《The Bloodforged Kin》 Prologue In a vast swath of empty space a tear in reality opened, ripping the nothingness asunder and filling the void with an unfathomable power. It hung like a Sword of Damocles, promising power beyond reckoning and death by the billions. A command was issued and the sword began to fall. Zavier sat just outside his garage, absently petting the feral Siamese cat that had resisted all attempts at domestication by everyone in the neighborhood. Although sleek and elegant, she had the well muscled frame of a lioness that hunted for her dinner, only deigning to visit the houses when she wanted affection and treats. Zavier gave her the attention she demanded with one hand while scrolling through cooking videos with the other. The neighborhood potluck was coming up and he wanted to prepare something special. His skills with the smoker were well known and he loved nothing more than feeding people. He set the phone down on the small folding table and picked up the lit cigar, puffing gently while looking around the bucolic cul-de-sac. The neighborhood was pretty standard Wisconsin - comfortable middle-class houses with well manicured lawns, backed by miles of woods and farmland. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. It was quiet here, the light buzz of insects overpowered by the purrs of a neighborhood cat sprawled on warm concrete. Zavier took a sip of the beer next to him and leaned back with a sigh of contentment. Damned good day today, he thought, just as the red mist started falling. Chapter 1: Integration Protocol The red mist settled at an even pace, like a cloud being pressed down over the entire planet. Zavier felt a white hot slash of pain across the back of his hand before he even heard the hiss. ¡°Chingada, Maisy!¡± he yelped as she sprinted around the back of the house and into the woods behind, low to the ground and hackles raised. He was wiping the blood off the back of his hand, wondering what spooked her, when he noticed the early sunset. Looking up he realized that it wasn¡¯t like a sunset at all, it more closely resembled the yellowish glow given off by storm clouds that are pregnant with an oncoming deluge. Zavier had a thought that he¡¯d have preferred the yellow haze to this dangerous, foreboding red that was working steadily towards the ground. As he watched he realized he could see a thin demarcation line at the forefront of the haze, like surface tension holding back whatever storm was riding behind it. As the surface got closer he watched it pass over the tops of trees, then houses. An odd fuzziness happened everywhere the film touched before snapping back into focus. Stepping backwards into the garage he couldn¡¯t help but hunch his shoulders as the redness worked relentlessly downward to noiselessly touch the earth. Zavier looked down at his hands and realized that standing inside the garage did nothing to hinder the red mist, its ubiquitous glow could be seen even in the shadowed back areas of the garage. Everything fuzzed for a second and Zavier rubbed his eyes. A deep part of his lizard brain warned him that the problem was much, much worse than poor eyesight. There was an intensification of the glow that seemed to come from everywhere at once and was utterly uninhibited by scrunched eyelids. Indeterminate pressure mounted and a silent sound of cerebral static almost overloaded his senses until, with a final gasp of desperation, Zavier realized he could breathe again. He took a deep, steadying breath just as the red mist was pulled in all directions to be absorbed by everything around him. No, not everything, Zavier noted. The not-mist was being pulled into everything living. The house wasn¡¯t absorbing any of it, neither were the vehicles in the driveway. He saw thousands of small streams flowing into the ground and he presumed they were going into the bugs, worms, and other miscellaneous creatures living under their home. He watched in fascination as his body pulled red mist in like an aura in reverse, then watched in concern as he saw multiple streams disappear into the corner of his garage behind the project car that had been a project a lot longer than it had been a car. As quickly as it began the last of the mist was gone and there was a dull, deep thud that could only be heard in the soul, signaling some unknown finality that could not be questioned. Zavier couldn¡¯t help but imagine a vault door coming shut over the entire world, his evolutionary danger sense wondering if something had just been locked inside with them. He stepped outside again as the yellow glow of early summer returned, absent the peaceful feelings of a few minutes earlier. A loud silence blanketed the neighborhood. Not a single animal sound was present. Wind rustled leaves, distant cars were moving again, but there were no birds, no buzzing of pests, no barking of neighborhood dogs. Nothing. And then there was a scream. Zavier jumped in place and instinctively ran towards the backyard before realizing that the scream he heard wasn¡¯t human. It had the sibilant, high pitched scream of a mountain cat mixed with the chittering of an angry squirrel protecting its stash. He skidded to a halt as he heard frantic rustling in the woods behind his house. A new type of yowling joined the fray. In a split second the two sounds combined and the unmistakable fracas of a fight to the death came from just inside the woods - deep enough to not be visible, close enough that Zavier didn¡¯t want to be near it. He turned and sprinted for the front of the house, slipping and sliding on gravel around a curve taken too tightly. His palm and knees dug into the gravel as he lunged forward, hitting the button to close the garage door. He turned to watch as it came shut, making sure nothing followed him in. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. A weight lifted off his chest as the door came shut. Family, safe, he thought, just before he heard the scrabbling sound behind him. On instinct Zavier lunged to the side, right over the trunk of the non-working sedan. A ball of black spikes covered in what appeared to be coarse fur slammed into the garage door right where his torso had been moments before. The dent it left simultaneously shocked him into disbelief and triggered his survival instinct to keep his feet away from the floor. Jumping backwards, he rolled back onto the trunk of the car just as a skittering black shape shot from underneath the sedan, appearing in a flash then disappearing under the SUV parked right next to it. Zavier crouch-walked onto the car roof, ducking his head low enough to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. Sounds of carapace on concrete ticked around the garage, coming from multiple directions at once. A long, multi-jointed spider¡¯s leg reached up from underneath the car, probing tentatively at the trunk where Zavier had first jumped. He swiveled to look in all directions, not wanting to be taken by surprise. Adrenaline flushed through him in a wave and his skin started tingling as he saw two more sets of legs probing the hood of the car. If I stay here I¡¯m fucked, he thought, looking around for options. As gently as he could he stretched one leg to the roof of the SUV. With the grace of an early-40¡¯s man who has never performed gymnastics, he pulled himself onto the roof of the tall vehicle. Laying on his stomach to fit under the ceiling he pulled back into the shadows just as the creatures surged upwards on a silent signal. Three black spiders with bodies the size of basketballs moved in unison, their chitin-tipped legs leaving scratches in the paint of the car. They met on the roof where Zavier had been moments before, then instantly turned back-to-back. Horror struck him as one¡¯s multi-faceted eyes seemed to focus on him. With a twitch of its back legs the other two instantly turned and all 3 faced him. They jumped in unison. Zavier rolled backwards off the SUV into the gap between the vehicle and the wall, slamming into the extension ladder that was hung there. In a desperate bid he reached over his head and grabbed the ladder, hurling it into the gap above the SUV. Legs came bursting through the rungs just as it flew into them, the ladder and spiders sliding off the other side of the SUV¡¯s roof. The metal screeching of spiked legs scrabbling down the metal of the vehicle ground against his nerves as he sprinted around the front of the vehicle. Rounding the front he grabbed a hammer off the workbench and leapt onto the ladder that was now laying on the ground between the cars. He could see it bucking even before he turned the corner. He leapt, landing on the middle of the ladder, the crunch of a carapace under his boots echoing loudly in the small space. His eyes went wide in horror when he saw the three spiders wedged underneath it, fighting to get out from underneath. Zavier wasted no time and slammed the hammer down on the closest arachnid over and over, smashing the body while avoiding the dripping mandibles. The other two grew more frantic and Zavier felt like he was standing on a bucking bronco, knowing full well that if he fell off this would definitely be his last rodeo. Suddenly both spiders stopped and, with two rapid quivers of their legs, communicated a plan. Zavier lunged forward just as both of them jumped in unison. The ladder flew upwards, carrying Zavier with it. Zavier heard the pop of a shattered light bulb, felt the sharp pain of broken glass in his back, and had just enough time to watch the spiders scatter in opposite directions before the garage went dark. Jumping onto the hood of the car again he reached to the wall and pulled a push broom off a hook. He winced as he reached, fiery pain and hot blood spreading across his shoulders. He turned in a slow circle, push broom held out in one hand, hammer raised high in the other. With how quick they were and their ability to leap he wanted to lock them down with the broom and use the hammer to attack their bodies. If both attacked at once the broom should, hopefully, hold one down while he swung at the other. Quick skittering sounds moved towards the car then froze as the door leading into the house swung open. A fit woman in pajama pants, fuzzy house shoes, and a white tank top stood in the doorway holding a pistol in a two-handed grip, finger off the trigger. Her black skin was covered in nervous sweat and her hazel eyes rapidly swept the room, pausing on Zavier for only a second before sweeping the rest of the garage. Chapter 2: Tess to the Rescue ¡°TESS! SHUT THE DOOR!¡± Zavier yelled in panic. The last thing he wanted was those things getting into the house and to the twins. Tess stepped into the garage and reached behind her with one hand without taking her eyes off the garage. The door clicked shut and Tess realized that Zavier must have been standing on the hood of the car for a reason. Putting her finger on the trigger she dropped to a quick squat, gun held horizontally to be level under the cars. For a moment she couldn¡¯t make out anything in the shadows, the light from the small window along the outside wall mostly blocked by the SUV. Suddenly a piece of shadow broke off with the skittering of bone on concrete. Tess fired two quick shots into the inky pool and saw it jerk back, muzzle flash reflecting off too many multi-faceted eyes. The spider recovered and shot forward again, straight into the shots Tess was sending its way. ¡°Incoming!¡± Zavier yelled and Tess saw him dropping from the hood towards her. She pointed the muzzle away just as he dropped behind the spider, broom coming down to slam into the spider¡¯s body. Black-furred legs splayed out from under the broom and Zavier smashed the bulbous body with the hammer. He looked up in triumph just in time to see Tess¡¯s foot flying towards him. The kick to his chest sent him flying back into the side panel of the car and directly under the spider that was now soaring over him. Two more quick shots and the spider was blown back onto the hood. Tess stepped quickly to the side for a better bead and emptied the last of the shots into its body. Her eyes took on a touch of fear for the first time as she realized she hadn¡¯t brought a second magazine. She looked at Zavier and he gave her a comforting shake of his head. ¡°That¡¯s all of them.¡± She reached down and helped him up, which turned immediately into a fierce hug. Kissing her forehead and the top of her head he squeezed her with the relief that only comes from the realization of what could have been lost. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± she asked. ¡°I have no idea. Did you see the red mist? I think it did something to them.¡± Tess narrowed her eyes as if remembering something she hadn¡¯t quite paid attention to the first time. ¡°Something weird happened, and now that you mention it I think it was a red fog or mist. I honestly just thought the lights went weird for a second.¡± ¡°Honey you should have seen it - it came from the sky and-¡± The sound of breaking glass and screaming came from inside the house. Tess and Zavier looked at each other in wide-eyed fear. Zavier handed Tess the hammer and grabbed a long screwdriver off the workbench. Together they sprinted inside. ¡°Luna! Cass!¡± Tess yelled as they sprinted through the long hallway that led to the bedrooms. Tess slammed into her son¡¯s door and turned the handle but couldn¡¯t budge it open. Heavy thuds rocked the other side hard enough to shake the frame. Their 16 year old twins could be heard shouting on the other side. Zavier hurled himself into the door over and over with a parent¡¯s desperation. Suddenly the door gave way a few inches as the weight on the other side shifted. Zavier shoved the broom¡¯s handle into the door just before it slammed shut again, the light wood handle straining and buckling, but keeping it slightly ajar. Soft chestnut fur poked through the opening at about waist height. Tess yelled the kids¡¯ names while trying to push against the animal on the other side. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Mom! Help!¡± Luna yelled, the girl¡¯s terror cutting through the noise. Cass''s grunts could be heard as he struggled with the animal. ¡°Cass, push it away from the door!¡± Zavier yelled. ¡°He can¡¯t! He¡¯s holding his arm against its neck and its trying to bite him!¡± Tess kicked the door with everything her 140 pound body could muster, doing little against the weight of the animal and her son pushing on the other side. Glimpses of Luna could be seen in the inch-wide crack as she rushed around trying to help her brother. ¡°Luna, catch!¡± Zavier threw the screwdriver through the door. With lucky timing Luna reached out and caught the screwdriver in mid-air. ¡°Take this too!¡± Tess called and thrust the hammer through the gap. Luna grabbed the hammer and could be heard saying ¡°Here!¡± as she handed it to her brother. Zavier turned and sprinted back the other way, returning moments later with a large chef¡¯s knife and the leg of a chair he had evidently broken off. The struggle on the other side of the door had ramped up, screaming, chittering sounds intensified and the thrashing grew even more frantic. Tess started stabbing through the gap into the creature¡¯s body, the light brown fur quickly dying itself a deep red from the flowing blood. Zavier had wedged the chair leg into the opening of the door and was pulling his entire body weight against it trying to leverage it open. In fitful bursts the door inched open until Tess was able to squeeze her upper half through the frame. Her heart stuttered a beat. It¡¯s one thing to know your children are in danger, it was something else entirely to see that danger trying to kill them right in front of your eyes. What appeared to be a squirrel the size of a large dog, but about twice the mass, was pinned against the door with a baseball bat between its long, yellowed teeth. The twins were each holding opposite sides of the bat, pressing the squirrel¡¯s head against the door frame. Its arms slashed at them and its teeth were trying uselessly to whittle away at the bat lodged in the back of its jaws. Cass was swinging with the hammer into its head over and over while Luna stabbed it in the chest and arms. Tess''s fears only intensified when she saw their arms both shaking with effort, close to giving in. With only her upper shoulders, head, and right arm through the door she started stabbing into the abomination¡¯s body. It was hard to tell where the vital organs were or how much damage she was doing through all the fur, but red was starting to flow. Zavier could see her arm movements and yelled ¡°Stab and pull honey! Tauntaun it!!¡± He strained even harder to give her more space. Tess stabbed into its torso and jerked the knife towards her. The knife parted the creature¡¯s skin without resistance and she had never been so grateful for Zavier¡¯s obsession with keeping his cooking tools in first class condition. In no time at all, long bloody ribbons were flowing out of the creature and its thrashing reached a crescendo. With a final series of desperate lunges it jerked unpredictably, a shake of its head throwing the bat away and causing both of the twins to scuttle backwards. Without their weights pressing against the door Zavier leveraged it open just enough for Tess to squeeze through. Not wanting to lose the chance he pushed through too, only to get caught at his chest. Tess rushed to the twins and put them behind her, picking up the hammer and facing the creature with it in one hand and knife in the other. The tension mounted as Tess stared the creature down, death in her eyes. A moment passed, then another, as the thing¡¯s mouth opened and closed soundlessly, bloody spit bubbling up at its sides. Then, finally, it collapsed. The air went ouf of the room and Tess rushed forward, slamming the knife down into the top of its head and the screwdriver into its eye for good measure. She jumped back and grabbed the baseball bat, waiting to see if the creature would move. A long minute passed while everyone waited breathlessly for any sign of life. If this was a horror movie this would be when it would make its final attack, and none of them were dumb enough to give it that opportunity. Then, all at once, they all suddenly felt that the creature was truly dead. There was no ambiguity or question, they just knew. Zavier and Tess also realized that they knew the spiders in the garage were dead. It wasn¡¯t speculation, it was revelation. Tess and Luna looked up at Zavier, who was still wedged with just his head and shoulders through the door. He gave them a goofy smile. ¡°Here¡¯s Johnny?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tess said in well-worn exasperation. ¡°You make a joke right NOW?¡± Chapter 3: System Announcement Zavier forced his way into the room and ran to the kids, putting his arms around both of them. Tess worked around Zavier¡¯s bear hug, touching their faces and checking them over for injuries. Finding none, she hugged them too, both kids crying in the middle of the huddle. Luna was rubbing Cass''s back in soothing circles trying to calm his shaking. Zavier pulled Cass down to sit on the edge of the bed, then got on his knees on the floor in front of him. With a soft gesture he cupped Cass''s face in his hands. ¡°Hey Buddy,¡± he said in a gentle voice, ¡°look at me for just a minute, okay?¡± Cass kept his eyes closed, tears forming heavy puddles before rolling down his cheeks. ¡°I know that was a lot but we¡¯re okay. You¡¯re okay. Can you look at me please?¡± Zavier reached up and gently rubbed the back of Cass¡¯s head while keeping the other on the side of his face. Luna sat next to him and rubbed his back. Tess looked on in concern but kept her eyes locked on the broken window facing the wooded back yard. Finally the shaking stopped and Cass opened his eyes. He looked into Zavier¡¯s and saw nothing but endless, patient support. Zavier¡¯s knees were beginning to ache but he would sit there as long as it took. Zavier took a deep slow breath and Cass followed. Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. Within a few breaths Cass and Zavier¡¯s breathing had synched up and Cass could feel his heart rate slow. His mind had previously been a jumble of emotion and reaction, and Cass could only remember the last ten minutes in flashes of panicked bursts. His hands still shook but he gripped them tightly, his anxiously moving thumbs the only indication that the anxiety hadn¡¯t left him fully. ¡°I¡¯m okay Dad, thanks.¡± Zavier got to his feet with the groan of every man over 40 standing up, then kissed Cass on the forehead. He cupped Luna¡¯s face and kissed her on the forehead too, relief flooding him that they were both okay. Then he went to Tess and tried to do the same but she shooed his face away. ¡°Here," she said, pointing to her cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t block my view.¡± Zavier had always been the long-term planner, the one who planned for every emergency. Even knowing that zombies were fiction, his brain wouldn¡¯t allow him to not plan for potential zombie attacks. He briefed his family on what to do when trapped in a car that had fallen into water, or ways to escape being zip tied. For every obscure threat to his family that kept him awake at night, he had a plan for each of them. That made it all the more ironic that he was so laissez-faire on the day-to-day issues. He planned for the long term and generally thought that everything was going to be just fine the rest of the time. Tess was the opposite. She rolled her eyes every time he came up with ¡®Another Plan.¡¯ She knew he had multiple life insurance policies on both of them and knew where the paperwork for them was, but had no idea how much they even were. Where he was planning, she was action and reaction. Zavier knew that as long as there was a potential threat to her kids she was an arrow quivering on the string. A fast-twitch muscle about to explode into action. Every one of her lean muscles was taut and primed for action in this moment. He knew that if this kept up he¡¯d be massaging knots out of her back for hours tonight. ¡°Honey, let¡¯s get the kids out of here so we can figure this out." She glanced over at him with her peripheral and nodded. ¡°Kids, let¡¯s go," he said as he turned to leave, then stopped short. The body of the squirrel was gone and in its place was what appeared to be a cloak or robe made of the fur of the animal. Suddenly a voice boomed in their heads and their vision went blank. In a moment they were nowhere, with no one but that voice. Zavier turned his head but there was nothing in every direction. The voice spoke in the clipped, official tone of a military officer giving a status update. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ** System Announcement: Integration protocol successful. First encounters complete. 5% casualty rate - within standard tolerances. ** "While you are in this space you are safe. This is an opportunity to acclimate to the new reality. Your world has undergone a significant transformation under the Unity Protocol. The initial phase - integration verification of local wildlife - has been successfully completed, confirming compatibility with the enhancements. Standard protocol is a leveling of power and assignment of skills and abilities suitable to your race. The goal of these enhancements is to provide a baseline level of strength and abilities to survive the upcoming challenges meant to prepare you for full integration.¡± ¡°As inhabitants of Earth, your diversity and adaptability are far beyond the universal mean. There is simply too much diversity among the residents of your planet for the standard blanket approach. Instead, you will require a tailored approach to bring everyone to a standardized level of capability. The System will direct your initial enhancements based on observed actions and identified weaknesses. This automated guidance will occur until you reach level five in your development. To optimize The System''s understanding of your potential it¡¯s important that you engage vigorously and diversely in challenges during these early stages.¡± ¡°At level five you will regain autonomy over your advancement and gain the ability to take on exciting new classes and abilities. If you choose not to assign your advancements directly The System will conduct the assignment automatically. Epigenetic changes are locked out until that time so that we have the opportunity to stabilize your biology. A user interface, your Personal Enhancement Display, will soon become visible to you. This tool will provide ongoing updates about your abilities, enhancement options, and overall progression. It is designed to be intuitive and will expand in functionality as you advance. It has built-in tutorial features meant to support and educate, so do not neglect it.¡± ¡°Your environment has altered permanently. This change is part of a broader enhancement program designed to escalate your personal capabilities. Opting out is not an option and attempting to do so will place you at a significant disadvantage both in terms of personal power and environmental adaptability. Challenges will escalate, and survival will depend on your willingness to engage and evolve.¡± ¡°Some of you are likely questioning the absence of direct guidance towards the most effective routes to power. Such information will become available as you approach The System''s upper echelons, but due to the challenges brought on by your diversity extensive real-world testing will be required first.¡± ¡°Now it is time for you to review and reflect on what you have learned. 24 hours of ¡®safe zone¡¯ time is now provided to all individuals to explore and familiarize themselves with the enhancement interface. This period is critical for planning your initial steps on this new path of power.¡± ¡°Furthermore, as an incentive, The System rewards notable achievements during the integration phase. Here are the rankings for today¡¯s early accomplishments:¡± First kills:
  1. [No written name available]: First kill. Immediate advancement of two levels. Planetary first. Two additional rewards to be issued at level five
  2. Zavier Torres: Second kill. Immediate advancement of one level. Double kill. Two additional rewards to be issued at level five.
