Chapter 4

“Spartan wake up!”, yelled Alice

Alex jumped out of his sleep and said, “What’s going on?”

“There is something coming this way. Get your sword and be ready to fight. I will help you in combat as much as I can.”

“Shouldn’t I stay inside?”

“No, if you stay inside and this structure is damaged you have no means of repairing it. I have grown an additional 20 nanites since you have been asleep and now your healing ability is being increased. Result: It will be far easier to repair your body than your current home.”

“Understood.”

Alex grabbed my sword and opened the door. It was still dark out other than the moon light that was casting a faint white light on my current position. I heard a rustling in the trees in the trees but I was not quite able to pinpoint it.

“In the trees to your 8 o’clock”, said Alice

Alex turned in the direction and there he saw it. It was some kind of man but its flesh was barely hanging on. Its ribs were exposed through its torso. He could even see part of its intestines hanging out through its stomach. The smell alone made him want to vomit. It dragged its rear leg towards Alex as it opened it mouth and charged forward.

I’ve seen enough horror movies to know what this thing is. It’s a zombie. I can’t let it do any damage to me. Hopefully, it has the same weaknesses as the ones I've seen in the horror movies and all I need to do to kill is to strike its brain.

Alex readied my sword as it got closer. It reached out one of its arms and he immediately slashed it with his sword severing the arm at its elbow. The creature acted as if it felt no pain and reached for Alex with the other arm. He severed that arm as well before thrusting his sword in its eye puncturing its brain. As soon as the blade hit its brain the body went limp. Alex yanked his sword out from its eye socket. There was brain matter on the blade. He wiped it on the monster’s shirt.

“Two more are coming from your six o’clock. They are moving faster than the previous one.”

“Understood”

I waited until they came into the light and fought them again. These were able to get attacks off but with his superior footwork and combat fighting skills, they were no match for him. Alex cut them at the legs making them fall to the ground. Once the zombies were disabled, he took his blade and plunged it down at each of their skulls killing them quickly.

You have reached level 2. You have one attribute point that you can allocate to your basic stats.

“Recommendations?”, I asked.

“Calculating…. Place 1 point towards reaction speed as your current fighting style shows that you prefer close combat where you dodge and counter your opponents.”

“Yes, that is a good analysis. Make it so.”

“I have done so your status has been updated. Also, it would appear that there are no more threats in the area at this time”, said Alice

“That is good. I’ll go back and rest now.”

“No, you should not go back and rest just yet."

"Why not?", Alex asked inquisitively.

"You must burn the bodies. Those things were attracted here by something. It was most likely the deer’s blood. If you burn the bodies then the smell of the burnt flesh may overpower the smell of the blood and keep things like this away.”

“I got it.”

I quickly cut a branch from a nearby tree and placed it in the fire until it was burning. Then I rushed out and set each of the zombie corpses on fire before returning to my shack. I didn’t take long for the corpses to burn completely away. Once my task was completed, I closed the door behind me and returned to lying on the deer fur rug that I had, and went to sleep.

Morning came a little too soon for me. I stretched my arms and noticed that there was no pain in my shoulder. My feet were also completely fine as well. I stood up and stretched my body a bit before I noticed an incredible hunger come over me. I fell to the ground it was as if I hadn’t eaten in days.

“Spartan, I warned you that you would need to eat more than your normal amount for the nanites to continue to work on your body. I also increased the number of nanites in your body to 150.”

“Thanks for reminding me”, I said in a sarcastic tone.

I quickly ran over and began eating the meat that was leftover from the night before. I ate and ate and ate. It was like my stomach was a bottomless pit.

Those two deer legs together had to have nearly 60 pounds of meat and I finished off like it was nothing. This does not bode well for my ability to find food on a daily basis.

“Alice why was it that I needed so much energy?”

“Creating the nanites requires a lot of energy. The wounds you had were painful but superficial. They did not require much energy to repair.”

“Ok well until we find a suitable source for a constant amount of food let's scale back the production of the nanites.”

“As you wish Spartan.”

“Now we have things to do today. We must do some scouting and see if we can find some sort of source of water.”

“Agreed.”

Alex quickly grabbed his short sword along with the skin with the liquid. Next, he rolled up the rope and tied it across his shoulder. Then he began my trek back towards the lake to find more prey.

