Daniel gives me a curious look, and I’m pretty sure I know what he’s going to ask me.
“Did you get that too? It says I have slain a creature and leveled up to one.”
Is this a video game? Both the creature and we have levels? Can’t anything normal happen today?
“Yes, I got the same messages. It really was a zombie. Or undead, I guess.”
“Let’s go back around and tell the others. We can make a game plan from there.”
I followed him back around the tree, confusion and worry evident on both our faces.
“What happened?” Clark asked us as soon as we came into view.
“There was some kind of… zombie. After killing it, we got a message that said we killed a level three undead farmer. And that we have leveled up to level one, whatever that means.” Daniel said as he shook his head in disbelief.
“Leveled up? Like a video game?” The younger brother asks, gripping his baseball bat tight in his hands.
“I have no idea. Not a single clue what the fuck is happening. We could have left Earth for all I know.”
Clark and I make eye contact as Daniel says that.
Oh yeah, we haven't told them we probably left Earth.
“So, Clark and I found out earlier that we actually might have left Earth.” I say as gently as I can to the group.
“What!? How?” Daniel asks.
“We saw a big-ass moon rising over the trees, the kind of moon Earth doesn’t have.”
“Fuck. I don’t think rescue is coming for us.”
“Well, now we really need a plan. We should head back to the bus for now.”
The four of us walk back to the bus, considering what the hell we could even do. It’s not like we could call for help. We are on our own now.
I continue to control my breathing, trying to keep myself as calm as possible right now.
Freaking out will only get me killed, like that guy in the forest. He saw a man in a strange forest and decided to approach him? How stupid can people be?
I notice that most of the people have moved back into the bus. Only a small group remains outside, talking to each other.
We approach this group, and they turn to look at us, hope in their eyes.
“Did you guys find out anything?” A short blonde woman asks Daniel.
I think she is a nurse if I remember right. It’s hard to remember. I only spoke to her once, months ago, when the bus was full and she sat next to me.
Daniel shakes his head before looking the woman in her eyes, speaking in a serious tone.
“Nothing good. A ‘zombie,’ or something similar, killed the guy who wandered into the forest earlier. It ripped him apart and was eating him. It survived a shot to the chest and had to have its brain pierced to die.”
The whole group reeled back in shock at the same time.
I can't even blame them. Seeing that… mess was a huge wake-up call. We need to be extra careful, or it could be one of us next.
“And that's not all. After killing it, we were told that we leveled up to level one.”
One of the teenage boys took this opportunity to speak up, walking up to Daniel.
“We found something out as well. If you say [System], it kind of 'downloads’ information into your brain.”
The group of four that returned from the forest all spoke at almost the same time.
“[System]”
As I say the word, I feel the same feeling as when it told me I killed the undead and leveled up, like information worming its way into my head.
[Ray Alder] lvl 1
Race
[Human]
Active Skills
[Developing]
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Passive Skills
[Mana Sense] lvl 0
Traits
[Adaptive Affinity]
Affinities
[Space]
Well, that’s definitely new, and another point for the having-left-earth argument. Which at this point was too good of an argument to ignore, unfortunately, as that’s my favorite thing to do with things I don't like.
I look at what I suppose is my character sheet, and I’m slightly disappointed.
Why is it so small? Where the hell is any explanation or information? This thing is bare-bones as hell.
“Active skills, active skills explanation, traits, affinities…” I say anything that comes to mind in hopes of getting just a little bit more information. Nothing more ever pops up, leaving me questioning what is happening even harder now.
What is [Mana Sense]? Does "mana" mean magic? Is magic real here? That would be an easy explanation for everything. Wait! Magic! Like real magic? Will I be able to cast fireballs and fly? Hmm, it says I have a [Space] affinity, so will I be able to teleport and stuff? I wish it would tell me just a little bit.
Pretty please?
It never gives me anything.
I am brought out of my thoughts by Daniel, who is asking me something.
“What is your passive skill, Ray?”
“It’s called [Mana Sense], and it’s at level zero right now.”
What is level zero? Isn’t that just not having it? Obviously not, as I do have it. Who knows? Not me, that’s for sure.
