Ted slammed the door behind him, quickly removing a cue spear and sliding it through the handles to prevent anything from following him. Looking around the dim, dark school lobby for anything he could use to barricade the door, he spotted a large vending machine.

It'll do. Quickly, Ted began moving it towards the door, its bottom making a horrible scraping noise as a banging noise could be heard at the door, which threatened to spill open, snapping his pool cue.

Soon, the machine was in place, and Ted strategically toppled it over, blocking the door. Still more banging, but now, Ted doubted they could break them down. He looked around, and sighed. Right. Windows all had bars across them, so they weren't getting in that way. Ted walked to a wall and slid down onto the ground, breathing in and out.

Not long after he had escaped his apartment, he had been accosted by...things. Things that resembled rats, but larger, bigger, MEANER, with sickly glowing eyes, blister covered, furless skin, and teeth that dripped a dark black substance.

They had chased Ted, chased him through the streets until he reached the local school. Thus leaving him, once again, trapped.

Two steps forward, one step back. Good news was, at least here there were unlikely to be any monsters, what with school being out when the end of the world happened!

...Assuming none had broken in. And assuming that whatever had caused this didn't mutate a caterpillar or mice into horrible abominations.

...Actually, that would probably explain the rats.

Ted breathed in and breathed out. At least he wasn't in his STUPID apartment. He briefly tried to remember the name of the school, quickly drawing up a blank, and sighing.

Select New Class?

Y/N?

And there was the red box again. Ted recalled the last one. Apparently he had maxed out his prior class, Sneak. So, classes, at least primary classes, have a level limit. Good to know.

He quickly hit Y. If Sneak had nothing more to offer him, he was perfectly willing to begin branching out.

Select a Primary Class

Thug

Stalker

Survivalist

A man of subtlety, you were not: when someone needed a leg breaker, you were called in to do the deed. This class focuses more on direct combat and judicious application of violence.

A class focusing on being the best pursuit predator, the Stalker can track their prey across vast distances and strike them unawares.

A class focused around indirect combat and avoiding direct danger, a survivalist makes heavy use of traps and firearms to ensure that no fight is a fair one.

Blunt Weapons Up, Unarmed Up, Primary Stats STR and END. Mana Primary: Black. Mana Secondary: Red.

Tracking Up, Archery Up, Primary Stats PER and AGI. Mana Primary: Black. Mana Secondary: Blue.

Trapping Up, Guns Up, Primary Stats INT and WIS. Mana Primary: Black. Mana Secondary: Green.

Hmm. Tough choice. Stalker seemed, at least, to be essentially an evolution of his Sneak class, though more agressive and focuses on going on the offensive. He discarded it for one simple reason: he didn't have a bow and he didn't know where to find one.

Thug was straight-forward: it focuses on force, and lots of it. Probably the class most suited to direct combat, Ted hesitantly dismissed it as well. Strength and such were nice, but he still would rather directly engaging enemies. That left Survivalist. Traps were of...questionable utility, but he could see it being useful for keeping monsters away from himself.

Ted made his choice, and his vision swam in boxes.

Picked Survivalist! Gained Trapping! Small Arms rank up! Gained perk Lone Survivor! Black Mana Affinity has increased!

Trapping (Rare) Rank 1: The skill governing the ability to assemble and deploy traps. Increased levels of this skill improve the effectiveness of all traps, lethal or non-lethal!

Lone Survivor Rank 1: Going through disaster has improven your instincts! At this rank, you enjoy a very mild dangersense!

Updating Layout...Layout Updated!

Ted J

Primary Class

Level

Primary XP

Scrounger Progress

Secondary Level

An ordinary officeworker attempting to survive the end of the world.

Survivalist

11

65/190

60%

4

STR

INT

AGI

WIS

PER

SPRT

CHA

END

LUK

20

10

24

7

30

1

6

17

4

Affinities

Black

White

Green

Red

Blue

11

2

5

1

3

Okay. That was...new. Ted briefly rubbed his eyes. Right. His attribute page was now green. And looked different.

Ted sighed. Right, he had some points left over to spend, might want to get on that. He dumped it in SPRT, increasing it to 4. Might as well work on getting all his stats up to 5, since he wasn't in any immediate danger.

The moment he raised it, Ted immediately felt...different. Not better or worse, but...different. A strange energy passed through him, and he felt a weight upon his soul, and a strange sort of...pressure...

PTTTHHHHBT.

Ted blushed. Apparently that wasn't spiritual pressure, but instestinal pressure he was feeling. Thank GOD no one saw that.

Right. He had two perks to spend. Might as well get on that.

Perks

Wyld

Rank 1

Increased Green Mana affinity, ???, ???, ???.

Office Drone

Rank 3

Years of working in an office under terrible conditions has blackened your heart. At this rank, you have +2 Black Mana affinity, moderate resistance to tedium and despair, and +5 CHA when dealing with office politics or close analogues.

Educated

Rank 2

You’re well educated, having attained a degree in college. At this rank, skills rank up faster, you gain +5 INT in Academic settings, and you have +1 Blue Mana affinity.

