The Invasion Begins

Despite my own breathless state, I had, at the very least, the presence of mind to glance around myself, searching for my companions, and of course, I suppose I might include Jackson. At this point, it would look as though my neighbor has officially joined our camaraderie of weirdos, apparently tasked with saving humanity. My eyes opened wide however as I realized that all three of them were currently sprawled across the ground, completely unconscious. Then I heard a shifting of dirt several meters to my left, and looking over I suddenly saw a skeletal hand burst from the ground. Thus, in one of the few times in my life, I had ever done so; I swore, "Ahh, shit."

The invasion has begun. Check.

Already made a terrible decision? Check.

Decomposing Zombie literally about to come at me and eat my guts out. Also, Check.

What in the hell was I thinking, deciding that our group would rest in a god damn cemetery right before the onset of the global apocalypse? Perhaps I didn't consider a mana surge would somehow reanimate the dead as monsters? Ya, maybe that had something to do with it.

Aaaand, now the entire group was unconscious except for me, I was in a major dilemma. Of course, there is no way I am going to run and leave them alone. So, the only option left is to stand, fight, and hope for the love of Astia (Like what I did there?) that they wake up soon, and that the wakening horde won't be too much for me to handle.

As I focused on the actual, and remarkably lovely, decomposing zombie pulling itself from the nearby grave, I was pleasantly surprised when the System rewarded me with a message.

Name: Reanimated Decomposing Corpse

Level: 1

Health: 15/15

Skill [Appraisal] - Level 1 has been gained!

25 experience points have been received

[Appraisal] grants the skill user the most basic information available concerning any given monster.

"Ahhh!" I exclaimed in relief. "So that, it would turn out, is one way to gain a skill!"

Now that the apparent [Reanimated Corpse] has been appraised, I did actually feel a larger sense of confidence return to me. It was obviously incredibly weak. Given that it had literally just been given life anew, that is something that was probably predictable. I used the several seconds that the [Reanimated Corpse] gave me with the slow excavation of its' body to further assess my situation.

The others were spread out, and if they didn't wake up at least fairly soon, it'd be obvious that it might be tricky to actually defend them should something happen and a few get past me. I definitely couldn't defend several locations at once. So I began pulling everyone closer together, it just so turned out that Rachel had landed in a very convenient location near the opened gate leading into the cemetery. So I first grabbed Kevin, and after quite a few grunts, (which surprisingly, or unsurprisingly didn't require as much effort as I thought considering my increased attribute stats). It was at that point that I was becoming a bit more innately familiar with my increased strength. Now, I wondered, why didn't my increased attributes help me while we were running from my apartment to the cemetery? To be honest, the only real difference I can imagine is that somehow a lot of the strength of a [High-Human] was granted through mana, but since mana was practically non-existent before the mana surge, it would probably explain the lack of an impression my new racial status gave me. Now though? It was definitely being felt.

I then grabbed Jackson and also placed him next to my growing mound of unconscious bodies. Which, once I finished that, I picked the sword I had off of the ground. I wonder... I thought curiously.

As I focused on my sword, I activated appraisal.

Name: Ornamental Metallic Sword

Prerequisites:

Strength: 3

Values:

Attack: 2

Durability: 10/10

Info: An ornamental sword. Despite how it looks, its edges are dulled and is largely useless in extensive or demanding combat.

"Okay, wow!" I stammered out. That was actually a lot more information than I expected. Compared to equipment in Holy Arc Online it was abysmal. However, with its current stats, it should serve some limited purpose in the fight surely to come. Hopefully, it will last that long though...I thought to myself, that durability is likely to fall pretty fast.

Alrighty then... I thought as I refocused on the corpse that had just pulled itself fully from the dirt. As I focused in on the once living person, who, mind you, no longer nearly resembled anybody who could possibly be alive at the moment. The flesh had largely been eaten away, allowing the corpse to live up to its name as a 'decomposing corpse'. It locked eye on me, and that was when I noticed the strange, and the slightly bluish glow emanating from the two empty eye sockets.

The visage brought back a memory from Holy Arc Online. It became quite apparent, and even more so very quickly that my experiences from the game were likely going to be the largest fount of knowledge I'll be relying on for the foreseeable future. Within the game, reanimated corpses all held a mana stone right where the decomposed brain used to be. Hence the glow that now originated from the eyes of this shambling undead. However, the realism of the game still couldn't compare to seeing it in reality.

