The Beginning (II)
Friday, April 25th of the "New World Era" 001
I went back inside after gathering my thoughts while thinking of what to do next.
I looked over at the same desk, which contained that book I noticed when I woke this morning.
[Memories of the Past] I went over, picked it up, and thought to myself.
I should bring this with me as well, just in case it has any importance, information, or anything else I might be able to use to help myself in this situation.
"Maybe I should at least read a few pages beforehand."
I then sat down on my chair by the desk, opened the book [Memories of the Past], and To my surprise, it was a blank, filled page, as if the author hadn't even begun to write.
After closing the book, I placed it inside my backpack. I went into my kitchen after getting
up and started to get a few canned goods and can openers for long-lasting food.
"I need just one more thing before I can go."
He thought to himself as he walked outside to an old, rust-filled room in his backyard.
As he opened the door.
"Ah, there it is." This sword is what my grandfather left me. "This might become an important weapon for my survival." He thought to himself while picking it up and sheathing the all-white blade with a midnight blue handle.
He walked outside the old building in his backyard while approaching his front yard from the side gate.
"I have water, food, a weapon for protection, and even this hologram thing that is still saying this."
[Welcome, player "Cain Ravens." Please select a class below while we are loading your stats.
This could take up to 32 days.]
While he looked at this screen for a moment,
He remembered what he needs to do currently, and that's to get a move on before anything more weird happens in this world.
"I should probably find a few old friends like James Levine to start with. He has the most chances of being alive among the others." He said to himself while walking towards James Levine's house.
Cain something like a ringing sound, then he looks at the system.
[Player "Cain Ravens," We have automatically added the following classes for you to choose from: Please pick within 48 hours.]
He looks at the "classes" while being filled with curiosity and suspicion.
[Swordsmanship: +2 stat into "agility", 0.5% boost to learn swordsmanship and +2 stats into
"strength," including the ability to progress faster within the weapon category "Swords,"]
[Psychological Effects: Gives the player the stat
"psychic," allowing the user to use "illusions" and other formats of "psychological" effects.
Downside: massive headaches, and a 47.8% chance of having a heart attack, which could possibly be lethal enough for death.]
[Guardian: +2 stats into "agility," +2 stats into
"Strength" gives the player the ability to "create" a dome around himself. Once a player or non-player who has not been permitted to enter, The user gains a 7% boost in all stats.
Downside: The player must always have a pure heart and soul. Every time you run away from a
"Friend" in need, all stats will be lost by 15.
Would you like to see your stats before choosing player "Cain Ravens"?
"Yes, I would like to open my stats," he said out loud while complaining to himself that the suitable option has too many downsides.
[Stats of player "Cain Ravens"]
Agility: 014
Strength: 015
Magic: 000
Skills: ???
[End of Stats]
He stopped walking, started to look up, and began to realize this was all real and not just some "game" or a joke after seeing that.
"So, all of this is real, huh? Maybe it's not a bad thing, or possibly, it is. But no matter; either way, it's going to be fine. All I have to do is play solo and just enjoy it until I draw my last breath.
He said as he sighed, and finally became fully aware of what the world had turned into.
[The player, 'Cain Ravens' has closed the "System Windows"].
Twenty minutes of walking later. He finally makes it to his friend 'James Levine'.
He walks up to the door, knocks and says,
"It's me, Cain. You're still here, aren't you?"
A few minutes passed by, and he was still waiting, then he heard the door being opened and looked at James.
"Holy shit, Cain, I thought it was someone else, so I was a bit hesitant to open the door at first. I apologize for that."
"Oh no, don't worry at all, it's only reasonable to not open the door, especially with all of this that's happening out here."
He said while getting up from a chair he found in the yard.
"Well, since you're here, I'll assume you didn't come for no reason, huh, Cain?"
"You're correct about that. I wondered if you wanted to come with me, since it might be better to have someone like you than anyone else."
He said while thinking about what he said earlier about going to play solo but decides to just focus on surviving over anything else.
"Hm, yeah, I believe that might be the best idea, honesty. I mean, have you seen those monster things running around recently?"
