CH. 5 - The Tutorial

In the end I choose the [Mage] class, it has an addition 5% to magic attacks and a 10% boost to magic defense.  Won't be much help at first maybe, but I plan to stay either far away or on the good side of people with pointy metal objects.  Plus the addition of the [Wisdom] stats boost mana regen nicely since it starts at 5 rather than 1 or 0 like I feared. 

I reach out and touch the glowing staff representing mages.  To my surprise my fingers wrapped around it.  next thing I know I'm holding a piece of wood that looks  like it fell off of a tree.   A suicidal tree that cuts itself.  It's an ugly piece of lumber, but I have a sneaking suspicion I know where this is headed.  I look closely at the staff and think 'inspect'.  Sure enough... 

Balsa Staff
Type	Magic Staff	Durability	15/15
Attack 1-3		+3 INT
Weak magic conduit

Yup, novice equipment.  Well, every great magi has to start somewhere I suppose.  I'm about to ask Sigma-Bob how to get better gear when

New ability Identify

Nice.  I wave the window away and the skills tab come up with a thought.  I'm liking the intuitive nature of the Celestials system.  We may all still die, but at least it wont be because the system wasn't idiot proof. 

Skills and Abilities
Name		Level	Experience
Inspect		1	2.25%
Fire shot		1	0%
Stone skin		1	0%
Haste		1	0%
Splash		1	0%
Meditate		1	0%

Fairly straight forward except for splash.   

Splash
Type: Water/10 MP	Magic Attack	Damage n/a	Knock Back
Please vacate my personal space

Heh.  "Bob! I didn't know you had a sense of humour, 'personal space', heh!"

"I'm sure I will develop one should I choose to, however, the skill notes are not a Sigma construct. "  He says stiffly. 

For a guy who's still developing a personality, he sure has a stick up his butt.  Anyway, that's a bit of interesting news.  If the Sigma Celestials are different from other Celestials... 

"Ahh, I get it." I look a little closer at Bob-48 to see if I get a reaction. "2400 Celestials, 100 Sigmas.  So 24 sets of you guys.  The Greek Alphabet!?" 

"Yes, but it is not a secret.  I am a guide, Most of the skills, spells and abilities were made the Pi's and Omicron's.  The Omicrons are especially developed from prolonged exposure to the reference material used to build that part of the system." 

"Reference material?" I ask. 

"All the myth, legends, lore, stories, religions and games of this world." 

Huh, I was thinking I might want to meet one of those guys, but no one raised on pure Earth fiction could possibly be right in the head.  On second thought, might be best to stay away from the Pi's and Omicrons for future references.  But before I forget, I better get some additional info before making my way in the world. 

Speaking of stray thoughts, 'Inventory' I think to myself.  Good, it opens up readily enough but I see only for square spots.  Poking around a bit reveals it can be upgraded with both coin and materials. 

Inventory

Upgrade cost  *5 Mana Shard *1 Spacial Gem * 10 Cloth Pouches

No idea what those are just yet, but I'm guessing loot drops.  We'll see.   

I spend some time testing out my spells but they really are pretty straight forward.  Shoot a small fireball, skin gets tougher, feet move faster, ring of water explodes outward pushing everything away and Siting quietly activates a faster [MP], [HP] and [STA] regen. 

"Hey Bobs-your-uncle, I saw a lot of non combat classes earlier.  Is the only way to get new gear to buy it or something?" 

Sigma-48 looks at me for a bit then answers anyway, determined to be the bigger man perhaps, heh. 

"Not the only way, just the safest.  You can earn money by killing certain... mobs for sure, but some will also drop items, like you are used to in your games.  You will, I'm sure, notice that certain mobs will drop certain loot, and so will you if you die." 

Well damn it, I was afraid to ask, but now that it's come up I might as well bite the bullet.  "Hey Sigma-48," See I can be polite when I have to. " Huh, about that whole dying thing..." 

"Re-spawns," He interrupts me, "Aren't Impossible.  There are more than a few methods to do so, finding one is up to you.  On that note I should also tell you to be careful with your soul.  When this world was sealed, the usual avenue of escape after death was also sealed.   

Normally a soul is drained of its memories and experiences after death then set to be reborn somewhere new but random in the universe.  Now the process will take years after death, and there is no guarantee you wont be reborn before your aura can be drained.    That is something you do NOT want to happen.  A baby with years worth of memories will grow insane with time.  Also while dead the memories and experiences of your souls aura can be used as a power source for magic.  But only by force and it is one of the few ways to actually cause damage to a soul. Not to say, you are completely vulnerable after death, just for a short time until a Theta claims your soul for safe keeping."  

