Chapter 11: Fortune favors the bold

“So what’s wrong with the summoner class then?” Sarah asked.

“Well” Tommy started, a bit nervously under the intimidating gaze Sarah seemed to give him as she quite literally sledged bolts of what looked like a red smoke at the skeletons, killing them in a single bolt. “When you get a class, you don’t get any skills unfortunately. But we’ve all sort of found out that it becomes very easy to get them if you just concentrate and do the right actions. Like, I’m a warrior” Tommy continued, “and all I had to do was swing a sword to get [Sword Mastery] Level 1 and scream at some of the skeletons for [Taunt].”

“Problem is,” Billy cut in, “no one has found any skills for the summoner class. We don’t really know what to do. Someone found [Ritual Magic] and got killed instantly after they tried to summon the most basic thing they could.”

Tommy took back the lead in the conversation at this point. “We guess you need materials and all that, but its not the most forgiving class for the inexperienced. Maybe if we had like a big book to teach us what we could do it could be better.”

And lucky for Sarah, she had something a bit better than a book helping her learn the class. As little as she trusted Lucifer, she knew he was likely the leading authority on the planet at this point on her class. Plus, it seemed that, so far, he really did seem to be looking out for her.

“Magic classes are crazy though, I can’t believe you do so much damage. But from what I gather doing what you’re doing, casting basic magic bolts, is simple for all magic classes though at a low level, but when you want to deal big damage with spells you have to be a mage.” Tommy said.

“The general has turned a whole bunch of his new followers into mages though. Had a whole platoon of earth mages build the walls further out to fit all the people in, although it seems he may need to expand them again with all the stragglers arriving.” Billy said.

“Plus, I hear they can make stuff grow. Right now there’s plenty of stuff stored, but I can see them having a big impact long term.” Zac cut in, not one to talk much with his serious attitude. “He is a smart man, scary too.”

You have levelled up.

All five to intelligence. It had taken Sarah almost a whole day of killing the skeletons, going from pack to pack and at some points just waiting for her mana to recharge when she could no longer sense it. But finally, after killing what felt like hundreds, she had gained only one level. [Identify]

Skeleton Warrior- Level 2

The gang of 6 that came with her gained practically nothing from her kills, and so all thoughts of power-levelling them went out the window. It seemed the system was smart enough to allocate experience based on how much one contributed to the kill.

“You’re too strong for this area” Zac said. “I feel like you could almost kill the death knight alone, but its absolutely surrounded by low level skeletons that would probably just rush you. Only reason the general hasn’t gone in yet, they say, doesn’t want all the casualties. Good man.”

Sarah was getting a little bit irritated by how much they were praising the general, but she could see from his actions that he really did seem to be putting their lives first.

The hunting continued only briefly afterwards, but Sarah had lost a bit of motivation after seeing how long it took for her to gain a single level. While there were no experience bars or notifications for experience, she could tell this was not an option for her in the long term.

“I’m going to go find something stronger to kill. Ill catch you guys in a couple of hours back at the compound,” Sarah finally said, fed up with her lack of progress.

With brief but unwilling goodbyes, as the other members were unwilling to brave stronger dangers at this point, Sarah headed off alone. She could understand why they were so fearful, being a group of warrior classes that had to come very close to the action without proper weapons or armor to do so. They were currently wielding large knives and heavy equipment such as spades, which were surprisingly effective against the undead. However, against a smarter opponent they would not stand much of a chance.

Sarah could see most of the survivors becoming mages eventually. A class that could do all the mystical things one had always wanted to do, away from the actual danger warriors had to face headfirst. At least until they can find a good source of weapons and armor, maybe from the earth mages making something, the mage class will remain dominant.

