ever seen the inside of a gym and his brown hair and eyes were nothing to write home about. A 11/10 being run into by barely a 6/10. A look of concern flashed across Otto''s face as he pulled out one of his earbuds, ¡°Hey dude, you alright? I was just looking for you.¡± ¡°I''m good, just a little sore now¡±, Adam replied with a fake glare, ¡°Why is it that you barely even try and you get absolutely jacked? Are you doing another new program?¡± Otto grinned as he threw his arm over Adams shoulders, walking with him to the doors, ¡°It¡¯s funny that you would say that because I think this one would be PERFECT for you. It''s a modified HIIT workout. You know what that is right? OK so first you¡­¡± Otto was a massive teddy bear and while he looked like a total bro, that couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. Otto was in his final year of his Computer Science Engineering degree and was so unathletic it wasn¡¯t even funny. He decided to get into fitness because he saw a video online once that said that the human body was similar to a biological computer or something and that somehow just clicked for him. Ever since then, he had been pushing his body in crazy directions to build it how he wanted. This lifestyle worked incredibly well for him but he always tried to convince the people he was close with to join him and so far, without fail, he had scared off every single one of his friends from the gym. As they walked across the campus towards the Student Center, where the dining hall was located, Adam couldn''t help but notice that there was little to no breeze outside. Being less than 3 miles from the Bay, that was a rare thing. Normally, the winds would be kicking up and moving through the few barren trees on the campus, chilling the students and faculty to the bone as they sped to their destinations.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Brushing off the abnormally calm weather, the two friends reached the Student Center and moved towards the dining hall. Entered the hall, Otto led him towards the corner booth where the only other people in the dining hall were waiting. Adam instantly recognized them as his eclectic group of friends. Alongside Otto, the four people sitting in the booth were the people he was closest to regardless of the fact that they were all from very different groups on campus and only met because they happened to have all been living in the same apartment building when Adam moved to Yaquina. On the left side of the group was Henry McCoy, a lanky brunette young man in an anime shirt with an orange haired sword wielding shinigami on it. He was eagerly listening to Emi Kume, the small statured japanese international student that was studying Mechanical Engineering, talking to her best friends, Sylvia Edwards, a totally average redheaded woman that served as the schools phlebotomist trainer as part of the nursing program, and Jessica Stewert, a tall smoke show with long blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. Blue eyes that had just caught sight of Adam and Otto as they entered the dining hall. Jessica had also been Adam''s girlfriend for the last year, which had nothing to do with the completely unbiased description of her. Absolutely nothing. Jessica stood and met them halfway through the hall, giving Adam a quick kiss and grabbing his hand, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to believe this story Emi is telling us!¡± As they moved to sit down, Adam caught a glimpse of something out of the side of his eye and looked back to Otto who had stopped moving. ¡°What''s up Otto? You ok?¡± he asked. Otto looked back at him and pointed in front of his own face at the air, ¡°Um, can you not see this?¡± His eyes were wide as he seemed to be looking at something in front of his face. Adam looked at his friend, confused. See what? There wasn¡¯t anything in front of him. He looked around, trying to see what Otto was looking at when Henry jumped to his feet, startling Emi into silence by his quick movement. ¡°What the fuck is this?!¡± he yelled, his hands moving in front of his face and reaching as if he were touching something. ¡°What are you talking about you idiot, there isn¡¯t anything th¡­¡± her words were cut off as a glowing blue screen popped into existence before each of the six friends.
SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETE ¡­ Recalibrating based on ¡­ ¡­ Internal Planetary Mana levels ¡­ Reinitiating Integration Protocol 10%
Adam was stunned. What was happening? Was this a shared hallucination or something? He looked around and the glowing semi-translucent screen followed his eyes, seeming to almost be overlaid across his visual spectrum, allowing Adam to see through the screen if he focused beyond it. Adam looked across the room towards the common area and saw two of the security personnel trying to swipe something out of the air in confusion. Well that rules out my shared hallucination theory. Adam thought. Clearly, it wasn¡¯t just his friends seeing this insanity. The screen flashed and changed.
CONGRATULATIONS! Your Universe has received the opportunity to join the wider multiverse. As one of the Newly Integrated Beings of your Universe, you will be entering Integration Stasis during this transformative period of time Your Safety is GUARANTEED while you are within the Integration Stasis Reinitiating Integration Protocol 27%
¡°Wait, does that mean that we will be in danger once we are out of this stasis thing?¡± mumbled Sylvia from the side. Jessica turned to Adam, ¡°Baby, does any of this make any sense to you?¡± Her fear was written clearly on her face. Another change.
The duration of the Integration Stasis varies based on the Mana density of your Newly Integrated World For optimal Mana accumulation, your World will be terraformed. Worry not, this will benefit all that live upon this World. Reinitiating Integration Protocol 78%
A shaking could be heard throughout the building as the still winds from before kicked into a sudden gale that seemed to force doors and windows open. His stomach was turning in knots. Adam had no idea what was happening but whatever it was seemed to be a big deal. Obviously, he had a floating fucking screen in his vision that was saying shit about MANA of all things. The screen changed again.
While within the Integration Stasis, Newly Integrated Beings will be introduced to their Multiversal Status. Your Status will require you to make decisions that will affect your future. Choose wisely as your survival depends on it. Reinitiating Integration Protocol 99%
Seemingly out of nowhere, a soft white light began to glow around each of the people in the dining hall. A quick glance to the security personnel confirmed this was happening to everyone. As the light got brighter, Adam felt Jessica''s hand be pulled out of his own. He whipped his head towards her and noticed that they were each encased within what looked like a solidifying oval of white light. These must be what, Integration Stasis Pods? Before Adam could think any more about that, the color of his system screen changed color, fading from a pale blue to a gold color.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have the opportunity to become one of your Worlds FORERUNNERS This means that you have been preselected by an existing faction within the Universe and have the opportunity to receive a SPONSORSHIP from them. This is an opportunity that is only offered to 2% of a Newly Integrated World''s population. Upon receiving a SPONSORSHIP, your chances of SURVIVAL will increase exponentially. Would you like to accept this opportunity? YES / NO
While he was reading the new screen, Adam felt the light egg, as he planned on calling it, close around him. Sweat was pouring down his body and he began to shake. One word stood out from this new screen: survival. I don¡¯t want to die. He could feel his consciousness slowly fading as he was forced into what he could only guess was an artificial slumber. He tried to touch the screen but to no avail and so he did the only other thing he could think of. He willed for the screen to select YES as hard as he could, before darkness took him. 2. Forerunners Trial Adam didn¡¯t know what to expect when he accepted the Systems offer to become one of the Forerunners, but a seemingly endless darkness definitely had him on edge. After he ¡°lost consciousness¡± Adam thought something would happen but, so far he felt like he was just floating in some kind of ocean or pool. Is this what space feels like? He wondered. The unsettling feeling of no control or a lack of grounding only increased his anxiety over the matter. This whole thing was crazy. A SYSTEM?! Like from the manga and webnovels Henry talked about? What was happening to everyone? Were they all going to be okay? Adam couldn¡¯t help but think back to the system message from before. It had said that by accepting this opportunity, it would increase his chances of survival. Were the people of Earth going to be fighting aliens or something? Monsters? Each other? Obviously, he had many questions and no answers. Time was weird in this space. Had he been in the dark for an hour or had a single second passed? Adam, once again, had no idea. All he knew was that time felt very soupy to say the least. This must be what it feels like to be a piece of stew meat. Or maybe more like a dumpling? Man, I am so hungry. As he focused on his feeling of hunger, a glimpse of light appeared before him. A new system message.
PREPARE YOURSELF The Forerunners Trial selection is very competitive. Only a select few participants will survive and return as FORERUNNERS
WHAT DO YOU MEAN ¡®FEW SURVIVE¡¯?! Adam tried to yell. In this liminal space, it seemed that he was incapable of actual speech, turning his words into projected thoughts that only he could hear.
You have been preselected by one of the Premier Factions of the Multiverse: The Chimaeric Order This means that, should you return as a Forerunner to your World, you will receive a SPONSORSHIP directly from this faction. SPONSORSHIPS are powerful boon¡¯s and should not be taken lightly. Accepting a SPONSORSHIP does not make you a part of the Sponsoring Faction.
Adam began to feel his body righting itself within the darkness as he continued reading the system messages. Feeling was slowly coming back to his limbs and he felt his body weight settle as his feet touched down on an unknown hard surface. Still stuck in the dark, Adam mentally gave himself a once over. His body seemed okay and it felt like he was still in his loafers, jeans and button up shirt that he wore to work. So far, the only things that weren¡¯t accounted for were his hearing and his ability to see anything aside from the changing System message screens.
FORERUNNERS TRIAL Host: The Chimaeric Order Trial Type: Beast Gauntlet (F) Duration: Unlimited
What is a Beast Gauntlet? Adam wondered.
Objective: Survive the onslaught of stampeding beasts. Conditions for Success: Be selected for SPONSORSHIP Conditions for Failure: Death
Wait. Adam¡¯s heart started pounding in his chest. Though he couldn¡¯t feel it, he was sure that sweat covered his body. Wait wait wait wait wait¡­ Based on the system message, Adam was going to have to outrun stampeding beasts? And if the ¡°Conditions for Success¡± was to be selected, did that mean that even if he survived the stampede, if he wasn¡¯t selected then he would either have to run forever or he would die?
The Trial will begin in 60 seconds. Prepare yourself, Human. Prove that you are worth what you have been offered.
With that final message, a blinding light flashed, causing Adam to flinch away and fall to the ground with a crunch. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Crunch? Adam opened his panicked eyes to see where he was and felt his pounding heart drop into his stomach. He found himself in a large canyon, similar in depth to the Grand Canyon. At least, it felt like it was about that deep. Looking around, he noticed that the canyon extended far beyond his vision, to his left and right were trees and bushes as well as long grasses that swayed in a gentle wind that was blowing through the area. Part of his brain recognized that the area was beautiful, despite the terror that had sunk its claws into him after he learned that he very likely was going to die. All around him, Adam noticed other people standing with similar confused and anxious looks on their faces. Some were yelling at the sky asking to go back while others were looking for people they knew. Returning to his senses had been disorienting, causing him to fall over once his sight was returned to him. Not wanting to be caught any more off guard, Adam tried to stand, flipping onto his hands and knees, but heard another crunching sound when he moved. Not only did he hear it, he felt it. Littering the ground were bones. Hundreds of thousands of bones covered the floor of this canyon. The bones looked like they were from an assortment of various animals and if Adam was correct in his assumptions, he had fallen directly onto a sun bleached human ribcage. Adam screamed and felt the bile rising in his throat as he scurried back away from the skeletal remains of a human being. Fear seeped into every fiber of his being as he thought of all the people that had died here before him. His fear only increased as a new message scrolled past his vision.
The Beast Gauntlet begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Fight, Flee or Hide. The choice is yours, Participants.
A rumble could be felt through the ground as a shattering noise echoed through the canyon. Panic exploded through the ranks of participants in the small clearing as people ran to find cover. Adam leapt to his feet quickly enough to make Otto proud and scanned the area around him looking for somewhere to hide. Maybe the beasts won¡¯t be too big. Fighting was one of the available options, so it¡¯s a possibility. As Adam quickly ran towards the tree cover, he noticed that the local flora, mainly the trees, was massive. So large, in fact, that the tree¡¯s could easily hold multiple humans on each of their branches. The only downside was that it would be difficult to get to them. Adam and many of the others in the clearing rushed past the treeline into the forest, away from the direction that the shattering noise came from. While the noise had stopped, the rumbling seemed to be getting stronger, causing rocks and bones to rattle along the ground. Bushes and brambles across the forest floor whipped by him as Adam sprinted through the underbrush. He needed shelter but the ground seemed like a terrible choice. Being trampled sounded awful. He was currently too far away from the wall of the canyon to comfortably consider hiding in a cave or something. The tree tops are probably my only viable hiding spot. Adam sighed. Yay for my super athletic body and supreme tree climbing skills. Sarcasm was the best way to put off the thought of his impending doom. Adam¡¯s mad dash through the woods allowed him to quickly take stock of the other participants as well. Being on the heavier side, he unfortunately was overtaken by many of the more athletic participants. He suddenly heard a series of loud snapping sounds. Glancing behind him, Adam could barely make out the edge of the treeline, roughly 100 meters behind him. Looking between the trees was difficult but he could clearly make out what looked like the silhouettes of many horse sized figures breaking through the smaller trees and carving paths through the heavy undergrowth. Screams and loud bugles began to fill his ears as he watched the beasts run down people that were behind him. There goes my hopes for them being small. While most seemed to be focusing on running away, some picked up bones and sticks from the ground to use as improvised weapons, believing that fighting would improve their chance at survival. Being as slow as he was, many of the best ¡°weapons¡± were taken already but he did happen to come across what looked like a boar''s skull. The skull was laying next to one of the larger downed trees. A tree that seemed big enough that it might provide cover for someone his size. Sprinting faster than he ever had before, Adam raced towards the downed log as the sound of heavy footfalls and wild snorts crescendoed behind him. Nearing the skull, he bent to pick it up as he ran to hide. Unfortunately, someone else had the same idea. ¡°MOVE DUMBASS!¡± a voice, quickly followed by a weight slammed into Adams side out of nowhere. Adam, panting from the effort of his sprint, tripped over his feet and face planted on the backside of the log as the other person snatched the boar skull away from him. A large man stood over Adam holding the skull and sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t blame me for this. You never would have made it anyway.¡± His words were almost drowned out by the sounds of thundering footfalls approaching at a tremendous speed. The force of nature that was the wave of creatures steamrolled through the forest destroying everything in its path. The discourteous man stood his ground saying, ¡°No bull, aliens, or mystery wizards are going to take me out! COME ON!¡± He brandished the skull and the beasts were upon them. Adam, hidden behind the log, finally got a good look at the beasts as they charged around the ends of the log into view. Slightly larger than a horse, the beasts looked like an unholy combination of a bulls torso, an elk''s antlers and head shape, and a hippopotamus¡¯ hide-like skin and legs. Each of the beasts felt absolutely massive and were moving at a gallop. Despite being behind the previously downed tree, thereby obscured from the creatures¡¯ view, Adam didn¡¯t feel any safer here than he would have out by the other man, who against all odds seemed to be dodging the creatures as they barreled by him. Terrified that the creatures were going to see him, Adam pressed himself against the base of the log as hard as he could, attempting to make himself as small as possible. With any luck, the creatures would ignore him. Adam¡¯s back flush against the downed tree, he watched as the boar-skull-stealing stranger was ¡°fighting¡± the monsters, if you could even call it fighting. Rather than trying to strike the creatures, he seemed to be using the skull as a shield to block any of the antlers that swung his way. The longer he watched, the more Adam envisioned a Spanish matador but with a skull instead of a cape. The skull got the beast''s attention and then the man moved out of its way when he had gotten their focus. It seemed that the creatures weren¡¯t actually focused on killing what was in front of them but were instead focused on crushing anything and everything before them as they ran through the canyon. After a minute of dodging, Adam winced as the man failed to react in time, receiving a glancing blow from one of the creatures, sending him spinning to the side. Mid-spin, he lost his grip on the boar skull, sending it flying towards an unsuspecting Adam who, not surprisingly, failed to catch it as it slammed into his left arm. The force of the collision sent a piercing pain though the left side of his body. Horrified by the sight of the man spinning to the ground, Adam ignored the pain in his arm and watched as the man steadied himself on all fours. He looked up, determination filled eyes locking with Adam¡¯s, as he quickly crawled towards the safety of the log before a shadow fell across his face. A moisture splashed across Adam¡¯s face as he watched a large purple-gray hoof descend onto the head and neck of the man, bursting his skull upon the ground, painting the vicinity in thin streaks of blood. He continued to stare as the body was trampled by an untold number of the beasts, reducing the once large man into nothing more than a puddle of gore and viscera. He stayed, huddled by the log, staring at the place where the man had been for an unknown amount of time, only coming out of his shocked state when a message flashed into existence before his eyes.
The First Wave of the Beast Gauntlet (F) is complete. Number of Participants remaining: 1687/2500 Sponsorship Opportunities Remaining: 46/50 The Second Wave will begin in 5 minutes.
Oh shit¡­ Oh shit¡­ Ohshitohshitohshitohshit! Adam just watched a man die. Not only did he die, he was completely obliterated by the FIRST wave of beasts. How the actual FUCK was he supposed to survive more?! Adam tried to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead but found that he couldn¡¯t for some reason. Looking down at his left arm, he remembered the piercing pain he had felt earlier and took stock of the state he was in. One of the boar¡¯s tusks had pierced through his bicep and, by the looks of it, the force of the skull hitting him had probably cracked a couple of his ribs. The damage he had sustained hadn¡¯t fully registered yet, as he didn¡¯t feel more than the initial piercing pain. The thing that set him over the edge was just one thing. The splattered blood of the fallen man, splashed across the front of his body, dripping down the boar skull and mingling with his own. He couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer and violently puked as he bent over and sobbed. 3. The Second Wave Soft sobs echoed through the disturbed forest as Adam tried, and failed, to fully shut his fears away. With every stumbling step forward he was reminded of the terrifying predicament he was in. Bodies littered his surroundings, reiterating just how many people had died in his vicinity. Even worse than their numbers was the realization that he recognized a few of them. Why are there so many students here? Adam had come across two separate¡­ bodies while rushing through the forest. In one spot he came across a large piece of fabric with most of an image of the YCC Heron on it. It looked as if the previous wearer hadn¡¯t survived the first wave though, as it was soaked in blood. About 200 meters past the first, he came across a ripped YCC Wrestling jacket as well. Damn, he thought, that program is brand new and most of the team members were first or second year college students. They were just kids. Seeing so many dead around him, Adam gained a bit of perspective about the system. The system didn¡¯t care. There was no hand holding for those that were a part of the system. Based on the messages that he had read so far, the system only valued effort and possibly luck. Apparently, the ¡°Premier Factions of the Multiverse¡±, whoever the fuck THEY were, had an interest in the people of a Newly Integrated World but the system itself seemed to be completely ambivalent towards those that used it. As he wallowed in his situation, Adam continued onward. There was no other choice if he wanted to survive. While he traveled, he learned that he could check the system messages that he had seen previously by thinking about the system and willing for the screen to come back. Not the most intuitive process but as he had noticed already, it made sense. Success and survival came only to those that tried to adapt. It was as if the universe was just saying ¡°Figure it out. I¡¯m not helping¡± like an annoyed older sibling left to deal with an elementary school kid. He checked his messages again.
The Second Wave of the Trial will begin in 90 seconds. Prepare yourself, Human. Prove that you are worth what you have been offered.
Only a minute and a half left until he had to deal with more monsters again. I hope the Hippobulls don''t come back. Unsure what the beasts were actually called, Adam just went with that. It¡¯s not like their name is actually important, I just hope to never see them again. Adam¡¯s cracked, or possibly broken, ribs made it incredibly difficult for him to run but he did his best to rush out of the woods, thinking that if he found a high rock or something similar, he would be out of their reach, effectively bypassing any and all danger they presented.
The Second Wave begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ FIght, Flee or Hide. The Choice is yours, Participants. Sponsorship Opportunities Remaining: 33/50 Prove yourself.
For the second time, it sounded like space itself was shattered as a loud fracturing sound echoes through the canyon. Bugling sounds and rattling bones quickly followed, signifying the return of the Hippobulls and their terrible charge. However, this time, it sounded like the bugling was mixed with another almost distressed noise. With no time to waste, Adam quickened his pace and looked for a hiding spot. Surrounded by trees, he saw no elevated rock formations or logs and so decided to look for a tree to climb. His legs carried him up a small hill, allowing him to have a better view of his surroundings at least, even if it wasn¡¯t going to allow him to be out of the monsters¡¯ path. Behind him, Adam could both hear and feel the Hippobulls gaining on him. ¡°HEY! Over here!¡± A voice whisper-yelled out towards Adam as he whipped his head around searching for shelter. Glancing back, Adam saw two heads poking out of a tree hollow about 20 feet above the ground, roughly eye level with Adam''s current position. A young couple that looked to be in their early 20¡¯s were waving at Adam, ushering him towards their tree. ¡°We don¡¯t have any extra room but, there¡¯s a hollow under that tree''s roots!¡± the man pointed to one of the smaller of the trees to his left. The sound of the stampeding beasts was getting louder and louder. Glancing towards the approaching monsters, he quickly checked the distance to the supposed hiding place. He could make it. Adam nodded his head in thanks and rushed towards the tree the young man pointed at. As he approached he noticed the small hole into the root system beneath the tree and dove for it. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. This is going to be a tight fit, he thought as he forced his upper body through the opening. The pain was excruciating as his mangled arm and busted ribs screamed at the pressure as he squeezed into the hollow. His dive into the hole saved his life as the Hippobulls swarmed past his hiding place seconds after he landed in the hole. Its small entrance hid a much larger interior than he had expected. Luckily for Adam, the space could hold more than one person because he quickly realized he was not alone. Lying just to the side of the entrance was a middle aged woman with dark brown hair, wearing what looked like army fatigues. Unfortunately, she didn''t look like she was going to make it very long as she had clearly been ravaged by the Hippobulls in the first wave. The woman glanced over at Adam with dull brown eyes. Bubbles were forming in the bloody spittle that leaked from the corner of her mouth. She tried to sit up a bit but wasn¡¯t able to. Adam quickly crawled towards her, ¡°Don¡¯t try to move! You''re just going to make your injury worse.¡± She let out a small chuckle that quickly turned into a gasp as she addressed Adam. ¡°Kid, there is no way I¡¯m making it out of here unless you''re a doctor.¡± She sighed heavily and relaxed into Adam''s supporting arm with a grimace. ¡°While I don¡¯t want to assume, I think the chances that you¡¯re a doctor are incredibly low based on how you dressed your own injuries.¡± ¡°You''re right, I am just a grad assistant at a community college,¡± Adam said. ¡°And honestly, I don¡¯t think I am going to make it out of here either.¡± His voice shook a little as he said the words he had been thinking since he watched the first man die to the Hippobulls. Shit, thinking like that is off limits! I WILL make it out of here alive, positive thoughts, Adam. ¡°Well, we¡¯ve survived so far haven¡¯t we? My name is Adam Abrams, what can I call you?¡± Moving one of her hands away from her stomach wound, she gestured to the pocket of her uniform where the name GONZALES was printed in bold black letters. ¡°Luisa Gonzales, US Army. If you make it back, I want you to promise me something¡± she weakly gripped the front of Adam''s button up shirt and tried to pull him closer. ¡°If California still exists¡­¡± as she gathered her breath, deep pain, and not the physical kind, was evident on her face. ¡°In the far south of California, couple hours east of San Diego, I have two boys, Fernando and Saul, and a little angel, Bianca. You tell them that their mam¨¢ went out a fighter¡­ and that she loves them very much, ok?¡±. By moving her hand from her wounded stomach, Adam was able to really get a good look at her injury and even if he had been a doctor, there was no way he would have been able to save her. It was amazing that she had survived the five minute gap between the waves with her stomach completely eviscerated. Had she not been sitting still and holding pressure on herself like that, she would have bled out much sooner. Before he could fully answer her, Luisa''s weak grip started to release its hold on his shirt, falling back to her wound. Adam tried to lock eyes with her but saw that she was looking past his shoulder with a look of horror. His short conversation with Luisa had only lasted for a little over a minute but it had distracted him enough that he had not noticed that the rumbling noise had almost completely stopped. The bugling had been replaced by a sound that was similar but seemed to be more like an imitation of the previous calls, almost mocking. He followed her eyes and looked towards the entry hole and saw something that terrified him. Half of an ape-like face was staring through the hole with saliva dripping from the edge of its lips. Its eyes were locked on Luisa as it moved its head to stick its short snout directly over the hole, making multiple sniffing noises before staring back into the hole with a hungry gaze. Large clawed fingers wrapped themselves around the edges of the hole and started to slowly pull the roots and earth apart, working to widen the entrance to get at its prey. Faster than he could react, Luisa, in a surprising burst of strength, shoved Adam to the side and threw herself at the creature. As she removed her hands, her injury reopened, pouring blood onto the floor as she grabbed what looked like a knife from her hip. The beast roared through the opening and reached for the approaching figure with its massive clawed paw. More blood flew as the creature''s claws sliced through her already torn stomach but Luisa knew she was making her last stand at this moment. Feeling the blood leaving her body, Luisa poured her all into one last movement. Her free hand wrapped around the extended arm of the beast, pulling her closer to the creature''s face so that her other hand would be able to reach the monster. As the life faded from her eyes, she plunged her right hand, which had latched onto a piece of broken leg bone, into the eye of the monstrous ape. Caught off guard by the attacking woman, the creature threw itself away from the hole, shrieking in pain. So surprised, the beast leaped upwards, grabbing a tree branch and climbed high into the canopy of the trees. Adam recovered from being shoved and made it to the edge of the hole just in time to see the ape-like beast jump away from the tree and spread its limbs wide, stretching a skin like membrane between them to glide into the distance. Following it with his gaze he watched as it joined a series of other shadowy beasts leaping and gliding through the treetops almost completely unseen. Seeing as how Luisa¡¯s body had been pulled out of the hiding hollow during her last stand, Adam knew that he couldn¡¯t stay in this place for much longer. He couldn''t trust that the wave would end soon so, after quickly checking to see if she was truly dead, Adam tucked himself into the back of the hollow, as far from the opening as he could get, and waited for the system message to confirm that the second wave had completed. Minutes passed and Adam couldn¡¯t help but feel like a coward. Luisa¡¯s courage and warrior spirit was something that he just didn¡¯t have. More than going out with a bang or trying to stick it to the attacker via mutual destruction, Adam could only focus on how he just needed to survive. With how this trial had been going, he knew that he would likely need to find a way to fight against monsters but¡­ how could someone like him beat a creature that seemed to be built for carnage? The Gorillaglider (self named) felt like it was added to this wave to be a sort of clean up crew for the Hippobulls. Based on what he had seen so far, the Hippobulls killed anything that got in their way but they didn¡¯t actually eat anything they killed. The Gorillagliders on the other hand, seemed to revel in the carnage caused by the stampeding beasts and even seemed to be interested in hunting the humans that had been in their area. The screams of humans and beasts alike filled the air of the canyon, however they seemed to be diminishing as time passed. Shortly after the flight of the Gorillaglider, there was a dull flash of light outside of the entrance to his hiding place. Unsure as to what caused it, Adam snuck a glance towards the tree where the young couple had been hiding and was instantly saddened by what he saw. A Gorillaglider was perched on the side of the hollow and was holding the young woman by the head and shoulder as it tore into her corpse. Clearly, they hadn¡¯t made it either. Being sure to remain as inconspicuous as possible, he began to make his way back, deeper into the hollow to hide from potential creatures when he noticed something that stopped him in his tracks. Up in the tree where the Gorillaglider was feasting on the young woman''s body, the young man could be seen standing on a branch on the other side of the tree! He had his hands covering his mouth and seemed as if he was trying to blend in with the bark of the tree. Tears streamed down his face and a soft sob escaped from between his fingers. The Gorillagliders squirrel-like ears flickered and it tensed its body. Setting the woman down across a branch for later, the beast slowly climbed around the side of the tree and seemed to be looking straight at the young man; however, the young man froze and refused to move from his position. A couple seconds later, the monster seemed to pass over the man and returned to the other side of the tree and continued to eat. Adam was shocked. How did the beast not sense the man there? Could it really not see him? For whatever reason, the man was safe and was ignored by the creature. As he pondered the situation, a light flared into existence around the young man and in a similar fashion to when this all began, he was wrapped in a light egg and disappeared from view. Adam quickly checked the system message from before and noticed that the number of sponsored individuals had increased by one. That must be how a sponsored person is removed from this trial, Adam mused to himself. The crunching noise that was coming from the gorillaglider eating the young woman stopped at the same time that a new system message appeared before Adam.
