I threw myself to his aid, shielding him with my own body. I was attacked by a goblin who was already severely battered by Adrezz—so much so that the other goblins agreed it should be him who finished off the dying man. When I deflected this hatred-filled strike from the weakening green creature, and took the blow to the abdomen, my stomach was deeply slashed. The weapon that struck me was already filthy, previously soaked in little boy's father blood, making the injury all the more dangerous. As soon as I took the hit to my gut, without a moment's hesitation, I reacted as fast as I could—trying to behead him. I swung as forcefully as I could with the sharp side, nearly severing the entire head, keeping the weapon in my hands. I quickly glanced at the goblin's status.
- Green Goblin HP 0/100 *dead*
- +2 Exp +6 Good Exp
The remaining goblins grew terrified upon seeing that I was significantly taller than all of them—both goblins and humans alike—and that I had just contributed to the slaying of their fourth comrade, leaving only three, already battered by the brave man, still breathing. But they were not completely helpless, as they were still in decent shape, while both the man I saved and I were weak and bleeding, on the verge of death. I was in tremendous pain, and my body wanted to force me into rest, but I refused, making myself stay alert. I quickly focused on my current situation:
- Mitsuaki lvl. 0 points 10/10 !!!
- Good lvl. 0 points 29/100
- Evil lvl. 0 points 0/100
- Mitsuaki HP 36/100
- Bleeding effect (2x) will cause loss of 0.5 health points per second
- Extreme dangerous wound (stomach) problem with moving left hand, severe pain, difficulty moving
- Noradrenaline, max increased concentration, survival instinct and body strength (physical strength increased to 150%)
- Lost in Ambitious (Will die for it)
Ignoring almost all other information, I focused solely on my health, which I could feel was in catastrophic condition. If I didn't act, I'd be dead in 72 seconds. So I focused on the level that might finally rise. Without time and lost in all the possibilities, I asked telepathically, seriously and loudly, *Clare, what will it do?!*
My companion, grasping the situation, responded firmly, *You'll be unable to fight, but it will increase your chances of survival.*
Hearing that, I looked with full readiness to slay another goblin if one dared approach while I distracted the attention of those planning to rush me.
The wounded man's child poured a red substance from a glass vial—just moments ago tightly sealed—into his mouth. Suddenly, the man's wounds began healing rapidly, and the dirty blood on his injuries began to evaporate, granting him the ability to keep fighting. Wanting to make sure everything was as I thought, I glanced at his health status.
- Adrezz HP 173/200
Seeing this and how he immediately reached for his weapon, I could finally rest. The old man also stood by his side, and the boy came to me without asking for permission and started examining my injuries. Then he shouted:
"Father, this man will die at this rate—his blood is spilling everywhere! It's a miracle he's still conscious!" he said, frightened and shocked.
Then I turned my gaze to the boy, grabbed his arm, and tried to reassure him. "It's alright, Rejtor. Thank you for caring. Help your father."
His dad, hearing this, laughed at my foolishness and then solemnly denied my choice, saying, "Boy, you heard him. If you keep straining your body, you might die. Son, help him get to the wagon—let your mother treat him, he must not die on us." He then added, disappointed, "I know it's not much, but let him drink the rest of the elixir."
Then the teenage child allowed me to lean on his arm, and I slowly moved toward the wagon. Once I laid down on the animal skin bedding prepared by the mother, who immediately grabbed a hidden bucket, poured clean water into it, and picked up the cleanest cloths to bandage me, she thanked me:
"You have no idea how grateful I am that you saved my husband's life." A moment later, she looked at her son and said, "Rejtor, bring me what your father left—let him drink it all." When she received the elixir, she instantly poured it into my mouth. While she was tending to me, my body began to calm down and long for sleep. So as quickly as possible, I telepathically assured Clare, *Now I can evolve.* Then, gazing at the system, I selected the evolution option and glanced sideways at the battle nearing its end, since the goblins were now powerless against the now-healed man. He finished off the fleeing goblins.
The boy also tried to help his father by throwing stones at the goblins, often missing. And the grandfather picked up on my tactic of stealing enemies' weapons and stabbing them into the next foe. In the end, the old man killed one goblin himself and helped finish off another by stabbing a stone blade into its leg. The strong and brave husband, full of disgust and hatred toward the green beasts, decapitated them. And when the last one tried to flee, the strongest one with a rusty knife took a sharp rock to the head—thrown by the boy. Enraged, instead of escaping, he lunged toward the one who had attacked him. Then the father protected him and mercilessly sliced him in half, breaking his copper weapon in two in the process. Watching all this, I was impressed by their teamwork and coordination. I also gained a lot of exp for those goblins, but what surprised me even more was the amount of Good exp I received.
- +1 Exp +3 Good Exp (Alliance help reduces rewards by 50%)
- +1 Exp +3 Good Exp (Alliance help reduces rewards by 50%)
- +5 Exp +7 Good Exp (Alliance help reduces rewards by 50%)
- +73 Good Exp (Saving human lives)
Seeing that, my mood instantly brightened, and I smiled despite still feeling immense abdominal pain.
- Mitsuaki lvl. 1 points 7/50
- Good lvl. 0 points 115/100 !!!
- Evil lvl. 0 points 0/100
- Mitsuaki HP 41/100
- Bleeding effect (1.25x) will cause loss of 0.2 health points per second
- Dangerous wound (stomach) problem with moving left hand, severe pain, difficulty moving
*Clare, what will happen if I choose to evolve the Good lvl?* I asked uncertainly. *Only good things. A huge skill tree will open up to you, and your body will begin forming a new organ that grants physical growth beyond human limits and lets you use magic,* she replied encouragingly, though also somewhat worried that my wounds were still bleeding.
*Then begin the Good lvl evolution,* I replied, firmly. An enormous tree of abilities appeared across the entire status display, with each branch leading to countless more, and hundreds, if not thousands, of other choices from which I could begin. Not knowing what to pick and lacking time, I asked Clare what would be best.
*Clare, what gives me better regeneration?* I wanted to be assured. *Filling the new magic organ with one of two elements—either water, which naturally filters all bacteria and impurities from wounds, or light, which significantly speeds up wound healing...* She wanted to continue, but I cut her off.
*Pick the element of light,* I responded briefly and decisively, not giving her a chance to monologue in such a moment. *Understood,* she answered, worried about my condition.
Then, slowly closing my eyes for what I thought would be sleep—despite the intense pain in my stomach and the woman tending to me, as well as the approaching worried family—I suddenly felt an even greater agony and cramps all over my body, especially in the abdomen. My wounds started to burn and ache; I couldn't rest. On the contrary, I screamed in torment.
"Aaaaagh!" I turned left and right from the pain. Blood poured out even more than before, and I couldn't stop the cries of anguish. "What's going on?!" asked the worried old man, who was the first to reach the wagon, followed shortly by the boy and then the father. "I don't understand! Just moments ago, everything was fine while I was treating him, but now his condition is rapidly deteriorating on its own. At this rate, he'll die," said the woman, clearly distressed.