The creature slammed into Ted, causing them both to go tumbling down. The creature, atop Ted, tried to tear into Teds neck, with Ted barely managing to hold it back with his left arm. Frantically, Ted felt around for his pan or, barring that, anything he could use to defend himself.

He felt his hand brush against something, and, grasping it, Ted brought it against the ghouls head. The camera shattered into its skull, stunning it for a moment and knocking it off Ted.

Scrambling up, Ted grabbed his pan and slammed it against the also rising ghouls head, causing it to stumble, but not fall. Ted swung again, and, unfortunately, his luck ran against him, as the stunned ghoul stumbled in JUST the right way so as to not be hit by his pan.

Oh dear. Ted got into a defensive stance, bracing himself. It was at this point he got a good look at the zombie. It was big, beefy, with thick black veins visible underneath its skin, and its face was in a permanent snarl. Underneath its nose was a white, powdery substance.

It let out a growl and lunged again at Ted, knocking him back. This time, however, Ted was prepared, and instead of falling to the ground...

He was slammed against a wall, knocking the air from his lungs. He held up his hand to protect his face, only for the rage zombie to bite into it. Screaming in agony, Ted reacted instinctively, slamming the pan into the zombies skull again and again, trying to dislodge it as his blood flowed onto the carpet.

The thing was sturdy, but even the toughest bone was weaker than metal, and eventually, it gave, the skull caving in. Still, the creature stood, digging its teeth into Teds flesh. At this point, due to bloodloss, Teds swings were losing power, but still he kept swinging, until the teeth finally loosened, and the creature collapsed into a pile.

Rager slain! Gained 80 XP! Level Up! +3 LUK, +2 free stat points, +1 Perk Point. Improvised Weaponry Rank Up!

Level One reached! Select classes?

Y/N

Ted breathed in and out, and slowly slid to the floor, clutching his bleeding arm, tears sliding down his arm. He needed...he needed to treat it. In a moment. Breathe in. Breathe out. He had. He had nearly died. He had nearly been killed.

And for what, a few knick-knacks and some numbers going up?! This was. This was insane. Breathe in, breathe out. He needed. He needed to stop the bleeding. He slowly, shakily, stood up, walked over to the kitchen, found a clean rag, and applied pressure until the bleeding slowed. He felt lightheaded, but knew he couldn't rest. Not here, at least.

He walked to the sink, and began to run the hot water. Luckily, even if the wiring was faulty, the piping wasn't, and soon a steady stream of steaming liquid emerged from the faucette. Cleaning out his wound, he towled off with another rag, and pulled the first aid kit from his pack and removed the gauze and began to apply it, gritting his teeth. He'd need...he'd need to apply ointment or something. He had peroxide at home, that'd probably do the trick. Ted deliberately avoided thinking about the amount of bacteria contained in the human mouth. There'd be no point in panicking over the possibility of an infection.

Once he was suitably bandaged, Ted let out a breath, and continued his scavenging. Sure, he'd prefer to return to his own apartment, but he didn't have that luxury. He needed to do as much as possible in as little time as possible. He was on

Gained the skill First Aid!

First Aid (Uncommon) Rank 2- The ability to treat minor injuries and stabilize patients long enough to recieve proper treatment. At this rank, treatment is mildly more effective.

Vunderbar. He could have used that a second ago. At least it didn't start at rank 1 like all his other skills. Anyways, moving on, Ted noticed to his dismay that the other bedroom door was already open. That explains where the zombie came from. Entering the room, Ted noticed that the lights in this room functioned just fine, bright fluorescent things.

A quick toss of the room revealed it to be far more fruitful than the kids room. A switchblade in the nightstand, a set of brass knuckles, some batteries, and underneath the bed...

Ted started. Was that...

He carefully pulled out two bags full of a bright white powder and a gun. Well. That explains the stuff on the zombies nose. Probably worse ways to go than being coked out of ones mind. Ted gingerly placed the powder in his bag. He wasn't the type to use the stuff, but you never know, it might become useful. Worst came to worst and he wound up dying, he could use it to make the transition less...painful. The gun, meanwhile, Ted looked over. It was a pistol, the exact type of which Ted didn't recognize, which, in fairness, wasn't that surprising, as Ted wasn't one of those loons obsessed with murder toys. He did note that it had a full clip, however. He stored the thing in his pocket, hoping he'd find a holster later.