The Second Wave of the Beast Gauntlet (F) is complete. Number of Participants remaining: 129/2500 Sponsorship Opportunities Remaining: 16/50 The Third Wave will begin in 10 minutes.
This second wave was different from the first in a variety of ways. The first and most important way that it was different was just how deadly the wave was. The first wave had killed a little more than 800 participants whereas the second wave had taken out almost 1600 participants. Clearly, with the addition of the Gorillagliders, monsters that actively hunted humans, the trial''s death toll skyrocketed. Adam had seen more people die, had been helped by strangers, was saved by a dying woman and gained insight into how to stand out enough to be sponsored in this trial. He needed to stand out somehow in the next wave in order to try and get a sponsorship. There were only 15 spots left and he was determined to snag one of them. He grabbed his boar skull and climbed all the way out of his hiding place. He looked around for Luisa¡¯s body that had been pulled from the hollow by the beast but he couldn¡¯t seem to find it. All he could locate was the piece of bone she had used to stab the gorillaglider with before. Adam tucked his new weapon into his belt loop. Luisa. I promise that if I survive this, I will find your kids and tell them about how you saved me, he vowed to himself. But first things first, I need to get the fuck out of this forest. 4. Friends and the Future Thank god for the extended time between waves, Adam thought as he attempted to run out of the forest. The extra 5 minutes afforded to the participants between waves two and three was proving to be crucial for Adam in his quest to escape the forest. Seeing the many Gorillagliders traversing the tree canopy above the Hippobulls was an eye opener for him. Originally, he thought that getting higher above the ground would let him escape the stampeding monsters but after watching the young woman from before get mercilessly slaughtered by one of the gliders, Adam knew better. He had spent the last 7 minutes or so running straight towards the nearest wall of the canyon, hoping that he would be able to escape the tree coverage and maybe find a cave or something within the sides of the canyon that he could hide in. Wait, that''s not right, he thought, I need to find a place that I could also try to defend myself in. The idea of fighting against any of the monsters he had seen caused his legs to start shaking even more than they had been. He had never really been a fighter. Growing up, he had always been picked on by his classmates for not having a Mom and Dad at home. While it hurt to hear the other kids say those things, he knew that he was better off living with his Grandma so he just did his best to ignore it. His best friend Dante however, did not take those statements well. He had a similar situation at home, he was raised by his single Mom because his Dad had died while on a military campaign. He had always led with his fists and got scolded by their teachers afterwards. I hope he is doing ok¡­ actually, he¡¯s probably thriving in this situation. I need to worry more about myself. Stay focused. Letting his thoughts wander was dangerous in his current situation but the thinning of trees and the increase of ambient light brought Adam back to the present. Carrying his boar skull in his right hand, to be used as a potential shield or club, Adam stepped out of the forest into what looked like rolling grasslands. Or at least as picturesque as rolling grasslands could be when they were only a couple hundred meters across. Seeing the canyon wall so close, Adam was reinvigorated. These grasslands were much easier to move in and he quickened his shuffling steps to look for safety. He checked the system messages again to check how much time he had.
The Third Wave of the Trial will begin in 118 seconds. Prepare yourself, Human. Prove that you are worth what you have been offered.
He had a little under 2 minutes until the third wave started. He would be cutting it close but he should be able to get most of the way to the cliffside if he sprinted. The longer he was in this trial, the more Adam became frustrated with himself about how out of shape he was. He should have just listened to Otto and worked out with him when he had offered. Hell, he should have actually gone with Dante when he had invited him to join the Jujutsu gym he went to back in Boise. Then he would have had years of physical training under his belt. He shook his head and started running. These wandering thoughts weren¡¯t helpful. If I make it back alive, I am getting Otto to train me, he vowed to himself. The hills were very gradual and allowed for Adam to run in almost a completely straight line without having to climb up any large slopes. A major bonus considering his limited time. As he crested another small hill, Adam caught sight of three people running together in the same direction as him. They were all beat up and as he got closer he realized that the two on the outside, a dark skinned boy of no more than 17 and an elderly man of average stature, were essentially carrying the third man, a beaten and bruised man of indeterminate age, between them. As Adam approached he could hear them speaking to each other. ¡°We should just leave him, Charles!¡± said the younger boy, ¡°He isn¡¯t even conscious anymore and we don¡¯t even know him!¡± The boy showed obvious signs of exhaustion and didn¡¯t seem to have any animosity towards the man he carried, he just looked young and very scared. ¡°No, Damian, we cannot just leave him here. You and I both know that there is no way that either of us would have survived the last wave had he not held the beast back with those stones he was throwing. We owe him this much.¡± The child had spoken a familiar name before but the sound of the old man''s voice sealed it for Adam. He knew that voice! ¡°Professor!¡± Adam called as he ran towards the trio. The old man was Professor Charles Greymore, the man he was hired to work under as part of the program he was piloting for the college. Charles turned to look over his shoulder, ¡°Adam! Oh it''s so good to see you. What the blazes happened to your arm?¡± While he had turned to speak with him, none of them stopped moving. They were running out of time. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it if we survive this hell hole¡± Adam turned to the kid ¡°Thank you for helping the Professor out during this time. I am sure he had a hard time understanding the game elements associated with all this system stuff.¡± Damian nodded his head and side-eyed Adam. He seemed like he was worried about Adam and clearly didn¡¯t want him to get too close. Charles looked at Damian, ¡°We have nothing to fear from Mr. Abrams, he is a colleague and someone I trust¡±. As he spoke the dreaded system message flashed in front of him.
The Third Wave begins in¡­ 5¡­ 4¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ FIght, Flee or Hide. The Choice is yours, Participants. Sponsorship Opportunities Remaining: 8/50 Prove yourself.
Only 8 Sponsorships left?! Adam thought there would be more but the number of available slots was decreasing between the waves. Somehow, people were demonstrating that they were worthy of a sponsorship even without the threat of the beasts. Based on the way that Damian had been looking at Adam with distrust he had a couple ideas as to how. ¡°Unfortunately, Damian, Terrence and I have had a run in with some other participants in this trial that believed the best way to be sponsored was by¡­culling the pool of participants.¡± Charles softly confirmed Adam¡¯s fears. Not only did they have to watch out for the oncoming horde of monsters, they also had to be wary of humans they came across. For a third time, a shattering noise echoed throughout the canyon, reminding them that the third wave was upon them. Briefly looking in the direction that the previous waves had come from, Adam witnessed the translocation of the beasts that were meant to test them. The shattering noise was accompanied by a visual fracturing of space in various places throughout the canyon and pouring from each of these spacial fractures were hundreds of creatures. Hippobulls and Gorillagliders were both present but this time, a third creature seemed to ooze out of the spaces alongside them. Being in the rolling grasslands, they were able to see much further than when Adam was in the woods and he watched as the newest of the shapes seemed to be nipping at the heels of the hippobulls. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Charles looked towards the beasts in the distance, ¡°It looks as if we have roughly 1 minute until they catch up to our position¡± For someone so old, he had exceptional vision. Adam would have never been able to judge the time it took for the beast to catch up to them. ¡°Adam, can you help us move this man towards that crack in the wall?¡± Adam had no relationship with this Terrence fellow but he could appreciate the effort that the professor was putting in to save his life. He could also see that while the Professor was spry and quite nimble for his age (he claimed it was all due to yoga and taichi) his physical weakness was the reason they were moving so slow. Grabbing the arm of the unconscious Terrence, Adam took the professor''s place and fought through the pain as the four men hurried towards a barely visible crack in the canyon wall. At this point, Damian''s fear radiated off of himself so densely that Adam felt that he could taste it. The boy was tripping over his own feet while carrying the man and kept looking back towards the approaching beasts, unintentionally slowing them down. ¡°Face forward kid! If you keep looking back, we won¡¯t make it in time!¡± Adam snapped at the boy. His sharp outburst did nothing to help the young man''s fear but at least he stopped turning around while they ran. As they got within 50 meters of the wall, disaster struck in the form of a Hippobull. The first of the beasts arrived faster than expected bugling as they charged directly at the group. Damian, scared for his life, let go of Terrence and sprinted ahead, almost flying across the remainder of the grasslands. By letting go of the unconscious man, all of his weight fell onto the injured Adam, knocking the both of them to the ground. Just when he thought all hope was lost, Charles grabbed hold of Adam and pulled. As he was pulled mostly out from under Terrence¡¯s weight he heard Charles mutter, ¡°I am so terribly sorry, Terrence.¡± His tug pulled Adam out of the way just in time to see the charging hippobull run straight through the spot where they had been standing. Terrence, who Adam had never gotten the chance to speak to, was trampled underfoot by the rampaging creature. ¡°Quickly, Adam. We must make it to the crack. It''s our only hope for survival here.¡± The professor was a jovial man by nature but in this moment, Adam felt the sadness that he felt over abandoning the man he didn¡¯t even know. While the previous beast had been ahead of the others before, the rest of the stampede caught up to them now. As they ran, he noticed that the newest creature was more horrifying than the last two combined. Darting in and out of the groups of hippobulls and gorillagliders were creatures that looked to be about the size of wolves but infinitely worse. Their leonine bodies covered with a spattering of hardened plates similar to those of a pangolin were clearly built for slaughter and they seemed to be herding the larger creatures towards them as they ran. Their massive fangs that dripped with the blood of other beasts were only the second most terrifying thing about them though, as throughout their time nipping at the larger beasts and occasionally throwing a swipe of a clawed paw at Adam and Charles, they were letting out a horrible cackling laugh. The laugh echoing from around the beasts that were charging them and the cruel intelligence in their eyes caused a primal fear to well up in both of the fleeing men. The canyon wall was only 15 meters away now and Adam could make out Damian huddled in the back of it. He was silently waving at the other two trying to get them to hurry to him. A look of confusion flashed across his face followed by a flash of joy before his eyes locked back on Adam and Charles. Adam couldn¡¯t hear anything he was trying to say over the sounds of the many monsters that he was trying to weave through but he did manage to see the boy form two silent words, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±, before he was encased in an egg of light and removed from the trial. Jealousy flared in the back of Adam''s mind. He knew that he shouldn¡¯t get upset with a scared boy but at that moment, it didn''t matter. The kid was sponsored and escaped this hell and yet, he was still there. He and one of his closest confidants, an elderly man in his 70¡¯s, were left behind to face a wave of monstrous beasts alone. In his frustration, Adam lost track of his surroundings and felt a searing burn across his back as claws slashed his skin to ribbons through his shirt. He screamed in pain but refused to fall. He just needed to make it to the safety of the crack. Next to him, Charles was doing oddly well. He was moving in front of the charging hippobulls and would then bend or twist his body out of the way at the last second. Every so often he would wince as a joint popped in a way that he didn''t like but, he had hurt himself millions of times over the course of his 76 years of life so what was a little joint pain in the face of all that? Right as Charles was about to step into the crack of the canyon wall, a place that seemed to be relatively safe at best and defensible at worst, a shadow fell over his head. From along the cliff face a gorillaglider leapt into the crack, effectively crushing their hopes of safety.
Yarutash lay comfortably within his glade. Surrounded by tall intricately carved stone spires covered in ancient runes and vines that were nearly just as old, the man had many system interface windows open before him. Flashing across each of the screens were images of chimeric creatures he had crafted and then bred specifically for this purpose. Why is it that I have been stuck overseeing these abysmal Trials? He wondered to himself. Yarutash knew the answer, even if he wanted to pretend that he didn¡¯t. He and the other High Lords of the Chimaeric Order had drawn straws and he had lost. His beautiful elven face was marred by a look of annoyance and his tail swished angrily as he watched yet another one of his babies get killed by a group of oddly muscular elves. Yarutash looked them over with disdain. Elves of this world are so¡­ brutish. While they might have been the same species at one point in time, Yarutash had been a member of the Chimaeric Order for tens of thousands of years and had made many modifications to his physical body. A majestic horn, glowing with holy mana, rose from his forehead and replacing his mundane elven lower body was a sleek and pristine equine form that had an additional set of golden brown wings that sprouted from its back. Quickly bored of the elves of the previous world, Yarutash switched over to watching a new trial. In this one, there were five humans left in the entirety of the trial! Pitiful things, they couldn¡¯t even pass the third stage? He let out a heavy sigh. It¡¯s tragic really, I can''t imagine a world of such low potential producing anyone of worth to our Order. As he continued to watch, one of the number of surviving humans dropped to three. A boy, a younger man and someone most humans of a pre-system world would consider old. Yarutash glanced at the number of Sponsorships he had left to give within this trial and noticed he had 4 Sponsorships available to give. Hmm¡­ I have nothing better to do. I guess I can watch these three and see if they seem interesting. If not, oh well. He twirled his hand and one of the stone pillars glowed. A vine rose from its surface and grew a series of fruits that glowed with a divine light. Entertain me, Humans. Yarutash settled in to watch their end unfold.
The gorillaglider swung its clawed paw down towards Charles and he sidestepped out of its way. At least he tried to, but a hippobull ran right behind him at that very moment, causing Charles to contort his body to try and dodge the blow. The strike flew past him but struck the hippobull behind, slicing the creature''s throat with its viscous attack. The panicking creature spun and in its flurry of limbs, hit Adam against the cliffside, pinning him in place as it dropped all of its weight across his legs. Adam felt his legs crumble under the weight, breaking his bones and forcing a rage that he had not known he possessed, to the forefront of his mind. In the spin, he had lost his boar skull but still had Luisa¡¯s makeshift bone knife. He ripped it from his belt loop and began to hack at the creature that laid across him. If he could just free his trapped legs, he would be able to survive. He could still get home. Charles knew what was happening to Adam but could do nothing to help him as he was still being attacked by the gorillaglider. He knew he was running on fumes but his flexible body allowed him to bend out of the way of almost every strike. That said, he had received many minor scrapes and was bleeding profusely at this point. After trying to get to Adam and failing, all he could do was try to hold on a little longer. Maybe when the wave ended, they would be able to patch themselves up and get sponsored. As soon as he had the thought of them getting sponsored he felt it. The instant clarity and security of the forming light pod that transported them to this trial. Charles couldn¡¯t believe it. He had been sponsored. He tried to step out of the pod and grab Adam but he couldn¡¯t. He looked at his young friend and repeated a statement he had said not too long before, ¡°I am so sorry, Adam¡±, and vanished. Adam was beside himself. First the boy and now the professor?! He felt so many things in the span of a second. Fear that he was going to die. Joy that Charles had escaped. Sorrow that he would never see his friends again. Disappointment that he had not been able to progress with Jessica even though they had only been dating for about a month. But most of all, he felt rage. An inexplicable rage towards these monsters that were stopping him from doing anything with his life. He hacked and stabbed into the flesh of the hippobull that was pinning him down and when one of the scalecats tried to jump on the corpse he stabbed it straight through the throat and watched as it died to his attack. It was the first time he had actually managed to kill another creature in his entire life. The death of the creature awakened something in Adam that he had never felt before. A primal emotion that was hard to describe using just a single word. If he was forced to try and quantify the feeling into two words they would be hunger and pride. He was proud that he had killed it and felt an immense sense of power for taking its life. Additionally he felt a hunger to do it again, to dominate the creatures that looked down on him that caused HIM to fear THEM. A primal scream left his ragged throat as he tried to drag himself out from the body he had mutilated. The loud noises and excessive blood drew many more creatures and it looked as if he was done for when a screen appeared in front of Adam''s blood soaked eyes.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected to be SPONSORED by High Lord Yarutash Enquill of the Chimaeric Order. Hold your head high, Human. You have entertained me. Return to the Integration Stasis and rise again as one of the Forerunners of your World. Your SPONSORSHIP Reward will be awarded upon activation of your Multiversal Status prior to the completion of your Integration Stasis.
Light sprung up from the ground around Adam and solidified into a light egg as Adam let his exhaustion take over. He had survived. He would make it home. 5. Multiversal Status Once again, Adam found himself alone in the darkness. However, this time he was accompanied by pain. Adams'' head was a mess. Now that he was out of imminent danger, the weight of the last couple hours truly settled in. Over roughly 3 hours, everything in Adam¡¯s life had been changed. Everyone he knew was trapped in an egg of light, he and at least one other person, Professor Greymore, had been sent into a death trap where they had to run away from literal MONSTERS, he had watched multiple people die horrific and violent deaths, hell he had even managed to kill a monster! With a piece of bone! Being saved by Luisa in the second wave and seeing the young man in the tree gain his sponsorship changed his way of thinking and gave Adam two goals. The first was to gain a sponsorship and escape the trial, and the other was to find Luisa¡¯s family and deliver her last words. He had no idea if he was going to be able to complete the second goal but he was determined to at least try. He had no idea how much time had passed since he received his sponsorship and was thus removed from the trial, but he somehow knew that time HAD passed. The excruciating pain of broken bones and open wounds was now a dull ache accompanied by an ungodly itching sensation. There was something else that seemed off as well. The darkness he found himself in felt¡­ different. Rather than feeling like he was floating in the void of space with no sense of his physical form, this time, he felt like he was hovering above the ground in a dark room. Adam attempted to reach out for something to grab and immediately regretted it as the pain in his left arm flared from the first wound he got during the trial: the pierced hole through his bicep from the boar skull. He hissed in pain and stopped searching for anything in his surroundings. His surroundings could wait, right now he wanted to know what would happen next now that he was out of the trial. He concentrated and tried to summon the previous system message but was taken aback when the space around him lit up, showing multiple different system screens worth of information.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have gained a status upon your world that few others will achieve! You are now a FORERUNNER OF EARTH. Less than 2% of your planet''s population have been given the opportunity to become one of the Forerunners and less than 1% will successfully achieve it!
So I''m a 1%er now? Adam pessimistically thought. Everyone ALWAYS loves the 1%... Other than the fancy title, does that even benefit me in any way? He went back to the first screen and checked to see if he had missed something and saw a single sentence at the bottom that he had not noticed before.
NOTICE: Individuals that have gained this title are rewarded with a special bonus upon completing the activation of their Mutiversal Status.
After he read that final line, the screen faded and was replaced by one of the others, this one was the same as the screens from the trial and had a pale gold color to it.
You have received your Sponsorship Rewards. High Lord Yarutash Equinquill has bestowed upon you a unique reward. Would you like to accept your rewards? YES / NO Warning: It is recommended for the Forerunner to complete their Multiversal Status Awakening prior to accepting a reward. Accept at your discretion.
Interesting¡­ The system message was oddly kind. Previously, the system seemed to just provide information, rather than advice. Maybe one of the many screens that floated before him would give him answers to some of his questions. Adam decided to follow the system''s recommendation and held off on accepting his Sponsorship reward. With a thought, the gold screen drifted to the side to be accepted later. A new message moved in to replace it.
Forerunner Adam Abrams, please think the phrase ¡°Multiversal Status¡± or simply ¡°Status¡± to begin the process of awakening. Notice: Individuals that enter into the Integration Stasis are forcefully awakened to mana. Mana is the essence of life throughout the multiverse. The ability to manipulate this essence means that the individual has awakened.,
This really is like the stuff Henry would go on about, he thought, Looks like I need to talk with him about this stuff when we get out of this stasis. STATUS! Adam shouted in his own mind. One second later, the screen morphed in front of him. This status was interesting because it digitized information about himself in a way Adam had never thought possible. His status read:
Name Adam Abrams
Species Human
Level 1
Pursuit ?
Class ?
Physique (Stage) N/A
Affinity ?
Strength 5
Dexterity 3
Vitality 4
Arcana 3
Pursuit Specialty Stat ?
Class Specialty Stat ?
Damn, I know I don¡¯t really do much, but those stats seem really low. While some of the status was filled in, other parts were marked with glowing question marks. Some of the status was self explanatory but Things like Pursuit, Class, Physique and Arcana were a mystery. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. By concentrating on the left side of the status sheet, a series of smaller screens popped up over the top of his personal information. Adam was taken aback by the amount of information provided in each section.
Name N/A
Species This section of your status denotes one''s species. It is possible for this to change.
Level Through actions associated with the individual''s Path, they gain experience. This experience is translated into a leveling system, digitizing an individual''s growth.
Pursuit When a being first awakens to mana and gains access to the Multiversal System, they choose from a number of available Paths of Pursuit. These Pursuits are directions that a being can choose to grow. When choosing a Path to pursue, the awakened individual is given 5 options to choose from. This is the first important decision that an individual makes as they pursue growth via the system.
Class Once an individual progresses down their chosen Path to Level 5, they select their Class. The Integration System analyzes the Integrated individual during the first 5 levels and curates between 3 - 5 different class options for them. These options are based on how the person thinks, utilizes mana, their combat ability/experience and general demeanor. As an individual grows, they have the opportunity to evolve or solidify their Class as they further their personal Pursuits.
Physique (Stage) This section of the Multiversal Status denotes when an individual surpasses the base level of or alters their species. Through this acceptance, they undergo a qualitative and forceful augmentation to their species, which shows up on their Multiversal Status in this location. Every Physique can be broken down into Stages, though they differ depending on the Physique. When a being surpasses the highest stage of their Physique, they can potentially evolve their Species and is known as a Peak Stage Physique. That said, not all Physiques are capable of evolution without specialty catalysts. A Peak Stage Physique that has the ability to evolve can be chosen to evolve in place of your class at the designated class evolution levels. Some individuals choose to do this repeatedly, eventually creating a new species.
Affinity This section of the Multiversal Status shows if an individual is predisposed towards a specific form of mana. There are a nearly unlimited number of affinity types though, not all individuals learn what they are predisposed to.
Strength This stat quantifies the amount of force an individual can exert. Strength directly correlates to the damage dealt with melee weapons.
Dexterity This stat quantifies an individual''s fine motor skills, coordination and ability to react.
Vitality This stat quantifies an individual''s constitution and stamina. Additionally, an individual''s vitality can determine their ability to recover and rejuvenate the body as well as the body''s physical resistance to harm.
Arcana This stat quantifies an individual''s amount of available magical power, magical resistance and magical insight. Mana is the name of the energy source that is directly related to this stat.
Pursuit Specialty Stat This stat is unique to individuals that share a Pursuit.
Class Specialty Stat This stat is based on the class an individual selects when they select their class at Level 5.
The amount of information provided by the system almost felt awkward. Why was there so much here? While Adam was obviously no expert on the system, he had noticed that so far, it left most things up to the individual to figure out for themselves. Then Adam had a thought. What if it gave this information so freely because it was given to everyone? So far, he had only experienced the trial to become one of the Forerunners of Earth. Becoming a Forerunner was noted by the system to be a very exclusive thing, meant for the ¡°chosen few¡± as it were. Hell, throughout the trial, messages kept reminding him that the participants needed to prove themselves. Maybe, I have so much information because I¡¯m a Forerunner? This led him to question some of the information provided. Was the system being completely transparent here? Or was it giving just enough information for an awakener to get by? He would have to keep these things in mind so he could talk to someone else about it after the stasis ended. Adam dismissed the descriptions provided by the system and focused on one portion of his status sheet: the Pursuit. It was the only portion of his status that was still glowing and obviously required his attention. I wonder what my options will be?
Scanning the Awakened now¡­
Once he had concentrated on choosing his Pursuit, a massive screen opened. This one was structured differently from the others and was split into five different portions. Once they had stopped spinning there were five different Paths of Pursuit for him to choose between, two of which were marked as ¡°Compatible Paths¡± while the other three were marked as ¡°Chance Paths¡±. When Adam concentrated on the Compatible Paths and Chance Paths markers, an intuitive feeling washed over him, depositing an impression of the two terms directly into his mind. Compatible Paths were exactly that, Paths of Pursuit that the system had deemed compatible for the awakened being, whereas the Chance Paths were Paths of Pursuit that were a complete gamble as the system didn¡¯t deem the awakened being as compatible with the essence of that path. Adam got the impression that while a Chance Path was a gamble, it did not mean that a person couldn¡¯t be successful on that Path, it was just harder initially. Adam¡¯s options were as follows:
Path of the Academic While weak in body, those walking the way of the academic make up for their lack of physical strength in mental acuity. Scholars seek the answers hidden deep in the universe. Individuals that wall this path tend to focus on concepts and research over all else. Collectively, they are seekers of knowledge and most general magic users originate from this path. Path of the Academic Specialty Stat: Cognition Compatible Path
Path of the Beast One who journeys down the Path of the Beast connects to the natural world in a way unlike any other. Those that walk this path have been chosen to safeguard the world from the hubris of enlightened civilization that would work against natural order. It is believed that the mythical beasts of old all originated from individuals that walked the Path of the Beast Individuals that walk this path are forever changed, gaining skills that center around the creation of their own physique, transforming their bodies at will and increasing their bestial nature towards their goals. This pursuit is exceedingly rare, and only able to be chosen by individuals that have a high compatibility with it, as designated by the system. Path of the Beast Specialty Stat: Instinct Highest Compatible Path
Path of the Traveler Travelers are students of the path itself. They follow the nebulous routes set before them. Individuals that walk this path focus on the journey and where it leads over all else. Trailblazers and pathfinders alike fall into this Pursuit. Path of the Traveler Specialty Stat: Direction Chance Path
Path of the Artist Though the world prioritizes function, it still finds necessity in art. Artists follow their muse along an often difficult path. Individuals that walk this path see the world differently from others. Closely associated with crafters, artists have skills that are driven by their creative vision alone. Path of the Artist Specialty Stat: Vision Chance Path
Path of the Nurturer Nurturers offer comfort to others in a foreign and dangerous world. While they take many forms, their end goals are often the same. Individuals that walk this path are devoted to helping others. Healers, cooks, therapists and many others all walk this path, using their abilities to build others up. Path of the Nurturer Specialty Stat: Empathy Chance Path
Adam was a little bit confused. When he thought about the Pursuits and Classes and stuff, he assumed that it would be really clear cut with terms like fighter or mage. After seeing that the Pursuits were classified as different Paths he again thought that things like Path of the Warrior would pop up. These five options were definitely not what he expected from such a brutal systemic change to the world they all lived in now. At least some of them were easy to understand. The Nurturer was clearly meant to be a supportive path in life. The Artist was confusing with its abstract nature. The Traveler was interesting because it felt like a path that was focused towards exploration. As a man that had been walking the Path of the Academic prior to the advent of the system, a Pursuit of its kind was oddly comforting. Additionally, the fact that Academics tended to produce many magic uses was a major point in its favor. However¡­ Path of the Beast was really intriguing. Firstly, Path of the Beast seemed to be something that was relatively rare in the grand scheme. If Adam was interpreting the system correctly, it was a path that could only appear for those that had Compatibility with it, meaning, it could not be a Chance Path for anyone. The Path of the Beast also had something that spoke to Adam on a deeper level. If he were to walk this path then he would become some kind of shapeshifter. If there was one thing that he learned during the previous trial it was that monsters were absolutely terrifying when you had to face off against them. The only time when his fears had been pushed aside was at the end of the third wave when he had let his rage and primal instincts take control. When the hunger for survival was so strong that he became the aggressor. It had been the first time in his life that he had let himself give in to anything other than rational thought. Even when he had lost himself in sadness or fear, there was a part, deep inside himself that understood the logical reason for his sadness or fear and allowed them to rule him in those moments. Adam knew instantly that he wouldn¡¯t be able to let himself take a path that the system had not deemed compatible for him. That left him with a choice between the Path of the Academic and the Path of the Beast. The Academic would most likely allow him to stay away from danger, maybe casting spells when he gained a class in the future, but the Beast pulled at him in a way that honestly scared him. He couldn¡¯t help but think about the rush he had felt when he killed the scalecat just before he was sponsored. After thinking his options over, Adam went with his gut and chose his path. 6. End of the Integration Stasis The screen in front of Adam changed.
