“Don’t just sit there! Take cover!” Adric shouted at Hex as he unloaded his pistol, firing toward his back sliding glass door where two goblins were entering, hiding behind large wooden shields that protected nearly their entire bodies. Two archers were firing at the windows of his A-frame, but thankfully, the arrows did not leave any cracks in the thick tempered glass.

It took Hex a full three seconds to process the fact she had not been shot, so when she finally looked up in confusion, Adric was already at her side, grabbing her under the arm and pulling her to her feet. Letting herself be pulled up, she turned to look at the approaching monsters. The two shield-bearing goblins were through the entryway and still approaching slowly. Adric's ballistic rounds left small splinters in their shields and pushed them back a little, but otherwise, they had no effect.

Thinking fast, Hex pulled the spark wand from her belt where she had placed it and pointed it at one of the approaching warriors even as Adric pulled her toward an open door leading downstairs. Hex focused with all her willpower on the wand in her hand, trying to activate its magic…nothing happened.

With a cry of frustration, Hex slid the wand back into her belt just as they entered the stairwell. Adric slammed the door closed as soon as they were in; two arrows were already stuck in the wood, showing just how close they had come to being shot. Letting go of her arm, Adric led Hex quickly down the stairs to his basement.

“Is that a rapid transport device?” Hex asked when a large white metal box with four wheels came into her view.

“Yes, but it’s broken,” Adric answered, quickly running to a door off the concrete room's side. He opened the door to his wine cave, coming face to face with a surprised goblin mage.

Instinctually, Adric brought his pistol up and fired a round point-blank into the goblin’s face. The creature’s head kicked back from the impact of the .45 ACP slug, but the same yellow shimmer protected it from harm. Adric advanced into the room as the mage stumbled back and pulled the trigger again, only to realize the slide was locked back! Moving to the side, Adric grabbed a magazine from his chest strap to reload while shouting, “I’m out!” He hoped Hex would understand what it meant.

Hex had no idea what it meant, but she assumed it was her turn when she saw the mage after Adric had stepped aside. The mage was bringing his wand up, pointing it at Adric, so Hex used its distraction to rush it. Unsheathing her chokuto, she dashed in and, with a short hop, thrust the sword into the distracted goblin’s throat. As Hex suspected, the mage's shield spell only worked against high-speed projectiles. With a twist and a yank, Hex tore the blade from the mage’s throat. As the creature fell to its knees, clutching at its torn throat, she stabbed the sword down just behind its collar bone, the long, straight blade sinking deep into the green-skinned creature's body. The welcome chime of a kill notification made her relax slightly.

Adric watched, a little stunned at how vicious and efficient the fox girl was in close-quarters combat. He came out of his daze when he heard the door above crash open. Holstering his now reloaded pistol, Adric moved past Hex, who was struggling to pull her blade free of the dead goblin mage’s torso, to his gun safe. Adric's heart sank as he typed on the keypad; there was no power on the pad, and the key was in his nightstand by his bed in the loft! Cursing under his breath, Adric grabbed a handful of arrows and his recurve bow from its stand, ignoring the less powerful short bow on his back. He asked Hex, “How many rounds do you have in your pistol?”

“I’m almost out, but if you give me the small crystal you received from the mage earlier, I can recharge it,” She responded quickly, wiping her sword on the dead goblin’s filthy robes and sheathing it. She pulled her pistol from its holster and pushed a button on its side. A small cavity opened up, revealing a clear crystal identical to the one Adric had looted.

Fishing the crystal out of his pocket, Adric handed it to Hex. Taking the offered item, Hex pushed the button on the pistol again, and the little clear crystal popped out, disintegrating into nothing before it even struck the floor. The new crystal was placed into the gun, the recessed cavity closed, and a display lit up on the back. Adric couldn’t read what it said but assumed it was a shot count or energy reading.

A quick glance by Adric showed the two shield-bearing goblins slowly advancing down the concrete stairs to the basement. Hoping he wasn’t making a mistake by not using his guns, Adric fired an arrow from his recurve, nocking another in one fluid motion. The first arrow struck the lead goblin in its knee, causing it to cry out and tumble down the stairs. The other shield bearer saw the arrow's direction and moved its shield to block the next one. Unfortunately for the goblin, it was facing off against an expert archer whose next arrow struck the second shield bearer in the ankle; its thick leather boot prevented the arrow from penetrating deep, but the impact still tripped the creature that was already off balance carrying a shield that weighed more than it did.

Adric was about to shoot the first goblin he had struck again but had to duck back into the doorway to avoid being hit by an arrow from one of the goblin archers that had just turned the corner of the stairs landing.

