Anti-Mage

“Yeah, I heard that too,” Anton said to the copy of his Ex-girlfriend who was pointing a .357 at his chest,

“How have I been? How have I been? Since you up and left without even saying goodbye..”

“Wasn’t me in this Universe, but just for clarification, were you on top of my, his, best friend when he walked in on the two of you doing the rodeo tango.”

SHE, because Anton wasn’t going to give her the benefit of even thinking about her name in his head, blushed a little before she said, “You still could have at least said goodbye!”

“As it wasn’t me…” Anton started to say but was cut off.

“What do you mean it wasn’t you, you're kneeling right there.”

Anton sighed and then said, “Do you remember that show Sliders, with Jerry O’Connell in it?”

“You mean that retro show from the 90s you made me sit and watch with you when you binged all 5 seasons?” she said.

“Yeah, that show. Remember how they were always going to alternate universes where they even ran into themselves at one point?” Anton asked.

“Yeah, so?” she said as the gun lowered so it wasn’t pointing directly at him anymore.

“Well, I’m one of the alternates for your Anton, or he’s my alternate, though it would seem we both ended up with the evil version of you,” Anton said.

She flushed and the gun raised a little then settled back down, “I guess I deserve that. We had heard that you died before everything went to shit, down in South America somewhere.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know how he died,” Anton said and then made an obvious attempt to change the subject by asking, “What has been going on here?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, I’ve been hiding in the store,” she said.

“Why?” Anton asked.

“It’s kind of quiet right now, but right after the messages appeared in everyone’s vision and all the electricity failed creatures started appearing everywhere. There have been screams every once in a while and I even saw people running east toward I29. I think they were trying to make it there so they could make their way to the base that’s up north.”

“And you didn’t go?”

“Are you crazy, it’s the goddamn zombie apocalypse out there,” she said.

“It’s not a zombie apocalypse. I have no idea what a Dungeon World is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a zombie apocalypse. It’s probably a good idea for us to head to the base. They’ll have guns, ammunition, and a defensible perimeter. Unless they react like Stephen King had the military react in “The Stand” Then the military might be the worst place to go. Still, if anyone is going to make it into the base it’ll be you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you’re a sensual demon bitch that everyone wants to fuck. If you’re okay with that and using your sexuality to protect yourself by tying yourself to the strongest people you can you should do okay. Of course, if you pick a psychopath, it could go bad for you. Also, since magic is a thing, Karma probably is too, and sure as shit your Karma has got to be awful.”

She cocked her head to the side, and then grinned, “You’ve been waiting to say that to the alternate version of me for a while haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I feel much better now.”

“Yeah, well fuck you too. I’d say I was sorry but I didn’t cheat on you if what you say is true.”

“Touche”

“Also, you have read way too many of the science fiction fantasy horror books you like,” she said.

“Yeah, because I wasn’t part of an expedition to a secret underground structure in Antarctica where we found a device that pretty much set up a string of events that has turned Earth into a Dungeon World. Nor was I killed when a nuke detonated right next to me by the military personnel who then killed everyone on the Odyssey, the ship I was on,” Anton said.

“What are you talking about,” she said disbelievingly, “You’re standing right here, How could a nuke have gone off in your face.”

“Let’s just say, that the world has changed me. Also, I think we need to get out of this shop and head to the base. Like I said, I think you’ll be fine. At the very least they’ll want young women to help keep the species going.”

“I am not a broodmare,” she declared.

“Well then, either you’re going to have to figure out how to survive in this SYSTEM or you’re going to have to get others to protect you. What exactly do you bring to the table in a Universe without electricity, high society parties, and girls trying to one-up each other to get the best man, when the definition of the best man must now change from he who makes the most money to he who can survive and support those he cares for?” Anton said. He knew he was being an ass, but seriously, she needed to think about this shit, and she deserved at least this much of a hard time.

“And what about you, what do you bring to the table?” She said in that voice that tried to needle him.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said thoughtfully. “What I do know is that we need to make it to the base before dark. What time is it by the way?”

“It’s around 10 a.m. I don’t know the exact time because none of the clocks work. Oh, and you’re still an ass.”

“It wasn’t my ass bouncing up and down on….You know what, I’m an ass. Let’s just get somewhere else—safety in numbers and all that.

“Fine,” she said.

Anton picked up his crowbar, stood, and motioned for HER to follow him out the back door. They made their way north along 45th Street without seeing anybody until they came to 7th Avenue where they began heading east. It was eerie. Anton didn’t see anyone. When they reached 38th Street North they followed it until they came to an Arby’s. As they were making their way toward 12th Ave and the onramp onto the highway the back door to Arby’s opened and someone motioned for them to come over. They made their way outside and across the parking lot and stopped just short of the back door. As they drew closer the door opened a crack and a voice called out softly, “Leslie, where are you two headed?”

