| Chapter 003 | Prologue - An Operator
Standard and advanced...
Please tell my the difference between the two.
Everest wasn't ignorant regarding class selection, however, he desired to understand what standard procurement differed from the advanced procurement. After all, he'd rather be knowledgeable than blind in the construction of his future with the leveling system.
The class that he may received now might become his final one. So, it wasn't unfavorable to be careful in what he could choose from the system.
[ The standard class procurement allows the user to choose one basic class-card from the given five class-deck. On the other hand, the advanced class procurement bestows the ability to receive a rarer class-card from the deck. ]
[ Be reminded that the system directive cannot give an example regarding what class the user might receive. ]
Gazing upon the newly-emerged bluish and translucent digital screen, Everest now understood the distinction between the two. Through the standard class procurement, he could pick a class of his choice, although in their basic forms.
Meanwhile, the advanced class procurement was a total gamble, but the class he could receive from it would be rarer than the standard procurement. It was dependent in whether he desired for a better class or not.
Sadly, the system directive couldn't give me an example of what I may get from choosing either of the two. Otherwise, I could have made a conscious decision knowing full-well the disadvantages from picking one of the two.
Everest frowned while questioning thoughts flooded his mind.
Would he really choose the standard procurement to get the class of his choice? Or would he pick the advanced procurement to get a better and rarer class that would improve his ability to survive?
After taking his time and weighting his options, he finally made the decision. With a determined heart, he took a deep breath and thought about how much of his future would change from this one simple decision.
System, I'll choose the advanced class procurement.
[ Affirmative, Sir Everest. ]
[ The advanced class procurement has been chosen! ]
After two notifications made their appearance, they suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a vast, bluish translucent digital screen. Throughout the newly-emerged digital screen was its name and several purple-colored cards.
[ Advanced Class Procurement Deck ]
-[ ????????? ]--[ ????????? ]--[ ????????? ]-
-[ ????????? ]--[ ????????? ]--[ ????????? ]-
-[ ????????? ]--[ ????????? ]--[ ????????? ]-
The purple-colored cards attracted the attention of Everest as it might have meaning that could prove itself useful to the current him. Without a tinge of hesitation or delay, he questioned the system directive.
Is there any meaning with the purple color of the cards?
[ The Apocalyptic Leveling System has a rarity ranking of ★, ★★, ★★★, ★★★★, and ★★★★★. These would be applicable throughout all features of the system whether it'd be skills, classes, and items. ]
[ To improve the user's quality of life, each categorized rarity constitutes a color grade. ★ represents white, ★★ represents blue, ★★★ represents gold, ★★★★ represents purple, and ★★★★★ represents red. ]
Which means that all of the class cards within the advanced class procurement deck are ★★★★ classes. If the rarest is the ★★★★★ rarity, wouldn't any of the ★★★★ class I choose be overpowered?
[ Be reminded that the rarity of a class-card illustrates the potential rarity of received skill cards. ]
Hm, if I picked a ★★★★ class, I might receive a skill card with the rarity of ★ to ★★★★. This also means that if I had gotten to the basic, ★ class, I would be stuck to ★ skill cards until a potential advancement of some sort.
The continuous exposition of the system directive in regards to the detail of how rarity potential might affect his future made him more resolved from choosing advanced class procurement.
Even though he wouldn't be able to choose the class of his picking, the high potential rarity of the skill-cards he might receive through leveling would improve his prospect of survival in the future.
Damn, this reminds me of gacha.
I thought that I received the apocalyptic leveling system, not the apocalyptic gambling system.
Everest felt exasperated from the idea of gambling for his future. Relying in luck or destiny was never his forte, but nevertheless, there was the first time for everything. He could only bargain with the rng to ensure that his future class proved itself to be survival-friendly.
So, what card do I choose?
He observed the nine decked class-cards with intrigued. Any one of them would give him an overpowered potential, the difference being how its capability would be utilize. Some might be active-classes, while others might be passive-classes.
Though, he'd prefer an active-class.
At any rate, an example of passive-classes would be an alchemist, engineer, or musician. Generally, these could be considered a support class. Examples of active-classes should be a warrior, soldier, or archer, in simpler terms, any classes that didn't reside in the support category.
May the rng be with me...
Concentrating his thoughts, he chose the sixth class-card within the translucent digital deck of cards. An animation played out along his perception as the deck shrunk while the sixth class-card remained before his eyes.
The sixth class-card dramatically turned as though unveiling the greatest gift of all time. But the slow and exaggerated turn made it difficult to predict, which proved to be vexing even for him.
Barely pacified by his rationality, the sixth class-card soon opened up, disclosing the ★★★★ class beneath.
[ Congratulations, you have received Operator(★★★★)! ]
Operator, huh?
That sounds interesting, though, is it useful?
Everest couldn't help but questioned inside his mind, wondering about functionality of the ★★★★ class. An operator, in itself, was akin to a user of something. But operating skills, while useful, wouldn't be extremely helpful in the apocalypse.
System, what is the Operator-Class?
[ Operator(★★★★) ]
-[ The Operator is an offensive/support class that grants the user the ability to summon technological wonders of the future. It is amongst the powerful classes, although not too illustrious in terms of visual prospects. ]-
That... Actually told me something-
-It seems that I underestimated the capability of the system.
Everest was somewhat astounded and realized that he misjudged the system directive. He anticipated it to expound without actually providing vital information of the class. He was thankfully wrong as the system directive bestowed him one crucial detail.
