“Pain is horrible!” The thought came unbidden to Hex’s mind as she choked back sobs. Everything hurt! The electric shocks from the mage had made all her muscles seize up, and it had burned her hair and through her synapses, causing more pain than she could have ever imagined. She didn't know why or how the mage had been so strong; it shouldn't have been possible, but then again, she had done something to start the initiation early here, something she had no memory of. Her hand slipped as she crawled slowly past the man, and she fell face-first in a pool of her blue blood. The man was able to surprise attack her when she was trying to help him, stabbing the cold steel blade deep into her throat; that was the wound that mattered; she had reacted poorly and pulled the blade free, belatedly realizing her folly when hot blue blood sprayed the hand gripping the hilt of the knife.

Instinctively, Hex knew if she didn't get a healing item from one of the goblins, she would soon die from the stab wound. She didn't blame the man for stabbing her; she had foolishly grabbed him in the heat of battle without checking his current mental state. It was a stupid mistake she would never have made as an AI program, and Hex wanted to lament the loss of her processing power with this new body, but this wasn't the time to dwell on that now. She dragged herself toward the warrior goblin she had killed, sliding through the blue, black, and red blood covering the dark wood of the floor. The coppery smell of the human's blood and the rancid smell of the goblin’s, both mixing with the sweet smell of her own, made her stomach want to disgorge its contents. Bile welled up in Hex's throat, and she retched; the hand she was holding to the wound in her throat slipped, allowing a spray of blue to splash across the man’s face.

Hex swayed on her good arm; she was so close. Falling flat on her stomach, she reached out as far as she could, her fingers brushing the destroyed head of the goblin she had killed. She willed the System to respond to her loot request.

Loot request: Goblin Warrior Level 2

Multiple users participated in defeating this foe.

Would you like to claim all the loot for yourself or split it between participants? Please select an option: Claim/Split.

You have chosen 'Claim.' All other participants have been notified.

Hex was fading. It was everything she could do to focus on the floating text in her vision. “I cannot give up!” She growled in her mind, grinding her pointed teeth in defiance of death’s attempt to claim her. “Please be two health items in here,” She pleaded mentally when the next screen popped up.

Loot Options:

Option 1: User disassembly (Recommended): Selecting this option will allow the user to remove all useable parts from the defeated foe, sometimes resulting in the discovery of higher rarity components, items, or weapons.

Option 2: 50/50 Split: This option will allow the System to reclaim 50% of the defeated foe's components, items, and weapons in exchange for synthesizing the remaining 50% into a single user-designated category. Categories are as follows: components, items, weapons, or system credits. All synthesized components will be based on the subject's type, class, and level. Note: Users may withhold common weapons from synthesis if they are not in contact with the foe's body; this may reduce the amount of synthesized components. Choosing this option will never produce higher rarity components.

Option 3: Sell back: Selecting this option will sell the defeated foe and all its weapons and items back to the System in return for system credits (SC). Note: this option is only available for System Spawns.

Hex mentally selected ‘Option 2’ and read the following prompt.

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Choose the category to be synthesized: Components, Items, Weapons, or System Credits.

'Items,' Hex thought, her mind sluggish. The moment the text faded from her view, the body of the slain goblin burst into black mist, half of which disappeared into nothing while the other half coalesced into three items. Two small vials no larger than her index finger and a roll of white cloth the size of her fist.

Hex knew what the cloth was for, so she grabbed it; fumbling a little with her numb fingers, she unwound the tight ball and started wrapping it around her neck. She made sure to keep the binding loose enough not to strangle herself but tight enough to staunch the bleeding from the stab wound long enough for the bandages' healing properties to take effect. Three full wraps later, Hex felt a tingle around the wound, which she assumed indicated the bleeding had stopped. Finding a perforated seam, she tore the excess bandage and laid the tail against her throat for it to adhere to itself.

