Half an hour of endless fighting, and Leo barely raised a level. The same could be said to Ken as he too was stuck at level nine with Leo. While Kareena reached level five.

“Guys, what is this class choosing thing?” Kareena was utterly clueless in anything game-related. “Is this something related to how Leo healed Ken through that white glowing light is it?”

Ken looked the other way, a sign he wasn’t going to trouble himself explaining about something so tedious. Even the shooing hand gesture at Leo was a message of dumping everything to Leo.

Leo slightly frowned and playfully kicked Ken by the side.

Ken just smirked and turned his eyes at the empty air. He was probably looking at his stats.

“It’s like this…” Leo explained everything about the class choosing from their roles, their way of fighting, and their future progression. And his job didn’t end there. For those smart-ass minds like Kareena, they had the innate ability to make a headache over simple things. She could have just accepted the system as it was but no. She had to ask and kept on throwing these questions at Leo which some proved to be logical while most of them proved to be too trivial.

“Isn’t it better to have a more generalize class where the role can be changed according to the situation?”

“Why don’t they have a class pertaining to science? Isn’t this kind of discriminating to the scientific community?”

“Why is a bard an optional class? What if a person is a terrible singer that always sings out of tune, can that type of person still be eligible for being a bard?”

…

The question went on and on, and Leo had enough of it. “Hey, I’d been wondering. Besides the classes I told you about, what’s left on your list?” Leo asked, changing the topic at hand. He and Ken had a theory about the extra class option given according to the individual. So he got curious over what kind of unique class would she be offered.

“Brahmin Acolyte,” she said. “It tells here that the class is mainly a support-type through the usage of voice as a medium affecting the heart, soul, and body of allies, with a disposition of few elemental magics.”

‘So a combination of either an orator or a bard with a typical elemental mage,’ Leo thought. ‘And as I thought, the system is definitely giving classes based on racial traits. Then I wondered what would happen if the said person is a mixed-child? Would they have more options?’

“What do you think I should choose?” Kareena asked.

“Think how you want to fight in the future as nothing matters more in what you’re comfortable with,” Leo advised.

“This isn’t my definition of being comfortable,” Kareena said, glancing at the dead beasts around them. While she delved into thinking what class was best for her, Ken had to say something of his mind.

“Hey, what about the rhino at the lobby? Downstairs has been pretty quiet if you ask me,” Ken said, smirking as if excited over the thought of killing something stronger than him.

“Can you stop smiling like that? It’s pretty weird, and I know what you’re thinking. We’re not going to fight the fucking rhino, not with my MP close to zero,” Leo replied.

“Humph, what a buzzkill,” Ken dropped the smile. All this time he had been thinking about how would he confront a rhino with his current state.

“Come on,” Leo said, getting up. “Let’s get back to the seventh floor, and rest while we can.”

“Don’t forget those beasts might be up there,” Ken chimed in. “We still have another staircase at the east side, and there’s also a chance one of those beasts hopped in an elevator and got out.”

The three agreed and climbed up to the seventh floor. Yet something had to happen. “Shit, they locked it,” Ken said, trying to pull the staircase door open. Even with his enhanced strength, the door wouldn’t simply budge.

“Wait, I’ll try calling someone,” Kareena said. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. It rang a few times, but no one answered. She tried a few times, but the result was the same. “That’s odd. Mel would always pick up,” she said.

“It’s fine,” Leo said. “We’ll go down to the sixth floor and see whether we can go up with the elevator.”

They did as Leo suggested and arrived on the sixth floor. Everything was a mess. Papers on the floor, tables knocked over, and chairs all over the place. There wasn’t a sight of a soul as they saw no one was around as if the whole floor had been deserted.

“Where are they?” Kareena asked.

“Hiding like a bunch of rats,” Ken said.

Leo gave a slight powerful nudge at Ken, “you can’t really blame them since it’s the most normal thing to do. We, on the other hand, my friend, are definitely not the normal kind.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Ken said. “But they should have seen this coming after all the hocus-pocus went down.”

