After about an hour, everyone had gotten their four kills.
For the men, it had been easier. Probably less because of skill and more because of the age gap.
For Sheral, things had gone differently. We would cripple the zombies first, cutting at their legs or pinning them down, then let her finish them off with the wand. It was not glamorous, and it was probably a waste of effort in the long run, but it got the job done.
A little before the hour was up, Sheral told me she had recovered one mana. Her Intelligence was higher than mine at thirteen, so if I had to guess, that meant she regained a little over one mana per hour.
The older woman Sheral had talked into joining us ended up giving up on the quest entirely. Once the rest of us were done, she just wanted to go back to town. I could tell it bothered Sheral, but there was nothing she could really do about it.
When we returned to the guard, I went up first.
On the way back, Sheral had been more than happy to tell everybody how much I supposedly knew, and frankly, I hated every second of it.
"So," I say to the guard, "I killed four zombies."
"Thank you, sir!"
A blue window appears in front of me.
[Quest Complete!]
[Keep the Village Safe]
[Reward: Class System & Level 1 Adventurer Class]
[Stats
Class: Adventurer
Strength: 10
Body: 8
Agility: 9
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 12
Willpower: 9
Charisma: 7
Stat points: 2
XP: 0/20
]
At the same time, the help icon starts blinking again, leading me to the new class section.
There is a lot of information, but the basic idea is simple enough. Most classes are stepping stones to something better. Everything starts with either Adventurer or Worker. One path is for people who want to fight, travel, and take quests. The other is for people who would rather stay alive and useful without gambling with it every day.
It even gives an example of a class chain.
Adventurer. Apprentice Mage. Novice Mage. Novice Fire Mage. Fire Mage. Advanced Fire Mage. Archmage of Fire.
Apparently it can keep going far beyond that, though the system is annoyingly vague about where "far beyond" actually stops.
The important part is that I finally have stat points.
Without much hesitation, I put both of them into Intelligence.
The change is immediate.
It is not like getting smarter all at once, not exactly. It feels more like my thoughts have more room now, like my mind just widened enough to fit things more comfortably. The sensation is quick, strange, and nearly impossible to explain.
Thankfully, I do not have to explain it to anyone.
Sheral and I make our way into the inn, and the innkeeper greets us with the same offputting enthusiasm she has apparently used on everyone else.
"Hi! Would you like a room for the night? Your first night is free!"
"Yes," I say. "Thank you."
"Upstairs, first room on the left!"
"Well, alright," Sheral says. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't go dying on me or anything, okay?"
She gives me a brief side hug before heading upstairs.
"Of course not," I say. "Goodnight."
"Night."
I stand there for a moment after she leaves.
Then, instead of going upstairs, I turn around and head back outside toward the gate guard.
"You got anything else?"
"The town is always in need of help!"
Another window appears.
[Accept Quest?]
[Keep the Village Safe: Kill 10 Zombies]
[Reward: 10xp, 20% Choice of Beginner Item]
[Yes] [No]
I hit yes.
For some reason, I decide to do this.
Go into the woods alone, at night, for a little extra experience and the possibility of loot.
I have spent most of my twenty years obsessing over the divine, the occult, and the supernatural. Now that I am standing in a world where those things are real, I cannot just ignore it and go to bed.
Besides, I am not tired.
And even if I were, I doubt I could sleep.
The woods at night sound different from anything back on Earth. Wings flutter somewhere in the dark, and underneath it there is the faint, distant moaning of zombies. It all blends together into something genuinely unsettling.
It only takes a few minutes to reach the clearing where we found the first group.
Sure enough, the zombies have respawned.
I level my spear at the face of the nearest one and charge.
It is probably not the most refined technique, but it works.
The spear punches straight through its head.
[Killed 1x Level 1 Zombie: 1 XP]
[Keeping the Village Safe: Zombies 1/10]
So now that I actually have a class, kills give experience.
Good to know.
Level two only needs twenty XP, which is honestly nicer than I expected. By the end of the quest, I should level.
And I do.
The whole thing only takes about thirty minutes. Doing it with the group had involved a lot of talking, planning, worrying, and waiting. Doing it alone is much simpler. Not safer, probably, but definitely faster.
Good for gaining power.
Bad for literally everything else.
By the time the last one drops, another message appears.
[Keeping the Village Safe: Zombies 10/10]
Going back to the guard is uneventful. Turning the quest in is a little more interesting.
Alongside the usual reward screen, a spinning wheel appears in front of me. It rattles through numbers for a second before stopping on thirty-four.
[No Bonus Item]
Then my stats update again. Of course my two new points going right into Intelligence
[Stats
Class: Adventurer 2
Strength: 10
Body: 8
Agility: 9
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 16
Willpower: 9
Charisma: 7
Stat points: 0
XP: 0/30
]
"Do you have anything else for me?" I ask.
"I think the village is safe for tonight!"
So maybe it only refreshes once a day.
After that, I finally give up and head back to the tavern.
The whole place smells old and a little ratty, and from what I can tell everyone seems to go through the same doorway to reach their rooms, even though the rooms themselves are separate. Another weird thing to think about later, once I have more time, or more power, or both.
It takes me a long time to fall asleep.
Staring at the ceiling is a lot easier than closing my eyes.
Everything that happened today, and now I am just lying here.
I could be out there trying to find my family.
Instead I am in bed.
God.
I'm a failure in both worlds.