  3. Tessa Torres: Third kill. Immediate advancement of one level. Two protective kills. Protective reward to be issued at level five.
  4. Luna Torres, Cassian Torres: Fourth kill (tied). Immediate advancement of one level. Joint effort recognized. Team reward to be issued at level five.
  1. Mason Cane: Fifth kill. First human kill.
¡°Prepare yourselves. You are part of a new world order, where your growth is imperative not just for personal advancement but for collective survival." Chapter 4: System Breakdown Everyone¡¯s vision was suddenly filled with a character sheet, and a formal voice began to assess them in the tone of an educator. ¡°We will now review your character sheet. The beings of your world have been assessed to have the following primary statistics: Strength: This refers to your physical strength. At the beginning it is tied strictly to muscular ability but, in the future, will be advanced beyond current human capabilities and will be largely a result of the myriad of ways humans can be strong. This will largely be dependent on the individual involved. Agility: This refers to your body¡¯s ability to move in flexible ways without losing control. At the beginning it is tied strictly to your flexibility and athletic prowess but, in the future, will be advanced primarily as a means to use higher power skills. Skills that give high speed and preternatural reflexes require a high agility to function correctly for the person to use beyond human capabilities. Endurance: This refers to your ability to withstand. At the beginning this is tied strictly to physical endurance such as is required to run a marathon or hold one¡¯s breath. In the future this will advance based on the person¡¯s will, fortitude, steadfastness, or the like. Endurance can refer to the ability to continue physical activity for long periods of time or it can be the ability to withstand a great amount of pain. This will largely be dependent on the individual involved. Intelligence: This refers to your ability to identify, take in, process, and use available information. At the beginning it is tied to overall intelligence and memory, but will advance to encompass all processes considered mental. The person will perceive and understand more, will be able to glean more information from available clues, and will be able to process that information far faster. It can also be developed to control mind magic, mental attacks and defenses, and abilities that appear mystical but are, in fact, mental - such as astral projection or the ability to read minds. Luck: This is an ephemeral skill that has no clear reason or dictates on how it is connected to the person. It can be improved but the results are not predictable. Charisma: This refers to your ability to influence others and is part ephemeral. At the beginning it is tied to physical appearance and the ephemeral ability to influence others. As it advances the person will receive abilities tied directly to influencing others or changing themselves. The array of options for charisma are wide: It can develop into political acumen, the ability to influence others, the ability to affect the hormones of others to create great attraction or repulsion to you, or the ability to change your own physical appearance. The ephemeral nature of what makes someone attractive gives this trait a wide array of potential uses. ¡°Each trait has a natural human cap of 20, with 10 being perfectly average. The ability for a person to have 60 total core stat points is not a guarantee that you will have them. That is highly dependent on the individual. It is expected that most of humanity is within the distribution curve of 8 to 12, with rarer individuals having traits that fall further and further outside that range. This is a range of diversity not common in intelligent species and therefore will need guidance from The System for the first five levels. After that you will be able to begin choosing which attributes you improve based on what strengths you want to garner or what skills you want to develop. You will gain three attribute points per level which will be distributed by The System until level five. Do not attempt to surpass level 20 in any attribute until after the epigenetic changes at level 10 as your physiology will not be able to withstand them. The smaller number ensures that you become acclimated to your new physical and mental abilities before trying to advance too quickly. Imbalanced stats can provide more harm than benefit.¡± ¡°With the basic information address, let¡¯s review your character sheet.¡±
Zavier Torres, Level: 1 Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 11
  • AGI: 8
  • END: 13
  • INT: 14
  • LUC: 6
  • CHA: 8
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Basic 1
  • Ranged Combat: Basic 1
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: Basic 1
  • Attack: 1
  • Defense: 1
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: Second kill. Immediate advancement of one level. Double kill. Two additional rewards to be issued at level five
¡°Analysis of your encounter indicates a willingness to engage physically and a creative approach to using the environment. Strength was adequate for battle of minor enemies, but was insufficient for moving objects out of the way. Agility was a hindrance and may have caused death if not for an Intelligence stat high enough to determine a weapon that mitigated this issue. Based on this analysis, primary focus will be on increasing strength and agility. One level gained, three points to distribute. Agility increased to 11. Level two obtained. No other changes.¡±
Tess Torres, Level: 1 Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 7
  • AGI: 10
  • END: 12
  • INT: 14
  • LUK: 9
  • CHA: 8
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Basic 1
  • Ranged Combat: Basic 1
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: Basic 1
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: Third kill. Immediate advancement of one level. Two protective kills . Protective reward to be issued at level five.
¡°Analysis of your encounter indicates rapid reaction to threats and an ability to remain calm during battle. Strong endurance prevented you from losing concentration and your intelligence, combined with agility, allowed you to react quickly and appropriately to each situation. Based on this, your initial enhancement will be to increase your strength to bring it more in line with your other core stats. One level gained, three points to distribute. Strength increased to 10. Level two obtained. No other changes.¡±
Luna Torres, Level: 1 If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 7
  • AGI: 9
  • END: 7
  • INT: 9
  • LUK: 10
  • CHA: 8
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Basic 1
  • Ranged Combat: Basic 1
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: Basic 1
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: Fourth kill (tied) . Immediate advancement of one level. Joint effort recognized . Team reward to be issued at level five.
¡°Analysis of your encounter indicates an average level of physicality and prowess during your encounter. No specific area identified as critically deficient. One level gained, three points to distribute. Even distribution of points. Strength increased to eight. Endurance increased to eight. Intelligence increased to 10. Level two obtained. No other changes.¡±
Cassian Torres, Level: 1 Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 11
  • AGI: 11
  • END: 6
  • INT: 8
  • LUC: 5
  • CHA: 9
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Basic 1
  • Ranged Combat: Basic 1
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: Basic 1
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: Fourth kill (tied) . Immediate advancement of one level. Joint effort recognized . Team reward to be issued at level five.
¡°Analysis of your encounter indicates an above average level of physicality and prowess during your encounter, but an extreme lack of ability to cope with the danger as it presented itself. Initial reactions were timely and appropriate, but immediately after reacting you froze up and missed valuable opportunities to end the fight. An encounter that you were appropriately balanced for required the help of others to complete. Focus on Endurance is required and it is highly recommended that you continue to place yourself in situations that pressure your stress response so that you develop the skills required to face the coming challenges. One level gained, three points to distribute. Endurance increased to nine. Level two obtained. No other changes.¡±
Mason Cane, Level: 1 Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 14
  • AGI: 8
  • END: 14
  • INT: 6
  • LUC: 10
  • CHA: 8
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Basic 1
  • Ranged Combat: Basic 1
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: Basic 1
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: Fifth kill. Immediate advancement of one level. First human kill. Offensive reward to be issued at level five.
¡°Analysis of your encounter indicates a high level of strength as well as above-average luck, to have already been in the middle of murdering someone when The System arrived. Although you did not engage in combat with a system-enhanced creature, the strength and indomitable nature of the way you fought was highly focused on overpowering your enemies. Your strength is already 40% above average, so increasing your strength will allow you to continue to overpower your foes. One level gained, three points to distribute. Strength increased to 17. Level two obtained. No other changes.¡±
[No defined name], Level: 1 Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 6
  • AGI: 20
  • END: 6
  • INT: 6
  • LUC: 6
  • CHA: 16
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Intermediate 1
  • Ranged Combat: N/A
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: N/A
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: First kill. Immediate advancement of two levels.Planetary first. Two additional rewards to be issued at level five.
¡°Due to this person not being human, verbal communication is not possible. Some text will be used here to justify the decisions made for record-keeping purposes, but the information will be communicated to the person via impressions and mental imagery. Analysis of this encounter indicates a high level of agility. Although other stats are low, they were able to defeat a creature far larger than themselves through cunning, instinct, and natural weapons. This extraordinary feat indicates a level of melee combat that is one stage higher than the average population. To capitalize on this, its strength should be increased. Two levels gained, six points to distribute. Strength increased to 12. Level three obtained. No other changes.¡± Just within the woods behind Torres house, a cat¡¯s tail twitched in satisfaction. Chapter 5: The World We’re in Now Zavier blinked as the darkness cleared away, the room coming into focus. His internal clock made it feel as if more time had passed than what must have. He looked over to the kids and saw their expressions coming into focus as well. ¡°Well, that was weird," he said as he stretched, preemptively bracing himself against the familiar knee and back pain. When the expected pain never arrived it occurred to him that his joints didn¡¯t hurt at all, despite the kneeling. A quick moment of concentrating on his body and he realized he felt really good - better than he had since hitting his early forties. That made him remember his fight in the garage and the broken lightbulb. ¡°Honey! Check my back real quick!¡± Tess looked at him with exasperation and continued checking the kids over. ¡°I¡¯m serious! Here, look," he turned around and knelt in front of her, exposing the ripped hole in the back of his shirt limned in bloody tatters. Her eyebrows scrunched as she reached up and touched the perfectly smooth skin underneath. ¡°What happened here?¡± ¡°When I was fighting those spiders they threw me into the garage light! I forgot about it in the rush but I remember feeling the pain and blood running down my back. But it¡¯s fine now? I need to go look," he rushed out of the room towards the bathroom. ¡°Come on kids, let¡¯s go into the living room," she held their hands lightly and pulled them to their feet, leading them to the comfortable couches. She pulled the curtains closed just as Zavier came into the room with his hands out. ¡°Look at my hands! You remember the cuts I had on my hand from working on the car? They¡¯re gone!¡± It was true they were gone, but Tess was skeptical. ¡°You always have cuts on your hands somewhere, how do you know they haven''t healed?¡± ¡°Like you said, I always have something! But look closer - even the scars are gone!¡± Tess took his hand in hers and inspected it, flipping it over to look at the palm, then doing the same with the other. Then she went to Cassian and inspected his knees for the skateboarding scars he had there. Used to have there. They all spent a few minutes looking over themselves, not seeing a single mark or scar anywhere on their bodies. Zavier put his chin in his hand, pacing back and forth across the comfortably furnished room. ¡°Well whatever happened seems to have been real, and not just to us. I don¡¯t know who that Mason guy is, which means he doesn¡¯t live near here. Then there was that one person without a name, whatever that means. I think what we need to figure out is how widespread this is.¡± ¡°Everywhere," Luna said, showing her phone screen to them. She scrolled through TikTok videos, all of them talking about the event. Cass was working his phone too and spoke without looking up. ¡°Discord and Reddit too. Everyone is spamming the event.¡± ¡°What does Facebook say?¡± The twins shot Zavier looks of condescension teenagers reserved fortheir parents. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tess said, ¡°I guess you could see what the old people are saying about it.¡± They spent the next half an hour poring through various social media and news sites to the same effect. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°It¡¯s everywhere," Tess''s voice held a note of worry. ¡°A lot of people died.¡± ¡°That announcement said 5% of the population. We¡¯re at about 7.9 billion people, which means,¡± Zavier¡¯s eyes unfocused for a second, ¡°about 395 million people just died. Holy shit," he sat heavily into a chair and stared into the distance, hands steepled in front of his face. Tess knew he was in planning mode and would only respond in grunts until he¡¯d had a chance to run through all the possible scenarios he could think of. He¡¯d come out of it soon enough, with an urgency to take immediate action. He had grown up in the kind of poor, latino neighborhood that they write movies about and had learned young that the only way to mitigate unexpected obstacles was to plan for all of them in advance, then rush out to meet them head on. He often joked he¡¯d had to learn to fight because he hated running. It was metaphorical, his only fighting had been childhood scraps and fights from growing up in bad neighborhoods, but that mentality persisted into adulthood for him. If he saw a problem coming he just made sure it happened on his terms. Great for an engineer whose job it was to guide failing companies through the failure and into to their greatest potential, but hell for a family that had to be lectured frequently about every type of danger they could potentially find themselves in. ¡°So what did you guys see there?¡± Tess was still processing her own experience with The System. ¡°Did you guys get notifications about stats and levels?¡± ¡°Here mom, I think I figured something out," Cass''s eyes flicked back and forth for a second, then suddenly all of them could see his character sheet in front of them. ¡°Woah!¡± Luna jerked her head back at the sudden appearance. ¡°Yeah, I realized you could go through it like software. Look at an area and concentrate and, if it¡¯s a button, it¡¯ll work. But you can also just leave it there and let your mind drift for a second and you¡¯ll realize you already know how to use it. You don¡¯t have to learn it, you just kinda have to remember it. I just thought about all the different things it could do and then I knew what those things were. One of the options is that you can share it with other people.¡± The three of them sat there like that and, within a few seconds, Tess gasped in sudden understanding. She started quickly scrolling through the different menu screens, quickly skimming some areas and mentally bookmarking others for more in depth review later. She would be reading all of this later - there was never a contract she didn¡¯t read fully. Plus, she would need to give Zavier the details later. He was smart, but detailed reading of instruction manuals was not his thing. She was the one that read the medical paperwork, loan contracts, and return policies. He just signed and moved on, eyes glazing over after the first paragraph. For her it never sat right to agree to something that you didn¡¯t fully understand before signing. If Zavier was the car¡¯s engine, she was the navigation. ¡°Okay, I know what we need to do," Zavier said, eyes once again alert. He leaned forward in the chair and smiled. ¡°But first, let me show you this cool thing I figured out!¡± He sent his screen to the others. His smile slipped in confusion with the sighs and groans. An hour later Zavier was in the kitchen cooking while the kids played on their phones. Cass had headphones on and Luna was spread across the couch on her back, head in Cass''s lap while she scrolled through more TikTok videos. Tess had stressed to Zavier that there was time to discuss later, they all needed a little bit to decompress. He¡¯d nodded and went to the kitchen to make everyone Sloppy Joe¡¯s. Not only was it easy, it would force them to put their phones down for a little bit to eat. His childhood had a lot of hungry nights, so Zavier knew the healing power of food and cooked the vast majority of the meals in their house. He not only loved the experimentation and fun of making meals, he loved nothing more than feeding his family. There was comfort in a favorite meal and eating it together. The kids played with their phones, the TV played in the background, but they always ate their meals in the same room. He¡¯d make sure everyone was full, sometimes a little too full, then walk around and grab their plates and clean dinner up. Despite 20 years of him doing that, Tess thanked him every single time for grabbing her plate. He lived for Luna¡¯s ¡°That was great dad, thanks!¡± as she skipped off. Cass rarely said anything, but that was Cass - they were lucky if he had his headphones off. Cass and Luna were opposite sides of the same coin, yet couldn¡¯t be closer. Cass had always been a gentle soul while Luna was the bubbly socialite. When Cass was growing fidgety and irritable from too much physical contact or stimulation, Luna was there as his oasis. When Luna was heartbroken from her latest breakup, arguing with friends, or feeling less-than from getting a B on an assignment, Cass was there, head on her shoulder and holding her hand in his. The meal done, Zavier walked around, stacking everyone¡¯s plates on one hand and gently touching their heads or the sides of their faces as he did. He was a lucky man and he never forgot it. Chapter 6: Family Meeting Dishes in the dishwasher and everything cleaned, he went back to the living room. ¡°Alright gang, phones away.¡± They put their phones down and looked at him. ¡°Let¡¯s start with what we know. First, this is real and we have to accept it. Second, the rules have changed. Societal, daily life, even simple biology. There are some safe assumptions we can make and we have to be ready for them: One: Biology has changed. We¡¯ll figure out to what extent later, but we know that we can heal quickly, somehow, and can evidently improve our base physical characteristics. I have been trying out different things that should have kicked up some old aches and pains or, at the very least, should have been hard to do with how inflexible I am, but none of that happened. I really feel more flexible and like my balance is better. When I was grabbing your plates I intentionally didn¡¯t try to balance them perfectly and I was able to shift my hand around to keep them from falling. And then there¡¯s this¡­¡± he held up his hand and showed a paper towel wrapped around his finger, the red stain of blood seeping through it. ¡°Did you cut yourself again??¡± Tess jumped up and ran to the bathroom, back a second later with isopropyl alcohol, gauze, and tape. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did this again. How many times do I have to tell you to be careful?¡± ¡°Okay, don¡¯t be mad, but I did this on purpose.