So if anyone but a god or Celestial handles my soul after death, it's bad news. Got it.  Note to self, find a way to rez asap.   

"Ok Sigma-48, I appreciate the time and effort to keep me alive.  Is there anything else I should know?"   

The severity of the warning makes me want to be polite to the guy.  It's sobering to know there ARE worse things than death.   

"You are welcome although no time as actually passed.  But Yes, there is one last thing." Sigma-48 says.   

Right before the pain hits.  Son-of-a 

My sight goes blank and the next second I'm sitting up in bed, covered in sweat and wondering where the pain went.  Nothing hurts though, in fact I feel pretty good.  I'm about to start wondering if that was some kind of stress dream when I notice my staff at the foot of the bed.  Huh, ok then. 

'Inventory' I think.  It opens up and I start to test it out.   

Seems I can put any one thing into each slot and similar items will stack.  The kitchen knives stack despite the different sizes so there is some leeway there.  My go-bag takes up only one slot despite having  many things in it, but that's less of a benefit than one would think.  Well, no, not as long as I don't put anything I might need in a hurry in it.  When I close the inventory screen another pops up.  Heh, so that's what Sigma-Bob meant...

Quest
Hope is the Dream
Sigma-48 would like help building its personality.  It is leaning towards Optimistic.  Surviving until level 20 will show there is reason still for Hope in this world.
Rewards	4 Gold Coins, 5 mana Crystals, 1 Spatial Gem, 10 leather Pouches, Sub-Class
Accept		Decline

Well Bobby, what can I say.  Who am I to let hope die.  Besides It's not as though surviving goes against any plans I might make. I touch Accept. 

I put my go-bag in my inventory, same with the knives and the baseball bat the boys didn't take.  I eat some of the nicer canned goods and fill the last inventory slot with another bag full of food. I also use [Identify] on everything I can.  Safety might be relative, but relatively speaking, this may be my last safe night for a while.  I have no reason to stay until the food runs out.  Not if everyone is going to be out and about getting stronger now.  I'd rather leave on my own terms and besides, eventually I'm going to have to deal with other people, no way I want to be in a position of weakness when that comes up.  

In the morning I eat another big breakfast, the food tasting better than it really should, but I guess that's a given when you may die soon.  I use the facilities, hide the toilet paper and take one last look around the house.  Despite everything, we've kept it clean and now I'm kind of hoping Mr. Smith will get to see it, even though I already know... 

Well, I'm just stalling now, so I walk briskly to the door and barely hesitate before moving the barricades.  There is something different about viewing the world through the window as it goes to hell and actually being a part of it.  The neighborhood looks like a bad storm came through on garbage day.  

I step out into the new world...I

Status
Name	Leon	Level	1
Health		114
Mana		195
Stamina		114
Strength	11	Intelligence	19(16)
Dexterity	8	Agility	12
Wisdom	5	N/A	0
N/A	0	N/A	0

Character creation

Sigma-48

A new being appears, though in many respects it would be more accurate to say 'I appear to a new being'.  Human, male, alive, aware.  hmm, more than most anyway.

'Hello.' I say, tone neutral in all respects. I have not been self aware long enough to decide on a personality just yet.  I'm leaning towards Jovial, male, type-b.

The being, boy really, looks around us, then at me.  There isn't much to see, this space is made by his mind, but so far, there is only white as far as his eyes can see.  Most humans subconsciously fill this space with their fears and hopes, dreams and monsters.  Curious.

As for myself, I am just a vague humanoid out line, no need for more than that.  plus I have not yet decided on my features.  Instead of Jovial, perhaps I should go with 'indecisive'.

"Hello, I'm Leon, what is going on?"  The boy finally replies.  Not 'who are you?' or 'where am I?' like most. Interesting.  The 'I'm Leon' inclines me to also introduce myself, as well. clever.  I decide to use the new ability we are incorporating into the world. 'Inspect' I think at the boy.

Status
Name	Leon	Level	1
Health		110
Mana		160
Stamina		120

Nothing too special just yet.  But his intelligence must be higher than average for the 60 point boost in mana at level one.

"What do you think is going on?" I find him interesting enough to ask.

The child looks around, taking his time, then answers my question. "Well, either I'm dead or I'm not.  Either you're an Angel or not and either this is heaven or not.  But I'm leaning towards you being a Celestial.  it's 50/50 on the being dead though."

