“The poison isn’t going away,” I groaned to Erani.
Venom is coursing through your veins. 1 damage.
Your Health is 78.
“Seventy-eight Health left,” I continued. I was a fucking idiot. Why did I fight that thing?
“Fuck…” she muttered as she approached me, crouching by my side. The wound where the Banestinger grazed me was swollen and purple. “Do you know what can stop it?”
“Not sure,” I said, “do we have any antidote potions, or Spells that cure poison?”
“No,” she said, and stopped to look around. “We’re near a city, they should have healers, but…”
“...But we’re wanted criminals now,” I said. “I probably can’t get in, much less get treatment.”
“We have to try. You’re dead, otherwise.”
Working together with the Nymph, she helped me up, and I was able to barely stand with the assistance of both. It felt like fire in my veins, putting weight on my leg, but I pushed through. I was on a time limit, now, and couldn’t afford to move slowly. With their help, I limped along, heading for the nearby city. There was one ray of hope still in my mind, though. I’d gotten a Time Loop Usage Increase from the Level up. It was possible that could help to take me back, before I’d ever been poisoned. I hurriedly scanned over the System message explaining it.Time Loop Usage Increase
You may now use Time Loop one additional time per day. This takes effect starting the next time the Talent comes off cooldown.
My eyes widened in excitement when I read the first sentence, but then the second line came. I’d already used up my one use of Time Loop for today, and this second use wouldn’t be given to me until the next time midnight rolled around. Sure, midnight was in a few hours, but I didn't have a few hours. I’d have normally been ecstatic about this benefit doubling the potential uses of Time Loop, but I was about to die. For all I was concerned, it did absolutely nothing.
“What were you thinking?” Erani broke me out of my thoughts. “You know we need to be more cautious than that. You can’t do shit like that, okay?”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know it was reckless, I was being stupid. I–”
“It wasn’t just stupid, it was thoughtless,” Erani interrupted. Her voice was shaky. “You can die, Arlan. It seems like you feel you’re invincible, sometimes. But you’re not. And I’m certainly not, either. I know you feel like you can push through anything and you’ll always end up fine, but I don’t. You can do what you want, you can put yourself in danger. I don’t want you to do that, but I can’t stop you. But I need you to understand you can’t just pull me into these situations and fights for no reason.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t– I wasn’t thinking clearly. It’s– argh,” I stumbled over a fallen branch and groaned, “it feels like it’s getting harder and harder to think. Ever since I stopped practicing Noxious Grasp, the headaches have been getting worse, and–”
“You need to start back up with Noxious Grasp, then,” she interrupted again. “You’re going through some sort of withdrawal, and we cannot deal with that right now.”
“But it would be inefficient to work on Ranking it, though. The other Spells–”
“You almost got us killed! And you still might die, yourself. Efficiency doesn’t matter when you’re dead.”
I groaned. “Fine, fine. What do you mean by withdrawal, though? Am I addicted to Noxious Grasp, or something?”
“No idea. But if it’s messing with your head when you stop, just stick with it for now. We can figure out a better fix later.”
I just breathed and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
While we walked, my Health ticked downward and downward, eventually passing below 40. Ironically, though, I felt better than ever, physically. I’d been practicing Noxious Grasp for about an hour and a half, now, and my mind felt so much clearer that the relief wrapped back around to being anger. I had seriously allowed myself to live like that for days on end? I’d been miserable, I realized. That said, the intense pain in my leg had certainly put a damper on my relief.
Also, the mental pain was another aspect of it. I felt embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I hadn’t even realized it, but I’d been taking riskier and riskier steps over time. Part of that, I suspected, came from the cloudiness in my head from not casting Noxious Grasp, but I could recognize that some of it also came from myself.
“Hey,” I said as I limped through the forest, helped along by Erani. “I’m sorry.”
“I know,” she responded, looking ahead. Her voice was cold. “You already said that.”
“No, no, I mean,” I sighed. “I put you in danger. And I didn’t say anything to you, or ask you for your opinion, and I don’t have any good excuse for that. I was in some sort of withdrawal, sure, but that wasn’t all of it.”
