I found myself once again standing in the center of an infinite room of endless white columns and pristine stone flooring. Above me in the air were the notifications for starting the appraisal process.

  [Warden Pierce: Class Pathway Appraisal - Thief]

  [Choose your Specialization]

  [Blades] [Archery] [Shadows]

  I selected the [Blades] without hesitation. I figured it would be the specialization I would have the most familiarity with as I had been using to kitchen knives. I knew the [Blades] offered the [Dual Wielding] ability and was curious if there was anything else I could do starting out. My [Codex] dropped from my view and I found myself holding two slender blades twice as long as either of my knives. They had a familiar weight to them despite never having seen something like these before. They both ended in sharp points stretching from the short guard to the tip. The metalwork was clean and reflected the entirety of the room as if they had been forged from clouds. I pulled the [Codex] to examine my new weapons. The two new blades I had were identical to each other in every way and were definitely meant to be used as a pair.

  Twin Blade (Rare)

  ?? 10 - 15 Damage

  ? +15% Damage when Dual Wielding

  Attack Speed: Very Fast

  Combat Power: 150

  I was disappointed there wasn’t more to the weapons. No specialized stats besides increased damage, however looking at the Combat Power and the Attack Speed made up for it. Next I looked into the Class Skills and Specialization Abilities. I was once again disappointed in what I saw. There was no Specialization Ability, however there was a Skill under the Class Pathway. [Dual Wielding]], and it had five empty stars next to it. There was a small notification above the stars stating it needed one Class Skill point in order to rank it up. I did have two Class Skill points to spend but it wouldn’t let me increase the rank. Probably another quirk of this being an appraisal rather than me having Unlocked the actual Class Pathway.

  [Thief Specialization: Blades]

  Thief of Blades: The Thieves of Blades are the considered my some to be the deadly melee combatants across the Fallen States. Their mastery of quick attacks, deadly poisons and assassinations techniques makes them the perfect tool in the hands of the Trinity. What they lack in defense and magical prowess they make up for in speed and unfair strategical attacks. They are the only class who can unlock the Critical Assassination ability. The ability has a small chance of instantly killing any enemy in a single attack.

  I dropped the [Codex] and as if on cue, the Wretched Shambler came stumbling towards me. I wasted no time in dispatching the ugly thing. I stayed low to the ground, crossed the floor in three quick steps, and drew the blade up and across the creatures chest. The blades sliced cleanly through its rotting flesh, like a hot knife in butter. The things tentacled fast spasmed in the air as vile blood splashed in the air. It let out an awful scream and another series of twitches than fell to the ground. It landed with a wet slap and more dark blood.

  I flung out the blades and the blood streamed off it. They were left clean and ready to kill again. It was an incredible feeling being able to properly dual wield my weapons. The two knives I had been using always felt slow and sluggish despite weighing about a pound each. They were small weapons with fast attack speeds and I had managed to use them somewhat effectively but with these Twin Blades it was night and day. I twisted them in the air, slashed back and forth, and eventually tossed them up and caught them. It was so… natural to me. As if this is what I was supposed to select all along.

  There was another reason I wanted to select the specialization. The Critical Assassination Ability. I had never heard of it before, but being able to kill anything in a single strike was far too tempting.

  I believe I had found my Class Pathway. It wasn’t as flashy as the others but it felt natural, almost as if I had been guided to it this entire time. Before I made my decision I wanted to test out the other two specializations, especially [Archery]. The path of the [Midnight Ranger].

  I ended the appraisal of the [Blades] specialization and activated the one for [Archery]. However, I encountered another strange event. It almost seemed as though my [Codex] was glitching out on me. Every time I tried to select the [Archer] specialization the red-lined display would drop from my view as if it had crashed like one of those old computers we had in The Quarters archives. It took me a good five tries till the [Codex] finally allowed me to appraise the [Archery] specialization.

  [Thief Specialization: Archery]

  Street Ranger: The streets of the Fallen States are protected by the keen eyes of the Street Rangers. These agile fighters have increased senses compared to other classes, faster footwork, and a deeper knowledge of the enemies they face. Able to track down any creature across far distances, calculate any weak point, and deal massive amounts of damage from a far. They have a versatile set of abilities both for combat and for survival.

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  Reading the description of the [Archery] Specialization made me realize why Theo’s dad chose this Pathway. High amount of damage and survival skills is exactly what the last remaining humans of the Fallen States need to not only survive but to take back their world. I checked the ability next and was surprised to see the ability seemed somewhat… lackluster.

  Clean Shot: Using their heightened senses, the Street Ranger focuses all their attention on a single enemy. The concentration allows for the caster to deal a successful Critical Hit on their next attack against the targeted enemy.

  That’s it? I was hoping for a more enticing ability. Both powerful and dangerous. Able to kill any enemy or destroy any obstacle. I guess it was useful, and depending on how powerful my current damage was at, it could kill something instantly. I’d rather choose the Thief of Blades Specialization and eventually get the chance to unlock the instant kill ability. There had to be more to this Specialization. Something only Lupin Fletcher must have seen when he finished his Trial.