¡± Tess''s eyes went wide just before she slapped him on his shoulder. Zavier winced. ¡°I hope that hurt," she said. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you.¡± but she bandaged his finger with the expertise of someone who had done this many times before. ¡°The point is,¡± he said, ¡°I wanted to see if we could heal from any wound. Obviously I didn¡¯t heal from this, which made me think that it must have been part of the leveling up process. If they can enhance our physical attributes then it must be a rewriting of our body, possibly our DNA itself. The descriptions of the core skills imply that we¡¯re going to go beyond human limits and abilities, which means it has to rewrite us to make our bodies capable of whatever enhancements they give us. I¡¯m guessing that red mist was a futuristic version of nanobots, especially since it infused everything living and nothing nonliving, as far as I could tell. I¡¯m guessing when we level up the rewriting process restores us to our optimal state. I don¡¯t know if that applies to everything. If we take brain damage or lose our eyes does it fix those? What about a missing limb? Since depression can be caused by a hormonal imbalance will those versions of it be cured on a level up? No way to know, but based on what we know so far, if we are injured it should be our highest priority to level as quickly as possible. This means that, whenever possible, we should avoid any highly dangerous situations until we¡¯re ready to level.¡± ¡°Why would we even put ourselves in dangerous situations in the first place?¡± The tension in Tess''s voice was palpable. ¡°That brings me to Two: Leveling. We all heard the same speech and got the same notifications about the leaderboard, so I won¡¯t go over it all again. But it¡¯s pretty clear that leveling is going to be required. More importantly, the subtext was that if we don¡¯t level fast enough or get powerful enough then we will be at a severe disadvantage to whatever comes next. Based on the number of deaths during the integration it¡¯s pretty clear what the consequences of being at a disadvantage are - which means that our highest priority is to level. From now on we are going to be focusing on this as much as possible. It¡¯ll try some experimentation on the safest ways to do it, but it¡¯s necessary.¡± Stolen story; please report. He looked at Tess as he heard her take in a breath to object. ¡°It¡¯s necessary Tess. If we¡¯re going to survive this, ALL of us survive this together, we will need to level up. I know I don¡¯t play video games, but we all get the concept. Cass, you play online RPGs - what happens to people that don¡¯t level up?¡± ¡°They die," Cass said in a quiet voice. ¡°Or they find someone else strong enough and pay them for protection.¡± ¡°Right," Zavier said. ¡°And we are not going to let anyone else control our fates. We are strong as hell and we¡¯re going to find ways to advance as fast, far, efficiently, and with the greatest impact as possible.¡± ¡°And lastly, the thing I¡¯m most scared of is how society just changed.¡± Tess cocked her head. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Here.¡± Zach said as he made a flipping motion. Part of the previous system announcement appeared in their visions. Mason Cane: Fifth kill. Immediate advancement of one level. First human kill. Offensive reward to be issued at level five. They all looked at it for a second before Tess had a sharp intake of breath. ¡°Oh no," she said. ¡°What is it mom?¡± Luna asked. ¡°That last line. First human kill.¡± Cass leaned forward as if trying to get closer to the words. ¡°But he killed someone, won¡¯t they arrest him for that now that they know his name?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Zavier said, ¡°but that¡¯s not the important thing. The important thing is that The System rewarded him for it - even gave him a level because of it. Killing people isn¡¯t common because we live in a society, and societies can¡¯t function properly if we can¡¯t trust each other. We¡¯re tribal creatures who are basically big, slow sacks of meat without claws or teeth. We rose to the top of the food chain because of a few advantages, but one of the biggest is that we¡¯re tribal creatures. There is safety in numbers against predators that are stronger, faster, and hungrier than we are. But with that one reward The System threw all of that out the window. The predators just found out that they¡¯re surrounded by prey and, instead of the risks outweighing the rewards, it just became extremely rewarding to start killing each other.¡± He looked at each of their intent faces, hoping his point was setting in. ¡°There WILL be people that will try to kill us, take what we have, or just use us for fodder to get to higher levels. Some will do it just for fun. Hell, we don¡¯t even know if there are other rewards for being the first one to do something terrible to other people. There¡¯s a section on our character sheets for ¡®Class.¡¯ Ones like fighter or teacher or craftsman may be what we expect, but what if there¡¯s one for thief? Assassin? Serial killer? Torturer? Think about what it would take to level up in those classes.¡± ¡°Our reality has changed and so our response to it has to change as well. Tonight we¡¯re going to rest and get some sleep, but tomorrow morning we¡¯re going to need to come up with a plan to start leveling. If we don¡¯t treat this as our highest priority then we risk dying. If we don¡¯t all pull our weight, we risk getting each other killed. This is the most important thing in any of our lives from this point forward.¡± Shocked looks stared back, then Tess stood up. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough of that. You¡¯re scaring the kids and it¡¯s not necessary.¡± ¡°Tess! It IS nec-¡± Tess slashed her hand through the air. ¡°It¡¯s NOT necessary tonight. No one is fighting or dying tonight, and you don¡¯t even know if you¡¯re overreacting," Zavier opened his mouth but Tess interjected before he could start. ¡°I said that¡¯s enough for tonight. We¡¯re done. We¡¯ll talk later but you need to stop and let the kids go to bed.¡± Zavier swallowed the anger he knew was based on fear, closing his mouth and nodding. She started shooing the kids to bed, tousling his hair in understanding as she walked past. He tended to go a little hard when trying to get his point across and she was always there to help him pump the brakes. He went to the liquor cabinet and poured three fingers of Balvenie before sitting at the kitchen table and opening his laptop. Chapter 7: This Calls for a Spreadsheet Tess came up behind Zavier, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek. ¡°Kids okay?¡± he nuzzled his head backwards into her shoulder. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re just tired and overwhelmed. It¡¯s crazy how quickly kids adapt to everything. I¡¯m more than a little freaked out, I¡¯m just trying to keep it together for them.¡± ¡°Me too, Love. We¡¯ve been through a lot though, we¡¯ll get through this too.¡± Tess ruffled his hair with affection. His incessant need to fix everything got old sometimes, but it was coupled with a relentless optimism that never failed to give her hope that they¡¯d be fine, no matter what came at them. ¡°Wait,¡± she said as she looked at his monitor, ¡°is that a spreadsheet? You are such a nerd.¡± They laughed, then he got excited and started clicking through the spreadsheet with animation. ¡°Okay, I wrote a scraper that ran through Reddit and pulled any information about skills, abilities, character sheets, and core stats. I also wanted to look to see if anyone else got any unique rewards like we did.¡± ¡°Just Reddit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the only one I could write a scraper for and it has a big enough user base spread across the globe to get a decent sample size. I just don¡¯t have time to read everything from everywhere else before tomorrow. I¡¯m refreshing and crunching the data every hour but some real trends have started to emerge. First, most healthy adults seem to have started with sixty stat points with those numbers going down pretty linearly for age. Second, the announcement was the same across the world. It seems to be able to ignore language, no matter how obscure. Even people who don¡¯t use computers have the same type of screen, so the display seems pretty standard.¡± ¡°No one has discovered anything about the interface that we haven¡¯t, so that¡¯s good. What¡¯s interesting, though, is that some people have started leveling. You¡¯d think the safe period of tonight would keep anyone from leveling, but it¡¯s not. I¡¯m going to go outside in a bit to try it myself, just to be sure.¡± ¡°Like hell you are," Tess said with finality. ¡°We¡¯ll see," Zavier said in the tone that Tess knew meant he was just going to do it anyway. ¡°But I¡¯m really starting to suspect that this means people are already killing each other.¡± ¡°Jeez, that didn¡¯t take long.¡± ¡°No kidding. That¡¯s really fucking scary and it¡¯s making me consider everyone we know in a new light," he reached out and squeezed her hand for a moment. ¡°One of the interesting things I¡¯m seeing is that, with every refresh of the data, more people are talking about leveling up by doing things besides fighting," he pointed her to a pivot table. ¡°This updates at every refresh and counts the number of unique usernames that claim to have gained levels based on what they were doing. You can see here that people are claiming levels for crafting things, creating art, repairing vehicles, non-combat physical activities like dancing, swimming, etc. The possible ways to level up really seem to be infinite. Admittedly, it¡¯s relying on my classifying what they¡¯re saying, but the general rule seems to be that if you put enough effort and time into something you gain levels for that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve also been summarizing and collating the different theories on what happened, what will happen at level five, and what will happen tomorrow. First, the top theories for why it''s happening. These are the ones that seem to be getting the most traction and agreement across social media platforms." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Number one is the universal training grounds or military theory. Roughly 40% of Reddit seems to believe that we¡¯re being trained to join some universal army or something." "Next up is the evolutionary leap or awakening theory. This one suggests that humanity is going through some kind of evolutionary jump or awakening, maybe triggered by external factors or hidden potential within us and that these aliens are progenitors. Remember that Star Trek: TNG episode? That one is getting referenced a lot." "The third theory mostly revolves around environmental change and that divine beings are preparing us to survive a planet that can¡¯t sustain human life anymore. That one is less popular because people are bringing up the very valid point that if they could reconfigure humanity to be stronger they could just reconfigure plant life and the ecology." "And lastly, there¡¯s the Job of the Bible theory - gods are playing with us and taking bets. Although the funniest wild theory that I¡¯m not immediately discounting is an alien reality TV show.¡± ¡°As for what will happen tomorrow and at level five, the results are coalescing into the top five categories of: What will happen at level five: Unlocking class special abilities or powers, akin to superhuman capabilities.
  1. Access to advanced technology or knowledge.
  2. Revelation of a hidden truth about the world or its history.
  3. Initiation into a secret society or organization.
  4. Ascension to a higher plane of existence or enlightenment.
What will happen tomorrow:
  1. Continued integration of the new system into everyday life, possibly with additional announcements or changes.
  2. Emergence of new challenges or threats as people adapt to the new reality.
  3. Collaboration and coordination among survivors to navigate the changed world.
  4. Exploration of potential benefits or drawbacks of The System, such as societal restructuring or inequality.
  5. Introduction of new elements or features of The System, leading to further speculation and analysis.¡±
¡°Data aside, I think what it¡¯s all coming down to is pretty simple: We¡¯re now living in the closest thing to a video game most of us can imagine, we¡¯re in a training ground for the first five levels, and after that it¡¯ll be on us to grow stronger or die. I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll figure out the reason behind all of this but I can¡¯t imagine the process of doing this is cheap for whomever or whatever is doing it, so it¡¯s not going to be for shits and giggles. They want something from us, and us getting stronger gives it to them. We¡¯ll find out what that is eventually. I¡¯m not overly worried about it right now, but I want to figure out what that is sooner rather than later since it¡¯ll let me optimize how we advance.¡± He sat back in his chair and rubbed his face with his hands. ¡°So that¡¯s everything I¡¯ve found. What do you think?¡± Tess was in information overload. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say. There¡¯s really not much we can do tonight and we¡¯re going to want to be awake before the twins are, so we need to go to bed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m staying up for a bit more," Zavier said. ¡°You better not go outside," Tess said in exasperation. ¡°I have to honey, I need to test something. But I will be close by, I¡¯ll keep my phone on me, and I won¡¯t take any chances. Okay?¡± ¡°Absolutely not. You¡¯re not going outside in the dark by yourself just a few hours after we were attacked by multiple mutated creatures that could have killed us," she held up a finger to forestall Zavier¡¯s objections. ¡°I¡¯m serious about this. What would we do if something happened to you? You¡¯d be leaving me and the kids alone to face this new world without you. You need to be responsible. There will be plenty of time for us to ¡®check things out¡¯ tomorrow. But for now we need to stick together. How would you feel if I went out there by myself tonight?¡± Zavier¡¯s face screwed up in objection, then he took a deep breath and swallowed his argument. She was right and he knew it. He nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right, Honey. It can wait until tomorrow. But I¡¯m too amped up for bed right now. Go ahead without me.¡± Her look of skepticism was clear. ¡°I mean it. No going outside, not even for a cigar. Don¡¯t open any doors or windows that might let something inside. Don¡¯t go exploring. I don¡¯t care if they said it¡¯s safe, I am not taking that chance with our family.¡± His boyish smile was disarming and he raised his right hand. ¡°I swear by the soul of my beloved mother that I will follow your orders to the letter.¡± ¡°Your mother is still alive," Tess shook her head, her lips quirked up. ¡°Which means she¡¯ll be even more grateful that I didn¡¯t go outside!¡± Chapter 8: Identifying, Planning, and Shopping Zavier paced the house, double and triple checking all the doors and windows. He itched to go outside. He wanted to see if the animals were actually dormant during the safe period or if they were just gone. If they existed and were dormant, he wanted to test killing them during a safe period to see if he could get free experience with very little effort, giving him a head start. If they didn¡¯t exist then that confirmed another theory he had - that The System created them as needed for the scenario. That would mean that the upcoming challenges would be strictly controlled by The System, since it only created them when it had a plan for them. The former, though, would mean that they could expect some sort of twisted version of animals they expected to find anyway. He had been staring out of the window into the darkened woods behind his house for ten minutes, lost in thought. He shook his head to clear it and walked to the computer to check his scraper, dismissing the urge. Tess was right, no matter how much it grated on him to lose the potential free experience. Two new topics had appeared, the first was that people were realizing that any animal considered a pet hadn¡¯t been changed into an abomination like the local wildlife had. The second was that someone had discovered the ability to identify a system-produced item. It had taken some time to discover the skill since The System hadn¡¯t dropped many items, but evidently it had dropped some for different achievements. Zavier suddenly remembered the item dropped by the squirrel. He padded gently towards Cass''s room. He could feel the effects of his increased agility already. He wouldn¡¯t be doing parkour any time soon but he could feel the increase in athleticism as he sneaked through the house. Slipping into the room and back out with barely a whisper of fabric he returned to the kitchen and sat at the table where he could watch the woods through the window. He let his mind go blank for a moment and thought of his desire to know what the object in front of him was. A menu screen flashed across his vision. Identify (Basic): Gain rudimentary details about objects, creatures, or persons created or directly altered by The System. All iInformation provided by The System is true, but may not be comprehensive, and can be blocked or manipulated by other skills. Level disparity affects the amount of information obtained and the reliability of knowing whether or not the information provided is being manipulated by another skill. With an immediate understanding of how to use it Zavier focused it on the item in front of him: Item Name: Scamperer Coat Type: Coat Description: This luxurious fur coat exudes an aura of natural agility. Embodying the spirit of the creature it was created from it is designed to provide warmth and protection while blending seamlessly with the forest environment. Stats: Effects: Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. With a thoughtful hum Zavier slipped his arms into the coat. What appeared to be too small at first resized itself to fit perfectly. He pulled up his character sheet and saw that his defense score had gone from a one to a two. He didn¡¯t know how that applied in actual use but the concept seemed solid. He made some quick stretching movements with his arms and couldn¡¯t feel any stretch or pull. If he couldn¡¯t see it he would have forgotten it was on. With widened eyes he realized he never checked the garage. He rushed through the garage to where the spiders fell. In their places were three jet black knives in sheaths. Pulling one out it looked part KA-BAR and part spider fang, slightly curved. He quickly inspected it: Item Name: Toxic Weaver Dagger Type: Dagger Description: This sleek dagger is crafted from the fangs of a venomous spider. The blades gleam with a poisonous sheen, hinting at its lethal capabilities. Stats: Effects: Zavier put one in each hand and verified that his agility had increased by two points. To test it out he did a quick hop onto the hood of the car, the effort feeling no harder than hopping up a step. With an effective agility of 13 that put him over 50% above the human average and only seven points from the most peak gymnast in human history. He did a few more hops, rolls, and quick dodges around and over the vehicles. He judged his current skill level to be around a collegiate level gymnast. He wasn¡¯t Olympics material yet but he was far, far closer than he should have ever been able to get to. Maybe he would be parkouring after all. He continued to test out the abilities gained from the equipment. He confirmed that just holding the third knife did nothing to increase his stats. They only increased if he was wielding the two in a way that would allow him to use them. He tried holding the third one between his teeth, gripping two in one hand, and even holding the third with his toes. There wasn¡¯t any way for him to trick The System into giving him that third attribute point. Instead, he focused on getting acclimated to the new physical prowess. Although having the upgraded core stats did give him an innate knowledge on how to move, there was still muscle memory to contend with. He spent the next hour in the tight confines of the garage sprinting around corners, conducting tight rolls and cartwheels, leapfrogging from vehicle to wall and back, and leaping to his feet from his back. His body reacted quickly, though, and soon his actions felt natural. He set the knives aside and went through all the same actions and realized that, although his body still had the muscle memory, it just didn¡¯t respond like his brain expected it to. It was like not realizing there was one more step just when you thought your foot was going to hit solid ground. Re-equipping the knives had an immediate effect, though, and he didn¡¯t need to relearn any of the muscle memory. He went back inside and sat at the computer to document the results of tonight¡¯s discoveries and experiments on Reddit. He figured there would be a time for secrecy later, but not now. He doubted anything he was going to discover in these first few levels gave any long term advantages, and the information might actually save lives. If what he posted could help someone then he was glad to share it. With that done he leaned back in the kitchen chair, knives sheathed and sitting on his lap, gripped in tight fists. He needed to catch a few hours of sleep but he didn¡¯t want the deep sleep that came with a bed. He wanted to be able to jump straight into action with full agility if something came crashing through. The System had said it was safe, but he was not trusting the lives of his family to that. He closed his eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep. Chapter 9: Shopping Spree Zavier woke with a start when Tess kissed him gently on the forehead. ¡°Sleep well, Pimp Game?