I stirred from my state of death.
This time there was no sharp gasp, just a gentle return of breath, no dirt in my mouth. The wind blew bringing on it the stench of death—quiet and heavy, like sinking into deep water. The smell was probably due to the pile of corpses I had so clearly been tossed on. Just another rotting corpse.
'Holy, just how many people had they killed?' I didn't know what they needed blood for nor did I care but I eagerly checked the faces of the corpses that weren't too rotten to identify and let out a long sigh of relief.
Not them.
I didn't recognize a single person here. This ment there was definitely a settlement of some kind around this area or at least a road that connected two. He supposed they could have killed all of the humans already but he doubted that simply because the rate of decomposition was too varying. They just had to be snaching people up from somewhere when they could just like they did with himself. This is what he thought.
My body felt not wrong. But different. As I returned to myself I was taking everything in. I didn't particularly feel like I was in danger mostly because the green little monsters thought I was dead so as long as they didn't see me I am safe! At least for now.
Just then a familiar blue screen slid into existence before my eyes.
Deaths: 3
All Stats: +1
Major Trait Acquired:
Bleeding Resistance I
Minor Trait Acquired:
Pain Tolerance I
Mana: +1
I stared at the words until they blurred.
Bleeding resistance. Not immunity. Not protection. Just… slower. Longer.
Like the system had looked at the way I died and decided I should suffer through it a little more next time. Laughable really. Looking at my new stats I decided to look at all of them it had been a minute.
I wasn't really sure how to call it on command but I needn't have worried as the thought brought it up immediately.
Name: UNKNOWN
Age: 16
Status: Active
Deaths: 3
Primary Stats:
Strength: 4
Durability: 6
Endurance: 6
Agility: 4
Perception: 4
Cognition: 5
Charm: 4
Mana: 5
Ability:
Adaptive Resurrection
- Upon death, user resurrects approximately 24 hours later.
- Gains adaptations based on cause of death.
- All primary stats increase by +1 per death.
Major Traits:
Apnea I
- User can survive without oxygen for short periods.
Bleeding Resistance I
- Blood loss is reduced.
- Clotting is slightly improved.
- Body will produce blood slightly faster than normal.
Minor Traits:
Pain Tolerance I
- Pain response is dampened slightly.
I let the screen fade.
It vanished the way it always did—quietly, like it had never been there at all. Like it hadn't just summarized my life in numbers and bullet points.
I exhaled slowly and looked down at myself.
Still naked. Still pale. Still cold. Maybe I should try to take some clothes off of these dead people? It felt tasteless and.... gross.
The corpses around me were in various states of decay. Some were bloated and dark, skin pulled tight and glossy. Others were little more than bones wrapped in scraps of leather and cloth. A few were recent enough that I could still make out their faces.
I forced myself to look anyway. I had already seen enough.
Men. Women. Children even. All different ages. Different clothes. Travelers. Villagers. Merchants. This was a dumping ground. A place the goblins tossed out their trash.
I sat up carefully, rolling onto my side and then pushing myself up to a sitting position. The last thing I wanted was to draw attention from any nearby goblins.
I tested my wrist, flexing it slowly. No wound. No scar. Just smooth skin and a faint phantom pressure that made my stomach twist.
They had taken my blood. I had to admit that the whole incident creeper me out as much as it terrified me.
I swallowed and scanned the tree line. No movement. No voices. No goblins in sight. Could I make a break for it?
They thought I was dead. They'd dragged my body away like waste and moved on to the next thing. Whatever came after sacrifice I guess.
I pushed myself to my feet and nearly stumbled when the ground shifted under me — loose soil and bone fragments crunching together unpleasantly. I steadied myself and took a step back, then another, careful not to leave obvious tracks.
A chill crept up my spine that had nothing to do with the cold.
"I can't keep doing this," I whispered to no one. The words felt fragile, but true. A thought resonated over and over again in my head as I made my way towards the tree line. Dying made me feel... less than human and after seeing plant monsters and goblins humanity was all I had.