I could’ve sworn that the screen had previously used Earth #3579. Perhaps I was forgetting things. It was many years ago that I last read that prompt. I supposed it didn’t particularly matter. It didn’t affect my plans too much in any case. It still was worrying to me, however, because if something that memorable had changed, what else had changed from what I remembered?

[Status]

Status Personal Information Attributes Job Information Name: Seamus Connor Physical Mental Social Name Level Rarity Species: Human POW: 11 CUN: 11 CHA: 9 None [Select?] - - Sex: Male SPD: 14 KNO: 15 INS: 11 ~{Locked}~ - - Age: {ERROR} END: 10 WIS: 12 POI: 8 ~{Locked}~ - -

I glanced at all of the information, absorbing it and making sure everything was in place. The attributes were roughly the same as I remembered them, higher on the mental and physical side and lower on the social side. I had social anxiety in middle and high school, and as such my social attributes were decidedly weaker than most. On the other hand, my physical stats were better than average because I spent lots of time working out. With no social life, the only things I did were reading, gaming, and exercising. Gaming was fun before the apocalypse, but once it happened my whole life was straight out of a video game.

Of course, after the apocalypse began I ran for my life more times than I could possibly count. That was the sole reason I survived as long as I did, escaping and avoiding combat for as long as possible led to me being the last person alive. Only the foolish went to fight the monsters, believing themselves stronger than they truly were. Now that I had been sent back in time, however, I had a great advantage against the invaders. The earlier monsters were far weaker than the later ones. Since I had avoided conflict at the beginning of my previous life, I couldn’t get the foothold I needed to actually gain power.

Finally, I had that opportunity. I pulled up the job list and began to examine the different options.

Name Description Unlock Condition(s) Rarity [Soldier] Thrives in adversity. The soldier will fight for their beliefs, no matter who the enemy is Served in the military Common

[Soldier] was an interesting one. It was common but it led to some serious bonuses with firearms. I initially took that one in my previous life, before eventually switching over to a different job. It was a trusty one, but given my options, I probably wouldn’t choose it again over the other ones.

Name Description Unlock Condition(s) Rarity [Fighter - Sword] Someone beginning down the long road of true mastery. The sword bows for no man, and neither will the Fighter Used a sword to defeat an enemy Uncommon

[Fighter - Sword] I hadn’t seen before, to be fair I had avoided people in my previous life. Perhaps it was better than the other options, and it did include my weapon of choice. On the other hand, [Survivalist] was far more intriguing than the Fighter job.

Name Description Unlock Condition(s) Rarity [Survivalist] You can always trust the Survivalist to make it to the end. They will always be the last ones standing Escaped from at least 5 deadly encounters Uncommon

It probably contained everything I would have wanted in my previous life. However, in this life, I had the chance to be something more. I had an opportunity to save the world. There was no way I could be able to accomplish that by picking something that would only help me survive.

Name Description Unlock Condition(s) Rarity [Hero]

Steadfast in their principles. Deadly on the battlefield.

True of heart.

Chosen of a Deity

(Chronos)

Divine

That left [Hero]. I hadn’t seen the job before, I assumed because nobody else had gotten it before I did. The description was very vague, but it also felt strong. No more running away.

Skill: Heroic Slash gained! Skill: Heroic Perseverance gained! Skill: Last Stand gained!

I selected that as my job, then took a second glance around the shelter. ‘Everything is in place. Good. Now, I should probably go find one of those portals’. First, however, I unsheathed the sword. Noiselessly, it felt as if it leapt out of the scabbard with how smooth the motion was. I took a moment to admire the blade. Despite the rudeness of that lady, she was an excellent blacksmith. The blade ran straight and true, and small designs wrapped the metal. The engravings appeared to be a Japanese language that I couldn't decipher; Beautiful, but served no practical purpose.

Done admiring the work, I began to shuffle my feet, trying to remember the sword kata I previously practiced. Obviously, my muscle memory was unused to the form, but I still vaguely remembered each of the steps. ‘Forward, thrust,’ I began, stumbling a little. ‘Back, guard, step...what was it…right, thrust!’

I couldn’t remember the full kata, but it should suffice for my purposes. Gaining confidence as I swung, parried, and stabbed, I gradually began to flow faster between the moves. ‘Step, parry, relax...strike!’

Suddenly, a loud shriek from a nearby home caused me to hesitate. After I mentally prepared myself, I went through it once again. This time, I began with no hesitation. ‘Forward, thrust, back, guard, step, thrust!’

I made my way through all of the moves of the kata despite the growing screams of horror, and at last, upon sheathing my katana and bowing, I finally got the notification I was waiting for.

+1 Endurance for going through a kata for the first time!

I stumbled, sweat pouring down my face and back. I unsteadily made my way over to the supplies and nearly fell onto the water bottles. I unboxed one and greedily guzzled the refreshing water down. After about half of the container was empty, I flipped the bottle upside down over my head, the cool liquid flowing down my red skin.

Attributes were very hard to get in the apocalypse. Jobs occasionally gave them, but they were only in effect so long as the job was equipped. Once you swapped to a different job, those attributes were lost. Many of the other ways to get them for ‘free’ required insane amounts of preparation and supplies that I did not have.

I had one last thing to accomplish before setting off to find the nearest portal:

[Claim]

Are you sure you wish to claim [Bomb Shelter]?

'I'm sure'. The moment I accepted, the base drastically changed in several ways. Not only did the walls become thicker and darker, but the floor itself also contorted, leaving a gaping hole in the center. Rapidly filling that hole was a crystalline object, displaying several unique shades of blue.

The [Base Core] is essential for any long-term base. In order for it to form, you must have claimed the area and it must be outside the vicinity of any monsters. It provided a host of benefits, so long as it remained under your control. You were able to configure entrances and exits, automatically construct different parts of your base, and nearly anything became upgradable. Eventually, even splintery wooden walls were able to become a metallic fortress, stopping anything short of a Boss from leaving a dent.

However, there was only a limited quantity of them. The first five hundred people to claim a base got a [Base Core], everyone else just got a little prompt informing them that they are the proud owners of a tiny chunk of land.

Once I had established my area of operation, it finally was time to leave in search of a portal. I spared one last glance at my base, before turning around and striding forward. A cacophony of screams, shouts, and cries enveloped me.

‘And so the nightmare begins once more’.