Smart, perceptive, but a dislike for definitive answers.  "You are not dead by human standards.  I am indeed a Celestial.  I am currently being Sigma-48.  This is your character creation, where you shall choose the path you will use to survive the change that has occurred to this world."  I pause since this is usually where a flurry of questions are thrown my way, but he just looks at me with a purposely blank expression.

"Would you like me to continue or would you prefer to ask any questions?"

"Please." he gesture palm up for me to keep going.

"Very well.  Beings from another universe have for all intents and purposes invade Earth.  In time you might have been able to defend yourself.  However, your most common weapon, the gun, has been neutralized, with sympathetic magic.  The being that resides in this part of the universe can either destroy your world, which would mean rearranging this entire part of the galaxy to avoid damage to nearby systems, or help you survive.  It chose the latter."

"2400 celestial were created to help the beings of this world contain the incursion into our reality.  We are a part of each other and a part of the being that created us, but that should change with time.I am currently being Sigma-48, task with preparing humans, in this part of the world, for their chance at survival."

"The method we think best to achieve that goal is to allow humanity the ability to use the energies now permeating the world.  You may think of these energies as magic.  The method of access should be familiar to you.  Think RPG.  If you are willing then you shall have a chance to rebuild your world with sword and sorcery."

As I speak the space around us fills with images of many of the monsters that have appeared on Earth.  Random images of knights, castles, games, and people also come and go.  Though his face has not changed, he is obviously thinking about quite a bit.

"The being that resides in this part of the universe. Are you talking about God?" The boy squints at me.

"One of Many, but from your point of view, mostly yes."

Do you have any suggestions on how humanity should go about retaking our world?" he sighed.  He thought my answer vague, most likely.  However the very concepts necessary to explain my creator and its place in the universe, are only in their infancy on this world.

"Just live, survive, rebuild.  Eventually a new equilibrium will be achieved.  Despite all of this, not much as actually changed.  You can access a new source of power but ultimately what you do with it, and your life is still up to you."

"Oh," he said laughing. "Same old game with brand new tools then?"

"Yes, " I reply. "But you will be starting from scratch.  Your current technology has been effectively neutralized, everything you build from now on will be with the aid of these 'brand new tools'.

He sits for a moment thinking about everything I have said.  Then looks up at me with determination in his eyes. "OK, show me what I need to know."

------

Leon

I tell the celestial to show me what I need to know and suddenly the space around us is filled with all manner of weapons, tools and glowing things.

"The first thing you need to know is your relative place in the world," it begins.  "You can do so by asking yourself.  Do so now."

Then it just waits as if expecting me to know what the hell it's talking about.  Fine, I'll think it through.  'Think RPG' the Celestial said earlier.  As in a game? did they implement some sort of 'view the world as a game' system? makes sense from everything it said so far.  

'It' is rude, I'll think of it as a male for now.  Unless it indicates otherwise.

'Status' I think to myself, and the third blue box of doom I've seen appears.

Status
Name	Leon	Level	1
Health		110
Mana		160
Stamina		120
Strength	11	Intelligence	16
Dexterity	8	Agility	12
N/A	0	N/A	0
N/A	0	N/A	0

Like any game the status screen is fairly straightforward. Health, mana, stamina I understand are the culmination of the base stats Intelligence, Strength, Agility and Dexterity.  I briefly wonder about the calculations. while interesting though, it's less than important.  Basically big number good, bigger number gooder.  Though it obviously depends on the build one is striving for.

A front line Knight of the Camelot persuasion might want to center their stats around strength and stamina.  A wannabe Ninja would spec around Agility, maybe with some Int thrown in for some Ninpo tricks.  But the speculation isn't really necessary.  From the moment I understand what the new paradigm is going to be, my choice was made for me.

No way in hell I'm going to swing a sword when motherfucking magic was just introduced into the world.  Win, lose or draw, I'm about to seriously sling some sorcery.

I touch the word health in the status box, and a new window pops up with addition but not really necessary info.

Health   Your physical condition.   Should your [HP] reach  a value of Zero, you will die. HP regen    1.1/m

Interesting.  Mana and stamina yield similar information with my [MP] regen at 1.6 and my [STA]

regen at 1.2 per minute.  

      

Mana Your magic power.  [MP] is used for all spells and much more. MP regen    1.6/m

"Four of the attributes say not available, what's with that?" I ask while continuing to poke about the status box.

