I am not sure what prompted the change, but one day, they weren’t happy with just my arms.

After they got rid of both of them, I expected, once more, to get left alone, covered under some tarp, to again fade out of consciousness, but instead I got again brought back to full attention with a hit to my leg.

Yeah, apparently they needed more of me or something, because they promptly went ahead and started chopping my legs off. And they were having a hard time with that, funnily enough.

I don’t know if that was because it was fresher, or just thinner, to get my arms they needed but a few hits of whatever was the tool that they had on hand. With legs, however… Well, they weren’t having much success.

Four hits: that was enough.. It was quite easy to tell, the last hit being a lot weaker while something else had fallen right on top of me.

The tool they were using broke.

It was quite different from what I was accustomed to, so I guess you could say that it fully woke me up from the, well, essentially coma, that I was in, and I fully started paying attention.

The fact that the tool that broke on was not the most important fact: the more interesting one was that it was infused.

I mean, of course. They were mining Origin Crystal from me, to not use an enchanted tool would be pointless.

The parts, scattered like broken glass, showering me with its pieces, along with one larger chunk, hitting me right in the chest.

I felt a few swipes as they cleaned the trash away from me and just went back to their job.

But, the other tool was as fragile as the first one. After a couple of swings it broke, again showering me with dust.

Not sure what to expect, I was awaiting the next swing from the inevitable next tool that they indubitably had on hand, but it never came.

This time they didn’t even clean me off, just covered me again and left.

That was my opportunity.

The pieces of the tools were still lying next to me. Sure, I was not able to move, but I had a feeling that I might have a chance to do so soon.

I focused on the dust that was covering me.

Just as the tool, the scattered remains were infused. And I meant to use every single ounce of mana that it had left.

It was surprisingly powerful.

I managed to heal my arms fully in the next hour, using most of the dust that I had accumulated on top of me. It was so easy, I was astounded. But soon, I realized why.

The tools they used were made out of the pieces they got from me.

The mana was unmistakable. I could tell that it was indeed the same taste that was still pouring out from me, that I was constantly absorbing all that time.

Yeah, I say taste. After a while in that state, I stopped attempting to see the mana, instead I focused on how it felt to absorb it.

With my hands repaired faster than usual, I focused on the next thing: my ability to move.

If I was correct, and it was just that my body was constantly fueling the process of regeneration, having my arms fixed quicker, I would be able to move in no time.

But, it was not that simple.

Don’t get me wrong, I did manage to succeed, but not to the degree I expected.

Yeah, sure I didn’t think I would be instantly able to stand, but I at least hoped I would get my hearing back or something.

Yet, the first thing that I managed to regain was my ability to move.

I say ability to move, but I was barely able to move one of my arms, not even able to lift it up.

I was just dragging it through the sand around me.

I guess it was progress. Good enough for me to have something to do.

And so, I slowly started feeling around my surroundings. And felt… more sand.

Yep. Only thing that I had was sand. I mean, kind of obvious, I already knew that I had to be on some kind of desert or something, but to not feel anything besides that and the tarp that was covering me was disappointing.

The next revelation was… more concerning though.

As I was feeling with my hands for any item next to me, my hand finally reached my head, or rather where my head was supposed to be… and found nothing.

It was chilling. But informative.

At least I now knew why I couldn’t see nor hear anything. You know, it’s pretty hard to do that without ears or eyes.

Yet, knowing that didn’t help that much. I still didn’t have enough mana to regenerate completely. At least I was able to move, so there was that, I guess.

I just had to wait for the next “mining session”.

And I had to wait longer than expected.

I am not sure if it was just because of me waiting and being painfully aware of passing minutes, or maybe because they managed to break their tools on me, but they were taking their sweet time.

First minutes, then hours. I am pretty certain that I had to wait for more than a few days just for someone to come back.

But that time, I was ready.

The removal of the tarp covering me was a signal for me to finally take action. And by that, I mean pretending that I was still as dead and absent as usual.

Whoever that was, was a bit more apprehensive about their task.

I could not see them or their mana, of course, but I am sure that they were here. I could feel it.

That’s what I was practicing the whole time: I was trying to regain my ability to recognize mana around me, or rather tried employing it without the need for my eyes.

