Chapter 11

“It’s been two days and he still hasn’t woken up. What should we do?”, asked Eve.

“Well, he’s still breathing. I listened to his heart and it was still beating so he has to be alive. This guy is crazy strong. I don’t how he was able to survive those wounds. I mean there was so much blood and that thing basically slit his throat. How in the world is he still alive?”

“Spartan, Spartan, Spartan!”, Alice yelled in Alex's head.

“Huh! What!? Where?!”, he yelled as he sat up.

The two girls rushed over and hugged him.

“Thank God you are alive!”, yelled Eve.

“What...? What….hap…pened?”, Alex said feeling full of confusion.

“Where to begin? What is the last thing you remember?”, asked Bella.

“I remember passing out after losing a lot of blood when we were fighting those rats.”

“Ok. Well after we killed the rest of them you were passed out on this rug for the last two days. It was crazy but we could see the wounds healing right in front of us. By the end of the day, all of your exterior wounds were completely healed”, said Eve.

Alice and my nanites must have healed me while I was unconscious. Those things are incredible! Once again they have saved me.

“Eve watched over you Capone and I hunted for food while you were unconscious.”

“Thank you both for watching over me.”

“No problem, I think now we are even. You saved us and now we saved you.”

“What are you talking about? Even? This is not a game where I am keeping score. I killed most of the rats because you and Eve came outside without weapons. I got hurt protecting you. If you had not come outside the rats would not have swarmed and I could have picked them off slowly.”

“Are you kidding me? We watch over your near-dead carcass and that is what you say not even a thank you!”, yelled Bella.

“Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t haven’t even been in that situation without trying to save your sorry ass! Are you still trying to talk about this keeping score thing? Are you really trying to make things even?”

“You damn right I am!”, replied Bella.

“Ok, you want to be even? Fine, then get out of my place. Go out and survive in the wilderness on your own and when I get in a near-death situation you come and save me!”, Alex said while gritting his teeth and standing up.

“You can’t put me out! I’m not going anywhere”, she said and Capone slithered around near her feet coiling up ready to strike.

“You two please stop. We don’t have to fight like this! Please!”, yelled Eve as she tried to step in the middle of Alex and Bella.

“No, it won’t be a fight. Her snake’s poison won’t work on me and she won’t be able to hit me with her weak skill with the spear. She wanted things to come like this because she won’t let this go. Now, get out on your own or you and your pet will die here and now!”, I yelled as I grabbed my sword and shield.

“This is not advised Spartan. Your wounds are healed however your body is not yet in top fighting condition. Over the last 2 days, it has recovered but you are only at about 75% of your optimal fighting level”, said Eve through our mental link.

“It doesn’t matter 75% of me is far more than 100% of her”, he said to his artificial intelligence.

“I am sick and tired of her running her mouth. I survived this far without any help. Let’s see how far she can on her own”, Alex replied to Eve.

Alex walked forward and Capone hissed threateningly. Alice activated my hypercognition and it allowed him to avoid its strike. Before it could recoil all the way Alex began stepping forward towards Bella. She saw him moving closer and tried to step back. She hit her back against the wall but she was not his target. The target was Capone and Alex was successful. He placed his foot on the back of its head stopping the black mamba's movement completely. He quickly grabbed Capone behind his head pushing my thumb on the back of his head so that Bella's pet could not use his fangs. The snake wrapped his body around Alex's forearm trying to squeeze but his strength was nothing compared to the man. Bella moved toward Alex horrified at the development.

“Get out or I crush his head like a grape!”, Alex yelled.

“You wouldn’t dare!”, she yelled at me.

“Oh really?!”, he asked sarcastically as I began squeezing Capone’s neck.

“Alright, alright, alright! I’ll leave just don’t hurt him.”, said Bella dejectedly.

“Good now tell him to release my arm and I will put him down outside the door after you walk out.”

She nodded in agreement. She opened the door and walked out. Alex walked towards the door and put Capone down on the ground. He quickly slithered towards her. Bella started to say something but he slammed the door ignoring it. Alex went back in the shack and sat down on the floor.

“Was that really necessary?”, asked Eve.

“I could have died rescuing you two from the goblins or I could have simply let them take you but I didn’t. I stuck my neck out for complete strangers. I could have died saving you from the rats and her response. She’s lucky I didn’t really hurt her or worse.”

“Well, I’m not going to cry over it. Just don’t try that with me. You saved me and I appreciate it. I will help you as long as you keep helping me. That’s all.”

“Fair enough. Anyway, I will need to speak with my A.I. for a few moments now and then I will need some food.”