Leslie, his Ex…Damn her name was in his head now.

Leslie moved over to the door, “George, we’re heading up to the base. How many people do you have with you?”

We had eight. Three hours ago the other three took off and said they couldn’t wait for help anymore. Everyone left is an adult, or at least a teenagers, though,” George said.

“As it was explained to me, bigger groups would be better, want to come with us?”

“Yeah, sure. Let me get everyone,” George said as the door closed. Anton and Leslie waited for about five minutes before three girls and two males came out. One of the girls was in her Arby’s uniform, like George. While the other three looked to be teenagers that had probably been getting something to eat when the shit hit the fan.

“Anyone have any weapons?” Anton asked.

George brandished a knife and his employee, Jacqueline, had a make-shift staff. She’d created it by taking the mop head off a mop. The three teenagers didn’t have anything and just looked at Anton dumbfounded. “George, do you have a car, Jacqueline?” They both nodded. “Good, get the tire irons out of the back so we all have something to fight with.

George and Jacqueline went over to their cars, opened their trunks, and retrieved their tire irons. One of the female teenagers went to her car and retrieved the tire iron from it. The last two teenagers just shrugged as the last girl said, “We came with her.” The male teenager just nodded. While they waited Anton felt like he was being watched and looked to the west down 12th Ave. He thought he saw something white and fluffy behind one of the cars that was at least the size of a giant dog.

As he continued to watch for movement to see if there was anything else he pointed to the west and said softly, “We have company.”

Everyone had retrieved their weapons and now looked to the west and saw…

“It’s a giant bunny,” the female teenager without a weapon called out and took a step toward the bunny that had come out from behind the car. The bunny's head was at least 4 feet off the ground and it had fluffy white fur everywhere except for around its mouth, which had been stained dark pink, or was that red? It didn’t matter because at that moment Anton’s eyes locked with it and he was able to tell that it was feral and about to attack. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment as the bunny made a screeching sound and then jumped at the girl right in front of it.

Before anyone could react, before they even knew what was happening the girl's throat was ripped out and her head almost torn off. Anton remained frozen as he thought, It’s a goddamn vorpal bunny. More flashes of white went past him and Anton heard a gunshot and screams.

Anton was able to dodge the first bunny that attacked him. The other six people in his party were not so lucky. Leslie was attacked by two of the bunnies which held back from her after she shot the first one. While it hadn’t died from the first gunshot, the second gunshot struck it in the head and knocked it down near Anton. Anton saw that the bunny that had tried to attack him had crashed through the window to Arby’s and was turning to jump back out of the building at Anton.

Anton turned to the bunny that was lying at his feet and curb-stomped it. He didn’t think, he just lifted his foot and brought it down on the bunny's head which left a very satisfying crunch. Of course that left him wide open for the white furball that slammed into him and latched onto his neck as it took him to the ground. Anton instinctively grabbed its head and tried to hold it still so it didn’t rip out his neck.

Over the next minute or so the sounds of struggle from the others died down until only Anton was struggling with the bunny that was latched onto his neck. He’d tried punching kicking and even biting it but it just kept holding onto him. Once Anton couldn’t hear any other movement from his fellow humans all the bunnies focused on him. A moment later four more bunnies attacked and held onto his arms and legs while the one that had latched onto his neck kept holding on trying to immobilize him. Anton had tried to move repeatedly but every time he did they would all tighten their grip until Anton found himself lying on his back holding onto one rabbit while the others were holding him still.

As he realized that he was now immobilized he thought, At least that bitch died before she saw five bunnies hold me down and…

Yep, a second bunny appeared in his vision and forced him to try to stop it which gave an opening to the first bunny which ripped his throat out.

You have Died!

Hey, his messages were back? Nice, that must have happened when he killed that first Bunny. After he’d died Anton looked around, noticed that everyone was dead, and moved 20 feet through the wall of Arby’s and into the bathroom on the other side of the wall. As he made his way inside he looked around he noticed that this store had natural gas lines. Oh really?

You Have Been Reborn!

He’d have to go through messages later because right now he had some rabbits to kill. Anton minimized his messages as he rematerialized and as quietly as he could, moved through the store and turned on all the gas lines. He also went through the store looking for a lighter or something that could cause a spark. He found a lighter and then moved over to the windows so he could look out on the corpses of the people he’d just met and her double.

