Of course, the term ‘he’ was pretty loose, as I had no idea what this creature was. It looked to be about ten feet tall with a humanoid body. It had a head, with little to no neck atop very broad shoulders and wide torso, which was proportional to its height if he was a power lifter back on Earth.

  Oddly, though, he had no muscular definition. It was almost like it was a Play-Doh man like my sister used to make. He had two arms and two legs but they were completely smooth with an even thickness that matched all four limbs. There were elbows and knees visible as joints in the limbs, but he wasn’t moving his limbs, so I couldn’t see how well they worked. The legs ended in a wide three-toed oval shaped foot and the hands ended in what was basically a claw with two fingers and thumb.

  The being carried a massive scythe in its hands and was decked out in black and gold armor. He gave off a deeply ominous vibe and I could understand why my uncle didn’t want to fight him.

  Then everything went black.

  Chapter 6- Vision Walk

  I opened my eyes and found that I could move. I sucked in a deep breath and felt my body shudder. The stress of being trapped like that was worse than I’d expected. Of course, it was one thing to be paralyzed in a game and another to experience it for real. Still, there was so much more going on here, so I had to push through.

  The scope of what I had just seen was too much to take in. If movies had special effects like that, people would never leave the theaters. It had been intense, terrifying, and exciting all at the same time. Yet, as unusual as it was, I was struck by one unchanging conviction. That had been 100% real.

  I looked down at the book in my hands. It seemed so tiny and insignificant now, but I knew it might still hold a key.

  “Hopefully, that convinced you of what we are facing. I am only allowed to pass on certain things to the next Forerunner, but that vision seemed like the best way to show you what we are up against. Morvarg is not to be taken lightly. And for now, at least it’s probably best if you don’t say his name out loud. He did at least give me the inspiration for the way that I could best pass this on to you.

  “If you don’t take the spot as a Forerunner then only my sister and your kids would be able to since I never was able to stay married long enough to matter. Some people just aren’t cut out for it and cats are more reliable than most people, anyway. I know this puts a lot of pressure on you. The reality is that if Earth doesn’t have all our forerunners, we will never be able to maintain the top spot. The only reason we are… well never mind that. The upside is that because of limiting who can take my Forerunner spot, I am able to pass on better perks to you.

  “Now for what I can share. You need four class crystal shards to form a basic core. That will give you a basic class, which will in turn give you benefits every time you level up. I know this sounds like video game mumbo-jumbo. I felt like that at first. In some ways, Silas would probably be more at home with all of this than either of us.

  “The class will give you access to abilities and spells, as well as additional stat points depending upon which class you obtain. My class in the vision was a battle summoner. It was equal parts warrior and mage. I would recommend a course like that for you, but you will have to make your own choice.

  “Know that there are four different types of basic shards and their related classes are warrior, mage, healer, and rogue. The mage and healer both give you access to different types of magic. My class from the vision was not a basic class but what is known as a common class. Right now, I am close to getting my rare class complete. And yes, magic is real. Hopefully, you believe that by now.”

  I shook my head for a minute. Dad would have had so much trouble with this. He was the kind of man who believed in what he could touch with his hands or had experienced before. Uncle Dan was right. I was better able to understand that. I just had to hope that meant something.

  “The type of basic core you form will limit your class options later on. You will only be able to choose common classes from the types of shards you formed your core with. But before you assume that you should pick all four of the shard types, know that the more you divide your focus, the weaker your abilities will be. At least that is my belief.

  “Your basic class can take you to level thirty, while a common class like the one I had in the vision can take you to level seventy. Without a class, you can’t reach past level 10. Beyond that, I don’t know, but I know there is a lot more to gain once I complete my rare class.

  “I didn’t want to limit your options, so I set aside four shards each of warrior, healer, and mage. I didn’t bother with rogue as I simply couldn’t see you choosing that path. I recommend you make a core with only two types, but what you decide is up to you. Three might not be too bad of a choice and one might be stronger in some ways, at least at first. The main thing is you need to form that core right away, as it will give you significant advantages.

  “The rest of what I have left for you will become clear once you have formed the core, but not before. I truly hope you can succeed where I have failed. Take care of my sister and those kids of yours and be the hero you always have been.”

  It wasn’t signed or anything, but the book still somehow conveyed Dan’s emotional content. He really was sad, but had hope that my dad could do this. I didn’t know if he would have felt the same if he knew it was me, but I was what was left.

  As I finished reading the book, the last of the paralysis effect ended. I was finally able to move off of the spot I’d been standing on. I glanced at the book one more time and focused on Identify.

  Forerunner Journal- Inheritance Manual. Further sections will become available after you meet the requirements.