I was somewhat successful. I was able to tell where they were, but only when they came close to me to, I assume, strike me.

Or inspect rather, because of the instant they were close, I could tell the clear hesitation in their mana.

But it was not the only emotion present.

When someone hesitates, you might think that they were concerned about the state they found me in or something, since my appearance was… less than appalling.

But no. It was not compassion that they were feeling.

It was fear.

Why in the hell would someone be scared of an unmoving, essentially corpse, that they have been mining for resources for the past… I don’t know how long?

They couldn’t have known that I was awake… right?

Nah, it was not possible. From their perspective I should’ve been just an unmoving husk, ready to turn to materials once more. That’s all I was for them.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

That was the reason why I hesitated.

And of course the fact that yet I regained the ability to move, it was barely considered moving.

Before I acted, I wanted to regain a bit more. Maybe expand the range of my awareness… If I was to get rid of the one person, who knows where I was, or how many people were nearby, ready to capture me.

And so, once more I got struck.

Of course, I didn’t just completely give up and decided to lie down forever being a crystal vein for whoever wanted. I already managed to restore some of my mana, and I planned on keeping that equilibrium at least.

Next time as they struck I was ready. I knew that their weapon was enchanted. So with every single swing, I was draining a little bit of mana from the tool.

As to help me, this time they also did not start with straight up chopping off my limbs: only with fingers, meaning I had plenty of attempts to drain mana.

It also was a good method to weaken the tool.

Just as before, they also were aiming to get my legs, and just like before, their tools broke, leaving only some marks, showering me with more dust, and promptly running away, covering me again.

You think they would’ve learned by now, but nope. The next days were similar. And I swear, each time the wait for the next “session” was getting longer.

After about three of those, I was now sure that there were different people sent to me each day, two of them to be precise.

One, the one that hesitated on that day was the most interesting one.

For someone assigned the task to “extract” me, I would’ve expected someone less… I don’t know… emotional? Definitely not someone scared of me.

Like the other one.

That one was a piece of work, I can tell you that. They were always swift to act and the only emotion I felt from them was annoyance.

Not directed at me though. To the other person.

Every time they came to me, they worked together. One observing from the side, the other with the pickaxe.

Yes, the pickaxe.

After a considerable time spent using mana detection as my main method of perceiving my surroundings, I managed to start recognizing the shapes of things. And the items were quite easy, especially when you knew what they were used for.

And so, I spent a good chunk of time playing dead.

I was not sure when I was going to make a move.

I was hoping that the opportunity would present itself, sooner or later.

And that it did.

I am uncertain as to “when” exactly, time was not really something I was keeping track of.

It seemed that the day was pretty much the same as any other. When I felt the presence of someone nearby, I immediately stopped moving completely, interrupting my “exercises”.

See, during the time after I regained my ability to move and perceive my immediate surroundings, I started trying my movements, to figure how much I was capable off.

At first, it was not a lot, but by then, I was easily able to move both of my arms, and even managed to sit up.

I never tried standing up though, in fear that I might be noticed. I was unsure where exactly I was, and while I could tell that I was lying on the sand somewhere outside and that there was no one nearby, let’s say in earshot, but if I was to stand up, I would be a lot easier to spot and notice that the unmoving corpse they were using was a bit too lively for a dead man.

As the workers, as I started calling them, approached, I realized something was different that day. Instead of the pair, I was now dealing with just one person.

I could tell that it would be my chance. I already considered trying something a few times before, since I was feeling pretty good recently, thanks to the pieces of their tools I managed to absorb, and while at the start they were using just those that were made out of my own flesh, recently they switched to something else. It didn’t help them much, as I managed to break those every single time, but those did have more and more mana imbued with them.

I guess they were trying to upgrade their tools, hoping to get more out of me or something.

The one that approached was the “right down to the point” one.

It didn’t really matter over all: that day I was going to try and retaliate.

As always, the worker approached me and swung right at my arm, aiming for somewhere along my elbow.

But this time, I was not going to lie down and take it.

I just had to shift a little bit for his pickaxe to miss the spot they aimed for and hit the sand next to us, sending a spray of particles all over me and everywhere else.

That was the perfect occasion.

With one hand I grabbed onto the tool and immediately started draining the part that was enchanted, energizing myself, while with the other I grabbed his leg.

