In hindsight, I should’ve considered what to do about the bleeding before going out in the open. A thick brownish liquid is oozing from my leg, with the same syrupy substance congregating on the small gash across my chest.

I proceed to do what any normal person would do in my situation: I taste it.

I’m tempted to make up some points in statistics just so I could deduct some of them on this occasion

But it would be too tedious of a task, and I can’t be bothered with that

Ignoring the window that pops up in view, I coat the insides of my mouth with the liquid. My blood is somewhere between tree sap and human blood, the sweetness of the plant sap mixing with the metallic taste of iron.

The blood thickens as it exits the wounds, forming a small seal on my chest which has apparently lessened the effect of bleeding significantly. My leg seems to be a bit worse off, but the wound doesn’t seem that severe compared to the shock of receiving one, the inner musculature of my leg responding to pain rather alarmingly compared to my skin.

I pull a piece of bandage that I got from my cabinet and do my best to press the wound together so my sap can act as makeshift glue. My first aid skills suck.

Considering I have more time available than before, I decide to inspect more about some of the events that transpired.

I bring up a mental image of what I’ve seen, focusing on the In-combat screen I noticed and the bleeding effects mentioned.

In-combat screenIn-combat status screen includes additional information on your current opponent, such as status effects, title, currently equipped inventory, and overall danger level

In-combat status screen information will improve upon obtaining certain traits and skills

Status effectsBleeding Bleeding effects increase the chance of infection and consistently and continuously reduce your overall health until stopped

Consider using first aid to lessen the effects of bleeding

In severe cases, blood loss could lead to irreversible damage to the body

I really need to obtain more information, fast.

The empty streets around me only serve to increase my sense of urgency, as I shuffle the remainder of the bandage in my bag and consider what my options are.

It’s improbable that the entire city is devoid of any humans, or at least someone similar to me, but I’m more concerned about the presence of the creatures like the Imp I encountered.

What’s baffling is that it was alone in my building. Where did the rest of them go? I assume a creature as small as an Imp would hunt and scavenge in larger groups. At least that was the most common depiction of small vermin like those. One may not pose a threat, but an overwhelming number of them at once could have spelt my doom back there.

I then remember an additional part that was mentioned before.

Bestiary. A small ding permeates through my mind.

BeastiaryThe Beastiary serves as a system-obtained remote encyclopedia on living races. Your personal Beastiary will improve as you obtain more knowledge and come across more living beingsCurrent number of entries: 3To open your Beastiary, perform the chant pictured below

Dxst’kntir krnebyyys

That could be an interesting idea to play with. But there are more pressing matters. Like finding a way… anywhere.

And I’m going to need to figure out that ridiculous chant anyway.

I have a couple of options to consider.

Option one, go towards the nearby river, assess the damage, and keep by the riverside until I meet someone that doesn’t want to kill me. Two rivers merge in the city, picking any of the three cardinal directions to move towards would get me somewhere that’s not here.

Option two, stay in the city and try to look for anyone else. Considering the probable encounters with the creatures, this might not be the safest of the options. Then again, nothing seems to be safe now, and I have no clue what happened to allow me to stay locked in my room for a week without any form of protection, especially since something crashed a wall in beforehand.

Option three, go back up and stay on the defensive until daylight. This may be safe, but it may turn out to be a false choice. I’ve got no clue as to where to proceed, and any light source in the building will be reduced to artificial lighting from my flashlight. The Imp didn’t seem to have trouble moving in the darkness, so I must assume the time of day seems largely irrelevant to my safety.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Are there any more options? I can’t seem to make more of those up for now.

If this were a game, there’d be a nifty health bar showing something useful, but nothing of the sort appears on my status. There’s not even a mention of health, or any attribute for that matter.

It’s annoying at best, crippling and weird at worst.

The bandage allows for my wounds to glue together as my coagulated blood starts to exude a fruity aroma into the air around me, the smoke-carrying wind picking it up as it passes.

Bleeding effects terminated

I tried popping up the in-combat status. It showed a blank blue screen. I tried to focus on anything around me, but the screen’s blueness didn’t falter. I tried thinking about different things, like something that helps me in this moment.

Considering my scent is bound to attract something, I should go upwind, since that way I’m less likely to be spotted by anything that decides I might make a suitable meal.

I’ve had plenty of sleep this past week, and the battle didn’t cause any overexertion that I can tell, so I’ll probably be able to keep up the movement through the night. I do a bit of stretching, the bark on my limbs creaking lazily, and the oozing sap settles into the openings.

