Chapter 8 The Stench

Charge +25 (45).

Lightning affinity level 2.

Achievement! Recharge.

Congratulations on passing the coming of age of all elemental touched beings, finally.

Reward: +5 charge capacity.

Elysia stared at the text in a daze, still twitching from her accidental shock. The purple veins dimmed after a few seconds just as her mind rebooted. She sprung to her feet, dashing up the stairs before thinking through what happened. Did I just electrocute myself and benefit? It wasn’t even painful. If anything, it felt good. Still, I would rather avoid electrocute myself in the future. At least I know I can recharge my charge quick if I need to.

She returned to the breaker box, shutting off every breaker below deck beside the engine room before wandering out to the kitchen. After finding the fridge already cold, she broke open the water pack, then stocked the fridge. Now that I have a working fridge, I should grab other types of drinks on my next supply run. Maybe even fresh fruit if I get them quick. She grabbed a pack of chocolate caramels from her backpack sitting on the counter before returning to the control room plopping on the captain’s chair.

While munching on the chocolate caramels, she sent a thought to bring up her status and class choices.

Status:

Name: Elysia Arashi

Race: Level 5 Lightning touched Human.

Class: None

Charge: 44/115

Attributes:

Available Points: 5

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 5

Endurance: 8

Intelligence: 9

Perception: 5

Affinities:

Lightning level 2.

Class options.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Survivalist

Has knowledge on basic hunting and gathering. Capable of surviving in the wilderness for several days at a time. Proven resourceful enough to survive when put in high-risk situations.

Effects: +2 Endurance per level, +1 Intelligence per level, +2 Perception per level, 2 skill slots.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Athlete

Near peak cardio conditioning. Has beaten others in athletic competitions. Proven ability to outrun enemies.

Effects: Gain mana resource, +2 Endurance, +1 Perception per level, +2 Strength per level, 3 skill slots.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Necromancer.

Has died and revived. Spent an unhealthy amount of time around undead without dying. Capable of exerting dominance over superior undead.

Effects: +3 intelligence per level, 4 skill slots.

By fulfilling the following criteria, you are eligible for the class: Channeler.

Is an elemental touched being. Has an element affinity. Proven capable of channeling an element. Does not have mana resource.

Effects: +3 charge per level, +2 attributes per level, 5 skill slots.

“Would you like to make your choice? Beware the decision will be permanent and may affect future class evolutions.”

Should I pick a class before or after distributing my attribute points? I wish I had Internet to research everything but I guess I’ll have to wing it. I’ll start by cutting down the list. Necromancer is definitely out. I’ve spent enough time getting chased by zombies for a lifetime. Besides, they’re gross. Survivalist sounds interesting, but if I’ve learned anything from watching my sister play games, is it is best to go for a magic related class so I guess I’ll cross that off. Besides, it’s not like I can’t put what dad taught me to use if I choose a different class. Same for Athlete. As much as I would love to turn myself into an Olympian. Will there be Olympics ever again? If there isn’t at least countries won’t bankrupt themselves for clout, though if whatever hit here affected the rest of the world, that’s the least of everyone’s concerns.

That only leaves one choice, Channeler. What would a class like that do? Actually, what does any class do? The stupid system won’t clarify anything. I hate going in blind. I guess I have no other choice but to take the plunge. Going by my lightning affinity and charge stat, I’m guessing it has something to do with lightning. Maybe it will let me launch lightning! That would be awesome though if given the choice, I wish I could fly or get super speed.

Elysia shook her head to clear her delusions, refocusing on the present. I can’t be greedy. I don’t even know if I can use lightning, though I did something to fry those zombies outside the cemetery. Even if I can, lightning will probably drain my charge really quick. Am I a walking battery now? Maybe I should choose one of the other classes instead. What if the athlete class gives me something like unlimited stamina or survivalist allows me to create food from nothing? No matter what, I won’t choose Necromancer even if I could command an army of undead. Plus, Evolutions could turn one of these seemingly simple classes into something devastating.

I want to choose something that gives me the most survivability, but what if I limit myself in the future if I choose something other than Channeler? Athlete and Survivalist seem so mundane compared to Channeler. As much as I love running and maybe fighting, if I could smite my enemies with lightning, I would do it in a heartbeat. Besides, it gives me more charge and the most skill slots, whatever those are.