You have chosen to walk the Path of the Beast! Tread carefully, as all paths are treacherous to those that don¡¯t watch their step. Stat Bonus gained per level: +1 STR, +1 DEX, +2 VIT, +2 Instinct and +1 Free Point
Adam felt a surge of energy run through his body. He felt stronger in every way. Arcana was a stat that he knew was directed towards mana and mana usage and since the Path of the Beast didn¡¯t have anything to say about magic, he wasn¡¯t surprised that it was not mentioned when he chose his path. Adam knew it was probably rash but with his experience of being trapped under the fallen hippobull during the trial, he added his free stat point into Strength. An additional rush coursed through his body. In the future, he will need to plan out his stat allotment but for now, more strength should allow him to better defend himself. At this point many of the screens that floated around Adam had disappeared. He belatedly realized that the screens that held the descriptive text for the status sheet had made up the majority of the screens around him and after he dismissed them earlier, the extra message screens winked out of existence with them. Now there were just two left: the Sponsorship reward message and a new one that required another decision.
Skill Selection An awakened will receive skills at predetermined levels as they progress down their chosen Path. Starting at Level 1 you must decide on a skill that will passively boost your abilities. Your options are:
Passive: Fight Passive: Flight Passive: Freeze
Gain a bonus to your Strength while in combat. Increase is based on your Arcana and Instinct. Current: 5 point Strength increase. Gain a bonus to your Dexterity while moving away from danger. Increase based on your Arcana and Instinct. Current: 5 point Dexterity increase. Gain a bonus to your Vitality whenever you take damage. Increase based on your Arcana and Instinct. Current: 5 point Vitality increase.
Looking at the skills he was a little disappointed but honestly, what did he expect? The ability to turn into a dragon or to throw fire? An ability that lets him turn invisible or something to give him super strength? Those were far from Level 1 skills. Adam looked over each of them before going back to check his status sheet. While his stats were all on the low side, his Dexterity was definitely his lowest aside from Arcana. He would need to do something about that. Especially as his first skill proved to him that even if his physical stats would be the cornerstone of his growth, Arcana would affect his skills. Remembering the horrible feeling of being chased, Adam selected the Flight passive ability. With this ability, he would be able to run away from dangerous situations quickly, better ensuring his safety. As he was about to accept his sponsorship reward, another skill screen popped up before him.
Your choice to walk the Path of the Beast allows for you to gain access to an additional Skill at Level 1. Congratulations, you have learned the skill Bestial Transformation!
Active: Bestial Transformation
Your choice to walk the Path of the Beast allows you to take a bestial form at will. This new form takes time to change in and out of and is based on your Physique. If this ability is activated prior to gaining a Physique, the skill will create a physique for the user based on the individual''s compatibility with a beast type. This transformation results in an adjustment to your stat allotment based on the form taken. Warning Maintaining the Bestial Transformation for extended periods of time can be detrimental to the mind.
HELL YES! Adam screamed in his mind. He actually could turn into an animal of some kind?! This was awesome! He couldn¡¯t wait to find out how to acquire a Physique so that he could transform into a badass creature. Overjoyed by the new skill he turned to the final screen: the Sponsorship Acceptance. He reread the screen one final time and looked at his Multiversal Status again so he could compare it to after accepting his sponsorship rewards.
Name Adam Abrams
Species Human
Level 1
Pursuit Path of the Beast
Class ?
Physique (Stage) N/A
Affinity ?
Strength 7
Dexterity 4
Vitality 6
Arcana 3This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Pursuit Specialty Stat: Instinct 7
Class Specialty Stat N/A
Passive Skills Flight
Active Skills Bestial Transformation
Titles Forerunner of Earth
The first thing he noticed was the increase in his stats due to his Pursuit selection. Next, he noticed that Instinct was now present as his Pursuit Specialty Stat and he had gained three extra parts to his status, one section each to see what passive and active skills he knew and another to display his Titles? He hadn¡¯t seen anything about the title he had earned so he quickly checked it out.
Title: Forerunner of Earth As one of the forerunners of Earth, you gain a permanent +1 to all stat allotments upon exiting the Integration Stasis. This bonus increases each time you evolve to a higher tier of existence.
Adam was thrilled, his stats had started abysmally but had quickly grown far beyond what he had originally started with. With all of that out of the way, it was time for Adam to accept his Sponsorship Reward. He pulled up the screen again and concentrated on accepting it.
High Lord Yarutash Enquill has bestowed upon you the unique reward: Assembled Bestial Skeleton This reward is bestowed upon you in the form of a Beast Chimera Physique. Warning: The acceptance of a Physique instantly begins the augmentation process. This may cause you to be in pain.
A Physique?! This is exactly what I need for my new skill! Adam¡¯s thoughts ran through all the possibilities before he realized that he had no say in what the physique would offer him now. Well, I hope it is a good one. Maybe, it will give me wings or something. That would be so coollLLAARRRGGGHHHH&$^#*(@)&#)@*#&%!!... The pain was excruciating. Adam felt as if his body was ripping apart from the inside. His blood was boiling and he had no idea how he would survive this pain. The feeling of being stabbed by the boar tusk or slashed by the scalecats claws were nothing compared to this. An observer would be able to see that all of Adam¡¯s bruised and broken bones were glowing within his body. After a couple seconds, they seemed to almost burn their way out of his body, magically removing themselves and being replaced with bones of various shapes and sizes. While they were completely different from human bones, as soon as they made contact with Adam¡¯s skin, they would glow and reshape themselves to mimic his previous skeletal structure, before sliding through the open holes in his body to recreate a new skeletal structure for him.
Adam¡¯s eyes opened and surprisingly, he felt great. His last thought before losing consciousness was that he was nervous about what he had become. He had no way to track the overall time that the process of gaining his Physique took, but Adam was only conscious for about 30 seconds of it. If how he currently felt was anything to go on, the Physique he gained was nothing but positive. All that said, this was the closest he had ever come to his mind actually breaking. The feeling of his bones being pulled from his body was¡­ indescribable. Thinking about what he just went through, Adam¡¯s body broke into a cold sweat. Okay, no more of that. Adam quickly tried to take his mind off of the process. Let¡¯s look at the results. He was getting better at utilizing the system and pulled it up. At this point Adam¡¯s starting stats were long gone. While he wasn''t sure just how he would compare to others, he couldn¡¯t believe how big of a change he had undergone since he first opened his status sheet. One of the expected changes was the Physique row of his status which read, ¡°Beast Chimera (Assembled Bestial Skeleton) [Fixed]¡±. He was unsure what it meant by [Fixed] but he was more interested in his other bonuses. He had gained a total of seven stat points and an additional title which he pulled up immediately.
Title: Beast Frame You have replaced your entire skeletal structure with the bones of beasts. You gain stat points associated with the creatures the bones came from. Torso: Wallbreaker Stag Chimera (+3 VIT) Arms: Canopyglider Ape Chimera (+2 STR) Legs: Armored Sabercat Chimera (+1 VIT) Skull: Undergrowth Boar Chimera (+1 ARC)
Adam could only assume that the creatures used to make his new skeleton were the beasts from the trial. With the various animal features that they each had, the fact that they were all considered to be chimeras wasn''t surprising. Of the four chimeras used to create his new skeleton, the only one that was surprising was the Undergrowth Boar. I guess I brought the boar skull with me after all, he chuckled to himself. He wanted to know if anything else had changed about him but due to the fact that he wasn¡¯t in a physical space, he couldn¡¯t see himself¡­ wait. That didn¡¯t make any sense. How could he feel all of the pain and know about the intensity of his own transformation if he didn¡¯t have his physical body in this space? Adam stretched his limbs out around him, searching for a surface, but found nothing. He concentrated on his eyes until he felt like his eyeballs would pop from the strain. Well, I guess I''ll have to wait and see. Unable to get a glimpse of his body, Adam settled for attempting to concentrate on the movement of his body. The feel of his skin, the twitch of his muscles and soft rhythmic feeling of his breathing. Concentrating on his body like this brought Adam back to memories with his childhood friend, Dante, and how he would try to get him to meditate. At the time, Dante was so sure that if they meditated like the characters in the martial arts stories he loved then they too would be able to sense their own life energy and could be superheroes. Damn, Dante is probably having a field day with this stuff. At different points in his life, Adam had tried to get into meditation and other more ¡°spiritual¡± practices but he just couldn¡¯t get into it. It all felt so¡­ unscientific for him. That said, he had many different conversations with Charles about the concept and gained some clarity from the professor. He had talked about the transference of energy and used scientific theory to ¡°trick¡± himself into following energy through the body. Charles used examples from Chinese medical practices and explained to Adam how he used the idea of ¡°meridians¡± throughout the body as a sort of racetrack for his imaginary energy ball to race along. This metaphor of the imaginary track through the body had always stuck with Adam as a more complicated version of counting sheep when you can¡¯t go to sleep and he decided that with the world changed, it probably held some merit now. He dove into his consciousness and attempted to feel the pathways that ran throughout his body in an attempt to gain feeling to parts of his body. He was unsure how long he engaged in this thought experiment but he was making progress. Adam had managed to regain feeling in his fingertips, shoulders, face and chest so far and started feeling around at his body while also trying to continue the exercise. Adam was initially pretty confused when he physically checked out his body. His shoulders felt a little wider, his arms felt a touch longer and most notable of all, Adam felt like he had lost a lot of weight and was much thinner than he had been previously. He couldn¡¯t help but hope that maybe he would look more muscular now. That would be a surprise for everyone when he got back. More time passed and he was able to get a better feel for his body. At least, as good of a feel as he could get without seeing it or being able to actually move it. So far only one thing seemed to be obviously different. He hadn''t grown wings or a tail or anything but he did have a new addition to his body and was unsure how he felt about it. Sticking out past his lips were two small tusks. From what Adam could tell, they weren''t huge like a stereotypical fantasy orc¡¯s would be, only sticking up about half a centimeter over his upper lip. They were not necessarily sharp either but they did feel tougher than an average tooth. The meridian track exercise was turning out to be an excellent time filler and it allowed for Adam to try and understand what all had changed in his body. He continued to focus on it for an untold amount of time until he felt a change in the space around him. Adam opened his eyes and found that he was no longer in some liminal space of darkness. Now, he was floating in space. ACTUAL space. He knew this because directly in front of him was Earth. Seeing it like this was truly breathtaking. As he pondered just how small he was in the face of the literal planet before him, a message screen burst into existence. The screen felt different this time and as he read its contents, he watched as Earth progressed through a series of massive events.
Returning to your World: EARTH The Integration Stasis provides an opportunity for the inhabitants of a world to gain access to mana. During this time, your world has also been inundated with mana, terraforming and changing its structure to allow for its inhabitants to progress as members of the multiverse.
He watched as the Earth seemed to break into several large pieces. Due to Adam¡¯s general understanding of geology, it looked as if the world split into sections along the tectonic plate boundaries. Morbid curiosity wouldn¡¯t allow him to look away from what must have been the end of the world happening before his eyes. However, as he watched, the Earth itself began to¡­ inhale? It looked as if an energy of some kind was being pulled out of the space surrounding the planet and was being used to fill in the gaps. New landmasses grew out of thin air, oceans poured across the surface of the planet, moving from one place to another like a person would move away when they no longer belong in their hometown, but in this case, rather than moving to grow, the oceans were more like refugees, searching for a new place to call home after the destruction of their own.
Returning to your World: EARTH Just as you and the planet itself have changed, the other creatures of the planet have changed as well. Be prepared, for as the Integration Stasis may be over¡­ Your Integration to the Multiverse has just begun. Fight, Struggle and Survive. Build a world stronger than the one you know. WARNING You will be deposited in the same space from which you left; however, the planet has changed. Be ready for anything.
The planet seemed to solidify into a new whole, increasing in size by at least 4 times. There were old places to rediscover, and new continents to explore. Adam, full of anxiety and a bit of excitement, resolved to do anything to survive. I¡¯ll carry your message, Luisa. I¡¯ll find them. And with that thought, Adam felt his consciousness speed towards Earth, flying towards what was once the Northwestern Coast of North America. 7. A New Earth Adam felt a rush as he plummeted towards the Earth. The closer he got, the odder the planet looked, too. I shouldn¡¯t be so surprised that it seems different. It did break apart not too long ago. As he approached, his sight slowly faded as he felt¡­ something?... happen to him. For the first time, he noticed a change in his surroundings as he was sent to a new location by the system. It felt as if he somehow knew that he had been moved through space. After spending the last while going through his status sheet, he was pretty sure that this feeling was due to his Instinct stat. It seemed as if the stat allowed him to develop almost a sixth sense about his body, instinctively knowing that something had happened even if he didn¡¯t fully understand what or how. The last thing that Adam saw as he ¡°fell¡± was the image of the changed earth and what looked like a bastardization of North America. The coastlines seemed off and water was in different places than it should be. He felt the space around him stabilize, as if the light egg was being set in place, and with a nearly imperceptible sizzling sound, the egg began to dissolve around him. Adam¡¯s heart was pounding as he waited for the shell of light to disappear. As it slowly became opaque he noticed that the area he was in currently was too bright to be indoors. I thought it said we were being returned to the same place we left? He thought nervously. Despite the fact that he had survived the ¡°Beast Gauntlet¡± trial, or the-worst-experience-of-Adam¡¯s-life as he called it, Adam was still basically the same person. He had gained some perspective about how the world would be changing, but he hadn¡¯t become a completely new person in just a couple hours. This entire situation was still scary and he wasn¡¯t sure he would be ready for what was ahead. A wave of euphoria coursed through him as he gained the bonus stats from his new Forerunner of Earth title. The primary stat that he felt a difference from was his Instinct once again, bringing a general awareness of his surroundings to the front of his mind. He instantly knew that the area he was in didn¡¯t have any major threats. How convenient. The egg slowly dissolved into nothingness, leaving Adam standing in a partially destroyed building. A rush of stale salty air assaulted his nostrils, reminding him of his close proximity to the ocean once again. The floors were gouged and all of the furniture was moved and piled against what had been the eastern wall of the Student Center. Everything in the building showed signs of severe water damage, reminding Adam of the oceans being forced across the surface of the fractured planet during the start of the terraforming. Clearly, ocean water had flowed through the campus during that period. Somehow the buildings had survived such an onslaught. Mana probably had something to do with it. When in doubt: magic, I guess. A loud clattering made him jump and he felt something else turn its attention towards him. ¡°Shit!¡± he muttered as he jumped away from the noise. Adam was shocked and mildly amused by what he saw. A human skeleton was spread across the floor where he had been standing. The leg bones were broken in multiple places and the ribs on the left side were cracked. His bones that had been replaced had come back with him. Morbid curiosity led him to pick up what had once been his femur. It was broken at one end but was sharp enough to be used to stab something if he needed too. His movements felt slightly off though as he realized once more that his body was not the same as it had been. ¡°Adam?¡± a voice whispered from off to the side. He whipped around and saw, about 20 feet from him, Otto, staring at Adam with wide eyes. ¡°Is that you dude? What happened? You¡¯re skin and bone!¡± Adam glanced down at himself and was able to fully see how he had changed. What was left of Adam¡¯s clothing was sagging off of his frame. It looked as if he hadn¡¯t eaten in months and while he hadn''t gotten taller, his frame made him look more¡­ solid. Definitely thin, but still solid. Regardless of how great he felt, his skin had a hint of a jaundiced yellow tone to it as well. Damn¡­ I look kinda washed out. He scanned Otto and whispered back, ¡°Of course it''s me! What happened to you?!¡± Otto didn¡¯t have much room to talk though as he had clearly undergone a trial of some kind as well. If Otto had been big before the integration, he was huge now. Adam¡¯s bookish and buff friend had transformed into a towering and imposing figure. All of his clothing had torn slightly, as he had gone from 6¡¯5¡± and 270 lbs to what looked like 7¡±5¡± and 325 lbs. Not only had he grown exponentially, his features had taken on an otherworldly aspect that was hard to describe. Faint teal runes pulsed across his skin and if you focused on Otto¡¯s eyes behind his long black hair, you could see that his previously green eyes had streaks of glowing blue that caused them to emanate a hint of teal light as well. ¡°Why do you look like some kind of god?¡± Adam grumbled, ¡°How is it fair that I look like some kind of addict, but you come back looking even hotter than before?¡± Now that he was actually talking, he realized that some of his words were a little jumbled due to the presence of his new tusks. Otto bashfully scratched at the back of his head, ¡°I was selected to undergo a Trial by some group called the Nephilim''s Haven. While I was with them they¡­¡± He was cut off by a message from the system.
Welcome back to Earth! As Forerunners, you have been returned earlier than the other inhabitants of your world. Forerunners are meant to lead a world''s inhabitants into the future, helping the other denizens get accustomed to the changes in your reality. Other inhabitants will start returning in 60 seconds. WARNING Humanity has been absent from Earth for 8 months (in Earth relevant time scaling). The wildlife of the planet has grown and adapted to survive in this new world. An influx of humans back into any environment may cause an influx in mana infused animals.
As they read their message, they both realized that this wasn¡¯t the time to swap their stories. They weren¡¯t safe yet. ¡°We should make sure the area is safe for when the others come back.¡± Otto suggested. They quickly looked around for anything in their vicinity that could be dangerous, but found nothing of note. Adam was sure they looked ridiculous, walking around dressed the way they were. Adam¡¯s shredded clothing hung off of him like some kind of halloween decoration, while Otto looked like an adult that squeezed into a child''s sweatsuit. ¡°So, what did you select?¡± asked the massive man, ¡°I went with the highest compatibility option for myself and chose Path of the Academic. Although, I am not sure how much that will help right now.¡± Adam blinked in surprise, ¡°Wait, you look like that and you''re an Academic? How does that make sense? I assumed you were some kind of Warrior or something since you are so big now.¡± He chuckled, ¡°Warrior wasn¡¯t even an option for me. My¡­ new body is from my sponsorship.¡± Otto clarified, ¡°I was given a Physique. Apparently, beings from other parts of the multiverse can just do that. Gift someone with the ability to alter their body, changing them to slowly become more like a new creature altogether.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. As he talked, Adam got the feeling that Otto was incredibly interested in this topic. Well, looks like Physiques might be a new hyperfixation for him. His big friend continued, ¡°Anyways, I got a Titan Physique, which I guess is technically a half-angel, according to Hrueltrix.¡± Adam just stared at Otto. A titan was the same thing as a half-angel? And Otto just¡­ kind of is one now? This was going to take a while to get used to. ¡°You are going to have to explain that to me later cause that doesn¡¯t make much sense to me.¡± He looked at his jaundiced arm questioningly. Well¡­ I think I will have to do some explaining as well. They continued to move away some of the rubble, opening up the space for the eventual arrival of their friends, when two of the eggs appeared near the edge of their cleared space. Adam made his way to where the eggs were forming, looking around to see if any others were coming back and sensed that another was appearing farther across the building. Must be one of the security guards. Watching the light eggs dissolve from the outside was interesting as he could see the particles of light dissipating into the atmosphere. However, rather than disappearing into nothingness, Adam could faintly sense the energy as it faded. Oddly enough, he felt like some of the energy seemed to be moving towards Otto. The runes on his skin would emanate an infinitesimal amount of light as the energy brushed against him. No¡­ was absorbed by him. Interesting. Out from the two eggs came a redheaded woman and a lanky brown haired man. Sylvia and Henry were back. They appeared very close to one another and the two Forerunners quickly moved towards them. Adam smiled at both of them, ¡°Welcome back guys, this is all so crazy. Otto and I¨C¡± he was cut off by a fist attempted to slam into his face. ¡°ORC!¡± Henry yelled, ¡°Sylvia, get behind me! I think we have to kill it. Did you get any skills to fight?¡± Before Adam got a chance to even reply, Henry was throwing a series of punches towards Adam. Luckily for Adam, his new stats allowed him to dodge the majority of the blows. Surprisingly, the ones that did manage to land didn¡¯t cause any real damage. Henry was no boxer. ¡°Dammit dude, would you stop?! It¡¯s me, Adam!¡± The words took a second to sink in but recognition spread across his face. Otto chuckled from the side causing Henry to acknowledge him next. He froze as he scanned up towards his friend''s head, blood draining from his face. ¡°What the fu¡­.¡± his anxiety turned to realization and then to jealousy as he glanced between them, ¡°How come you guys got to change your race and I didn¡¯t? I totally would have made myself an elf or something.¡± ¡°Firstly, we didn''t get to change our race like a video game,¡± Otto responded while giving Sylvia a side hug, ¡°We can talk about this more later, we need to make sure that we are safe while we wait for the others.¡± Sylvia spoke up for the first time, ¡°The system said monsters might be close when we returned, we should check the rest of the building.¡± She always had been pragmatic. ¡°We did a quick sweep of the room before you guys came back, but we haven¡¯t been outside just yet,¡± said Adam. He wasn¡¯t particularly keen on rushing outside without the others, however, they needed to be sure that the area was safe. While he had been looking through the rubble previously, he had found a couple of bags against the far wall. Among them was Jessica¡¯s purse and Henry¡¯s club bag. Considering the way that the world was now, he figured that Henry¡¯s bag would come in handy. The bags and rubble all had the same saltwater bleach stains across it. Hopefully, Henry¡¯s gear wasn''t ruined. He tossed the bag to its owner, ¡°I found this while we were looking around. Based on your reaction to seeing me, I assume this will help?¡± Henry grinned, ¡°Thanks Adam, this will help a lot.¡± Once he had his bag, Henry¡¯s entire demeanor changed. He felt more confident and looked at ease. Adam on the other hand registered his change in demeanor as something else: danger. Henry felt distinctly more dangerous than he had before. Getting used to these instincts is going to take some time. The four friends decided that Sylvia and Henry should be the ones to greet the others since they didn''t have any changes to their appearance. As the next light egg appeared, Adam and Otto waited a couple steps away and kept watch. During the time it took for the others to catch up with Adam and Otto, Adam had sensed the ¡°security guard¡± sprint out of the building. The fact that he would run out without talking to anyone made total sense to Adam. I would rush out too if my family lived nearby. Most YCC staff members lived in the area and he was most likely heading back home to find his family. His quick disappearance had taught Adam that his new senses were not infallible though, as by the time the man had passed through what remained of the entryway of the building, Adam lost track of him with his new Instinctual senses. He could still faintly hear his footfalls but his presence, for lack of better word, was out of his sensory range. The new light egg turned out to be Emi. She was just as startled by the changes in Adam and Ottos appearances and reacted in a bizarre way. Looking at Adam she pulled back and muttered a phrase in Japanese that none but Henry could understand. While he couldn¡¯t speak the language, he was enough of a weeb to understand a lot of phrases. ¡°Emi, that''s just Adam. He isn¡¯t an Oni,¡± he laughed, ¡°Your reaction is better than mine though, I thought he was an orc and tried to attack him¡±. She looked mildly chastized and then looked up at Otto and blushed. Adam had noticed that Emi and Sylvia both blushed a little when they looked at Otto¡¯s new form. He couldn¡¯t really blame them though. His large friend was a specimen of a human before he added all of the otherworldly elements. Not that he would ever notice their appraising looks. Big guy was even more clueless towards women than Henry. About 5 minutes had passed since the planet''s Forerunners had returned to Earth and Adam was starting to get nervous. The system claimed that groups of people returning would cause monsters to appear. So it only made sense that the longer they stayed in one place, the more likely it would be for a monster to come find them. He decided that while waiting for Jessica, he would move some of the rubble from the wall to make a barrier of sorts. Hopefully, it would obstruct any creatures that showed up while they were waiting. They all talked while they waited. Henry led the conversation and wanted to know what Pursuits everyone had picked. Unsurprisingly, he had chosen the Path of the Warrior. He was part of the fencing club at the school and had trained in various forms of martial arts growing up but had always pursued sword forms above all else. Henry now had his fencing foil on his hip and a Chinese jian across his back. The jian was something new as he had started meeting up with Professor Greymore in the mornings to do tai chi. Being the cringeworthy sword nerd that he was, Henry had seen that there were tai chi sword forms that you could do and decided he wanted to practice that instead of normal tai chi. Needless to say, having two swords in this situation, even if they were blunted for sports and training, was a blessing. Sylvia and Otto both had selected the Path of the Academic. It seemed that they both were highly compatible with that particular Pursuit and were hoping to be able to learn magic. Emi showed that her choice of Path of the Crafter was perfect almost instantaneously, as she helped Adam with the correct placement of materials for the barrier he was making. She also snagged Henry¡¯s jian and was attempting to sharpen its edges while directing Adam. Once Adam said what he had chosen, Otto turned to Adam while he helped him move a large piece of what was once a concrete wall. ¡°What is the Path of the Beast? Is it an animal control focused Pursuit? I didn¡¯t know you liked animals so much.¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not positive what this Pursuit is going to do for me,¡± he said, ¡°I had the highest compatibility with this Path and all I really know is that it directly connects with a person''s Physique.¡± ¡°Did you get any active skills from it? I got Strike with my choice. It lets me empower any attack I make, which makes sense considering I am a warrior now,¡± Henry asked from beside Emi. He was almost vibrating with excitement over being able to use his weapons. ¡°Maybe the skill you got will help you understand it? Unsure what else to say, Adam began to explain his skill, ¡°So, my skill is kind of¡­ scary? At least it is to me. The idea behind it is awesome but it''s the kind of skill that comes with drawbacks.¡± Adam looked nervously at his friends as he continued, ¡°It says that when I use it too much it could have negative side effects. Well, it actually says that the longer that I have it active, the higher the chance of there being negative effects. So, I am a little¨C¡± His danger senses flared in a way that left him shivering, his friends looked at him in a confused manner as he whipped his head around. Nothing seemed to be present until a dreaded system screen appeared.
Integration Complete! All surviving members of Earth have been returned to their starting point. Two percent of your world''s population were selected to undergo the Forerunners Trial. These individuals have earned Sponsorships from various Factions of the Multiverse. While some conquered their trials and came back as Forerunners of Earth, others perished during their trials. They return to you now as your first challenge. The Multiverse is a dangerous place. Survive and join the rest of existence.
