LEVEL UP!
YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 1.
ATTRIBUTE BONUSES APPLIED.
- CHARISMA +1
- PERSONALITY +1
- ALLURE +1
- FREE POINTS: +3
- PERSONALITY +1
Bob shook his head as he watched the five class choices shimmer and shift into five skill options, each pulsing faintly—like they were waiting for his blessing.
NEW SKILLS AVAILABLE — CHOOSE ONE:
Bob scanned them, eyes narrowed.
INSPIRE (RANK 0)
TEACH (RANK 0)
PARLEY (RANK 0)
SMITE (RANK 0)
Alright,” Bob muttered, already falling back into analytical mode. “Time to engineer my way through this mess. Again…
Inspire.“Useful… maybe. But I don’t know what anyone else is choosing so it may be worthless.”
Bolster.“Sounds great on paper, but I’m not sure I want my main contribution to be playing cheerleader while everyone else smashes things.”
Teach.Raises eyebrows. “Seriously? A whole skill for... helping others? There is a reason I am not a teacher.”
Parley.He stared at that one longer. “Tempting. It plays to my strengths. Could be useful in conversations, negotiations. But… kind of soft. No real .”
Then his eyes read the last one:
Smite.
He paused. For a long moment, Bob just stood there, watching the word Smite
“…Huh.”
Of all the options, this one didn’t pretend to be subtle or supportive. No teaching. No pep talks. Just divine force. The kind that said: You chose Priest — but you're still allowed to punch back.
Bob’s lips curled into the faintest smirk. “You know what? If I’m going to be some weird RPG spiritual leader in some game world I don’t understand, I’d like the option to send a warning shot across a metaphysical bow.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
He extended a finger toward the screen.
SKILL SELECTED: SMITE (RANK 0)
The void pulsed once as the text confirmed his choice. Somewhere deep in his chest, he felt a strange warmth spread—like the quiet hum of something waking up.
Bob nodded once. “Priest or not, I'm not getting steamrolled in this place.”
The void disappeared as quickly as it came.
Bob was in bed. Confusion rattled his mind from being thrown out of the white void space so abruptly yet he recovered quickly. This time, the vision hadn’t faded. The white void. The choices. The stats.
Groaning, Bob threw off the sheets. He was sweat-soaked and sore. Like he'd been flattened by a semi… again.
He winced as a dull pain still throbbed behind his eyes.
The room was dim, early morning light slipping through the windows. Gingerly he got to his feet and dragged himself toward the stairs.
Starting down the stairs he remembered yesterday’s fall. He stepped carefully down them making sure not to rush. No way was he tumbling down them again.
WISDOM +1
Bob stopped mid-step. The words seared across his vision, undeniable. Not imagined. Not dreamed. Bob’s chest tightened at the implications.
As he stood there frozen on the steps he heard talking from the dining room. Deciding he needed to talk to someone he continued down the stairs.
Walking in, the smell of breakfast greeted him. So normal, so ordinary that he began to doubt the words he had just seen on the stairs. It didn’t seem possible that someone could have just started making breakfast if they had just experienced what he had.
“Good morning, Bob,” said George as Bob walked in turning back to his pancakes. “I’ll have some fresh pancakes ready in about a minute. There’s some bacon on the plate.”
He stared at George’s back.
As Bob watched, George missed the flips on the pancakes he was cooking. It was obvious to Bob that he was trying too hard.
George turned around and locked eyes with Bob. “Just spit it out. I can see it in your eyes; you had the same nightmare I did. I saw the words again this morning when I made sure I didn’t fall down the stairs like yesterday. It was real!”
Bob turned to the three people sitting at the table. “Did you all see a white void where time didn’t seem to exist. And did you have to choose a class like some RPG?”
They looked at him with surprise. Tami spoke. “I didn’t see a white void.” Hesitating, “I saw…” Tami took a steadying breath, then looked right at Bob. “I saw an endless expanse of purple. I couldn’t talk or move.” Tears began to glisten in her eyes.
“It was horrible.” Her voice cracked. “I now remember that I was there yesterday also.” Tears ran down her cheeks.
Bob’s heart sank. He wanted to say something comforting, but no words came.
Jill sitting next to Tami leaned in and gave her a hug. Jill started crying and soon they were hugging each other.
Dave just stared at his plate. Alice just sat looking out the window ignoring everyone.
Bob could see they were all in various forms of shock.
He turned back to George. “Same thing for you? Did you have to choose a class?”
“Pretty much,” George said with a shrug, looking away. Then he turned back with a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Green for me. Felt like I was stuck in a giant snot booger.”
“Gross!” Alice cringed.
Even though Bob was mentally stressed, he couldn’t help but laugh. “I guess white emptiness wasn’t so bad after all.”
Bob was glad George was here as he went through this. George was the joker. He always had a way of pulling Bob out of any funk.
George’s joking was able to help Bob focus on the others.
“What class did you guys choose?”
George smirked while flipping a pancake. “Don’t you think that is a little personal?”
Bob glared back.
Laughing, George struck a pose. “.”
Bob turned away from George. “I hate you sometimes. What about you guys?”
Tami had chosen Cleric. Alice and Dave had both picked Archer. They looked at each other and started whispering about the skill they had each taken.
Blake was a Warrior like George and Jill was a Mage.
They sat talking for a few minutes about what this all meant. The group was starting to get back to normal.
“Where’s Kent? Has anyone seen him this morning?” Bob asked, looking around.
Dave pointed to the back deck. “He was up before me and didn’t seem to be doing well. We didn’t really talk. Some of us have more tact than barging in and forcing everyone to talk about the worst experience of their life.”
Bob glared at Dave. “You feel better after knowing it wasn’t all in your head, right?”
He just shrugged and turned back to his pancakes, finally eating them.
Dave didn’t seem like he wanted to talk... I figured it was better not to push.
“Does Kent know the food is ready?” Bob asked.
“I let him know when the first pancakes were ready,” Tami commented.
Bob nodded to Tami. “Thanks, Tami. He needs people right now. He just doesn’t know it.” Bob started walking to the door when Jill stopped him. “Bob, how did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Make things seem normal. Well,” she paused, “not normal, but ok I guess. We had been sitting here for 30 minutes just brooding like the world was ending. You walked in and now we are talking and even laughing. How did you make it feel somewhat normal again?”
“I didn’t do anything. The world ending or changing beyond what we know.” Bob looked her in the eyes. “I just said what needed to be said. You did it yourselves. I just pushed you in the right direction.”
He opened the door and walked out before anyone could say anything else.
CHARISMA +1
NEW SKILL LEARNED: LEADERSHIP (RANK 0)
LEAD. GUIDE. PERSUADE. OTHERS ARE +1% MORE LIKELY TO FOLLOW YOU. INCREASES WITH AURA STAT.