Now, to check for the wind.

I take a small vine from the top of my head and try to make it stand upright. Since mental control over my body will have to undergo some amounts of training, I use my arm to help me out. Which means I forego any mental attempts and go full physical.

The vine ends a single leaf which sways in the direction of the wind. The wind goes towards the rivers. Town centre it is I guess. Maybe I can see if anything works in it when it comes to communications and sheltering. The river banks near me are mostly inaccessible due to construction sites anyway, so going further into the city is the way to go, for now at least.

My walking speed has decreased by the mere fact that my weight has somewhat shifted more towards my left leg, where the sap has congregated onto a seal on the wound. I trudge onwards, looking into the desolate buildings around me, trying not to pay attention to the scorched corpses on the streets. The reduced sense of smell does wonders in masking the stench, so I should be grateful for the littlest of things.

Birds flock onto the few carcases spared from the flames, paying no mind to the tree man walking mere feet from them. Only ominous gawking spreads through the air, as my view shifts from one broken store window to the next, the contents mostly emptied, shattered glass reflecting the moonlight.

My seemingly aimless walk leads me to one of the main streets, where I actually get to see some of the ruination that came down to the city itself. The darkness of the night cowers before the looming fires that spread around the city and the remnants of buildings lie on the streets haphazardly thrown about blocking a majority of the streets, creating a small winding path littered with various small debris. The surrounding buildings are shown missing large portions of walls and flooring, mere remains of what they once were. A collection of what seem to be Imps mindlessly walks about the premise, scavenging on any and every piece of what used to be a living creature, occasionally trying to capture one of the birds which flock towards the carcases. I move unnoticed by the critters and ignored by the animals I know existed on Earth before it all went awry.

Why did I feel poetic all of a sudden? Next thing I’ll know I’ll be singing songs about Bambi.

The winding path causes me numerous scratches as I make my way through the only visible path, apparently successfully avoiding the group of horned red creatures.

There may be hope for your villainous ways after all

A strained chuckle escapes my lips as my right hand brushes against the fallen armature of a building that is some thirty meters away.

The winding path ends at an intersection, as the wind dies down, my scent no longer being carried in a single direction, my sap seemingly melded with the bark that I call skin now.

My face is the only part of my body that actually responds to heat that doesn’t come from flames, as the last days of summer end on a noticeably colder note than the periods of scorching heat that preceded them.

I find an almost flattened car nearby, and decide to take a short break to have a meal. I probably shouldn’t be doing this in the open, but the desolation of the place around me allows me this act of recklessness I will most likely regret in the near future.

Planting my wooden bottom on the hood of the car that seems squashed by oversized feet, I dig out a can of tuna and a bottle of water out of my bag. The can contains a small opening cap, which allows me to not meddle with the can opener, for now at least.

Putting the bottle of water in between my legs, I take the can and use one palm as a surface, while my other hand struggles with fitting a finger through the small hole of the cap. A surprisingly dexterous movement of my fingers opens the can, the oil spilling on my palm. I quickly take in as much of the meat as possible by simply shovelling it in my mouth, not even trying to bother with manners or hygiene all the while.

Before long, the can is empty, my tongue running across my palm taking in the oily residue. I throw the can away, unconcerned by my littering or leaving any trail behind me, and open the bottle of water, simply choosing to pour its contents over my head, as my vine-infested head takes in some of the water that falls down my face, my mouth opening almost intuitively to take in as much of the liquid as it can.

One half of the small bottle emptied, I stand up and stretch, the bark creaking in response to the movement of my joints.

Continuing my journey through the empty streets, I reach a building that seems largely unaffected by the chaos around. A broken window provides a view of what was once a bookstore, now mostly a pile of shattered glass, broken wood and bent metal.

My eyes spot a booklet lying near the broken window, with only a couple of shards of glass lying about. My branch reaches for the booklet and picks it up, the feeling of my arm moving completely unnatural still, bringing it closer to my face so I can actually see what is written on it.

A map of the Country

That could prove to be useful.

Initializing mapping sequence

A sudden click in my head draws my attention away from the open map, allowing my eyes to catch its entirety within peripheral view.

Mapping sequence incomplete - Error detected - Race incompatible with mapping sequence

Figures. I was thinking it would’ve been too easy.

I take the map and fold it back, putting it into my bag. I know where I am currently, but an overview of possible destinations would be nice when I decide to leave the city.

I continue my seemingly aimless journey across the ruined city. But now I have a map.