¡°Wait, what about Jessica? She isn''t back yet?¡± Otto was confused. Adam reread the message and felt his heart break. He and Jessica had been together for almost a year and he really loved her. Jess always had a smile on her face and was so willing to give her time to help others. She was an amazing woman and they were even looking at buying a house together. As his friends continued to try and question the system, Adam felt the hairs on his body start to rise. His pulse quickened and once again, he began to sweat. Something dangerous was coming. He could feel it. Surrounded by a newly built barrier, Adam realized that he might have doomed his friends, rather than helped them. With a pulse of energy, a new light egg appeared among the group of friends. This egg was a sickly green and black color and gave off a feeling of decay. Worst of all¡­ the egg was in the same place that Jessica had been. 8. The First Challenge Tensions rose among the five friends as they gazed upon the malevolent egg. Before their very eyes, the light egg began to bulge and warp, causing the egg to seem less "magical" and more membranous. Rather than uniformly growing in size it slowly deformed as an unknown pressure built, waiting to rupture like a grotesque overinflated balloon. ¡°EVERYONE OUT!¡± yelled Adam. His heart was pounding as he watched the egg slowly grow, its green and black light softly coloring the space in an aura of decay. Images of the beasts from the previous trial flashed through his mind. The bully that took the boar skull getting smashed, Luisa¡¯s body being yanked out of the tree hollow after she stabbed the beast, Terrance having to be left behind during their wild dash to the canyon wall. Those deaths happened right before his eyes and he was unable to help them. He couldn¡¯t let his friends die as well. He looked at Otto, ¡°Can you get them over the wall without breaking it?¡± As the system had reminded them, he and Otto were Forerunners. Part of their responsibility as Forerunners was to help the others around them. Otto stood with his eyes wide. He had never seen Adam make such a stern face before. Something more fundamental than his body had changed in Adam, his eyes held an intensity that he never before would have associated with his friend. ¡°Yea, I can do that. What are you going to do?¡± Adam turned back to the light egg, ¡°I am going to use my skill¡± he said, ¡°I''m not sure what is going to happen but I am going to change.¡± Otto saw a flash of anxiety flit across Adam¡¯s face as he continued, ¡°Can you take them¨C¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late!¡± called Henry from the other side of the space. He had taken out his fencing foil and had shakily placed himself between the two girls and the egg. Emi, still holding the now sharpened and sheathed jian, and Sylvia were climbing over the barrier as the egg burst apart, sending a foul smelling gel-like substance splattering across the mostly cleared floor. Standing in the center of the eruption was a large hunched humanoid figure. The shape was vaguely feminine but any resemblance to their friend was gone. A black oily substance oozed from a massive hole through the figure''s stomach, running down its furred legs to pool on the floor. Its upper body was clothed in torn rags and long bone-like claws extended from the monster''s hands. Lastly, the head was a deerlike skull that was directly attached to the neck with a set of large broken antlers protruding from the top, its eyes two toxic green flames floating in the eye sockets. What was once Adam''s beautiful girlfriend was now a monster of a caliber beyond that of the beasts he had experienced in his trial. The monster that was once Jessica stood tall, close to the same height as Otto, and let out an unearthly shriek. The sound echoed throughout the building sending chills down the spines of all that heard it. Adam, with his new bestial aspects and mildly enhanced sensory abilities took a step back and felt an instant increase to his Dexterity as his passive skill Flight reacted to the danger. This was the first time that he had felt the effects of a skill and he was glad for it. The increased dexterity helped him navigate away from her as the monster took a step towards him, scenting the air with a long black tongue that slithered out of the deer skull. The creature had caught his scent and lunged in his direction. As he darted backward towards the barrier, he could feel her gaining on him. Adam saw a piece of rusted rebar with concrete on the end and snagged it as he moved, ready to defend himself. The small wall they had built wasn¡¯t anything special, just bits of broken furniture and the remains from broken walls, but it worked as a quick obstruction. Adam rolled over the remains of a table with the monster on his heels, and spun, the improvised club swinging behind him just in time. The club collided with one of her outstretched claws as she struck out at him. Adam¡¯s quick movement allowed him to catch a glimpse of the others as he held the monster''s attention. Sylvia and Emi had been pulled over the barrier by Otto and were moving towards the exit, trying to escape the building. Sylvia and Emi kept looking back but were pulled along by their massive friend. He didn¡¯t know how his skill was going to work but he knew it was about time to try it out. All he needed was an opportunity to transform. Luckily for him, the force of the strike from his club turned the monster to face the wall just as a thin sword stabbed into her side. After he was moved out of the barrier, Henry had chosen to stay and help Adam instead of fleeing with the others. Adam watched as Henry¡¯s foil flashed multiple times, piercing into the torso of the creature and heard the beast hiss in pain. His instincts flared as the creature loaded up for a strike. Adam could feel a faint energy around Henry¡¯s foil and knew that this upcoming attack was too much for him to take head on. He grabbed his lanky friend by the belt loop and pulled him back from the debris just as she unleashed her attack. Black ichor wrapped around her bone claws, enlarging them to disproportionate sizes before slashing through the barrier like it wasn¡¯t even there. Adam and Henry tumbled backwards out of the way of the skill and watched as the bits of furniture rotted and corroded at the touch of what could only be mana enhanced black ichor. Seeing the damage it could do, the two friends did the only thing they could think of: they ran as fast as they could after the others. Fighting is a good idea but I don''t even know what my skill will do yet. I need time to prepare. ¡°Do you think you can hold your own for a second against that thing?¡± Adam asked as they sprinted through the hall. ¡°Are you crazy?! She is basically a boss monster and we are still level 1! There is no way I can fight that thing on my own.¡± The two of them ran around the corner towards the entrance of the building and were surprised to see four figures before them. Sylvia, Emi and Otto were standing with weapons drawn alongside an older gentleman with dark suntanned skin and long braided hair. He was in athletic shorts and a t-shirt and was oddly barefoot. While his clothes didn¡¯t match his usual attire, Adam recognized the man as Professor Michael Johnson, the Professor of Archeology at the college. Johnson was a well known professor on campus that specialized in Indigenous Cultures of North America. All of this flashed through Adam''s mind as the two of them ran towards their friends. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. A loud crash echoed behind them as the monster slammed into the wall, unable to turn the corner at its speed. ¡°Keep coming this way! It¡¯s right behind you!¡± the professor called out. He turned to Otto and Sylvia and yelled ¡°Now!¡± Then he took his shirt off. The weirdness of seeing the old man rip his shirt off in this situation was lost on Adam as he saw fur begin to cover the old man''s expanding body as he fell to the ground on all fours. As he collapsed to the ground, Otto and Sylvia stepped forward and threw stones at the monster as hard as they could. Sylvia didn''t manage to hit, but the second stone that Otto threw bashed into one of the monster''s legs, hobbling it for a moment. At that moment, Emi surprised them both by sprinting straight at the monster. Once she was right in front of it, she drew the jian out of its sheath and in one fluid motion, slashed at the creature''s hobbled leg. The sword bit into it''s flesh but failed to do any significant damage, leaving Emi vulnerable to the beasts powerful backhand blow across her chest. The force of the strike threw Emi back into the wall, cracking the weather worn decorative tiles as she slid to the floor unconscious. As the closest to the monster, Henry dove towards Emi, somehow managing to redirect a secondary strike aimed for his small friend''s head. His redirection cost him though, as he had to trigger another use of his Strike skill, using up the minor amount of mana he had. Henry felt a tugging sensation through his torso as mana from his body worked its way through his arm and reinforced his fencing foil. His blade hummed with an invisible energy as he attempted to redirect the slashing claws. While he managed to move the bone claws away from Emi¡¯s prone figure, he did so by throwing his weight against his blade, resulting in a burning cut across his shoulder blades. Strike was an offensive skill, one that allowed his next attack to deal more damage, and his attempt to utilize it in a defensive manner went completely against its very nature. Adam, who had been in front of Henry due to Flight increasing his abilities while moving away from danger, wasn¡¯t able to turn back to help as quickly as Henry had been. However, this did allow for him to witness something incredible. From where Professor Johnson had fallen, rose a massive white shape. A snarling noise reverberated through the entryway as what could only be described as a dire wolf leapt into the building towards the monster. Something pinged in the back of Adam¡¯s mind as he saw the old man change right in front of him and he knew. The canine form of Professor Johnson rushed past Adam, locking eyes with the man before it fully passed him. He is just like me. Sensing a new threat, the monster growled and turned away from the injured bodies of Henry and Emi on the floor, only to be body slammed through a double doorway into a conference room by the wolf before it could fully register the new threat. Sylvia ran to Adam while Otto ran to the others. Grabbing him by the shoulder Sylvia asked, ¡°Are you ok?! Did she hurt you at all?¡± She didn¡¯t even let him answer before she quickly checked him over. Finding no signs of injury, Sylvia quickly rushed over to Emi and Henry instead. Despite the fact that she was currently working as an instructor, she was still a medical professional and knew how to tend to most wounds. Seeing the damage done to Henry''s back she ripped her jacket off and started putting pressure across it. ¡°Adam, I need you to hold this on Henry''s back to slow the bleeding!¡± While waiting for Adam, Sylvia turned her attention to Emi. The diminutive woman only had a single visible injury: a compound fracture in her left forearm. Otto was gently holding her and after a glance at Sylvia said, ¡°Syl, it looks pretty bad but¡­ I think I can reset the bone. ¡± He looked towards the sound of the fighting, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should stay here, Professor Johnson came from next door and said, everything has changed out there.¡± Otto was a gentle soul all things considered and he was nervous to get to safety. Sylvia couldn¡¯t blame him, their lives were flipped on their heads and one of her closest friends since moving here was now trying to kill them all. ¡°We are going to have to risk it, Otto. I am not even sure if Johnson can beat that thing.¡± It was hard to think of that monster and Jessica being the same creature, but it was just another fact of their new fucked up reality. Adam took over for Sylvia and held the bundled jacket over Henry¡¯s wound. While his friends reset Emi¡¯s arm and discussed what to do next, Adams'' focus was on the sounds of the fighting in the nearby conference room. Occasionally, he could see flashes of white or black as they fought back and forth across the room. He could feel the shaking rumble of their heavy stomps and body slams against the walls of the structure through every fiber of his being. He could hear the blood rushing to his muscles, urging him to join the fight. Henry groaned in pain as he sat forward, ¡°Where is my sword?¡± Adam helped his friend sit forward and handed the foil to his friend. As it was a weapon that was designed for sport, not for actual combat, the blade had not held up during the previous exchange with the monster, snapping just past the halfway mark. Luckily, the weapon wasn¡¯t completely useless as the break still had a sharp point. He gripped the hilt of his blade and made to stand up, ¡°We need to help the professor.¡± Adam stood with Henry, still applying the pressure to his back. He tucked his broken foil through his belt and went to gather the jian from where Emi had dropped it before. ¡°Even after turning into that¡­ awesome wolf, I can¡¯t imagine him beating that thing,¡± Henry continued. Even injured and bleeding, Henry still had an air of excitement about him. Adam nodded, ¡°Honestly, I agree, but an injured swordsman isn¡¯t going to be able to provide as much help as he will need. You should stay in the doorway and help if it gets close to our exit.¡± he turned to Otto, ¡°Can you throw some more rocks at that thing? I am going to go in and help.¡± Otto gently moved Emi across to an old couch before grabbing a couple head sized stones and eyed Adam again, ¡°You and the professor have the same Pursuit, don¡¯t you.¡± Adam sighed and nodded again, ¡°Yeah, I think we do¡± he started taking off his clothes and laying them on the ground as he talked, ¡°I don¡¯t know what I will change into once I activate this skill but if there ever comes a time when I attack one of you, I want you to kill me.¡± "Kill you?! No way could I--" "Otto, I mean it." Adam locked eyes with his friend. "Jessi... Jessica is already a monster that is trying to kill us. Dude, I don''t know what your Trial was like but mine was bloody and brutal. Monsters killed and ate people in front of me and I barely survived." The space was silent aside from the sounds of fighting in the conference room. "If I attack anyone, I want you to fight back and kill me. Don''t let me change back with the others blood on my hands." Concern etched across his face, Otto conceded, "Fine. Ill do my best. Just... don''t attack us. Please." Turning into a beast was obviously powerful based on what he was seeing from the professor, but the warning that the skill came with made him nervous. During his statement to Otto, Adam nudged Henry as well. Of their small group, he was the only one that actually had any combat abilities and he hoped that he would be able to stop him if he ever became a monster. The wounded swordsman moved Adam''s clothing out of the way and quickly nodded. He would do what was needed. The uncharacteristically cold winds brushed against his body as he knelt onto the ground and activated his skill, Bestial Transformation. Loud cracks and painful groans filled the air as his body shifted and expanded outward. I hope this pain doesn¡¯t happen every time, he thought. The pain faded faster than he thought it would and Adam felt completely different. Despite having a completely new body shape, Adam felt like his new form was¡­ comfortable and correct, like it was a form he should have had forever. He stood up on his four legs and turned to face his friends. Their pale faces stared up at him with only Otto¡¯s face being above his own. While he wanted to stay with them, his new form increased his senses exponentially, and there was one thing that filled his nostrils: blood. Professor Johnson was losing. 9. A Step Forward Michael The scent of stale salt water and blood filled Michael''s nose as he paced around the ruined conference room. A fallen stack of chairs created a minor barrier between him and the monster. Every step he took sent flares of pain through his bloody shoulders and hips, reminding the man of the damage he had already taken. Earlier that day The onset of this systemic integration of the world had initially confused him. As someone that spent most of his time researching the past, the futuristic and gamelike elements of the system were hard to understand at first. Unsure what would be the best choice, he simply selected the Path of the Beast pursuit because the system had shown that his compatibility with it was high. After reappearing in his office once the Integration Stasis ended, he decided to try out his new skill. Unfortunately for him, his office had actually survived the changes to the world with minimal damage. This meant that the destruction it sustained from his body changing into a massive wolf-creature could only be blamed on himself. The arrival of ominous system messages saying that they would be tested, forced Michael to deactivate his skill so that he could look for others. People would surely think he was a monster if he left while transformed. A quick jog out through the remains of the Health and Science Building took him towards the center of campus where he had seen a changed landscape. He had not been able to focus too heavily on the new scenery as people were rushing across the campus in various directions, but it was hard to ignore the fact that somehow, the campus buildings were at a different elevations. After entering the courtyard, he planned to head towards the Administration building to find his friend Matthew Smith, the college¡¯s Dean, but things changed when he heard an unearthly shriek coming from the Student Center. His blood pumped and an odd sense of excitement caused him to move towards the sound, easily moving past the few students that were fleeing instead. His bestial instincts allowed him to sense that there was a dangerous entity within the building and a newly awakened part of him wanted to fight it. The next minute and a half flew by as he ran into a couple familiar students that were exiting the Student Center. They gave him a quick rundown on what was happening inside, before he saw two more of their friends and the creature that was chasing them. Stripping out of his spare gym clothes¡ª his original clothes were shredded in his first transformation¡ª Michael transformed into his new bestial form again. His new form was awkward at first but this time, he had no chance to overthink his unfamiliar body structure so he let his instincts take over as he charged the creature. As he passed the students, he made eye contact with one of them and realized it was Adam Abrams, a graduate assistant that was working with Professor Greymore. In that brief moment, Michael recognized that there was something about Adam that called out to him. Something about the man felt¡­ off. His animalistic instincts couldn¡¯t quite tell if he was predator or prey, a ridiculous thought to have about another human but he couldn¡¯t help it. Those thoughts could wait though, as he leapt through the air and slammed into the monster that was attacking the young McCoy boy, carrying it through a set of double doors that led into a conference room. Semi-rotted wood and heavy plastic flew as the two monstrous bodies crashed into the conference table and some rolling chairs, shattering the worn furniture on impact. Present Had it not been for his newly awakened bestial instincts, Michael would surely be dead. Michael had firstly, spent the majority of his life in academia studying ancient cultures; gaining understanding of combat only through the study of books, scrolls and ancient weaponry, so he had no experience with real life combat. Second, and most important, he had never been a wolf before. If he let himself think too much, he would make a mistake and stumble over his own paws, get scared by his tail or snag his claw on something. By embracing the animalistic nature of his transformation, Michael had been able to hold the wendigo-esque monster at bay. That said, the professor wasn¡¯t the only one injured in their scuffle. Michael¡¯s jaws were covered in black and green ichor from when he had clamped his jaws around the creature''s side. Its legs and left arm sported multiple open wounds where his sharp claws had found purchase. Michael¡¯s hackles rose as he could sense that the monster was gathering energy for another attack. Black ichor lifted from the floor at its feet and attached to the spindly bone claws of the beast''s right hand before it unleashed another unearthly shriek and slashed forward towards the crouched wolf. He dodged to the side as the blades of ichor launched from the monster''s hand, slicing through the obstructing chairs, past his side and into the wall behind him. This wasn¡¯t the first attack of its kind that he had witnessed, either, as large gashes littered the walls and floor of the room from previous attacks. With a burst of speed, Michael threw himself at the monster once more, slamming his body into it in an attempt to knock it prone. Unfortunately, the creature bent low at the last moment and halted his forward momentum across its antlers, sliding a mere meter backwards along the floor. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Stuck in such an awkward position, Michael growled at the beast and sunk his teeth into its already damaged left arm before yanking away as hard as he could, like a pitbull pulling on a rope. And in a style reminiscent to the aforementioned rope, the creature''s arm was ripped apart at the weakest point: the elbow. A wail pierced through Michael¡¯s ears as the monster flew back against the wall, destabilized by the strength used to remove its arm from its body. The wail must have been a skill of some kind as its volume seemed to pierce the professor''s brain, disorienting him, causing the room to sway and warp to his senses. He spit the disgusting creature¡¯s limb onto the floor and shook his head, trying to clear his head. It was too dangerous to be disoriented while fighting this unknown monster. Looking up, he noticed that the monster must be more injured than he had previously thought as it made no attempt to further attack him. Instead, the beast was moving towards the door trying to escape back into the hallway! GET BACK HERE! Michael attempted to yell at the creature but only loud barks and growls came out of his mouth. Despite its grave injuries, the creature managed to limp across the room towards the exit. His vocalizations caused it to quickly glance back towards him as the doorway behind it filled with a shadowy silhouette. The beast sensed something was wrong from the look on his wolven face and whipped its head around just as a massive clawed arm flew through the doorway and smacked into its torso, successfully knocking it off its feet. The professor looked to the fallen pseudo-wendigo creature and noticed that the strike had done more damage then he had assumed. The supernatural hole through its stomach had been torn open further with its right side fully ripped through, leaving its upper body only connected to the lower body by the skin and flesh above its left hip. Forcing its way through the doorway was a massive¡­ creature. It did not resemble any single creature that Michael could think of, seeming to be made up of multiple different animal parts mashed together. Oddly, despite the appearance of an unknown creature, Michael noticed that his senses weren¡¯t screaming at him to run away. Whatever this thing was, it did not seem to be an enemy. While he didn¡¯t sense any threat from the beast, he could still feel the weight of its presence. Hopefully, it truly was an ally because he didn¡¯t like his chances with all of his current injuries. After he sensed its presence, he fully took in its appearance. Awkwardly forcing its way through the double doors was an absolutely massive beast. It lumbered in, quadrupedal with bulky forelimbs like an ape, capped with rugged claws. Its shaggy dark fur did little distract from the size of the gaunt creatures frame, easily standing six and a half feet at the shoulder, roughly a foot above Michaels own changed head. Its face resembled that of a bear? Hippopotamus? Boar? It was difficult to say at a glance, but the large tusks and intense amber eyes commanded wariness. A deep rumbling breathing accompanied each of its eerily quiet movements, further punctuated by the swaying of its long undercoat. Glancing between Michael and the downed monster, the beast seemed to recognize that the professor wasn¡¯t able to fight anymore, as it made a curious gesture out the door with its massive paw. From behind the beast came Otto, the computer engineering student, carrying a head sized piece of rubble in his hands. Michael had a hard time recognizing him at first as his skin had a subtle color change and he now sported a series of runic tattoos. Once he got a good view of the room he turned to the beast, ¡°Holy shit dude, you are¡­ terrifying.¡± The beast huffed out a breath before ambling towards the monster on the floor. After seeing Otto beside the beast, Michael¡¯s suspicions about it were confirmed. The shaggy creature was a person and he would bet that it was the graduate assistant, Adam. They had locked eyes briefly when he had run to tackle the monster at first and he sensed a¡­ connection with him, in that moment. Otto knelt down beside the man-turned-wolf, ¡°Are you okay, Professor?¡± He looked over at Adams hunched figure. ¡°We can take care of the rest if you want to change back?¡± he unslung a bag from his shoulder, ¡°I brought your clothes from outside in case you need them.¡± A sense of safety enveloped Michael as he chose to transform back into his human form. The fur across his body shrunk and he felt the wind caress his bare skin as he collapsed onto his hands and knees. The wounds he had received in his canine form, transferred over to his human form as well. While they had diminished to match his new size and they still hurt, the wounds felt as if they had started to mend. Apparently, existing wounds were partially healed during the transformation. As he changed back into his human form, Michael also noticed one other thing. When he activated his skill, he felt a light pull from somewhere deep within himself, signifying his use of mana. The interesting part was that when he used mana, the runic symbols that covered Otto¡¯s body seemed to pulse a little brighter.
Adam A sharp hiss and a deep growl caused Michael and Otto to whip around towards the monster. While the professor was changing and getting tended to by Otto, Adam had approached the downed monster that once was Jessica. His overly large body was hard to get used to but the power he felt once he changed was¡­ almost euphoric. The noises that had attracted the others'' attention came from both Adam and ¡°Jessica¡±, as the fallen monster had slashed its one remaining hand at Adam¡¯s forelegs, leaving four open gashes across the top of his right¡­ paw? Hand? Foot? Needless to say, the weak attack caused pain but no serious injury. He slammed his left paw¡ª being in his beast form, paw just felt right, even if his front legs were kinda hand-like¡ª down onto the torso and upper right arm, pinning the monster in place. It tried to thrash around and bite at Adam¡¯s forelegs, to no avail. Adam stared down at the monster. The light in its eye sockets were mere wisps of sickly light, smaller than a candle''s flame. It was dying. She was dying. Tears formed in his eyes as he remembered the past year with her. She was someone that had made a difference in his life and now, Adam was going to put her out of her misery. Rest, Jessica. It''s over now. Don¡¯t worry about the others, they know you wouldn¡¯t ever want to hurt them. Adam spoke to her in his mind. He knew she was already gone but who knows, maybe in this new world they were living in, she would still hear him. His free paw moved to the monster''s head as the tears spilled over, I¡¯ll carry this weight. He shifted his weight forward and felt his paw touch the ground once more. He heard a small ding sound in his mind as a small screen appeared before his eyes. For now, he ignored it and tried to forget the feeling of bone and viscera under his paw. He fell back onto his haunches like a sitting lion, threw his head back and roared as the tears continued to fall. 10. What Happened Here? The roar echoed throughout the building. Adam¡¯s mournful cry was heard by everyone present. Even had they not seen the floating system message, they would still have known that Jessica, at least the monster that had taken her place, was no more. Sitting within the conference room, Adam felt a wave of melancholy settle over him like a heavy blanket. What was he supposed to do now? He was a murderer. He had just killed his girlfriend. A large part of him knew that Jessica was already dead and that monster that replaced her needed to be stopped but¡­ Adam still felt responsible for her death. A hand gently touched his massive shoulder causing Adam to come back to the present. He turned his large head and saw Professor Johnson standing beside him, covered in partially healed wounds. Otto stood behind the professor with a look of sadness on his face. ¡°Otto told me who that was. Who she was¡­¡± his hand squeezed Adam''s shoulder as he shook his head, ¡°I can see that you are hurting but... I just wanted to say thank you. Had you not been there, she would have gotten away from me.¡± The professor looked him in the eyes and a sense of comradery bloomed within Adam¡¯s chest. He lowered his head and nudged Professor Johnson''s arm before standing back up. Adam gestured towards the door with an oversized paw, ushering the two of them out towards the others, and moved to where a large table lay rotting against a stack of chairs. Using his large body he dragged the table and chairs towards the doorway, placing them in front of it to stop others from entering too easily. Adam wanted to remove the body but it wasn¡¯t a priority and he didn¡¯t want the others to see her destroyed corpse. Before he fully sealed off the room, he stepped around the corner to where Otto had silently set his clothes and initiated his transformation back into his human form. Luckily, the process was far less painful then it had been before and, he remembered with embarrassment, he wasn¡¯t getting naked in front of the others this time. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible but he really wanted to find clothes that would transform with him. Or maybe some light clothes that were easy to put on and take off. To hide from thinking about the embarrassment of stripping in front of others, Adam decided that this moment of solitude would be as good a time as any to check the system messages he had received. He concentrated on the messages he had dismissed before and three small screens appeared in his vision.
You have defeated a newborn Pestilent Wendigo (Level 2)! ~Experience Earned based on participation~
The first screen was to be expected. Based on the information he had inferred while in the Integration Stasis, Adam assumed that in order to gain levels, you would need to gain experience, similarly to how video game leveling worked. The fact that many of Earth''s video games seemed to function similarly to the system was interesting in its own right, but he could ponder those thoughts more later. As he moved on to the second notification, Adam felt a bit of anxiety build. If she was only Level 2, how powerful are other creatures going to be?
FIRST DAY INTEGRATION CLUE Compatibility with Pestilent Wendigo is 0% Warning INTEGRATION CLUES are clues meant to provide hints for the Newly Integrated Beings of the world. They will be provided by the System for one full day [24 hours] upon Reintegration following Integration Stasis.
Compatibility? Adam was confused by this one. While the first notification made sense, based on his own conjecture, this one felt random. The System was giving clues? The clue didn¡¯t feel helpful at all, as it only brought up more questions. The third notification brought on mixed feelings.
You have Leveled up! ~Check your Multiversal Status for details~ Free Point = 1
Improvement was good. He had to tell himself that as he opened up his status. Even if it was just a further reminder of what he did, the increase in his level was a positive thing. While there weren''t any major changes, his stats had gone up. Just like he had the first time, he placed his free point into Arcana. Mana was clearly an important aspect of this new world and his score was abysmal. While leveling didn''t increase his arcana at all, he felt like it was a good idea to allot his free points into it for now, especially because the rest of his physical stats had improved so much already.
Name Adam Abrams
Species Human
Level 2
Pursuit Path of the Beast
Class N/A
Physique (Stage) Beast Chimera (Assembled Beast Skeleton) [Fixed]
Affinity ?