After making it back to the lake uneventfully, he was terrified to see that the giant snake that killed the deer the previous day was laying on the edge of the lake. It appeared to be sunning itself.

“Spartan stay back! Snakes hunt using scent and heat detection. There is no way for you to hide from it. Go back now!”, screamed Alice

“You don’t have to tell me. I’m out of here!”

He ran as fast as his body would carry him. While running he noticed that he was moving significantly faster than before. He dismissed the thought and continued running. Luckily, he managed to escape without alerting that snake. He continued walking until he heard the sound of water flowing. He continued walking through the dense forest towards the sound of water flowing. He knew he was going in the right direction as the sound was getting louder. He must have gotten careless because as he was in the middle of taking a stride something hit him in the head hard! He stumbled from the pain and the side of his head was quickly bathed in blood. He looked around but he couldn’t find anything. His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to pop out of his chest.

Suddenly, he heard something moving in the bushes. His eyes focused and then something solid came out of the bush. He dove to the ground to avoid it. He looked up to find out what was launching those objects at him but there was nothing there. He began to panic. Something was here hunting him and he had no idea where it was. He quickly unsheathed his sword from where it was tied to his back and took a stance to fight.

“Alice get the nanites to begin healing my wound.”

“Already started Spartan.”

He continued looking for even the slightest hint of movement but there was nothing there. Alex quickly moved behind a tree to get out of sight and wait for his foe's next move.

Where is it! I’ve got to find this thing before it has the chance to attack me again.

He kept looking for it and then another rock came towards him. He rolled forward underneath the rock towards the bush where the attack came from. Alex quickly plunged his sword into it but he hit nothing. Alex pulled open the bush and couldn’t find anything there.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”, Alex screamed as he felt a sharp pain in his back and fell forward.

He was face down and something was on his back plunging something sharp into my upper torso. He had coughed up some blood and gritted his teeth before throwing an elbow with every bit of strength that he had.

CRACK!

He knew he had hit something. Alex slowly got up to his knees and tried to grab whatever the creature had stabbed him with. Just as he managed to grab the handle Alice began talking to him.

“No!”, yelled Alice as I was about to pull the thing out of my back. “Don’t take it out. The blade is in your right lung. If you take it out your lung will begin to fill with blood and you will choke to death on your own blood. Leave it where it is I will instruct the nanites to heal the wound so that you won't take too much damage when you finally pull it out. Spartan just be strong until I give you the go ahead to pull it out. The nanites and I will be able to heal you from a wound like this.”

"Thanks, Alice", Alex said.

Alex grit his teeth and made his way to his feet. He slowly turned around and I saw another one of those little green men. It was making its way to its feet as well but it was struggling. He tightened his grip on his sword but he was feeling lightheaded.

Losing… too.. much blood. I have to make this quick.

He staggered towards the little green man who had just made it to his feet.

The elbow I landed really did a lot of damage to it and it was in a bad state. Maybe it has a concussion.

Alex moved closer and he saw its eyes. They were glazed over. He was right. His desperate elbow strike had definitely given the little guy some sort of serious head injury. With all the speed he could muster he thrust his sword into its chest. He felt a strange squish as his blade pierced through its body. It coughed up a mouthful of blood into Alex's face. He quickly pulled my blade out and slashed it horizontally towards its neck. The creature was unable to defend but the blade was not sharp enough to cut all the way through. However, Alex's strength caused it to cut all the way through the bones in its neck. The skin on its neck could barely keep its head attached to its body. The monster was dead but the battle had taken its toll on Alex.

He laid on the ground with something sharp still within his body. He tried his best to get back to his feet as he could already feel the itching that let him know his nanites were doing their job. He looked down at his dead opponent and saw that it was holding another small bag. He grabbed the bag and began his arduous journey back to his shelter.

“Alice, can you guide me back to the shack?”

“Yes, please wait so that I can calculate the direction and distance…… I have it! You need to turn 72 degrees and head 3 km.”

“Ok, I need to find some food on the way. Let me know when I can pull out this thing from my back. While I’m returning can you analyze the two things that I fought and let me know about their stats?”

“Yes. Calculating…. Here is a view for you.”

Name: Goblin Class: Scout/Hunter Level: ?? Physique: 1 Mental Acuity: 1 Physical Coordination: 3 Reaction: 2 Speed: 2

“Hmm… You don’t know what level huh? Maybe levels do not necessarily the best to compare me and my enemies.”