“Hey,” Kareena’s voice pulled them over. She was crossing her arms and her eyes strong eyes gazed at them. “Am I now the same as you guys, the crazy ones?”

“Half-crazy, I think,” Ken said. “But if not for Leo, you would have been the same as those sheep. So I guess quarter-crazy fit you the most.” Ken wriggled his hand as if saying she was so-so.

She pouted. While Leo doubted answers from both sides of the extreme spectrum would delight her. They reached the elevator, and as they thought it still worked. Leo pushed the button, and they waited. Ding. The elevator came, and the moment it opened, their eyes went wide. A jaguar was inside, feasting over the dead meat of their co-worker. The big cat turned and noticed fresh meat. It pounced with no hesitation.

Leo and Ken acted immediately. Ken tackled it down, pulling the aggro of the jaguar. Leo hastened his limbs, and the knife went straight for the jaguar’s neck. And it didn’t see him coming. The blade drove through the fur as Leo twisted the knife making it worse. The jaguar growled in its dying breath, and a few seconds later it was dead.

[Statistic Inheritor activated; +1 Strength]

“Yup, I am definitely the quarter-crazy here,” Kareena said under her breath. Unlike them, she was a bit late responding to the sight of an enemy. Before she could do a thing, both these crazies already went for the counter.

In the end, the three of them stared at the sight of mangled corpses with blood covering the elevator floor. Kareena ran away to the toilet as the retching noises were probably her trying not to puke immediately. While Leo fell in a daze, taking in the sight of dead men and women, half-eaten with chunks of leftover meat on the bloody floor.

“Ah, fuck,” Ken said, turning away. “I don’t feel so good.” Even the bad-ass Ken wasn’t immune to the gory sight. He found himself a seat and took his time calming his mind. To be fair, he was just a normal office worker that eluded himself in thinking all of this was just a game. But dead humans were a different story. Seeing it broke him from his immersion, bringing back the reality to him.

While Leo stood there with his head down. It troubled him how he wasn’t like the rest of them. True, he was revolted by the sight, but that was it. He had expected to see such things after everything that had happened. He knew sooner or later, dead humans would be a common sight, and this was just the beginning. ‘I need to prepare myself,’ Leo thought, fearing that one day he had to do the deed.

After a while, the three calmed down and took another elevator. Ding. Fortunately, this one was empty. Leo pressed seven, and they went up. The moment the door slid open, Leo felt something was off. He moved by instinct as he pushed both Ken and Kareena to the side and quickly ducked. Shots were fired. Bullets flew right above them and clanged against the elevator wall.

“Stop!” a man shouted.

Leo looked up and saw the security guards aiming their guns at them. He saw the fear in their eyes, and it must be the reason why they pulled the trigger.

“Stand down, damn it!” the head of the security guard came, pushing down their guns away from the trio. “They’re people, you idiots.” He slapped one of the guards by the back of his head. Then turned to Leo and the rest.

“You okay?” said the head of the security guard. His hand reached out to Leo.

He grabbed it and stood up straight. “You guys almost kill us,” Leo said. His eyes stared at the man who looked in his middle forties.

“I apologize on behalf of my men. It wasn’t intentional. The last time an elevator open, a leopard came out, and a few of my men went down with it,” said the head of security.

Leo glanced at this man’s left chest and saw the last name. “If you wouldn’t mind Mr. Bauer, me and my friend need to recover from a . . . traumatizing event. So, excuse me,” Leo emphasized on the latter part. He aided Kareena to stand. Then they left, and Ken didn’t forget to flash a middle finger at the security guards while mouthing the ‘F word.

“Wait,” Mr. Bauer called before the trio left. “Are they gone?”

“We came from the sixth floor, so we don’t know,” Leo answered. They moved along, and Kareena whispered, “you should at least tell them the beasts are not climbing up again.”