He counted 15 bunnies, all about the size of a small pony. They were also obviously carnivores because they were taking their time while they feasted on the three girls, Leslie and, the two guys. They were acting more like starved wolves than they acted like the creatures they were modeled after. Well, one thing was for sure, it hadn’t even been close to a fair fight 15 against 7, yeah that was fucked up. Anton noticed that he had a notification but he ignored it. He wasn’t going to take his attention off the bunnies. He also let the bunnies eat while the Arby’s started filling natural gas.

About a half hour later the bunnies started finishing up with their meals and looking around. That worked just fine for Anton. He backed away from the window and then made a shitload of noise as he made his way to the office at the back of the store. There was a door and a window that allowed the manager to look out into the work area. Anton made it into the office and closed the door before the first bunny made it inside. He watched through the windows as all fifteen bunnies came into the communal area from all around the store and then looked through the glass window into the office.

Anton waved at the leader that had bit off his head as he started yelling at it through the window, “You done fucked up now pal. You are the ugliest fucking bunny I have ever seen. You all must be inbred pieces of shit if you think you can kill me. Hey, just between you and me, does shit stick to your fur because I need to wipe my ass you ugly…”

Anton kept on hurling insults at the bunny as all of the other bunnies sniffed at the air but kept moving toward him. He was pretty sure all fifteen were in the store and now in the kitchen as they made their way to the door. Just when he felt like the bunny that had killed him was about to jump through the window to try to kill him again, he reached down and flicked on the lighter at the base of the door where a few of the bunnies were waiting outside for him to run.

Anton wasn’t sure exactly how long it would take for the gas to ignite…

BOOM!!!

You Have Died!

Twenty seconds later he rematerialized outside the store as what was left of it burned. Anton made his way onto I29 and started heading North away from the fire behind him. He needed to move as quickly as he could so that other predators wouldn’t find him. He felt kind of bad for George and the other four but he had avenged them. As for Leslie, Karma was well and truly a bitch.

As he made his way north along the highway he came across an RV that was unlocked and made his way inside. He needed to get out of the open so he could look over all the notifications he’d received. The RV was empty and had been left open. He went inside, closed the door, and then found the bathroom inside and locked himself in there. Being as quiet as he could he opened his Status Screen and started reading his notifications.

Congratulations! You have unlocked The SYSTEM by defeating a Basic Creature.

XP and Treasure will be awarded after you choose your first class. Please open your Status Screen and choose your class under the Class Tab.

Anton opened his Class Tab and read through the prompts.

Congratulations! The following Tier 1 Classes are available to you based on your Attributes, Abilities, Titles, and Perks.

At Tier 1 only Basic, Scarce, or Rare Classes may be available for you to choose from. While any Tier 1 class can garner access to Tier 2 classes, it becomes easier to meet Tier 2 Prerequisites if you have either a Scarce or Rare Class. If you qualify for a Tier 2 Class you may be given the choices of Advanced and Master Classes. Those with a Tier 2 Master Class will have a better chance of qualifying for a Tier 3 Epic Class. Tier 4 and 5 Classes, if qualified for, only consist of Mythic, and Legendary Classes in that order.

Note: Class level progression is slower with each Rarity Rank. Level progression for Scarce classes requires twice as much XP. Rare Classes require triple the amount of XP to increase one level. Tier 2 Advance Classes require 10 times as much XP as a Basic Class per level. Tier 2 Master Classes require twice as much XP as a Tier 2 Advanced Class. Tier 3 Classes require 10 times as much XP as an Advanced Class. Tier 4 requires 10 times as much XP as a Tier 3 Class. Finally, Tier 5 requires 10 times as much XP as Tier 4 Classes.

Please review each class and then choose one.

Anton looked over the choices and was surprised that there weren’t a lot. Of course, he hadn’t killed anything notable to help unlock something extraordinary but it looked like his two titles and abilities had given him some interesting choices.

Psionicist (Rare) – You are a master of Psychic Energy and receive bonuses with any Psychic ability and an extremely high mental defense.

Nega-Magician (Rare) – Sometimes called an Anti-Mage, This is a mental class that focuses on improving the mind with a focus on anti-mage and magical creature tactics.

Specter (Rare: Unique) – This is a mental class that takes advantage of the Legendary Ability “Immortal” and its capabilities. Note, this class does NOT turn you into an undead

Anton was really set on picking a psionicist or a nega-magician but that Unique category just called to him. Also, he seemed to be dying a lot. If he was going to die a lot wouldn’t it be better to take a class that took advantage of that? With his mind, he chose the Class “Specter.”