Looking at the hanging flesh and the maggots that continuously began to drop off from the corpse only served to upset my weakened stomach. It wasn't until a slight breeze went through the cemetery, drawing the scent of the corpse upwind, towards me, that I actually began to dry heave. It was disgusting. Never, and I mean Never go around smelling flesh that has been rotten for at least several years. It was mighty disgusting I tell ya.

It was at that point that I began hearing faint screams originating all around Mt. Auburn and deeper into the city. Well then, looks like the anticipated invasion has already started.

I grunted slightly as I maneuvered myself into a striking position. I laughed to myself slightly, imagining how ridiculous I must appear. My only experience with swinging any object like a sword likely had limited itself to the many times I pretended to play Jedi with my brothers growing up, or the multitude of times I would pretend to swing the very sword I was now using, pretending to be some sort of knight. Granted, I've also watched any number of movies, as well as literally watched my character in Holy Arc Online grow and progress from behind my screen. The game boasted impressive amounts of realism, stunning and revolutionary for its time, that had unique forms of melee combat, where the characters would actually perform realistic feats with the sword. It was only now that I realized the game had likely been created by some supreme council of Gods. No matter how ridiculous that sounded, it appeared to now be the case.

With the corpse now just two meters in front of me, I made my move. Stepping forward, I readied the [Ornamental Metallic Sword], and I swung. Placing an amount of force that I had only hitherto fore obtained, the sword passed straight through the skull. Or; that's what I would've liked to believe had happened, but no, apparently my sword counted more as a blunt weapon, so, all that happened was that I severely knocked the corpse off kilter, throwing it to the ground. A fracture could visibly be seen emanating from the impact point.

You have dealt six points of blunt damage to [Reanimated Decomposing Corpse]

...

Skill [Basic Sword Proficiency] - Level 1 has been gained!

25 experience points received

[Basic Sword Proficiency] bestows the skill user rudimentary knowledge of wielding a sword, while also granting a slight buff towards potential damage dealt with a sword as a result.

Okay, I thought, now, that would be useful. I watched as the undead struggled to get up, and walking towards it, I angled my sword and stabbed it straight through it's eye socket, apparently nicking its mana stone, causing it to destabilize and dissipate its energy.

You have dealt 17 points of critical damage to [Reanimated Decomposing Corpse]

...

[Reanimated Decomposing Corpse] defeated.

10 experience points received.

...

You have reached the experience threshold for level 1!

...

Congratulations!

Requisite conditions have been met.

Class selection is now available!

"Aha!" I yelled out. "There we go!". I had almost forgotten about class selection. In Holy Arc Online, being able to choose a class would only become available upon receiving any amount of experience. It looks as though I had just met that condition.

With the immediate threat taken care of, I decided to take a moment to, at the very least, to choose a class. Depending on the class one can dramatically increase their advantages and strengths. Looking around, I noticed that while there were plenty more corpses pulling themselves out of their graves, the closest ones were at least thirty feet away. Glancing behind myself, I noticed my companions still laying there, albeit, it appeared they were just now beginning to stir. Good, I thought, should give me at least a few moments to quickly select a class.

Opening up my status, I briefly looked at it.

Name: Thomas Parker [Genesis]

[Class Selection Available!] Level: 0 | Experience: 60 / 0

Race: High-Human

Titles: High-Human Paragon Genesis

Health 80/80 ( +15 / hour )

Stamina 70/70

Mana 80/80 ( +15 / hour )

Attributes

Strength: 10

Constitution: 10

Agility: 10

Wisdom: 10

Intelligence: 10

Free Attribute Points: 0

Skills:

Appraisal - Level 1 New!

Basic Sword Proficiency - Level 1 New!

Basic Mana Manipulation - Level 1

Paragon's Influence - Level 1

- Paragon's Tether

- Paragon's Charge

- Paragon's Bestowal

??? - Level 1

Free Skill Points: 0

Focusing in on the [Class Selection Available] notice, a new screen quickly displayed itself before my eyes.

Class Selections Available!

Requisite conditions have been met for the following class selections:

[Warrior]

+4 Strength, +3 Constitution per level.

