Class Selection

Hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks as the party struggled to survive independently. Through constant conflict with monsters, and humans the party managed to make significant progress in their levels. Alex was now at the peak of level 9, and only a few hundred experience point away from reaching the 10th level.

To the surprise of the party, Emily had leveled up substantially, but not through combat, rather by creating items from basic materials; she seemed to be progressing in level without being a combatant. Though her skills available were entirely manufacturing-based.

Though during this time, they weren't the only ones to make progress. The world was rapidly changing; rain continued to fall in the Mojave desert, unlike anything seen before. Grass covered the once red rock desert, and bizarre new plant life sprouted as the entire region entered a complete and total transformation.

With this metamorphosis came a new threat that Humans had to worry about as they endured the harsh times. These new creatures were dubbed beasts. These beasts evolved from the local wildlife turning into terrifying monstrosities. Apparently, whatever chaotic energy had entered the world began to influence all life on this new Earth.

The beasts of this new world were terrifying and contained valuable resources in which the humans and intelligent monsters could use to better themselves. Take the Iron-Silk Spider, for example; These spiders were merely two meters in length and a meter in height on average. They had a tough black chitin shell and were non-venomous. However, they loved to prey on beasts, monsters, and humans alike.

Its silk was highly sought after as a crafting material, as it was as tough and sharp as iron but as ductile as silk. As such, trade had spread throughout the human survivor camps with a primitive bartering form of economy. After all, banknotes were entirely worthless in this post-apocalyptic society.

During these turbulent times, the surviving humans within the once magnificent city of Las Vegas had created several long-term shelters. Captain Hunter's humble compound had rebounded from the siege of the brigands and turned into a mighty fortress. However, his vengeful eye was constantly on the lookout for the party of slayers which had deserted him in his hour of need.

Humans competed with one another and monsters for survival in this fractured world as both monsters and humans formed tribes and communities that constantly waged war with one another over resources.

Contact with the outside world was completely non-existent; as such, Alex would ponder from time to time about whether or not his family up in Reno had survived the fracture or if he was the last of his bloodline. However, crossing the vast territory between Reno and Vegas was not something humans could do at this point.

Alex had spent this time wisely investing his skill points into his already existing skills, all of his body skills were now level 2, and he had seen significant improvements in his own body. Most of his skeleton was as durable as iron, while his skin, muscles, and organs had mostly been refined as well.

Currently, his party was operating out of the airport. Though air travel was impossible now that all Electronics had died, the airport itself was turned into a massive survivor camp. While monsters completely overran the strip, and each major hotel had practically been turned into a dungeon in its own right.

Due to the proximity of the airport and the strip, humans and monsters were constantly fighting in that region, and it was a good place to level up if one had the guts to enter such a chaotic battlefield.

A fist covered in iron-silk rope wraps collided with the skull of a hobgoblin before the man behind it changed levels and grabbed ahold of the monster's legs, lifting it into the air before slamming it into the concrete below. The once terrifying monster was now only slightly more powerful than Alex himself was, and they were quite abundant on this battlefield.

The wrapped fists continuously slammed into the skull of the hobgoblin before its hideous face was crushed into mincemeat. A familiar message appeared in Alex's peripheral as he exhaled heavily.

[You have slain a Hobgoblin and gain 300 XP!]

[Level Up! You are now level 10!]

Alex smirked as he briefly scanned the messages; he was all too familiar with how the system worked at this point. Or so he thought. Yet, to his surprise, a third message appeared, which nearly gave him a heart attack.

[Class Selection Available]

[Accept? Yes/No]

Without hesitation, Alex quickly accepted the class selection, and a new screen appeared before him, showing each class and detailed information about them. He carefully observed the information and read the title of each class in his mind numerous times.

[Fighter]

[Priest]

[Rogue]

[Hunter]

[Mage]

Though each class was available to him, they all had different basic requirements for attributes. Due to his low wisdom and charisma Priest, and Mage were labeled as [Not Recommended] by the system. The classes were pretty basic, but he had no complaints; after all, the moment he saw their names he knew which class he was destined for.

Alex quickly selected Fighter, and a new message appeared

[Are you certain? Once selected, a class cannot be changed except through evolution!]

[Yes/No]

Rather than dismayed, Alex was elated by this message. If what it said was true, he could later evolve his class into something else, Which sounded promising. With a fat smile spread across his face, he selected yes, and his aura began to change rapidly.

What was once an invisible force had now turned into bright flames that engulfed his figure. Alex could feel an intense burning sensation as he gritted his teeth, enduring the pain which afflicted his very soul.

After the transformation was complete, Alex appeared no different than before, but he felt more sturdy. As if every cell had been reinforced with the aura of a true fighter. Like a child on Christmas, Alex could not wait to test out his strength; as such, he slammed his fist into a nearby concrete pillar as hard as he could.

The pillar exploded upon impact and sent shards of concrete flying in every direction. His party, which had witnessed his transformation, gaped in astonishment, their mouths so wide they practically hit the floor. They could not begin to fathom the increase in strength he had acquired from just one level.

Little did they know that they had just witnessed the first-class selection in the region. When news of this spread, every survivor worth their salt would be working double-time to reach level 10 and select their class. Without any intent, Alex had single-handedly started a revolution among the leveling of various human combatants.