Congratulations! You have chosen the Rare Unique Class Specter.

Class: Specter

A Specter is a fusion of mind and soul. Able to cross between the material plane and an adjacent dimension the Specter can appear and disappear with ease. This is a Unique class that requires very specific prerequisites.

Rarity: Rare: Unique

Attributes Per Level: 12

Bonus Attributes every 5 levels including level 1: +1 to Intelligence, +1 to Perception, +1 to Willpower

Hit Points per Level: 10

Mana per level: 0

Psychic Energy per level: 10

Starting Skills

Mind Bolt: Cost to Cast: 10 Psychic Energy / Range: 10 + Intelligence in feet / Damage: 8 / Special: (10% - Target Willpower Bonus) Chance per level of Mentalist to Stun Target

Mental Shield: Passive: 10 Psychic Energy unavailable while Mental Shield is active. +25% +1% per Willpower bonus + 1% Mental Defense per class level against any mind-altering magics including illusions

Specter: You may willingly transform into your Specter form: Cost 10 Psychic Energy. Duration: 1 minute. May extend duration by 1 minute for 1 Psychic Energy. Upon Death “Specter” State is entered for free. Duration can be extended by 1 minute for 1 Psychic Energy. NOTE: if killed to enter the Specter state, A minimum of 2 turns ( 20 seconds) must pass before the state may be exited freely.

Specter Benefits: Movement Speed increased by multiple of 2 (1+Skill Level of skill Specter) You may utilize mental communication skills and Psychic abilities while in your Specter Form.

Specter Disadvantages: You may not make Physical Attacks. You are on another plane of existence that is adjacent to the plane your physical body was on. You may be attacked there if the person who is trying to attack can make attacks across dimensions. The Dimension is a closed dimension.

WARNING. If Psychic Energy is reduced to 0 while in Specter Form the soul will disperse and Reform after 1 hour. While dispersed you are unconscious.

Anton looked over the class and had to admit that the skill “Specter” was a game-changer. However until he picked up a skill like telepathy, if telepathy existed, he wouldn’t be able to use it as a scouting skill. Also, it was nice to know what would happen to him if his Specter Form was attacked and destroyed. Before his mind could wander too far a few more notifications appeared.

Congratulations, you have defeated a Basic Level 5 Mutated Bunny. As you did not have a class or level at the time Level Disparity is based on Rarity, 1 Level. Base experience award 500 XP (Level 5 Creature x 100 XP).

Congratulations you have been awarded 5 Copper Pieces for defeating a level 5 Basic Mutated Bunny

Congratulations, you have defeated 15 Basic Level 6 Mutated Bunnies. As you did not have a class or level at the time Level Disparity is based on Rarity, 1 Level. Base experience award 9,000 XP 15 x (Level 6 Creature x 100 XP) x1 for level disparity.

Congratulations you have been awarded 90 Copper Pieces for defeating 15 level 6 Basic Mutated Bunnies.

Congratulations you have reached Specter Level 1, Attributes allocated.

Congratulations you have reached Specter Level 2, Attributes allocated.

You have 24 attributes to allocate

Point allocation was easy. With 3 bonus attributes for level 1 and 12 free points, he put 1 point into every category and then added an extra point to his Perception, Wisdom, Charisma, and Luck. Level 2 was even easier. With only 12 points to spend, he raised each attribute by 1 and added the spare point to his Perception, since that attribute determined how far he could move in his Specter Form.

With his titles and everything else in play, all of his attributes were now over 20 and his Psychic Energy increased from 27 to 50 which meant he could keep that Mental Shield active and either use Mind Bolt 4 times or run away from a bad situation for 40 minutes. If he could find a way to increase his Psychic Energy regeneration he might one day be able to maintain that form indefinitely.

Anton wondered why he couldn’t use Mind Bolt while he was in his Specter Form but wasn’t too worried about it. He noticed that he had 51 Psionic Slots and wondered what he could use them for. As soon as that thought entered his mind new notifications appeared.

NOTE: Specter is a Unique Rare Class. Class Skills are also Psionic Skills. Skill Points and Psionic Slots may be utilized to increase the level of Class skills

Would you like to allocate your free Psionic Slot points or Skill Points toward your existing class skills, or would you like to purchase a new skill?

Error! You are not in a SYSTEM Shop, at a Merchant Shop, or being taught by a skill trainer. Please visit a SYSTEM Shop, Merchant Shop, or Skill Trainer to use Skill Points or Psionic Slot Points to acquire new non-class skills OR you may spend your Skill Points or Psionic Skill Points to increase the level of your current Class Skills.