Strength 11
Dexterity 6
Vitality 13
Arcana 6
Pursuit Specialty Stat: InstinctThis story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. 10
Class Specialty Stat N/A
Passive Skills Flight
Active Skills Bestial Transformation
Titles Forerunner of Earth, Beast Frame
At this point, three of his stats were in the double digits. Was that a lot? Adam had no idea. All he knew was that he felt much stronger than he had been before. With nothing else available to prolong his return, Adam sighed and stepped out into the hall once more, pushing the stacked debris fully into place, closing off the destroyed conference room. Upon rejoining the others, Adam saw that Emi had woken up. Sylvia had used her torn and bloody jacket and a broken chair to splint her broken arm. Emi was clearly still in pain but having the arm isolated and held tight in a sling would help exponentially. The small Japanese woman was animatedly talking to Henry while Sylvia was attempting to clean out the slashes across his shoulders. Something about the sword and how she had used it earlier. Emi was an interesting character because she seemed to subvert a lot of the stereotypes associated with Japanese people. She was loud and boisterous with her friends and was unapologetically interested in machines. Henry had often made jokes that Emi was more of a ¡°Miyazaki Woman¡± than anything else, due to her muscular body and mechanical interests. She would fit right into one of the legendary creators films, in a set of coveralls with soot and grime swiped across her face. Upon noticing his arrival, Emi fell silent as they all turned to face him. Eyes full of understanding and pity stared at him as the silence hung over them all. No one knew what to say. Adam, not wanting to dwell on what happened, turned to the others, ¡°So¡­ is everyone okay?¡± ¡°I am by far the most injured one here,¡± Emi gestured to her arm, ¡°but the real question, Adam, is are YOU okay?¡± She stood up from Where she was sitting beside Henry and Sylvia as she spoke and made her way towards him. ¡°Henry and I both got notifications saying we contributed to the defeat of a monster, while you, Otto and Professor Johnson were in the other room.¡± Emi ¡®s voice cracked a little as she placed her uninjured hand against his arm. ¡°Do you wanna talk about it?¡± Adam sighed as his eyes began to water, ¡°...Not¡­not just yet. We can talk about it when we are sure that we are safe.¡± He brushed the unshed tears from his eyes. He could cry later. He needed to keep moving forward while he still could. If he let himself fully relax and grieve, he would be down for the count and that was not helpful at the moment. At this point, everyone had gotten to their feet and moved towards him. Despite his usual socially awkward tendencies, Henry was the one that changed the subject, much to Adam¡¯s relief. ¡°So¡­ you¡­ what exactly are you now?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I know you said you took the Path of the Beast but when you actually changed¡­ you were¡­ I honestly don¡¯t even know what to say you were, dude. Awesome? Terrifying? Badass? Absofuckinlutely, but damn, I did not expect that.¡± He grinned and turned to look at their newest tag-along, ¡°Are you also a Path of the Beast, Professor Johnson?¡± The older man had stayed on the outside of the group, leaning against the wall, so as not to intrude on the semi-emotional moment among the group of friends. With all eyes on him, he chuckled, ¡°I''m not much of a professor at the moment, considering how the world has been flipped on its head so please, call me Michael¡± He smiled at the others and scratched the back of his head, ¡°Yeah, I am also Path of the Beast. All of this game stuff is still confusing, so I just went with the option that I had the best compatibility with.¡± Henry nodded, ¡°That makes sense, I did the same thing. I was offered Academic, but I have always been a terrible student.¡± ¡°Oh, I know. I remember failing you.¡± Michael laughed. The conversation brought some much needed levity to their current situation and helped the others relax. Sylvia spoke up for the first time in a while, ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± ¡°Maybe we should go to the police?¡± said Otto. Emi shook her head, ¡°I doubt they will be able to help. This isn¡¯t exactly something they were trained to handle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure,¡± Adam said, ¡°This is all clearly out of their control but they will definitely have some crisis management stuff right? Not to mention the fact that they are some of the few people that I can think of that would actually have weapons training of some kind. I feel like guns might be helpful in this situation. Maybe it would be good to get some weapons?¡± ¡°Weapons are definitely a good idea, but do you think an officer is just going to hand their gun over to a civilian?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Additionally, the police station is all the way across town and we don¡¯t even know where that is anymore. I think that if we head towards the Security Office on campus we could at least get somethi¡ª¡± Henry cut him off, ¡°Wait a sec, roll that back again. What do you mean we don¡¯t know where it is anymore? Shouldn¡¯t it be just across the bay? That''s only a couple miles. We can just hop in Otto¡¯s truck and be there in like 5 minutes.¡± A strange look passed over Michael¡¯s face, ¡°First, we just fought a literal monster in the school, who knows what we could meet by traveling just a couple miles. Secondly, have none of you been outside yet?¡± Everyone looked at the older man with questioning looks. ¡°I am going to take that as a no.¡± He turned, leading the others towards the exit, ¡°I''m not sure what exactly happened but you all saw the image of the world breaking apart, right?¡± They nodded. ¡°Well, when it was put back together, it looks like everything changed.¡± he pointedly looked between Otto and Henry and added, ¡°While I am sure you¡¯re a great driver Otto, I get the feeling Adam and I might be the only ones that could get there now.¡± As the group listened to the professor''s comments about the changed world, the group managed to fully exit the building, catching a glimpse of the changes he had referenced. And boy, were there some big changes. If someone walked out of the Student Center prior to the Integration, they would have seen a large open courtyard with concrete walkways threading through a small series of landscaped grassy knolls. A series of well manicured and strategically placed trees provided shade from the sun and protection from the ever present rain along the Oregon coast. Surrounding the courtyard were the Yaquina Center of the Arts on the left, where music and theater classes were held, the Administration building could be seen peeking out from behind it, with the Health and Science building taking up most of the view on the far side, blocking the view of the most inland portion of Yaquina Bay just down the hill. An extended parking lot was to the right of the exit, leading northward towards the forested hills and the highway beyond. Now, it looked as if the world had been completely changed. The carefully curated grassy knolls were massively overgrown and now were dotted with boulders and large, rocky outcroppings. Some of the trees had fallen, while others seemed to have undergone explosive growth. The Arts building''s front wall, which had previously been a wall of windows, was now just a framework with some residual broken glass stuck in the frames. Other parts of the building were severely damaged by more new rock formations. These were just the initial changes but they were by far the least of them. As the group moved a little farther out, Otto stopped and stared forward, towards the Health and Science building. While most of them couldn¡¯t see past the new rocky features, his new size allowed for him to just barely see past it all. They all heard his quiet voice as he said, ¡°Where did that come from?¡± Adam quickly moved to the outcropping and climbed over it, noticing his new athleticism with a hint of pride, before he fully saw the biggest change to their school. It looked as if the courtyard had been split down the middle and expanded as the Health and Science building was about 100 meters further away than it had been previously, but he quickly understood what Otto was referring to. Half of the building had been sheared away from its previous location as a massive ridge rose in its place. With his new elevated position, Adam was able to see even more than Otto. His jaw dropped as he turned to the others, ¡°You all need to see this.¡± Over the next minute, the small group of friends made their way up the rocky outcropping and took in the new sight. The area that was once the Oregon coast was no more. In its place was what could only be described as a small mountain range. The area around the college looked like it was the northernmost mountain within this new range that extended in a southern direction. Buildings and old portions of roads could be seen broken apart as the land had risen up, leaving ruins and debris behind. Rusted vehicles could be seen in various stages of disrepair all around them. From their new elevation, they could see far into the Pacific but much to their dismay, the ocean was no more. Beyond the edge of the mountains to the west was a series of rolling hills that extended down into what looked more like the plains of middle America. Sylvia gasped and cried, ¡°Look!¡± The others turned and looked north towards where she was pointing and saw what she was looking at: the remains of the city of Newport. Yaquina Bay seemed to have been elevated alongside the rest of the surrounding land and turned into a large body of water that could only be defined as a lake of some kind. The northern shore of the lake was overgrown by trees but hints of the city could be made out. A crumbled building on the edge of a cliff, reflections off of car windshields shining through the trees, things like that. However, where the bay had originally opened into the ocean, it now extended towards the entrance to a gargantuan canyon that split the land. ¡°That looks bigger than the Grand Canyon.¡± Michael whispered in awe. The canyon extended northwest out across the new hills and grasslands for miles. Adam and Michael glanced at one another and exchanged a knowing look. They could sense danger from the canyon even from this distance. As the group stared at the new world around them, Michael nudged Henry¡¯s side with his elbow, ¡°You still think it''s a quick trip to the police station?¡± 11. Preparation ¡°Well, What do we do now?¡± whispered Henry. Having moved out of the building, the group surveyed the unfamiliar land before them. Blue skies and sunshine worked together to provide a sense of idyllic calm to an otherwise terrifying scenario. When they had first realized that they wouldn¡¯t be driving to town like normal, the group had decided to briefly search the area for other survivors. They had split into three teams of two to search the area. Otto moved with the professor, Emi moved with Henry, and Sylvia moved with Adam. Split as they were, the groups each had a ¡°primary combatant¡± just in case they came across any monsters. After thirty minutes or so, they had decided to regroup in front of the Student Center where they could discuss their findings. In the thirty minutes that they had been in the overgrown courtyard, they discovered three very important things. First, they were not the only humans still on the campus. This was important because there was safety in numbers and maybe, they would be able to help each other to get to the town in the distance. Surely there would be more people there. Second, while there were people still alive on the campus, there were also tens of bodies of staff and students that did not survive their initial challenge. Corpses were littered throughout the courtyard with a variety of markings denoting their cause of death. This led the group to their third and most important discovery; there were still monsters on the campus. Crouched down alongside the others, Otto responded to Henry''s original question, ¡°Nothing has changed. We need to try and meet up with other people. Personally, I think we need to get to town as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Newport is definitely going to be safer,¡± agreed Sylvia. ¡°We are basically in the wild now. Have you guys not seen how bad the bodies are? Whatever is here is awful.¡± She shuddered as she glanced towards where the Health and Science building was. While her and Adam had been looking for survivors, they had stumbled upon a massacre. The scene reminded Adam of the Forerunner''s Trial he had experienced, as many of the bodies were either crushed or torn open by sharp claws. The carnage caught Sylvia off guard, resulting in her emptying her stomach and sending the two of them back early. Blood wasn''t something that upset her. It was literally the primary element of her job! But this? This was so much worse than drawing blood or tending to an injury. Adam stared out towards Newport before sharing a look with Michael. Ever since they first laid eyes on the canyon beside the city, they had been on edge. Something about that place triggered their instincts. It was almost as if they were staring into the maw of a massive predator when they looked upon it. If the thing was in sight, the two of them could feel a sheen of sweat build across their brow as a presence settled over them. ¡°I am not entirely against making our way to the city,¡± said Michael, ¡°however, as Adam and I have said before, something feels off about it.¡± ¡°Before we make any moves away from here we should at least try to meet up with the other people on campus.¡± ¡°From what we saw, I think most of the survivors have congregated in the Arts building.¡± added Henry. Emi and Henry had scoped out the Arts building when they had separated, finding a lot of evidence that people had moved that way. They found multiple bodies and a path of crushed grass and bushes that led straight to the side of the building. When they attempted to sneak closer to the building, they saw movement on an upper balcony, however, sounds of creatures eating echoed from one of the new rocky outcroppings in front of the building, giving them pause. Emi tightly gripped the stick she had been sharpening, ¡°If we plan on helping the people stuck in the Arts building, we are going to have to pass by the monsters over there,¡± she laid the newly crafted stake on the ground beside her, ¡°We are going to need weapons and ways to protect ourselves.¡± ¡°Henry, you are the only one that has a weapon that is usable,¡± she said. ¡°I wish I knew how to use magic. The system said that Academics produced many of the general magic users, but we don¡¯t have any skills yet that let us use it!¡± Sylvia said with an annoyed hiss. Adam could almost feel the frustration emanating from her. She had told him before that she felt useless when the two of them had been scouting the area. Despite the fact that she, Otto and Emi had all chosen paths that did not offer direct combat abilities, Emi at least had a minor amount of kendo training from when she was a kid and the skill she got allowed her to summon a tool that would help her with crafting. While the tools she summoned were normal tools, at least they could be used to help her make weapons for people to use. Initially, she thought Otto had a Pursuit similar to Adam, due to his vast change in physicality, however, once she learned that he actually had received a sponsorship and they were both Academics, her frustration grew. Otto¡¯s new body gave him an edge at least! She had nothing. ¡°Don¡¯t give up Syl, I am sure you and Otto can figure it out!¡± Adam sent an encouraging smile her way. He turned to Emi, ¡°Do you think you could make more weapons if you had more materials?¡± Emi¡¯s hands never stopped moving as she was already working on a second wooden stake, ¡°Of course I can,¡± she looked at Michael, ¡°could you give me some tips on stone age weapons, Professor?¡± ¡°Of course I can.¡± The old man repeated with a grin. ¡°Let''s gather some materials and then move back inside. We can take a bit of time to prepare items for the others.¡± He looked at Henry and Otto, ¡°Could the two of you gather sticks and some decent stones? Trial and error is going to ruin a lot of it.¡±
Over the next ten minutes or so, the group set up shop again in the Student Center. Back where they had all started, Otto and Henry had stacked up sticks and many stones for Emi and Michael to use to craft weapons for all of them. It was fairly humorous that all the knowledge of ancient cultures that Michael had accrued over his career was so helpful in this situation. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. While those two were busy crafting, the others had broken off into sets of two again. Sylvia and Otto decided to put their heads together to try and figure something out with magic. They had ransacked an office and found some functioning pens, which were now being used to draw out some kind of diagram on the walls. This left Adam and Henry to keep watch. During the time that the other guys were gathering the materials, Adam had gone inside and made sure the far exit was still blocked by rubble before cleaning a new area for the crafting to take place. He had just set up a space to keep watch from when Henry joined him. ¡°Hey dude, how are you doing?¡± he asked. ¡°Oh, you know, same old same old. Just keeping an eye out for monsters that want to kill and then eat me and my friends.¡± Adam replied sarcastically. ¡°What about you, how are you holding up?¡± Henry¡¯s eyes flashed with annoyance, ¡°You always do this, Adam. You use sarcasm to hide your real feelings.¡± he turned and stared into the half distance, ¡°We have undergone something absolutely insane and honestly, we probably won¡¯t be able to actually sort through our feelings for a long time. The shows and webnovels I have always loved really dramatize these situations.¡± He sighed and glanced back at Michael and Emi, ¡°If the professor hadn¡¯t shown up when he did, you do realize that we all would have probably died right?¡± Adam held himself back from being sarcastic. Henry was right, he did tend to use sarcasm to hide his real feelings. He wasn¡¯t very good at expressing himself in a positive way. ¡°Sarcasm is just¡­ easier¡­ than being open with people. You don¡¯t deserve that though, sorry man.¡± In all honesty, his nerdy friend was one of the best guys Adam had ever met. Henry was someone that rarely ever did anything for himself, always wanting to help however he could. The only thing that he was selfish in was his interest in swordsmanship. The guy set aside a period of his day, everyday, to work on the tai chi forms he learned with Professor Greymore or, in one of the private rooms of the Fitness Center, training his fencing technique. For a long time now, Adam knew that his friend''s obsession was negatively impacting his schoolwork but, it so obviously made him happy so he had left him alone. It was a good thing he had though because that obsession was definitely a boon in their current situation. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you need to always be open with me but, be open with yourself at least.¡± he continued, ¡°From what I understand so far, you and Otto both went through some kind of trial while the rest of us were in stasis,¡± Henry¡¯s eyes softened as he looked at his friend, ¡°and based on the way you looked at bodies in the courtyard¡­ you must have seen some stuff in that trial.¡± Adam couldn¡¯t stop himself from tensing up at his friends'' statements. Images of the man being crushed, Luisa¡¯s body being ripped from the tree hollow, and the memory of Charles apologizing to the man they left behind flashed through his head. Henry¡¯s hand landing on his shoulder brought him out of the vivid memories. Most vividly, Adam thought of Jessica. As the woman he loved, of the monster she had become, and of the state he had left her in... The destroyed conference room sat at the edge of his awareness, a constant nagging feeling in the back of his mind as he shook the image of the monsters corpse out of his mind. ¡°Obviously, I don¡¯t know shit about what you actually went through but¡­ I do know what has happened since then.¡± He lightly squeezed Adam¡¯s shoulder before turning back to watch the entrance of the building. ¡°If you need someone to talk to then just know I am here for you, alright?¡± Emotions that Adam had been trying to hold back welled to the surface as he felt the support from his friend. Henry wasn¡¯t pushing for answers or making him open up. He was just¡­ there. As someone that was notoriously tight lipped, it was exactly what Adam needed. Someone that would just be there for when he needed them. He wiped the new spots of moisture off his cheeks. Weird how it¡¯s raining indoors, he thought, and settled into a comfortable silence with his friend. A couple minutes later, Emi approached them from behind, signaling for them to come back and join them in her makeshift workshop. As they walked back, they passed the room that Otto and Sylvia had been using, meeting up with the two Academics as they moved to join the others as well. Sylvia looked at Adam with a big grin as she passed by him. Clearly, they had made some kind of breakthrough, which Adam thought was a good thing. If everyone was able to help in combat then that would be ideal. He looked past them as she walked by, interested in checking out what they had been doing and tripped over his own feet in surprise. The room they had been in looked like a student''s nightmare. Text was scrawled across every surface from the four walls to the ceiling and even some parts of the floor. Curiously, some of the script didn¡¯t make sense to Adam. In some spots, there were key symbols that he could only describe as runes or maybe glyphs? The symbols had some similarity to both chinese characters and nordic runes, switching between sharp and angular lines to rounded calligraphy at points that made no sense to him. Regardless, the room looked all kinds of hectic and disorderly, like the notebook of a genius. Adam realized he was falling behind the others and rushed to catch up. Laid out along the floor were a series of potential weapons for everyone to choose from. As Adam got a good look at them, Emi went into an explanation. ¡°Alright everyone, here¡¯s the deal. I was able to make a couple different types of weapons for all of us to choose from.¡± A grin spread across her face, ¡°And fun fact, this was a huge windfall for me. As a Crafter, making these weapons gave me a TON of experience, so I managed to level up to level 3.¡± ¡°We did too!¡± exclaimed Sylvia. ¡°Sorry to cut you off, Emi, but Otto and I made some discoveries while you were working.¡± ¡°It seems like the different Paths of Pursuit have various ways to gain experience,¡± added Otto. He seemed to concentrate for a moment before the teal runes on his body started to glow, ¡°By harnessing our level one passive abilities, Syl and I were able to come up with a couple different theories before landing on one that seems the most likely.¡± He let the glow dissipate, the runes returning to normal, before he continued. ¡°Probably the most important discovery we have made is that a person will most likely gain the most experience by engaging in activities that align with the descriptions of their chosen Path of Pursuit. For the two of us, studying existing knowledge and theory crafting proved to help us more than fighting did earlier this morning.¡± He smiled at Sylvia, ¡°Syl, actually, figured out most of this information before I was able to, so she received more experience. I am still only level 2.¡± Sylvia blushed, ¡°It¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t add anything to the conversation, Otto.¡± ¡°Of course! I never said I didn¡¯t.¡± he joked. ¡°Anyways, knowing that Emi leveled up so much from crafting, solidifies our theory.¡± The large man turned towards the others, ¡°We think that for the three of you, actual combat will provide you with the most experience, and with any luck, Henry might be able to gain experience from training as well.¡± Sylvia looked between Michael and Adam. ¡°You two are the biggest conundrum for us. We can assume that the professor can gain more experience by performing actions that are in line with his Wolf form but, Adam¡­ you are a major mystery as you turn into something totally unique.¡± All of the information they were providing made sense to Adam so far. Learning about his new form was going to be pivotal in his own growth for sure. ¡°All that said,¡± continued Otto, ¡°We actually think that Michael and Adam shouldn¡¯t get any weapons.¡± Michael and Adam who were both eyeing the weapons before them with a glint in their eye both looked up at him in shock. Wait¡­ WHAT? 12. Gearing Up ¡°Why should we be left out?¡± asked Adam. He already had his eyes on what looked like a spear. Michael¡¯s face fell as he too had been looking at the weapons he had helped make. ¡°I think I understand,¡± he said with a sad look towards Otto, ¡°You think that the two of us won¡¯t be able to grow as well when we are human.¡± The giant man nodded, ¡°Our hypothesis is that since the two of you are marked as Beasts in the system, actions that you make while not literal beasts will not give you the same amount of experience as it would while you are transformed.¡± While he could understand their reasoning, Adam was conflicted. The skill that he and Michael were granted was undoubtedly strong, but unlike any of the others, theirs had a warning attached to it. ¡°What do you think Adam?¡± asked Otto. So far, everything that Otto and Syl had theorized seemed pretty accurate. Not to mention, he hadn''t felt any different when he had transformed before, so maybe the warning only applied for long periods of time? Or maybe for periods of high intensity? Adam wasn¡¯t sure what seemed the most likely but heck, why not give it a shot. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in. But with how monstrous we look, we are going to need to keep some of you by us. Otherwise, some of the people in the Arts building might think we are enemies too.¡± Henry clapped his hands, causing everyone to jump, and grinned, ¡°What if someone rode you guys! Wouldn¡¯t that be awesome?¡± Emi rolled her eyes, ¡°And how exactly do you plan to stay on them? Cause, ain''t no way am I making saddles out of the materials I have here, AND there is no way we should go into combat against monsters like that with no training.¡± "I''ve ridden a horse before!" Henry said with indignation. Professor Johnson burst into laughter, his deep voice echoing through the quiet hall. "Ah, yes. I am so sure that your horse riding skills would directly transfer over to riding a large wolf or a bull-boar monster thing." He looked over at Adam with the last comment and shrugged, "Sorry, I don''t have a clue what else to call you." "None taken." ¡°I just thought it could be cool.¡± Henry mumbled to himself as he collected his newly sharpened sword. The jian that he had wasn¡¯t meant for real fighting and he was really new to using it. He would need to find a sword that was closer to his fencing foil for the future. ¡°The most pressing thing that I learned while making this stuff,¡± Emi gestured to the weapons before gesturing back to herself, ¡°I gained another skill at level 3. Did you get one too, Syl?¡± Sylvia could barely contain her excitement, ¡°Yes, I did!¡± She held her palm up for the others to see, gathered herself and a pale red glow seemed to move under the skin of her hand. ¡°I finally got my first magic skill, it''s called Beginner Mana Manipulation and it lets me use the mana within my body. The skill doesn¡¯t actually let me do anything, aside from move it around but I think that I can use it for other stuff too. Otto and I think that if I just try a bunch of things then I should be ab¡ª¡± ¡°Sorry to cut you off, Syl, as I am actually very interested in that skill, but we need to stay on track.¡± Emi interjected. ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. I¡¯m just really excited.¡± Sylvia blushed, ¡°Anyways, I think that what Emi was getting at is that we gain another skill once we reach level 3.¡± Everyone perked up upon hearing that. This was great news. If they could increase their levels, then their journey to Newport would be much easier. They had all felt the difference in their physical abilities due to their increased stats, so any way they could increase them would be a bonus. ¡°On that note,¡± Emi continued, ¡°I think that we all need to try and level up as much as we can. My new skill lets me empower items that I have used my abilities to create or to augment, so I think that others fighting with these weapons and Henry¡¯s sword will also benefit me.¡± ¡°I know it looks like this is set up for everyone just to choose, but I made some of these for specific people,¡± she started by handing out a small stone dagger to each of them. ¡°Everyone can make use of this, even if it''s not for combat. I also have a couple of extras, just in case they break.¡± She moved over to a stack of spears, ¡°I made a spear for Otto and Sylvia as well.¡± Emi passed a small spear to Sylvia and just pointed to a massive branch on the ground while looking at Otto, ¡°That one is yours, you giant. The rest of these are for any survivors we come across.¡± She turned to Sylvia, ¡°I know you have wanted to figure out magic so, I can alter yours to be more of a staff if you want.¡± Sylvia smiled and nodded in thanks. At this point, she didn¡¯t have any way to make the spear into a true magic staff so it¡¯s current form was perfect. I¡¯ll see if I can push mana through the staff¡­ she thought.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Now that the weapons had been passed out to everyone, Adam did a quick once over of the group. He and Michael were the same as before, a bit disheveled with torn everyday clothes substituted for basic athletic wear. Henry had his broken foil on his hip and carried his sheathed jian in his hands. Syl studied her new spear and had a stone dagger on her hip as well. Otto was the current pack mule, with Henry¡¯s athletic bag being converted into a spear holder, thrown over his shoulder. His massive spear laid beside him as he looked to be tinkering with some of the basic wooden stakes Emi had originally made. The markings on his skin seemed to flash with teal light as he attempted to carve some of the shapes that Adam had seen plastered on the wall into the sides of them. Lastly, Emi armed herself with a weird club/sword thing. It looked like a flat narrow paddle with sharpened stone shards tied(?) to the outside edge, looking similar to a stationary chainsaw blade. Anxiety set in as the group prepared to once again leave the Student Center, and with it came a series of other emotions and feelings. Adam noticed people fidgeting with their weapons or tying and retying their shoes. Oddly, he wasn¡¯t as anxious as the others appeared. For him, his primary emotion was hunger. He was absolutely starving. Thinking back on it, he hadn¡¯t eaten anything the day that the Integration started and had been through a lot since then. A loud growl seemed to echo through the space as he grabbed his stomach with a wry grin to his friends. ¡°I get it, I am also super hungry,¡± said Michael ¡°Maybe it¡¯s got something to do with our Pursuit?¡± Adam shrugged and was about to respond when a laugh cut him off. Henry pointed up at the wall and looked at the two of them. ¡°I think I figured out how to tell people you guys are with us.¡±
¡°We are going to look ridiculous,¡± said Adam. ¡°Yes, we will. Undoubtedly so.¡± replied Michael. ¡°Oh, come on! At least people won¡¯t attack you. Probably?¡± said Henry. Emi had just finished making the most embarrassing items for the two men. She tried to hide it but she also thought the items were hilarious. ¡°Alright you two, get changed so I can fasten these on you.¡± Her smile was absolutely massive as the men cringed. Michael sighed, ¡°We are never going to live this down.¡± Emi coughed and attempted to give him a reproachful look. ¡°Fine, fine, but just remember everyone,¡± he spoke up as he addressed the others, ¡°After we get these things on, we are heading out. Henry, you and I will be in the front, scanning for danger. Adam, you will follow behind with Ms. Edwards and Ms. Kume, followed by Otto in the rear.¡± Sylvia and Emi nodded while Otto gathered the rest of the spare weapons. With everyone ready to go, Michael and Adam started stripping. Ugh, I hope this gets easier, Adam thought as he flushed with embarrassment. Sylvia blushed and made an effort to turn away while Emi pretended to turn around while also clearly being interested in the transformation, and making quick glances over her shoulder. This second transformation didn¡¯t hurt nearly as bad as the first one had. Adam focused as his body expanded in a still unfamiliar way. He felt and watched his new tusks extend up past the top of his wide elongating snout. His vision subtly changed, the colors in his surroundings altering in a nearly indistinguishable fashion. Adam¡¯s body tilted forward as his center of gravity changed, dropping him to all fours. Fur burst through his skin covering his gaunt body in a protective layer of long coarse black fur. His hands turned into mitt-sized paws with a hard hoof-like extension on the ends of his fingers that acted like claws, while his feet stretched into massive lion paws with wicked sheathed claws of their own. Despite all of the changes to his body, the one that he found the weirdest was the addition of his thin tail, capped with a tuft of black fur. Apparently, his transformation was slower than Michael¡¯s, as upon finishing he looked up and saw the white dire wolf beside him, sitting back on its haunches like a German Shepard waiting for a treat. ¡°You know, watching you guys change shape is kinda freaky,¡± Henry said. He walked up to Adam, staring up at his friend''s head, ¡°Also, it¡¯s very weird to think that the literal dire wolf looks almost small next to you.¡± Adam chuckled, snorting hot air directly into Henry¡¯s face, blowing his brown hair back. He bent his head down and nudged his friend''s chest with his brow. ¡°Woah, careful of those tusks dude, they look wicked sharp!¡± he laughed and jumped back. Emi walked up to the two beasts, ¡°Okay, so since you two can¡¯t talk in these forms, I am going to need you to tell me if these are too tight. Lift your right paw if it fits and your left if it''s too tight.¡± Then she held up the dreaded accessories. I can¡¯t believe they are making us wear fucking collars, Adam grumbled internally. A heavy huff could be heard from Michael as he surely thought the same thing. They had talked about it when Henry had brought it up but, unfortunately, the others had made good points. While the two of them hated the idea, a visual distinction between the two of them and the monsters was needed. So, Emi modified a cloth banner that hung from the wall into two separate collars. Michael was outfitted first, a forest green bandana like collar around his neck. Emi had even managed to use the portion of the banner that allowed for the steel blue YCC Heron mascot to be centered on it. After tying it around his neck, Otto got a big grin and started to move towards him before catching a glare from the professor. Otto always loved dogs but, maybe he shouldn¡¯t give this one scritches. After the old man was done, it was Adam¡¯s turn. He got as low to the ground as he comfortably could while Emi tied the rest of the banner around his neck. The thick muscles of his neck and upper back made it difficult for Emi to tie but she eventually managed it. Adam now sported a thick green collar that said ¡°Go Heron¡¯s!¡± in bolded white letters. While embarrassing to wear, at least it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable. Henry whispered a couple jokes to Sylvia as they finished, including one about how Adam could officially loaf like a cat and how Professor Johnson was the goodest boi, before trying to lead them towards the exit. Unfortunately for him, animals tend to have better senses than humans and the two beasts definitely heard every joke he made. After a quick suffocation of their resident swordsman beneath the paw of a dire wolf, and the gaze of a¡­ whatever Adam was, the group exited the Student Center, ready to take on the monsters that were holding people hostage in the Arts building. It was time to level up and save the survivors. 13. Round Two: FIGHT The distance from the Student Center to the Arts building was only about 50 meters, prior to the Integration. Now, with the adjusted topography and slight incline to its new location, the distance had easily doubled. Henry and Michael moved ahead of the others as they scouted out the area. The swordsman walked quietly behind the man-turned-wolf, only slipping past him to peek through openings too small for the professor''s enlarged canine form. Despite the original marching order, Sylvia had moved ahead of Adam with her spear clenched tightly in her grip. Adam could see a pale red glow through her skin as she cycled her mana through her body. He wasn¡¯t sure if there was a purpose to her actions, but it reminded him of a nervous tick, like tapping your feet or spinning a pencil while you took a test. Regardless, Syl had moved in front of him while Emi and Otto walked behind. The group moved as quietly as possible through the rocky outcroppings, following the tracks the best they could. Rather than move through the courtyard towards the front of the Arts building, they had elected to move to the nearest side of the building before engaging with the monsters out front. Henry and Emi had followed this path previously, when they first found the tracks that lead there. The plan was for the group to get close enough to the building that they could assess whether entering to find survivors or staying outside to fight monsters first was the best choice. Either way, Adam¡¯s group had decided that they needed to fight the monsters. With the adjustment that the world was going through, they needed to adapt with it. If monsters wanted to kill them, then the monsters needed to die. Everything was going well until they had to pass between two exceptionally tall outcroppings. Henry and Michael managed to slip through the gap with no issues, silently creeping out the far side. At this point, the group had made it as far as Henry and Emi had previously so, the two forward scouts kept their eyes peeled, hoping to see the monsters they knew were nearby. While Henry stayed stationary, Michael slowly crept further towards the building, following a strong scent. The majority of the scent was of iron with a tinge of something sour, a scent that Michael had begun to identify as fear; the scent of blood. The rest of the scent trail could only be described as some sort of earthy musk. Following his enhanced nose, Michael moved past some smaller boulders, laying eyes on the source of the scent of blood. Five human bodies were strewn across the ground. Claw and bite marks covered the torn bodies, making it clear to anyone that they had been killed by some sort of animal. Looks like some kind of monster is still here, Michael thought. There were no animals that were indigenous to this region before the Integration that could have destroyed a human body like this though. While two of the bodies were simply disemboweled, three others were torn limb from limb. The beast, or beasts, had fed on the remains and somehow, Michael¡¯s instincts told him that it had been recent. He didn¡¯t want to surprise the others with the sight so he turned to make his way back to Henry. At several previous junctions, Henry had conveyed their findings back to the others, directing them away from the worst that he had come across; however, this time, when Michael turned back to his old student, he tensed and, for the first time, let out a loud bark of alarm. Leaping from the top of a nearby stony piller was a large scaled monster. Its brown and gray scales helped camouflage it, allowing it to avoid detection. The man-turned-wolf watched its silent descent upon its prey; an unsuspecting Henry, crouched beside a neighboring boulder, studying tracks in the dirt.