¡± she asked with a wry grin, nodding to his fur coat. ¡°And what are those?¡± Zavier chuckled then followed her gaze to the knives. ¡°Oh, this is cool. First, let me show you how to identify something.¡± Tess woke the kids up as Zavier made a breakfast of Banana¡¯s Foster on brioche with a side of andouille sausage. He wanted everyone to start today in as good a place as possible. While he worked, Tess walked them through how to identify and had them all hold the knives. She wasn¡¯t comfortable enough to let them unsheath them, but that didn¡¯t matter as it wasn¡¯t necessary to gain the perk. Zavier had told her about the muscle memory and they decided it would be good for all of them to become familiar with any item-based improvements, even if they weren¡¯t planning on using it. That way if they ever did get something that boosted a core skill they wouldn¡¯t need to take the time to practice with it. Tess was laughing and dodging around the room as the twins threw a tennis ball between them. Once she caught it she¡¯d yell the name of one of the twins and they were ¡®it¡¯ and had to try to catch the ball next. Soon there were some pretty impressive acrobatics going on in the living room, each of their movements getting more and more frantic as they pushed their limits. Then the inevitable crash could be heard and Zavier sighed, moving the breakfast to a cool burner. Three heads turned towards him with shocked faces and Zavier could see a body-shaped impact in the 80-inch TV behind them. He chuckled and shook his head wryly. ¡°Even with super powerful space alien gods coming down here and giving you the athletic prowess of professional gymnasts, you couldn¡¯t have aimed for the couch? C¡¯mon Juggernauts, let¡¯s get some breakfast.¡± Tess touched his foot with hers under the table. ¡°You okay? I know you didn¡¯t get much sleep last night and with the TV getting broken¡­¡± She looked at him with soft eyes that always made his heart dip just a little, even after 20 years. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s all good. They were having fun and I don¡¯t know how much of that they¡¯ll get in the near future. Plus, the practice is good. I¡¯d rather they break a TV than be unprepared for this new world. Besides, I took out every loan we could qualify for and opened up as many instant-open credit cards as I could get.¡± It was amazing how quickly her eyes could go from soft and loving, to shocked, then to outraged. ¡°You WHAT??¡± Tess stood up fast enough for her chair to slide back. Forks paused as everyone in the room suddenly froze. Zavier rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and tried to flash her a charming grin. ¡°I, uh¡­ listen, it¡¯ll make sense. So since we¡¯re in the apocalypse now¡­¡± Tess leaned forward and put her hands on the table, bringing her face close to his. ¡°Let me guess. You thought that since it was the end of the world you would leverage all of our assets to get quick cash, then use that massive amount of money to buy up everything you think we¡¯ll need to survive. Nevermind that you probably just put us into 50 years of debt to do it. And before you say anything, I know - if the world goes to shit we won¡¯t have to pay it back and you¡¯d rather we ¡®be in debt for 50 years than not have something we need¡¯, am I right?¡± Zavier¡¯s mouth opened and closed a few times while Cass, under his breath, imitated Tess, mimicking Zavier''s voice poorly. ¡°Better to be in debt for 50 years than to go without something we need.¡± Both the twins burst out in laughter, which was immediately stifled when Tess shot them both the types of glares that only mothers are capable of. She turned back to Zavier. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I mean, yeah. That¡¯s it. But¡­¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Tess stood up and waved her hand, cutting him off. ¡°I get it and I agree with you. What I¡¯m pissed about is that you didn¡¯t ask me first. We don¡¯t make big financial decisions without each other, EVEN in the apocalypse. You already have a tendency to go off half-cocked when you think something is the right thing to do. That was fine when the biggest issue was a hotel in Chicago for the weekend or buying a new TV that we didn¡¯t need.¡± Her voice dropped to a tone that indicated there would be no arguments, no jokes. ¡°This situation is going to make that worse. I can already see that you have plans running through your head. We decide on those plans together - every time, no exceptions. Before, if you chose wrong it only cost us some money. Now it could cost us our lives. You will NOT make big decisions like this on your own again, got it?¡± Zavier could only nod. Tess trusted him and always had. She never bothered him about his decisions and really only got upset if he spent too much money without asking her first, but even then it was only a mild scolding because he¡¯d left her out of it. They were a team and always had been, and sometimes they had to remind each other of that. Her voice softened and she came and sat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck. ¡°Honey, you are the smartest man I know and you have always done what is best for us. I¡¯m not questioning your intelligence or decision making ability. But what are the odds of someone making the correct decision 100% of the time?¡± He smiled and dipped his head in acknowledgement of the point. ¡°We have to be careful going forward and I¡¯m just worried. Okay?¡± ¡°As always, you sexy beast, you are correct," he smiled as he pulled her in, kissing her neck and eliciting flailing arms and laughs. He laughed and let her go. ¡°Kids,¡± he looked at them, ¡°thoughts?¡± ¡°Just that we aren¡¯t paying your debt when you die of old age in 3 years," Luna said, causing Cass to do a spit take with his food before they both burst into laughter. ¡°Alrighty,¡± Zavier said, ¡°here¡¯s the most exciting part of the apocalypse: shopping!¡± That earned chuckles as Zavier opened up a shopping list on his phone. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a run on groceries and we want to get ahead of it. I¡¯m willing to bet there will be a lot of tools and important items like that too, but probably not for a few days. We have about six hours until the safe period is up so we¡¯re going to need to get as many items as we can. I¡¯m sending you all shopping lists now. Tess, you know more about medical supplies than any of us so can you go clean out as much of whatever you think we¡¯ll need from as many places as possible?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to clean them out, other people are going to need stuff too. We¡¯re not going to hoard medical supplies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, do whatever you think is best. But get more than we¡¯ll need for just the four of us. I don¡¯t think healing is going to be a huge issue, what with us healing when we level, but I don¡¯t know if that will always be true and we need a plan for when we get injured between levels anyway.¡± ¡°Cass and Luna, you guys are going grocery shopping. Stay together. I don¡¯t know if food will be an issue, maybe we can eat some of these creatures, but let¡¯s not count on it. I put the top priorities on your lists but focus on canned vegetables, rice, pasta, flour, and bottled water. Get soda if you want too, but water needs to be our biggest priority. Who knows how long utilities will stay running? People will go to work for a little while when they realize that the world isn¡¯t ending tomorrow, but a lot of people are going to be no-shows. Get as much non-perishable food as you can. Don¡¯t get anything refrigerated or frozen. Oh! Get as many bathroom supplies as you can too. Toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, deodorant, tampons, etc. Those items are going to become rare quickly.¡± He looked at Tess and saw her expression. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t clear everything out. Leave some for other people. But get as much as you can. You guys are taking the SUV.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Luna asked. ¡°I rented a moving truck and plan on doing some grocery shopping of my own. I¡¯m going to hit up a few of the other grocery stores then I¡¯m headed to the hardware store. Everyone keep your phones on you. Shop, bring the supplies back here, then go out for another run. In four hours we¡¯re going to meet back here, okay? Everyone understand the plan?¡± Nods all around. ¡°Great! And kids, if you see anything fun that you¡¯ve been wanting, just buy it. I don¡¯t know if Santa comes during the apocalypse.¡± Once they got in the cars Tess looked over at him. ¡°Just buy it?¡± He gave her an innocent smile. ¡°I know, I know, but it¡¯s going to get hard soon and I want them to have a little fun.¡± Tess smiled and sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right, I just don¡¯t like giving them a blank check like that when they¡¯re holding a debit card. Wait, how much money do we even have in our account now that you took out the loans?¡± Zavier just looked ahead and reached to turn up the radio. Chapter 10: Weapons of Choice Four hours later they all stood in the driveway, looking into the garage. An entire corner was taken up with canned goods, gallons of water, and boxes of rice and pasta. Tess had neatly organized a whole slew of first aid and over-the-counter meds as well as as much toiletries as she could get. One entire side of the garage was filled with various stacks of hardware, protective clothing and PPE, and every type of tool and supply Zavier could think of. Stacked outside of the garage he had enough lumber, plywood, stones, and bricks to build an entire guest house if he wanted to. Further back, he had dozens of lengths of mismatched pre-made fencing. He¡¯d also rented a skid loader, trencher, post hole digger, and air compressor, putting a down payment on it to rent it all for a week. He figured by then he¡¯d either be done with them or capitalism would have collapsed and he wouldn¡¯t need to return them. Either way, he had what he wanted. Later today he¡¯d go fill up the two 50-gallon barrels with gasoline for them. Gas wouldn¡¯t last forever but he had a year or so with unleaded, longer with diesel. He doubted it¡¯d matter much after the first six months. ¡°Alright Team Torres, we have one more mission. We¡¯re going back to the hardware store and we all need to pick some offensive and defensive equipment.¡± They looked at each other pensively but no one said anything. This was bringing the reality of the situation down on them and killing the fun of the morning shopping spree, but it was time to get serious. ¡°In two hours the safe period ends. I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be in immediate danger or not, but we need to prep as if we¡¯re going to be. Going forward we need to over prepare for everything. There are going to be other people and creatures that are faster, stronger, and more deadly than us, but we are a damned smart family. We can out-plan and out-prepare anyone. First step of that is picking weapons.¡± ¡°What about these daggers?¡± Cass said, waving at the ones sheathed on his, Luna¡¯s, and Tess''s belts. ¡°Those are good and definitely a primary weapon, but not every situation will call for it. Plus, the best weapon isn¡¯t the one that does the most damage - it''s the one that you can do the most damage with. You need to pick items that speak to you and feel right. Things that feel natural. Then whatever you choose will be stronger than a knife. Understand?¡± They did and they all climbed into the SUV to head to the hardware store for the last time. They walked into the crowded store, Tess and Luna breaking off in one direction with Cass and Zavier hanging behind. Zavier could tell Cass had something to say and he wanted to give him time to approach it on his own. After a few minutes of aimless wandering in silence Cass spoke. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t want to get a weapon. I mean, I have the knife and a baseball bat at home, but I don¡¯t want to have to use them.¡± They stopped and Cass looked at Zavier with trepidation in his eyes. Zavier marveled at how his baby was already as tall as he was, handsome and lean in the effortless way of teenagers. He had inherited Zavier¡¯s hazel-green eyes and Tess''s long eyelashes - both of the twins had, as well as the dark honey skin tone that was a perfect mix of his Mexican ancestry and Tess''s African-American. His heart squeezed a little as he thought of everything they were going to have to go through to survive what was coming. ¡°Why not son?¡± Zavier asked, keeping his voice gentle and non-accusatory. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t like fighting that squirrel thing and I hated killing it. I¡¯m no vegan or anything, I know animals die and that one that attacked us needed to, but I hated it. I was so scared, I went fuzzy, and next thing I knew I was sitting on the bed feeling like a million ants were crawling under my skin and like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. And when I saw it laying there with all that blood¡­¡± He shuddered as he pictured it. ¡°I¡¯m not strong like you, mom, and Luna. I know I look like I should be because I play sports but I¡¯m not and I know it.¡± Zavier saw the tears welling up in his eyes and his heart broke a little. ¡°Son, come here," he pulled him into an empty aisle to save him the embarrassment of a dad hugging him in public, and put his arms around him. He held him there for a minute then kissed him on the top of the head, holding his shoulders he looked him in the eyes, hoping Cass could see his sincerity. ¡°There are a lot of ways to be strong, and not all of them are how many things you can kill. You deal with things here,¡± he touched Cass''s forehead, ¡°and here,¡± he placed his hand over Cass''s heart, ¡°that most people wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to handle. I love you for the strength you have and I love you for not wanting to hurt anything. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that, okay?¡± He looked deeply into Cass''s eyes and saw the relief and love there. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. ¡°But we DO have to figure something out. Your mom and me, we can do a lot of the heavy lifting, but we need to find a way to make you strong. You have to protect the three of us the same way we have to protect each other. I don¡¯t know what that looks like for you so we¡¯ll have to experiment on different things, but for now we have to start with the basics.¡± ¡°You ARE going to have to fight. That sucks and I don¡¯t want you to have to, but I love you too much to let you die because I didn¡¯t push you. You could just use the knife and your baseball bat, so don¡¯t feel like you have to get anything here, but maybe we can talk through some options?¡± The look of fear had reentered Cass''s eyes but so did understanding. Zavier hated himself for putting that fear back onto him, but he was only going to be able to coddle Cass so far before it became dangerous. In the world of two days ago he¡¯d have been content to less Cass be whoever he was comfortable with and just make sure he had all the love and support he needed. But, in today¡¯s world, he needed to make sure Cass could protect himself, even if it meant being harder on him than he wanted to. They wandered the store, eyes roaming over everything and letting Cass get a feel for what he wanted to try. By the time they all met up at the register Cass had a few slingshots, a compound bow with arrows, some long metal fence posts that Zavier thought could be used as a sort-of spear to keep creatures at a distance, and a few different versions of items that could be turned into shields; trash can lids, a solid oak door that could have arm straps attached, a few smaller sheets of metal, and even a toilet seat lid. Luna had also seemed to not know what she wanted and had an array of smaller items that all looked potentially harmful up close; Screwdrivers, hammers, carpet knives, etc. Tess had picked up eight machetes and some different pieces of strengthened clothing. There were four welding jackets with material tough enough to keep anything from cutting or biting through, flexible cut-proof gloves, steel toed boots, thick denim coveralls, and even a few versions of bicycle and football helmets. Zavier, in turn, had picked up a wide range of sledge hammers, axes, rope, tool belts, and straps so they would be able to make makeshift tool belts for all their items, no matter what they were wearing. ¡°Going a little heavy on the hammers, don¡¯t you think?¡± Tess nodded towards the 25 pound mauls. ¡°I figured that as our strength stats go up we¡¯re probably going to be able to lift heavier things pretty easily. These are too heavy now but I wanted to get them before they were gone, for later.¡± Soon they were out of the store and back home with an hour to spare before the safe period ended. Luna and Cass went to their rooms to play their new video games. Tess left to make a run to the gun store to pick up as much ammunition as she could, promising she¡¯d be back before the hour was up. With everything else taken care of, Zavier decided to go next door to talk to his neighbor, the Crazy Canuck. Chapter 11: The Crazy Canuck Zavier jogged across the cul-de-sac to a house with a three-car garage and long driveway. He slowed when he hit the driveway and walked past a family van, two daily driver sedans known affectionately in Wisconsin as ¡°Beaters with heaters¡±, a restored Jeep, a restored 1966 Chevy Crew Cab with an extended bed, an old Mercedes that Zavier didn¡¯t know the year of but knew it was probably older than him, and a white and baby blue tow-behind that said ¡°Shasta Airflyte¡± on the side. He could hear the sound of a table saw running inside the garage so he moved to the side door and walked in without knocking. He and Owen had graduated from the same engineering school, Zavier with Industrial Engineering and Owen with Mechanical Engineering. Zavier had gone on to business school after but Owen never wanted to be anything more than a mad scientist and engineer. Owen ¡°Crazy Canuck¡± Bouchard looked up and gave him a head nod before looking back down at the saw. He was pushing lengths of this plywood through it, stacking them neatly on a roller table behind. Zavier walked over the plastic pitcher of beer that was always available when Owen was working and poured some of the dark porter into a plastic cup from the stack next to it. The thing about coming to visit Owen is that you could treat the place like your own. Grab tools, use his equipment, grab some beer. What was his was yours, but you were expected to clean up after yourself and replace anything you used the last of. He never asked for anything to use what he had, but if you got a text that asked you to make a stop at the hardware, grocery, or liquor store on the way over you just did it. It was a fair exchange for using a garage that was equipped with everything you¡¯d need, from car repair to cabinetry. Zavier lit a cigar and sat there puffing it and drinking the beer until Owen had finished. ¡°What¡¯cha got der?¡± Zavier asked, mocking Owen¡¯s Canadian accent. Owen grunted and gave a small shrug. ¡°Apocalypse, ya know. Gotta cover the windows," Zavier eyed the thick plywood and knew that nothing was breaking through that once it was up. ¡°I picked up a bunch myself. Mind if I use your garage today or tomorrow?¡± ¡°Ya know the code.¡± Owen nodded to the keypad just outside the door. ¡°Clean up after yerself.¡± Zavier nodded in return. ¡°You need help with anything?¡± ¡°Help me get these up on the windows if ya don¡¯t mind," he said, but sat down to light up a pipe himself. With Owen things didn¡¯t start when you thought they would, you always had a little extra time. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°So,¡± Zavier said. ¡°you have to kill anything?