‘Yes.’
You are now friends with: Athios.
He wondered what kind of functionality a friend list could have as he closed the thread. When the pop-up thread disappeared Garath saw that a handful of threads had been posted while he was commenting on Athios’ - most of them posted by people looking for one another, one titled THE FORETOLD DOOM IS UPON US, and more appeared even as he scanned over the thread titles.
Garath willed the panel away and made the short walk across the roof to the awning. He opened the door leading to the stairs and was followed by Tarzan as he made his way back to his own apartment. He opened the door and was about to tell the guests still chatting in his living room about the plan to meet at the school when everyone received a prompt in the same elaborate text that shook the world only hours before.
Warning: The next age of Earth approaches and The Culling comes with it. Your first trial will begin at 03:00AM (PST). The difficulty of your foes will increase every 3 hours for the following 24 hours. At the conclusion of The Culling, safe zones will be established and new opportunities will be presented. Survivors will be judged.
Chapter 5
Enter Athios
Anchored and tied to a small marina, Athios looked out from the second floor of her boat. It was an old fishing vessel that her parents had lent her for an interim residence. At twenty years of age, she was ready for a little space from the overbearing duo. Coincidentally, they had left for a summer trip to Fiji and weren't scheduled to return for another few days.
Athios had spent the entire summer working to save for a security deposit and had been planning to move into a downtown Seattle studio the following week. She flicked her cigarette and watched it disappear into the tumultuous dark water below, making dismal correlations about the dying embers of the cigarette and her life plans.
Garath has accepted your friend request. You can now send direct messages and access Garath's location on your map.
Athios shuddered. Posting the message onto the boards had been difficult enough for her. The friend request, even harder. She felt queasy. The lack of electronics she could handle, but whoever had turned her life into an MMORPG had a seriously cruel sense of humor. One of the things she'd liked most about online gaming was that she could make friends without having to actually meet anyone face to face.
She continued staring blankly across the stirring waters of the Pacific and focused to open her MENU. At least the hell that ripped away her dreams of that downtown studio was a familiar one.
MENU
Items
Profile
Friends
World
She noticed the digital clock on the corner of her interface - 01:04AM.
‘About two hours until...’ she thought to herself, unsure of exactly what would happen at 3:00AM. ‘Guess I'd better pick a class. I just wish there weren't so many…’
Athios was about as decisive as a child in the cereal aisle. Even as an adult the cereal aisle was a serious anxiety trigger. She liked to be prepared, and how could a person decide what cereal they would want to eat at any time but the present? Sometimes Fruity Pebbles seemed best, and sometimes Mini-Wheats just seemed like the obvious choice. There was no guarantee she would even want the cereal she finally settled on by the time she made it home to eat it. Almost in response to her indecision, a prompt appeared in her mind's eye.
The Culling approaches, choose your Class.
"You're worse than Siri," Athios muttered to herself, scrolling through her options again. “I'm fine, just have to pick a Class and go from there. Any Class can be good, so long as the player knows how to use it.”
After skimming over the descriptions of some Classes that caught her eye, Athios narrowed it down to a few interesting options but was surprised by how many Classes she saw that didn't seem battle oriented - an Armorer class, an Engineer class that seemed focused on the design and construction of items and structures, she even saw a Psychologist class.
‘Well, actually,’ she thought to herself, ‘a Psychologist probably could be battle oriented...’
Athios knew that well enough. Her mother was a Psychiatrist and, as the saying goes, Psychiatrists always have the craziest kids. Mind games tend to have an adverse effect on children.
A drop of blood oozed from her lip - chewing on it was a nervous, indecision induced habit she had picked up around the age of six. She read the descriptions of her favorite options again and lit another cigarette.
The Assassin is a master of stealth and the art of dealing death. Through mastering the ability to cast shadows of themselves, they distract foes and strike from the darkness. Intelligent and devious, the Assassin specializes in close range, one-on-one combat. Will you become an Assassin? Yes or No.
Stealth is good, Athios did enjoy hiding - but she was a bit put-off by the close-range combat aspect. She chose no and read on.
The Elementalist harnesses the power to create and manipulate the basic elements. Whether a bolt of lightning or an apocalyptic firestorm, an Elementalist furthers their power through study and practice. Will you become an Elementalist? Yes or No.
A mage class was her typical go-to. The Elementalist seemed to be exactly that. Though she wouldn't describe herself as particularly studious, Athios had always done well in school. Study didn't scare her. She chose no, it was the safe option but the next Class description was too intriguing to pass up.
The Dimensionalist has mastered the secrets of space-time. Among other abilities, the manipulation of matter and energy density allows the Dimensionalist to create wormholes to transport their foes into direct attacks or relocate an ally away from a dangerous situation. Will you