Henry crouched down to study the track that he saw in the dirt before him. He had little to no experience hunting and tracking animals but even he could notice the deep impression of a clawed foot in the moist dirt. It looked like an oversized house cat had walked through this area previously. Beside it was a similarly sized print left behind by Michael, slightly wider than the new print but smudged in appearance due to the shaggy fur that jutted between the man''s new paw pads. Damn, those claw marks look deep, he thought, deeper than Michaels. Henry knew that they would have to face monsters at some point soon, and he was prepared for it, but¡­ it was still a scary thought. Suddenly a loud bark pierced his skull, causing him to whip his head towards where he had last seen his former professor. Shivers ran down his spine as he lost his balance as he saw the white wolf charging towards him through the open space, making no effort to keep himself hidden. ¡°Oh, SHI- AAAGH¡± Henry¡¯s surprised shout changed into one of pain as white hot blades seemed to slice across the left side of his face and neck. The fact that he had lost his balance saved his life. Rage flared through Henry as he rolled away from his attacker. Drawing his jian, the chinese straight sword that was his only true weapon, Henry spun on the balls of his feet to take on his opponent. Crouched in front of Henry was a large¡­ cat? He wasn¡¯t really sure what it was but it was clearly feline in nature, despite the fact that it was the size of a bear and covered in rich brown scales. The creature was in no hurry as it stared at Henry and lifted its paw to its mouth. A long black serpentine tongue flicked across its claws, licking away his blood. The cat breathed out a rumbling growl before launching itself at him once again. Luckily, his back up had arrived, Right as the beast threw itself at Henry, Michael appeared in a skidding slide through the space it had just vacated. The creature''s long tail proved to be a hindrance when the white wolf snapped his jaws around it and heaved backward. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The cat hissed in rage and spun as its body was pulled away from Henry and back towards Michael. A taloned claw swiped across his muzzle forcing him to release his grip, dropping the creature to the ground between them. Flanked on both sides, the beast would have to fight, something its opponents were more than willing to join it in. Blood streamed from their injured faces as they leapt towards the beast, intent on killing it before more showed up.
A loud bark echoed as Adams senses alerted him to danger. ¡°What was that?¡± whispered Sylvia. Otto rushed forward towards the sound saying, ¡°I think they¡¯re under attack!¡± Adam could hear the adrenaline causing his voice to shake as he took off towards their friends. Before he passed Adam though, a shadow seemed to dart by overhead, setting alarm bells ringing in Adam¡¯s mind. A similar amount of adrenaline caused him to throw his large frame towards his friend, knocking him over a small rock formation just as a falling creature landed upon Adam¡¯s back. Wicked claws sunk into his upper back as he roared out in pain. Screams and curses from his friends were drowned out by the sound of the creature¡¯s snarls as Adam attempted to buck the beast off his back. His new frame didn''t allow his forelimbs to reach his back, like they would in his human form, proving them ineffective in removing the monster. A voice cut through the sounds of snarling and his own roaring, ¡°Duck down Adam!¡± Sylvia and Emi had somehow managed to get around his thrashing body to where Otto had fallen. Standing atop the rock that the big man had fallen over, Sylvia stood with her spear poised to strike. Her hands shone with a pale red light while her spear emitted an almost neon blue light along its edge, blending into a lavender color near where she gripped it. Seeing her ready to attack, Adam turned his body so she would have a better shot at the beast on his back, and dropped into a low crouch. Letting out a yell, Sylvia stabbed forward with her spear, connecting with something upon his back. A loud bang followed by a small percussive burst forced the beast to fall off the far side of Adam¡¯s body, dangling off of his tall frame by its front claws. Now that it was in reach, Adam was able to reach it. With a painful yank, Adam was able to cross his body with his front paw and pull the beast the rest of the way off his back, slamming it into the ground before him. He didn¡¯t know what to expect but he definitely didn''t expect to see one of the creatures from the Trial. Under his paw was a large feline creature covered in grey and brown scales. Unlike the scalecats he had seen before, Armored Sabercats, he corrected himself, this one was larger and looked like its scales were made of stone. The beast hissed beneath his paws and bit into his foreleg, drawing blood. Its hindlegs bucked up from the ground, claws flashing, as it unsuccessfully tried to disembowel him. This being one of the first times Adam had used this form, he was learning more about its capabilities each second. His shaggy black fur that covered the underside of his body seemed to function as a form of natural armor, which helped keep the damage done by the sabercats claws to a minimum. Despite being smaller than Adam, its strength was considerable as Adam had to use both of his front paws to hold it down. What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing?! He thought as he forced it into the ground harder. A fire raged in the beast''s eyes as it roared against his paw and bit down harder. A loud CRACK rang out as pain lanced through Adam¡¯s mind. In a fit of his own rage, he reared onto his back legs with a bellow before slamming them down onto the creature below him. Its chest caved in as another flash of pain raced through Adam¡¯s foreleg. In its death throes, the sabercat attempted to latch onto his leg again but was abruptly stopped when Adam¡¯s roaring maw of tusks and fangs closed over its head, promptly crushing its head between his jaws. With the death of the sabercat came a series of blue flashes before Adam¡¯s eyes, flashes that were dismissed before he read them. His elevated senses flooded him with a desire that he had been holding off on since before the Integration: hunger. He couldn¡¯t stop himself as he recognized that the beast he had killed was a source of food for him. A dull pounding pulsed through his mind as he swallowed the remains of the creature''s head before moving to other parts of its body. First its head, then its arms, its torso¡­ Movement towards his meal had him growling and whipping his head towards it. A large human held a stick towards him, two others stood behind it as if protecting them. He blinked¡­ Otto. There was Otto staring at him as if he was a monster. The dull pulsing began to subside as he realized he had been about to attack his good friend. With a shake of his head, he stood tall and stepped back from the corpse of the monster. ¡°Hey man, can you hear me now?¡± Otto asked him. Adam nodded his head. ¡°We need to move!¡± his friend gestured towards the sounds of more fighting. Oh shit, I can¡¯t believe I forgot about the others, Adam thought in shame. ¡°Let¡¯s get going before more show up¡± Otto continued, ¡°Go ahead and see if you can help them. We will catch up.¡± Adam nodded again and started loping towards where Michael and Henry had gone. Bolts of pain flared through his left foreleg each time the likely broken bone in his paw touched the ground. As he distanced himself from his friends, he noticed that each of the items Emi had made was emitting the blue light from before just like Sylvia¡¯s spear had been. Probably a skill that she had. His appraisal of the items drew his attention towards his other friends standing beside Otto as he left. A sour scent filled his nose as he looked at them. Sweat beaded across their skin as they held their weapons in a white knuckled grip as they stared at him. Fear etched across their faces. Beside them lay the desiccated remains of the sabercat he had ripped apart and eaten in front of them. His head sagged as he turned away. He knew. There was no going back now. He had scared them more than the initial attack did. What they saw leaving wasn¡¯t their friend that they had semi-jokingly put a collar on. It was a monster. A weight settled around his shoulders as he turned the corner, his heart heavy despite the perverse feeling of contentment he felt in his stomach. His hunger had diminished. For now. 14. Fights End Henry¡¯s blade slashed across the beast''s flank, as he rushed past. Roars in the distance combining with the snarls from his opponent. Fortunately for him, the support from Michael allowed him to dart in and out of combat with relative ease, enabling him to keep an eye out for any additional threats from those sounds. The initial wound from the sabercat throbbed, filling his left eye with blood every second or so, forcing him to constantly wipe his face or risk losing sight of his foe. A torn face was a huge problem for a human as it bled so much more than other parts of the body, but Henry was incredibly lucky that he hadn¡¯t lost the eye. While the face injury was detrimental to the swordsman, Michaels injured snout was of no consequence. Though short, the battle had been intense so far with Michael tanking most of the damage. Maybe he¡¯s not a normal wolf? Henry thought. The feline creature swiped its vicious claws across the professor''s shoulder, hardly breaking the surface upon contact. His white fur was tinged pink in multiple places, where the brown scaled beast had attacked previously. Despite the bestial nature of the fight, Michael didn¡¯t seem to noticed the pain. Previously, he had taken some serious damage against the wendigo in his canine form but Henry had noticed that the damage had almost entirely healed when Michael had shifted into this form again. An enhanced healing factor would make sense if these transformations were similar to lycanthropy, he thought. I wonder if I could transform into something else if he bit me. Wait¡­ what the hell would I be if Adam bit me? An opening presented itself as Henry pondered what exactly the others had become, allowing him to dash in and make a critical strike along the beast''s neck. Michael had managed to latch his jaws into the side of the creatures skull while his claws were embedded into its shoulder and haunch, effectively halting its movement. The beast hissed its frustration and failed to shake itself free before Henry¡¯s chinese straight sword pierced into the far side of its throat, just behind the jawbone, piercing its brain. The strain of the creature''s dead weight slumping to the ground pulled the blade from Henry''s hand as he leapt back from the corpse. With the conflict ended, the only sound in the area was the sound of system notifications and heavy footfalls as Adams'' large frame bound around the corner towards them. Henry''s eyes widened as he took his friend in. His shaggy underfur was matted and glistening with blood and viscera dripped from his snout. The long tusks that jutted up out of his lower jaw were like crimson soaked towers of ivory, rising from the dark black lips of his wide face. Before he could say anything to his friend, a low and menacing growl filled the space, causing the swordsman to break out in a cold sweat. He slowly turned to face the new aggressor and was confused when he laid eyes on Michael, standing over the fallen beast with his hackles raised and his fangs bared at Adam. In horror, he realized that even with his teeth bared, Michaels jaw was moving, as he had ripped a portion of the throat out of the felled feline. Adam had stopped moving right as he finished coming around the corner and Henry was, once again, surprised to see his friend slowly lower himself to the ground and begin to shrink. Over the next couple seconds, Henry watched as Adam¡¯s fur receded back into his skin, his grey hide lightened, and his tusks shortened, as his bestial transformation skill was deactivated, leaving Adam crouched naked on the ground roughly 25 feet away from the professor and his meal. Throughout the transformation, Henry noticed that Adam¡¯s eyes never left Michael even when his face briefly contorted with pain as his bones reshaped themselves. Adam slowly and calmly stood up from his crouched position. ¡°Professor Johnson, it''s me, Adam.¡± he said softly as he stepped towards the growling man. A snarl ripped out of him as Adam moved closer, stopping the naked man in place before he could move any closer. ¡°I just experienced this myself, reign it in Michael. You are not an animal.¡± he raised his hands out wide in an effort to seem less threatening, ironically treating him as an animal through his actions. The viciousness that filled Michaels features held, a long pregnant pause filling the space more than the rumbling growls had, before he shook his large head and stepped off the carcass. Two heavy sighs echoed as Henry and Adam both relaxed and looked at one another with relief. With the tension released and Michael beginning to transform back to his human form, Henry gave Adam a more discerning inspection. Something about him looked different then before he had transformed. It was hard to tell what it was exactly though, as the transformation had not cleaned the blood and guts from his form. Adam seemed to notice his inspection as Otto, Emi and Sylvia joined them, and quickly covered himself with the collar that he had been wearing in his beast form. The ladies made an effort not to look at anyone but Henry as there were now two naked men, since Michael had also completed his transformation back to human form as well. Otto quickly moved to Adam and the professor, handing over their clothes while Sylvia and Emi moved towards Henry. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°What happened up here?¡± Sylvia asked as she walked up to him. Emi moved right past him and went straight to the creature''s body where she started feeling around at its scales and muttering to herself. ¡°Michael and I had found some tracks and wanted to check them out before bringing you guys forward.¡± Henry explained, ¡°He had gone a bit ahead of me and I got ambushed by this thing. Luckily, he was able to get back to me in time and we were able to kill it after a minute or two.¡± While he spoke, Sylvia worked on his facial wounds, taking one of the strips of cloth that they had saved from making the collars earlier and wrapping it around his head to help stop the bleeding. ¡°We heard the professors bark and tried to come help but we were attacked by another one.¡± She paused and glanced over the creatures body to where Adam and Michael were standing, staring at the creature. Henry thought he heard Adam call the creature an Armored Sabercat or something. Somehow he knew what they were and was talking about them with Michael, Otto and Emi. ¡°Was Adam¡­ different when he came up here?¡± she asked. He had to think about it for a second. When Adam had first changed back to human, he had looked upset somehow. His new tusks and the blood covering his front made it difficult for the swordsman to fully read the man, but something about the way he had been standing and the look he had given Michael, told Henry that something had happened before he showed up. ¡°He seemed fine, I think? I didn¡¯t notice anything really. Adam came in and helped right away.¡± A look of fear and possibly regret flashed across Sylvia¡¯s face as she nodded and focused on bandaging Henry¡¯s head. Clearly, their conversation on the topic was over. Between the quick glimpse of fear of Sylvia¡¯s face, the darting glances she kept sending towards Adam and the way Otto was standing a step farther away from Adam than seemed necessary, Henry could guess what had happened. Adam had killed the other sabercat in a really violent way, scaring the others. While none of them had experience with the crazy situations they were currently being put in, he, Adam and Michael had all adapted to the more violent parts of this new world better than the other three. Otto was trying and obviously wanted to help, but he was too gentle of a soul. Henry had noticed during their first encounter with Jessi¨C with the Wendigo, that Otto hesitated and started to close his eyes when he would throw his stones to attack. The Computer Science Engineering student was still front and center in the man''s mind. Sylvia had adapted in her own way, moving on instinct to help deal with the wounds that they sustained. It really feels like I¡¯m the only one that really is getting hurt. Syl has patched me up like five times and we have had two fights so far. It was a foregone conclusion that more fights would come. Monsters existed so monsters needed to be slain. Henry shifted his attention from Otto and Sylvia to Emi. Oddly enough, the small woman had changed the least. She had always been a problem solver and her love of machinery and making stuff carried over into this new world perfectly. This big change to her reality was nothing more than another problem that she needed to fix. It was the thing that Henry had always loved about her; her single minded ability to focus on what she could control. If anyone else were to look at her in this moment, they would think she was completely unaware of her surroundings, engrossed in studying the carcass in front of her. Henry knew better though. The way she shuffled her feet and pointedly moved to a new limb to study its claws when Adam came close, gave away her own anxiety about being near him, even if her face betrayed none of it. He sighed to himself and thanked Sylvia for bandaging him up as he went to retrieve his sword. Adam and Michael were like opposite sides of the coin from the others. Henry believed that their selection of the Path of the Beast was what had allowed them to adapt so quickly but he wasn¡¯t sure. After seeing the way Michael had acted after killing the sabercat, his jealousy over their cool transformation abilities had diminished significantly. At least I know that if I go crazy, it''s all me. Not some internal beast that''s taking over or whatever the hell that was. His background as a fencer and as an all around sword-nut allowed for him to brush aside Henry McCoy, the General Transfer Student, so that Henry the Swordsman could take his place. His inner child was leaping for joy, imagining all of the ways that this new version of himself could grow. While being ¡°isekai¡¯d¡± had always been high on his list, becoming a ¡°hunter¡± or something would be cool too. Maybe I''ll have a chance at becoming a sword saint or something, he thought with a grin as he pulled his sword from the creature''s neck and wiped it clean with the remains of his jacket before sheathing it on his hip. His attention shifted back to his companions as Adam had cleared his throat to get everyone''s attention. ¡°We should get moving again, but¡­ ¡° He looked at Michael grimly before continuing, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should take our beast forms just yet.¡± Michael nodded, ¡°As beneficial as I think we can be, we simply don¡¯t know enough about what is happening to our bodies and our minds to comfortably be around anyone else.¡± He looked at Henry apologetically, ¡°I recognized that you had helped me kill the creature but I was ready to fight both of you for it and I can¡¯t stand the idea of losing control and attacking a student of mine.¡± Henry put on a fake smile, ¡°You would have snapped out of it, professor. I have complete faith in you!¡± he turned to Adam and extended a fist, ¡° Both of you.¡± His friend gave a soft smile and fist bumped him before accepting one of Emi¡¯s daggers. Hopefully, they will get it figured out soon. Henry couldn¡¯t imagine leaving his friends behind but as the only real combatant in the group, if Adam and Michael were to lose it while transformed, he would have to get the others away from them. The group of six gathered their things and started moving through the final stretch of the path towards the Arts building. As they exited the rocky outcroppings that covered the area between the Arts building and the Student Center, they entered an open space roughly 20 meters across filled with broken pieces of pavement, overgrown with creeping vines, long grasses and four unexpected shapes. Vehicles. The main thing of note was that the vehicles, a truck, two small sedans and a twelve passenger van, had been knocked over. The seats had been shredded long ago leaving rotting cloth over metal and plastic framework. While the new space seemed to be fairly untouched, Henry noticed that the far side of the open space had what looked to be a couple bodies sprawled out across the ground. At least three of the bodies were human and two others looked to be beasts of some kind. Just as they stepped clear of the protection of the stonework, a voice called out from the balcony above the entryway. ¡°Quick! Run this way! The cars have monsters!¡± Then all hell broke loose. Again. 15. New Arrivals -10 minutes before the warning- With every roar, bark or hiss that echoed into the Arts building, Everett Garcia flinched, his long black hair swaying as he whipped his head back and forth, making sure that nothing was inside the building. Luckily, even with his long hair, he had no problems knowing what was in his vicinity. He self consciously, tucked his hair back behind an ear, away from his new¡­ features, the action reminding him of his recent experiences and how he had changed. ¨C When the world entered into the Integration, he had accepted the offered opportunity to become a Forerunner of Earth and ended up in his worst nightmare: surrounded by insects in a cave. How he had managed to stay conscious, Everett would never know, as he stood in a massive cave alongside a couple hundred others, completely surrounded by creatures of all shapes and sizes, their only defining characteristics being the fact that they were all unique and they all were insect-like. While he was alongside many other humans, the weirdest part was that they were all spaced out and none of them were able to move. Over a period of time that felt like hours, Everett watched as the creatures walked through the mass of frozen people in seemingly random fashion, all while maintaining an eerie silence. A silence that was only broken by the sounds of the creature''s limbs clacking across the hard stone floor. Sometimes, a creature would stop in front of one of the frozen people and touch them with an antenna, claw or some other appendage, resulting in the person emitting a flash of light and disappearing from the cavern. While Everett had witnessed a couple of those flashes of light, they were by no means the norm. More often than not, the initial touch was far from gentle. The crunching of bones and sounds of slurping fluids would haunt Everett¡¯s nightmares for years to come. When he had finally been approached, there was no shame in the fear that he felt, nor in the destruction of his pants, as heat filled the space around him. He had felt the beings presence as it stood behind him and felt something touch the side of his face before the alien voice whispered in his mind. Images and feelings that were not his own, raced through his thoughts. Hollowed out mountains, miles of tunnels, groups of insectile beings around pits of magma flitted across the surface of his mind before a brief feeling of pleasant surprise overwhelmed his confusion and fear. The foreign thoughts faded from the recesses of his mind as an overwhelming presence connected forced its way into his brain, the pressure threatening to crush Everett¡¯s entire being under its weight. A rumbling voice had seared across his mind as he felt his body be removed from the trial, ¡°I guess you¡¯ll do.¡± ¨C Everett shivered, despite the aura of warmth he exuded. The memories of his trial, the so-called ¡°First Contact¡± with a faction known as the Empiric Hive, provided him with some objectively amazing boons but¡­ he wasn¡¯t sure he would ever get used to them. He had gained a physique as a reward for completing his trial and while his cosmetic changes were not really to his liking, his increased strength and additional abilities he gained from this mess had proven to be a godsend. Everett was a firm believer in the phrase, ¡°Knowledge is Power¡± and voraciously pursued education. So much so that he was planning on becoming a teacher in the future! So much for that future. His love of learning was a pivotal part of who he was and Everett was always learning random skills that had absolutely nothing to do with any other aspect of his life. That said, school itself wasn¡¯t really his forte. So when he was offered his Paths of Pursuit, he was by no means surprised to see that his compatibility with the Path of the Academic was incredibly low. The Path of the Seeker just felt right anyways. The base active skill of the pursuit had proven instrumental in traversing the changed school as it allowed for him to learn more about the things around him. It¡¯s honestly surprising that Identify is a first level skill. Every main character seems to have it for exposition purposes in old anime, but I won''t complain. As soon as he had come back to Earth, he was able to test it on a person, seeing their name and current level. Nothing too impressive, but since he kept spamming it as he walked around the destroyed Arts building, he had been the first to notice the monsters outside as they rushed out of the ruined vehicles towards the students. Unfortunately, even with the warning, he wasn¡¯t able to save everyone that had gone outside. Since then, he and roughly twenty other survivors had holed up in the auditorium, as it had the most open space for people to maneuver, in case a monster got past their rudimentary defenses. While some of the more confident people stood guard at the lower entrances, armed with prop weapons and metal pipes, Everett had used one of his many seemingly useless talents to fashion himself a sling out of an old leather pirate costume piece. With rubble all over the place, he had almost limitless ammunition and some of his more¡­ unique abilities, as a Forerunner of Earth, allowed for him to be particularly viable as ranged cover. From his position on the second floor balcony, he was able to easily keep an eye on the outside of the building while other more leader oriented individuals took charge of all the others. -Present- The sounds of combat that had echoed throughout the building had been terrifying. The creatures in the vehicles were far too small to have made noises like that which meant there was something else closing in on them. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Everett had been sitting in the doorway to the auditorium, back and away from the broken windows that overlooked the courtyard, listening to both the sounds of combat and to the sounds of the people inside, arguing over what they should do next. Based on the way that they hadn¡¯t reacted to the noises, he could only assume that either his enhanced physique or the fact that he was a Seeker, was allowing him to understand what was happening in his surroundings more than them. Either way, it doesn¡¯t matter. He sighed internally. The other survivors were wanting to wait for help to come help them. With all the stuff that Everett could see from his vantage point though, help coming for them was a pipe dream, and he knew that they would need to leave this place at some point. The noises from the courtyard had disappeared a couple minutes before and Everett thought that he could hear voices. No, that couldn¡¯t be right¡­ How could there be voices coming from the same place that the monsters'' sounds had just been coming from? Did these people kill the monsters? With a hint of trepidation, Everett slowly crawled past the framework that once held the large glass windows together, out onto the external patio. The ravages of time and the changes to the world breaking and sweeping away any remains of the broken window walls. Voices floated up to his hiding place on the gentle winds that swept over the mountainside. How the hell did we go from a small school on the coast to being halfway up a mountain? The change in the local topography had initially taken Everett aback, but now he was concerned. He knew nothing about the mountains and hoped that he could get out of them soon. The young man peeked his head over the edge to the balcony towards the sound of the voices and he tensed in alarm. The remains of the vehicles from before had moved. Why are they moved? How does that happen silently? I should have heard a couple of rusty cars being dragged across stone right? He squashed the feelings of confusion and leapt to his feet as a group of six people crept out of the rocky protrusions that filled the courtyard. Directly towards the newly relocated vehicles that could only be a deathtrap. ¡°Quick! Run this way! The cars have monsters!¡±