He looked at James and was suddenly wide-eyed while looking at him
"James, come here and do not look behind you"
"Huh? Don't look behind me?"
James turned around and suddenly began to sweat, his gaze become struck while slowly looking up at this 7 ft 6 inches tall green 'monster'
The 'monster' begins to walk forward towards him and 'vanished' until he appeared in front of James in just a moment.
"JAMES"
He yelled at the top of his lungs as he watched his best friend from the 2nd grade with a sudden hole in his chest from a single fist strike, which he couldn't even understand how it happened.
James's body falls from the monster's arm and his eyes becomes darker, coughing up blood with his final breath he says
"Su-survive for us both…"
As he loses his consciousness and his eyes close.
Cain suddenly begins to cry while being powerless to the monster in front of him.
As the monster begins to move towards him, his arm gets sliced off by a sword.
"H-huh, what just happened"
Cain says, while looking around to see who it was or where it came from which he couldn't find a clue.
The moonlight is out, the skies are filled with stars, the cool breeze all around the area becomes even more cold.
"W-who are you"
Cain says while looking up at someone dressed in an all white outfit which he doesn't recognize
"Do not worry, I'll handle this monster. Get away from here if you value your life at all."
Says the mysterious person who appeared.
Cain gets up in tears running down his face, dropping to the floor and thanks, the person and clutches onto his sword which he couldn't use to help save his friend's life due to weak swordsmanship.
"I will…I will kill every single one of those monsters who dare to show their face in front of me."
Says Cain while clutching his sword even tighter, making his hand bleed, infusing the midnight-blue handle with red as dark as blood.
After walking the path he followed since leaving his friend's house, it turned to night rapidly.
"Heh, it's already night. Fucking hell, why was I so damn powerless back then"
He says while gazing up towards the dark sky filled with light of stars gazing back at him.
Then he has an idea
"System, open the class selection window."
[Opening "Class selection"
[Swordsmanship: +2 stat into "agility", 0.5% boost to learn swordsmanship and +2 stats into
"strength," including the ability to progress faster within the weapon category "Swords,"]
[Psychological Effects: Gives the player the stat
"psychic," allowing the user to use "illusions" and other formats of "psychological" effects.
Downside: massive headaches, and a 47.8% chance of having a heart attack, which could possibly be lethal enough for death.]
[Guardian: +2 stats into "agility," +2 stats into
"Strength" gives the player the ability to
"create" a dome around himself. Once a player or non-player who has not been permitted to enter, The user gains a 7% boost in all stats.
Downside: The player must always have a pure heart and soul. Every time you run away from a
"Friend" in need, all stats will be lost by 15.]
You have unlocked a new class selection due to the events you have been through. Player 'Cain Ravens' welcome to "Secret classes".
[Commander: +5 stats to 'strength', +3 stats to 'agility', allows the Player to have the 'skill' "Commander's voice", gives the Player the 'stat' Intelligence at +5.
Downside: you may only use skills/abilities/class skills available for the "Commander" Route.]
[Player, would you like to see the skill "Commander's Voice" note?
"A note? Could it be about how to use this skill?."
"Yes, show me the "note" for this skill.]
[Commander's Voice. — A+ Grade
Commander's Voice, it allows the Player to boost his agility and strength by 10 for 20 minutes.
Sub effect: This skill allows the Player to have more 'influence' with words. Each person who believes and falls for your 'influence' will grant you +2 extra points in agility.]
Player 'Cain Ravens'. Would you like to receive such a skill?
"Hm, it sounds like I could use it to have a "conversation" of good will with people, and at the same time to allow a stat boost"
He said while thinking of new possibilities with this 'class' he chose.
[Player, 'Cain Ravens' congratulations on upgrading your class. You will now have access to the class "Commander". You will also be able to unlock a secondary class when you have completed the requirements.
Requirements:
???
???
???
???
???]
He wipes his tears off his eyes and begins to smile while looking at the screen and looking at the 'sudden quest' that appeared before him.
