The idyllic greens of the forest were at odds with the stench of death hanging over the clearing. Crushed nests, clawed red mud, broken bodies. A macabre sight. In the middle, on a small stone cube, sat a man. His clothes were bloodied and torn, dirtied skin clearly visible through holes, and dried blood marbling the mud, creating a gruesome, yet hypnotic, pattern. Curiously, there seemed to be no wound’s marring the patterns, not a single blemish distorting its perfect chaos. Hunched, staring forward, the man’s eyes were unfocused, wide, almost as if he were reading an invisible mural or tablet, intently searching for any secrets he could glean from its surface.

Daniel had opened his status screen almost instantly after the departure of the alien, and was greeted not by the view of his attributes, but instead by that of an unfamiliar screen.

Congratulations! You have reached lvl. 10! You are now eligible for a Class or Profession. As this is your first Class or Profession, choices can only be made from a default list. Please choose to examine your available classes or professions.

Browse Classes

Browse Professions

Focusing on Classes, a list appeared.

Available Classes (Focus on one for more information) :

Rogue

Archer

Fighter

Cleric [Locked]

Mage [Locked]

Daniel contemplated his choices. The threat of death was not pleasant. However, neither was his current predicament. Sure, it was relatively favourable right now, but who was to say that the terms wouldn’t suddenly change? The lack of control was… disturbing to Daniel. Ultimately though, it was a choice between certain death, and potential slavery. There was clearly a better option between the two. Accepting that nothing could be done currently about his ambiguous relationship with Tau, Daniel opened Rogue and began to read.

Rogue:

Cunning tricksters, fighting with skill and trickery, not strength, speed, or magic. Generally considered untrustworthy due to their… capitalistic nature.

Recommended Skills and Abilities:

Stealth, Tactics, Persuade, Lie, Pickpocket, Critical Strike, Find weakness, Scan Item, Small Bladed Weaponry, Ranged Weaponry.

Primary Attributes:

Dexterity, Wisdom, Perception

Secondary Attributes:

Charisma, Agility, Intelligence

Tertiary Attributes:

Strength, Endurance, Willpower

Bonuses:

All Skills and Abilities mentioned under recommended receive a 5% boost to increase. No Skills or Abilities receive debuffs. Primary Attributes are 5% easier to increase.

Accept? [Yes] [No]

The description made the class seem perfect for him, true, and he had all the skills and abilities aside from Ranged Weaponry, but the attributes were slightly different than those he had been told to prioritise. He supposed part of that was his complete isolation, but the Rogue was generally considered a solo class. Pressing down on the growing unease he felt, he turned his thoughts back to the box and willed yes. The alien had given no reasons not to take its advice, and had been very clear on the consequences of betrayal. He would follow what Tau had recommended, for now.

Immediately after confirming his choice, a new box popped up, congratulating him on his choice, and summing up the information displayed in the previous box. Dismissing this box too, Daniel looked at his status for the first time since the beginning of this excursion.

Instead of his Status, yet another box, similar to the first, appeared.

Congratulations! You have reached lvl. 15! You are now eligible for a Class or Profession. As this may be your second Class choices will be more tailored, taking into account your Profession(s) and/or any skill growths. As this may be your first Profession, choices can only be made from a default list. Please choose to examine your available classes or professions.

Browse Classes

Browse Professions

Sighing, Daniel once again followed the instructions of Tau, opening the Professions, and clicking the first option available, Survivalist.

Survivalist:

Living solo in the wilderness, a Survivalist's main strengths are complete self-dependence. Whilst they may not be the best cook, builder, or hunter, they do well enough to keep themselves alive, and then some. The jack of all trades in crafting, those of this profession pride themselves on being able to always use the right tool for the job, even its use is slightly subpar compared to the dedicated class.