Adam whipped his head up towards the man on the balcony. How did I not notice him up there? Since the Integration, his new bestial instinct''s had managed to alert him to just about every person he had seen so far. The monsters were different because they had been intentionally hiding and he assumed they were higher level then he was. As soon as the man alerted them to danger, shrieks filled the air as creatures flew from the seemingly empty vehicles before them. Skittering from every opening, like ants pouring from an anthill, were tens of oversized rats. Calling the critters rats was technically incorrect though, as they had some serious differences compared to your average rat. First, their bodies were almost two feet long and were covered in fur that reminded Adam of rusted metal, likely the reason they were unnoticed by the group. Second, their tails were long and silver, covered by intermittent barbs, similar to strands of barbed wire. And third, they each looked like they could crush rocks between their toes. Every single one of the small creatures looked like they benched 300lbs with no effort whatsoever. Their immense strength was proven as one of them whipped its tail at Adam, surprising him with its ability to extend. He managed to block the attack but was once again caught off guard when the tail wrapped around his forearm and the creature pulled Adam off his feet towards the approaching rats. A hand latched onto the collar that Adam now wore as a sash, stopping his forward momentum, Otto covered in glowing teal runes braced himself, ¡°Cut its tail!¡±. Henry dove past Adam with his sword drawn, leaping directly towards the wave of rats, as Emi and Michael hacked at the tail that was latched to his arm. He had to grit his teeth as they worked, the force of their hacking causing the barbs to twist and rip at the skin on his forearm, making his injury even worse. ¡°Don¡¯t cut the tail! Just kill the damn thing!¡±, he ground out between the clenched jaws. Now that his feet were under him he planted himself firmly and gripped the tail with both hands, forcing his companions to stop cutting at the appendage. With a yell, Adam pulled the rat towards him as hard as he could. As it soared through the air backwards, he planned on stomping the little shit but lost out when a staff swung through the air leaving a lavender glow in its wake. Sylvia¡¯s staff slammed into the side of the rat and pulsed with a pale red-pink light before the energy transferred into the rat, causing it to burst in a spray of blood. Adam, Michael, Otto and Emi all paused for a second and stared at Sylvia. She turned towards them with an annoyed look, ¡°Don¡¯t just stare, kill these things!¡± before turning and running to join Henry. It was a good thing that Sylvia was so focused because Henry was in over his head. Somehow, Henry was able to kill a couple of the rats but he spent most of his time dodging their metallic tails. The creatures seemed intent on capturing him. Initially, it looked as if there were about a dozen of the beasts but those numbers had been wrong. More and more of the beasts poured out of the vehicles, attempting to overwhelm them with numbers. Numbers that were separating them from their sword wielding friend. Just as two different tails managed to latch onto him, a whirring sound filled the air as the voice of warning called out again, ¡°Grab him and get in here!¡±. Then something small and glowing flew towards the wave of creatures with a loud crack, killing a rat on contact, before a burst of flame incinerated all the others within a couple feet of the explosion. A glance towards the man on the balcony informed Adam that the man was using a sling to thin the numbers. Adam and Michael dashed into the fray and scooped up Henry before he could hit the ground. Another explosion went off in front of the men, effectively clearing a path towards the Arts building where they could see three figures running towards them. He recognized them as three of the school''s athletes, though he couldn¡¯t remember their names. One carried a baseball bat and had a helmet on, while another was wearing catcher''s gear and wielded an iron bar in one hand and a hammer in the other. The last one was a mountain of a man that looked to be carrying a large piece of backdrop from the school''s drama department, like it was a kite shield. The man with the shield, which Adam realized was a wooden cutout in the shape of a bush, ran past everyone and smashed the shield down on the nearest rats like it was a giant flyswatter, smushing and knocking away many of the closest monsters. He stomped on the board for good measure before turning and running back towards them as more cover fire came in from the balcony above. The group, escorted by the two baseball players, rushed into the lobby of the building towards the auditorium. Not even two seconds after they entered, the shield wielding man, now shield-less, dove through the doors, and slammed them shut behind him. He leaned against the door wheezing with a pained grin across his face. ¡°Dammit Henry, you dumbass, who the hell runs straight into a bunch of murderous rats?!¡± 16. Survivors and Status Updates Adam grimaced as he sat in an old chair. Somehow, the auditorium had managed to make it through the integration period basically intact. Aside from the ever prevalent water damage, that is. Still, with the school''s new elevation, the second story of the Arts building seemed to have dodged most of the destruction. ¡°I¡¯m not the biggest ¡®people person¡¯, but I¡¯m pleased to be around more of them¡± said Michael from beside him. Upon entry into the auditorium, Adam had felt the change in the atmosphere. While the people here were scared, they had managed to structure themselves in a proactive manner. There were roughly thirty survivors in the building aside from Adam and his group. Apparently, there had been a Music Theory class in one of the classrooms, a History of Man lecture in the auditorium and an archaeology program out of Central Washington University was setting up an exhibit that they were going to showcase after the break. With all of these things happening at once, there had been a surprising number of people in the building when the Integration started. Adam nodded, ¡°It¡¯s a shame that more didn¡¯t make it.¡± He looked down to where Henry and Otto stood talking with the three athletes from before. Tang, the overly large man that had previously wielded the prop bush like a shield, had filled them in on what happened here. When he, Dimitri and Shawn, the two baseball players, had come back from Stasis, they were in their Music Theory classroom with about fifteen others. General confusion held them in place before they all decided to leave together, moving to the lobby before anything happened. When they got there, other people in the building had tried to go outside to see what was going on. The class''s inability to make a decision had saved them, as their delay had stopped them from exiting the building themselves. Tang had simply shaken his head as he glossed over the violence they had witnessed upon their group''s arrival, stating that the only reason their group had survived was because six of them had all selected Path of the Warrior. Using whatever they could get their hands on, they had managed to dodge past or fight off any of the monster rats that approached them. Over the last two hours, they had attempted to find a way to leave and get everyone past the rats but hadn¡¯t had much luck finding a safe way out. Each time they had attempted to leave the building, they had been attacked by armored sabercats or the rat monsters which apparently were called barbed whiprats. ¡°Well, with any luck, the sabercats that had been attacking them before are the ones we just killed¡± Michael sighed. ¡°Hopefully.¡± Adam responded. He looked at the professor and let out a long sigh of his own before asking what was really on their minds. ¡°So¡­ do you think we are going to be like that every time?¡± The professor tensed, his discomfort evident in the way he pursed his lips. Michael shifted in his seat, ¡°I really hope not,¡± his eyes hardened, ¡°if becoming an uncontrollable beast is what we get for choosing this, then I fear we made a mistake.¡± With that, the two men lost themselves in their own thoughts, sitting in a companionable silence while the other group members spread out to help wherever they could. At some point before their arrival, the survivors had raided the ticket booth outside of the auditorium, where they had found a couple boxes of sealed bags of chips. They weren¡¯t much but they provided a sustenance that they would all eventually need. While Henry and Otto spoke with the three men that had helped them, Sylvia and Emi had gone to look for the food that Tang had mentioned. Adam was sure that they were avoiding him and Michael. I mean, who wouldn¡¯t be afraid or freaked out by their friend turning into a monster and eating a different monster in front of them? A monster that, if his fears were to be confirmed, was so much more than a simple beast. If he had been alone, Adam would have curled in on himself, riddled with anxiety, but Michaels positive outlook and aura of strength anchored him in his sea of emotions. He couldn¡¯t help but agree with the man''s statement. Being able to transform? Amazing. Becoming strong enough to help his friends? Even better. But potentially losing his humanity? He had a hard time reconciling with that. Was this normal? What does it mean about him, that the system recognized the Path of the Beast as being the Pursuit he was most compatible with? Prior to the Integration, Adam had only ever killed bugs and a couple squirrels over the years when he accidentally hit them with his car. He had no experience hunting and had no interest in it either. So, why was it that he was so compatible with this path? ¡°Adam?¡± He jolted upright and turned to Michael. Based on his face, this wasn¡¯t the first time he had tried to get his attention. ¡°Sorry, I was just thinking.¡± Michael nodded in understanding, ¡°I figured that was the case. You wanna talk about it?¡± ¡°Honestly,¡± he gestured to everything around him, ¡°there is so much I need to talk about but if I do it now, I think I am going to break down. Too much has happened too quickly for me to process it all.¡± The older man smiled softly, ¡°Well when you want to talk, I''m here. The world is a different place now and, as someone that is in the same boat as you, I''ll check in with you if you check in with me.¡± A small wave of relief washed over Adam. Knowing that he wasn¡¯t alone, that he had someone that could understand the things he was feeling, was indescribable for his sanity. Just as he was about to respond to him, Michael stiffened in surprise and his eyes lost their focus. ¡°Woah¡­ how did that happen?¡± he muttered. ¡°What?¡± Michaels eyes returned to focus with another small grin, ¡°I just leveled up. The system says I can choose my class now.¡± Adam blinked. He had completely forgotten about his system messages from before. The stress and immediacy of their situation had forced his notifications to the back of his mind. ¡°What level are you now?¡± he asked. ¡°I just hit level 5.¡± Michael raised his hand and swiped it in the air, as if he were using a tablet. His movement was oddly comical, reminding Adam that the professor was in his late 50¡¯s by the stiff movements he was making. He definitely would have been squinting through his glasses perched on the end of his nose if it had been a real one. Luckily, the system seemed to always be clear. Adam assumed it was directly connected to your mind which would allow for ease of use. After he swiped through a couple more notifications Michael said, ¡°This damn system won''t tell me anything about the classes. It just keeps asking if I would like to proceed with class selection. The game elements associated with the system are still so new to me. Should I go for it?¡± ¡°Wait a sec. I wanna check to see if I can do it too.¡± As he responded to Michael, Adam willed for his notifications to appear, causing almost all of his vision to be obscured by a slew of screens. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
You have Leveled up! ~Check your Multiversal Status for details~ Free Point = 1
You have Leveled up! ~Check your Multiversal Status for details~ Free Point = 1
You have Leveled up! ~Check your Multiversal Status for details~ Free Point = 1
Congratulations! You can now select a Class! Would you like to start the Class Selection process? [Yes] / [No] Warning Selecting a Class is one of the most important decisions an individual can make on their Path to Power. Classes offered by the system are tailored to each individual based on their talents and actions.
¡°Holy shit, I¡¯m level 5 too¡± breathed Adam. He knew he had leveled up from the previous fights based on how he was physically feeling. The basic stat allotment of the Path of the Beast heightened his physical body to levels that he had never experienced, but he had no idea that he had grown so much. Michael slapped him on the shoulder, ¡°That''s great news! We can make our choices at the same time. Do you think any of the others are ready? I feel like it would be nice to do our selections as a group.¡± Adam glanced down to the ground floor where Sylvia had joined Henry and Otto¡¯s conversation with the three athletes. ¡°I think Henry could be, and maybe Sylvia.¡± He scanned the rest of the auditorium but didn¡¯t see Emi anywhere. Based on the way she had been eyeing the metal bars that Shawn and Dimitri had been using before, she was probably looking for materials to craft with. ¡°I''m sure Emi will be able to soon as well. Especially if she is able to make some real weapons and armor for people here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll run down there and check with them real quick. Take your time and go through all your messages. If any of the others are leveled up and ready then I''ll bring them up here and we can do it together.¡± With that, he turned, jogging down the steps to the others. Adam went back to his system messages.
Congratulations, you have learned the skill Empowered Sense!
Active: Empowered Sense
Pulse mana through one of your five senses. The sense is heightened for a period of time based on your Arcana. One of the five senses will be permanently empowered whenever Beast Transformation is active. Permanent Empowerment is based on your Beast Transformation form.
Interesting, he thought. It doesn¡¯t look like this is only usable while I¡¯m transformed. That will be really convenient, especially since I am a little nervous about my beast form at the moment.
You have defeated a Stone Armored Sabercat (Level 4)! ~Experience Earned based on participation~
Seeing the message, Adam tasted the blood in his mouth once again. The crunching of the creature''s bones between his strong jaws¡­ He shook the thoughts away.
FIRST DAY INTEGRATION CLUE Compatibility with Stone Armored Sabercat is 100% Warning INTEGRATION CLUES are clues meant to provide hints for the Newly Integrated Beings of the world. They will be provided by the System for one full day [24 hours] upon Reintegration following Integration Stasis.
100%? So does that mean that I can use stone magic?
FIRST DAY INTEGRATION CLUE You have discovered a compatible Affinity! Affinities can be integral as one walks their chosen Path of Power. Through integration or immersion in a compatible affinity, a person can awaken to it, allowing for a potential boost in individual power. Affinities are multifaceted and each person interacts with them differently. Warning INTEGRATION CLUES are clues meant to provide hints for the Newly Integrated Beings of the world. They will be provided by the System for one full day [24 hours] upon Reintegration following Integration Stasis.
This is good information but I kinda already figured that Affinities would be important.
Congratulations! You have Awakened a Stone Affinity. . . . It appears Stone Affinity is a Partial Affinity.
And there it is, he grinned to himself. I bet Sylvia is going to be so jealous. Maybe she can show me how to do the mana manipulation stuff and I will be able to learn to shoot ¡®stone bullets¡¯ or something. Awakening an elemental affinity was really exciting. He had always loved earth style magic and had OBSESSED over earth-bending from Avatar: the Last Airbender. He and Dante would spend all weekend watching the old episodes. When they got the chance to play, they would pretend to be benders. Dante would switch it up all the time but Adam was an earth-bending loyalist. Thinking about Dante made him think about home. His brow furrowed as he considered the way of the world. Dante was probably fine but his Grandma¡­ He couldn¡¯t think about things he can¡¯t change. Back to his notifications.
FIRST DAY INTEGRATION CLUE You have discovered Partial Affinities! Partial Affinities occur when an individual has a Composite Affinity, classified by the system, that is made up of multiple affinities combined. Warning INTEGRATION CLUES are clues meant to provide hints for the Newly Integrated Beings of the world. They will be provided by the System for one full day [24 hours] upon Reintegration following Integration Stasis.
The part about stone being a ¡®Partial Affinity¡¯ was very interesting though. Stone seems kinda specialized but does that mean I can only do stuff that is related to stones? Are rocks and stones different within the system? Would it be too much to ask for the system to provide some basic information? Anxiety began to curl in the depths of his abdomen. If I only have a partial affinity for stone, am I not able to use it as well as someone who¡¯s entire affinity is stone? Looking through all of his notifications hadn¡¯t taken too long but between reading them and getting lost in his thoughts about home, he allowed enough time for Michael to start making his way back with the others. Not only were Henry, Otto and Sylvia accompanying him back to Adam¡¯s location, Tang, Shawn and Dimitri were following him as well. Tang grinned at Adam as he approached and whispered to the group, ¡°I know the world is ending and all kinds of horrible stuff is happening but¡­ you gotta admit, knowing that we can get stronger and level up, just like in games and novels, is pretty exciting.¡± He pointed past them up to the upper balcony, ¡°Everett is the only one here that has a class so far. You guys should go talk to him about the experience before you make you accept the class selection.¡± Michael raised an eyebrow at Tang, ¡°Everett? As in Everett Garcia?¡± His gaze paused as he scanned the exit towards the balcony. He nodded to the professor, ¡°Yeah, that''s him. I don¡¯t know what you knew about him before all of this but I can promise you this. He is definitely different from what you remember.¡± 17. Everett Garcia Tang smiled and turned to lead the group up to the balcony where Everett Garcia was. Adam glanced at Michael, ¡°This guy a student of yours?¡± He nodded, ¡°Yeah. Everett¡¯s a good guy. Last I knew, he was studying to be a teacher.¡± The crow lines besides his eyes scrunched as he let out a low laugh, ¡°I actually know him from my summer courses. This last July, I ran an outdoor survival course that focused on primitive technologies and he was there. We ended the course with an actual survival test and he excelled.¡± Michael turned and followed Tang up the steps, closely followed by the others. As they passed, Adam took in the additions to their group. Tang Cook, Dimitri Stoinov and Shawn Jackson were all athletes that had passed through Professor Greymore¡¯s classes at some point in the last year since he started working under him. I hope he¡¯s okay. He thought. Pushing his concerns about his boss and friend to the back of his mind, he focused again on the three athletes as he followed them towards the second floor balcony. Tang was an incredibly personable man of Pacific Islander descent. Adam couldn''t quite remember where he was from exactly, but knew that he moved to the Oregon coast this fall after joining the new wrestling program as a walk-on athlete. I think Henry said he used to be a rugby player? Doesn¡¯t matter now. He had close cropped black hair, hazel eyes, and prior to Otto¡¯s Physique, would have towered over everyone else in the auditorium with his six and a half foot frame. Walking behind him were Dimitri and Shawn. While they were not related in any way, they had multiple similarities in their appearance, likely due to running in the same circle. While Dimitri was the more vocal of the two, he was only a first year at the college and Shawn was a second year. They both had short hair cut in a similar faded style, though Dimitri¡¯s was dark brown and straight while Shawn¡¯s was blond and curly. Dimitri''s chiseled jawline and perfect smile caused Adam to feel a hint of jealousy, now that he had tusks ruining his once straight teeth. Braces were a flippin¡¯ waste. He grumbled internally. He was more familiar with Shawn than the others though. The muscular man was part of the nursing program and as such, Adam had seen him around the Health and Science building for months. The man''s carefully sculpted beard had lost its structure, becoming frazzled, mirroring Adam¡¯s current feelings. If this Everett guy had managed to acquire a class even before they had, how strong was he exactly? He was pulled from his musings when he noticed that Shawn had fallen to the back of the group as the others ascended. ¡°Have you seen any of my classmates since this happened?¡± he asked in a soft voice that didn''t match his rough exterior. Adam just shook his head. The blond man cursed under his breath, ¡°Dammit. I hope they all are safe.¡± He paused for a moment before asking in a gentler voice, ¡°Ms. Stewart?¡± he asked. Shawn caught Adam¡¯s arm as he tripped on a stair. When they locked eyes, understanding bloomed in the young athlete¡¯s gaze. ¡°I''m so sorry.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Adam said, his voice hollow and distant. Doors opened in front of them as the group made it to the balcony. Think about the future now. Mourn when you have time for it. A gentle breeze drifted through the space that once was the second story balcony over the Arts Building¡¯s lobby. With so much of the exterior wall being made of large planes of glass during the building''s construction, it was easy to see that the internal balcony and the external balcony, that once looked out over the campus, had essentially combined now that the glass had broken and been washed away. Metal balustrades wrapped around the edges of the space, reinforced by bits of broken theater sets, providing cover for anyone that wished to hide from outside forces. Sitting on a small stool, just outside of the auditorium, was a man with shoulder length black hair tied back and a horrible sunburn. Beside him was a makeshift bucket full of golf ball sized stones and pieces of broken cement. As Adam watched, the man cupped a piece of cement between his hands and twisted back and forth. A small wave of heat seemed to flow from the motion as dust poured from his moving hands across his lap. He looked up as he set the piece of cement, now spherical, into the bucket beside the other balls he had made. Tang made an exaggerated coughing noise and fanned the air in front of his face, ¡°I wish you didn¡¯t make such a mess every time you do that, you monster.¡± a real cough mixed with a chuckle as he clasped hands with the sitting man, ¡°It¡¯ll take ages to clean this carpet now.¡± The sitting man stood and brushed his hands off as he shyly smiled at the man''s humor, ¡°Better out here than inside with all the normal people.¡± he said as he scanned the group. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Otto and Adam. Adam thought he felt the man''s eyes brush across his skin before Michael stepped up to his old student, ¡°Being normal is a thing of the past, Rett. don¡¯t let your uniqueness bother you.¡± He gestured to Adam and winked, ¡°Trust me, this guy is weirder than anything you are.¡± Adam, taking that as his cue to introduce himself, stepped forward. ¡°Hey there, I¡¯m Adam Abrams.¡± Everett shook his hand, ¡°Nice to meet you, I''m Everett Garcia.¡± As they introduced themselves, Adam came to a realization. Everett was a Forerunner. His hands were oddly firm, and upon closer inspection, his skin wasn''t sunburned. It had changed colors just like Otto¡¯s skin. However, rather than taking on a teal sheen like his giant friend, Everett¡¯s skin had a ruddy red tone. Other than that, the only other alterations that Adam could see were two stalks that extended about six inches upward from his hairline. Had Adam not had the chance to see them up close, he might have assumed that they were horns, but luckily his close proximity allowed for him to see exactly what they were: two antennae that were encased in a red exoskeleton so dark, it almost appeared black. While he was inspecting Everett, the other man was busy inspecting him, lingering on the sight of his tusks sticking up past Adam''s upper lip. A sense of stiffness seemed to dissipate from around the man as he once again looked over Adam before inspecting Otto a couple steps away. ¡°I feel as if the three of us have much that we could talk about,¡± he said. Before anyone could say much of anything though, Sylvia spoke up, ¡°What did you do to us when we first walked out here? I felt your mana touch me.¡± Her voice was hard and of everyone, she was the only one that was on guard against the man. Everett blinked in surprise, ¡°You felt my mana?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, I did,¡± she shifted her staff in front of her, its point flaring with a pale red light, ¡°Now, what did you do to us?¡± Adam thought to himself, So the feeling I had before was mana? Interesting. Michael stepped between Everett and Sylvia, pushing the staff down gently and looked between the two of them. ¡°Sylvia, Rett is a friend. While I can understand being nervous, accusing him of anything nefarious might be a bit much." He waited for the glow of mana to dissipate before gesturing to some crumbling furniture, ¡°Why don¡¯t we all just have a seat and talk.¡± ¡°That sounds like a great idea,¡± said Henry. Rather than moving to the furniture, he plopped down where he was at and looked at Everett again, ¡°I hear you have a Class! What is it? How does it work? Is that how you made those bombs earlier?¡± The abrupt changes in the tone of the conversation gave Adam whiplash. However, the flood of questions from his friend helped him to focus on their purpose for finding the man: Class Selection. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Everett took a half step back away from everyone before he, and everyone else, also took seats on the ground. Eight sets of eyes bored into him, waiting for his responses. ¡°First,¡± he directed his gaze to Sylvia, ¡°my apologies for upsetting you before.¡± A red hand scratched the back of his head, causing his antennae to twitch. ¡°I used one of my Identify skills to scan all of you when you showed up. So far, aside from killing monsters, using that skill has helped me the most for leveling up. Identifying new people or creatures gives me a hint of experience,¡± he explained. ¡°It''s not as effective now that I have my class, but everything adds up right?¡± Henry slapped his hands down on the ground and leaned towards the man, ¡°You have the Identify skill?!¡± he quietly exclaimed, ¡°What¡¯s your pursuit?¡± ¡°I chose Path of the Seeker,¡± said Everett. ¡°I haven¡¯t met anyone else that is a Seeker yet though so maybe it''s kinda rare?¡± ¡°I was offered Seeker, but it didn¡¯t say anything about magic so I skipped it,¡± said Sylvia. Knowing what he had done seemed to placate her anger, leaving room for blatant curiosity. ¡°What does it show you when you scan us?¡± He sighed, clearly happy that she wasn¡¯t so on edge with him anymore, ¡°All I can see when I scan a creature is its name and level.¡± Everett''s face, scrunched in concern, turned to Tang, ¡°You know just as much about class selection as I do, why didn¡¯t you just tell them?¡± Tang gave Everett a look that screamed ¡®seriously?¡¯ before saying, ¡°Hearing the information from you is way better than hearing it second hand from me.¡± Adam nodded, ¡°I would have been happy to hear it from anyone, but knowing that someone had already gone through it, I would much rather hear it from you.¡± Based on some of his first comments upon meeting them, Adam was pretty sure that Everett stayed away from other people. With his new appearance, he probably felt like he was some kind of monster. Its one thing to have your body changed, it''s something else to know that only a couple of people had similar changes to themselves. Adam tried to imagine what it would have been like if he had not been with his closest friends when he came back, and shuddered. Poor guy. ¡°So, now that we got that settled, Rett, would you care to answer some of our questions now?¡± asked Michael. ¡°Start with mine from before,¡±said Henry, ¡°What''s your class?¡± Everett took a deep breath and sighed. As he exhaled, the temperature around the group rose. Adam couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of cruising with Dante in highschool. The feeling of sitting in a car with the heat on and the windows down so you had a cool breeze AND all encompassing warmth. The space around Everett warmed to a comfortable temperature while the breeze blowing in off the balcony kept it comfortable. ¡°Alright then,¡± he first looked to Henry, ¡°I''ll start by answering some of your questions. My class is called Hearth Shepherd. It¡¯s kinda hard to describe it but the gist is that I am a shepherd. The system said that my class will grant me abilities that will allow me to protect, find and effectively move with groups of creatures. The ¡®hearth¡¯ part of the class is likely due to my Fire Affinity.¡± ¡°Wait, you have an affinity already?¡± asked Sylvia, interest painted across her face. His relaxed face stiffened again, ¡°Yes, I have an affinity. Does no one else have one?¡± His eyes went straight to Adam and Otto. Otto shook his head, ¡°No one in our group has awakened their affinity.¡± Everett frowned, ¡°I assumed that the two of you would have awakened affinities too.¡± ¡°Why? Because they also look different now?¡± asked Shawn from the side. ¡°Well yeah, since they are Forerunners as well, I thought they might have affinities too.¡± A silence fell over the group as they allowed for Everett to get his thoughts in order. ¡°What about the explosions?¡± asked Sylvia. The new question pulled the man back to the conversation with a small grin as he picked up one of the round cement balls, ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to use my affinity so, I just shoved fire affinity mana into these and threw them as hard as I could. Turns out, the added mana makes my ammunition unstable, causing them to explode when they hit stuff.¡± Henry sighed, ¡°So cool.¡± Chuckles filled the air as they all laughed at Henry¡¯s statement. ¡°Anyways, my class has some adjustments to it that seems to be due to my awakened affinity. Since my affinity was awakened by my Physique, I think it affected my class choices.¡± That made sense to Adam. Having specialty skills would probably allow for specialty classes. Everett continued. ¡°I was offered three different classes when I went through the selection process, but it was pretty easy for me to choose this one, as Hearth Shepherd is a ¡®rare¡¯ class.¡± Michael massaged his temples, ¡°So classes have rarities? I should have listened to my grandson and played some video games before this. Does a higher rarity class make it better than a lower one?¡± Everett shrugged, ¡°Honestly Mike, I have no clue. While my class IS a rare one, I chose it because the other options didn¡¯t seem like they would help me out right now. One was Harvester, a class that was built around gathering food from nature. It seemed really useful and honestly, I wouldn¡¯t have minded choosing it. Its initial skill was a storage skill that preserved items that I personally harvested. The other was Watcher, a class that was focused exclusively on watching others. Both of them were labeled as ¡®common¡¯ classes. I ruled them out because they didn¡¯t have any skills or abilities that were associated with fighting.¡± He shivered, ¡°I was the first person in the building to notice the whiprats outside and I watched as they shredded some of the people here so I knew I needed some skills to help me fight monsters.¡± Once again, Adam found himself agreeing with the choices that Everett had made. Given the available options, he too would have chosen Hearth Shepherd. ¡°The system gives a short run down on the way that classes are ranked when you start the process so the four of you should check that out when you start.¡± He looked between Adam, Michael, Henry and Sylvia. Adam turned to Otto, surprised, ¡°Wait, are you not level five yet?¡± he asked. ¡°Not yet,¡± he replied, disappointment etched across his brow. Sensing Otto''s disappointment, Everett continued with his information. ¡°Once you start the Class Selection process, the system will give you a basic description of how the process works. The system offers you your class options by materializing chests that represent each of the classes you are offered. Each of the chests has the class name etched into the locking mechanism and a description of the class can be found in an associated system window. Additionally, the rarity of the class is marked by the color that the chest emits. Oh, and lastly, you gain another stat that is associated with your chosen class.¡± When he stopped talking, Henry just looked at him, ¡°You know, you¡¯re really good at describing stuff so that it''s easy to understand. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I still have a ton of questions, but that was smooth.¡± ¡°I was technically in school to be a teacher so I''ll take that as a compliment.¡± He gestured to everyone and said, ¡°I got nothing else that''s going to be helpful, so why don¡¯t you guys choose your classes?¡± Adam, Henry, Michael and Sylvia exchanged excited looks. ¡°Let''s give them a bit of space,¡± said Tang as he ushered everyone but them to the doorway. With the five others moved to the doorway to the auditorium, Adam, Henry, Michael and Sylvia spread out across the small space. ¡°Alright, let''s start all together,¡± prompted Michael. Adam and the others pulled up the system message prompting them to start the Class Selection process. Michael counted down from three and they all willed to start the process at the same time. An energy seemed to fill the space around them as the air before each of them ripped open, depositing a series of glowing chests before them. Three chests each thumped to the ground before Michael and Sylvia, while two fell before Adam and Henry. A system message flared to life before them all.
