After looting the Rabidasher corpses, I dragged myself back to the cabin. I hesitated at the door, not knowing what to say to the two strangers, but I gathered my wits and walked in.

The woman was lying on the couch, and the boy was crouched at her side. They both turned towards me when they heard me enter, and the boy quickly got on his feet.

"How are you doing?" I asked stupidly.

"We're alright, thanks to you, " the woman said, grimacing in pain. Her leg didn't look alright to me. "I'm Laura, and this is my son Tobi. "

The boy nodded at me, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"My name is Diana, but you can call me Dee, " I smiled, hoping to put them at ease, but it was useless. Tobi looked like he might pass out from stress any minute now.

"You saved us, Dee. "

"Don't mention it, " I said, my face growing hot. "Anyone would do it. "

Laura nodded and closed her eyes, her breathing turning shallow. She really didn't look so great.

"What happened? How did you guys get here?"

"We were staying in my uncle's cabin for the week. Maybe you know him, his name is Sirius. "

Of course, Sirius. The old man's cabin was the closest one to ours. He was a good neighbour, always jolly and ready for a good laugh. He'd drop by occasionally, leaving some homemade berry jams or smoked game behind, always flirting shamelessly with Mom. She'd laugh and take his gifts. He was well into his seventies but was so full of life.

"I haven't seen him in a few years. "

"Old age spares no one. He can't go hunting as he used to, so he doesn't come up much. Tobi had a week off school, so we thought we'd spend a week outside the city. "

I nodded. Tobi was pacing back and forth, occasionally glancing through windows and scanning for threats.

The poor kid must be traumatised.

"We had been up here for five days when the System came, " Laura continued, trying to sit upright and examine her leg. Her hands shook and her face was awash with cold sweat.

I grabbed the scissors from the kitchen and cut up her bloody jeans leg. What I found there was an absolute horror show. It took all my willpower to remain calm and to let any sign of disgust show on my face. The leg was mangled from the knee down, with bits of bone sticking out. I wondered how it was still in one piece.

"Mom!" Tobi screamed when he spotted the state of her limb. He then promptly shut his mouth and ran towards the window, checking the outside for anything that might have heard his outburst.

"Don't worry. You're safe here," I said. "This cabin is a safe zone. "

Laura slumped back down, her lips pale. Tobi turned towards me, a question on his lips, but I shook my head. Now was not the time for explanations. She had lost too much blood.

"Do you have a class?"

The boy shook his head.

"I don't have enough exp."

"How did this happen?" I asked, gesturing at the prone woman.

"We were attacked at our cabin. We stayed inside after the System arrived, and these bushes appeared all over the yard."

"Vineslashers?" I asked.

He nodded. "They doubled in size every day until they were big enough and started to wrap their tentacles around the cabin."

I shuddered at the image. Those things were disgusting. And the idea that I could have suffered the same fate wasn't lost on me. It was lucky that I dealt with them when I did.

"Mom decided it wasn't safe there anymore and packed our stuff. We managed to leave the cabin without running into the bushes, but then we bumped into those monsters. One of them bit her on the leg, " his voice was cracking like he was trying to keep himself together. "I picked her up and started to run. "

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"You did well, " I said, trying to reassure him. "She's still alive because of you."

He turned away from me, his face wet with tears. I started to say something but decided that it could wait.

I had no idea how he did it, but then again, Laura was a rather petite woman. There were stories of people lifting huge boulders to save their loved ones. This was possibly one of those situations.

I forced myself to focus back on the problem at hand. She was shivering and her breath was shallow. I was surprised she even had any blood left.

My mind was racing for a solution. I went to the Shop Terminal, trying out different searches. I had no idea what I was looking for. I would lie if I said that I wasn't panicking a little.

"What is that?" Tobi asked, pointing to the Terminal. Laura was grunting in pain on the couch. I ignored him, turning back to the woman.

"Laura, how much HP do you have left? "

I was about to ask her again, thinking she might have passed out, when she replied.

"Three. I have a Bleeding condition, " her voice was small and strained.

"No shit. Is there a regeneration penalty? "

"It says that my healing is suspended while I have the condition," she whispered. "I'm losing 1 HP every 5 minutes"

I cursed some more and went back to the Terminal. There was an item that seemed promising.

The Bandage of Minor Healing

When applied, this bandage restores 5 HP.

Price: 35 credits

Killing the three Rabidashers chasing the mother and son pair gained me two skins and one Lucky Rabbit Foot. After selling that and my credits, I had 42 credits. I quickly purchased the bandage. The package appeared a meter in the air and unceremoniously plopped down on the floor. Tobi jumped back in surprise.

"What the hell, lady!"

"Tobi, language, " Laura mumbled, and I had to laugh despite the situation. Mothers.

I unboxed the bandage and quickly went to Laura's side. The package didn't give much instructions on how this was supposed to work, just apply the bandage on the wound. A memory of the first aid training class I took ages ago was vaguely coming back to me, but I was rather clueless on how to proceed best.

Hoping that wrapping it around would do the trick, I did just that as gently as possible, trying not to do even more damage. But the leg was in such a bad state that it was useless. Laura twitched in pain, instinctively moving her leg away from me. I had to hold it firm while I worked.

As soon as I finished, the bandage glowed green and tightened around the leg. Laura screamed in pain as the light grew brighter until it became unbearable to look at. I shut my eyes, opening them a moment later, only to find the bandage gone and the leg looking much better. That is to say, there were no exposed bits of bone poking out, but the wound was still pretty angry and lightly bleeding.

"What does your HP say?"

"I have 8 points, " she answered, a bewildered look on her face. She tried to move it around, but it was still broken.

"What's your total? Do you still have the Bleeding Condition?"

"I still have it. My total is 40 HP. "

"Goddamnit, " I cursed. We only bought her another 25 minutes.

Tobi moved to his mother's side. You could practically smell fear coming off him, and I couldn't blame him.

"I'm out of credits, " I said, looking around the cabin for something to sell. There was a bunch of random junk around, but I knew it wouldn't fetch enough coins to get another Bandage of Minor Healing.

"Do you think this might help?" Tobi asked, producing the head of an orange flower as big as the palm of his hand. It kind of looked like a marigold, if marigolds were gigantic and their petals swayed of their own accord in a non-existent wind. As I extended my hand to take it, a description box appeared.

Sunflare Blossom

The flower of this plant has been revered across the galaxy for its medicinal properties. A common ingredient for healing tinctures and salves, this flower never grows in the same place twice.

"I think that you are a very lucky kid, " I said. "Where did you find this?"

"I was walking in the forest before dinner when the System came. After that introduction video thing... You saw it too?"

"Yeah. It was really weird. "

Laura had fallen mostly quiet and seemed to pass out, probably because the adrenaline wore off. Her short brown hair was matted to her scalp, but at least her lips weren't as pale anymore.

"Yeah... When I was able to see again, there was this flower. I saw the description and thought I may as well pick it, " he paused. "Then I was attacked by a giant bumble bee."

I grimaced, my imagination running wild at that image. It was not a pleasant one.

"Well, let's hope I can make something out of this. "

Name: Diana Mond

Age: 25

Class: Homesteader

Level: 1, 70/200 exp

Strength: 3

Constitution: 6

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 4

HP: 23/60

Energy: 5/60

Points to distribute: 0