With her decision made, a warmth spread through her body. She glanced down at her arms to find glowing purple veins. Her vision blanked out for a moment before returning to show her status again. This time with five empty skill slots at the bottom, Level 5 Channeler in the class section, twelve higher charge capacity, and eight more attribute points.

It was a good idea to hold off spending attribute points. Now I have thirteen to play with instead of five. Now how should I distribute them? I obviously need more strength, but with my stature, would a strength build be worth it? Besides, what if it made me bulky? I think I’ll raise it to five and see what happens.

Elysia focused on her strength stat willing it to increase by two. The attribute ticked up a moment later, but nothing happened. She stood to see if there was any difference only for her muscles to spasm, sending her crashing to the floor. The spasms passed as quickly as they came, making way for a feeling of power. Curious about the change, she scanned her surrounding for something to lift but found nothing.

She left the control room, wandering the kitchen. Her eyes landed on her bike, drawing her in. She wrapped her hand around the upper horizontal frame before lifting, but frowned as she set it back down. It feels lighter, but I wouldn’t call it a big difference. Though I suppose five strength isn’t that much. At least, I won’t have to worry about accidentally crushing things if I raise my strength suddenly.

Elysia scanned her body, looking for any changes. I look the same, but adding two strength probably wouldn’t change my appearance much. I really should find some new clothes and take a shower. I stink. At least I think I do. It might just be the ship that stinks. Does someone really stink if they smell the same as their environment? I’m really not looking forward to purifying Umbra. I probably should gut below deck before I do any cleaning. There’s just so much to do, but it beats getting chased by zombies. Will I get another penalty if I steal furniture and furnishings from other ships? There’s no point in stealing from ships involved in the wave, but I’m sure I can find ships that survived unscathed in another port.

After returning to the captain’s chair, Elysia stared at her status menu, trying to decide what to increase next. Should I try evening everything out at ten? Sereia always focused on a certain build in her games, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to build a solid baseline. I won’t be able to get them all to ten right now, but if I spread out the points, in may give me a better idea of what each attribute does.

She focused on intelligence, bringing it from 9 to 10. A headache speared through her mind for a few seconds before dissipating. Unable to tell the difference, she shrugged before sending two points to endurance, also bringing it to 10. Like the last attributes, her body reacted. Her lungs spasmed, stalling her breath as her heart pounded like a drum. Black encroached at the edges of her vision before her lungs recovered, allowing her to suck in a long, deep breath.

As an experiment, she took a deep breath again, expanding her lungs to the limit before blowing out. There’s definitely a difference. My lung capacity seems larger and I think my resting heartbeat dropped a beat or two per minute. Though I probably only noticed because of my running experience. I feel like I’m cheating just dumping points without working to improve myself, though I did escape zombies several times. Somehow, I doubt zombies are the scariest things wandering about.

Elysia scanned the three remaining attributes sitting at five, then at her eight attribute points. Curious, she spent two points in perception, causing the world to disappear. She flailed, but even her sense of touch shut down, completely cutting her off from her senses. Her breath came in short gasps, on the verge of a panic attack.

A couple of seconds later, which felt like an eternity, her senses returned. She blinked several times before her hand flew up to her nose, pinching it shut as she scrambled out onto the rear deck, leaning over the railing, unloading what little she had in her stomach.

After dry heaving, she dashed inside, grabbing her bike and backpack, throwing them on the raft before flooring it to shore. She rammed the boat on the beach, still green, as she tied it to the lifeguard tower. With her bike hoisted on her shoulder, she sprinted to the parking lot, jumping on the bike, flooring it into town.

The motor hummed as she shot down the road, weaving through trees, reaching a gas station a minute later. She set her bike against the side of the building before yanking open the front door. First, she grabbed the first can of spray deodorant she found, which was pine scented, then stripped naked, spraying every nook and cranny of her body. She let out a long, relieved sigh as the pine scent overpowered the raw sewage assaulting her sensitive nose.

No longer in as much of a hurry, she grabbed several jugs of bleach and Evergreen scented floor cleaner, strapping them to the rack on her bike with stolen bungee cords. She stuffed several cans of air purifier, masks, nose plugs, and rags in her backpack before exiting the gas station once again.