“Mine is called [Endure], also at level zero.” Clark says from next to me, his brother tells us his skill after.
“Mine is called [Keen Sense], level zero.”
“Mine is called [Leadership].” Daniel says.
That’s… something. Did we get these passive skills because of our personalities or something? More questions to add to the rapidly growing pile. Really a tower at this point.
“How do we level them up? I need to find some mana to sense. Does anybody know where to find some?” I ask sarcastically, not expecting a response.
“I would bet money that the undead you guys killed has some mana in it.” Duncan says to me almost immediately.
My face drops as I realize the implication. I would have to go back to that hellhole on the other side of the tree.
I can do it. If it means getting access to magic, I would probably do much worse. It’s not like I can throw up anymore. Everything I ate is already over there.
I turn to face Daniel, ready to ask him to join me, but he beats me to it.
“Yes, I will go to the body with you. We should also bring back the body of the other man. Maybe we can bury him somewhere.”
“I’ll go with you guys as well,” a man says as he steps out of the group and towards me and Daniel.
He is fairly tall, easily six and a half feet, well-built, and wearing gym clothes. Just the kind of guy you want to watch your back when the undead are lurking around.
“If it’s just weak-ass zombies, I should have no issues. My passive skill is called [Danger Sense]. Name’s Jared, by the way.”
He is confident, that’s for sure. Maybe overconfident. That undead did manage to get one guy within a few minutes of us getting here.
“Glad to have you,” Daniel said as he shook the newcomer's hand and gave me an amused look.
I’m sure it will be fine. He seems solid. And the revolver should still have at least five bullets left. I wonder if he has more in his backpack?
“Well, I’m ready to go back whenever. We should bring something to cover the body, though.” I say.
“Good idea. People will freak out if they see that body.”
Daniel walks into the bus and a few moments later returns with a grey blanket bundled under one of his arms.
“This should be big enough. Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.”
Daniel leads Jared and me back along the same path from earlier, now even more worn out as we stomp the grass in our way flat.
“I will put the blanket over the body, so you guys don’t have to see the body at all or again.”
How kind of him. I really don’t want to look that dead guy in the face again. That was creepy.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the tree and then for our group leader to give the signal that it’s covered.
I walk around the tree, seeing the grey blanket draped over the body, and my target next to it.
Just touch the body, feel its mana, and leave. That's all you have to do, and you might get magic, Ray. Small price to pay.
I look at the corpse, spear still sticking out of its eye, and for the first time smell it as well. As the stench wafts up to my nose, I involuntarily take a few steps backward.
It’s putrid. Easily the worst thing I’ve ever smelled, causing me to start gagging again.
Daniel walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, trying to give encouraging advice before he and Jared start to stand watch over the forest in front of me.
“You can do it, Ray. It’s for science! Or magic, I guess. Either way, mind over matter.”
I brace myself and sit down next to the body. My hoodie pulled up over my nose in an attempt to block out the smell and hopefully stop from breathing anything in. It works ok. It probably gives me more peace of mind than it actually helps.
My hand reaches out for the leg of the undead, resting on the pants over the thigh, and I try anything to get [Mana Sense] to activate. First I just try looking really hard, and when that fails I try closing my eyes and meditating. That also fails.
Maybe the mana is deeper in the body? I hope this thing has mana, and that I’m not just doing this for nothing. Time to try harder.
I move my hand to the large open chest wound from the gunshot, fingertips right at the edge. I try the meditation technique again, hoping to feel something near my hand.
After nearly a minute, I finally feel something.
Near the tips of my fingers there is a slight ‘breeze’ of something moving away from the body and dissipating right away. It feels dirty and gross, for lack of a better description. I have never in my life felt anything close to this. It’s like a sixth sense was unlocked, and if the [System] is to be believed, one was.
I feel the sensation of more information being downloaded into my head again and stand up while checking it.
[You have leveled up a passive skill.]
[Mana Sense] lvl 1
Holy shit, that’s awesome. I don’t feel any different, other than I’m excited as hell now to learn about mana. I should tell the others so we can go back to the bus, and I can play with my new skill.
“I’m done here. Got what I need—” My sentence is cut off by a scream from Jared.