Joe looked at the fox for a minute while breathing quietly. For lack of a better word, the fox felt tough. There was a presence to it, even asleep. If he could skip this deathtrap and sneak to the exit, he would. He wasn't feeling as confident in his hobo battle gear anymore.

Carefully and with painful slowness, Joe crept into the clearing. He hugged the left side as closely as he dared. Sweat formed on his brow from the stress, but he refused to wipe it and risk any unnecessary movement. The fox stayed still and asleep, though Joe never took his eyes off of it for more than the second it took to place his next step.

A small unseen stem crunched under his foot, and Joe froze in place. The fox's ear twitched minutely, but nothing else happened. It was so quick Joe wouldn't have seen it if he wasn't staring at the thing. The sweat doubled, and Joe felt sick. The fox was just waiting for him to get closer, and it had been awake this entire time.

Joe fought down the panic that rose and threatened to consume him. This wasn't good, but he was still breathing and uninjured. The bat was still his best weapon, but Joe needed an advantage. Carefully he put his left hand into his pants pocket and, after a moment, flung a handful of copper coins towards the pillar. As Joe did that, he ran in the other direction, back towards the path, transferring his bat to his left hand at the same time. A snarl and a snapping sound made him freeze and turn around.

The fox had jumped towards the coins and snapped without opening its eyes. The head was definitely too large, and its mouth opened up too far back in its head. It turned to look at Joe, hundreds of needle teeth on display and four tails fanning the air behind it. Suddenly it yelped, a screaming bark of a sound.

Joe had launched his last rock and hit it in the left eye. The disturbing green blood oozed out of the socket, and Joe thought he'd struck a major blow. He thought that until two more eyes opened up and its forehead while, it stalked his way. Joe knew it wasn't just a big fox, but a spider fox seemed to be overkill.

A low rattling filled the air as the monster growled, and Joe choked up on his bat. It launched itself at him, and Joe knew that he didn't have time to dodge. He held the bat in front of himself and blocked the bit with two hands. Joe heard a crunch as a few teeth broke, snapping around the bat in its mouth. The fox stared at him while trying to push its huge mouth forward. Drool slid down the bat and touched Joe's hand. A slight sizzle drew his attention to his leather glove that was now smoking where the saliva had touched it.

That moment of distraction gave the fox its opening. The monster pushed forward and swiped at his chest with its front paws. Joe hadn't seen the wicked black claws while they were hidden in the grass, but he felt them now. Three lines of fire sliced across him, from his left chest to his right side. Joe screamed and shoved, breaking a few more teeth and forcing the fox back out of range.

It gave another screaming bark before dashing at him again. Joe was pretty sure he was going to die to this thing. It was fast, strong, and venomous. He was a level one human with a bat. He didn't want to die running, though. A cold clarity swept over him, and Joe resolved to meet his family with his head held high. If he was going to die, he damned sure was taking this monster out with him. Joe stepped forward into the charge and thrust his bat forward like a spear.

The foxes three eyes widened with surprise a moment before the bat crushed the two on its forehead with a dull meaty thwack. The vibration was intense, and despite his best efforts, Joe dropped his bat. The fox was stunned, and he knew that if he took the time to get his bat, it would be on him again.

A warcry filled with pain and fear left Joe's mouth as he dove unto the foxes back. There were no words, just an outpouring of emotion and the drive for survival. Joe grabbed the monster and tried to wrestle it to the ground with all its pointy parts away from him. He hooked his left arm under its leg and pulled until he had it held out at an awkward angle. Joe's right arm wrapped around the fox's neck, more restricting its movement than any effective chokehold.

The monster went nuts. It couldn't completely stand, so it thrashed, rolled, and snapped at the air, desperate to get the human off its back. Joe held on tight, picking up cuts and bruises from the treatment. He tried to think of something, but then the fox rolled next to the thorns on the edge of the clearing. The monster yelped and rolled away, clearly affected by the poison. It didn't slow its frantic attempt to dislodge Joe for more than a moment.

Pain had blossomed across Joe's back as he fought to hold onto the beast. The same burning pain that he felt on his hand spread through multiple punctures on his back. He'd felt panic from a single scratch before, and now he had five times that amount working its way into his system. It was only a matter of time until it was over.

"Fuck you and fuck everything about this place."

Joe growled deep in his throat. He may die, but he wasn't dying in here. He screamed the activation, and he felt power surge through him to his face. As soon as it settled into place, Joe stretched and bit down on the back of the fox's neck. His mouth crunched through fur and skin, digging slightly into the flesh beneath. Joe spat the vile red and green mouthful to the side before activating his skill again.