Hex and Adric stared at the quivering shaft stuck in the doorframe for a second. Hex reacted first, leaning out and firing a couple of shots from her pistol to suppress the archers. Adric took advantage of her actions and stepped back out, loosing an arrow before immediately returning to cover. The chime of the kill notification told Adric his arrow had flown true, and the first shield goblin was dead. “An arrow through the eye will usually do the trick,” he thought, grinning despite the dire situation. He hated to admit it, but Adric had missed combat, and now that the initial shock had worn off, he was enjoying himself. He looked at Hex and said, “Two down, three to go. The archers are the highest threat and have an elevation advantage, so don’t give them a target for too long.”

Hex nodded and squatted beside her side of the doorframe before leaning out to fire at the archers. She hoped to keep them pinned down long enough for Adric to take out the last shield goblin. This time instead of firing blindly, she took careful time to aim at one of the archers poking its head around the corner of the landing. Hex shot twice; the first beam struck the wall the goblin was peeking around and went clean through the flimsy white material, striking the archer and causing him to stagger out from behind his cover. The second shot hit him in the chest, making him clutch at his burning armor. Hex knew she should get back behind cover but didn't want to pass up this opportunity, so she lined up one more shot and fired.

“Got you!” Hex thought as the energy beam burned through the archer's forehead, and he slumped against the wall. Then something hit her, and searing pain pulsed through her chest as she was knocked onto her back, letting out a high-pitched yelp of pain as she struck the cold floor, her head thumping forcefully against the concrete. Hex's blurry vision came into focus long enough to see the large spear embedded in her left breast as she grabbed at her chest. She let out another cry when Adric grabbed her and roughly dragged her out of the doorway after shooting another arrow. Even through the pain, Hex heard the chime of another kill and thought, “Only one more…he’s got this…” Her vision faded after that, and she left the world of pain behind, drifting into blissful nothingness.

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***

“What the hell? I didn’t even see the spear on that goblin!” Adric thought as he dragged Hex’s body out of the final archer’s line of fire. He didn’t know if she was dead or alive, but he wasn’t going to take any chances; the five-foot-long spear looked huge in her chest, and he hoped it hadn’t struck her heart.

Adric dropped his bow and snatched up Hex's pistol, drawing his own as he did so. Glancing around the doorframe, then ducking back quickly, he got what he wanted; the remaining archer fired at the motion, her arrow sailing harmlessly past. Seizing the opportunity, Adric rolled out from behind cover, firing both pistols at the last enemy as she knocked another arrow; she was fully exposed halfway down the stairs, so Adric didn't miss. Ballistic rounds and bolts of energy alike struck the goblin in the chest and head; she dropped her bow and crumpled to the cold concrete stairs, sliding down a few before coming to a stop, her limp body exhaling its final breath.

Adric lowered his weapons, listening. He waited until the ringing in his ears from the gunshots subsided and then another full minute just to be sure there was nothing else in the house. He wanted to go check on Hex, but he knew he would not be helping anyone if other creatures in the house could sneak attack him while administering first aid to the wounded woman.

Not wasting any time, Adric sprinted up the stairs, careful not to lose his footing on the bloody concrete as he navigated past the carnage he and Hex had just caused. Once on the main level, he ran to the sliding glass door, closing and locking it. Then, running up to his loft, he grabbed the key to his gun safe and an armload of shirts and pants before hurrying back to his basement.

Entering his wine cave, Adric stopped cold when an unbidden message popped up in his vision. “I thought I muted these,” he groused to himself when his vision was suddenly obstructed. He read the message.

Notice: Full System integration achieved! Congratulations, user Adric Cay! Your path to power begins now. Class options have been unlocked; select an interface to start the class selection and view personal data.

After throwing the clothes on his sofa, Adric dismissed the message and knelt beside Hex. The slight rise and fall to her chest gave him hope. "Okay, let's see if I can return the favor and save your life," he told the unconscious woman, adding, "I just wish I knew how you used the vials and bandages."

Thinking of the little vial Hex had told him could heal wounds, Adric dug through her shoulder bag until he fished out three. It was immediately apparent that one was different, so he set it aside and checked the other two. Choosing the full one, he opened the cap, and just as Hex had said, a little dropper was attached. Looking at the label, he was surprised he could read the foreign writing now. Adric didn’t have time to question his sudden ability to read an alien language because a pool of blue blood started seeping out from under Hex. "Damn, the spear must have gone completely through her!" Adric hissed. Skimming the instructions on the vial, he pried the woman’s mouth open and placed two drops under her tongue.

“Hopefully, that slows down the blood loss,” Adric thought as he fiddled with Hex’s body armor, trying to figure out how to get it off. Finding hook-and-loop clasps on the sides similar to his vest, Adric paused momentarily, running his next steps through his head to familiarize himself with them. Once he started, he could not stop until Hex was dead or stabilized.

