August flew off a nearby roof. Streaking through the air towards the cat like a bolt of lightning. In his hands, he clutched two massive butcher knives that gleamed wickedly. He was almost like a spectre, out for blood.

Likewise, Kashyap lept from a different roof on the other side of the cat. In his hands, he held a spear he had fashioned from a piece of steel rebar. His black hair fluttered in the wind behind him as he fell downwards.

The last to strike was me. I burst up from my hiding place in the long grass, gasping for breath. To not be noticed by the cat's keen senses, I was forced to hold my breath and slow my heartbeat to a crawl. It's a useful technique but it hurts like hell.

I barreled into the cat in midair, stopping it from getting any closer to kyle and taking it to the ground with a resounding thud. While a rained punches on its chest and stomach, Kashyap landed his blow.

Falling from the two-storied house, he managed to gather quite some speed and he used this speed to drive his spear into the cat's back. It slid sickeningly in between two ribs, piercing all the way through the cat and pinning the creature to the ground.

That was when August struck. He landed on the cat's back, knives flashing with a wicked grin. Almost like a rock climber, he stabbed both his knives under the creature's shoulder blades, gaining purchase and hung there as it writhed wildly beneath him.

Even Kyle got involved, harrying the monster by hitting its hind legs with his bat. He still apologised after each hit, but that didn't stop him from swinging as hard as his arms would allow.

My job was to distract it from hitting either of them and that was what I was currently doing. I ducked and weaved in between its vicious claw swipes, somersaulting and diving into the long grass, pulling off moves that would make a gymnast proud.

Gradually, the cat's struggles grew weaker. Since the start of the ambush, we didn't let up once, lest we gave it a chance to catch its breath. It couldn't run because of the spear through its back, nailing it to the ground and was constantly bleeding out because of August's endless slashes.

I was the first to notice its waning strength as the attacks I was dodging grew feeble and wayward. Some of them weren't even anywhere near me. But that only made me all the more cautious. An animal is always most dangerous when it's backed into a corner.

Finally, it stopped moving, and August was just about to jump off when I shouted at him. "Wait for the system message idiot!" But it was too late.

As if on cue, the cat burst to life, tearing out the spear in its chest and throwing August off its back. Its paw swiped out, sending Kashyap flying through the sliding doors of the nearest house. He landed, sprawled out on the ground in a mess of glass and blood and didn't get up.

Kyle was sent sprawling into the grass, disappearing from my sight by a glancing blow from one of its back legs. He landed somewhere at the other need of the garden in a bush.

Now, the only thing standing between it and freedom was me. The cat growled at me deeply. One of its eyes was closed as blood had poured from a cut August had slashed open into it. Its back legs dragged on the ground limply and its back was bowed.

Still, one swipe from those claws was all it would take to end my measly life. I readied myself, lowering my centre of gravity. I couldn't show any weakness, or it would be on me in a second.

When I looked into the cat's single working luminous golden eye, it seemed ablaze with hatred. It glared back at me in outrage as if to say 'How could mere prey hurt me?' Suddenly, my mind was brought back to when I was 11.

Once again, I was in the forest, surrounded by drifting snow and towering trees. My father stood in the distance. His clothes were torn to shreds and stained red with blood. Beside him, slumped to the ground was a bear. So big that I remember wondering if I was dreaming. The look in that bear's eyes as it gazed up at my father, was the same one the cat gave me now.

I couldn't help remembering what my dad had done when he saw those eyes. He returned the stare, looking directly into the bear's very soul that glowed with hatred and outrage... and he laughed. Then, he left it there, injured and broken, to die.

When I stared into the hateful gaze of the cat, I didn't feel like laughing. I felt excited, I felt slightly guilty, but most of all, I felt grateful. This time, I had won in the fight for survival and we both knew it. It gave a final growl and half-heartedly pounced at me.

Claws outstretched, it landed in the dirt by my feet. It had succumbed to its wounds and I hadn't even needed to dodge. I looked down at the creature, its still eyes burned with fiery fury and unwillingness.

I picked my way around the cat, arriving at the back of its neck. It tried to turn its head to look at me but couldn't muster the strength to lift it.

When I killed it, I did my best not to hurt it too much. No death could actually be painless, but there were definitely some that were less painful and I would rather not cause it too much suffering.