The monster's previous bucking had only been a preview of possibilities. It screamed and went absolutely wild once Joe drew blood. Joe didn't care as he struggled to hang on and bit down on the same spot again. Flesh came loose, warm, wet, and vile. Joe's stomach lurched, but he spat and repeated the process. This time he hit bone, and Joe thought he might have chipped a canine tooth on its spine.

The fight was winding down at this point. The poison was slowing both Joe and the monster fox. He still clung to its back, but it could no longer do anything but roll. Joe activated Bite one more time, wincing at the headache he knew was caused by mana depletion. It was another minor annoyance compared to the agony coursing through the rest of his body. When the fox rolled off of him again, Joe lurched with the last of his strength and brought his face up next to the foxes. Its good eye locked on him, but it was too late.

Joe angled his head down and bit into the front of its neck. He felt its windpipe crush and the skin tear before he ripped out its throat. He kicked off and pushed away with the bit of energy he had remaining. Green blood had coursed into his mouth, and he had swallowed reflexively. The blood, which tasted of burnt sugar and the sensation of licking a battery, burned all the way down his throat.

There was a final wet cough before the fox went limp. The same cold fire consumed it, leaving a pair of tails behind. Joe would have cared more, but the poison in his back continued to work towards his chest. The blood in his stomach burned like he'd swallowed a lump of hot coal. Joe tried to crawl towards the pillar, but he didn't have the strength. He'd made it halfway there when his arms refused to move any longer. Joe's vision started dimming at the edges.

Joe felt a new electric fire course through him, burning back the poison and restoring his clarity for a moment. Joe went to look for a new attacker, but a new message appeared in his vision.

Attribute raised: Fortitude +1

The jolt woke his body up, and he resumed his crawl. Finally, the pillar sat in front of him. He screamed his pain and defiance as he stood, hugging the cold white marble for support. An eternity later, to his beaten and poisoned body, Joe stood with his hand touching the top of the pillar. Soundlessly a portal opened next to him, and it took all his willpower not to stumble through it as soon as it appeared.

Poison was still running rampant through Joe's body. The cramps and burning had intensified as time passed. Joe knew he wouldn't survive this as he was now. It was a long shot for him to survive even if a miracle occurred, but he had come too far to give up now. He mentally called up the system store from his memory of the calibration. It came, but it was different. A circle that pulsed a light green hovered in the upper right-hand corner. A simple '+2' was displayed over the circle. There were only two options this time.

Level Up

Skills

Joe went to level up, and both his class and his Bite skill were displayed there. He selected his class right away. More magical adrenaline lightning coursed through him, and Joe dumped both of his free points into Vigor. He felt better, but he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. Joe selected level up again, but this time the class was greyed out, and only the Bite skill remained available.

Joe didn't know why and he didn't have time to find out right now. He selected the Skills menu and noticed that the circle now held a '+1'. Fortunately, only a few options awaited Joe when he hit that menu.

Sense Mana

Sense Essence

Identify

Tough Skin

Scavengers Eye

Minor Regeneration

When Joe saw the regeneration skill, his eyes lit up, and he selected it. An infinite moment occurred between that and the skill finally popping up.

Minor Regeneration

Common Skill

mana cost - minor / passive skill

This skill adds an effective +1 Vigor per level to physical healing and allows for natural healing to a greater degree than ordinarily possible.

Cost - 1 Essence Level

It didn't look great, but Joe's options were severely limited at the moment. He selected the skill with a mental shove. The green circle on the screen emptied as Joe swayed through the skill implanting. He stumbled towards the portal, desperately wanting to get back to the real world. He entered the disorienting space and, for the first time, did not care about the sensations at all as reality warped around him.

The exit to Earth was still as jarring as ever. Joe stumbled before catching himself with his hands on his thighs. The poison ravaged his body, and while a few deep breaths helped with vertigo, it did nothing for his long-term problems. He looked around with bleary eyes before spotting his street with the condo at the end. He stumbled forward as if drunk. Joe paused when he neared his street.

Motion in the corner of his eye had drawn his attention. Joe shook himself and continued forward. The motion had been at the roofline. It could have been an owl but was more likely to be the start of a hallucination. The street was barely longer than a standard city block, but it seemed to take forever. Joe could see the front door of the duplex when his foot caught an uneven sidewalk block, and he fell. Joe managed to catch himself and fall without breaking anything new, though his hands were severely scuffed for the effort.