She glanced over at me with a hard expression. “Listen, we need to get to this city. Don’t worry about it for now. We can talk once you’re not dying.”
“No,” I said. “That’s the problem. I might not make it out of this. And I know that me dying would technically be a good thing for you – I mean, the Demons would probably leave if I was gone. But I just can’t die without at least saying sorry. For dragging you into this.”
“It’s fine. You weren’t thinking right when you attacked the Banestinger.”
“No, this whole thing. The Demons and shit. It’s my fault that they showed up, and it’s my fault they attacked Carth, and it’s my fault that you were with me when they did. You got mixed up into all this because of me. You had a life. And I took that away from you. I’m sorry.”
She kept walking with me in silence for a while, to the point where I began to worry she was just ignoring me. But eventually, she spoke up. “You didn’t do that. I mean, it happened because of you, but it wasn’t your choice. You had no idea what would happen. The Demons were the ones who chose to attack. They took my life away. And Arlan, if you die before you have the chance to help me make every single Demon alive regret that decision they made, I swear to the gods I will find a way to revive you just so I can kill you myself.”
“Well,” I choked out a laugh, “at least I’ll get to die by the hands of a beautiful woman.”
She just rolled her eyes.
“No, seriously, that Banestinger was ugly as shit. I saw it up-close. Really put a damper on my day. And it would’ve been going so well otherwise.”
She half-sighed, half-laughed. “Your last words better not be some shitty joke.”
“Well, y’know, gotta give the people something to laugh at during the funeral.”
“Well let’s try to give you some more time to come up with better material. Otherwise you’ll just make them cry harder. So no more reckless stunts, okay?”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Sorry again. For putting you in danger, I mean. I’m kind of used to doing things on my own. Not just with me getting lost in the forest before, either. I’ve always been pretty self-reliant. After my parents disappeared, I was pretty much on my own, and had to do things myself. And I think that made me forget what it’s like to have a partner like this. I’ve been used to needing to take charge because of Time Loop, but that doesn’t mean I get to have de facto final say on this stuff. We’re in it together, and I’ll be sure to get confirmation with you before doing something like that, from now on.”
Erani’s hard expression finally broke. Her frown began to shake, lips quivering. “Please don’t die, okay? Please.”
“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”
By the time we got there, my ever-decreasing Health had fallen to 30. As we approached the city and the walls entered my sight, we began to see posters nailed up on trees with my face on them, detailing my bounty and reward. Never mentioned any list of crimes, though – how interesting, I thought with a scowl.
“Okay,” Erani said. “I’m the less infamous one between us two, so I’ll go in alone first. I’ll figure out how to disguise myself, then run in and see if I can talk to anyone with poison-curing Spells. Maybe someone has some potions or Enchanted items that can cure you. Be right back.”
I sat on the ground as Erani left, and motioned for the Nymph to sit with us. I kept my eyes open and kept my head on a swivel, constantly checking all around us for enemies. We were close enough to a city that a troop of soldiers could come by at any moment – or, gods forbid, an Infernal.
More than anything, I wanted to just close my eyes and rest, but I didn’t have that luxury. I’d gotten used to the venom for the most part, but I still winced every time it reached my heart and hit me for another point of damage. Sweat from the stress on my body glistened my forehead.
The Nymph sat with me and gazed at the walls of the city. This one – its name was Oakenside – was located in the bottom of a large valley, and we were sitting up at the top, so we could almost see over the walls as we were. I wondered if the Nymph had even seen a city before. Its original home was somewhat near Carth, but how much did Nymphs explore their surroundings? Maybe it never ventured far enough from that river to see the city walls.
I felt oddly calm, despite the fact that I was quite literally dying. Maybe it was because I couldn’t really do anything to stop it? I wished I could have talked to the Nymph at least once. I’d die sitting right next to it, but without ever hearing its voice.
I’d die without ever getting to know Erani better. I felt close to her due to our circumstances, but we’d only known each other for a matter of days, and I didn’t know much about her past. I was so busy escaping and trying to survive, but now that I was going to die, all of that stuff suddenly felt unimportant. I was going to die anyway, why didn’t I just do some stuff that mattered instead of bothering with that survival shit?
