Griffin Ward's POV
The beam on my arm was crushing me, and fast. The little girl I threw out of the way was no longer in any danger, at least not that I could see. 'Why did an earthquake happen, there were no warnings, no nothing. We shouldn't have any and even if we did it become so violent, we don't sit atop four converging tectonic plates like Japan. This is a freak of nature.'
"Ahhh!" I screamed, however I tried to quiet it quickly to not scare the little girl even more.
My arm was now becoming numb, a shooting pain ran through my body. I've broken bones but it feels as if my whole arm has shattered. I tried pushing the large stone debris of my arm, however each micro movement provides a new stream of pain I never knew existed.
The crowd's sounds of them running towards an exit or towards the entrance filled the already collapsing building. Artifacts once in glass cases litter the floor, with their broken containers are now fragments across the floor, along with stone and rubble.
I try to move my arm again, to get it out, however it is stuck in there like glue. Then I notice a skinny man with green eyes and glasses.
"Help! Hey, I'm stuck. Can you help me?" I screamed at him begging. He looked at me and started walking away. "Hey, can't you hear me I'm stuck! At least take the little girl to the entrance I think she lost her parents!" I scream into thin air.
'That f*cker left me.' However even with my anger, the pain caused me to ignore the man who walked away. 'F*ck no ones gonna help me are they.'
I try to hear if anyone is near, I listen for foot steps. 'Even if they can't get me out of here at least I can get them to look after the girl until the emergency services arrive.
I listen ear practically placed on the ground, I thought, 'I could get the little girl to go find someone, but she's like 5. I can't make her go somewhere that could be dangerous.'
I listen for a minute but all foot steps have stopped. 'Have they all left?'
*Step*
*Step*
Then I heard slow, uneven steps, as if from an injured person 'Good, even if they're injured, they can take the girl outside.'
The footsteps were getting closer, however, they were also getting wetter. Like a wet shoe hitting the ground. Then laboured breathing, almost like the person's lungs are collapsing.
It was getting closer and I saw it turn from the corner. It was an old decrepit body, the rotting smell coming from the body plunged my nose into what I can only assume is what hell smells like.
Its wrinkly skin hung loosely, swinging with each step. The exposed skull appeared disturbingly new, and I realized it was somehow fusing with its ribcage
Even the legs looked new, though mismatched, not by a few centimeters, but by entire inches. 'Wait, isn't that the direction of the entrance? Where are the people who escaped?'
Its eyeless head then attached eyes towards its empty sockets, forming them with each being of different sizes and colours.
It then turned its head towards the little girl, completely ignoring me, the little girl to it must look more vulnerable afterall she was terrified, she collapsed on the floor long ago out of pure fear. Its legs of different sizes started to run, catching speed towards the little girl.
My arm was still trapped, I tried with all my force to get the rubble off, my body was exhausted, my vision was dipping in and out, clearing I was losing a lot of blood. 'I must save her! I must save her! I won't let another person die in front of me!'
Then a ripping sound is heard, of flesh ripping from bone. My arm is now gone.
The debris cleanly, or not so cleanly smooshed my arm. However I couldn't think about that. 'I have to save her.'
The creature was rearing closer, speeding up and, getting closer to the little girl. I limped my way in front of the little girl ready to defend her. 'I must fight this monster.'
Its face jiggled as it got closer rearing, the flabs of skin we're coming off as it exerted it's body, with its jaw not dangling off its face. 'It looks fragile, but I can't maintain my balance; I'm losing too much blood.'
The creature was now right in front of me, three more steps and it could attack me.
'Fuck my vision's blurry'. Two steps. I look towards the little girl, "I'm sorry I couldn't defend you." One step.
"Catch!" A mysterious voice caught my attention, as a bronze shield was launched towards me. I caught it with my remaining arm and then I slammed it against the weird, rotting corpse.
It was blown back knocking it down, with the legs collapsing to the ground away from the rest of the body.
I start falling towards the ground, however an skinny arm catches me, my vision starts to fade as darkness consumes it.
