Joe was relieved not to see a goblin in the next room. He had figured out a solid strategy for killing them, but the constant threat of violence had started to fray him at the edges. The room was bare except for a single plain stone table in the middle.

Crafting Calibration

Place a personally crafted object onto the table.

"Shit, I knew it."

There was nothing in the room to use to craft. Joe thought hard, but the only thing he had made himself was his walking staff, and he doubted a nice stick was going to cut it here. His pockets were emptied quickly to see what was available.

A knife, his keys, some copper coins, the claws, and a length of paracord were all he had on him besides his lifestraw, clothes, and weapons. Joe took a deep breath and sat down to think about this, and he had enough time to think for a minute or two.

If this were anything like the magic trial, there would be combat at the end, and he would be limited to whatever he put together here. The coins and keys he put back into his pockets. As much as he would like to add weight to the staff, there wasn't enough material or the right tools. His gaze fell on the paracord. He'd gotten so used to carrying it around he had forgotten it until this moment.

Joe looked at the goblin claws for the first time since he found them. They were pretty uniform but not identical. He laid out the four that were the straightest as an idea began to form. Joe laid the sorted the claws and took the four straightest that he could find. His knife and the paracord joined them as he peered at the end of his staff.

After another minute of looking, he started using his knife to cut four small grooves in the top of his staff. Once it was done, he took the claws and tried to fit them into the grooves. They weren't quite right, so he sat them down and did his best to fix them. Joe took a little more time, wanting this to work. Finally, he slowly wrapped the paracord tightly around the claws and the staff. He worked his way down and tied it as tightly as possible.

With the work done, Joe picked up the staff turned crude spear and placed it on the table.

Use the item to defeat the monster.

Joe had been expecting that message and quickly grabbed his makeshift spear. He lunged forward and drove the points home into the goblin's chest before it knew what hit him. It screamed and struggled in panic, but it was pinned, and blood loss soon made it go limp.

Joe tried to pull the spear back, but it was stuck on something in the little beast's chest. Flames consumed the monster, and Joe cursed. He knew the spear was crude at best, but it was the first weapon he'd ever made, and he was already a bit attached to it.

Fortunately, the fire only burnt the monster and left his equipment untouched. The same coin and claw waited to be collected on the ground. Joe picked them up before walking towards the far door's threshold. The messages he knew were coming arrived right before he got to the door.

Item: crude makeshift spear

Type: improvised weapon

Quality: Very Poor

Combat: Average

Overall Results: Poor

Due to having an overall result lower than Below Average, all further crafting trials are locked for this calibration.

Joe was expecting those results but had hoped that the quick combat would have pushed his results higher. He supposed it made sense that if someone brought in gear, you would expect more than a goblin with a stick stuck in his chest. He tried not to dwell on it as he moved to the next room and killed another goblin. They were no longer a challenge on their own, though he was hesitant to face too many of them at once.

There was only one door ahead of him, with a sword over it, as he suspected. He hadn't expected a circular white marble pillar that sat in the middle of the room. He approached it carefully and noticed an imprint of the shape of a human hand.

Calibration (4/4+)

You may finish your calibration by activating the pillar.

You will receive a minimum of three class options.

You will be able to access the Calibration Store before exiting the rift.

You have the option of continuing to challenge doors to improve your calibration.

Joe froze and stared at the stone like it was a coiled snake. If he touched the pillar, he could get out and go home. He was halfway across the room before he stopped himself. The stress of the unknown and constant combat had worn on him, and he just wanted to bolt out of there.

10:23

The time in the corner helped calm him now. Joe knew he had more than enough left to complete whatever the calibration entailed before he was culled. The real question was did he want to risk another round of combat. He really didn't want to do it, but he knew that his results so far had not been good. A class seemed to be pretty important, and he didn't know if it was permanent. After a moment, Joe pulled up his status.

Joseph Lemuel Wanderun

Level : 0

Class: None

Attributes:

Strength 5

Alacrity 6

Fortitude 5

Vigor 3

Reflex 5

Connection 2

Glamour 2

Skills: 0/5

Quests: Calibrate the System and gain a class

Joe tried to focus on the class section, but no further information was forthcoming. He tried on each of the attributes, but still, nothing happened. He remembered then that the system help was locked until he finished.

It was the classic dilemma. Should he risk dying for the unknown chance of better choices in the future? Joe thought about it and thought about his family. They were gone, and he had no one else to rely on in the entire world. There would be no one there to help if he couldn't make it on his own. Some dark corner of his mind gave a soft whisper that he could see them again if he failed.

