We made it back to the compound with hurried steps and some with gasping breaths.
Grandpa wasnât lying when he said there were a lot more of them.
We had to fight off smaller groups on the way to the compound and having a lot of guns helped.
But at this rate we would run out of ammo before the day was over.
Which means we would have to get up close and personal to a bunch of enemies who are clearly trained in fighting exactly like that.
Uncle Mack was taken back to the house by a couple of us, meanwhile everyone else, even those that didnât yet have levels and classes were posted in the forest area inside the walls.
As long as you could hold a gun you could fight as this point.
There was no use in going all the way back to the main house and allowing ourselves to get surrounded, we would very quickly run out of means of fighting back.
It was better to stand our ground here and now.
The plan now was simple.
Ambush whoever came through the gates, kill them and take their weapons.
We will eventually run out of ammo and our guns will become useless, but spears, swords, bows and arrows will still have a place.
And of course in this new world, skills will probably play the biggest role going forward.
But thatâs for the future, for now I was hiding behind a tree as a group of about 10 or so red people came running into compound.
We held back from firing until more groups entered of various sizes and weapon configurations.
There were probably over 20 of them in the compound now.
Donât think we can wait any longer.
A thought Grandpa seemed to share as he finally gave the signal for us to attack.
My family members and I leaned out from our hiding spots and let out enough shots at the red bastards to trick someone into thinking today was the 4th of July.
They clearly werenât prepared to deal with the array of bullets heading their way from the trees and didnât handle it all that well.
A few shaky arrows, knives, and not well aimed spears came flying at us, but it was the trees we hid behind that took the brunt of those attacks.
By now a wide array of notifications were waiting for me to take a look at them but I didnât have time for that.
I was currently running as fast as I could to the bodies of the red people we just filled with led and picking up whatever weapons I could carry.
We all did the same before sprinting back into the woods.
This back and forth continued for one more large exchange before they stopped coming.
Either they realized that they were going to get ambushed when walking in decided to take a new approach, or they werenât any more of them.
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I was willing to bet it wasnât the latter.
Anyway, ammo was at all time low now and after maybe or two more reloads back at the house, we would have nothing left.
But I think the main goal of this ambush was accomplished.
Levels and XP.
The whole group should have all received a lot.
And once stat points were allocated, we would all be stronger and be in a much better position to fight.
Hopefully.
âGrab all you can then get yâall asses back to the house!â
We all listened to Grandpa and began running all the way back.
Dad came up alongside of me.
âAre you alright son?â
He could clearly see I wasnât bleeding or anything so I knew he wasnât asking about any physical injury.
âIâm alright dad.â
Honestly there wasnât much else I could say at the moment as I didnât even want to think about much of anything right now.
But he wasnât my father for no reason. The man could see through my mask from a mile away.
âDonât worry Freddy. Iâll always be here.â
I knew he wasnât going to say much else apart from that, but thatâs how dad was and honestly I didnât need him to say anything else. My father would always be there for me. What else could a son ask for?
Once we made it back to house, this time making sure all of the dogs were brought in with us, I left everything I carried in on the kitchen floor and found one of the many rooms in the house to hide away and go through my notifications for a bit.
I loved my family members to death, but if I stayed out there, there would be no time look at everything.
And boy did I mean everything.
Ding!
â¦XP Gained!
â¦XP Gained!
....
[Level +1]
[Level +1]
â¦.
Stat Bonus Reached!
An array of notifications colored my vision, and by the end of it all I had gained a total of 9 whole levels from all of the gunfire from earlier.
Which means a lot of stat points to be used.
More than I thought even.
Based on how many stat points I got when I leveled previously, I should have 18 right now, but instead my total sat at 23.
The stat bonus being reached is probably where the extra 5 came from, but what it didnât tell me is how I reached that point.
Was it from earning a lot of XP in a short time? A lot of â¦kills in a short time? Perhaps just for hitting level 10?
I had no idea.
Whatever it was though, Iâll take it.
Butâ¦how should I spend it.
Hm.
I donât think I can ever go wrong with Endurance and Strength but how exactly did I want to progress in the future?
Did I want to be a jack of all trades? Or did I want to specialize.
It was a tough question.
If there was one thing I wanted to do, it would have to be something involving water like my current class.
That probably means more mana right? But I donât really plan on being just a water slinging mage from a distance.
I need to be able to get up close and personal if need be without issue.
Alright.
2 points in every stat for a total of 16 stats spent, then another 2 in mana, another 2 in dexterity, and the final 3 all in intelligence.
I had zero idea what the best way to approach the type of build I wanted was, since there wasnât a manual or example anywhere to follow. All I had was video game and book knowledge to go off.
Intelligence tended to go hand in hand with mana. Hopefully that was still the case here.
After confirming my selections, I was again greeted by the burn.
Only this team it was genuinely really hot and it lasted for a minute or two longer than I wouldâve liked.
Alight.
I forgot about it, but never again. A couple stat points at a time from now on unless itâs an emergency.
My status was as follows.
Status
Name: Fred Williams
Born World: Earth (ENWPI70059)
Race: Human
Age: 17
Grade: F
Level: 17
XP: 1458/1680
Stat Points: 0
Traits
Trait 1: Oxygen Efficient Lungs (Rooted)
Trait 2: Locked
Trait 3: Locked
Class
Current Class: Tide Initiate
Class Grade: F
Class Rarity: Rooted
Skills
1. Surging Step
2. Ripple Guard
Attributes
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 8
Endurance: 12
Mana: 10
Willpower: 8
Perception: 8
Intelligence: 11