But there was something.
A new presence within his mind.
It felt similar to the connection that he shared with his Flayer and Fel Hound, but it was smaller. Weaker. On top of that, the small corner of his brain where his demons resided felt like a dark, circular void. The new presence, presumably that of his egg, felt like a tiny ball of light at the base of his skull, where it connected with his spine. With just a thought, he could summon his demons into existence and command their actions effortlessly. Garath wondered if the egg would grow into something akin to a summoned creature or pet, but, for the next three days at least, he could only speculate.
Garath continued exchanging messages with Auto as the world around came alive. Birds heralded the new day with their songs, interrupted occasionally by the noisy barking of the sea lions on the shore below. A grey plume of smoke rising above the evergreens to the south caught his attention, but it looked to be several miles away. Still, he made a mental note to keep an eye on it.
Auto was more than a little concerned to learn that no heals would be coming from his long-time healer, as the recently-identified Leader of Man had chosen the Necrologist Class.
Of course, Auto picked Chimerist. Garath bit back a pang of jealousy. He’d been kicking himself since The Culling over not picking the clearly overpowered Class.
Petty jealousy aside, it was nice talking to his old friend. They had been gaming together for years and, even though they'd never met in person, Garath considered Auto to be his closest friend.
As it turns out, the Chimerist was traveling with three other people, two of whom Garath had played with before. The twin brothers, Jebawon and Obawon, had heavy western accents and always played Classes that complimented one another.
Garath didn't know the third person. Auto informed him that the new guy, Maimon, had joined their group during The Culling. He was a reliable healer, and that was good enough for him.
The four people heading his way were a diverse group. Aside from Auto’s Chimerist, Jebawon and Obawon had selected the Tamer and Hallowed Knight Classes, respectively. Their given names were Jebediah and Obadiah, their parents having been on the ‘religious fanatic’ spectrum.
The fourth member, Maimon, was a Preacher. Auto mentioned in passing that because Maimon is Jewish, he prefers to be referred to as ‘Rabbi’. Garath found that odd, but Auto assured him that it was best to not bring it up. Before The Culling, Garath had read the Class Descriptions of all thirty Classes before choosing Necrologist but, having been stoned out of his mind at the time, he scrolled through his MENU panels to refresh his memory.
The Chimerist is a unique class that specializes in BeastScape transformations. Chimerists have the ability to combine two or more forms to gain the benefits of each. Each form or combination gains one or more special Abilities unavailable to other classes.
The Hallowed Knights are holy warriors whose immense physical strength comes second only to their mental fortitude. By calling upon the Divine, Hallowed Knights can summon healing beams of light from the heavens. Heavily armored, Hallowed Knights make up for their slow movement with high defense and Health.
The Tamer befriends or enslaves powerful creatures to do his bidding. Once under the control of a Tamer, beasts may develop new abilities. Without his trusty animal companion, the Tamer is far from helpless. Cunning and quick, the Tamer specializes in devious traps and ranged combat.
The Preacher relies on faith in the Divine to heal allies and curse enemies. Wise and righteous, Preachers are welcomed into adventuring groups for their powerful healing abilities.
Garath smiled. The eclectic Party en route to the west coast would add a lot to group dynamics, and Garath was chomping at the bit to put together his ten-man Party to conquer The Tower of Vy’thisrak. Auto said that they were heading northwest with flying forms, but even airborne, it would probably take them another two or three days to make it to BoTH HQ. Garath mentally added another day to his projection, knowing that Auto would stop at every dungeon along the way.
The Necrologist decided he’d make the most of the few days he had before Auto and pals arrived. Even after the apocalypse, nothing beats showing up your friends.
With his mind fixed on looking his best (in terms of battle prowess), Garath learned what he could about the group headed his way. He had already accepted Auto’s Friend request, and sent one to each of the twins.
Auto was already at Level 29, and Obawon and Jebawon were both behind the Chimerist at Level 27. All of them were several Levels above him. Garath pulled up his semi-holographic MENU panels and navigated to his Profile. Sure, he was only Level 23, but Garath had some points to spend!
Garath
Race: Human
Class: Necrologist
Level: 23
Age: 29
Health: 930/930
(base: 720)
Defense Rating: 285
Mana: 1,410/1,410
(base: 720)
Exp to next Level: 32,185/75,000
Attributes
Vitality: 93 (items:+10) - Each point of Vitality provides +10 to maximum Health.
Wisdom: 141 (items: +60) - Each point of Wisdom provides +10 to maximum Mana.
Regeneration: 58 (items: +18) - As a Necrologist, each point of Regeneration increases Mana recovery rate by +1.11 per second; Health recovery rate by +.25 per second; and recovery from injury by +2%.
Strength: 8 - In addition to making one stronger, each point of Strength increases physical attack damage by 1% and reduces damage received from physical attacks by .25%.
Dexterity: 10 - In addition to making one more agile, each point of Dexterity improves the critical strike chance of physical attacks by +.3%; the critical strike damage of physical attacks by +3%; and improves chance to dodge by +.5%.
Unused Attribute Points: 44
Unused Skill Points: 22
He considered saving his unused APs for a rainy day. Very briefly.