At this point Sarah in her walk came across a mall with a couple of undead standing outside. She could tell they were the corpses of those that had likely died, and it seemed that once they were turned they would lose their remaining flesh quite quickly until they were reduced to simply skeletons. These ones still had some remaining flesh, looking all the more gruesome for it, leading her to believe they had only been changed recently. Despite the dangers of entering the enclosed space of the mall, she proceeded anyway. She had been wearing the same set of clothes previously given to her and wanted to get into something fresh. Plus, she could use some supplies.

You never know when you need a towel.

A couple of demonic bolts cleared her way as she walked through the non-functioning building. Half of it seemed to have collapsed in on itself, but that still left much of it to be explored. All electricity had stopped working since the apocalypse, maybe having something to do with the change to the earth after the quakes. The first place she went to was a clothing shop, going for the more practical brands over designer. She picked a grey pair of pants and a grey shirt that would help her camouflage, along with a dark leather jacket that would help protect her against the most superficial of wounds. Dressed only in darks, she came out looking decidedly emo, and all the more survivable because of it.

The next store she entered was for camping supplies. This one seemed to have been more effected by the earthquake, with most of the stock buried under the collapsed walls. Even still, with the whole mall being relatively untouched she was able to find what she needed. She first grabbed a small travelers backpack so as to not impede her movement, packing inside of it a hunting knife, some nylon rope and a couple of packs of ‘camping meat’ which she was nearly 100% sure did not contain any meat whatsoever. Despite this, they appeared to have an absurd number of calories and seemed to be specifically designed for outdoor survival.

A towel and a small water bottle with a water filter attached completed her setup. Although there was plenty of other items that would undoubtedly be useful around the store, she knew she could not carry them all while in a desperate situation, and so did not want to take any risks. Looking longingly at the various sleeping bags and tents scattered throughout the store, she eventually decided they may do more harm than good. Plus, she was getting sick of the half-ruined mall and all the undead that lurked within. Although it only took her a bolt to kill them all, they seemed to come at the worst of times. Cant a girl shop in peace?

She finally left the mall and started to head back south towards the compound. It was already getting dark, but she would be able to make it back in time bar any unexpected events. She had yet to experience a night in the apocalypse, seeming to make it her style to knock herself unconscious before it actually came about. The sheer amount of times she had fallen unconscious felt almost like poor writing from the author.

But making it back to camp without being waylaid was not to be. While passing through an area she could tell did not originally come from the city, somehow shifted into it during the earthquake, she could see what was clearly a portal. Almost 5 meters high, glowing with a mysterious purple color, and swirling in that alluring swirl that every generic portal ever seemed to have, it practically beckoned her towards it. It lied at the center of a depression in the earth, surrounded by scaffolding that made it look like a quarry of some kind.

Despite her trepidation, and desire to actually get a night of real sleep, she knew she would be unable to stop herself from having a peek. Perhaps it was the whole day spent frustratingly for only a single level, but the possibility of a stronger enemy attracted her.

Let’s see if this works. [Identify]

Unfortunately, no pop-up appeared as she stood there staring at the portal. She felt a bit embarrassed at the failed attempt, but who knows if it would bear fruit. The Identify skill only seemed to work on monsters thus far, not even giving an outcome if she used it on another human. Although from what she had heard from her new friends, killing humans did not give other humans any experience, so maybe the skill could only be used on things that did.

“So are you just going to stare at it like an idiot or go inside.”

She let out a brief squeal at the voice she was totally unprepared for, before a smile appeared on her face. She had not realized how much she missed the voice in her head until it spoke- and reflecting on this thought made her wonder if she really was insane. Without Lucifer, she had felt far less confident and was lost on how she should progress, but now with her guide back she was totally unwilling to have him gone. No throwing the guide into the lava in this game, she thought.

“I am in your soul. That is not physically possible, and I am basically resistant to the elements, expecially fire.”

So, do I go inside?

“I do not know what is inside, but at this stage of the assimilation of your world it should not be that strong.”

These words gave Sarah all the courage she needed to take the last few steps into the purple haze. Fortune favors the bold!