¡± ¡°No, and I hope not to. Nothing wrong with taking care of vermin but I figure that the battle is won outside the castle walls. If ya gotta kill something you let it get too close in the first place.¡± ¡°Huh. How are you going to survive when they start coming? Because you know they will.¡± ¡°Oh, we¡¯ll kill em when they come. But first things first. I always wanted a doomsday compound, I figure this is as good a time as any to build one. Might even do some ramparts - always wanted some of those.¡± ¡°You think you¡¯ll be able to ride out the monsters when they start getting stronger?¡± Owen looked deep in thought for a minute then shrugged. ¡°In the beginning, fer sure. Maybe those squirrel things might get over a short wall or fence, but for the first little bit we¡¯ll be a¡¯ight. After that¡­ I think we¡¯ll need to start working on some defenses. It seems like killin¡¯ the creatures is going to be the main way to gain levels like you all did, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s for me and mine. I don¡¯t mind the killin¡¯, don¡¯t get me wrong. You know I hunt a few times a year, but there¡¯s gotta be other ways of survivin.''¡± Zavier took a sip then responded. ¡°There are. I have been scanning the internet and it looks like you can advance from skills too. A lot of people have mentioned gaining levels from doing crafts, building things, creating things - stuff like that. Seems like ¡®crafter¡¯ or ¡®engineer¡¯ is going to be a real thing in this new world. It makes sense, since no society can survive off only the fighting class.¡± ¡°Welp, I¡¯ll be okay then. Let¡¯s get to this.¡± and with that he slapped his knees and stood up. Zavier got up to help him hang the boards over the windows. Zavier and Owen looked at the ground floor windows that had been covered up, hands on hips. Owen looked over to Zavier¡¯s place. ¡°Need help getting yours up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good idea and definitely yes, but we don¡¯t have much time until the safe period is over. Think we can get one over the broken window and do the rest if things seem calm enough after?¡± They walked over and propped a sheet of plywood over the window and screwed it straight into the wall through the siding. ¡°My home value is going to suck after this," he chuckled. Owen chuckled too. ¡°Wasn¡¯t worth much before this so it¡¯s all good.¡± They both laughed and looked at the other windows. ¡°We got time to put a few more up if you want it.¡± In the end they put the boards halfway up the remaining windows. Zavier didn¡¯t want them fully covered so that they could still see out of them, but this would at least prevent anything bigger than a foot or two tall from jumping through. Owen gave him a silent nod then walked back to his place, seemingly without a care in the world. Zavier just shook his head at the unflappable nature of one of his oldest friends. Chapter 12: Kids and their Technologies Stepping into the front door the kids came rushing up. ¡°Dad!¡± they yelled in enthusiastic unison. ¡°Look what we did!¡± Cass shoved a tablet at Zavier and before he could figure out what he was looking at they both started pointing at different parts of the screen and talking over each other. ¡°Cass had a really cool idea to¡­¡± ¡°... get some wireless cameras¡­¡± ¡°... and we hung them up all over outside¡­¡± ¡°... and I set them up on the wifi to show all the angles of the house¡­¡± ¡°... so now we can look at what¡¯s going on out there¡­¡± ¡°... without needing to go outside or near a window!¡± They both looked at him, out of breath. ¡°Holy shit kids¡­ this is amazing!¡± Zavier looked at both of them with pride. ¡°This was such a good idea!¡± He handed the tablet back to Cass and ruffled both of their hair. They sprinted off and ran to the couch, leaning against each other, both pecking at different views of the display. Zavier shook his head with a smile and walked up to Tess, her smile matching his. ¡°They were so excited to show you that," she said. ¡°That was really cool. We have some smart kids.¡± ¡°Of course, with me as their mom," she smirked and gave him a kiss. Taking his hand she walked him to the kitchen table where piles of ammo boxes were stacked. ¡°I figured we¡¯d probably need these. Plus they had a couple of these," she pointed to two riot shields leaning against the table. When held they would cover most of a person¡¯s body but had clear plexiglass tops so the bearer could see what was on the other side. ¡°Woooaaahhh¡­ cool Tess!¡± he picked one up and slid his arm in the straps. ¡°I figured Cass would probably want something like that. You know he¡¯s not going to do well with what¡¯s coming.¡± Zavier met her worried gaze and nodded. ¡°Yeah, we had a talk at the hardware store," he said, then relayed their conversation. Her expression went through all the emotions he¡¯d had at the time. ¡°I appreciate you talking with him, but I¡¯m worried about how you told him he¡¯d have to fight. Don¡¯t you think that was a little harsh?¡± ¡°I know, Honey,¡± Zavier said, ¡°but it had to be said. He needs to be prepared for what¡¯s coming.¡± Her expression was still pensive. ¡°I know and he knows, I¡¯m just worried about the way you said it. That¡¯s a lot of pressure to put on him, and you know he doesn¡¯t handle that well. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s going to freeze up when he thinks he¡¯s disappointing you.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°I get that, and maybe I was a little harsh, but what we¡¯re about to face is going to be harsh. I worry that this new world is going to force him to grow up faster than we wanted for him. He¡¯s going to suffer for it if we don¡¯t prepare him.¡± Tess took a deep breath then let it out in a sigh. ¡°You¡¯re right. I know that, and I think he does too. I just worry that all of our careful preparations on how to raise a son like him in a world that isn¡¯t gentle is now going to be moot, and we¡¯re starting from scratch. He needs to feel safe and I don¡¯t know if we can give him that now.¡± Zavier wrapped her in his arms and she folded into his chest. The thumping of his heart always calmed her. ¡°We¡¯ll protect them even more now. Whatever this world needs us to become to protect these kids, we¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ll be goddamned if this world breaks what we have worked so hard to build. This family comes first and I will kill every damned squirrel in the Midwest if I have to.¡± Tess laughed and pushed his chest playfully, then touched his face gently. ¡°Really? It¡¯s the eve of the apocalypse and you¡¯re making jokes?¡± She turned back to load the empty magazines sitting on the table. Zavier handed out plates with fresh Montecristo sandwiches covered in powdered sugar next to small cups of maple syrup. Everyone ate in silence, the comfort of the food fighting against the nerves building up in their stomachs. Finally Tess stood up and dumped her half eaten sandwich in the trash. Zavier saw the kids were just picking at theirs so he collected their plates too. ¡°Alrighty everyone, family meeting around the table.¡± They all took seats and he reached out, taking Cass''s hand on his left, Tess''s on his right. Everyone else joined hands too. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming or what we need to do, but we¡¯re going to absolutely kill it," he saw the expressions when he said that and realized his choice of words. ¡°What I mean is, this family is strong. We have faced every challenge that has ever come at us and we have absolutely dominated. Nothing has ever stopped us. So what I want us to do now is acknowledge our fears and move on. I¡¯ll go first.¡± He took a deep breath then looked at them with steady eyes. ¡°I¡¯m scared of you guys getting hurt. I¡¯m scared that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming and that I don¡¯t know how to prepare for it," he stopped and looked at all of them. After a brief pause he heard Tess. ¡°But,¡± she said, ¡°we never really know what is coming and every time something has surprised us we¡¯ve always been able to handle it. You are very good at coming up with quick plans and you¡¯ll do that for whatever comes next.¡± He looked at her with supreme relief and gratitude. How had he ever gotten this lucky? Then it was Tess''s turn. ¡°You two are my babies,¡± then she turned to look at Zavier, ¡°and you¡¯re my biggest baby.¡± The laughs around the table broke some of the tension. ¡°I worry I won¡¯t be able to protect all of you.¡± Zavier was about to respond when Cass suddenly spoke up. ¡°Mom, that¡¯s silly. You always protect us. You and dad have always made everything safe.¡± Tess wiped the sudden tears from her eyes and Zavier squeezed Cass''s hand. ¡°Well,¡± Cass said, ¡°I guess since I¡¯m already talking¡­ I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯m going to freeze up. That someone will get hurt because of me. I don¡¯t want to disappoint you guys.¡± His head hung low. The emotion that started with a hitch in his voice turned into silent tears. Luna leaned over and hugged him just as Tess and Zavier came around the table to envelope him in a group hug. ¡°Oh Honey,¡± Zavier said, ¡°never in a million years could you disappoint us. Never.¡± They felt Cass''s light heaves as he cried. A few minutes later he sniffled and shrugged his shoulders in his way of letting them know he was all touched-out and needed space. Sitting down again they looked at Luna. She looked at them with wide, beautiful eyes, shining with unshed tears. ¡°I¡¯m scared that Sephora will be closed forever and I am almost out of my face cream!¡± The laughter across the table cleaned out the last of the anxiety, Luna coming around the table to put her arms around her parents¡¯ shoulders. Chapter 13: And Now, it Begins They sat together as a family, the comfortable bonds being pushed away as a voice appeared in their heads. ¡°Congratulations on your first training opportunity! This one will be simple and will be the lowest threat level you will face. This will last until all remaining denizens of your planet have reached level five. You will face low tiered creatures from your planet that have been enhanced. As some of you have already discovered, though, fighting is not the only route to power. All skills will be considered and many non-combat classes will be necessary. Please be aware that focusing on non-combat classes will not automatically guarantee safety, the creature encounters do not discriminate. Find ways to grow. Find ways to survive. The benefits of forging ahead, creating your own paths, and setting new records will be rewarded accordingly.¡± ¡°You all are about to embark on an exciting journey and we will be watching you with interest! And now, it begins.¡± With that a final tone sounded in their heads and the world came back. They sat in silence, listening for sounds of danger that had yet to reach them. Cass tapped the tablet on and they all hunched around it. Nothing. They kept cycling through all the screens until Zavier saw something. ¡°Stop!¡± He touched that window and opened it to full screen. There was movement just at the edge of the woods. A figure started to emerge from the shadows, low and furry. They could see chestnut fur and large teeth in a face that was as cute as it was dangerous. It paused and blinked before looking around at the open space, seemingly scanning for threats. Then in an instant it froze and hunched low to the ground. A light tan and black blur flew from the woods and landed on its back before lunging back into the woods, carrying the squirrel with it. They got impressions of claws and fangs in the instant before it was gone. The foliage around where they disappeared shook and a frenzied screeching sounded out against the chittering. Then just as quickly as it occurred, everything went silent. They stood open-mouthed at what they¡¯d just seen. Luna reached over and switched to a different window, another squirrel coming out of that part of the woods. It skittered forward in fits and bursts, trying to get out of the woods but obviously skittish about being in the open. They saw it look towards the house and its body language changed, aggression evident on every bristled hair. It lunged towards the house and they screamed when they heard it slam against the wood panel protecting the window. Zavier ran to the kitchen and looked out above the wood. A face with two long, yellow teeth slammed into the window making Zavier jump back in fright. Scamperer: Level 1 Zavier realized he¡¯d identified the creature without meaning to. He watched in horror as it started gnawing on the panel, tearing off big chunks. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Zavier, down!¡± Zavier dropped to the floor as Tess stepped into the kitchen, 9mm held in a straight armed, double handed grip. She took a second to aim then fired two quick shots through the window. Zavier threw his hands over his ears too late, the ringing in his ears barely picking up the tinkling of glass hitting the kitchen sink. ¡°Scamperer, Level 1 defeated.¡± ¡°Something just happened," Tess said with an unfocused look in her eyes. Zavier gave her a moment and her eyes refocused. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I just¡­ I think I just got experience for killing that squirrel thing.¡± ¡°How do you know? What did it feel like?¡± Tess was lost in thought for a second. ¡°It felt like suddenly a stomach I didn¡¯t know I had felt a little more full, but now that I know it¡¯s there I can feel it any time.¡± ¡°Can you gauge how full it feels?¡± Zavier asked. Another moment of concentration. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell exactly but I feel like I¡¯m about 10% full, which I guess means 10% closer to level 3.¡± ¡°Which means another nine of those things and you¡¯re at level 3, so 40 in total for all of us. Damn, that¡¯s a lot. If we kill one an hour it¡¯ll take us a week of doing it all day. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s fast or slow, but I know it¡¯s going to lead to us getting tired and making mistakes if we¡¯re not careful," Zavier said. ¡°On the other hand, if we don¡¯t we may fall behind whatever is coming next. Call me crazy but something tells me that fluffy squirrels are going to be the very least of what¡¯s coming.¡± ¡°Then again¡­¡± he said. Everyone else waited with the patient expression of people that have watched a stream of consciousness play out like this before. ¡°... if the creatures get higher level then we¡¯ll probably get more experience for them. We just need to find ways to safely kill them. We can¡¯t all rely on firearms¡­¡± his voice trailed off as he stared in the distance. After a moment his eyes refocused and he looked at his family. ¡°Okay everyone, we need to see where we all are. Everyone, search your feelings¡­¡± Tess gave him a warning look which he promptly ignored, ¡°... you know it to be true.¡± The inevitable slap on the shoulder wasn¡¯t a surprise. Their faces all showed a moment of concentration before their eyes went wide. ¡°I can feel it!¡± Luna said. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m at 0%.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± said Cass. ¡°My experience bar is empty.¡± ¡°Huh," Zavier said. ¡°I guess that makes sense since we were all gifted the last level. But that also means that we need to kill a bunch of feral squirrels.¡± They looked at him incredulously. ¡°I¡¯m serious. We knew this was going to happen and it¡¯s here now. We¡¯re in a zombie movie moment. The first part is terrifying because the threats are everywhere and everyone is running frantically. We need to face these things eventually so we may as well do it now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t mom just shoot them all?¡± Cass''s tone held the beginnings of panic. ¡°No she can¡¯t. That will give her a lot of levels but not us.¡± ¡°Plus the ammo isn¡¯t going to last forever," Tess said. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to figure out how to kill these things the hard way. If we¡¯re smart and come up with a plan,¡± she looked to Zavier, ¡°we will be able to do this.¡± Zavier nodded, straightened, and confidence lit his face with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s time to suit up and discuss tactics. Regulators¡­ mount up!¡± Chapter 14: Man Plans, God Laughs They were layered in a variety of equipment. Each had thick jeans, high boots with steel toes, and heavy welding jackets. They practiced moving and swinging - their mobility was limited but both Zavier and Tess preferred the trade-off of slightly less mobility for increased protection. All four of them had on football helmets. Tess had a pistol holstered at her right leg and some quick-change magazines on her belt. She had another gun in a chest holster and a machete on her left hip. She¡¯d offered a gun to Zavier who had refused. ¡°You know I¡¯m no good with those things," he¡¯d said. ¡°You¡¯re the only one here that is - I¡¯d end up blowing a toe off or something.¡± Luna had a machete in one hand and the Toxic Weaver Dagger in the other. Cass had his Toxic Weaver Dagger at his hip, a baseball bat in his right hand, and the riot shield in his left. Zavier carried the other riot shield and the third Toxic Weaver Dagger. He also strapped a machete across his back and had a utility belt with a hammer, a couple long-shafted screwdrivers, and¡­¡± ¡°Is that the Creme Brule torch??¡± Tess asked in surprise. Zavier looked down at his belt and looked up at her sheepishly. ¡°You never know what will come in handy!¡± She shook her head. ¡°Okay everyone, here¡¯s the plan. We watch for squirrels. When we see one, and ONLY one, we go out together. Cass and I will be up front and will be blocking it. The shields should hold up to the teeth and claws. Luna, you stay between us and stab through. That knife is poisonous so just keep getting in jabs. If it starts to push through the shield you need to back away so Cass and I can close ranks. Tess, you stay behind us and be ready to shoot. Don¡¯t kill it unless you have to, this one goes to Luna.¡± ¡°And once again and for the hundredth time, when mom yells ¡°DOWN!¡± what do we do?¡± Cass and Luna both sighed with impatience and replied in unison. ¡°Luna throws the knife away so she doesn¡¯t get stabbed and drops to her stomach. Cass jumps on top of her with the shield over his back. Dad moves to the side and distracts it while mom blasts its stupid face off.¡± Zavier raised his eyebrow at that last part and the twins snickered conspiratorially. ¡°Good enough," he said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see what¡¯s out there.¡± The universe jumped in with ironic timing and they heard the first beep of alarm. They looked at the screen and saw a squirrel coming out of the woods behind the garage. ¡°Okay,¡± Zavier said as the last wisps of playfulness left the room. ¡°Front door. Garage is too slow and loud. I don¡¯t want to wait while it closes if we have to retreat. I¡¯ll be first out, then Cass, then Luna and mom. If we have to retreat back inside it¡¯ll be Luna, Cass, mom, then me. Got it?¡± Three somber faces nodded back at him. They moved to the door and Zavier looked through the peephole, seeing nothing. He slid it open and stepped out tentatively, shield raised and machete in hand. He¡¯d wanted something that could hold it at bay if necessary. Cass stepped out and moved to Zavier¡¯s right, baseball bat held at a ready position. When they were fully outside Luna took her place just behind them. Zavier looked back over his shoulder and saw Tess already sweeping the area behind them. He never had to remind her to keep her head on a swivel. With that they moved slowly around the garage until they were at the side of the house. For one breathless moment they saw nothing, then it came around the corner. Time froze and everyone¡¯s breath locked up, the dog-sized squirrel tensing just much as the humans. Then its eyes narrowed and it hunched forward, a sound halfway between a screech and chittering shredding out of its mouth. It lunged just as Zavier yelled ¡°HOLD!¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It slammed into them and almost threw the men back into Luna, but they dug their heels into the ground and held. Zavier saw Cass adopting a stance that looked like a linebacker holding back the offense and did the same, their formation becoming stronger. They managed to push it back a few inches when a swiping claw flew between the shields. ¡°Now Luna!¡± Zavier yelled and saw her thin arm flash forward and slash at it tentatively. The thing chittered in rage and pain and pulled back, but Zavier didn¡¯t want to lose the momentum. ¡°Forward Cass! Luna, keep going!