Oath of Care

Rank 1

You’ve dedicated yourself to caring for a particular creature. At this rank, +1 to all stats when acting in the defence of another.

Blackcloak

Rank 9

Darkness is your ally, the people who dwell in it, your kin, and in your wake, you trail shadows and conspiracy, a silent dagger. At this rank, you enjoy +15 CHA when dealing with criminals and ne'er-do-wells, an increase in Black Mana affinity, have access to moderate Darkvision, and recieve a modest bonus to all skills when engaged in skullduggery.

Looter

Rank 2

You're a master at lucky finds, to the point where some might think you can smell treasure. At this rank, much better chance of finding better items and resources, and all treasure caches have more loot.

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 start with a bonus enchantment. Further, you gain the ability to see the status of items you create.

Bag of Holding

Rank 4

Any proper looter needs a way to carry his stolen treasures, and you were the type to have a LOT of loot, taking everything that wasn't nailed down (and then stealing the nails). At this rank, this perk causes one bag or container on the holders person to be able to hold four times as much, without altering its outside size, provides +2 Blue Mana Affinity, and items stored this way weighing half as much. Further, at this rank, you can store small living creatures in this container.

Scrappy

Rank 5

Scavenging was dangerous work: you never knew if there existed hidden enemies or traps, and it payed to be able to bounce back quickly from whatever injuries these cause, and ignore their effects. At this rank, you heal faster from all injuries, have +4 Green Mana Affinity, when recently injured gain a brief bonus to all stats, and gain moderate pain resistance.

Physical Fitness

Rank 4

You are a paragon of personal health and fortitude, having the physique of a professional athlete! At this rank, you tire much slower, gain +2 White Mana Affinity, and +1 Red Mana Affinity, and learn physical skills quicker!

Haggler

Rank 1

You are adept at getting the best prices when negotiated. +5 CHA when doing business.

Nyx

Rank 1

Increased Black Mana affinity, ???, ???, ???. Lone Survivor Rank 1 Going through disaster has improven your instincts! At this rank, you enjoy a very mild dangersense!

Right. Two new perks. Ted briefly considered investing in them further, then decided against it. Nyx at least was just an off-brand Wyld, and Lone Survivor was...

Well, "dangersense" was incredibly vague a term: did he notice dangerous things better? Was he better at spotting potential peril? Or did he instinctively know when something dangerous was around?

In either case, while useful, with 31 PER, he could probably spot any potential hazards already. Further, going by his last class, Lone Survivor would rank up either way as he climbed in level.

His eyes slid to DIY. That...he could get some use out of that, potentially. He assumed that in this context "enchantments" were enhancements to his creations, making it incredibly valuable. His other choice...

Well, he was in a school, yes? And what was a school but an academic setting for youngsters?

He invested the points in DIY and Educated.

Educated Rank 3 You’re well educated, having attained a masters degree in college. At this rank, skills rank up faster, you gain +7 INT and +2 WIS in Academic settings, and you have +2 Blue Mana affinity, as well as an eidetic memory. DIY Rank 2 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 start with a bonus enchantment and are of higher quality. Further, you gain the ability to see the status of items you create.

That was...interesting. Educated provided a rather small bonus, all things said, but he was sure that in the long run, a perfect memory would come in handy. DIY was also relatively underwhelming: sure, it was useful, but it wasn't something he'd call amazing.

Ted stood up. Right. That sorted out, time to make sure he had everything barricaded and/or figure out what he had access to here.

A thorough room by room check didn't reveal any monsters, thankfully. Ted however decided to make EXTRA-sure he wouldn't get any nasty surprises and barricaded the rest of the ground-floor entrances.

A cursory search of the building revealed all the things one would expect from such a building: classrooms filled with desks and books, a reasonably well stocked library, a science lab, a workshop, a cafeteria, a computer lab, and a gymnasium type area.

The second floor was mostly the same: another science lab, teachers lounge, principles office, janitors closet, and more classrooms. A brief glance at the windows indicated they weren't barred, unlike the bottom floor. He glanced out and saw more of the rats lounging around in front of the school. Right. Gonna have to deal with them. But first...

He entered the principles office, cleared off the desk, and removed Tortoises cage from his backpack and placed it there. "Hey there little buddy. Looks like we stepped into another big one, huh?" Ted said, jovially. The rabbit stared at him. Ted opened the cage up. "Feel free to run around a bit. Just don't go outside the building, alright? Theres some very mean rats."

He then removed his sewing machine and tools and also set it down, as well as emptying his food cans. Right, I have enough for a few days. Caffeteria probably has more.

Workshop would probably give him the tools and supplies neccesary to make a few more things. Science lab would have....chemicals, probably.

Library would have books Ted might be able to use, though considering it was a public school, he doubted it'd hold anything PARTICULARLY complex.

He could probably use the gym to exercise.

Right. That meant most of his needs were satisfied for the moment. Now to deal with the rat problem. He glanced out the window again. Yup. Still there. He needed a way to either lure them away, or an alternate way out of the school.

His gaze shifted to the neighboring building. Maybe...

He had an idea. A risky, stupid idea, but if it worked, he would never be trapped again. Time to see if the gymnasium had rope climbing equipment.