Now that she was confident she wasn't going to die, Hex turned her attention to the man, noting the slight rise and fall of his chest. “He’s alive if barely…” Hex was torn; did she use what little healing material she had left in an attempt to save him? Why him? She looked around the room. Five goblins lay dead, but she had seen six in the hologram; the fact that the missing goblin wasn't attacking meant there was a high chance it was dead. Goblins weren't in the habit of retreating if they smelled blood. That meant the man had killed four of the six attackers, and if they all out-leveled him…

"You are more than a normal human," Hex told the man, her decision made. Retrieving his knife, Hex cut away the cloth around his leg wound, a surprisingly sturdy yet pliable blue material. Well, the parts that weren't soaked in his red blood were blue anyway. She hissed when the bolt was exposed, "Poison!" Veins of black were growing out from the bolt where it was embedded in his leg. Before pulling the bolt out, Hex quickly checked the two small vials.

One vial read 'Healing Tincture' and the other 'Remedy'. The instructions on the vials said to place a single drop under the tongue or around the affected area with the provided dropper. Each vial had up to ten applications. Hex didn't know what a remedy was or if it would help poisoning but figured it couldn't hurt. Prying the man's mouth open, she placed a single drop of each under his tongue, hoping it would buy her some time while she treated his other wounds.

She decided the dagger in the man’s chest was her first priority, worrying it was causing internal damage as he breathed. After a brief search, Hex figured out how to unfasten the vest he was wearing, and once undone, she quickly pulled the dagger free with a yank, flipping the vest open as soon as she did so. A smooth slice with the man's knife and his shirt was laid open, exposing the nasty gash left by the serrated edge of the goblin's dagger. Tearing off a portion of the bandage, Hex pressed it against the bleeding wound with both hands until she felt the familiar tingle of the bandage activating in her palm. Applying a drop of the healing tincture to the center of the bandage, she strapped his vest back across his chest, hoping the added pressure would help the bandage stay in place.

The leg went much the same; the bolt was easy to remove. Hex used the last of her bandages, wrapping his leg. She put two drops of the remedy into the wound before wrapping it and two more on the bandage above the wound, just to be sure. Thankfully, the other stab wound in his leg had closed from another drop of the healing tincture.

Her work done, Hex put a drop of the healing tincture under her tongue and sighed as a wave of relief washed over her aching body. She was tempted to use another drop but refrained. There was no guarantee she would receive more from looting her other kill. "Six healing and five remedy drops left," she told herself, pocketing the vials in a small messenger bag she had printed; she had forgotten to grab the matching backpack from her bunker in her haste. Looking at the man, Hex was at a loss for what to do. She had rushed out to save this man without any real plan past that. She quickly realized the System had taken many more memories than she had apparently anticipated when making her plans. The realization frightened her; she suddenly felt like a child being punished for misbehaving.

Instead of looting the corpses, Hex immediately gathered the man's weapons, except for his bow, and placed them a few meters away. Then, she checked her own weapons, which were all secure on her person. With some effort, she dragged the two goblin warriors away from the man. The goblins had defecated themselves when they died. With her sensitive nose, the smell in the room finally overcame her willpower. She vomited several times, adding even more horrid scents to the already unbearable room. Recovering from her fit of sickness, Hex gently moved the man out of the bloody mess he was lying in to prop him against a wall.

The activity had taken a lot out of her, but Hex knew time was not on their side. If there were other spawns in the area, there was no doubt they would be attracted to the smells coming from this room. Sitting cross-legged in front of the man, well out of his reach, she rechecked her weapons. Taking one of the spent ballistic casings she had gathered, Hex threw it at the man. The small brass casing bounced off his forehead, falling to his lap, but he did not move. Two more attempts failed, but when she struck him with one of the larger ones made from plastic and brass from his shotgun, the man groaned, his eyelids fluttering open, revealing grey irises that immediately locked on her. She smiled, giving him a shy wave, and said, "Hi!"