Joe closed the box on that thought hard before brushing the start of tears from the corner of his eyes. His mind was made up, if not firmly, as he stepped forward and entered the combat door. He charged forward in his usual pattern. Joe skidded to a stop as instead of a goblin, and a tiny dull red lizard man thing stared back at him. It gave a snarl and lept forward, arms bringing short claws around in a tight arc.

The mindless aggression helped clear the confusion, and Joe stumbled back, taking the swipe to the chest instead of his face. The leather apron did his job, though it was looking worse for wear after only taking a few hits. Joe swept his spear sideways and managed to catch it in the ribs, driving it away and to the right.

Belatedly, Joe remembered he had a spear point and tried to jab it into the monster. The lizard thing was quicker than the goblin and managed to only get a scrape down the ribs rather than a hole in the chest. Blue blood slowly dripped down to the stone. It hissed again and dashed forward.

Joe waited, and this time it lunged at his feet rather than repeat the attack on his face. He swallowed thickly as he realized that this thing was more intelligent than his previous opponents. As it came in fast, eight years of playing soccer took ever, and he kicked it as hard as possible. It sent the monster sprawling with a snapping sound from the point of impact, but that had hurt. Joe fought through the pain and realized that kicking a thirty-pound object with an unarmored foot was probably a bad idea.

The monster was getting up, breathing heavily with flecks of blue blood staining its muzzle. Joe ran over as fast as his sore leg would let him before jabbing the spear into its chest. The monster glared at him and clawed at the haft of his spear before finally going limp and sagging to the ground. Joe didn't move until the fire consumed it. A single sharp tooth and a dull grey coin

Joe was about to pick up his winnings when he heard the noise at the back of the room. The door had opened, and he could hear scratching in the hallway. The blood drained from his face as two more lizards entered the room.

They paused for a moment before both of them darted his direction. To make matters even worse, one went low while the other jumped and swiped at his face. Joe scrambled sideways and managed to clip the one near the ground with the butt of his spear. It didn't seem to do much damage, and in a moment, both were coming straight forward again.

Joe was starting to feel tired. He was in good shape, but the blood loss and fatigue were beginning to catch up with him. He decided to take a risk and stepped forward into their charge. The leaping lizard hit him in the chest and almost knocked the wind out of him. Fortunately, it was stunned as well and fell near his feet. While this was happening, Joe had managed to keep his spear point angled down and thrusting at the floor. It caught the lizard in the shoulder and drove through, pinning it to the ground.

He'd hesitated on one enemy, and Joe wasn't going to do it again. Without loosening his grip, he stomped down with his good leg directly on the lizard's chest. It wheezed but still moved, so he did it two more times until it stopped.

A heavy weight hit Joe in the back and bore him to the ground. Shit, the other lizard was back up already, was all Joe managed to think before he struck hard on his side. He tried to roll away, but the lizard was already there, claws dug into his apron and climbing towards his face. It lunged, and Joe barely managed to grab its lower jaw and keep it from snapping at his face. They struggled there for a moment before it freed up a clawed hand and sunk it into Joe's shoulder. He screamed, and the reduced focus let the monster almost get its jaws back to his face.

Joe continued to strain against the monster, but he was losing the fight. Another minute at most, and his arms would give out. When that happened, it would either go for his eyes or his throat. Either one would ultimately be fatal. As he became aware that he would die, anger surged through him, and his voice ground out through gritted teeth.

"No!"

The noise startled the lizard for just a moment, and Joe used that to its fullest. He reversed the grip on the monster's head and pulled it closer. Joe didn't have any weapons he could get into range, and his hand with the knuckles lay trapped under his body. He didn't even think about what he was doing. Instead, a will to survive that shocked him rose up, and he moved without thinking.

He hugged the lizard tight and bit it squarely on the throat. He managed to roll and pin one of its limbs under him. The monster managed some shallow scratches with the other arm until Joe blindly held it down with his own. His other hand held on to the back of its head as it started to buck in his grip.

Human teeth aren't really meant to be a weapon. They aren't particularly sharp or strong, and we can't regrow them. They were all Joe had, and he bit down with all his strength on the monster's windpipe.

Joe's jaw quickly ached, but he didn't stop. The claws still digging into his arm were a minor annoyance that he pushed to the side. He was having trouble getting enough air through his nose, but he didn't think of letting go. The creature's blue blood that dripped into his mouth from the two small punctures he'd made was acrid and tasted heavily of iodine.

Eventually, the creature stopped thrashing, and sometime later, it stilled completely. Joe rolled away and wretched quietly, the taste of the monster's blood turning his stomach and coating his tongue.