“If I’m not sure, I won't tell. They might go back to the lobby, and worst-case scenario they got eaten, and we get the blame. So I will say no to that,” Leo said.

“You’re going to Ken’s office?” Kareena asked as she was heading to her and Leo’s office.

“Yea, why?” Leo replied.

“No, it’s nothing,” she shook her head.

“Oh, yeah. After picking a class be sure to choose your skill wisely, and you can use the internet as a reference. The things on the internet might not be a hundred percent correct, but I’m pretty sure it's kinda close,” Leo gave his advice, and the two parted.

“Just go, and bang her already,” Ken said out of the blues.

“Dude,” Leo gave a questioning look at Ken.

“What? It happens in the movie, you know. Man and woman, sharing their life and death experience together, then poof, sexual intercourse,” Ken said in a rather simple way.

“Then why don’t you?” Leo asked.

“This is larping, my friend. We’re bound to stumble an elf or a furry or whatever mystical girl in a fantasy world. So no, I won’t bang her,” Ken said then he patted his crotch with a grin. “I’m saving this for the non-earthling.”

“You’re weird, but I’m not going to argue with that,” Leo said.

Ken hit the showers while Leo rested on the carpet floor, staring at his stats.

[Name][Leonardo Hart][Human]

[Level][9]

[Class][Mage]

[HP][143/200]

[SP][84/100]

[MP][15/165]

[Strength][21]

[Vitality][10]

[Fortitude][5]

[Dexterity][15]

[Agility][20]

[Perception][15]

[Intellect][15]

[Spirit][9]

[Charisma][6]

[Luck][0]

[Available Points][5]

He took out his phone and compared the stats he noted down in his memo pad. Doing some calculations he found his total points gained were equivalent to reaching level fourteen. But still, to him, it wasn’t enough. He eyed his new points and contemplated where to allocate them. ‘I’d been thinking about this, perhaps I should put some points on Luck and see what would happen.’

He placed five points to Luck, then it happened.

[You have gained a title; Beginner’s Luck.]

[Reward will be immediately given.]

[One chance for a random gift. You can choose one of the following; weapon, armor, accessory, skill, stat points.]

“Wait, what?” he propped his body up immediately, staring with wide eyes. “I didn’t expect this,” he said. Leo opened up the title menu and checked the effect of this new title of his. And unlike Statistic Inheritor’s description, this one was a bit more giving in nature.

[Title: Beginner’s Luck.]

[Once in a lifetime. Obtainable through putting one point in Luck.]

“I see. So one point is enough to trigger the title bestowal,” Leo then opened his trait menu.

[Trait: Statistic Inheritor.]

[When given you shall receive rewardingly.]

It was the vaguest description, and it didn’t help much for Leo to understand how it worked. Yet, he did discover a few limitations.

‘I notice there’s a limit of gaining points after killing too many of the same beasts, or it can be there’s a limit imposed on stat gain. I don’t want it to be the latter since my advantage would be too short live,’ Leo thought. The limitation of his trait could be anything, and not knowing it just stressed the heck out of him.

‘Let’s put that aside first, and think about this,’ he turned back to the option of gifts available to him. ‘Gaining a skill does sound tempting, but what I need right now is a suitable weapon.’ He eyed the weapon option. Yet he was hesitant. The nature of being random made everything rely on luck. Or he might as well call it gambling. He hoped he would get something common that people used, and not those types of weapons that needed precise mastery like the bow, the whip, nunchucks, and anything throw-able.

“Fuck it, let’s just do this,” Leo made his decision. “I choose weapon.”

A subtle light emerged out of nowhere as the shape of something started to form. Slowly the light started to recede, revealing what hid underneath the brightness. Then Leo grabbed it in his hand. He wasn’t smiling nor he was frowning. In his hand was something he didn’t expect to get.

“Why the heck did they give me an aluminum bat?”