"This, this is something I will look forward to. I accept this quest."
[Player 'Cain Ravens' has accepted the 'sudden quest'
Quest: Eliminate 10 goblins.
Reward: 120 gold, 300 exp]
He then unsheathes his sword and began practicing swordsmanship for 48 hours without a break.
[Player 'Cain Ravens', your strength has increased by 3. Agility has increased by 4]
[Current stats of player "Cain Ravens"
Agility: 021
Strength: 023
Magic: 000
Intelligence: 030
Skills: Commander's Voice – A+]
{in case nobody understood where the stat numbers came from it came from the "Commander" class which gives +5 stats to 'strength', +3 stats to 'agility' just to clear up the confusion if anyone had any on the stat numbers}
After checking his stats, he decided to begin the quest of Elimination of the goblins.
Suddenly, he stopped before continuing due to voices he heard in the distant, which sounded like a cry for help. He rushed over quickly but quietly to observe the situation first.
He looked over from a safe position and saw three people running from 'green monsters' which he assumed were these creatures called 'goblins'. He grabbed the handle of his sword, unsheathed his blade and ran towards the people.
"Watch out!" He yelled at one of the two people while slicing the head off the goblin which was about to bite the person.
"Are you okay?" He asked in a soft voice, almost angelic.
"Y-yes I'm fine, thanks to you…but who are you exactly?" She asked Cain in nervousness while catching her breath.
"Just keep quiet for now and let me finish this, and then we can talk"
He said while slicing the other two heads off their body, making the two goblins collapse on top of each other with green blood rushing out of their necks.
He looked around and didn't see the second person, he stayed on guard while talking to the current girl who he didn't even know the name of.
"So, where is your friend?"
She looked around for a moment and said, "I'm not quite sure. I thought he would be around here somewhere"
All of a sudden, the sky got clearer than before, and there was a huge hologram which read the following context
[Players of the 'North America' servers, I welcome you all into this new world. Due to unexpected circumstances, we have decided to move forward to the [First Stage – Terror of the Future.
Difficulty - D+
Rewards for clearing: 200 gold, 450 exp
Conditions for clearing: Eliminate 5 waves of 100 goblins.
Defeat the 'Goblin King'
Defend against the waves instead of killing for 30 days.
(Clearing one of the above will be perfectly fine for clearing the First Stage).]
Cain's eyes got a bit darker after seeing what this "system" said.
"What the hell man, we haven't even been here for a month, yet we have to do this…"
He said, but, instead of trembling with fear like the girl before him, he felt enjoyment, fulfillment, and confidence to clear this [First Stage] to keep his vow to kill all monsters he sees.
He then turned around and looked at the girl currently confused. "You know, you shouldn't try to sneak up on people while they're currently enjoying themselves to the fullest".
He then turns his blade to match his wrist, turned around while the other person was rushing him with a sword and crosses swords with him.
"So why did you do it?" He asked while enjoying this experience of 'could have been dead' moment.
Struggling a bit to hold his sword to block, he responds "I'm not sure who you are, but I won't allow you to kill her"
Cain then realized at that moment it looked like he was going to kill the girl on the floor and tried to explain it.
"W-well, actually I wasn't going to kill her, or even hurt her in any way. It's a simple misunderstanding."
The man who appeared suddenly backs off a bit
"Oh… Well then you should've said that from the start and all of this could've been avoided".
Then he strikes towards Cain even faster than before, crossing blades in a zigzag formation around the block.
"Hey, I thought we avoided this already?"
"Since when did I ever say I wasn't going to kill you, though?" The mysterious man in all black says while activating his skill [Swordsmanship].
The fight speeds up to the point where Cain is barely holding on, losing his grip on the handle of his midnight-blue coated handle while spitting up blood from strikes he wasn't able to dodge nor block.
"Man, this shit is seriously annoying"
Cain says while activating his skill [Commander's Voice] increasing his agility and strength by 10.
[Current stats for 10 minutes:
Agility: 031
Strength: 033
Magic: 000
Intelligence: 030]
Cain speeds up, surpassing the mysterious man in speed and strength, approaching him from different angles rapidly and cutting him slowly.