“Spartan, I do not have enough data collected to tell about levels at this point. I will continue to collect data. Before you return please use the dagger and open the monster’s body up. It will provide me with valuable information on its anatomy which could help me give you an advantage in future battles.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Alex knelt down on the ground and placed his hand on the small creature's torso before grabbing his weapon. Next, he used his blade to open up the monster’s chest. There was a disgusting stench that came out when its internal organs were exposed. Alex could see its heart, lungs, liver, and what appeared to be its intestines.

“Cut open its arm and leg so that I can see the tendons and muscle structure.”

He did as his A.I. companion asked. The bloody work allowed him to take my mind off the pain. As he worked he noticed his head was no longer bleeding. Then the itching of healing was coming from his back which made him assume the wound from the weapon in his back started to heal. Once he finished the grizzly work, he stood up feeling much less pain but the hunger in his stomach was growing.

I won’t make it with this healing if I don’t find food to continue powering my nanites. I have to find something to eat. I’ll continue moving towards the water but I’ll have to be much more cautious.

“Spartan, you should be able to remove the weapon from your back now”, said Alice.

Alex reached his arm towards his back and felt a handle protruding from my skin. He grasped a hold of the handle and bit down on the blade of his sword to muffle any scream he might let out. Then he pulled the handle out. Alex let out a muffled scream as he bit down on his sword that he thought his teeth my break. Alex stared at the dagger. The handle was a simple piece of metal with leather wrapped around it. He kept the dagger in his hand as he felt blood trickle down his back. Once he felt the pain level get back to a place he could tolerate, he began walking slowly towards the sound of the running water.

Alex walked for another 30 minutes or so without incident. He came to the edge of the wooded area and found a waterfall surrounded by an open field. The field was currently empty but he waited as he didn’t want to be surprised or ambushed by another one of those green bastards.

“Alice, what is my health status?”

“You are currently at 83% of your optimal ability.”

“Good, just in case I run into another one of those little green men.”

Alex continued watching and waiting. It took a while but his patience had paid off. He saw an animal that looked like a rabbit but it was the size of a medium-sized dog. He caressed the dagger in his hand and then a thought crossed his mind.

“Alice, can you help me aim while I try throwing this dagger?”

“Yes, I can use your body’s senses to take into account wind speeds, temperature, air pressure, and distance. You will need to do some modifications to your eyes for me to show you anything in your field of vision but I can give you auditory feedback for this situation.”

“Good do it.”

“Given your strength and the structure of the dagger you should aim the dagger about 2 feet above the animal and 10 degrees to its right. Hold out your hand and I will let you know when your aim is correct.”

“Alright”

Alex grabbed the point of the dagger in his right hand and extended it slightly behind his head.

“To your left slightly.”

He moved a little bit to my left.

“A little more.”

Alex continued moving the dagger ever so slightly.

“Right there.”

Alex stopped and took a few deep breaths trying to slow his breathing down. He knew he would not get more than one shot at this. I also didn’t know if that thing was aggressive so I knew I had to kill or severely wound it in this one throw. I took one more deep breath and threw the dagger and it missed completely.

“Crap! Alice, I thought your aiming ability was going to help.”

“It would have if you had thrown it when it old you but while you were breathing the monster moved slightly. Besides, it doesn’t look like it is trying to run away. Watch out it is coming.”

Alex quickly grabbed his sword and readied it to do damage to the charging rodent. It rushed towards him moving much faster than Alex would have expected. It opened its jaws showing numerous teeth.

When in the hell did rabbits start having teeth like that. I thought rabbits were supposed to be herbivores not carnivores.

He continued waiting for its attack.

“Alice, take data on this thing and help me predict its attack patterns. I don' think I can take being impaled by that thing or being bitten by those teeth.”

“Yes, Spartan.”

As it closed in, Alex tightened his grip on his sword that he was holding in his right hand. When it was within 3 meters it leapt at him. This was way too far back to land a successful attack. Even without Alice's helped Alex was able to quickly sidestep the creature. Then he tried to slash at the larger rabbit but as he attacked it was somehow able to dodge. Alex hissed in disgust for missing such a golden opportunity for a counterattack. It rushed back towards him and Alex readied his sword again.