¡± he yelled and they took a step forward. Luna¡¯s arm flashed through a few more times, scoring light punctures in the thing¡¯s stomach. It jumped backwards and pawed at its torso where it had been struck, then looked at them with even more murderous rage. With unexpected power it leapt into the air, landing on the shield wall and clamping its teeth on the top of Cass''s shield. Cass dropped it, his eyes wide with fear. Zavier jumped forward and body checked the squirrel with the shield, sending it sliding onto its back. ¡°Luna, get behind me and keep stabbing! Cass, get the shield!¡± he yelled and jumped forward trying to pin it down with the shield. Luna was behind and trying to stab around him as Zavier fought to keep the wild, frantic movements from letting it get up. ¡°No shot!¡± Tess yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot yet!¡± Zavier yelled, putting his full body weight on the thing. He was laying on the shield, legs spread wide, pushing with his whole upper body to force the shield into its face and claws. ¡°Go for the neck Luna!¡± Zavier yelled and he felt her shift beside him. A few quick slashes later and the thing became even more frenzied. It bucked Zavier off and he went flying to the side, rolling like he¡¯d been thrown from a car. He kept his shield but lost his machete in the tumble. He and the squirrel found their feet at the same time and Zavier saw that it was grievously injured, blood flowing in thick rivulets down its fur. The damned thing looked at him, then turned to look at the closer prey. Zavier¡¯s heart dropped as he saw what the squirrel saw: Luna in a hunched stance, knife held in both hands as she slowly backed away. Tess was standing in front of Cass but blocked from a direct shot at the thing by Luna. And Cass¡­ Cass was frozen, his mouth locked open and his eyes frozen on the squirrel. It looked at all their faces then settled on the one that looked most like prey. With another chittering screech it launched itself towards Cass, barreling straight towards Luna in the process. Zavier screamed and dropped the shield, not wanting its weight. He pulled the hammer from his belt and flung it at the squirrel as he sprinted forward. The hammer bounced off the side of its head, sending it in a roll just as Zavier flew into it. ¡°INSIDE NOW!¡± he yelled and grabbed its bony arms, grappling to keep it away. Its head was flashing forward, gnashing teeth trying to tear chunks of his face away. Its rotten breath burned Zavier¡¯s nose but he held, barely able to take his attention away from it long enough to catch a view of them in his periphery. Luna led Cass around the garage, Tess following in a backwards walk, covering their flank as she escorted them inside. He heard the door shut then Tess came running back around the corner, pistol in ready position. ¡°Give me a shot!¡± ¡°I. Can¡¯t," he huffed. He could feel it getting weaker, the poison and blood loss taking effect. Through gritted teeth he managed to groan out ¡°Just watch. Woods. It¡¯s. Dying." He couldn¡¯t see the look of abject terror on Tess''s face but she moved to stand a few feet away from him, double-armed grip on the pistol, as she swiveled and kept her eyes on the woods. ¡°Incoming!¡± she shouted and Zavier looked up long enough to see two more furry heads peeking out of the woods. They were out of time. Tess shifted to a one-handed grip and picked up one of the dropped shields. She sprinted to Zavier and slammed the shield onto the creature¡¯s face, giving Zavier enough breathing room to push off of it while it was stunned. He jumped to his feet and grabbed the shield, both of them making the fastest retreat they could while walking backwards. The squirrel didn¡¯t give chase and instead was thrashing on the ground, pain making it senseless. The last Zavier saw of it was its movements slowing and its legs giving a final kick. Zavier lunged through the front door and slammed it shut, sliding the deadbolt home. He caught his breath for a moment then rushed into the garage, coming back out with a 2x4 and a drill. He drilled one end of the wood into the floor at an angle so it wedged against the front door. He didn¡¯t want to risk one of those things forcing its way in that way. With a sigh he set everything down, hunched over, and put his hands on his knees. ¡°Holy fucking shit," he whispered. Tess rubbed his back in small, gentle circles. He looked up at her, the fear evident on his face. ¡°What the fuck are we going to do?¡± He stood up and they hugged, each gaining strength from each other. With the unspoken understanding of all parents they stood up and pulled themselves together, putting on their bravest faces. Without a word needing to be said they walked into the main house to check on the kids. Chapter 15: Aftermath They sat in the living room, the beeping of the tablet puncturing the silence like blows to the psyche. Cass and Luna sat on the couch, near to each other but not touching. They had the half-mile stares of soldiers experiencing shell shock. Tess sat in a chair opposite them, her body tensed in worry. Zavier pushed off the edge of the couch and repeatedly jabbed at the tablet in anger, finally silencing the noise. He walked to the middle of the room and sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the couch. ¡°Kids, how are you doing?¡± Luna looked up slowly. ¡°I feel it dad. What mom felt. I feel like I¡¯m 10% closer to the next level. Actually,¡± her face screwed up in concentration, ¡°a little less than that I think?¡± Zavier nodded in understanding. ¡°Makes sense. Your mom killed one all by herself, but you had help. Let me check," he looked inward and felt a small increase. Not a lot, but something. ¡°I think I got a chunk of it for helping. Cass, did you get anything?¡± Cass continued to stare at nothing, rocking forward and back. His hands were bone white where his fingers intertwined. Zavier reached up and placed his hands gently on top of Cass.'' ¡°Hey bud, can you look at me please?¡± He rubbed his thumb over Cass''s hands in a soothing motion. After another minute of silence Cass focused on Zavier¡¯s face and nodded. ¡°I got a little something, even though I don¡¯t fucking deserve it!¡± He pushed Zavier¡¯s hands away and ran to his room, the door slamming behind him. Everyone watched him go in silence, all of them worried but none of them surprised. Later that evening Zavier had plates piled high with spaghetti and garlic bread, everyone except Cass sitting around the table eating. ¡°He needs to come out," Zavier said, his normally bottomless well of patience sounding frayed. ¡°He¡¯ll come out when he¡¯s ready," Luna was always ready to jump to his defense. Zavier started to say something but Tess put her hand on his. ¡°He¡¯ll come out when he¡¯s ready, Honey. It¡¯ll be harder on him if you force it.¡± Zavier shook his head in frustration and forced a big forkful of spaghetti into his mouth, barely tasting it. He had no plan for this. He couldn¡¯t think of a way to make Cass stronger and he wasn¡¯t even sure if he wanted to risk it again. He knew he had to - whatever was coming was much worse than these fucking squirrels, but that had gone a lot worse than he¡¯d expected. There was no way to keep his family safe and make them stronger at the same time. The frustration of not having any good options and the crushing realization of what that would mean for his family made him feel like a rat in a cage that was slowly flooding with water. He wanted to rush outside with Tess''s gun and start blasting everything that moved until he was strong enough to protect them all himself. Tess could always read his body language, even when no one else could. He felt strong arms slip around his neck and her head rest against his. Hopelessness and comfort flooded into him in equal measure and tears burst from his eyes as he started crying. His shoulders shook as Tess held him tight, and the tears came even harder when he felt Luna¡¯s arms encircle him too. Zavier was cleaning up dinner when suddenly his face lit up. Tess saw the change just before he rushed off to the garage. She shook her head and smiled as she walked over to turn the faucet off. One of her favorite things about him was that no matter how hard the situation, no matter how vulnerable they were, at some point inspiration would strike and he would be off on another plan. She knew better than to interrupt him. Without warning he was back in the house snatching the tablet off the table, then rushing out. ¡°You staying safe, Babe?¡± she yelled. ¡°I promise!¡± was the distant sound as the door slammed shut again. She heard the garage door open and one of the cars start. She ran to the garage just as he was running back inside to back the sedan out next to the SUV. He¡¯d parked the cars just outside the garage door so nothing could get in. He sprinted back in and hit the garage door button, watching it close. When it slammed home he looked at her with a boyish grin on his face. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°I have an idea!¡± She cupped his face with one hand and kissed him on the lips. ¡°Don¡¯t stay up too late, okay?¡± He gave a distracted nod and started pulling out tools. The sound of tools, saws, and hammering could be heard for hours. Occasionally they''d hear the small man door to the outside opening and wood panels being dragged inside. She assumed he was using the tablet to check for threats so didn¡¯t worry. Well, not too much anyway. Cass eventually came out of his room and microwaved a plate of spaghetti. They expected him to retreat back to his room but he sat with them in the way that he used when he wanted to talk but didn¡¯t know how to start. Tess muted the newly-replaced TV and looked at him. ¡°You okay, Love?¡± she asked. He nodded then looked at Luna with shame in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Luna," he choked out. Luna rushed to him and hugged him. ¡°I mean it. I froze up just like I thought I would. I had the bat and I didn¡¯t even use it! Dad had to jump on top of it and you could have died. All because I¡¯m so fucking weak!¡± Light sobs burped their way out of him. Tess''s tone was a mix of stern motherly love. ¡°First off, what¡¯s the rule about how we speak to ourselves?¡± Her tone brooked no option for not answering. ¡°We don¡¯t talk about ourselves like we wouldn¡¯t talk about each other.¡± ¡°Good," Tess said. ¡°Do you think anyone else in this family is ¡®fucking weak¡¯?¡± ¡°You guys aren¡¯t," he said. ¡°WE aren¡¯t," Tess corrected. Now say it. Cass took a deep breath then sighed. ¡°We aren¡¯t weak. I¡¯m not weak.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right," Tess nodded. ¡°You got scared. It happens. Veterans get scared and freeze up too. It¡¯s a normal biological reaction and you have to accept that it¡¯s normal.¡± ¡°Now, that being said, we need to figure out how to stop it from happening in the future. This family is going to survive off of teamwork. So, tell me your ideas on how we can do it.¡± Cass and Luna thought for a moment. ¡°Think back,¡± Luna said, ¡°what made you freeze up?¡± ¡°I¡­ When the shield went down I thought I was dead. I could have swung the bat but then everything went too quick. There were too many things happening at once and I froze up.¡± ¡°Decision paralysis," Tess said. ¡°It¡¯s normal. Your brain isn¡¯t like everyone else¡¯s. You see a lot more than normal people. You notice details most people don¡¯t. The risky part of that is that when there are too many decisions and you can¡¯t decide on the right one, you freeze up. Combine that with fear of dying and it¡¯s the perfect storm for locking up.¡± ¡°People think that there are two reactions to danger,¡± Tess continued, ¡°Fight or Flight. But there¡¯s a third everyone ignores: Freeze. We¡¯re all animals and some animals fight, some run, but others freeze. Deer, rabbits, squ¡­ other animals. They freeze as a defense mechanism, trying to convince whatever is attacking them that it¡¯s already dead and that they don¡¯t need to keep trying to kill them. Then, when the predator thinks the prey is too dead to run away they get distracted, letting whatever they were chasing flash away in an instant. What you experienced was normal. The issue is that it''s only a successful response when you¡¯re alone. When you¡¯re in a group it makes the rest of the group more vulnerable because they have to protect you.¡± ¡°So what do I do?¡± Cass''s voice was laden with frustration and impotence. ¡°I don¡¯t know. What DO you do?¡± Tess asked. After a few moments Luna spoke up. ¡°Is there a way to turn that fear into an action? Plans don¡¯t work, obviously, but if the reason for freezing up is to get away can we just speed into the ¡®getting away¡¯ part?¡± Cass mulled this over. ¡°I could¡­ what if instead of feeling like I have to attack it, I can just guard? If I only have one job, to protect, maybe I could just keep doing that?¡± Luna started bouncing in her seat in excitement. ¡°Like what if you had both shields? You block with them and if one falls you block with the other? Then instead of a bat you have something long, like a spear or something, and you keep everything pushed away from everyone? Then mom and dad can beat its ass!¡± ¡°WE can FIGHT it together," Tess said, correcting the language. They weren¡¯t the strictest with bad language but she was much less lenient on the overuse of it than Zavier was. ¡°Cass can block and defend and the three of us can beat it.¡± ¡°But what will that do to my leveling, if I¡¯m not killing things?¡± Cass asked. ¡°The System said that there are more ways to advance than just killing, and we already discovered that we can share the experience from a kill. I think that if you get really good at defending you¡¯ll be able to level from that. And when we¡¯re all working together we¡¯ll all share the gains. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s any faster for one of us than all of us anyway. If we¡¯re all planning on reaching level five together it¡¯ll take the same amount of time doing it together than if we were each doing it alone.¡± They shared hopeful looks at that and the house suddenly felt a little warmer for it. Then they all jumped in fright as the garage door slammed open and Zavier yelled ¡°Come look at this awesome thing I just built!¡± Chapter 16: Kill Box Tess slapped him lightly on the arm as they funneled into the garage. ¡°What¡¯d I do?¡± Zavier said but only got a smile and a shake of her head in return. ¡°Woah dad, what is this?¡± The garage had been transformed. Plywood walls had been put up in front of the large roll-up door, angling inward to a small tunnel. At the end of the tunnel a huge box had been built that went all the way to the ceiling. A wooden skeleton had been built on the outside of the wood, anchoring it firmly against the walls. Tess could see that you¡¯d need to drive a car at full speed to break through these defenses. The box at the end was big enough to hold maybe three of the squirrels, sorry, Scamperers as The System had called them. The box had slits and holes in it just big enough to get an arm through, each lined with strong 2x4s. ¡°This is called a Kill Box," Zavier said with pride. ¡°We¡¯ll open up the garage door and lure them in. Once a couple are in here we¡¯ll shut the door and the damned things will be trapped in the kill box. From there we just stab the shit out of them!¡± Tess threw him a look. ¡°We¡¯ll stab the crap out of them!¡± he said with even more enthusiasm. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it¡¯ll hold up against anything stronger but for now I can see us killing a whole lot of these things.¡± ¡°What about the bodies?¡± Tess asked. ¡°I checked that!¡± Zavier held up the tablet. ¡°Remember how the other things we killed turned into items?¡± He tapped on the tablet and pinched it to zoom, then turned it so they could see the folded up fur coat sitting on the ground where the previous Scamperer had died. ¡°Free loot!¡± he laughed. ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll be ready for round two!¡± They spent a few more minutes admiring the kill box before funneling back inside and into the master bedroom. Zavier and Tess didn¡¯t mind, they¡¯d rather the kids sleep in the room with them than be alone in their bedrooms. ¡°Should we take turns sleeping?¡± Tess asked. ¡°Not a bad idea,¡± Zavier said, ¡°but I think the bigger danger is us being tired tomorrow and making a mistake. We¡¯re all on such high alert anyway that we¡¯ll hear anything that tries to get in. Besides, for now it seems like they only come out in the daytime.¡± Tess mulled that over then nodded. They cuddled up together, the kids asleep on the floor on beds made of cushions and pillows. So lost to dreamland were they that none of them heard the light beep of the tablet, or saw the dark, sleek form of a too-large wolf stalking silently out of the woods to circle their house. The next morning Tess woke with a start and instantly searched for the kids, falling back to the pillow in relief when she saw they were okay. ¡°Everything okay?¡± Zavier started awake. Tess snuggled in close to him, letting his arms pull her into his chest. ¡°It is. We should probably get up though.¡± Zavier pulled her in closer, laughing when she squeaked. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere for at least a few more minutes!¡± They stayed like that, entwined, comfortable, and safe, even after the twins woke up and drifted groggily out of the room. The sound of kids moving around the house and the nervous excitement for the day didn¡¯t let them stay in bed long. Tess slapped Zavier''s searching hands away with a wink, sliding out from under his arms and off the bed. ¡°Nice try, Z, but we have too much to do today.¡± ¡°We could knock the most important thing off the list real quick though!¡± She laughed and slapped his foot and she walked past the foot of the bed. ¡°Come on, silly boy, let''s get going. The kids are waiting.¡± Zavier rolled out of bed with a dramatic groan but flashed her a grin. ¡°Love you, babe.¡± Tess blew him a kiss over get shoulder as she walked out of the room. Not long after, Zavier had made everyone a breakfast of Potatoes O¡¯Brien with a lot of sausage. He wanted them fully stocked up on meat and carbs because they''d be burning a lot of calories today - safely, if everything went right. Breakfast finished and cleaned up, Zavier went over the plan again. ¡°I will run outside and make a lot of noise, then run into the house through the front door. You guys will make a lot of noise in the garage until it runs in. I¡¯ll shut the garage door behind it and it¡¯ll panic and run towards the kill box.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Won¡¯t it try to break through the garage door?¡± Luna asked. ¡°It may but I reinforced it with plywood. It may break the guides or hinges but it¡¯d have to destroy the whole thing to get out. Alright, everyone have what they need?¡± All of them had the long, metal fence posts that Zavier had ground to sharp points. He¡¯d welded cross bars a foot from the back so that they couldn¡¯t be pulled through the openings. The shields were set against one wall so that in the case of an emergency they could run back through the door using the shields as cover. Zavier had also fabricated a wood ¡®T¡¯ that could be wedged on the inside of the door to the house, blocking it from being forced open. After a final check of everything Zavier scrolled through the tablet screens. They¡¯d turned off the notifications because at this point there was always something out there. He handed it to Tess and she watched him step into the yard. ¡°Oh no!¡± she heard him say in a mock, sing-song voice, ¡°I sure hope nothing out here wants to eat me! It¡¯d sure be a shame if something came for me and these huge nu-¡± Before he could finish the sentence she heard him banging his way inside and slamming the door shut, the tablet showing two Scamperers sprinting around the corner. They looked confused for a second so she started yelling and banging on the wood paneling. She dropped the tablet on a workbench just as Zavier came rushing into the garage with a big, stupid grin on his face. ¡°... nuts!¡± he yelled. The next ten minutes were a kaleidoscope of claws and teeth on wood, shouts, metal slamming into flesh, and the entire garage vibrating with the impacts of two very angry creatures trapped in a box. After what seemed like hours the notification they were all hoping for came. ¡°Two Scamperers, Level 1 defeated.¡± Blood-drenched spears fell from tired arms. Zavier noted with interest that although the bodies disappeared moments later, they were replaced with folded fur coats. ¡°How long was that?¡± Zavier asked breathlessly. Tess checked the tablet, scrolling back through the feed to see when they arrived. ¡°Damn! Only about 15 minutes!¡± Zavier let out a low whistle. ¡°At that rate we can make our numbers in¡­¡± his face went blank for a second, ¡°4.5 hours if our strength held up.