  Okay, great, so I would have some type of tutorial, but only when the book decided that I had met whatever requirements were necessary. Hopefully, it wouldn’t wait until after I was already in danger.

  Then I walked over to the shelf where the class shards were supposed to be. I was in for a bit of a shock as I saw that the shards were all crumbling. There were blue, red, and golden ones, but none of them appeared to be whole like the rogue one I had looted from the mutated squirrel.

  Shit. The journal had said that hopefully dad had come right away. It had been more than two years since my uncle had died. He died during my second year of junior college, just about the same time that dad got cancer.

  I reached out and touched one of the crumbled crystals. I chose the blue one and Identify triggered.

  Crumbled warrior class shard. Decay is too complete for this to be usable. May still be viable as a crafting component.

  I tried the same with the golden crystals and at least this time I got a different result.

  Partially crumbled healer class shards. Decay is significant, but by combining the fragments you may form a singular healer class shard.

  Do you wish to initiate recombination?

  I didn’t immediately respond to the message and instead used Identify on the red shards, which I presumed were for the mage class. I got a similar message, with the difference being that there were two viable shards instead of one. I didn’t know if that was because they were the ones farthest back on the shelf or if it was just random luck.

  I definitely felt excited because mage would have been part of any class I would have wanted to be. It was what I usually played in games, although sometimes I played a healer and very occasionally a melee class. The one thing I had never been into was being a rogue.

  I needed to remind myself that this wasn’t a game, though. In the vision, Dan had been able to stand back and summon monsters to fight for him. If I chose to be a barbarian or some other melee like I had in various games, then it would have been me right up there in front with the monsters. That didn’t seem super appealing, although remembering how injured, Anika had been, I supposed it couldn’t be entirely avoided.

  Yet I now had one healer, two mage, and one rogue shards. Apparently, I could try this without a class core. Uncle Dan wouldn’t have stressed the importance of forming the core right away, if that wasn’t possible. Yet the emphasis he had put on it made it clear to me that I needed to create my class right away.

  I thought about it for a while. It was already early afternoon, and I wanted to be settled in by nightfall. Maybe that shouldn’t have been a reason to rush this, but I just felt it was right. First, I accepted the messages to combine the healer and mage shards into viable shards. Then I took the four viable shards and squeezed them together in my hand.

  I tried thinking or saying various commands ranging from, “Form core” to “by our powers combined.” None of it worked. When I squeezed my hand shut on them, though, I got another prompt.

  You have placed four class shards together against your skin. Do you wish to form a basic class core with these shards? Warning, process is irreversible once begun.

  I read the warning, but it wasn’t like I had other shards to work with and I surely wasn’t going to wait for more mutated monsters to attack me. So, I accepted and once again I felt a burning pain. This pain, however, was isolated—focused behind my core muscles, to the center of my being. Also described as my diaphragm.

  As the pain grew, I became aware that new information was being shoved into my head. I suddenly had a rudimentary understanding of magic, human anatomy, healing, and a variety of stealth based skills. I knew that there were spells and abilities for me to select, but I wasn’t sure what any of it meant, and the pain prevented me from focusing too much.

  It hurt for longer than I wanted. At first it started off as pain one would endure if I’d overworked my muscles at the gym. Then it turned into sharp jabbing pains leaving me short of breath. My jaw started to hurt from clenching my teeth together. Just when I began to wonder how long this was going to take, the pain suddenly stopped. With its disappearance, a strange euphoria began to spread through my body. It was like drinking something warm on a really cold day. The heat seemed to start in my core and reach out from there. Then I got the notification.

  You have obtained a basic class core: Rogue, Mage, Healer, Mage.

  The nature of your core is influenced by the condition of the shards used in its formation.

  The rogue shard was singular in composition but solid and the first ever created in your world. It will have the potential to give rise to unique abilities based upon your world and the creature which it came from.

  The two mage and one healer shards were created from multiple damaged shards. This means their base may be weaker, but their versatility will be greater. They also all came from monsters above level 50. Given your level that will produce initial benefits.

  You have reached level 1 with the creation of a Basic Core. Continue gathering shards and learn to form a Common Core as part of your progression.

  Rogue Shard: You gain Agility: +1, Dexterity: +1, Charisma: +1, Perception: +1

  Unique Boon: for being the first to absorb a core created on your world you receive the ability- Save for Winter.

  Save for Winter: Create an extra-dimensional storage area. This ability will supplant the regular basic boon all Forerunner’s receive of an extra-dimensional storage space. Your space will begin at 10’x10’ or 100 stackable slots, whichever is less. Some items will take up more than one slot but will be stackable.