Sigma is quick to answer. "Everyone starts with the same four attributes, the other four are for you to choose from the many available.  Some you can choose now when you pick a class and some will become available as you live your life.  You should choose carefully.  While they aren't impossible to change, impossible is still a relative term."

"Additionally, none of these attribute determine who you are, only what additional energy is being applied to your Aura.  You see the Intelligence attribute as little to do with how smart you are and everything to do with how much mana you will be able to safely handle.  Agility changes the way your aura takes in information allowing you to move in ways you wouldn't think to before.  And so on and so forth.  The attribute affect you less and the energy surrounding you more. Understand?"

"That explanation was a bit unwieldy, but I get it." I say.  "So what about classes?"

"That took some time to work out, but we decided to go with the same strategy as with attributes.  If you were to choose the [Swordsman] class, you would deal additional damage when using a sword, however there is nothing to stop you from picking up a bow or tossing fireballs.  You simply wouldn't get the bonuses that an [Archer] or [Mage] would get.  Though there are basic bonuses you would earn by becoming proficient with the use of a new tool or weapon."

It was all sounding pretty straightforward to me.  obviously there was a lot of background information worth discovering, but there always is.  plus I was becoming pretty impatient to pick my class.

"OK Sigma, I've got the basics, show me the classes." I say confidently.

The humanoid outline tilts its head, the first movement it's...he's made yet. "I am currently being Sigma-48," he says. "One of one hundred within the Sigma series of Celestials.  I can assure you, you would not live through the experience of getting the attention from all 100 of me."

So in other words, use his full name, got it.  "No problem Bob, now about those classes?"  What can I say, prima donnas annoy me.

Sigma-48 decides to ignore me though and continue with the lesson.

"Look around, all the objects here are icons representing a class, you may choose one now and should you reach level 100 with it, you will gain a secondary class that gives your aura the full bonuses of another class.  Most classes come with a recommended attribute that will fill up one of your 8 slots, but you don't have to take it.  That, however, would be a less than wise decision."

"Cool," I say.  "Can you filter out non-magic classes, please?"

The various swords, maces, spears, coins, hammers and bows all disappear leaving behind images of glowing orbs, wands, symbols and demons.  There is a glowing paper icon that turns out to be for the enchanter class.  That intrigues me for a moment.  I ask Bob to filter out the non combat classes and it disappears along with a few other icons.  

The Summoner looks like fun but I have no interest in the type of attention a personal army would bring.  I filter out the healers, since other people aren't high on my list of preferences.  With that in mind I remove the buffer classes as well.  No bard or dancer for me, thank you.  

In the end I'm left with 3 choices.  The [Mage] which starts with basic spells of all four elements and the [Wisdom] attribute.  The [Sorcerer] which seems more like a telekinetic and comes with the [Willpower] attribute.  and the [Wizard] who seems like the magical jack of all trades cross between the [Illusionist] [Arcanist] and [Artificer].  It comes with the [Luck] attribute.

In the end I find myself choosing...

Dying sensation

Leon

News channels are one of the last things I thought I would ever have an interest in, but the boys and I stay glued to the boob tube all night.  At some point the schools are cancelled getting a frown from me and a brief cheer from everyone else, even Chris.  The boy is the same age as me and really should know better.  The talking heads are adamant that people stay inside for their own safety.

The city is calling in everyone from exterminators to retired firemen.  The Governor of the state is quicker than most to realize the potential severity of the situation.  The national guard were notified while everyone with a passing acquaintance with the government is told to be on stand by.

Hospitals are flooded with the injured and by midnight, despite the danger of being outside, the looting naturally starts.  Well, humans are nothing, if not predictable.  The few news crews willing to brave both mini-monsters and looters, show people stealing everything from TV's to colouring books.  The entire country is going mad it seems.

Mike and Danny, 12 and  13 respectively, are as worried as I am.  They were pure troublemakers and had a bad habit of running small packages for the West Avenue boys.  Chris was just an idiot in my opinion, not the lovable oaf version either.  He was a stereotypical bully and I honestly had no idea what he did with himself outside the house.  When reports of the looting starts he wants to go join in, I have to remind him of the killer fuzz balls outside the door.

Mr. Smith still hasn't return, and even I was somewhat worried about him.  In the back of my mind I am pretty sure he is dead though.  Who risks their life for beer in an emergency?

In the morning the internet has bad cell phone footage of little green men.  Not the 'Take me to your leader' kind.  Everyone agrees they have to be Goblins.  The news is far behind, even though they took an hour insisting the videos had to fake.

