Chapter 13: Next Steps

Lianna hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. She walked over to Jayce and held out her hand, after a moment a golden light was released from her palm, bathing him in a warm glow. 𝑜𝚟𝐞𝒍𝐞xt.𝗇𝓔t

Jayce instantly felt relaxed, a comfortable feeling spread through his body, easing his sore muscles and repairing the tears and bruises he had accumulated from the fight with the fierce goblin.

[You have been healed – 50hp regenerated]

“Good job!” Jayce flashed a satisfied smile and a thumbs up for good measure.

Seeing the chef’s hat flop around as if mirroring its wearers happy mood, Lianna held back a giggle and returned the thumbs up.

Just then, Colin returned to the room, having gathered information from the others. He joined the conversation, sharing the classes and abilities of the other survivors.

“We have a mix of classes among us,” Colin announced. “Swordsmen and Mages make up most of our numbers, with a few archers, and only 2 other guardians besides myself.”

Jayce frowned a little, he wasn’t too surprised with the current mix of classes. It was the same as his previous life, as most people would choose either something cool or something familiar.

A glint of determination flickered in his eyes. When he had been in the shelter in his last life, Colin was forced to sacrifice himself to allow everyone to escape after this place was discovered by the horde of Goblins.

However this time would be different, he already knew it was possible to change the future in this life as he had already saved Lianna who would have likely been dead by now. Not to mention that he was no longer the same class as last time.

Remembering that he was no longer a swordsman, brought him a lot of exasperation. His 10 years of experience in the harsh world of Cataclysm would be useless to him.

He wouldn’t be so dejected if his Chef class was overpowered or held a significant advantage to his survival. However from what he could see, other than the 2 additional stat points he received for leveling up, everything else was just mediocre.

The VIP15 skill was actually overpowered, but it had nothing to do with his new class. He would have much rather had access to that ability with his Swordsman class, after all there would be plenty of things that could give him temporary stat boosts in the future.

One advantage of having so much experience as a Swordsman was that he could train other Swordsmen comfortably and confidently. It just so happened that it was one of the highest-picked classes in the world, well at least it was in his previous life.

Shaking his head, he quickly recovered from his bout of depression. “Colin, can you separate the classes into groups? It’s time to start training.” Jayce said firmly.

Colin’s face showed a mix of emotions, “Uh, Jayce. These are just regular people, not warriors. I don’t think they’ll listen to you.”

“Ah.” Jayce froze for a moment.

These people had just experienced the beginning of the Apocalypse only a few hours beforehand. Perhaps some of them even thought that things would go back to normal in a few days, hell, some of them might not even know what has happened.

He suddenly remembered what had been going through his brain on the first day of the Apocalypse all those years back. Even though he had picked the Swordsman class, there was no point that he had utilized any of his skills while surviving his first night on the streets.

His only thoughts were to run away and find shelter, away from the monsters that had suddenly appeared.

Jayce thought for a moment before nodding. He would have to explain some things and set the mood so he could ensure these peoples survival. After all, if they stayed afraid and useless, Colin would once again sacrifice himself so they could escape.

He sighed inwardly, it was time for him to perform. With a huge slapping sound, Jayce brought both his hands up and slapped both sides of his face, shocking the two girls who began to look at him weirdly. Without another word he walked into the main area and drew a few gazes.

Jayce stood before the gathered survivors in the shelter, his eyes filled with determination and a sense of urgency. He took a deep breath, his voice resonating with conviction as he prepared to address them.

“Listen, everyone,” he began, his tone commanding their attention. “We are facing a crisis unlike anything we have ever known. The game Cataclysm: World’s End has descended upon our Earth, plunging us into a new reality where the world we once knew is no more. Our lives, our civilization, everything has changed… for the worse.”