  The extra-dimensional storage space created by this Boon has the following added benefit. The longer an item stays inside your storage without being removed, the greater the potential for upgrades. Basic potions can become common and so on.

  Begin with the ration for all new candidate Forerunners.

  2 basic healing potions

  1 basic mana potion

  1 basic stamina potion

  Weapons based upon your class: 1 basic dagger, 1 basic staff.

  Armor based upon your class: 1 basic leather vest.

  New active and passive ability options are available.

  I pumped my fists in the air and since no one was watching, I did a small dance thrusting my hips. My own personal bag of holding was beyond cool. The idea that it would potentially improve the items which were stored in it, completely supported my pack rat style of playing games. I mean… Loot! What worried me was the idea that I’d be getting powers based upon a damn mutant squirrel. That didn’t seem great to be blunt. Still, there was nothing for it, so I looked at what I got from the other shards.

  Healer Shard: +1 Will, +1 Vitality, +1 Endurance (4th starting stat point lost due to shard damage)

  New Active and passive ability options are available.

  New Spells are available.

  Spells were cool, but I guess not every shard gave out special boons. Then again, Uncle Dan had talked about boons like they were rare or a game changer, so maybe I was luckier than I had thought.

  Mage Shards (x2): +4 Mind, +2 Perception, +2 Will

  New active and passive ability options are available.

  New spells are available.

  At least that one didn’t have damage, so I got the full stat complement from it. I wasn’t sure what the value of those stats was, but I felt like it had something to do with the warm feeling that had spread through my body. Even now, I felt tingly all over.

  New Class Designated: All basic classes are designated pursuant to their base shard. Specific, named classes, do not begin until you reach a common class.

  Multi-Classed: Mage-Rogue-Healer

  Stat points per level for basic class:

  Mage: +2 to Mind, +2 more split between Will, Mind, and Perception

  Rogue: +1 Agility, +1 to either Charisma or Perception alternating

  Healer: +1 Will, +1 Vitality

  2 Free Stat points per level. You currently have 4 unassigned stat points

  Note: All stat points received from leveling are doubled by your title: One Small Step/One Giant Leap

  Interesting, so stats varied based on my class. It seemed that I got 10 stat points per level, but they would be based upon the shards I had. I found it interesting that I didn’t gain any more Dexterity from my Rogue Shard, but maybe that was because it came from a squirrel. Still… Charisma was such a dump stat. I didn’t know what I was going to do with that.

  From outside, I heard Cece calling my name. I really wanted to look at what my ability and spell options were. I figured I understood what the stats did well enough not to worry about those. Any gamer would have an idea of what to expect there. Still, this wasn’t a game and there was no pause button, so I’d have to look at the abilities and spells later. The last thing I wanted to do was reveal what was in here to Cece or mom. Oddly, though, I was no longer so upset with Uncle Dan and was actually anxious to stay in the shed. Then again, maybe the entire fate of the world thing hadn’t really settled in yet.

  Chapter 7- Normalcy?

  I climbed back upstairs and watched as the floor closed behind me. I guess at least I wouldn’t have to worry about Cece walking in and seeing it. I was pretty certain I was the only one with access to the lower level along with the portal. Whether that was because of the way the system worked or something Uncle Dan did, I didn’t care.

  I opened the door and yelled back, “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Cece was about halfway between the house and the shed. I could see better than before, but it wasn’t like it was anything amazing. The same applied for my hearing, so I didn’t have any trouble figuring out where she was.

  “Mom says it's dinnertime, and she wants us to eat together for our first night in the new place.”

  “Mom cooked?” I asked. It wasn’t that my mother couldn’t cook. My memories told me she was an excellent cook. It was more that since my dad died, she had enough trouble just getting out of bed.

  Cece scoffed. “Of course not. She ordered takeout.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Don’t take too long and make sure to wash up. I don’t want your dirty hands at the table.” She was almost too far away for me to see it, but she actually stuck her tongue out at me. She probably didn’t even think I could see the details from where she was. I just grinned. Some things never changed.

  I stopped and looked around the room to see what I needed to do before I left. I would have to put my bed together, but I also needed to get a rug or something to cover up the space where the floor opened up. Oh well, that could wait for after dinner. Hopefully, mom ordered pizza rather than something like Thai. Not that there was anything wrong with Thai, I just avoided vegetables as much as I could. Pizza had everything a guy like me needed, and who said that tomato sauce wasn’t a vegetable.

  As I began to leave, I felt a buzzing at the door.

  Candidate Silas Renner- One of your trials for Forerunner induction must be completed by midnight or you will be rejected by the system.