Two fires quickly disappeared, and Joe hobbled over to collect the three coins and teeth. Joe was surprised to see that the final one he'd killed had dropped two grey coins, bringing his total up to four.

"Well, that confirms it. I have really shitty luck. You'd think I'd have already figured that out."

Joe looked himself over. He was a mess. Eventually, he decided it was worth tearing up the rest of his second shirt to bandage up his cuts. They weren't as deep as the goblins, but they still hurt and continued to bleed. A few minutes later, he was patched up and limped over to pick up his spear. Two of the four claws on the end were broken off, which looked pretty sad. Joe stripped the claws off and pocketed them along with the paracord. The staff was undoubtedly less conspicuous than a makeshift hobo spear.

"Game face on."

Joe mumbled to himself as he picked up speed, walking to the next room. His heart sank as he spotted a lizard there instead of a goblin. He slowed and stayed back towards the wall. Joe let it run and dive at him, pivoting out of the way. Once it sailed past, he used a two-handed grip and his own body weight to crush it against the wall. After it fell, he slammed the butt of the staff into its head until it stopped moving.

Now that he had the timing down, it wasn't too hard to handle one of the little monsters. That move wouldn't work on more than one, as it left him wide open. Joe collected his loot, a single coin, and claw before looking around. Once again, there was a pillar and a room with a sword over it.

Joe walked over and put his hand on the stone without any hesitation.

System Calibration Complete

Select a Class from the following options:

Novie Hedge Mystic (Common) - The Novice Hedge Mystic is aware that magic is a thing that uses mana. They can sense mana, and they are trying to figure the rest out as they go.

Innate Skill: Mana Sense (Common)

Attributes per Level: +1 Connection, +1 Glamour, +1 Free Attribute

Brawler (Common) - The Brawler is down for a fight. He gives as good as he gets...usually. Sometimes he even wins...if he has help.

Innate Skill: Tough Skin (Common)

Attributes per Level: +1 Strength, +1 Fortitude, +1 Free Attribute

Rigger (Common) - The Rigger specializes in improvising weapons and armor on the fly. As a rigger gets more experience, the equipment will even function for a whole rift run.

Innate Skill: Scavengers Eye (Common)

Attributes per Level: +1 Vigor, +1 Reflex, +1 Free Attribute

Feral (Uncommon) - The Feral is unconcerned with equipment, strategy, or even sanity. The Feral fights to stay alive by any means necessary.

Innate Skill: Bite (Common)

Attributes per Level: +1 Strength, +1 Alacrity, +1 Vigor, +2 Free Attributes

"Huh?"

Joe hadn't expected good results, but the first three were not even lackluster. They were downright bad. If a large portion of humanity were going to get classes like these, then humans were well and truly screwed.

The last class was a mixed bag. Joe didn't like the name or the description, and the skill didn't sound good either. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he did to get offered this class.

Those attributes were calling Joe's name. He had no idea what any of it meant, but two more attributes per level, one of them being his choice, was a pretty significant difference. He hoped there wasn't some mental feedback. The image of him naked and howling at the moon was funny as long as you weren't actually living it.

Joe focused on the Feral Class, and a moment later, he felt his choice be accepted. His world spun on its axis as information seemed to stream at him from nowhere, and his body changed. A glowing prompt in the corner of his vision had him opening the status and checking out the changes.

Joseph Lemuel Wanderun

Level : 1

Class: Feral

Attributes:

Strength 6

Alacrity 7

Fortitude 5

Vigor 4

Reflex 5

Connection 2

Glamour 2

+2 Free Attributes

Skills: 1/7

Bite (Common) - Level 1

Joe tried to close out the screen, but a new warning popped up.

Warning - If you close your status without assigning free points, they will be randomly assigned. You will not receive this warning in the future.

He wasn't even surprised at this point. He focused on the attributes, and after a minute, a quick chart gave him the basics of what all the attributes did.

Attributes

Strength - Major Strength - Minor Speed

Alacrity - Major Speed - Minor Reaction

Fortitude - Major Toughness - Minor Phys Regen

Vigor - Major Phys Regen - Minor Mana Regen

Reflex - Major Reaction - Minor Senses

Connection - Major Mana Control - Minor mana Regen

Glamour - Major Presence Control - Minor mana regen

It was decision time. Joe supposed that his atrocious Connection and Glamour stats were somewhat responsible for his lack of magical talent. He could shore those up each level, hoping that it would make a difference in the future. Joe let himself think about that for a full fifteen minutes before he put the points in Fortitude and Reflex. He needed to stay alive and get home now. Magic could wait on a calmer future if it ever came.

You may use the system store before you exit.

A new menu opened up, and Joe's mouth hung open.