Skill [Warriors Cry] will be granted.

Skill [Basic Weapon Proficiency] will be granted.

[Mage]

+3 Wisdom, +4 Intelligence per level.

Skill [Basic Elemental Affinity] will be granted.

[Rogue]

+4 Agility, +2 Strength, +1 Constitution per level.

Skill [Stealth] will be granted.

[High-Human Warrior]

+6 Strength, +5 Constitution per level.

Skill [Warriors Cry] will be granted.

Skill [Basic Weapon Proficiency] will be granted.

[High-Human Mage]

+5 Wisdom, +6 Intelligence per level.

Skill [Basic Elemental Affinity] will be granted.

[High-Human Rogue]

+6 Agility, +3 Strength, +2 Constitution per level.

Skill [Stealth] will be granted.

[Juvenile High-Human Paragon]

+4 Strength, +3 Constitution, +2 Agility, +3 Wisdom, +4 Intelligence per level. Unique Attribute Charisma Unlocked. +1 Charisma per level.

Skill [Leadership] will be granted.

Skill [Basic Elemental Affinity] will be granted.

Now that's what I'm talking about! I screamed in my head. Typically the only three basic class selections were your usual [Warrior], [Mage], and [Rogue]. Granted, in order to get a warrior class, one would need to obtain some sort of weapon proficiency skill. Usually incredibly easy. Just swing a weapon and you'll gain the skill. The [Mage] class was a bit more difficult. It required one to have sensed mana. Which! Can be as simple as finding a mana stone and picking it up. It was nice that I was able to get the skill right off the bat for being a High-Human however. I hadn't been sure how I would possibly have procured a mana stone. Nor would I have wanted to go through the process anytime soon. Only specific monsters dropped mana stones. I just happened to be lucky that the [Reanimated Decomposing Corpse] held one right in its skull. Which, reminding me, was something I needed to obtain.

Thinking of that, I reinserted my sword within the skull's eye socket, and, using the sword as leverage, shattered part of the skull, allowing for my hand to reach in through the goopy mess and pull out the mana stone. "Disgusting," I grimaced. With that out of the way though, I wiped it on the grass, reached around, and placed it in my backpack. With that out of the way, I made the class selection.

The [High-Human] classes were ridiculously powerful, and while it would be nice to specialize, I can already tell that no matter what, the path I was going to be walking would be the path of the Paragon. A class specialized on the frontlines as well as support from the backlines was incredibly versatile. Plus, that [Leadership] skill caught my eye! I was sure it would give some pretty nice buffs to our entire group. In addition to that, the class already unlocked a unique attribute right at Tier 1! Typically, it was Tier 2 classes that began to specialize and grant specific attribute bonuses.

Confirm class selection of [Juvenile High-Human Paragon]?

[Yes] / [No]

Warning!

The [Juvenile High-Human Paragon] class selection will result in a 10% increased experience cost for level advancements.

Of course, there was a catch. Leveling up will be noticeably slower with the 10% experience reduction, however! The class bonuses would allow me to outpace others of the same level regardless. The answer was still obvious. [Yes].

Class selection [Juvenile High-Human Paragon] granted.

You have reached Level 1!

+4 Strength, +3 Constitution, +2 Agility, +3 Wisdom, +4 Intelligence, and +1 Charisma received!

+4 Free Attribute Points received due to [High-Human] race.

Excitedly, I looked at my [status] once again.

Name: Thomas Parker [Genesis]

[Juvenile High-Human Paragon] Level: 1 | Experience: 60 / 110

Race: High-Human New!

Titles: High-Human Paragon New! Genesis New!

Health 106/106 ( +19 / hour )

Stamina 88/88

Mana 110/110 ( +19 / hour )

Attributes:

Strength: 14

Constitution: 13

Agility: 12

Wisdom: 13

Intelligence: 14

Unique Attributes:

Charisma: 6

Free Attribute Points: 4

Skills:

Appraisal - Level 1

Basic Sword Proficiency - Level 1

Basic Mana Manipulation - Level 1

Basic Elemental Affinity - Level 1 New!

- Fire Elemental Affinity - Level 1 New!

- Water Elemental Affinity - Level 1 New!

- Earth Elemental Affinity - Level 1 New!