“Here goes nothing,” Adric said. Grasping the spear with both hands, he placed a knee on Hex’s chest and pulled. The shaft and jagged blade came out with a spray of warm blue blood. Adric didn’t hesitate; he opened the clasps on Hex’s body armor and yanked it off, slipping it over her head and tossing it to the side. Next, he did the same with her shirt, ignoring the blood pouring from her body and how rough he was being; speed was of the essence in this situation. Ripping off several pieces of the bandage material he had taken from her messenger bag, Adric rolled the limp fox woman on her side and pressed them against the entrance and exit wounds on her front and back, holding pressure on them to staunch the bleeding.

After several agonizing seconds, Adric felt a tingle from the bandage material beneath his hands. Slowly, tentatively, he released some pressure from the bandages. To his relief, they didn’t come off, nor did the bleeding start again; the magical cloth seemed to have adhered to Hex’s body, sealing the wounds. Not wanting to take any chances, Adric gently moved Hex away from the pool of her own blood and rested her on the floor a few feet away. Seeing the bandages stay in place, Adric ran to his bathroom, and after a few seconds of digging under his sink, he found what he was searching for.

Running back to kneel by Hex again, Adric started wrapping her small, thin chest with the gauze he found under his sink. After three full wraps around her torso, he was confident the gauze would hold the bandages in place as long as she didn’t go through any strenuous activity. He put two more drops of the healing tincture under her tongue for good measure, and retrieving a damp towel from the bathroom, he did his best to wipe the blood from her body and hair. When he was sure he had done all he could, Adric gently lifted the surprisingly dense Prism Vixen into his arms and carried her to his sofa. He gently laid her down, kicking off the clothes he had tossed on the couch before he did so. Then, not wanting her to wake up naked, he found one of his long-sleeved shirts and awkwardly dressed the unconscious woman. Noticing the shirt fit her decently, albeit a little loose, Adric took time to examine her more than he had previously; she wasn’t much smaller than he was. She was his height and had a similarly athletic build, and although she was distinctly feminine, it was obvious her body was built for power and agility.

After rechecking Hex’s breathing, Adric was satisfied she would survive. He stood up and stretched; he had work to do. Ignoring the flashing tab in the corner of his vision informing him he had messages; Adric went to work looting the bodies of the slain goblins. He decided to do it quickly and opted for the split option every time, selecting items with each one. He received four more health tinctures, three bandage wrappings, two remedies, and one cure poison vial. The mage provided two more of the tiny crystals, too, which was good because, now that he could read the language, he knew Hex’s pistol only had a few shots remaining.

His next steps were to take the shields of the two goblins; the System thankfully didn’t dissolve them when he looted the bodies and nailed them across the two entrances to his basement. He also locked the garage doors so they couldn’t be opened. Unfortunately, the looting didn’t clean up all the spilled blood, so to keep the basement from smelling like a sewer, Adric mopped up the mess as best he could.

Feeling as secure as he could be, Adric checked on the sleeping Hex again. Her face was peaceful, and she was snoring lightly. Still, he didn’t want to take any risks and put another drop of healing tincture under her tongue, hoping he wasn’t overdosing her with the stuff.

Using his key, Adric got his walk-in gun safe open and started removing weapons and ammo boxes until he had access to the safe floor. Going to the bathroom, Adric removed his harness, vest, and what was left of his shirt. He cleaned his chest with a damp towel, avoiding the bandage covering the wound in the center. He soaked a wash rag in alcohol, using it to clean a large area around his left collarbone. Then, pulling a scalpel from a drawer and cleaning it with alcohol, Adric used it to cut across the length of a raised scar just below his collarbone, wincing slightly as the blade dug deep into his flesh. Taking some tweezers, he had soaked in the alcohol; he used them to dig around in the wound he had just made. After a few painful seconds, Adric found what he was looking for and pulled a small skeleton key from under his collarbone with a deep grunt.

Adric would have typically sutured the wound closed, but with the System handing out healing items like candy, he instead put a drop of the healing tincture on the cut and watched in fascination as it closed within seconds. After cleaning the key and himself up a little, Adric found a clean shirt to put on before strapping back on his vest and holster harness. He also changed his pants, making sure not to jostle the bandage on his leg too much.

Key in hand, Adric returned to his gun safe and used a hammer he kept in it to beat on the ceramic coating on the floor, breaking it apart until a small hole presented itself. Brushing the broken ceramic pieces to the side, Adric inserted the key he had removed from beneath his collarbone and, with a slight click, unlocked a secret catch in the bottom of the safe. Two handles rose from amid the broken ceramic pieces with a hiss of hydraulic actuators. Adric gripped the handles and removed the safe floor with a firm jerk, revealing a deep hole in the concrete below.

Looking into the recessed darkness beneath his home, Adric sighed, “Well, so much for retirement.”