~~~~~~

Germany - 2004

"Doctor, he's waking up," a nurse said.

"Good, hows his vitals looking," the doctor asked

"Everything is looking good, BP 120/80 heart rate 80 BPM," the nurse answered.

The soldier was confused, everything was foggy in his mind, and he struggled to open his eyes. He suddenly started coughing, clearing fluid from his throat, the coughing fit caused a spike of pain through his whole body. He went to sit up but the nurse put her hands on his shoulder and pressed him back down to the gourney.

"Not yet sir, you can't get up," the nurse said. "You were intubated during the surgery, so your throat is going to be very sore."

"Ugh, no shit," the soldier said. "Where am I? Fuck. Where is my team? Where is Sarge, where is my friend?"

The soldier's voice was rising in level and panic.

"SARGE! MIKE! Jimmy!"

He started a coughing fit after yelling for his team. He groaned loudly in pain as the coughing caused his wounds to ache.

"Sir, SIR, you need to try and stay calm," the nurse said.

"Give him a sedative," the doctor said.

The soldier blacked out again. He came back to a few hours later. He felt sluggish and his mind was still hazy. He was in a smaller room, he thought he was by himself, but when he turned his head he saw a lady sitting by the side of his bed.

"Good morning, I'm Doctor White. Can you tell me your name," the doctor asked.

"Where am I," the soldier asked. "Where are my friends, and my team?"

"You are in a hospital in Germany," the doctor said. "Your entire unit is heading back home as we speak. Can you tell me your name?"

"Bob," he answered. He said his rank, social, and unit he was with.

"Excellent," the doctor said. "Do you remember what happened before waking up in the hospital?"

Bob shook his head. "Yes." He started crying, tears pouring down his face.

"I'm sorry, I know this is difficult," the doctor said. "Take your time."

"We were ambushed, they came over the rooftops and rained down hell on us. I opened up with my two-forty. Then the truck rocked. It all gets hazy after that," Bob said, still sobbing.

"You are doing good," the doctor said."Do you know what injuries you sustained?"

"No."

"We can talk about that later. For now, get more rest. Tomorrow, you will meet with some more doctors to review everything with you."

Bob nodded his head. He looked down at his body, he was bruised, wrapped in bandages, and had tubes and wires all over him. He felt exhausted from the talking and crying/ He laid his head back and fell asleep.

~~~~~~

Bob's flask flew through the air towards Felix. Felix saw the flask, he tried to get up, but it was too late. The flask impacted the bottom of his metal cuirass and exploded. The explosion almost cut him in half. Blood and viscera sprayed out of him and he fell backwards quickly succumbing to his injuries. The explosion was close enough that the concussion of the blast damaged Bob. Bob was already unconscious at this point and didn't feel the shrapnel pierce his body. He was still alive, but just barely. Bob's body was teleported out of the arena quickly as the announcer's voice boomed.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"We have our winner! What a spectacular showing. Any gods who wish to grant their favor please do so at this time."

Bob's body was teleported to the antechamber. Esmay was already there waiting for him and immediately poured healing magic into him. Bob's body twitched and convulsed at times during the healing process, but luckily he remained unconscious. As her healing magic did its work the gladius still in his side, worked its way out of his body and clattered to the ground. The shrapnel all pushed its way out also. All of the cuts and wounds closed up in short order. His body was finally healed after forty-five minutes of constant healing.

I'm glad you are not awake for this," Esmay said quietly. She wiped away some of the blood and sweat from his forehead and gently placed her hand on his head. A door opened and the Pitboss came in.

"He survive the healing," the Pitboss asked.

"He did," answered Esmay. "He will most likely be down for three days after sustaining this much damage."

"You are out of breath. Are you going to be ok?"

"I need to rest a little bit, but I'm ok. It took a lot to heal him. The only thing that saved him was he had five points in health."

"Five, huh that is odd, it's only his third fight, I wonder what his starting point pool was."

"Best we don't ask"

"Right, well sit there for a bit and when you are ready let me know and I will get him to his cage."

Victory

You have unlocked your third ability

Ability: Light Flask

You have gained favor of lesser god x3

You have gained three free attribute points

Current distributed points

Health - 5

Stamina - 2

Strength - 2

Dexterity - 6

Intelligence - 6

Wisdom - 2

Bob found it difficult to concentrate on the screen in front of him. He just wanted to rest. His whole body ached, and his mind kept wandering off. He quickly allocated his points, one each to his lowest attributes.

System notice

Granting of favor x3

Favor of the lesser go Mischief - plus on attribute point health, plus one attribute point dexterity, plus one attribute point intelligence

Favor of the lesser god Pain - armor granted x2, Studded leather pants, Leather utility belt

Favor of the lesser goddess Luck: armor granted, Leather helm

~~~

"Hello Bob," Mischief said.

"You know I hate that name," the Barkeeper said. "What can I do for you Lord Mischief?"

"The usual for me, Pain, Luck, what do you want to drink," Mischief asked.

"The same as you," Pain answered.

"Something sweet," Luck answered.

"Coming right up," the Barkeeper said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this evening?"

"We wanted to give our thanks," Mischief answered. "We might even owe a favor to you."

"A favor," the Barkeeper asked intrigued.

"Bob, you made the drink for our latest favored," Pain said. "We appreciate you making his drink "Spicy""

"Ah yes. He was very angry with me when I told him he couldn't leave. He almost had the strength to get behind the bar, and I was sure at one point he was going to stab me," the Barkeeper said.

"I knew I liked Bob," Mischief said chuckling.

The Barkeeper glared briefly at Mischief. "Is he still alive?"

"He just won his third match," Luck piped in. "Barely, it was close at the end. Too bad his partner died."

The Barkeeper's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Glad to hear it. Here are your drinks." He walked over to the booth in the corner and placed the drinks down. "You know, Bob left his mark here, he stabbed his knife into my menu and the table over there." He pointed to the table as the gods perked their heads up to look. "I also have his knife still."

"Now now Barkeeper, keeping mementos," Mischief said. "You broke all the rules with this one didn't you?"

"Hardly," the Barkeeper scoffed. "Besides I knew you would need it, there are strong memories attached to it. His knife was special to him, I can feel the blade yearning to be back with him."

"I will take it and bring it to my domain for now," Pain said. "It will be safe there."

The Barkeeper handed Pain the knife. With a flick of Pain's wrist, the blade teleported to his realm.

"Tell us Barkeeper, what other stories do you have for us today," Luck asked.

"Well my lady, where should I start."