- Air Elemental Affinity - Level 1 New!

Leadership - Level 1 New!

Paragon's Influence - Level 1

- Paragon's Tether

- Paragon's Charge

- Paragon's Bestowal

??? - Level 1

Free Skill Points: 1

The class selection provided a sizeable increase in my overall attributes. Even now I could feel noticeably stronger, tougher, and my head clearer. The [Charisma] attribute would be one to explore, but I had a feeling it was intrinsically tied with leadership. Since, you know. Charisma was a leadership trait and all. Regardless, I'd assign my free attribute points sometime later. For now, my companions have finally begun rousing, and the multitudes of undead nearby were starting to make their way towards us. Granted, now being level 1 and having a class, it was very likely that taking them down would be a simple affair. They were all level 1, so they didn't pose much danger. It would be when their mana cores strengthened due to mana exposure that they would begin becoming a threat. For now, however, I chose to focus on my wakening companions.

Kevin was the first one to open his eyes and begin sitting up. "Ah, shiiiiit man," he said as he brought his hand to his head. "What the hell was that?" He paused as if looking at something. "Oh! Dude! I just got the [Basic Mana Manipulation] skill!" Kevin exclaimed as he turned towards me. He paused again. "Uhhh... Have you been watching me sleep this entire time? You weirdo." Kevin grinned.

I smiled right back, "Good to see you too buddy." I laughed. Rachel and Jackson both soon woke up as well. Turns out, all three of them had received the mana manipulation skill. Thinking back on the mana surge, it was probably unsurprising. We were close to the epicenter and had been hit by it outright.

Speaking of epicenter though, I began walking out of the cemetery, with the other following behind me. Suddenly I heard a yelp and a small scream that was quickly cut off behind me. Turning around I noticed Rachel looking towards the shambling corpses. They weren't close yet, and as a result, not a threat. However, it wasn't surprising that the sight spooked her. I practically threw up when I saw them. "Ohh, now that ain't right!" Jackson exclaimed, noticing the result of the commotion. "This ain't supposed to be the walking dead!?" Jackson was visibly spooked as well.

"Guys," I grabbed the attention of both Rachel and Jackson. "This is going to be our new normal, and we are all going to have to get used to it." I stammered out. They visibly calmed. Well... That was a little easy? Was that my charisma or [Leadership] skill at work?... Probably. "Now, we need to start moving again. I don't want to be anywhere near here when the monsters from the Rift begin to spread throughout the city. It was as we walked out of the cemetery that I had the chance to glance back at the rifts. There were massive amounts of demons falling down from the rifts to the ground. there were thousands of black dots descending from the rifts. Clearly, they were a bit more high-leveled than the corpse I had just faced. Surviving a drop from that height likely required a pretty decent chunk of strength and constitution, or at the very least wings or some measure of magic.

The F-22's were still in the air, and it appeared that they had just finished taking another pass at the Rifts, as it was at that moment that another large explosion appeared in the midst of the falling specks of demons, likely another fusillade of missiles had just been fired. The blast actually managed to obliterate quite a chunk I noticed, as the explosion dissipated, and I saw a large empty space where monsters had previously been falling. At that moment, however, the Demon Lord decided to make his presence known. A massive, and brilliantly white-colored beam originated from the rift itself, right where the Demon Lord had been standing previously. The blast barely nicked the jet, obviously, the speed of it hadn't been calculated accurately by the Demon Lord, and albeit trailing smoke, the F-22 managed to escape the beam from its assailer. The F-22's began making their way back to the Northwest. Probably to resupply, I imagined they hadn't been equipped for an extended engagement. I mean up until a few minutes ago, they had no idea what had even been in the rifts in the first place.

Along with the retreating F-22's, our group also began to continue making our way down Mt. Auburn Street. Our immediate goal was to make our way down the Massachusetts Turnpike. From there it would be a straight shot to Shrewsbury. The Turnpike was notoriously crowded, however, so my only worry would be the attention the area might draw. I imagine it would still be better for traveling quicker rather than meandering through neighborhoods.

With the decision set, our small progression continued forward, ignoring the large-scale amounts of weapon discharges occurring several miles behind us. Likely law enforcement has engaged the invasion force. I thought. Only time would tell how much time that would buy the rest of us, however.