  Letting the [Codex] fade away showed me a gray short bow placed in my hands. It was made of flexible metal with no markings or details. As I shifted the bow back and forth and tested the strength of the string, I felt something knock against my elbow. I turned to see if a Wretched Shambler had snuck up on me but there was nothing there. I lifted my arm as I felt something hit my arm again. It was a quiver. A single black strap crossed my chest and held it fast to my back. There were five arrows sitting inside. I pulled up my [Inventory] and inspected the bow.

  Combat Bow (Rare)

  ?? 10 - 16 Damage

  ? +20% Critical Damage

  Attack Speed: Slow

  Combat Power: 195

  I didn't expect much from the bow, but the damage was fairly higher than most of the other weapons I had seen. I wasn't sure how I felt moving from a pair of weapons with Very Fast Attack Speed to one with Slow speed. I closed my [Inventory] and hefted the weapon in my hands again. It certainly was different from using two rusty knives.

  A roar echoed far away. I reached behind me and pulled out an arrow. I knocked it to the string and pulled back. I went full sentry mode and began to scan the area. The sound I’d heard was definitely another Wretched Shambler but I couldn’t see one. The sound burst around me again and caused me to turn heel fast, twisting the bow as I went. I focused my eyes down each of the long corridors of columns waiting for a Shambler come tumbling out from behind one. Instead I continued to hear the screaming of enemies all around me.

  Sweat began to bead down my face and my fingers hurt having to hold the string ready. Where were they? It took me a good thirty-seconds to realize where the sound was coming from. Five Wretched Shamblers were bearing down on me from far across the room. They were each running towards me from different directions. This was the test. To kill each of the Shamblers with the five arrows I had. Let's do this.

  Thankfully I spent a long time in my youth preparing for the Trial and the Fallen States. My skills and knowledge seemed to be washed away when I first stepped into this dark world but as I’ve leveled up and increased my stats those years of training started coming back to me. Most of my combat training was centered on using firearms and close combat weapons and not much on archery, but I had spent a fair few weekends trying out the different bows The Quarters had available. Unlike ammo for guns, you could always collect your fired arrows from the range. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to retrieve my arrows this time.

  I relaxed my arm, let out a breath, then pulled the string back again. I took aim at the first Wretched Shambler. It was around two hundred feet away from me and closing in fast. I focused my arrow right at the center of the creature’s chest. A tip I distinctly remember my father saying he heard from Lupin Fletcher. Better to land a damaging shot, then gamble for a head shot. In the Fallen States, second chances don’t come often.

  I let my first arrow loose and watched as it struck center. The Wretched Shambler fell forward in its stride and stopped moving. I pulled out another arrow, twisted to my left and aimed at the next one coming. It was around the same distance as the first, so I once again aimed at it’s chest and let the arrow fly. This time the arrow struck the Shambler in the upper thigh. My attack managed to knock it off balance. It fell hard but was still moving. I watched as the monster started to drag its way towards me. Its long arms stretched out, dug into the white stones, and pulled. The creature was no longer a threat.

  Yet again I pulled out an arrow, knocked it and fired it at the next Wretched Shambler. Another bull’s eye, however this was the straightest shot of all. I nailed it right in the throat. Blood pooled down the front of its chest as the monster frantically scratched at its neck. Another one down. Two more to go. This was working out great!

  I grabbed the second to last arrow and prepared to take down another enemy. The next Wretched Shambler had drawn much closer than the others. It was only fifty feet away from me and would be gutting me in less than ten-seconds. Without realizing it I had let the arrow go and it had zipped inches to the left of the creature’s head. I had missed. I panicked and flailed to grab the final arrow. I only caught air as I reached back in the quiver. Where was it? Fear drove me to twist the quiver around and I watched as the arrow fell out and clattered to the ground.

  Bending down, I snatched the arrow, quickly recovered my footing and readied my attack. It was too late. The Wretched Shambler was on top of me. It had barreled down like an avalanche, digging its toothy jaws into my shoulder. It’s attack caused me to let the arrow loose. I saw it pierce one of the closer columns. I lifted the bow and used it like a bat, swinging it hard into the side of the creature’s head. It landed with a sharp thud and the Shambler’s jaw went slack. It gave me enough time to shove it back and roll forward out of its reach.

  My hand went to my shoulder and I expected there to be blood when I brought it back. There wasn’t any. I was lucky. When I flicked the quiver around to grab at the last arrow it had come between me and the Wretched Shamblers jagged teeth. If it hadn’t been there I would have lost a big chunk of shoulder. I stood, turned towards the arrow I was sticking out of a column fifteen feet away and ran. Behind me I could hear the two remaining Wretched Shamblers clicking their jaws and snapping their tentacles.