He exited the room, carefully making sure nothing else had snuck in, before visiting the bathroom and checking it out. For the most part, it was just typical bathroom things. Toilet paper, shampoo. Ted instinctively filled up the bathtub, under the logic that if his water ran out, he might use this apartments water.

After filling the tub to the brim, he went to the medicine cabinet above the mirror. Now, THAT was a treasure trove. Painkillers, antibiotics, antidepressants, anti-anxiety, the thing had every flavor of medicine under the rainbow. Reaching in, Ted grabbed a bottle of ibuprofin, opened it, and quickly downed two pills before screwing the cap back on and sliding it into his backpack with the rest of his findings. Objectively, he knew that ibuprofin was supposed to be taken with a meal for full effectiveness, and wasn't really rated horrible bite wounds. Emotionally, he hurt and needed the pain relief. When he got home, he'd take something harder, like morphine or oxycotin. He'd probably need it when he applied the peroxide.

Putting the rest of the medication in his bag, Ted finally took the time neccessary to think over the latest surprise given by the red boxes, one of which still floated in front of him despite his dismissal.

Okay. So. I know what leveling means, at least. It seems to be a signifier of power, and increasing it improves my stats. Hopefully thats not the only way it improves. He remembered it saying he had free stat points. Presumably, he could assign those to whatever attributes he wished?

He willed the information screen to come up again.

Name

Level

XP

An average office worker. Suffers from insomnia and slight depression. No other discernable features.

Ted J

2

100/100

STR

INT

AGI

WIS

PER

SPRT

CHA

END

LUK

4 (+)

10

3 (+)

7

11 (+)

1 (+)

6 (+)

3 (+)

4 (+)

Affinities

Black

White

Blue

Red

Green

2

0

1

0

1

Same as last time, except Luck was a few points higher, and next to every stat was a plus sign. Right. Ted thought it over. What stat did he need most, at the moment? This at least was a no brainer. Either STR or END. He had gotten injured because of his own weakness. If he had been stronger, he might have killed the creature quicker. If he had been tougher, the bite might not have been as severe.

The question was, which of the two to invest in? Ted mulled it over for a second, before deciding on STR, reasoning that since he didn't want to engage the monsters directly to begin with, he'd focus on making sure they went down the first time he hit them.

In response, STR rose by 2. Ted felt no difference, but presumably he could hit harder now. With that out of the way, he dismissed the info screen and focused on the OTHER box. The one that wasn't going away.

Level One reached! Select classes?

Y/N

That was...interesting. Ted wasn't sure what classes meant. Maybe they were a guide? Useful enough, but he wasn't sure why they didn't have that to start with. Regardless, he doubted they'd be harmful, so, using the same method he used to select STR a moment ago, he chose Y.

Select a Primary Class

Sneak

Guardian

Beast-Tamer

Stealthy sneaky, this class focuses on creeping up on enemies and eliminating them before they have time to react and getting into secure areas undetected.

Tough and sturdy, this class focuses on defence, weathering enemy attacks and whittling them down.

A class focused around taming various beasts for combat, a beast tamer is unique in that they’re abilities come second to the abilities of their pets.

Stealth Up, Sneak Attack Up, Primary Stats AGI and PER. Mana Primary: Black.

Shields Up, Blunt Weapons Up, Primary Stats STR and END. Mana Primary: White.

Animal Empathy Up, Tactics Up, Primary Stats CHA and WIS. Mana Primary: Green.

Okay. That. Was not what Ted expected. Apparently "class" was "annoying red box" for...combat style, or whatever. Ted sighed. They didn't even use the correct version of their in one of the class descriptions.

Well. He presumed he had to pick one. He discarded Beast Tamer immediately, as the only beast he had available was a small cowardly bunny. That left guardian and sneak. He could either focus on raising the skills he already had, or improve his defensive capabilites and develop a focus on a weapons style that WASN'T cookware.