¡± ¡°No way we can keep doing this for four more hours," Tess said, shaking her arms to get the blood flowing back into them. ¡°I can barely lift my arms.¡± ¡°All that yoga and you¡¯re running out of gas already?¡± he teased her. ¡°Sorry dad, I need to rest a bit," Luna said. Cass looked okay but he wasn¡¯t going to volunteer to do more if Luna couldn¡¯t. ¡°Fair enough," Zavier said. ¡°It was a successful trial run anyway. You guys go inside and rest, I¡¯m going to check out the kill box and make sure it¡¯s holding up okay.¡± They filed inside and Zavier removed one of the panels. The box looked worse on the inside than it had on the outside, blood covering everything. Not even the ceiling had gotten away clean. I¡¯m going to have to cover that light bulb with a grate or something, he thought, remembering how easily it broke the first time. With wood covering the garage it¡¯d be dark as night in here if that light ever got broken. He walked each inch of the box, looking for any stress points or cracks. He shored up some areas that had buckled more than he¡¯d been comfortable with and fastened down a few screws that had worked themselves out, but overall he was very happy. He picked up the two coats and closed everything up before going back inside. He stepped in to see three bodies already asleep on various furniture. He chuckled to himself at the well-earned naps. Hours later Zavier was champing at the bit to start again but Tess kept him reigned in. ¡°We don¡¯t need to finish this in hours, we can do it in days," she argued. ¡°There¡¯s more risk of overextending ourselves than not reaching it quickly enough.¡± He¡¯d reluctantly agreed and made himself sit, watching random streaming television while letting his mind run. They didn¡¯t watch live TV so he had no idea what the news was saying. Instead, he resorted to his Reddit scraper. The spreadsheet had changed with the newest leading categories being Death Toll, Creature Types, and Levels. People had quickly discovered that they could sense their levels, which had put the world in a frenzy of trying to gain levels faster. By gamifying survival The System had ensured that a lot of overconfident people died very quickly, which was reflected in the numbers of dead. The types of creatures that appeared seemed mostly dependent on the areas, and all seemed to be mutated versions of animals you¡¯d expect in those areas. Unfortunately, it seemed that huge numbers of the dead were teens and early-20 somethings who were overconfident in their ability to beat what they considered a game. This game didn¡¯t have extra lives. Reading through the linked subs he saw more stories popping up about stronger creatures, some new ones that hadn¡¯t been seen previously, and others being more souped-up versions of what they¡¯d already encountered. It seemed that as time progressed the creatures went from just larger, stronger, and more feral to ones possessing magic powers. Well that¡¯s fucking unfair, he thought. They get magic powers and we don¡¯t? What kind of fucked up system does that to us? He had yet to see any credible evidence of anyone gaining level five or achieving any sort of magical abilities. There were plenty of people claiming to be wizards or magic barbarians but all the calls for ¡®pics or it didn¡¯t happen¡¯ went unanswered. It really seemed that everyone was making the same steady pace as they were. Zavier didn¡¯t like that. He wanted everyone on the planet to get stronger, but he didn¡¯t want his family to fall behind. Hell, he wanted to push ahead and be the strongest people out there. If everyone came up equally that¡¯d put them at the right level to face the monsters, but it never left his mind that they''d soon be facing human monsters. What would happen when they faced someone that had leveled up and was stronger than them? Chapter 17: Interlude: Someone Stronger Mason Cane sat in the Hellhouse, the club house of his crew, the Hellbound. Mason had ridden up Friday night, as required by the club''s rules. If you missed a Friday you owed $100 and he¡¯d be fucked up the ass if he paid these assholes half a day¡¯s pay. Mason had been at home when The System arrived, fighting with his old lady. Well, fighting was probably not the right word for it - he¡¯d just finished putting her head through a few walls and was in the middle of strangling her when everything went red. He thought it was him again, but later on he¡¯d heard other people talking about it and it turned out everybody saw it. When that damned announcement went out he felt like he¡¯d gotten a get out of jail free card. He still had to dump her body but wasn¡¯t no one going to be looking for that bitch now. He¡¯d told the fellas at the House about it but they just laughed at him, told him he was making shit up again to sound badass. Mason didn¡¯t always tell the truth but that was because your average libtard or preppie elitist douchebag or fucking poser with a shiny new bike he got from his bonus money couldn¡¯t see the truth about him. He was made to be in charge. He was made to crush the weak. He was made to put the pussies in their places. Everyone treated him like he was dumb, but he knew he was smart. Maybe not book smart - you¡¯d never catch him in some woke college - but he was smart enough to see the connections and shit everyone else missed. He knew about the government corruption, the Jews and the way they crafted American media to funnel all the money into their pockets, and the truth about how this country went to shit when women and blacks got the right to vote. But no, everyone fucked with him because he didn¡¯t have any money and because he never did anything that amounted to much in their eyes. But he had a posse and they didn¡¯t. He had his lieutenants and they sometimes even got bitches from the hangarounds that would show up on Fridays. No one said they were supermodels but that was fine, Mason didn¡¯t give a shit about that. They danced on the poles and showed their titties and Mason never cared much about stretch marks or scars. That¡¯s what real women looked like anyway, and they weren¡¯t stuck up. So when he showed up and they started asking him about being the first kill he¡¯d told them about it. At first they looked shocked, but then someone laughed and said that The System must not have seen what really happened and that Mason probably just showed her his little dick and she laughed until she fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Mason was a big guy, a couple inches over six feet and had the muscles that come from hard labor, but he also had about fifty pounds of fat that came from too many beers in front of the TV. Pretty soon they were all laughing at him and throwing out stupid fucking ideas about how he got the first kill. All of them made him seem like a real limp dicked pussy and he started seeing red again. He threw his beer at the mirror behind the bar and they all told him to get the fuck out. Mason had clenched his fists and thought about throwing a punch, but deep inside of him something was quaking with fear, like it always did. People always wanted to fight him because of how big he was, but he¡¯d never been in a real fight - if you didn¡¯t count the times he¡¯d had to teach his old lady a lesson or two. Every time he was about to he¡¯d get too scared and beat it out of there as quick as he could, which only made him even more angry. But not anymore. He¡¯d gotten power on that first kill and it had been oh, so easy. He stomped out of the clubhouse to his Harley and grabbed the shotgun he¡¯d started riding with after The System announcement. He went back in and, when they saw it, they all started laughing again. They stopped after he took the head off that skinny blonde fuck that had started it all though. Some of them started reaching for their pieces but they were all too slow. None of them realized who Mason was now. None of them had seen the power in him, but they fucking saw it now. He laughed every time one of them flipped backwards from the shotgun blast. He kicked their bodies even after they were dead and laughed even more at their stupid twitching. He went to fucking town on every inch of that place. Some bitch hiding behind the bar? Dead. Another one running for the back door? Dead. Some gay-looking fuck pulling out his phone to call the cops? Dead before he could dial that last 1. The old rider that had brought him into the club? Fucking dead. The old man may not have laughed, but he had stood there when everyone else did. FUCKING. DEAD. Mason stood panting, blue smoke and bloody mist in the air. He looked around and should have felt his old buddy, fear, but he felt nothing. Actually, that wasn¡¯t true. He felt good. Fucking AMAZING! And The System decided he¡¯d done a pretty good job too. ¡°Twelve humans, level 1, slain. Level 3 achieved.¡± ¡°Your aggressive fighting style and experience with mid-ranged weapons shows a strong affinity towards close quarter combat. You have not shown aptitude with hand-to-hand combat but your close-quarters fighting style will inevitably lead towards that end. In addition you have a close relationship with your chosen vehicle, the motorcycle, and your fighting style should reflect that as your honorary steed. Your agility is lacking and will leave you imbalanced in future engagements. Three points available. All points allocated to agility. No other changes.¡±
Mason Cane, Level: 3 The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Class: Undefined
Core Stats:
  • STR: 17
  • AGI: 11
  • END: 14
  • INT: 6
  • LUC: 10
  • CHA: 8
 Combat Skills:
  • Melee Combat: Basic 1
  • Ranged Combat: Basic 1
  • Defense: Basic 1
  • Tactics: Basic 1
Magic and Technology: (Not active until class selected)
  • Magic Affinity: N/A
  • Tech Savvy: N/A
  • Spellcraft: N/A
  • Enchantments: N/A
 Ancillary Skills: (Not active until level 5)
  • Leadership: N/A
  • Survival: N/A
  • Crafting: N/A
  • Stealth: N/A
Special Attributes:
  • Enhancements/Impairments: Not active until special requirements met
  • Achievements: Fifth kill. Immediate advancement of one level. First human kill. Offensive reward to be issued at level five.
Mason laughed, face upturned to the ceiling in pure joy. He didn¡¯t like that his stat sheet said he was dumb but he figured that The System was just as ignorant as everyone else. It was then that he heard more bikes pulling up. He ran to the door and looked out, shotgun reloaded. With relief he saw it was his crew. Sure, they looked lame to anyone else and they mostly just talked about doing illegal shit while getting high off a little meth, but with Mason leading them they could become seriously badass. He stepped outside and waved at them. Some of them paused, legs mid-swing off the bikes, when they noticed the shotgun. ¡°Uh Mason, what¡¯s up with the heat?¡± Blake asked. Blake was tall and lean, whipcord strong from a lifetime of road work. He had a scar across his eye that looked super badass. He told everyone he¡¯d gotten it in a knife fight but Mason knew that the dumbass plugged himself in the face with a grinder wheel when it broke. Idiot wasn¡¯t wearing safety glasses, not that it mattered since he liked the scar. ¡°Listen up guys, some shit I need to tell you before you go inside.¡± They all stopped, some of them sitting back on their bikes. The hangarounds they brought with them mingling behind the guys, scared. ¡°It¡¯s a new fucking world and we¡¯re not at the bottom of the heap anymore. You saw what The System gave me for killing someone.¡± ¡°Yeah, what happened with that?¡± Rodrick asked. Rodrick was built like a bear and had the hair to match. He was the only one that matched Mason for size. ¡°Some fucking punk in a Tesla tried to run me off the road so I curbed stomped him for the effort.¡± Mason said. His crew exchanged glances and Mason started getting pissed again when he saw the doubt in their eyes. ¡°It doesn¡¯t fucking matter!¡± he shouted. ¡°What matters is that I¡¯m at the top of the food chain now and I¡¯m going to need my lieutenants with me. Are you with me?¡± ¡°You know we are Mason,¡± Blake said, ¡°but what¡¯s with the shotgun?¡± ¡°You guys know how to identify shit yet?¡± Mason asked. They nodded their heads. ¡°Identify me.¡± Mason watched as their eyes scanned him, then smiled as they all went wide. ¡°Level 3?¡± Elijah asked in wonder. Elijah was small and wiry and was whip-fast with a knife. ¡°How¡¯d you pull that off?¡± ¡°I took care of business. Those fuckers in there,¡± he shot a thumb over his shoulder towards the clubhouse, ¡°they never appreciated us. They never saw in us what I saw in us. They fucking LAUGHED at us.¡± His hand tightened around the stock of the gun hard enough to make it creak. ¡°So I made them pay.¡± ¡°What do you mean, Mason? Did you kill them?¡± Blake¡¯s eyes looked frantic. ¡°I killed all those sumbitches.¡± Mason said with pride. ¡°Every last one of them. So what you all have now is a decision to make. You can go in there and I¡¯ll make sure you join them. You can call the cops and I¡¯ll blow your fucking head off before you get that first 1 in.¡± He paused for a second, looking each of the men in the eye. ¡°Or you can ride with me.¡± They stood in shocked silence, glancing at each other. Mason felt the rage starting to bubble up and the gun started to come down when Blake spoke up. ¡°You know we¡¯re with you, Mason. We¡¯re your crew. If we gotta fuck up the whole world we may as well do it together.¡± The rage left Mason as quickly as it had come and he smiled, the barrel of the gun dropping to the dirt. ¡°Well fuck yeah then!¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s rise to the top of this fucking shit heap!¡± he said to the whooping of the men. Chapter 18: Trial by Fire and Fangs ¡°Okay Fam,¡± Zavier said. ¡°Don¡¯t say ¡®Fam¡¯ old man," Luna said and Cass laughed. ¡°Okay, family unit that sprung from my loins," he said instead, eliciting groans from both the kids and an eye roll from Tess. ¡°We¡¯re going to do the same thing as yesterday. We have to build up our strength, though, so we¡¯re going to try to get a few more in today.¡± Tess gave him a warning look but she relented when she saw his expression. They filed into the garage and Zavier checked the tablet. ¡°There!¡± he pointed. ¡°There¡¯s two of them.¡± ¡°Wait, do they look different to you?¡± she asked, bringing the tablet closer to her face. Zavier peered at it and zoomed in. ¡°Huh," he said. ¡°They look more like black squirrels than brown ones. I wonder what that¡¯s about?¡± He wished he could cast Identify through the screen. ¡°Well, I still think we¡¯re in a good spot to deal with them, and we were going to have to do it anyway," he looked at the rest of them. ¡°Does anyone have any objections with this new type?¡± Wary but confident heads shook around him. ¡°Alrighty then, I¡¯m off to do my Disney princess thing. Be right back," he jogged outside again but instead of yelling like a madman he just whistled loudly. Watching the screen Tess shouted. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± He ran back inside and got into position. Moments later he heard claws scrabbling on concrete as they rounded the corner. In an instant the squirrels shot into the garage and Zavier brought the door down. The black squirrels sprinted to the back and the melee was on. The fight was going well, everyone stabbing through the ports with as much gusto as the day before - their confidence building as the method continued to work. That confidence was shattered by a sudden scream that rang out, followed by Luna dropping her spear and jumping backwards, holding her clenched fists in her hand. ¡°What hap-¡± before Zavier could finish Cass did the same, eyes wide as he dropped his spear and stared at his hands. Zavier had seen a crackle of what appeared to be black lightning flashing along the length of the pole just before Cass had dropped it. What the fuck? he thought and looked through the gap to cast Identify. Arcane Scamperer, level 2. Description: These mischievous creatures resemble eastern chipmunks, but their fur shimmers with magical energy, and their eyes sparkle with arcane light. These things were level two and their class was Arcane Scamperer rather than the straightforward Scamperer. He guessed that the ¡®arcane¡¯ part gave them powers. He¡¯d read about similar discoveries so knew it had to come eventually, but he hadn¡¯t expected it this quickly. ¡°Tess! Shoot the fuckers!¡± Tess pulled out her pistol instantly and the garage was filled with sounds loud enough to make them feel like their ear drums were going to rupture. Two Arcane Scamperers, level 2 defeated. Tess felt a surge of experience and knew that she was over halfway to level three. Zavier rushed to the port and tried to identify the corpses before they disappeared. This time he got more information: Arcane Scamperer, level 2 Description: These mischievous creatures resemble eastern chipmunks, but their fur shimmers with magical energy, and their eyes sparkle with arcane light. Abilities: Arcane Bolt: The Arcane Scamperer releases a bolt of arcane energy from its paws, dealing magical damage to its target. Zavier whistled just as they faded, leaving two more folded cloaks in their places. ¡°What was that?¡± Tess''s voice had a fear in it that Zavier didn¡¯t hear often. ¡°I¡¯ve been reading about this on the internet - some of these creatures are getting magical powers.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to tell us this??¡± Tess''s fear had turned to anger. Zavier held up his hands. ¡°Honestly, I forgot. It didn¡¯t seem important yet because, so far, we¡¯ve only run into the regular ones. We¡¯ve only been doing this for a couple days, it never occurred to me that this might be happening already.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Tess took a deep breath and nodded, then went to check on the children. They were fine, although Luna complained that her hands still tingled. ¡°I cast Identify on them just before they faded and here¡¯s what I got," Zavier shared the screen with them. ¡°Okay, I guess we know what that black lightning was," Tess said. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s all they can do?¡± Zavier shook his head. ¡°Nah, everything I¡¯ve read said that even the low level monsters can have multiple powers. Plus in the description it says ¡®abilities¡¯, not ¡®ability.'' I think we can identify this one because we saw it, or got hit with it. Not totally sure yet, but I¡¯d bet good money that there¡¯s at least one more power it has.¡± Zavier helped Cass and Luna up. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside for now. We need to regroup.¡± Once inside Tess told them about the experience gain. ¡°It makes sense,¡± Zavier said, ¡°level two is going to give more. I just wish I knew how much more. Is it the same for all level two¡¯s, or do some give more? Does the situation make you get more or less, like if you fight them in the open versus in the garage? I need to go do some research.¡± Tess fussed over the kids, washing their hands and applying ointment, while Zavier scanned the internet. He changed a search parameter to focus on Arcane Scamperer, then broadened it to scrape for any creatures found in Wisconsin. The other countries were interesting but he couldn¡¯t afford to get distracted right now. After letting it run for a few minutes he saw what he was looking for. ¡°Hey guys! Listen to this. The Arcane Scamperer has two abilities. The first we already know about, but the second is a retreat skill. Here¡¯s the description from someone who identified it:¡± Illusionary Retreat: Using its innate magical abilities, the creature creates illusory copies of itself, confusing attackers and allowing it to escape unscathed. ¡°Good thing we locked them in the garage! Now we know that if we ever face one outside not to let our guards down if it looks like it ran away. Seems like this thing can make illusory copies of itself either to escape or to attack when you¡¯re focused on the double.¡± ¡°Okay, new plan. We definitely need to level up faster but I¡¯m tired of working in the dark. Tonight you will all relax and I am going to research every type of creature in this area. Hopefully we find something that can give us some advantages.¡± Hours later Zavier finished clicking through his different sites. ¡°Hey Honey, check this out," he said. Tess walked over, sipping from her coffee mug. The kids were still asleep and they didn¡¯t want to wake them. ¡°I¡¯ve found five different animals that could be in our area. For all of them, the level one versions are just bigger and nastier versions of the animals they¡¯re based on, but no magical powers. It seems that all of them gain powers at level two, though. I have the scrapers porting to a spreadsheet that fills in any new information. So far it¡¯s light, there¡¯s only one more that has any details, but there are three more that we can get the names of," he turned the screen towards her.