The ability to summon technological wonders of the future.
Interesting... It makes me curious what the limits of the technological wonders this class could summon for me.
He was intrigued and anticipated what the class may grant him. But before he could keep his mind occupied with fruitless thoughts, another bluish and translucent digital screen replaced the recent notification.
[ The user has chosen an appropriate class! ]
[ As a congratulatory reward, the system directive has given the starter-gift pack(★★★)! ]
Hmm... Quite virtuous.
It was a tad bit difficult to stop his lips from curling up. After all, he was delighted to have received a starter-gift pack since it further increased his chances of survival when the apocalypse consumes the entirety of the world.
Please open the starter-gift pack.
[ Understood, Sir Everest! Opening starter-gift pack(★★★)... ]
[ You have received Marksmanship(★★), Suppressed Ruger Mark IV, Ten 22LR Magazines! ]
It isn't bad...
Even though Everest couldn't acquire a ★★★ skill card, Marksmanship wasn't without its uses. In the modern era where firearms could be found everywhere, it could be considered the most versatile skill to have.
With the ★★ skill, he might be able to sustain continuous headshots, reducing ammunition consumption by a wide-margin. But its performance remained questionable until tested in an actual real-world environment.
A suppressed Ruger Mark IV isn't a bad side arm and could prove itself useful in the apocalypse. Its ammunition is amongst the cheapest, and its subsonic properties made it quieter than normal handguns.
The best lesson that I couldn't forget was that silence was the safest faculty within the apocalypse.
Attracting attention was, what I considered a risky and foolish endeavor, that killed most of the survivors.
It was the harbinger of most tragedies that transpired in the apocalyptic era.
Everest felt melancholic, remembering blurred memories of his past- no, future. There were innumerable moments throughout his life when he wished to return to the past to mend his regrets.
I shouldn't concern myself to the past any longer.
Utilizing the apocalyptic leveling system and his knowledge of the future, there was little to no chance he would be accompanied by the same regrets of his past. But there was no detriment to ensure that it doesn't happy.
It was better to save himself from the arrogance of knowing too much. Otherwise, he might regret it sooner or later.
I should calm myself and control my impulses.
I forgot that I'm currently in a younger body who might be a tad bit vigorous than my former and old self.
Taking a deep yet restrained breath, Everest returned his attention back to the apocalyptic leveling system and decided to experiment with it. There were two features that would generally be a part of the system. These two were the foundations that made something a leveling system.
The first was status while the second was inventory.
System, open my status.
In mere moments, a bluish and translucent digital screen materialized before him. Inside the digital screen was his status, which reminded him of an RPG status display.
[ Everest ]
-[ Energy : (100/100) ]-
-[ Class : Operator(★★★★) ]-
-[ Level 0 : ( 0/100 AXP ) ]-
-[ Attribute(s) ]-
--[ STR : 10 ]-[ END : 10 ]--
--[ AGI : 10 ]-[ DEX : 10 ]--
--[ INT : 10 ]-[ WIS : 10 ]--
--[ Attribute Point(s) : 0 ]--
-[ Skill Index ]-
-<[ Marksmanship(★★) ]>-
-[ Inventory ]-
-<[ Suppressed Ruger Mark IV ]>-
-<[ 10x 22LR Magazines ]>-
Examining the status display from top to bottom, Everest smirked understanding its intricacies without the need for the system directive to explain. In the upper section was the energy, which might be correlated to the attributes below it.
Following the upper section was his class and level, which was at its lowest, zero. The required AXP to level up was a hundred, a little bit troublesome but doable nonetheless.
At the lower section was the skill index, representing a catalog of his skills. It seemed that the system didn't require the leveling of skills, though its effectiveness might be coordinated alongside his attribute. However, the conjecture needs to be tested.
In the end was the inventory, which he previously expected to be a digital display on its own. It appears that the system directive knew the beauty of simplicity since he could observe his status while taking something out of his inventory.
After inspecting the status display for a few moments, Everest turned his attention to his inventory where the Suppressed Ruger MK IV and the ten 22LR Magazines resided. He couldn't help but ponder how to take it out.
Should I just think of it?
Through a single thought, the Suppressed Ruger Mark IV left the confines of the inventory, grasped tightly by his fingers. It was instantaneous, which shocked him as it might be his strongest ability to date.
To think that it was merely an ordinary feature for the system.
A couple of seconds later, Everest returned the handgun to the inventory since he hasn't registered a firearm license of any sort. With how strict the city of New York had become, an ill-fated meeting with the cops would land him in jail.
A fate he'd rather avoid, especially when the apocalypse was about to knock them off their throne.
However, it is an intriguing feature, nevertheless.
His strategies and tactics adapt in regards to the tools and abilities he could utilize in the heat of the moment. Whether it'd be Marksmanship or the inventory of the system, they serve the purpose of safeguarding his life.
"I guess it's time to head out and get me some meal."
"There should be a convenience store nearby."
Everest mumbled to himself, noticing his grumbling stomach. He pulled out a black down jacket from the wardrobe and wore it since it should be cold outside.
Taking a glimpsed of his phone, he noticed that midnight had passed, indicating that it was currently early in the morning.
4th of September, huh? Tomorrow should be the outbreak.
His eyes narrowed, a cold glint escaped the sapphire-shade of his irises. To think that he would only have a day or two to experience the normality of the modern world. It was unfortunate as it was saddening.
"I have to survive no matter what and ensure I live a life without regrets."