Congratulations on taking the next step in selecting your class! Class Rarities A class''s rarity can be split into six different levels. Common classes emit a White glow. Uncommon classes emit a Green glow. Rare classes emit a Blue glow. Epic classes emit a Purple glow. Legendary classes emit an Orange glow. Mythic classes emit a Red glow. Classes can be Upgraded or Evolved upon increasing your Tier of Existence. This is based on your talents and actions .
While white light was the most common light emitting from the chests, there was a blue chest in front of Michael and a green chest before Henry and Sylvia. Getting a high rarity class was something that should have caused them all to jump for joy. Two of them had the chance to select an Uncommon class and Michael could even select a Rare class like Everett! However, there was something else that had left them all confused. Henry broke the silence when he asked, ¡°What does that mean? It''s not on the list of options for me.¡± Adam didn¡¯t know what to say. Two chests had landed in front of him, one was barely bigger than a shoebox that emitted white light. The other was a chest the size of a small dresser that dwarfed the common class chest beside it. And this one was glowing with a bright pink light. What the hell does this mean? 18. Class Selection Adam was confused. The system had identified that classes could be split into six different rarities, with each of the rarities having an associated color. Based on video game logic, that made sense. What didn¡¯t make sense was that Adam¡¯s offered classes contained an option that was outside of the stated options. ¡°Um¡­¡± Everett¡¯s voice drifted across the now silent lobby, ¡°I have no clue, Henry. Adam, is there anything special about it? If you concentrate on your chests, system windows should pop up with descriptions of the classes.¡± Great, now everyone is watching me. Rather than everyone going through their own options, the group had focused their attention on Adam and his glowing pink chest. He turned his focus away from the others and back towards the chests. Sitting on the left was a small wooden chest. It looked to be crafted from strong oak and despite its size, felt strong. White light glowed through its seams, past smoothed iron bands that held it together. A heavy padlock in the shape of closed jaws held it shut. If Adam had to describe it in three words, they would be classic, strong and¡­ clean? Something about the way this chest felt to him reminded him of the feeling you get when you enter a nice hotel room for the first time. It''s nice, you can appreciate it for what it is and it¡¯s perfect for a time. A quick glance towards Michael revealed that two of his chests were potentially identical to this one. This one must be one of the basic classes offered to someone on the Path of the Beast. With this thought, he unintentionally acknowledged the chest, prompting two different system messages to appear.
FIRST DAY INTEGRATION CLUE As you walk the Path of the Beast your initial available Class Selection options will be focused on the construction of your Physique. Possible Classes are determined by your previous actions more than your natural talents, separating you from other Paths of Power. You have become something new. Now is the time to decide what you will become. Tread carefully, as all paths are treacherous to those that don¡¯t watch their step. Warning INTEGRATION CLUES are clues meant to provide hints for the Newly Integrated Beings of the world. They will be provided by the System for one full day [24 hours] upon Reintegration following Integration Stasis.
Well, that¡¯s very informative and not at all ominous, he thought. Adam once again looked at Michael. The older man¡¯s pondering gaze seemed to be intensely focused on his own system messages, telling Adam that he too had received a similar message. He moved to the second window, checking out his first offered class.
Carnivore Everything has its place in the natural world. Your raw power and aggressive nature push you towards the top of the food chain. Individuals that become Carnivores gain skills associated with hunting and combat. In the natural world, all carnivores have specialties and fill necessary roles in their ecosystems. While they are often viewed as aggressive and violent, carnivores play key roles in maintaining the careful balance of nature. Initial Class Skill: Hunter¡¯s Strike Carnivore Specialty Stat: Predation
A class that¡¯s based on a basic classification of animals? Adam had not expected to be offered something so¡­ boring. His previous feelings about the chest made a lot of sense to him now. On an instinctual level he had sensed that this option was bland. What does this system mean by my ¡®aggressive nature¡¯? Adam grumbled internally. I¡¯m not violent at all, he thought as he shoved the images of Jessica¡¯s body and the taste of the sabercats blood in his mouth from his mind before turning to the second chest. This one was as far from basic as he could imagine. Being the size of a dresser, it was about three feet tall and roughly four feet across with a padlock the size of a dinner plate. The chest looked to be built out of polished ivory and was bound by a bright silver metal. To further differentiate from the first option, this one was incredibly intricate. Each of the ivory pieces were covered in intricate carvings. Some looked like they were of runic symbols while others gave the impression of large mythical creatures. To Adam¡¯s eye, it looked like a combination of ancient Polynesian iconography, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Norse runic language. While he didn¡¯t have anything more than a Google¡¯s worth of experience with any of those cultures, he couldn¡¯t help but compare it to them. The intricacies of the chest were highlighted by the pink glow that was seeping out from under its lid. Unlike the previous chest¡¯s padlock, this one had no additional engravings. Instead, it was composed of a solid silver material that was so polished, Adam could see his own reflection in it. Just as he was about to inspect it, a flash of green light lit the space. Henry stood arm deep in a green glowing chest. He had, unsurprisingly, chosen the Uncommon class that he had been offered. As the first of their group to select a class, the others all watched as the chest that he had selected slowly disintegrated into glowing green mana before being absorbed into Henry¡¯s body through his skin. The selection only lasted for a couple seconds before Henry was left standing as if nothing had happened. His face split into a massive grin. ¡°You¡¯re all looking at an Adept Swordsman! Take it all in as I will someday become a Swordmaster!¡± A brief silence met his declaration, before snorts of laughter broke out from Tang, Dimitri and Shawn. ¡°You are such a friggin nerd.¡± Sylvia shook her head and turned back to the chests in front of her. As she turned away from their friend, Adam noticed the faint hint of a smile on her lips. Henry, flushed with embarrassment, joined with the others. His friends from the athletics programs jostled him about as they quietly made fun of him for his reaction. It was amazing how he seemed to affect all of the others without even knowing it. Adam could tell that with his friends'' actions, he, Michael and Sylvia had all relaxed, releasing a tension that he hadn¡¯t even been aware that he was holding. Sylvia quickly followed Henry and selected her class. More green light burst out of her class chest, quickly absorbing into her body. Once the light faded, Sylvia held her hands before her. She furrowed her brow as pale red light began to move under her skin, starting in her chest before moving down her arms towards her palms before an energy, that Adam could only assume was mana, poured through the skin of her palms and formed into a swirling mass. The hair on the back of Adam¡¯s neck stood on end and a dull ache pulsed through his tusks as the mass of mana floated between Sylvia¡¯s hands. With a flick of her wrist, the mana ball flew across the open space above the lobby and struck the far wall, leaving a quickly fading glowing scorch mark on its surface. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. She turned and looked at Adam with tears in her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s real. I can do real MAGIC!¡± soft sobs mixed in with her laughter as she lost herself in the moment. ¡°What did you pick? I told everyone first so you should tell us too!¡± said Henry from the seat he had taken alongside the others. Otto sat beside the swordsman with his eyes completely focused on Sylvia. Adam noticed that while she manipulated the mana, Otto¡¯s eyes and tattoos began to emit a faint glow of their own. Seeing her perform real magic has got to be exciting for him. Hopefully, he levels up soon, thought Adam. As she continued to play with her new skills she answered Henry, ¡°I chose Novice Arcanist. It''s a class that is focused on the transferring, transforming and manipulating mana. By the sounds of it, I should be able to make my own magic in the future. At least, I think I will.¡± With that, she proceeded to ignore everyone and focused only on her mana. Seeing that the others had already made their choices, Adam turned to Michael and found the man staring back at him. ¡°Are you ready to choose your class, Adam?¡± Adam shook his head, ¡°No, I haven''t even read the description of my second class option yet.¡± The professor smirked, ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°Yeah, I got distracted by the others.¡± ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you look at your other option and let me know when you are ready. We can make our selections at the same time.¡± Adam smiled, ¡°Sure thing. One sec while I look at it.¡± He looked back at the pale chest in front of him and focused, bringing up the class description.
CONGRATULATIONS, Newly Integrated! You are one of the rarest individuals on your world as you have unlocked a Unique Class Option during your initial Class Awakening. Unique Classes require very specific prerequisites be met before they are offered. Classes are considered Unique when their triggering requirements have been met less than a thousand times in the history of the Multiverse. Bone Glutton To live is to eat and to eat is to live. Falling to your vices leads to ruin but control of them can take you beyond the stars. Classes of the Gluttony Series are offered to individuals that have found strength through consumption. Gluttons have appetites that are as unique as the class is rare, allowing for various abilities to be harnessed based on the material craved. Your cravings are for bones. Anything that is considered to be skeletal or bone in nature, can be consumed by you. Prerequisites for Gluttony series classes: ~Enter the Integration on an empty stomach~ ~Consume a creature of a higher level than you as your first meal~ ~Have the consumed creatures body boost your natural abilities~ Initial Class Skills: Skeletal Augmentation, Gluttonous Expanse, Bone Shaping Bone Glutton Specialty Stat: Magnitude
¡­ huh¡­ I don¡¯t really know how to feel about this. Gaining a class like this was both exciting and horrifying. Adam couldn¡¯t fathom just how rare it was for this situation to happen. Yes, the system had given a number to actually show just how rare this was but without knowing just how big the multiverse was¡­ it felt both too rare and anticlimactic all at once. Seeing the rarity and what it represented made Adam want to select this class without any further thought, but the prerequisites reminded Adam of the creature¡­ the person¡­ that he had eaten less than an hour ago. Holy shit, has it only been that long? Thinking on it a little more, he realized that it had been roughly two hours since everyone exited the Integration Stasis and returned to Earth. With that in mind he considered his options. Carnivore or Bone Glutton. Carnivore was a basic class that he could easily understand. Once selected, you become a carnivore, leveling up and growing in the same way that carnivores always have. Bone Glutton, on the other hand, seemed like it gave Adam more options and was obviously stronger than the other. That said, there was a comfort that came with simplicity. The specialty stats had to be considered as well. When he had selected Path of the Beast as his Pursuit, he had gained the Instinct stat and it had proven to be a major boon for him and his friends, however, Adam was pretty sure that it was a double edged sword as well. Based on the way he and Michael had both lost control when they had killed the monsters before, he was pretty confident that their Instincts were to blame. This led Adam to believe that a person''s stats can affect them in ways they wouldn¡¯t normally expect. The Carnivore class would add the Predation Stat on top of his Instincts. Would he be able to stop himself next time if the two stats combined to make him a monstrous predator? An animal with no control or humanity left? The Bone Glutton class gave him the Magnitude stat which he didn¡¯t fully understand. What would it be affecting? Does it serve as a multiplier for other stats or does it do something else entirely? All of these things flashed through Adam¡¯s mind as he read both class options a second time. Despite my lack of knowledge, this choice is a no brainer. He looked up at Michael, who had been patiently waiting for Adam to make his decision. ¡°I''ve made my decision,¡± he said. ¡°Good to hear. Let''s do this on three then,¡± Michael grabbed onto the lock that sealed his glowing blue chest. Looks like we both have similar thoughts. Adam grabbed the reflective lock on the ivory chest, pink light covering his arm. The two of them locked eyes as Michael counted down, ¡°Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡± They pulled the locks open. Blue and pink light shone throughout the lobby, overshadowing the previous class selections with their luminosity. The energy trapped within the chests billowed out from its previous confinement, forcing its way into the waiting recipients. Pain filled Adam¡¯s mind as the energy flooded through his body. He clenched his teeth so hard he felt a crack. Bones shifted and muscles tore as a groan built within his chest. Unable to contain it any longer, Adam threw his head back and roared. Across from him, Michael who had fallen to all fours, strained his neck forward and let out a howl that deepened as he began to transform, his body changing of its own volition. The energy continued to rip through Adam until he too felt his body begin to transform against his will.
Everett sensed that something was off with their class selection right away. As soon as they selected their classes, he grabbed the others and forced them back into the auditorium. Tang and Otto held a table across the doorway protectively, while Everett himself stood mere feet from Adam and Michael as they changed. Their bodies expanded so rapidly that the balcony began to creak. Everett watched as cracks split along the surface, separating the two transforming bodies from the rest of them. ¡°It''s breaking! Get back here!¡± called Tang. Before he had even finished yelling, Everett was sprinting back towards them. Just as the balcony broke away from the rest of the structure and crumbled down to the first floor, Everett soared over the table, landing a dive roll that a day before would have been difficult for him. ¡°What happened to them?¡± asked Shawn as he helped Sylvia stand. The two of them had been in Everett¡¯s way when he dove so Shawn had unceremoniously jumped on her to get them both down. ¡°Class selection must affect them differently than the rest of us since they are both Path of the Beast,¡± said Otto from the doorway. Glowing teal runes lit the dust filled air, lowering the level of visibility even more. Henry rushed past Everett, ¡°They are on the ground floor now so we should check on them. The fall could have hurt them pretty bad.¡± Everett quickly followed the swordsman as he ran down the auditorium steps three at a time. He ignored the fearful looks of the people he passed, unwilling to decipher why they were afraid in the first place. Is it because they see me as a monster or because of the noise outside? He pushed the thought away. The two of them arrived at the entry doors and threw them open. Dust filled the air and new rubble was strewn across the floor, forming a massive wall, blocking the view into the courtyard. ¡°Oh. Oh, wow.¡± Everett turned to Henry. The man was standing with his sword hanging limply in his hand, staring at the rubble before them, slack jawed. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked. ¡°Well¡­ I didn¡¯t expect this to happen. And honestly, I can¡¯t decide if it''s awesome or completely unfair.¡± Henry¡¯s face paled. Confused, Everett turned back to the rubble and tried to see what he was looking at. Then the mound in front of him moved. Oh, Everett thought, One of them IS the mountain of rubble. A pale gold disk on the side of the pile moved, drawing Everett¡¯s attention. A black rectangle filled the center of the gold disk. Then the rubble blinked, hiding the massive golden eyeball that was before them. 19. Growth pt. 1 Ringing filled Adams'' ears. What happened? He thought. The last thing he remembered was feeling his body start to transform into his beast form as the balcony gave way under the weight of him and Michael¡¯s rapidly expanding bodies. The fact that the balcony broke wasn¡¯t too surprising. Even prior to their class selection, Adam wouldn¡¯t have trusted that the worn down structure would hold under the weight of his new form, let alone the weight of both of them. As his consciousness slowly came back to him, the ringing sound faded to a dull echo that he recognized as the sound of system notifications. He tried to blink his eyes and take in the surroundings but for some reason, he couldn''t make out more than blurred shapes. Concerned, Adam focused on his other senses. A faint sense of pressure could be felt across his body, sounds from his surroundings were muffled and all he could taste and smell was a mild iron that reminded him of blood. Almost like he has a split lip but with none of the accompanied pain. How weird¡­ While having dampened senses confused him, Adam wasn¡¯t too concerned as his newer reliance on his bestial instincts assured him of his own safety. He wasn¡¯t sure how, but he knew that he was safe. He also knew that there were others around him. Michael, Henry and Everett were instantly recognizable but he could feel a couple other presences approaching. Once more turning to his instincts for guidance, Adam focused on the system messages that were producing the dull ringing sound. Overlaying his blurred vision were four system windows. The first was a finalization of Adam¡¯s unused skill from level three; Empowered Sense. As this was the first time he had activated his Beast Transformation since earning it, he was learning which of his five base senses was being permanently augmented. Focusing his intent pulled up the specifics of the augmentation.
Active: Empowered Sense Pulse mana through one of your five senses. The sense is heightened for a period of time based on your Arcana. One of the five senses will be permanently empowered whenever Beast Transformation is active. Permanent Empowerment is based on your Beast Transformation form.
Permanently Empowered Sense: Touch
Due to the further enhancement of your bestial form, your sense of touch has been empowered, granting you an augmented sense of touch. Congratulations on acquiring TREMORSENSE! While your Beast Transformation skill is active, you can sense the movement of other beings within a designated radius of you. This radius is dependent on your Instinct and Arcana stats.
Upon reading the messages, a sense of understanding washed over him. It wasn¡¯t that all of his other senses had diminished. In actuality, he wasn¡¯t relying on his other senses as much because he was being overwhelmed by the information provided by his new Tremorsense ability. His second system message took him by surprise.
Your Title: Beast Frame has upgraded! Through consumption of the skeletal structure of a preexisting chimeric piece, your title and associated structure has been augmented.
Title: Beast Frame
You have replaced your entire skeletal structure with the bones of beasts. You gain stat points associated with the creatures the bones came from. Torso: Wallbreaker Stag Chimera(+3 VIT) Arms: Canopyglider Ape Chimera(+2 STR) Legs: Armored Sabercat Chimera(+1 VIT, +2 DEX) Skull: Undergrowth Boar Chimera(+1 ARC)
Once again, the taste of blood and the feeling of a skull being crushed within his jaws bloomed in his mind. Apparently, he could increase his stats by adding more bones to his title? A boost to his Dexterity was greatly appreciated and made a lot of sense based on how the creature had moved when he had fought it. Honestly, it¡¯s more surprising that I had originally gained a point in Vitality from the sabercats. Out of everything I experienced in the tutorial, they were clearly the most dexterous beings. The third and fourth messages were easily brushed aside as they informed him that he had free stat points to allocate and gave more details about the skills he had gained. Those could be completed later, after learning what had happened to him physically. Understanding that his muddled senses were likely due to his unconscious mind trying to protect him, Adam once again tried to focus his vision. A brief pulse of a headache flared through his mind as he attempted to return his senses to normal. Having not moved since the fall, Adam was lying on its side with his head laying on the ground. Standing before him were Henry and Everett. Everett¡¯s red skin paled as he looked him in the eye from a few feet away. Why does he look so shocked? Adam wondered before remembering, I completely forgot. He hasn¡¯t seen us in our beast forms yet. As he stared back at Everett, Adam had a realization. Wait¡­ how are we almost eye to eye right now? After the fall, Adam had ended up laying across the floor of the lobby with his lower jaw flat against the ground and bits of rubble atop his body. There was no way that he, laying down, and Everett, standing, should be so close to the same level. Then Everett¡¯s pale face began to make sense. Did I¡­ did I grow? A smiling Henry stepped in front of Everett and threw his arms wide, ¡°Damn dude, you guys are making me jealous! I choose my class and get the chance to learn or make a style of swordsmanship, which on its own is badass. Sylvia gets to throw magic spells and stuff, becoming a literal mage. But then you and Michael get a whole ass light show and transformation sequence!¡± he turned to Everett, ¡°Did you get the light show when you chose your rare class?¡± Everett¡¯s eyes were still locked on Adam. With his new ability, Adam could feel each slight movement as Everett shifted back and away from Adam. ¡°Yea, there were definitely bright lights, but nothing like this.¡± Based on the way he shuffled back a step, and the faint scent in the air, Adam knew that the man was afraid of him. A shift in the rubble to his side caused Adam to turn his head. The sweeping motion shook more broken cement from his body as he turned to take in the form beside him. Michael had also started moving. Previously, the professor had taken the form of what could only be described as a large white dire wolf. Other than the fact that he was really really big, Michael¡¯s form was basically identical to a normal wolf. That was no longer the case. Gone was the pure white coat, replaced by a mantle of black. As he moved, the fur almost glistened, reflecting light in the same way that an oil slick would. While the majority of his fur was black, there were some very noticeable patches of white that bore resemblance to a very well known creature; the orca. His underside and two large spots behind his eyes were the only remaining sections of his body with an opalescent white fur. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The resemblance to an orca didn''t stop there though, as Michael¡¯s body had grown in length with the majority of the added length being a long muscular fluke-like tail that was also covered in fur. Even with the addition of the orca features, Michael still was clearly canine. His snout had widened and his ears looked as if they could fold in tight to his skull, though they currently stood up tall from his skull, looking almost like an odd set of furry flippers. Lastly, along his spine was a dorsal fin. While shorter than what you would normally see on an orca, it was still obviously a dorsal fin. A combination of a wolf and an orca sounds terrifying and normally it would be. However, Adam felt himself chuff and rumble as he chuckled at the man. Rather than seeming vicious or dangerous, Adam watched as the old man inspected himself to the best of his ability, turning in circles to try and see his own tail. Adam¡¯s rumble must have gotten his attention because the professor stopped spinning and whipped his head to look towards him. Flipper-ears wiggling, Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you laughing at me, young man?¡± a familiar voice filled his mind. Adam instantly froze. Did I just hear Michael talk?! Seemingly proud of the fact that he surprised Adam, the old man spun in a circle before sitting down like a dog. The awkwardness of his new tail was obvious to anyone that watched him but Adam was having a hard time finding it funny. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± he thought towards Michael. ¡°Oh, that''s convenient¡± he heard back, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if this would work both ways.¡± He flicked his head, ¡°You should get up. It can¡¯t be very comfortable to be covered in all that rubble, even if you have grown so much.¡± As he communicated with Michael, Adam was hyper aware of the fact that others were watching. He turned to look at Henry, who had gotten even closer to the two of them. While Everett was obviously still shaken, Henry seemed to have quickly recovered and moved towards Michael¡¯s sitting form. As Adam started to shake off the dust and rubble on his form, Henry circled around Michael, intensely inspecting him. After fully circling the man, Henry said, ¡°You look like a cross between Vaporeon and Toothless.¡± WHACK. ¡°Ouch! What did you do that for, old man?! It¡¯s a compliment!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what those things are.¡± ¡°HOLY SHIT, You can talk now?!¡± Surprisingly, Adam could hear Michael even when he talked to Henry. As he shrugged out of the pieces of the broken balcony, Adam asked, ¡°Can everyone hear us now?¡± He easily stood up as the weight fell off of him. Aside from the introduction of his tremorsense, Adam felt the same as the last time he had taken this form. Well, other than the fact that he was WAY bigger than before. Previously when interacting with the others, he had laid on the ground so that Emi could reach his neck to equip him with the bandana. This time he sat in the same way that Michael was. I don¡¯t think that''s going to fit anymore. Michael responded to the question by shaking his head. It looked a little odd, seeing a beast move in the same way that a human would but Adam just accepted it as the new reality. Hell he had tusks now. ¡°People can only hear my voice,¡± Michael responded. ¡°One of my new skills allows me to communicate with others while I am in my beast form. Apparently, I can project my statements to multiple people at once, but it seems that while I can hear your responses, Adam, others cannot.¡± ¡°Interesting. That means that you and I can have silent conversations in these forms.¡± ¡°True. We will need to test out how far this form of communication goes, I wouldn¡¯t want to rely on it and have it fail.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± As they spoke the doors Adam could feel that others were approaching the auditorium doors. ¡°We can play with our new skills later, people are about to come out here,¡± Adam told Michael, ¡°and based on what I am feeling, it''s a lot of them.¡± Before Michael was able to relay that information to Henry and the still frozen Everett, the doors to the auditorium flung open, revealing a small group of people. In the front were Otto, Tang and Dimitri, both of whom stopped beside the slowly recovering Everett. Behind them was a small contingent of other survivors, each of which stopped before fully exiting. A silence fell over the group as they took in the sight of Adam and Michael. As if it were his calling, Henry lightened the mood once again by casually walking up to Otto, who in turn was staring at Adam with his brows furrowed and fists clenched. When Adam turned to regard his rune covered friend, the look of frustration vanished from his face, replaced by one of cautious calm. As he approached Otto, Henry asked, ¡°Hey dude, did you think about bringing the spare clothes for these guys? As¡­ Impressive as they are, we wouldn¡¯t want them flashing everyone again.¡± He paused for a second and turned to face Adam, ¡°Actually, now that I think about it, they are probably flashing everyone right now.¡± He exaggerated his movements and started scanning Adam''s body. Caught completely off guard by the statement of his friend, Adam instantly shifted backward and laid on his stomach, loafing like a giant cat, in embarrassment. WHACK! ¡°Damn, how long is your tail?!¡± A laugh rang out from the group as Tang and the other athletes moved towards them. Otto sighed towards Henry, who had moved back to Michael and was busy trying to smack the man with his sheathed sword, before walking to the wall where another banner had somehow survived the changed world. Grabbing the material with both hands, he ripped it from its hangings before tearing it in half again. He tossed a portion to Adam and Michael. ¡°How do you two feel about togas?¡± he asked. Once the material was available, Adam initiated his transformation back to his human form. With his increase in size, the rapid change back to human felt like it went faster despite the fact that it took about the same amount of time. After a couple seconds, Adam once again felt a cold draft across his skin as his fur disappeared, quickly being replaced by a length of itchy canvas material. The first thing he noticed upon returning to human form, other than the cold breeze across his skin, was the lack of awareness. The flood of information that came from his active tremorsense, completely disappeared, leaving a portion of his mind still and yet restless. Still, because there was less information bombarding his senses, but restless because he felt like he was missing something. Adam stood from where he was crouched with the cloth, adjusting it to wrap around his waist, leaving his upper body bare. Across from him, Michael also completed his transformation back to human, choosing to follow Otto¡¯s suggestion and wrapping the banner around his body as if it were a toga. Now that they were human again, the people that had previously stayed back, began to move again, emerging from the auditorium while keeping cautious eyes on the two of them. Adam noticed that while some of the onlookers seemed to be curious, many more were distrusting. Shit. That looks concerning. He was pulled back to his friends when Everett walked right up to Adam. Gone was the fear from his eyes, washed away by curiosity and interest. Antennae twitching, the man moved from Adam to Michael before letting out an exasperated laugh. ¡°What are you guys?¡± Before either of them could answer, a voice from the group behind them answered. ¡°Monsters. They¡¯re monsters.¡± Standing amongst the people that had emerged from the auditorium was a man in his forties. Average in every way, the man only stood out because he was armed with a metal pole. His mid length brown hair clung to his sweat dampened forehead and even while in his human form, Adam could smell the fear wafting off his body. The man brandished his metal pipe towards them as he continued, ¡°The two of them are monsters in human skin. You all saw it! They walked in here and pretended to be humans. Then after we let them in, they started breaking stuff so it would be easier for the other monsters to round us up.¡± Tang stepped towards the man, ¡°Woah, they aren¡¯t monsters, man, it''s just skills¡ª¡± ¡°NO!¡± the man cut him off, ¡°It¡¯s not just them, it¡¯s those two as well¡± he gestured towards Otto and Everett, ¡°They ain¡¯t human. What kind of person has red skin and bug antennas like that? Or glowing eyes and weird tattoos?!¡± The man was slowly backing through the crowd back towards the doorway. The others that Adam had seen were distrustful towards them, slowly started moving together as well. His barely coherent rambling continued as he stepped into the doorway, blocking anyone from returning to the auditorium. ¡°...and this just ain¡¯t right. You demons, aliens, or monsters, I don¡¯t care what you are but why don¡¯t you just get out of here. Leave us normal people alone. You bastards are just going to cause more damage if you¡ª¡± Rising from the shadows behind him, an electric blue light flared into existence as a glowing wrench materialized in the air behind his head. One of the people that seemed to support the man tried to warn him as the glowing wrench came down across the back of his head. The man''s eyes rolled back as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Stepping out from the shadowed doorway, Emi caused the wrench to disappear with a blink of electric blue light. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know what was going on, but he seemed kinda psycho. What¡¯s everyone doing out here?¡± she looked around at everyone and shrugged before pointing at Tang, ¡°You seemed like you were in charge earlier. I found some other crafters in here and we are going to fix this place up. Come help deal with the¡­ people... that are being annoying.¡± Then she turned and disappeared into the auditorium again. Silence reigned over the group once more. Michael turned to Tang, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re the boss now.¡± Tang blinked in confusion, ¡°How the hell did she get that idea?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter now,¡± said Henry, ¡°I just don¡¯t want to be on her bad side, so we should head in.¡±