Her naked body shivered as she cruised down the street toward the first clothing store she could find. Several minutes later, she came upon a mom-and-pop store. She scanned the selection, finding a pair of black sweatpants and a gray tank top in her size. This time, she grabbed a black sports bra and underwear before leaving. I need to do a dedicated clothing run, but considering I’m going to nuke the disgusting boat, there’s no point in getting anything fancy until later. I’ll probably trash these after cleaning anyway. I wish I could sneak back to the house, but I bet the dark forest is a zombie haven.

Elysia hopped on her bike, returning to the beach, eyes already watering a hundred meters from the yacht. After pushing the boat off the shore and depositing the bike, she plugged her nose and wore a mask before returning to the yacht.

Once on the yacht, she transported the floor cleaner and bleach onto the rear deck before flipping open a closet just inside the living room to the left of the door. With a mop and pail in hand, she returned to her cleaning supplies stash, dumping a jug of wood safe floor cleaner in the pail before getting to work.

Over the next hour, she soaked the rear deck with floor cleaner, smothering the raw sewage scent before moving on to the smaller front deck to do the same.

Once done, she entered the cabin, giving the heavy, soggy U-shaped couch the stink eye. With her hands on her hips, she scanned the couch, formulating a game plan. She gave the right side a tug, finding it come loose from the rest of the couch. Her face reddened as she yanked the heavy brown leather couch out the door onto the rear deck.

While staring at the other two sections, she opened her status menu, dumping two points into strength. Before the effects could take effect, she dropped to the now sparkly clean polished wood plank deck.

After the spasms subsided, she hopped to her feet, returning her attention to the couch. I really hope I don’t have to deal with the side effects every time I increase my attributes. I guess just in case I’ll have to make sure I’m safe before I use any points.

With her slight jump in strength, she slid the remaining two sections of the couch one by one through the door. She stood in the open living room area, surveying the grimy hardwood floor traveling from the door past the kitchen to the steps leading up to the control room.

Another hour passed as she scrubbed the floor, granite countertop, and dark stained oak cabinets clean before wiping down the stainless steel fridge, stove, and microwave. With the kitchen sanitized, another source of stench presented itself even through her plugged nose.

Her eyes traveled toward the stairwell leading below deck, but as she approached, a wave of dizziness assaulted her as a familiar notification displayed in her vision.

Charge 25.

After recovering from the dizzy spell, she slammed the door leading to the stairs shut, sealing the stench away to deal with later. She leaned against the counter as she pulled the nose plugs out and ripped off the mask, smiling at the fresh evergreen scent filling her nose. Much better though the bathroom needs some work too. Fortunately, I think the door was closed during the wave so it’s not as bad.

Her stomach grumbled, drawing her to her stash in boxes on the counter. She reached for a chocolate bar but diverted her hand to a pack of dried assorted fruit and jerky. While nibbling on her snack, she stared out the window to the right of the back door leading to the rear deck. It’s dark already? Time flies while nuking a disgusting ship.

She flipped off the deck lights before walking out, gazing up at the starry sky as she chewed on some jerky. Her head tilted with a confused expression as her eyes landed on a second bluish moon. When did another moon show up? Is it the cause of all the crazy shit? There has to be more to it than a second moon. Despite the odd addition, the sky is beautiful tonight. The town looks so peaceful, but I know better. I’m sure there are hundreds of nasty rotten corpses wandering about, just waiting for me to leave my floating sanctuary.

As if summoned by her thought, Elysia spotted movement along the shore, causing a smile to form. She jogged inside to flip on the lights before returning, giggling at the sight. The zombies lined the shore and pier, staring at her ship. This girl is zombie proof! If only I had a cannon to blow them up. Maybe I can steal a turret from a warship down south. Though I don’t have the equipment to control one, and what will the penalty be if I steal from a warship? What if I run into a sea monster? There are zombies, so I bet there’s some nasty things swimming in the ocean. I think just to be safe, I’ll stay close to shore until I have a way to defend myself.

Speaking of sea monsters, why are there only zombies? I haven’t even seen birds or squirrels since all this happened. Did the zombies scare them away?

Her thoughts stalled as the blue moon burned bright, bathing the night sky in light.