Venom is coursing through your veins. 1 damage.
Your Health is 24.
My breath stuttered at the sudden pain. I could die before she even got back out here. I barely even had an hour left. Was I seriously going to die without even saying goodbye? I chuckled. The Infernals hadn’t even been the ones to get me. Done in by my own actions. How fucking poetic. If I hadn’t been so obsessed with getting stronger, maybe I could’ve survived longer. Even if the Demons eventually killed me, at least I’d have been able to live to see a few more days. But I’d shortened it with my own mistakes.
I breathed, still glancing around and keeping myself on as high alert as I could.
The minutes went on, and soon enough, my Health had fallen into the low twenties, then the high tens, then the low tens, until finally…
Venom is coursing through your veins. 1 damage.
Your Health is 9.
I had 9 left. The Nymph was simply sitting next to me, seeming to just be waiting for me to die. It knew there was no hope for me. And I’d die without a single person I could even speak to.
But no. No, I couldn’t let that happen. I searched through my Status, trying to find anything that could save me, or at least prolong the inevitable.
Name:
Arlan Nota
Age:
20
Strength:
13
Class:
Minute Mage
Level:
10
Endurance:
23
Class Type:
Magic
XP:
256/600
Dexterity:
12
Health:
9/230
Health/Minute:
0.0846
Conjuration:
55
Stamina:
101/106
Stamina/Minute:
0.714
Intelligence:
11
Mana:
603/605
Mana/Minute:
11.55
Stat Points:
3
Spells:
Talents:
Titles:
Gravity Well 5 - XP 3/45
[Ability Choice Available]
Trailblazer
Ray of Frost 5 - XP 9/45
Recursive Growth
Crippling Chill 9 - XP 95/355
Time Loop 10
+[Time Loop Upgrade Available]
Noxious Grasp 10 - XP 8/461
+Venomous Grasp
There was one possibility. I remembered back to when I had chosen Recursive Growth as my Level 5 Talent, the Intelligence Information had told me my next three Talent options. I struggled to remember. They were Temporal Fold, Expedited Recovery, and… Regenerate. They just might be able to help me. But to choose one, or even to see my options, I’d have to meditate for ten minutes. Ten minutes, during which I’d have to sacrifice my awareness of my surroundings while so close to a city. If a patrol of Infernals saw me…
I’d just have to take the risk. I’d wanted to wait for Erani, but she obviously seemed to be taking more time than I’d hoped to find something to help me. So I reluctantly closed my eyes and sat quietly, trying my hardest to clear my mind and ignore the painful poison in my veins. My Health ticked downward and downward, and before I knew it, it was at 7, then 4, then 2.
But just then, I finally got to the point where I could see my Talents and choose one.
Choose one Talent to obtain:
Temporal Fold
Type: Activated
—
Creates a stitch in time, causing an hour’s worth of Mana regeneration to happen in a single instant. (Currently gains 693 Mana)
This Talent may only be activated once per day.
Intelligence information:
If you choose this option, your next Talent options will be:
Emergency Reserves
Typhoon
Land on Your Feet
Expedited Recovery
Type: Passive
—
Allows unused Health regeneration to contribute to Mana regeneration. As long as your current Health is equal to your maximum Health, your Mana Regeneration is increased by 100%.
Intelligence information:
If you choose this option, your next Talent options will be:
Breakneck
Restore Balance
Intensify
Regenerate
Type: Activated
Cost: 20 Stamina, plus twenty minutes worth of Stamina regeneration. (Currently 34.28 Stamina)
—
Greatly increase your body’s recovery speed, at the cost of your Stamina. When activated, your Health/Minute is multiplied by 1,000 for 10 seconds, then returns to normal.
Intelligence information:
If you choose this option, your next Talent options will be:
Status Reconstruction
Precognition
Exponential Reclamation
I glanced over all three until I saw what I needed. Regenerate didn’t cure poison, but it’d keep me alive for a bit longer, and that was good enough. It was a shame to lose out on the other two options, but I had no choice here.
