The Alpha Deer’s body was still twitching beneath , though I knew it was only the nerves giving their last death spasms. Its chest had stopped rising, its eyes had gone glassy, and Gravefang was still wedged deep into its skull like a gravestone marker.
I didn’t move. Couldn’t move. My arms dangled uselessly at my sides, trembling from exhaustion. Blood pooled beneath , hot and sticky—half of it the beast’s, half of it mine. My lungs wheezed, each breath thin and ragged, like I was sucking air through a cracked reed.
I pulled up my stats to see what was left of my HP:
HP: 097/906
HP: 092/906
HP: 087/906
Damn, that was low.
My HP was sitting at fifty, and it was dropping by the second.
Then the familiar ding cut through the silence.
[Congratulations!]
[You have defeated Elite Boss: Alpha Deer!]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
The words floated in my vision, bright and cheery.
Four tis.
That’s great and all, but in case you didn’t notice, I’m currently impaled and bleeding out.
So if you could add a recovery potion to the rewards, that’d be great.
[Level: 24 → 28]
[ 4 added to all base stats]
[ 12 Free Attribute Points available]
I waited for the healing potion... and got nothing.
Of course. The system didn’t give a damn.
I laughed—or maybe choked. It ca out sowhere in between. Blood bubbled from my lips, dripping down my chin.
I forced the window open, scanning my stats. Strength, stamina, agility, intelligence and perception—all ticked up by one thanks to the level-up. But the real prize was the twelve free points waiting for . My gaze flicked over each category, though my mind was already made up.
I clenched my teeth, the taste of copper bitter on my tongue.
"System. Dump it all into stamina."
[12 Free Attribute Points assigned to Stamina]
[Stamina: 54 → 66]
I was dying. I needed to renew my HP sohow, and stamina points were the only way to do that.
The change hit like cold water poured over a fever. A surge rippled through my body, knitting sothing invisible inside , dulling the worst of the agony. My breathing steadied a little, lungs dragging in air deeper than before. My pulse evened.
Relief washed through —not enough to lift to my feet, but enough to keep conscious. Enough to remind I wasn’t finished yet.
I pulled up my status window to see the change in HP:
[Status Window]
Na: Eli Cross
Race: Goblin
Title: Drugar’s Chosen
Class: None
Level: 29
HP: 0369/1069
MP: 450/536
Kill Count: 3
[Stats]
Strength: 54
Stamina: 66
Agility: 47
Intelligence: 39
Perception: 34
(Available Points: 0)
Damn. My HP had jumped up a fair bit.
But then I noticed it.
HP: 0349/1069
HP: 0329/1069
HP: 0309/1069
My health bar was still dripping down like a leaking faucet. Every second, a sliver vanished. The injury in my side—the gaping hole where the stag’s horn had gored —was still bleeding dry.
Even with the stamina boost, even with the extra HP from leveling, it wasn’t enough to stop the drain.
I groaned, slamming my head back against the stag’s corpse.
"You’ve got to be kidding ."
I spat another glob of blood, watching it soak into the beast’s fur.
"What kind of busted-ass system doesn’t heal you to full when you level up, huh? Every damn video ga I ever heard of refills your bar."
This isn’t a video ga, my ntal voice shot back.
"Shut up," I snapped at it. "Just let vent before I die."
Then another notification appeared.
Ding!
[Evolution Path is now available.]
[Shop unlocked.]
The words silenced , and I cald down.
For a mont, I just stared, chest heaving, brain refusing to process. Then, slowly, the aning sank in.
Evolution. A chance to finally move up. A class, maybe. Sothing that would push beyond just a goblin stabbing in the dark.
It was the thing I’d wanted. The reason I ca on this hunt.
And yet... I didn’t feel the rush I thought I would. No surge of triumph, no giddy excitent. All I felt was the sticky warmth of blood soaking my side, the throbbing pain with every shallow breath. Was it worth it?
What good was evolving if I bled out before I could even click the damn option?
"Later," I muttered, voice ragged. "Evolution later. Survival now."
I decided to focus on the second notification.
Shop.
Maybe that one had sothing useful.
I forced my hand—trembling, slippery with blood—to swipe the shop open.
The interface blood before my eyes, neat rows and categories flickering into place.
[Weapons] [Accessories] [Skills] [Items] [Food]
I opened Items and there... I saw it.
[Potions]
My heart gave a weak thud.
I tapped it open.
Rows of bottles appeared, glowing faintly. Labels floated over them:
[Mana Boost] [Strength Boost] [Clarity Elixir] [Endurance Draught] [Healing Potion]
...
I stopped there.
I exhaled a laugh that turned into a cough. Of course. The one thing I actually needed, sitting right there, mocking with its simple blue glow.
Another notification appeared.
[You have been granted 100 Gold Coins for unlocking the Shop.]
[Additional Gold Coins can be obtained by defeating monsters.]
I blinked.
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." My voice was weak but incredulous. "You’re telling I’ve been killing things left and right—bleeding, suffering, chewing dirt—and only now you decide to give currency?"
A bitter laugh rattled out of , half-choke, half-sob. "So all those foxes, badgers, vultures, deer... nothing? Just free labor? And you decide to pay only after I unlock your damn vending machine?"
I spat blood again, shaking my head.
"This system is a scam. A straight-up scam. Screw you, Gandalf."
Once again, my ntal voice chid in:
No, it’s not a scam. Just accept what is given to you and stop complaining.
"Shut up!" I snapped. I didn’t like how my brain kept interrupting . It was like losing too much blood had given it a mouth.
But it was right.
This was hope.
This was survival.
One problem lingered, though.
The prices of...
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