Would you like to spend 2 of your Skill Points or Psionic Slot points to increase one of your class skills to level 2?

Anton only had 6 Skill points but he had 51 Psionic Slot points. He chose yes and spent 2 of his Psionic Slot points to increase his Mind Bolt Skill to level 2

Mind Bolt Level 2: Cost to Cast: 20 Psychic Energy / Range: 20 + Intelligence in feet / Damage: 12 / Special: (10% - Target Willpower Bonus) Chance per level of Mentalist to Stun Target

Well, Shit. He only had 50 Psychic Energy to begin with. Though it did more damage and had more range. He could only use it twice before he had to rest now. He decided to see what putting 2 Psionic Slots into each of the other skills would do.

Mental Shield (2): Passive: 9 Psychic Energy unavailable while Mental Shield is active. +30% +1% per Willpower bonus + 1% Mental Defense per class level against any mind-altering magics including illusions

Specter (2): You may willingly transform into your Specter form: Cost 9 Psychic Energy. Duration: 1 minute. May extend duration by 1 minute and 1 turn for 1 Psychic Energy. Upon Death “Specter” State is entered for free. Duration can be extended by 1 minute and 1 turn for 1 Psychic Energy. NOTE: if killed to enter the Specter state, A minimum of 2 turns ( 20 seconds) must pass before the state may be exited freely.

Mind Shield’s maintenance cost was reduced by one and Specter’s cost to cross over was also reduced by 1 as well as extending the duration by 10 seconds per Psychic Energy spent. So the more points he put into it, the longer he could remain in Specter Form. If he spent his Psionic Points on those two skills and reduced the costs further, that could make some things easier. He wasn’t going to spend all of his points but having a mental defense seemed like a good idea so he increased that to level 5 for 12 more psionic slot points.

Mental Shield (5): Passive: 6 Psychic Energy unavailable while Mental Shield is active. +45% +1% per Willpower bonus + 1% Mental Defense per class level against any mind-altering magics including illusions

That was actually a pretty nice mental defense. His willpower bonus was currently 105 with a Willpower of 220 which meant that his overall bonus to mental defense was 45% + 105% + 2% or 152%. He wasn’t invincible to mind-altering magics but he was definitely doing better than the average person.

Anton checked his Status Screen. He had 6 Skill Slots left, couldn’t use magic and 33 Psionic Slots left. He was going to save the rest until he leveled again or found a SYSTEM Shop or trainer that could help him out. If he could get some Defensive Skills that might be for the best.

Anton activated his Mental Shield which didn’t cost any Psychic Energy but he could feel that the six points maintaining that defense were off limits. He also could activate his Specter Form and disappear if he was attacked. With his Perception of 28 and the ability to remain in the other dimension for 7 full turns before he had to spend another point of Psychic Energy, he could move 392 feet before he’d need to extend the duration or return to the real world. That could come in handy for getting around barriers, doors, and such

Anton exited the bathroom of the RV and looked out the windows into the eyes of Bison the size of a tank which was right outside the window he’d opened to look out. Its head was as big as a car and it definitely saw Anton. Without a thought, Anton activated his Specter Form as the Giant Bison swung its horns into the RV and threw it off the road to the west which it then turned to and charged. The National Guard base was to the North and on the east side of the highway. The opposite direction the bison was moving in.

Anton moved away from the big angry bull and north along the highway. He heard the bison hit the RV and start to tear it apart as it looked for him inside while he ran up the highway and away from the Bison. He had to admit it was nice not having to worry about anything attacking him as he made his way north.

Anton stayed in Specter form for the next 11 minutes and 50 seconds, which cost him a total of 19 of his Psychic Energy. This allowed him to make it up to the next offramp and onto 19th Avenue North. There were a couple of trees on the north side of the road that he made his way into before he deactivated Specter and stood there. When he checked his Psychic Energy he realized that he had 41 total instead of the expected 31. He’d regained 10 points over the last 12 minutes.

He’d expected to not be able to regenerate the energy while he was maintaining it but it looked like the skill was either designed so that he could get some of his mental energy back or maybe his ability Immortal had come into play because he could enter the dimension normally. Well not normally, but he didn’t need a skill to do so initially? He’d have to ask someone if he ever got the chance.

The entrance to the base was about half of a mile east of him. All he needed to do was hunker down and move slowly. First, though he was going to wait here for the next 20 minutes to get the last of his missing Psychic Energy back, in case he was attacked again. Anton was getting the feeling that whatever a Dungeon Planet was he was going to have to be careful going forward.