Why hadn’t I collected healing herbs before venturing out? That was an oversight I’d never make again. Now I had to try to find some before I bled to death.

At least the goblins weren’t chasing me. Maybe the sunlight was too bright for them.

I held my arm to my chest as I staggered to the nearest copse of trees. I hung my bow on a branch, then pulled my jacket off, wincing as it wrenched at my shoulder.

I needed to stop the bleeding, and all I had was my shirt. Well, it had already had two strips ripped off it. Why hadn’t I acquired bandages, too? It was amazing that my intelligence hadn’t dropped several ranks.

But I was still alive. Lessons could be learned.

I pulled at my shirt, the thin material tearing easily. Ripping it into strips with teeth and my other hand, I carefully bound my shoulder as best I could, wincing all the while.

Status: Bleeding. Endurance -2. -1 Health/min.

Okay, that was an improvement. I now had twice as long to live.

Comfrey, yarrow, St John’s Wort … any would do, all would be better, and they could all be found in the grasslands.

Wait … how did I know that? Fran had shown me some of those plants, but they’d been in the forest! My Herbology skill was bestowing knowledge I otherwise didn’t know! Wow, that was cool.

I slipped my good arm into my jacket, letting it drape over my injured shoulder. With a grimace, I picked up my bow and went searching. Long grass where yarrow might grow. There – the distinctive white flower. And there – yellow – St John’s Wort. I needed to work fast to stop the bleeding before it was too late. I pulled both, chewing them to soften and moisten before stuffing them beneath the bandage. It wasn’t as good as a boiled poultice, but it would help. I pulled spare flowers and stuffed them into my pack.

Herbology and Healing both gained ranks.

The hut. It was an hour or two away. Maybe three, if I stopped to rest.

I checked my status sheet. Twelve health left, and the bleeding hadn’t stopped.

All I could do was stagger on, and hope. Otherwise, I’d be seeing Lira in thirteen minutes.

I pushed forward, checking my status every few steps. Nine health. Six. Five … and then the bleeding stopped.

Well, that was something. Now all I had to worry about was only having five health remaining, an injured shoulder, and a two-hour hike.

*

I made it an hour before the pain drove me to my knees.

Each throb in my shoulder beat in time with my pulse, a deep, rhythmic ache followed by sharp stabs of pain. Even the slightest movement sent agony through my arm, and my shoulder had swollen, burning like fire.

“Just an hour,” I muttered through clenched teeth. “I’ll just rest for an hour.”

I slumped beside a tree, lying on my uninjured side, but no position was comfortable. Cradling my arm against my chest, I whimpered at the pain.

Back home, I’d be pumped full of drugs, sitting in an Emergency Department high on morphine and surrounded by doctors. Here, I was alone in the middle of a field, miles from the nearest soul … small green goblins not included. At least my medical bills would be cheaper.

The bleeding might have stopped, but I felt so close to death it would almost be welcome to wake to Lira’s face … if it weren’t for the shame. That would hurt more than any injury.

I’d abandoned her. And not just her—the people of Norathil, maybe even all of Valorah.

How could I ever look at her again?

I couldn’t. Not until I was strong enough to take down that bastard Drakos once and for all.

I didn’t know if it was shame or anger that pushed me to my feet, but I stood. How long had I rested? An hour? Two? The sun had drifted past its apex. It was early afternoon. At least I’d reach the hut before nightfall.

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A hut that had no food, and the only medicine I had were the herbs in my backpack.

How had I managed to fuck this up so badly?

I checked my status page. My intelligence was still seventeen. I used to pride myself on my brains. I knew I was sharp, knew I picked things up fast. So how had I made so many mistakes?

Then again, intelligence wasn’t common sense.

I wondered how much use intelligence was in this world. Wasn’t it really my actions that decided what happened? Hell, half the attributes on my sheet were vague. Take Endurance, for example. What did that even mean in practical terms?

Endurance: long-term stamina and ability to bear physical exertion. Higher endurance allows greater activity before fatigue sets in.

I blinked. Had it been that easy all along? But then, no one had handed me a manual.

Excited, I looked through my sheet. Define Willpower. That one was pretty vague.

Willpower: mental fortitude and strength of will. Resistance to spiritual or magical attacks. Affects strength of spells.

Okay, useful. Define Resilience.

