“Everyone okay?” His voice came out shaky, betraying the adrenaline and nervousness running through his body.
One of the men – a broad shouldered man with a bruised face and torn button-up nodded slowly in response. He eyed Yaz warily, eyes darting between his face and the gun at his hip. “We are now,” he muttered. “Thanks for that”.
A woman that had previously been hidden rushed forward, kneeling beside the injured man leaning against the tree. “He’s losing blood,” she said, fear evident. “What are we going to do?”
Yaz hesitated. He had no first aid supplies in his bag and knew next to nothing about what to do in these situations. The burly man from earlier stepped forward, pulling off his shirt and pressing it against the injured man’s wound. “We need to stop the bleeding, I’m not sure if this’ll work but it’s the best I’ve got right now.”
The injured man groaned in pain. Yaz swallowed hard, “Yeah… pressure should help.”
He scanned the surrounding area, they were surrounded by dense forest at every angle. “Does anyone know where any water is?” A younger man with dirt-streaked cheeks spoke up. “I don’t but I can look for some while you guys handle this.
Yaz nodded, and the young man took off. He stood up, exhaling sharply. “That gunshot was loud, I don’t know if that was the only one of those things in the area but if there are more, we need to move before they find us.”
As he spoke, everyone that was in the clearing gathered toward them. Albeit timidly. Yaz noticed he still had his gun in his hand, which he abruptly shoved in his waistband. The burly man that seemed to be the self-appointed leader of the group spoke, agreeing with his sentiment.
“Agreed, once he’s stable, we’ll need to move.”
While he understood why the man said that he couldn’t disagree more.
“We seriously shouldn’t wait that long, there could be more of those things on their way here now,” Yaz argued, “and I’m not going to have the drop on them. Not to mention, I don’t have anymore ammo either. If I miss or there are more than I can shoot, we’re gonna be so screwed.:
“Look at him. He’s about to pass out from the pain, we can’t just do that,” the man responded in kind. He proceeded to look at the group around them. It was clear they all knew each other, they had maybe been out to eat judging by the attire and had all experienced the system event at the same time that he did. While Yaz wanted to question them, he knew deep in his heart that he wanted to live this area. Immediately.
“I’ll help you guys carry him, it’s just a forearm wound. I think that we’d be making a huge mistake to accommodate him,” Yaz pressed.
As soon as he spoke, the man opened up the left side of his jacket to reveal a massive gash on the side of his abdomen. It looked extremely painful, and the sheer amount of blood adorning the inside of the jacket and the outside of his shirt confirmed to nearly everyone that he was not going to make it.
“Son of a bitch,” the man whispered, “Jason, look at me. Jason, can you hear me? Jason!”
He grew progressively louder as he tried to keep the dying man awake. Yaz was looking at the scene before him, and fear of the potential dangers and concern for the young dying man mounting in equal parts. He knew what had to be done, it was harsh, but it needed to happen.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“He’s not going to make it,” Yaz said, trying to sound as soft as he could. “Please, you have to weigh the odds here. Look at him, he’s not going to make it, even if he were in a hospital he probably wouldn’t make it. He’s lost buckets of blood and as far as I can tell, no one here is a medical professional.”
After stating what he considered to be a clear fact based on the evidence, he received several glares from the people surrounding the young man. It was tragic, and it was sad. That didn’t make it less true.
The man’s face twisted in anger. “You think just because it’s practical, it makes it right?” he growled. “We don’t leave our own behind.”
“I’m not trying to be heartless. I’m trying to keep everyone here alive. We have problems, I think it’s clear to everyone here right now that a lot is happening and I’m willing to bet you’re just as confused as I am. Staying here means more of those things are coming, and if they do, we’re sitting ducks.” Yaz took a step back, eyes scanning the group. “If you all want to stay here and die with him, fine. But I won’t.”