That also left the question of what "mana primary" refered to. Would he gain another point in mana affinity? If so, he supposed he'd probably best raise what he already had, in the hopes it got him some awnsers.

Taking this together, he settled on Sneak. After all, he REALLY didn't want to get into any more fights just yet. He'd rather AVOID getting maimed, thankyouverymuch.

Sneak selected. +1 to the rank of Stealth and Sneak Attack. +1 to Black Mana Affinity. +5 to AGI and PER. Gained perk: Blackcloak.

Blackcloak Rank 1: Darkness is your ally, the people who dwell in shadows, your kin. At this rank, you enjoy +5 CHA when dealing with criminals and ne'er-do-wells.

Select a Utility Class

Scrounger

Handyman

Self-Medicator

One mans garbage is another mans treasure. The scrounger specializes in scavenging items and resources, and crafting them into tools.

Everything breaks down. The handyman focuses on un-breaking it. From repairing a broken door to fixing a busted radio, theres very little a handyman can’t repair.

Sometimes, a pharmacist can’t be found, and you have to figure out what drugs to give yourself. The Self-Medicator is an expert at figuring out which drugs to administer to themselves.

Scavenging and resource gathering primary focus, secondary focus DIY crafting.

Repair and maintenance mono-focus. Limited crafting utility.

Medical focus specializing on providing treatment to self.

Ted staggered for a moment as his vision sharpened and he began to notice all sorts of thing he didn't before, like the cracks in the ceiling, the faint scent of mold, the creaking sound of wood under his heels. Taking a moment to regain his concentration, he quickly noted that, apparently, a stat increase of 5 was apparently VERY noticeable.

The perk was...questionable. Ted wasn't really sure the utility of dealing with criminals, who, from what little he knew, were a rather backstabby bunch.

Of more interest was the utility class selection. Apparently he didn't just get a combat class. Well then.

Like before, he immediately discarded one of the options. Handyman was probably useful long term, but he doubted it would help him escape the building, leaving Self-Medicator and Scrounger. Self-Medicator sounded a bit...not good, but Ted was willing to bet it improved the effects of medicine on him, something that would certainly be VERY useful in the coming days. Scrounger was equally tempting, seeing as it netted him more resources and, going by the description, let him utilize those resources to create tools.

After a long moment, Ted selected scrounger. At the moment, he was hoping to avoid getting injured, and Scrounger might not help with that directly, but it gave him more tools he COULD use directly to avoid injury, wheras Self-Medicator was probably limited to repairing damage after the fact.

Chose Scrounger. Gained skills Scavenge, Junk-Craft, and Recycle. Gained perks Looter and DIY.

Scavenge (Uncommon) Rank 1 - The skill that governs ones ability to ransack places for supplies. At this rank, you're slightly more effective at finding supplies.

Junk-Craft (Rare) Rank 1 - The skill that governs the ability to craft and maintain tools, weapons, and armor from random junk. At this rank, your creations are marginally better.

Recycle (Rare) Rank 1 - The ability to break things down into their component parts or find new ways to reuse them. At this rank, you can recycle extremely simple items.

Looter Rank 1: You're a master at lucky finds. At this rank, this perk improves the chances of finding better items and resources.

DIY Rank 1: You're the crafty sort, literally. Items you make are just plain BETTER than they reasonably should be. At this rank, items you create will have a bonus enhancement. Further, you gain the ability to see the status of items you create.

Okay. Fair bit of utility there. Teds mind already began to fill with ideas. He needed armor, and CARPET was fairly sturdy, from what he remembered. If he cut some up, got some glue, some ducktape...

It was all coming together. He recalled having both ducktape and glue at his apartment somewhere. He'd dig it up when he got back home and work on his armor. Leaving the bathroom, Ted walked over to the hallway and, noting that the ghouls still seemed to be distracted with their thing, carefully crept towards his apartment, and slipped in.

Walking over to his couch, Ted flopped down, reaching into his bag and pulling out a pill bottle. Oxycontin.

Popping a few into his mouth, Ted relaxed a bit. He still had a few things to do before he slept, but at least he wouldn't have to do them while hurting.

End Chapter 1.3