My legs are too weak to stand. I grab onto him with my remaining arm and beg him, "Please take her out of here, leave me. Just make sure she's safe please!" Tears streaming down my face.
My consciousness fades in and out, my willpower is the only thing keeping my body from fading into a deep slumber.
Then a screen appeared before me, one line appearing, 'Assigning Class..', my eyes were closing faster and faster, they fell for the last time but the line I saw before me read, 'Class Assigned: Celtic Guardian'.
Then I fell asleep.
Main Character's POV:
"Now what will I do with you?" I look towards the reanimated bog body. Grabbing the bronze shield from Griffin, I say, "Don't worry she won't die, she can't. Well you'll see in a second."
The little girl the age of no older than seven then sprang up. "See she's fine, after all she possesses the blood of the fairies. The best self healers in the world." The unconscious Griffin never responded.
The girl starts to cry, tears streaming down her face, auburn hair in a mess, with her screaming for her parents. Spirits then start to manifest, not from her but from Griffin. "Finally, his ability is kicking in."
I step away as I let his trait to manifest and take effect. 'Those f*cking traits are coming in only now.' I always thought about how many people could have been saved if those powers or classes had come when the apocalypse started. 'Fuck the Creator and his games.'
I drag the shield towards the bog body, it's only remaining limbs were its arms and torso, with the rest of the body parts being flung when Griffin knocked it back. Its perserved body was the result of it being buried in a bog, limbs slower to decay than most.
So that was it's weakspot, one clean hit towards the chest would be all it takes. So I raised the bronze shield, 'Fuck this is heavy', and I struck it down towards the chest. Killing it instantly.
'+100 XP'.....'Item Acquired: Bog Butter'
'Time to check my status'
------------------
Name: Alex Gilroy
Race: Human
Class: Unassigned
Level: 1( 0XP/25XP)
HP: 100
MP: 0
-------------------
Stength: 1
Dexerity: 1
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 5
Distribute Exp: 100
--------------------
Traits:
None
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Skills:
None
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Talent:
Talentless
--------------------
'Now how do I distribute this', XP could be distributed in a number of ways, to skills, levels or traits. However, I don't have any traits or skills. It was the currency of this new world.
'But early game XP will take a bit to accumulate I need a certain amount for what I want later. Yet, I need XP to survive now, I need it to level up and raise my stats.'
'I'll decide later but now I need to fix Griffin's arm. I need to get him awake. That girl can do it and luckily she's calmed down thanks to Griffin's Calming Aura.'
The spirits circling the girl made her temper tantrum go away, as I got closer. Luckily the spirits were there calming her or else I would scare her covered in the blood of the bog body.
I sqautted down to her level. I calmed my voice down trying to sound friendly. "Hi, are you okay?" She sniffled, snot filling her noice as she spoke through tears in her eyes. "I'm okay, but I don't know where my parents are, and some weird screen appeared and said I'm a Fairy Princess."
I knew it. It was the future Fairy Queen, the one who would fight against Eric the Red and die by his hand when he invaded Ireland and the person that Griffin Ward would give his life protecting, against Ecbert the Great, the one who will wield Excalibur and lead the Knights of the Round Table to try to form Brittania.
'She's a little shorter than I remember, but her talent is extraordinary, being Legendary. I will need to use her.'
"Sweetie can you hear some voices talking to you." I try to sound as non-threatening as possible. In between her sniffling she spouts, "Yeah...they are talking to me...saying what I can do....".
"Well can you tell them to heal this man?" She takes a second but nods, her voice becomes slowly inaudible as balls of lights appear different from the spirits around her and go towards Griffin Ward healing his injury and making the bleeding stop.
'Now we can give you a new arm, but we need better facilities.' I look towards a sign saying lab. "Well, I know where we're going next. Come on, sweetie, follow me. I'm going to give our friend a brand new arm." I start to drag his body and realize just how heavy he is. 'This could take a while.'
End Chapter