Recommended Skills and Abilities:

Crafting(5 of non magical crafting Skills, e.g. Smithing: Weapons, Armour and Tools, Tailoring, Carpentry, Tanning, Leatherworking, Weaving, Masonry, Cooking, Alchemy), Wilderness Training, Tracking, Herblore, Stealth, First Aid, Scan item, Find Weakness

Primary Attributes:

Vitality, Intelligence, Wisdom

Secondary Attributes:

Endurance, Perception, Dexterity

Tertiary Attributes:

Willpower, Strength, Agility

Bonuses:

All Skills and Abilities mentioned under recommended receive a 3% boost to increase. No Skills or Abilities receive debuffs. Primary Attributes are 3% easier to increase. (+2% in the user's selected environment.)

Daniel looked at the class, impressed. Whilst it would be instantly looked over in any player in a game, acting as a weak crafter/poor hunter hybrid, in the real world, the lack of specialisation was perfect. Most non-combat skills and relatively important Attributes increasing slightly faster in certain environments was nothing to sneeze at. The generalisation may save his life. Selecting the class, another box popped up asking which environment he’d like to select for his additional boost. Choosing forest, the man dismissed the screen, and finally opened his status.

Name:

Daniel Bishop

Level:

15 (46%)

Class:

Rogue Lvl.1

Profession:

Survivalist Lvl.1

Strength

13

Intelligence

12

Agility

14

Perception

15

Dexterity

14

Wisdom

15

Vitality

7

Charisma

5

Endurance

12

Willpower

18

Settings

Available Attribute Points: 10

Skills and Abilities

Help

The number of points was, quite frankly, staggering. Assigning them quickly, before he decided to trust his gut and ignore the alien’s advice, he looked at his updated Attributes.

Name:

Daniel Bishop

Level:

16 (46%)

Class:

Rogue Lvl.1

Profession:

Survivalist Lvl.1

Strength

13

Intelligence

14

Agility

16

Perception

17

Dexterity

16

Wisdom

17

Vitality

8

Charisma

5

Endurance

12

Willpower

18

Settings

Available Attribute Points: 0

Skills and Abilities

Help

Opening the Skills and Abilities tab, which was flashing, he looked at his newly upgraded skills.

Small Blades had reached Lvl. 24, a massive improvement, although Daniels supposed that killing an entire colony of creatures in intense combat would do that.

Run, Critical Strike, and Stealth had all increased by one level each, whilst Scan Item and Find Weakness had both increased by two each. Most surprisingly however, Fast Talking had increased by 4 whole levels, Tau evidently a formidable verbal opponent.

He’d also unlocked two new skills.

One Armed Blunt Weaponry

Lvl. 9

(Beginner Rank 4)

Spears (Throwing + Melee)

Lvl. 11

(Beginner Rank 6)

The axe had evidently been considered a club by the AIOS, which had also averaged two new related skills he had gained, lowering the Melee skill level slightly, but boosting his throwing percentage damage, which was a bonus in his opinion.

Stretching, the man hopped off his cube, and surveyed his new home. Before he could even think of grinding, he had to create a suitable home base. The rest of his day was spent moving the wreckage of houses into a pile next to the pond, to be burned when he had recreated his new fire. The corpses were looted of weapons, and the trinkets, mainly animal parts, along with the corpses were thrown onto the heap. Just before the sun set behind the treetops, Daniel entered the alcove behind the waterfall, the home of the Alpha.

The majority of the rocky hole was taken up by a massive half sphere, constructed largely of the same materials from outside, but with a feather and fur lining inside the ‘classic’ nest shape. Immediately deciding to dispose of the shit-stained, rotting bed of the settlements' recently deceased leader, Daniel explored the rest of the Alpha’s abode. A small pile of treasures, seemingly relics from humanity’s reign, briefly excited the man, before he realised the the contents were little more than brightly coloured plastic shards, likely from toys, and twisted sculptures of rust, their original form so obscured by decades of harsh treatment that they could be called little other than nature’s poor attempts at mimicking modern art. Quickly disposing of the alcoves contents into the gigantic heap now outside, Daniel face planted onto the rocky, shit-streaked floor, passing out cold from exhaustion, too tired to even check the blinking diamond on the edge of his vision.

For the first time since his battle, Daniel slept, the drumming sound of the waterfall echoing a lullaby in the dark space behind his eyelids.