No Time [Mythen Oakhier] [Branch closed]

"TheDespaxas here, let's welcome a new author Mythen Oakhier, as always like he will say himself, themes, characters, concepts and events while shared will vary between branches. Let's discover his take on my story. Good reading."

<Mythen Oakhier here. This branching path will encounter other characters from other lines, and you will see skills from them as well, although they may not be used in the same way as in the original line that they are from. Also, I am a slow writer, as my muse seems to be as much of a slacker as I am. So my chapters may take longer to write and upload. Please enjoy.>

John looked over at his alarm clock that woke him and cursed. He wouldn’t have time to earn the optional objective if he was going to make it to school on time. He got out of bed and quickly rushed to the bathroom. He showered and dried himself in record time, not bothering to comb his hair before he rushed back to his room and got dressed.

John grabbed his book bag and flew down the stairs. He slowed down to a silent walk as he sees his mother and remembers that he spent almost all of his money buying that new expansion for one of the many games that he played. He briefly considered asked his mother for some more, but knew he wouldn’t have time for the lecture that was sure to come about being financially responsible. He considers what to do, and decided to quietly check her purse to see if she had any money that she wouldn’t immediately notice missing.

He found her wallet, and after quickly, and quietly looking through, he pocketed a ten before putting her wallet back in her purse. As he stepped back, his mother turns around and gave a startled exclamation. “John, I didn’t realise that you still here,” she scolded him softly, “You better hurry up and get to the bus or you will be late!”

As she talked, two notifications popped up in front of him.

Skill unlocked: Theft lvl1, 25 mp
Theft: When touching someone take a randomly selected small item from a person or a container and adds it to your inventory.

Skill unlocked: Move Silently lvl1, passive
Move Silently: You gain a bonus to sneaking when attempting to move without alerting people around you. Stacks with Stealth for additional bonuses.

“I understand mom,” he replied, waving the notifications away in a way that looked like he was waving good bye to her, “I am leaving now.” John grabbed a couple of pieces of toast, just to complete the daily quest, and with that, he was out the door. He quickly made his way to the bus stop, and as he got there, he noticed something strange. The sky had darkened in colour until it looked like blood, the buildings all looked ramshackle, or on the verge of collapsing, and the pavement seemed cracked and marred with long term disuse. He turned around, thinking to go back the way he came, assuming that he made a wrong turn somewhere, only to discover that behind him looked exactly the same as the path ahead of him.

“What is going on?” He cried out, taking cover instinctively against the side of the building. In the distance, a screaming laugh echoed out, and suddenly he got the feeling that he is not alone here. He saw someone slowly stumbling down the street, and he heads over to them. "Excuse me, but do….” the words died on his lips as what he thought was another human being turned towards him to reveal half of its head missing. A gurgling moan sounded from its throat drawing the attention of other creatures in the surrounding area that John hadn’t noticed in his haste.

He began backing away, before turning and running. More of the creatures began to appear around him, some came out of the ground, while others stumbled forth from the broken homes that littered the street. “Okay John,” he said to himself when he thinks that he finally has a moment to himself hiding behind a building, “You know what those are. Lifeless eyes, check. Missing body parts, check. Slow movement and poor lateral moves, check. You are fighting Zombies. You need a weapon.” He looked around and spotted what appears to be a strong looking branch that is his size.

Skill unlocked: Stealth lvl1, passive
Stealth: You are harder to detect when using cover or camouflage. Allowed to move slowly with Move Silently without breaking Stealth.

He waved the pop-up away as he prepared himself to face-off against the Zombies before he heard two new sounds. One sounded like the loud roar of an engine, but it seemed to be a fair distance off, and in the opposite direction of that hideous laugh he heard earlier. The other was much closer to him, and it was the booming laugh of someone that was having fun. He stuck his head around the corner to see an impressively large figure wading through the zombies, a massive sword in hand, that with each swipe sent the bodies and limbs flying.

As he focused on the figure he saw the information above their head appear:

Name: ?????
Class: Dungeoneer
Title: The Barbarian
Lvl: ???
HP: ???/???
MP: ???/???

‘Fat load of good that does for me,’ John thought to himself, ‘but at least I have something to call him now.’

The Barbarian finished the zombies before much longer. Stretching, he looked around to see if there was anything else in this area to deal with. John, having been so intent on watching the one-sided fight that he forgot to use his newly acquired stealth skill, is clearly visible.

“Hey-o,” the Barbarian called out, waving his hand at John to come over, which John did so reluctantly, “And who might you be?” Standing next to the man, John realised that he wasn’t so much as big as he was large. The Barbarian only stood a couple more inches taller than himself, but was very muscular in his legs and upper body, giving the appearance that he was taller than he should have been. “John, and what is this place, how did I get here?” John replied, sounding concerned for his safety. “Ahh, a late bloomer than,” the Barbarian said, “Firstly, you can call me Drakor. And this place, well it would be best to call this an illusion barrier. Come with me, for we have much to discuss.” And with that, he leads the way back towards the bus stop. The area was devoid of all life, and unlife.
"What is going on?