Animal Name Level Description Ability 1 Ability 2
Arcane Scamperer 2 These mischievous creatures resemble eastern chipmunks, but their fur shimmers with magical energy, and their eyes sparkle with arcane light. Arcane Bolt: Releases a bolt of arcane energy from its paws, dealing magical damage to its target. Illusionary Retreat: Using its innate magical abilities, the creature creates illusory copies of itself, confusing attackers and allowing it to escape unscathed.
Crimson Vixen 2 The Crimson Vixen resembles a red fox, but its fur possesses a fiery red hue, and its eyes gleam with an intense inner flame. Ember Bite: Bites down with fiery fangs, causing fire damage and leaving a lingering burn effect on its target. Blaze Sprint: Ignites its fur with flames, dashing forward at incredible speed, leaving behind a trail of scorching embers.
Umbral Ursine 2 These formidable creatures resemble black bears, but their fur exudes an otherworldly darkness, and their eyes gleam with a faint purple hue.
Moonshadow Howler 2 The Moonshadow Howler resembles a gray wolf, but its fur glows with a faint silvery luminescence, blending seamlessly with the moonlit forest.
Frost-Stride Stag 2 These majestic creatures resemble ordinary white-tailed deer, but their fur is tinged with a faint frosty hue, and their antlers shimmer with an icy sheen.
Tess kissed him on the top of his head. ¡°Your nerd-fu is so sexy to me. So what¡¯s with these?¡± She pointed to the last three entries. ¡°No one has killed those yet, or if they have they haven¡¯t identified them in time. I think we have a pretty good idea of what they¡¯ll be like based on their descriptions. I think this gives us some sort of advantage, at least. I have some ideas on how to deal with the Arcane Scamperers, and now I think we can prepare for the Crimson Vixen.¡± She nodded in silence. ¡°Also,¡± he said, voice growing more serious, ¡°we need to talk about leveling up. We can¡¯t protect the kids if we are the same level they are. You and I need to get more powerful first, then we can help them power level after that.¡± ¡°Power level?¡± ¡°It¡¯s something I was reading about last night. Basically, higher level people bring lower level people into their group and help them fight. The higher level people aren¡¯t in as much danger, so the group can take on bigger foes, while the lower level people reap the experience from beating the higher level monsters.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ makes sense. You have a lot of research here - what do we do with all this information?¡± Zavier grinned. ¡°I think you and I need to go on a rampage." Chapter 19: Rampage Tess and Zavier were decked out. The kids were inside with strict orders not to go outside under any circumstances. Their only role was to watch the tablet and open the door if their parents came running and screaming towards it. Tess had her 9mm¡¯s but wanted to leave them holstered. They¡¯d discussed it, and they both felt that relying on the guns would leave them at a disadvantage when the ammo ran out. Instead, she held a machete in her off hand and the Toxic Weaver Dagger in her right. She¡¯d tried the riot shield, but it was too heavy for her to hold for long periods. Zavier had the shield in his left and Toxic Weaver Dagger in his right, but he wore his tool belt with all the additional equipment. They¡¯d wrapped the handles of all their weapons in layers of electrical tape in hopes that it would stop any electrical discharge. Zavier had also insisted on setting a fire extinguisher outside the house and that they both wear the flame-retardant welding jackets. They¡¯d discussed using the garage but neither one of them wanted to weaken the materials when the kids might be using it later. Plus, they¡¯d be at the same disadvantage that using the pistols gave them - they weren¡¯t really preparing for life in this new world. Keeping everything safe only meant that, when it all went sideways, they wouldn¡¯t have the experience needed to stay alive. Which led to them standing outside the front door, ready to start the path around the back. ¡°Hey,¡± Zavier said, ¡°I love you.¡± Tess''s eyes softened. ¡°Love you more than the world, Babe," she said, eyes going hard again a moment later as she went into what Zavier called her ¡®Tactical Mode.¡¯ They¡¯d discussed tactics briefly but they knew each other so well that there wasn¡¯t need for more. They¡¯d rehearsed enough firearm drills to respond immediately to proper commands, and they knew each other¡¯s body languages more than they knew their own. Tess joked that she could tell when Zavier was upset before he did (she could), and Zavier swore that he could tell if she was stressed about her upcoming work day by the way she brushed her teeth (he could, but she¡¯d never admit it). They rounded the corner and within moments two jet black squirrels emerged. Zavier and Tess both cast an immediate Identify just to be on the safe side, ensuring that they were still fighting the Arcane version of the Scamperers. Everything was as expected and Tess stepped wide of Zavier to give herself room to swing. Zavier had a moment of panic that she was going outside of the range of his shield, but if anyone could defend herself it was Tess. They were close enough for him to leap to her if need be anyway, but she wouldn¡¯t appreciate the implication that he thought she was too weak to take care of herself. There was no more time for thoughts as the Scamperers were on them. Tess¡¯s came straight on, leaping at her from at least ten feet away. She sidestepped easily and raked the Toxic Weaver Dagger along its side, the squirrel screeching as it fell in a tumble. It was up in a flash and ran at her again but she kept it at a distance with the machete, punishing it with sharp stabs every time it tried to dart in. Every few jabs she¡¯d switch up her style, allowing it to get in close and she¡¯d sidestep, dodge, or twist out of the way. Her years of yoga were paying dividends right now. Every lunge was met with a stab from the Toxic Weaver Dagger, and every rush was hit with the sharp end of the machete. She knew a man would be slashing away with it but she didn¡¯t want to wear herself out when she just needed to keep it at bay. Patience and a calm, cold mentality in the face of danger kept her cool-headed. Zavier was slashing away wildly. He¡¯d taken the first lunge against the shield and let himself be pushed back, but he didn¡¯t want to get into a contest of strength, he just wanted to stop its charge. He buried the Toxic Weaver Dagger in its shoulder, but it skipped backwards before he could pull it out. Its arms were too short to pull reach iyt and it spent a moment trying to bite at the dagger. Zavier pulled out his machete and walked forward to start hacking. He aimed for the neck and head, trying to hit a carotid or something else vital, but so far he had hit mostly muscle and bone - although large chunks of flesh were flying away like wood chips from a lumberjack¡¯s ax. Black lightning danced down the machete and splashed off the shield, but the electrical tape was doing its job. Soon his arm started to tire so he stuck the machete point-first into the soft ground and pulled out a five-pound maul. He knew he didn¡¯t have much strength left in that arm so the maul was a risk, but if cutting wasn¡¯t working he¡¯d go for bashing. The Scamperer rushed back in but Zavier was ready. He angled the shield so that the squirrel skipped off of it, falling forward and into Zavier¡¯s arcing hammer. With a sickening crunch the skull split open. One Arcane Scamperer, level 2 defeated Zavier whooped then turned to face Tess. Even amidst the danger he was lost in her movements for a split second. Never, for a single moment in their relationship, had he lost the attraction he had felt for her on that first day they met, but right now he¡¯d have fallen head over heels for her again. She looked like an ebony goddess of death, untouchable and in her element. A light sheen of sweat covered her skin but she may as well have been walking on a summer day for all the effort showing in her face. In an instant Zavier saw something they¡¯d discussed but hadn¡¯t come up with a plan for. He saw a shimmer around the squirrel and suddenly the black squirrel lunged at her while a shimmering patch of Scamperer-shaped air fled backwards. Tess''s machete passed through the illusion, throwing her off balance, just as Zavier yelled ¡°Invisible!¡± Zavier didn¡¯t know if the almost-invisible version was even physical, it certainly looked ephemeral, but he swung for it anyway. When it retreated backwards it had been looking at Tess so it was jumping backwards as the illusion jumped forwards. Backwards, straight into Zavier¡¯s waiting hammer. Another sickening crunch and another notification. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. One Arcane Scamperer, level 2 defeated ¡°Huh. Guess ¡®invisible¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean ¡®incorporeal.¡¯¡± Zavier said. He and Tess looked around for more threats. When none appeared they gathered up their weapons and moved quickly back inside to hugs and cheers from two kids who suddenly felt that they had the most badass parents in the world. Tess and Zavier went out again soon after and came back with similar results. ¡°Oh woah," Tess said when they stepped back inside. ¡°I just leveled up.¡± ¡°What did it feel like?¡± Luna asked. ¡°Like being full, but then it¡¯s all gone and you feel empty again, but stronger. Here, look at this," she shared her screen with them. ¡°Analysis of your encounters indicates a rapid reaction to threats and an ability to remain calm during battle. Fast response and a deadly aim indicates a strength in ranged weapons. Based on this, your agility and intelligence should be enhanced to synergize these abilities. Agility will provide you with faster reaction and aiming speed, while intelligence will increase your perception and enable you to more quickly analyze a situation. Three points to distribute. Agility increased to 12, intelligence increased to 15. Level three obtained. No other changes.¡±
Tess Torres, Level: 3
Core Stats:
  • STR: 10
  • AGI: 12
  • END: 12
  • INT: 15
  • LUK: 9
  • CHA: 8
¡°Hey Babe,¡± Tess asked, ¡°what¡¯s your intelligence?¡± Zavier crossed his arms in mock irritation. ¡°Oh, because some numbers say you¡¯re the smartest one in the family we¡¯re just supposed to believe it?¡± Luna and Cass laughed. ¡°She was always the smartest one, dad!¡± Luna said. Zavier chuckled and leaned in to kiss Tess. ¡°Yeah, I guess we already knew that.¡± They went outside for one more round with the demon squirrels, gaining more confidence each time. They hadn¡¯t let up on the clothing just in case something more dangerous showed up, but at this point they were getting comfortable with it. By the time evening arrived Zavier had leveled up as well. ¡°Your fighting style is all about preparation and research. You look for advantages in advance and prepare the battleground to your liking. You ensure that all encounters are as low risk, high yield as possible. Your variety of weapon choices shows adaptability and versatility. All of these features can be enhanced by increased intelligence and luck. Intelligence will allow you to more fully comprehend any situation and allow you to better plan for it, whereas luck will ensure that situations, environments, and available equipment work out in your favor more often. Three points to distribute. Intelligence increased to 15, Luck increased to eight. Level three obtained. No other changes.¡±
Zavier Torres, Level: 3
Core Stats:
  • STR: 11
  • AGI: 11
  • END: 13
  • INT: 15
  • LUC: 8
  • CHA: 8
¡°Guess who¡¯s as smart as you again!¡± Zavier whooped as he shared his screen with the family. Tess harrumphed and rolled her eyes. As the kids enjoyed taco night while streaming videos, Tess and Zavier spoke in low tones in the kitchen. ¡°Have you noticed something weird about the fights?¡± Tess asked. Zavier nodded his head but didn¡¯t answer, he wanted to see where this was going. ¡°They just feel too easy. I mean yeah, we were prepared when we went out, which really helped, but after what we experienced the first couple of days this just felt like the training wheels were back on.¡± ¡°I was feeling the same,¡± he responded. ¡°And did you notice that they¡¯ve only ever shown up in pairs? It just feels like a training scenario.¡± ¡°Those first couple of days,¡± Tess started, ¡°they were harder than they needed to be. I mean, there was the element of surprise and all, but¡­¡± she trailed off, looking at Zavier with concern in her eyes. They were comfortable with teasing each other as part of their banter but she always hated saying something she thought might hurt his feelings. Zavier knew where she was going and finished the sentence for her. ¡°... but I over-engineered it and potentially made things unsafe by trying to make them too safe.¡± He sighed deeply. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking the same thing. In trying to plan for everything I put us too far outside of our elements. I tried to turn us into a SWAT team when we should have just gone with what we know, but with swords.¡± Tess''s hands covered his. ¡°You always take care of us and that¡¯s all you were doing here. You kept us safe and made sure no one got hurt. You did exactly what we needed you to do," she brought his hands to her lips and kissed the back of his fingers. ¡°You keep researching and gathering information, we¡¯ll keep getting stronger. After that we¡¯ll power level the kids. We have a good plan, but it seems like it¡¯s not helping us to try to keep it too safe. I don''t want the kids exposed to too much danger, but we''re not responding in the way that''s best for all of us.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just go off the rails, though,¡± Zavier said. ¡°We need some sort of plan. A lot of people have died and I¡¯m betting most of them decided to just rush right in.¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± Tess said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we don¡¯t need a plan or tactics or strategy. I¡¯m just saying that we¡¯re not a SWAT team, so if we go out there acting like we are then we are going to get ourselves hurt.¡± Zavier nodded in agreement. ¡°I agree - although I¡¯m going to keep the kill box up. If there¡¯s something new that we need to do a trial run on I¡¯ll want the first one to be in something safe like that.¡± Tess nodded, then stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of his chair and towards their bedroom. Excitement dawned on his face when he noticed the look she was giving him. Chapter 20: Team Tactics ¡°This is getting boring," Zavier said. They¡¯d been killing squirrels all morning. It took more of them to gain experience now that they were at level three, and the special attacks the squirrels used were getting easy to predict and counter. They¡¯d even stopped wearing the welding jackets, finding them to be more of a restriction than a help. ¡°Maybe we should work on team tactics. We¡¯ve been fighting these things solo because they¡¯re easy, but what happens if we have to fight something strong enough that we need to work together?¡± ¡°I like that plan," Tess said, scanning left and right to make sure nothing came up on them. ¡°Do you have any ideas?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know fighting tactics at all, much less team ones. Maybe we just start back-to-back and see how it goes? Call out our actions?¡± Tess shrugged, swung her machete in a quick loop with her wrist, then walked over to stand at his back. Zavier put his machete and Toxic Weaver Dagger away and switched to a hammer and a brass knuckle that he had welded screwdriver shanks onto. When they''d first stepped outside he¡¯d put it on with a flourish, proud grin on his face. ¡°Hey Babe, who am I?¡± Tess rolled her eyes and refused to answer. ¡°Babe! Babe! Who am I?¡± he laughed. He had a lot of hobbies, but his favorite one was annoying her. ¡°If you say Wolveri-¡± ¡°WOLVERINE!¡± he shouted gleefully. She gave a quick chuckle then clamped her lips shut. ¡°I hate you for making me laugh at that,¡± she said. Now he had it on one hand with the maul in the other. Tess had swapped out the Toxic Weaver Dagger with another machete so she could practice dual-wielding two longer weapons. They worked like that the rest of the afternoon as squirrels emerged in pairs. They took turns being in the front with the person in the back supporting, staying back-to-back, and splitting up to harry an enemy from both sides. It had gone smoothly enough for Zavier to start making jokes about the different positions, calling them out as clear sexual double entendres. By the time evening had come they both felt over halfway to level four and had become very comfortable with their joint styles. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Tess and Zavier discussed the day and the training. ¡°I really feel like it¡¯s still too easy. I mean, don¡¯t get me wrong, I don¡¯t want us getting hurt - but did you honestly feel like you were in any danger at all today?¡± Tess shook her head. ¡°No, not really. I¡¯m more comfortable with a measured approach, though. If we push too far, too fast we¡¯ll end up like those people in your spreadsheet.¡± Zavier knew she was referring to the ones who had died early because they¡¯d taken on bigger challenges than they should have. ¡°I don¡¯t want that either, Tess," Zavier said, ¡°but think of it like the supply and demand curve. If something is too hard and we start taking on injuries beyond our ability to recover before the next fight, we¡¯re pushing too hard. That¡¯s dangerous. But what¡¯s just as dangerous in the long term is taking on too little. If we can easily defeat whatever we¡¯re against without much risk of injury, then we¡¯re not pushing hard enough.¡± ¡°Are you saying we should be taking on injuries?¡± ¡°No, Honey, just that if they¡¯re never happening then we¡¯re still too far left of the curve. We¡¯re still punching below our weight class. As a parent I never want any of us to be injured, but as a data and systems guy I can''t help but think that if we¡¯re never getting hurt then we''re not taking big enough risks.¡± Tess mulled that over and didn¡¯t have an argument against it, but also wasn¡¯t ready to just agree to start putting everyone in more danger. Everything seemed easy until it wasn¡¯t, and her motherly instincts would never allow her to agree to the kids taking a measured amount of injury, no matter what it did to their long term potential. ¡°I still don¡¯t want the kids out there yet," she said with finality. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but I need to go out there. Alone. Tonight." Tess looked at him in shock but saw the determination in his eyes. Most of the time she could talk him down from his wild impulses and over exuberance, but not when it really mattered to him. She could tell there was no talking him down this time. ¡°Why?¡± her voice cracked a little as she asked. ¡°Because we¡¯re not going to be pushing the kids to their limits later, I know this. The dad in me hates the idea of putting them at risk as much as the mom in you hates it. So, if we can¡¯t push them to their limits we need to push ourselves, and that¡¯s not going to happen playing it safe with some furry Pikachus.¡± His joke was automatic but his tone was still serious. ¡°So I¡¯m going to start pushing myself to my limits as often as I can, and if I start going too far I¡¯ll trust you to pull me back. But I need to risk it - and you will too. The more we risk, the less the kids will have to.¡± Her face was a mask of worry and the expression in her eyes touched his heart, but Zavier could see she understood. She was the strongest person he knew and he¡¯d literally trusted her with his life, so when her eyes looked that scared it was a punch to his gut. He cupped her face in his hands and looked down into her big eyes. ¡°I got this, Honey. I know you¡¯re scared and, when it¡¯s your turn to go out there, I¡¯m going to be scared fucking shitless, but we are going to do what we have to do. We¡¯ll both be on standby with the guns just in case things go wrong and we have a whole garage full of medical supplies. Besides, I have a plan,¡± he said with a grin.