"What's wrong? Can't keep up with me now? What happened to your spirit just a moment ago" He yelled out while enjoying the fight but keeping a close eye on the timer for his stats.
"Damn it, I can't keep up anymore, what's going on here, how the hell did his bastard get faster. Was it a skill?" The mysterious man thought while desperately attempting to block as many of the attacks as possible.
Cain strikes the man's neck, cutting it open, blood flows out from the neck as the blade cuts was deep and fast as if it were like a lighting strike in the form of a blade.
"D-damn it. I f-failed" said the man as he drops to the ground from the cut and loses consciousness from lack of blood.
"Hm, he was strong… If it weren't for this skill I would've definitely lost" said Cain while standing over the dead body, then sliced the head off from the neck.
The girl who was sitting in the corner disappeared while the fight was happening
"Huh, I guess she ran off mid-fight? Anyway, that's not my problem. I need to focus on getting this first stage and quest done with more than anything else."
Cain said as he sheathed his blade, while holding on to his arm from the pain of the cuts.
He walks away as the sun begins to rise in agony.
"Damn it, I need to find a place to rest for a bit of time. Should I go home? No, that's unnecessary considering distant. What I need is a tree or behind one of these houses."
He heard a noise and grabbed the handle of the blade, unsheathing it and turning around quickly.
"W-what the hell was that sound, I know I heard something" while looking around the small buildings next to him, he sees three people walking out of one and quickly goes behind a wall to listen to the current conversation.
"do you actually think that idiot is dead? He said it could take a few days to find whatever it was he was looking for"
One of the three people said while looking at the others.
"W-well that's true. Still, you need to think of it. If he is dead, then what about everyone here? What will happen to all of us, since we can't really do anything like he can. He's fast, reliable, and has some great power from when we last saw him fight."
One of the three says while looking down in a slight frown, holding back tears.
"Listen, Cynthia. I know it's hard losing your older brother due to these circumstances… I know how hard it is. We all do, but we need to be strong and do our parts to ensure we all survive even with the upcoming [First Stage – Terror of the Future] you know? Come on inside and cheer up, it's going to be fine."
"Alright, so what should I do for the moment?"
With a bit more confidence than before
"Well, first, let's go back inside. We all know how dangerous it is without anyone with skills or stat points ready to be used."
Cain thinks to himself as he heard 'Stat Points'
"Stat points? If there's really such a thing, then I need to figure it out as I should have quite a lot maybe?"
"Alright then, let's go back inside and get more things prepared for this upcoming event"
They all went inside and closed the door. Cain sighed and got up from the ground.
"Stat points, skills, quests, that person, this upcoming event thing, just all of this feels like nonsense from a story. First I need to rest a bit before I'm able to do anything, though."
After a few moments of walking, Cain's vision got blurry, and he decided to just rest behind a wall of a house that seemed to be abandoned.
{Sunday, May 3rd of the "New World Era" 001}
He opened his eyes to see that it was dark out now. Cain looked down at his cuts that had stopped bleeding, but scars were all over his body.
"Shit, I look badass with these. Just like out of a manga or something."
He said while looking at his body.
"I need to get up and get back to my 'base' I could call it."
Cain gets up and begins to walk towards the direction of his base/camp is set up at, while hearing his stomach growl for food. Someone from the base the other day heard and started to follow Cain out of suspension.
"Damn, I can barely keep my feet from falling behind my mind. I can't keep this up much longer before falling huh, well, whatever I'll just get a bit closer and sit back down, and then I'll attempt to see what's wrong with my body … to the best of my knowledge."
Cain said while trying to walk properly but almost falling with every step.
"I don't think he knows I'm here yet, it's weird to see anyone at all since the end of the world a few days ago. It's especially unusual since this is the 'Western Circle' of this place … who in the world would dare to spy on anyone here. I need to keep trailing him for a while before I can make a clear judgement to rather eliminate him or not."
Continues to follow Cain from a distance while keeping up with him quietly.