I managed to get a tight grip on a leg wearing some thin, I assume, linen pants.

The sudden movement startled the worker, and he managed to yank the pickaxe out of my grasp, but it was too late.

I was already sitting up, and with all my strength I grabbed his legs with both of my arms, throwing myself at the person with my whole weight.

It actually worked.

I was still a bit sluggish, true, but as soon as I managed to make him fall, I found a spot: a piece of skin not covered with clothing: the neck.

And immediately started draining his mana.

It was like a shot of adrenaline.

The mana that I felt was bland and not really pleasant overall, I couldn’t deny its potency. It energized me to the point that my sluggish limbs immediately felt like they were never in a better shape. Something that you’d never expect after being destroyed and rebuilt pretty much daily.

I could feel them struggle, but that only was helping me. My grip was iron-tight, especially when I tasted a fresh mana source. The flailing only helped uncover more unprotected skin for me to absorb. Every punch was making me regain more and more, letting me fix myself.

I was still headless though, so the sight had to be out of this world at best.

Slowly, the flailing started to cease, and mana, instead of a stable stream turned into a small trickle.

I realized that if I was not going to stop, I was soon going to end up with a dead body on my hands, so I had to make a decision.

Should I kill?

I mean… they did deserve it.

They were responsible for my treatment for the last… I don’t even know how long.

While they did not do any lasting damage, or at least I did think so, it’s not like they knew that I didn’t feel pain. And not like they didn’t realize after the first time I regrew my limbs that I was indeed still alive.

But, on the other hand, it could’ve been useful for me to keep them alive.

I could’ve learned what exactly happened to me and where I was. I did assume that I was somewhere in Wildnorth, but that was about it. Having at least a chance to get some information was worth it.

And I could always get rid of them after that…

My thoughts were interrupted by something else.

Another presence.

It was the second worker.

I had to move fast. Especially when I noticed that the guy under me was still surprisingly responsive.

I didn’t hear a thing of course, but I did notice him start struggling again. I think he yelled something, because the one that was approaching suddenly froze in his tracks.

I was wondering why, but that was just when I noticed some strange mana from the one right next to me.

I think he started casting a spell? I am not sure, because while his mana did not change, still barely there, making me wonder why they have not fainted already. But right in front of me I did notice a small orb of mana floating and changing properties rapidly.

I am not sure what kind of magic that was, but I was not going to wait for it to be unleashed on me: better safe than sorry.

I put full force of my body on top of him, trying to tackle the spell itself, along with my opponent.

It was pointless.

Whenever I wanted or not, I could tell the last of the mana drain from the person in front of me, absorbed by the spell that promptly exploded in my face. Or, well, in front of me.

So that’s why he yelled at the other one. So the blast would catch only the two of us.

Considering the amount of mana, the explosion was powerful. Or at least I think that was an explosion.

I did get tossed away from the caster and landed a few meters away, the fall cushioned by even more sand. I no longer could feel my enemy, nor the one that came later, still frozen in the same spot.

I was completely fine, though.

I did feel a bit of a sting, I guess from some traces of light magic if I was to guess, since that was the only time I would feel pain, but that was it.

I even felt a bit energized from the loose mana from the spell.

I decided to play dead again, to see what’s going to happen.

The first thing they did was to run towards the, what I assumed, was the corpse of the other one. If there even was a corpse to begin with.

Last time I had to deal with some suicidal maniacs their corpses were… Well, let’s say not in a good shape, and if they managed to pull all their remaining mana into the spell of that magnitude, there was a good chance that they got completely vaporized.

I did try to read their state of mind, but surprisingly I felt a mix of resolve, relief and a whole lot of fear and uncertainty.

A mixed bag. I expected some anger or something, but relief?

As I was thinking that, I noticed a change in their mana. Were they casting a spell? I think so…?

Or not…?

They seemed spooked by their own spell for some reason.

It looked identical to the last one, so I knew that I would be able to take it. Not sure about the other one, though.

I hesitated for a moment.

With the last one, I didn’t manage to get rid of the spell and got hit, but maybe I would be able to absorb more of this one…?

Before I made up my mind though, it exploded.

The effect was essentially the same. I got tossed away, and the magic of the other person disappeared from my view.

I was alone.