He turned away and started walking. A few of the others shifted uncomfortably, torn on what to do. But the large man made their decision for them. “Then go,” he said, his voice low and firm. ” We’re staying with our friend.”
No one followed Yaz.
He didn’t look back as he walked back toward the tree where he left his backpack, grabbing it then walking through the clearing again, deeper into the forest in hopes of a lead on what to do next. He passed the wolf-life creature, when his system window abruptly appeared and flashed a notification?
[Absorb Fragment?] Y/N
He didn’t press anything. His mind was still a mess from his argument just moments ago, from walking away, from making a choice that he knew was right but left him completely alone. Now, standing besides the corpse of the wolf-like creature, the weight of his survival pressed on him like a vice. He was going to be hunted. He was not in a safe place. Absorbing a fragment? What did that even mean? While thinking, he immediately recalled his skill, Echo of the Abyss. He wasn’t keen on experimenting with absorbing things into his body, but if he remembered right those fragments were a product of that skill. He thought intensely on his status window, pulling it up.
[Name: Yaz] [Race: Human] [Level: 2] [Class: Unassigned]
[Attributes:] Strength: 11 Mind: 8 Dexterity: 8 Endurance: 7 Intelligence: 9 Arcane: 0 Perception: 8 Vitality: 10
[Skills:]
- Echo of the Abyss
[Status Effects:]
- System Assimilation (Temporary Fatigue)
Allocatable Stat Points: 2
To the side, he saw something new, but something that he thankfully understood. His eyes locked onto the notification, watching as what he assumed to be his XP bar filled, overcapped, and then filled into the early stages of another bar. His gaze trailed downward as he noticed another notification:
[Level Up! You have gained 1 stat point in Strength, 1 stat point in Dexterity, and 2 allocatable stat points!]
A small surge of energy pulsed through him, subtle but not unnoticeable. While totally novel in their realism, their concept was not new. Stat gains were good, and the way he felt after leveling up also felt good. He was almost joyful, until he glanced back to the other window that made him pause in the first place.
[Absorb Fragment?] Y/N
He hesitated, staring down at the lifeless creature. To remind himself, he pulled up the stat window for his skill, Echo of the Abyss, and confirmed that the fragment he was absorbing was a part of his skill. He was fearful of what might happen, but he had no clue what may exist beyond these trees. He needed every advantage that he could get. His fingers were raised for a selection, uncertainty in the air. “Screw it.” He selected Y.
Ice coursed through his veins, it wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t right either. Something foreign was threading itself into his being, he could feel the presence integrating into what he was. He could feel his muscles tightening in fear, when it suddenly faded. He checked his status window and noticed a difference
[Name: Yaz] [Race: Human] [Level: 2] [Class: Unassigned]
[Attributes:] Strength: 11+ 0.015 Mind: 8 Dexterity: 8 + 0.008 Endurance: 7 + 0.009 Intelligence: 9 Arcane: 0 Perception: 8 Vitality: 10 + 0.015
[Skills:]
- Echo of the Abyss
[Status Effects:]
- System Assimilation (Temporary Fatigue)
Allocatable Stat Points: 2
Ah so that’s how it works, Yaz thought. It was actually quite simple in practice, when he killed something he could absorb this “fragment” thing and get a piece of their stats. He did feel slightly stronger from the stat gains from his level up, but based on the description of his skill he doesn’t actually reap the benefits of the “stat stealing” effect until he accumulated enough fractional stats to total a whole stat point. Yaz breathed a sigh of relief, his skill’s MO was finally explained and the realization that he didn’t have to kill a person for it to activate was also calming. He noticed the allocatable stat points, but turned away from the corpse electing to distribute them later as he noticed the group from before beginning to stare after him. That didn’t keep a single thought from creeping into his mind though, what happens if I absorb something stronger?
He pushed it aside, he had other things that he need to worry about. Namely, the bright beam of light coming from the sky and engulfing him in its brilliant radiance.