Resilience: emotional fortitude and inner strength. Resistance to negative effects, including poison, disease, and some magic.

Resilience was more physical and emotional, while Willpower was magical and mental. That kinda made sense.

I circled back to my original thought. Define Intelligence.

Intelligence: primary attribute. Modifies learning, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Affects spellcasting and skill acquisition, especially Arcane.

Okay, so intelligence was useful after all. And spells were something I really wanted—I’d have to figure out how to get some. Were there spell books in this world? Meanwhile, leveling intelligence – somehow – would accelerate the rate at which I gained ranks.

There was one more to check. I was pretty sure I knew what it did, but might as well verify while I was at it. Define power ‘God’.

God: power of Kaelan. Reincarnation upon death at the closest blessed altar. Companions receive accelerated skill and level gain. Activation: once per day. Accelerated experience gain. Accelerated skill gain. Duration: five minutes.

I blinked. I did have a power! And I hadn’t been using it! I’d thought it was just reincarnation.

And the boost for my companions was cool. Or it would be, if I hadn’t left my only companion behind.

Damn, I could have been a powerhouse by now. Five minutes a day. With careful planning, that was a game-changer.

Could I use it to boost my healing?

Before testing that, I checked if healing was worth it. Define healing.

Healing: proficiency in injury management. A high healing score can reduce the time it takes for injuries to heal.

Time wasn’t my issue. But regeneration… that would be useful. Define regeneration.

Nothing.

It had been worth a shot.

I had six skill points to spend from my recent leveling up. What if I used them when I activated my God power? Accelerated skill gain wasn’t quite the same as spending points … but it was worth a test.

But as I walked, I was learning. And I realized—I’d covered several hundred yards while messing with my sheet, and my shoulder had hardly twinged. Must be an Endurance thing.

Maybe Vitality was the secret to unlocking regeneration. Define Vitality.

Vitality: overall physical health and life force. Affects health regeneration, resistance to fatigue, and ability to resist the effects of significant injury.

Perfect. Now, how to level it. It wasn’t a skill. Could I use the points? Buy Vitality.

Primary Attributes cost twenty skill points to level. Insufficient skill points available.

Twenty points! That was expensive, but it was something to consider for later.

I sighed. I wouldn’t likely derive any benefit from my God power while slowly walking along injured. The use would be lost, and the day wasn’t done. Perhaps there’d still be a chance to take advantage of the power, and if not … at least I now knew I had it.

With any luck, I’d be home soon. Well, back at the hut, at any rate; it wasn’t really ‘home’. These rolling hills all looked the same, and I could really use a compass right about now. I couldn’t be too far away. Didn’t that copse of trees look familiar?

But as I crested the final hill, the hut wasn’t the first thing I saw. It was the trail of smoke that rose, pencil thin, up into the air.

I knew I hadn’t used the hearth. I’d had no reason to.

I crouched lower, trying to ignore the way the pain in my shoulder spiked, creeping forward until the hut came into view. It lay in its valley, as peaceful as could be, save that there was a horse tethered to a nearby tree, a saddle propped against the wall.

Therin, maybe? He knew about the hut, but I couldn’t think why he’d come and visit.

What were the odds of a stranger stumbling on it? Low.

For a moment, I considered abandoning it and strike out for a quiet spot in the wild to rest and sleep. But I needed the hearth to boil water and make a proper poultice. Too, the hut was the best place from which to launch attacks on the mine, and I was loath to give up that advantage.

What if my house guest was hostile? In this world, that was more likely than not. I was down to five health, injured, and couldn’t even draw my bow.

But I could still use my rapier, if I was fast and lucky. If I wasn’t … I’d be seeing Lira again.

That assumed the occupant was a threat. I could talk first and attack later, but it was best to be ready.

If I were quiet, I could get close to kick open the door and surprise my visitor. Did that count as stealth?

I had nothing else to use my power for today. Activate God Power. I hoped it was as simple as that.

God Power Activated. 5 minutes remaining.

Good. It was as simple as that.

I inched forward, each placement of my feet as quiet as I could make it to maximize my stealth. The door was twenty yards away. Ten. I could hear movement in the hut. Five. A shadow behind the small window. I was at the door.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I yanked open the door and dashed in, dropping to a crouch, my rapier ready.

I stared in surprise.

It wasn’t Therin. It wasn’t even a stranger.

It was Lira.