This time it jumped from side to side before darting in and diving toward Alex's chest. This time he threw an axe kick that smashed down across the top of its head knocking it straight to the ground. Its fur was soft but hitting its head felt like he had smashed his foot down on a brick wall. Alex stabbed straight at the monster rabbit torso in order to finish the creature off. It tried to dodge but it couldn’t completely avoid his attack. His blade slashed across its abdomen and one of its hind legs causing deep red blood to flow.

The rabbit was clearly wounded badly and It tried to scurry away. Unfortunatel, the damage to its hind leg slowed its movement to a crawl. Alex saw his chance to end the creature and rushed as fast as he could finish it off. He plunged his blade into its head. Alex quickly wrapped his rope around its neck and legs. He then wrapped its corpse around his torso so that he could run quickly if necessary. Alex's throat was extremely dry and he needed water after all of his recent physical exertion.

Alex rushed over to the waterfall and ran underneath it. He knew that animals rarely hide inside of a waterfall due to the pressure. It felt great. The filth and blood that covered him were quickly washed away as the water cascaded off his body. He also poured out the liquid that was in the skin that he had taken from the goblins. Alex quickly cupped his hands and drank from the cool refreshing water quenching his thirst. Next, he filled them both before leaving out the fall and heading back towards his shack.

It was still extremely hot out but after washing I feel 100% better.

“Alice, please lead me to the shack.”

“45 degrees to your right and the shack will be 2.64 kilometers from your current position.”

Alex began running as fast as his body would carry him back to the shack.

As he ran he asked Alice, “What did you mean earlier when you said I needed to make modifications to my eyes?”

“With your nanites, you could create cybernetic implants for your eyes and ears. This is would increase your ability to detect your enemies by giving you a greater sense of hearing and even different forms of vision like infrared and night vision. With the upgraded eyes, I will be able to transfer optical information to you in the form of a reticule for aiming much like the one you would have used when shooting a rifle.”

“Not bad. What else can they enhance?”

“After you grow enough of the nanites we can use it to improve your sword as well as provide you with a full-body armor to protect you from damage as well as the elements. The armor will take hundreds of millions of nanites though.”

“Well let’s start with improving my senses. That should at least improve my chances of surviving out here by making me aware of any ambushes and maybe help me track prey.”

“As you wish Spartan but I would suggest that you wait until you are ready for sleep as it may give you some discomfort.”

“Thanks for the heads up.”

Alex continued running until he reached the shack. Once he did, Alex quickly started a fire and began preparing the rabbit for cooking.

The dagger made it easy to remove the skin from the rabbit corpse. He quickly removed the skin and placed a skewer through it before placing it over my roaring fire. He sat back in the chair as he rotated the rabbit’s body rotisserie style. The smell of the meat began to permeate the small room and Alex's stomach began to cry out in anticipation of the meal. This rabbit had to weigh nearly one hundred pounds prior to him skinning and removing its organs. After cooking it, there should still be nearly 60 pounds of meat leftover. After he finished cooking it, Alex took his dagger and cut pieces of meat off and ate them slowly.

Well, they say hunger is the best spice. I know that is definitely true because this is quite possibly the best meat I have ever eaten.

Alex continued eating the pieces of meat one by one as he carved up the monster’s flesh. After eating so much that his belly bulged out, the bloated man sat back in his chair. next he patted his stomach before letting out a huge belch. Alex took a deep breath before lying down on his deer skin rug and getting comfortable.

“Alright Alice, let’s start upgrading me. Make as many nanites as you can and upgrade my vision. I have about half of the rabbit left so we have a bit of excess energy that I would like to use to help boost my combat potential.”

“Yes sir, I will boost your visual, auditory, and olfactory senses. Please lie down and I will begin the process.”

Alex laid on his side and placed his arm beneath his head. He closed his eyes and began thinking of his wife and daughter’s smiles. A wave of joy and sadness rushed over him before he fell asleep for the night.

Nanite upgrade commencing in 5.....4.......3......2......1

"This bastard just continues to find a way to survive. Most of the prisoners never make it out of the forest let alone to the waterfall where they can get clean water in relative safety”, said Dr. Samuels. “His training is definitely paying off. His ability to deal with pain and continue to fight is borderline super human. Unfortunately, he is making a mistake that may prove to be fatal for him.”

Dr. Samuels began laughing as he froze the monitor with an image of Spartan carrying the rabbit corpse into the home.

“Have a good night’s sleep for it may be your last.”