His mouth was dry, and he took out his canteen. The water was warm and tasted bitter from the purification, but Joe drank it like ambrosia. He drank half of the canteen before capping it and stumbling back to his knees. His back and legs had started randomly cramping, making standing doubtful at this point.

Joe started crawling on all fours. He focused on each movement and tried to time it around the cramps that continued to spasm through his muscles. Joe's head was swimming, and he fought to keep moving toward his house. Eventually, it was too much, and he fell to the ground again. He managed to roll onto his side, but that effort seemed to expel the last of his strength.

The moon hung cold in the sky. It was nearly full, and the cool light it shone down on the world seemed to set the shadows dancing. Joe thought he saw movement on the sidewalk from the way he came, but even moving his head was more than he could handle now. As he faded away, he thought he heard a soft woman's voice reach out of the night, and her words seemed to follow him into the dark.

"Let's get you home, mister."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Dreams came and went through Joe's mind for an unknowable amount of time. The details never remained, but they were filled with pain and fear. His family, foxes, and rings of fire hanging in the sky all seemed to chase each other round and round. He felt himself drawing forward towards waking up several times, but a pain in his head and chest would spike each time, and Joe would tumble back into the worlds of his fever dreams. He made it a little closer to waking each time until finally, Joe cracked his eyes open.

He was lying on his back in the empty living room of the duplex. The light through the windows was late afternoon, shading into the evening. The canteen sat off to the side, and Joe struggled to grasp it and get out of the light blanket on him. The water probably hadn't gotten any better, but Joe drank it gratefully. It was a struggle, but he took small sips, wanting to guzzle but knowing his stomach couldn't handle that. To Joe's surprise, a lightly sweet herbal flavor seemed to permeate the water. Joe couldn't tell at first, but his taste buds started working again after his mouth rehydrated.

Joe didn't know what was causing the flavor, but it wasn't hurting anything. Honestly, the exact opposite was true, as a small slow wave of warmth seemed to spread out from his stomach to the rest of his body. His shaking limbs firmed slightly, and his headache rescinded from a dull roar to something more manageable. He continued taking small sips from the canteen until finally, it was empty. He sat it down and heard a small wet rattle as something solid moved inside the canteen.

Looking inside was pointless without a flashlight, so Joe picked himself up and ambled over to the kitchen sink. He made sure the strainer was set in the bottom and then upended the canteen. White berries poured out of the canteen and into the sink. Joe stared at them in surprise for a moment before picking one up. He patted his right side but was unsurprised to find his hobo berry pouch missing. He reached down and picked up a single berry before bringing it to his nose.

The smell was faint, but Joe didn't doubt that's what had flavored his water. He knew it was probably reckless, but his gut told him that the berries were fine, and Joe had a lot of recent experience with poisoning. Joe popped it into his mouth and bit down. The berry was pleasant and tasted like a mix of blackberry and sweet mint with a tiny seed in the middle. He spat the seed into his hand and looked at it, but it looked like any other seed he'd seen. Carefully, he placed it on the counter and then went back to sit down. A pleasant coolness followed the berry down his throat, and Joe tried to focus on the sensation and how it was interacting with his body.

A few minutes after eating the berry, another small wave of warmth seemed to spread out from his core to the rest of his body. It was far less than the water but still definitely present. Joe was kicking himself for not experimenting with the berries early. He knew he had to stop thinking about the System and rifts as if they had any relation to the causal reality that had previously existed. Clearly, they played by their own rules, and he needed to let go of his preconceptions to figure those out.

Joe had been so sure that the reward berries would also be poisonous in a rift with poison thorns, poison berries, poison snakes, and apparently poison spider foxes. He knew he still needed to be cautious and not trust anything in a rift, but he hadn't even tried the berries, which could have cost him his life. Every day had contained a lesson lately, and Joe would love it if one of these lessons could be less of a punch in the dick.

"At least I'm still alive to learn them. I guess," Joe mumbled to himself as he looked around the living room. He knew he hadn't made it in here himself, and he thought back to the woman's voice. At the time, he was sure it was another hallucination. Now, it was pretty evident that someone had helped him in here. The berry water that had probably saved his life was great but didn't tell him anything. The blanket and pillow were new to him as well.

Joe took a deep breath and let it out before crawling to the pillow and blanket again. His body was still a wreck, and all of this could wait for tomorrow. Still, he smiled as he drifted off to sleep. He didn't know where, but he might have a friend somewhere in this town.