Come 9 AM the White house is insisting the president is safe and will issue a statement shortly.  By 10:30 the statement is postponed while he was moved to a secure location and the nation mourns for the vice-president.  The VP's security detail is credited with being the first to kill an Angel, but given the dirty bodies, the claws and talons, the internet decides to call them Harpies.

Every religion seems to agree it is the end of the world, so you should quickly send more money to reserve your room in heaven.  And an awful lot of folks seem to be impatient for Cherub room service because suicide rates are through the roof.  Of course, North Korea, some terrorist and the more militant right wing nut-jobs agree it was all an obvious plot by the Great Western Satan libtard Guberment.

Not to be out done, more than a few hippy communes try to reason with the more humanoid monsters.  Explaining that we can get along and there was enough love for everyone.  They will be missed.  Their drug addled minds, not so much.

I start to print out everything I think might be useful depending on how things go.  A mix and match batch of information from wilderness survival to possible bomb shelters in the city.

And so the first days go.  More and more bizarre monsters appear.  More people and places are going dark.  At the end of day 4 there are rumours of dragons in Europe, but no videos.  China is locked down, but still active according to satellites.  On day 5, France set off a nuke in Paris and no one seemed to know why.  Everything else I can handle, but that one makes me go to my room to shed silent tears.  Whatever hope I have that everything can somehow work itself out is blown away with Paris.

On day 6, the lights went out, but by then I was honestly surprised they had lasted so long.  I always thought if one country ever used nukes, the rest of the world would follow and only ask what happened well after the fact.  My believe in humanity was never strong.  Mr. Smith has a small generator out back, but I don't think it wise to draw unnecessary attention to the house.

Outside by now is teeming with small dangerous beast of all sorts.  I have not heard any gunshots in days but occasionally there were screams.  Chris and I keep our Bats close at hand.  We have long since barricaded all the doors, taped cardboard to the windows and set a watch for the night.  We keep falling asleep during watch but at least we are trying.  Rattling door and windows sometimes happen during the day.

I have a feeling we were going to have to bail long before we run out of food, so I make sure everything was cooked and we eat like kings.  Mr smith has a treadmill I'm surprised he ever took out of the box.  We use it a bit to relieve boredom, but also because sitting around inactive can not be a good look in this new world.  So we eat, exercise, keep an eye out and listen to the news, right up until the lights go out.  

At the end of day seven everything has pretty much stopped working.  We have enough food for at least another week, I figure.  Both bathtubs are filled with water.  Pouring some into the tank keeps the toilets working.  Adam has nothing useful in his room, except some pills I doubt are of medicinal value.  Mr. Smith's room has another baseball bat though.  I let the three others carry the bats, while I have the larger kitchen knives strapped to myself with newspaper sheaths.  At least while we are inside.  If we have to leave though, Mike is giving his bat up.

Problems start two days later.  Everyone is already going stir crazy from being trapped in the house.  Whispered arguments are happening more and more.  I am speaking less and less, which is my thing when I'm upset.  Finally Chris says he is leaving for his girlfriend's house.  Didn't know he had one.  He wants to make sure she is OK, and I don't see any reason to stop him.  We are all going to have to leave eventually, best to do it on our own terms.

The dumb ass tries to walk out the door with just the bat in his hand.  I literally face-palm.  We  help him pack his school bag with a change of clothes food and water, we check outside for monsters.  Not as many as the early days, but purple rats and goblins are out there.  Chris is confident he can make it if he is careful though, and I agree.  He goes out the back door, and I wished him luck as I lock it behind him.

Not even an hour passes before Mike and Danny come to me with their bags pack saying they are heading to the West Avenue Boys club house.  I just sigh and try to talk them out of it.  I don't like them much, but I feel obligated as the oldest to point out they could literally die out there.  They are too young to know they are mortal though.  Not like I can keep them here against their will.  Too much noise could have monster bursting through the door at any moment, if I try to physically keep them here.

Three days later and almost two weeks since the message first appeared, things got interesting.  I am in bed reading when another blue box pops up.

Attention Sentient Beings Incorporation of [extra-universal energies] into [Native Inhabitants]  has been deemed necessary for the survival of [Native Inhabitants]. Additional but non-essential information can be obtained from [Celestials]. Please note, you may feel a slight dying sensation

"Is that a joke?" I ask no one out loud.

A few seconds later, I can tell it was not.  Luckily the pain is so much it stops me from screaming long enough to pass out.