You have obtained the Talent Regenerate.
Your next Talent options will be:
Status Reconstruction
Precognition
Exponential Reclamation
Immediately, I opened my eyes, left the meditation, and went to activate the Talent. It was a bit different than a Spell or Time Loop, but after letting the System briefly guide my mind to the right action, I felt a mental switch flip.
You have activated Regenerate. You will gain 14.3 Health over the next 10 seconds.
34.3 Stamina Cost. Your Stamina is 67.
The Stamina that was part of its cost drained from my body, and I immediately felt a bit more tired and my eyes a bit heavier.
That said, though, I also felt a sudden rejuvenation. My Health/Minute had increased a thousandfold, going from 0.0846 to 84.6, and I could physically feel my Health total increasing. Over the ten seconds Regenerate was active, the System-given shield around me grew a little stronger with each passing moment. My Health went from 2 up to 3, then 4, 6, 10, until it finally rested at 16 and the Talent wore off.
It wasn’t exactly safe waters, but I was in a massively better position than I was in before. I activated the Talent once more.
You have activated Regenerate. You will gain 14.3 Health over the next 10 seconds.
34.3 Stamina Cost. Your Stamina is 33.
The wave of healing washed over my body and repaired more of the damage the poison had done. I also felt exhausted at that point, my Stamina now at a third of what it had been seconds before. But my Health was at 30, and I’d bought myself more time. My Stamina would regenerate more quickly than my Health, too, so I’d be able to activate the Talent again soon.
Part of me wanted to re-enter the meditative state while I waited so I could choose an Upgrade for Time Loop, but I was still in the middle of enemy territory, and closing my eyes like that for an entire ten minutes would be too much risk for something that, in the end, wasn’t going to do anything until midnight came. For now, I just needed to wait and keep an eye out – I could choose an Upgrade once Erani came back.
Hopefully she’d come with good news.
“What’d you find?” I asked Erani after watching her climb the hill to meet us.
“Nothing much as far as people who can cure poison or heal. Apparently all those people have been needed so badly in other areas to heal the wounded from this whole Demon fiasco that it’s basically impossible to get a hold of them.”
“Shit,” I cursed, my head falling back and hitting the tree trunk behind me.
Venom is coursing through your veins. 1 damage.
Your Health is 36.
The prick of venom just added insult to injury.
“There’s still something, though. There was one guy in there who could help; he had a Dryad with him.”
“Dryad?”
“Yeah, it’s actually an evolution of Nymphs,” she gestured to our Nymph, who was sitting next to me, petting a squirrel which had settled in its lap. “You know how Tribute works – other monsters can sacrifice their own Levels to give a Nymph a portion of their own power. Normally, this is just something small, like the whip on this one, but certain, more powerful monsters can actually induce an evolution in the Nymph. And, when they get Tribute from a Faerie Queene, Nymphs evolve into Dryads, gaining access to Mana and Spells of their own. And one of those Spells just so happens to cure poison.”
“Great! So we just need to get help from that guy’s Dryad?”
“Well, he had a small clinic where he helped some people with poison, so I went in to talk to him. I kept my eyes low for the most part when going through the city, so most people didn’t recognize me, but I had to speak with him for a while, and I think he might have realized who I was. Or not, I don’t know. All I know is he randomly asked me to leave, and wouldn’t hear a word otherwise. I came back here right afterward, since I was worried he’d call the authorities. I don’t think I was trailed.”
“Dammit,” I cursed. “So they’re useless?”
“Well, they would be, but where do you think that Dryad came from?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I found a flier in the adventurer’s guild. It asks for volunteers to go to the nearby Faerie village and try to build better trade relations with them, or something. Point is, there’s a Faerie Queene nearby, and we have a Nymph.”
I blinked. “...You know that’s a long shot, right?”
“Yeah, but it’s our only choice.”
I swallowed, then laboriously pushed myself to my feet, lamenting my dangerously low Stamina from the many Regenerates I’d used.
“Alright,” I grunted. “We’ve got a Nymph to evolve.”