The Clouds
Aros watched as the large mushroom cloud filled the sky in the distance. Black smoke with an undertone of glowing orange flames.
Aros now remembered what was so important.
His power came from a nuclear power-plant to the north, a bit over 100 miles away.
He let out a shudder as he just now realized how deeply things were going to change. He pulled out his phone, and didn't get any signal.
Aros was now effectively cut off from electricity, and no cell signal either.
He quickly gets back to work, hauling the rest of the stuff, like camping gear, tools, tarps, and other items he might need, and finishes loading his truck.
He glanced around the inside of the shed. It was all only one big room, with half of it being a dusty, rusted, unused workshop area, and the other was where he parked.
He glanced around at the walls of the building, wondering if it was possible to stay here instead, but the drafty wooden walls were not going to help.
Aros headed back inside, getting ready for whatever was to come.
...
The next day. October 4th, 2020.
Aros had just woken up from a long night of restless sleep. The changes that occurred were much more drastic than he had expected.
The biggest thought in his mind was 'what now?'
He knew after the nuclear plant exploded, that he wouldn't be able to stay here anymore either. Radiation would slowly spread, which would lead to illness. He wanted to head south, into town, but he was wary of what people were doing.
He didn't trust many people before all this started, this apocalypse. So he definitely wasn't going to trust easily now either.
He gets up for the day, grabbing his .22 rifle and walking up the stairs.
Upstairs, the windows were now either boarded or covered up. It was what Aros spent the night doing. He ate a quick breakfast of eggs, sausage, and potatoes. [+3 EXP for cooking Simple Breakfast]
He was able to get some heat and a cooking place due to the wood stove he had in his home.
Thinking of the stove made Aros think about getting wood to fuel it, but he wasn't sure how long he was staying.
At this point, Aros was hesitating. He wasn't sure what to do, where to go. Should he leave and try his luck in town, where he isn't sure of the situation? Or should he stay on the farm, where he knows the surroundings, and avoid risks?
He lets out a sigh. "What am I going to do..." he mutters to himself.
"Hey system, how do I get skills?" Aros asked.
[There are three basic ways. The first, is through doing one specific action, which was good enough to acquire it. Another is to do the same action over and over again until it is acquired. And the third, is only available once you hit level 10.]
He frowned a bit at that. "How do I level up?" He asked.
[Killing monsters, creatures, animals, and other such beings. Or doing such an action that is believed to be beneficial. Such as cooking, planting, harvesting, blacksmithing, and many other things.]
He clicked his tongue, and read the part about killing animals, and went to check on his own.
Aros moves over to a window and peaks out towards the goat pasture.
In a way, the goats were like his test subjects when it came to mana or radiation. He could watch their health, and see any changes, to tell if it was safe outside.
He looked them all over. There were 6 goats here, and all of them had mainly white fur with other colors in different spots.
Aros frowned.
They were all... a bit bigger. And looked a bit stronger. Their horns look to have grown a bit longer, and the tips of them looked quite sharp.
One of them was actually changing color, going towards more of a dark brown. It was also the biggest of them.
He squinted his eyes at them before going back downstairs. He would check all of his supplies and get familiar with them, as well as checking around what was stored downstairs.
...
Later in the night, when it was almost midnight, Aros was still fidgeting in the basement. He was going over all the knowledge he had. From farming, to shooting, to videos he had watched on YouTube.
He had once seen stuff about nuclear winters. That was usually when there was so much ash, debris, and smoke in the sky to the point where little sunlight could reach the ground, leading to a massive drop in temperatures.
The nuclear power-plant exploded the day before. However, he doubted that this was the only one in the world that blew up.
Most of what he knew of nuclear winters and other disasters like it, were all on the basis that mana didn't exist. Now that their was an unknown factor thrown into the mix, he wasn't sure what to expect.
Just as he was thinking through this, he heard a loud goat bleating and scream from outside. He frowned and quickly got up, grabbing his gone, and peaked through the window.
He didn't dare to turn on his light, and just relied on what little moonlight appeared.
He could see the goats silhouettes at first, but there was only 4 in one group, and the other was standing alone. The sixth was missing.
He kept looking, waiting for his eyes to adjust. The one standing alone was the one with a dark brown fur. He could see that it was... eating...
He could barely make out the shape of another goat laying on the ground.
That brown one was eating another goat.
Aros shivered a bit and quickly grabbed on tighter to his rifle.
As he watched, he saw something which horrified him even more.
The brown goat had turned to the other 4, and slowly leaned back, no, that wasn't quite right. It was standing, on only its two hind legs. It let out a loud bleat at the other goats, making them run away before it went back down to all 4's and to eating the dead one.
Aros silently snuck back to the basement, already thinking over what he saw.
The animals, were mutating. The other goats seemed to just get bigger, but that one was definitely something else.
One thing he knew for sure, was that he wasn't letting it live. He was going to kill it in the morning, when he at least had light and was able to see.
...
The next morning, when the sun at just cleared the horizon, Aros was peaking out through a window. He could see the brown goat, but in the group of them, there was only three. Another was missing.
He saw the brown goat was standing up on its hind legs every once in awhile, which was still getting creepier every time.
There was dried blood on its horns, which showed it's killing method when dealing with the others.
Aros opened the window a bit and set the end of the gun on the window ledge.
He wasn't a good shot by any means, but if he could make it steady, and take awhile for the first shot, he was sure he would hit it.
He let out a shaky breath as he prepared himself.
He aimed towards the goats head, hoping to hit it in the brain. At this point, he wasn't sure if a bullet would go through it's chest, so he wasn't risking the first shot on there.
He clicks off the safety and slowly aims it, waiting for a moment when the goat holds still.
The goat slowly stops for a few moments, giving him a clear shot.
He carefully pulls the trigger, and hears the sound of his small rifle going off.
The goat lets out a large bleat that almost sounds like it's mixed with a human scream.
Aros shudders for a moment but quickly aims again to take another shot.
The goat was bleeding from its head, but it was still alive, and very pissed off.
Aros fires the gun once again, but the goat doesn't have any reaction, it was a miss.
It turns towards the source of the gunshot and starts to charge.
Aros fires again, hearing the goat scream but it keeps charging.
Aros breath picks up and his arms were starting to shake. The goat had broken through the fence and was getting closer. He fired again.
The goats body goes limp as it collapses and stumbles to the ground.
Aros let's put a shaky sigh, but still shoots it in the head one more time for extra measure.
He had used 5 of his bullets and had put it down. He now had 42 bullets left.
Aros slowly stepped outside and walked towards the goat, keeping his rifle in hand.
[Gained new skill: Shooting Lv 1]
[+130 EXP for killing Goatman (partial)]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[+10 Stat points]
Aros was now level 3, which brought some relief to him.
[Gained Bestiary for Goatman (incomplete)]