[LVL 14 Sabertoothed Cat killed - 1400 experience Gained + 500 From Level difference]

[Level 9 > 11- (8 stats increased)]

[Martial arts LVL + 1]

Now, I knew for sure it was dead. After a moment's silence, I heard a groan from behind the cat. Like a meerkat checking to see if the way was clear, August stuck his head up through the overgrown grass.

"Ha, I killed it!" He shouted triumphantly, "I got to level 10 before you!" He said while cackling with laughter and dancing.

"Looks like you aren't seriously injured," I remarked, not wanting to break the harsh truth to him.

"Nah, I'm fine, I just got thrown off its back, It didn't hit me or anything." He said while hammering his fist against his chest. Now that I looked closer, he didn't look as pudgy as he used to. Maybe the apocalypse was good for weight loss.

Next, Kyle made his appearance. He climbed out of a bush at the edge of the garden. He was bruised and battered. But most definitely alive. His breath was short and ragged and his face was flushed red.

"I levelled up too," He said between gasping breaths. "All the way to level 9."

"Wait, seriously?" August asked stunned.

"Yeah, it said I killed it as well." Kyle nodded weakly. He still seemed winded from the glancing blow he had taken.

Then, it seemed to dawn on August that the same might be true for me. "What Level are you?" He asked anxiously.

"11," I said, trying my best to suppress a smug grin.

"Hm," August mumbled and I could hear the shattering sound his ego made as he found out he had been beaten once again.

Actually, the shattering noise was the sound Kashyap made as pulled himself out of the ruined glass door had been flung through. He was covered from head to toe in small scratches, but thankfully, none of them looked too serious.

He was holding his head in pain as he spoke, "It said I killed it too. I reached Level 8."

All of this talk of levels prompted me to check my status and when I brought it up I noticed the brand new category beneath my race.

[Name: Robert Melior

Race: Human

Class: - TBD

Level: 11

Experience: 0/1200

Strength: 23

Agility: 24

Intelligence: 19

Mana: 12

Skills: (Martial Arts LVL 41) (Basic Survival LVL 15) (Gaming LVL 1)

Distance from the Edge of the world: 29850 miles

(Menu)

Messages: (3)]

I quickly checked my messages to see what had happened and saw this.

Message 1/3

[8 Stat points gained - Distributed evenly according to preset settings.]

Message 2/3

[System settings now unlocked- See menu button on the status page.]

Message 3/3

[Class available to choose from after advancement past level 10. Please select one from the choices below:

(Martial Arts Student)

(Trainee Hunter)

(Filthy Casual)]

Frankly, the choices weren't exactly star-studded. None of them really enticed me but I could take a shot in the dark and guess why they were offered to me.

Each one of them should have something to do with my skills.

Martial arts correlated to - (Martial arts student)

Basic Survival should be related to - (Trainee Hunter)

And lastly, Gaming should be... (Filthy Casual) Honestly, that one kind of hurt. Sure, I am only level 1 but... I have passion, you know?

August seemed to have encountered something similar. He walked up beside me and spoke, "Hey what class should I pick?" He asked me.

Only now, did I notice the glowing screen that hung motionless in the air in front of him. For a moment, I was lost for words.

"What the... How the fuck can I see your screen?" I asked him bewildered.

"Oh, you can change that in the menu button on the status page," August said offhandedly before dragging me in front of his screen.

He pointed his stubby finger towards the two classes he had been offered. I was left dumbstruck by what I saw and had to take a glance at August's skills to find out why he had been offered these.

(Blood noble) - (Politician LVL 24) (Bloodthirsty LVL 12)

(Collector) - (Figurine painting LVL 39)

'Why do they have such cool names?' I wondered. 'And why is highest level skill figurine painting?'

Eventually, I just sighed and gave my opinion. "Collector sounds useless," I said.

Immediately, August snorted, "I knew you wouldn't understand," He said before walking off to ask Kyle his opinion.

After thinking about it for a moment, I decided that the best course of action would be to choose the class I was already closest to. Thus, I picked (Martial Arts Student).

I wasn't disappointed when I saw its effects.

[(Martial Arts Student)

Passive Skills (25% increase) - (Stamina) (Balance) (Reactions)

Active Skills:

(After Burner - Expend half of your mana to double your speed and strength.)

(Light as a Feather - Spend 1 mana per minute to activate this skill. Increased agility and stealth.)]