“I will start cooking something momentarily.”

“Thanks.”

“Alice, how are things going?”

“Things are going well Spartan. Between the combat, with the rats and the monsters, and the women killed over the last couple of days you had a few messages that came up. Would you like me to show you?”

“Yes thank you.”

[Congratulations on reaching level 6. You now have one point to allocate to your mental or physical stats.]

[Congratulations for surviving for one week. For entertaining the people and continuing to show your survival skills you have been granted access to 3 new systems of the world of Eternia.]

[Home improvement system: Allows you access to your home to make improvements that you pay for using currency.]

[Inventory system: Allows you a space within the realm to store inventory. Space will upgrade every 5 levels. Currently you can store materials in 6 slots. Only 1 type of item can be stored in each slot but you may store up to 25 of a particular item in a slot.]

[Monetary system: Kills that you make from now on will drop money of Eternia. The currency of Eternia only has one type of coin. Your inventory will keep the coins automatically. The money can be used to make purchases in a store. Stores are located in the places where they are built. You may purchase access to one in your home for a price.]

So now I get money to buy stuff from a place that I can’t go to? That sucks. Well, the upgrading of the shack seems good but I need to see how that will work. The inventory seems the best right now though. That should allow me to keep meat from my kills without dragging bloody corpses around all the time. I’ll check out those upgrades in a little bit. First, I want to see what kind of increases I can do with my nanites.

“Alice, what is the status of my nanite upgrades?”

“While you were asleep, I upgraded your sword. Its sharpness is much higher and it will always remain sharp. All damage to the blade of your sword has been repaired by the nanites so it basically appears the way it did when it was forged. I had to wait for you to awaken before we could talk about the rest of the upgrades that are currently possible.”

“I like the sword upgrade. Now, what other ideas do you have for my nanite ability?”

“I would suggest you begin upgrading your body from your muscles and tendons, organs, and even your skin.”

“I get the muscles but what would you do with improving my organs and skin?”

“Well, each organ can improve differently with nanite upgrades. Here is a list of organs and improvements that can be made as well as what improvements can be made to your skin.”

[Heart: More efficient pumping allowing more blood to circulate through the body faster with less stress on the body. Also the heart will be able to have a higher maximum heart rate and lower resting rate.]

[Lungs: Lungs more efficient by increasing surface area. Lung capacity increases allowing for holding breath longer and allowing lungs to filter oxygen from air or water making body able to breathe in water.]

[Stomach: Breaks down food faster and destroys any and all impurities and bacteria that may come from anything ingested whether it be liquid or solid. Body would be protected from ingesting poisonous substances.]

[Kidneys: Purify blood of any foreign substance without fail rendering body essentially impervious to poison. Increase capacity allowing for shorter purifying times]

[Epidermis: upgrade gives the skin the ability to mimic the surroundings allowing you to blend in a be nearly invisible to the naked eye.]

[Subdermal: Protect body’s internal structures from damage using a layer of nanite created armor between the skin and muscles. Will weaker projectiles and small blade weapons but not blunt weapons or longer slashing weapons.]

“Oh, and there is one last upgrade you may want but it may be a bit painful and that is the nervous system upgrade. The nanites will fuse with your spine and increase the speed at which signals move from nerve to nerve and through your spine increasing your reaction speed by 25% to start and with increased ability to manipulate the nanites it will increase further.”

“Alice, you are incredible. All of these sound amazing. Begin working on them each night as I sleep. Simply let me know each morning which one has been completed. Oh and by the way add my upgrade point to reaction speed. I want to be able to react faster when I’m in hypercognition.”

“I will take care of it, Spartan.”

“Begin scanning the upgrades for the shack and prepare a path for the development of our home. I wish to upgrade this place and make it a little more habitable and safer.”

“Yes, Spartan.”

Now that all of that is done I think it is about time I got up and began stretching my body. I still feel a little stiff.

By the time Alex finished his business with Alice, Eve already had a fire going and was cooking some meat. He stood up and grabbed his sword and shield before walking outside the door.

He banged his shield against his sword and screamed out as loud as he could, “You thought you could kill me! I don’t die so easily! I will fight anything and everything that comes near this place! I’m putting all of you and your monsters on notice this is now my territory! Anyone or anything that trespasses without my permission dies!”

Alex began practicing with his sword and shield replaying some of his battles in his mind. He tried different methods of attacking and defending each time he went through it. He felt that he was slowly getting more comfortable using his sword and shield together. He was really becoming like one of those Spartans of old. Fighting with only his sword and shield and never retreating, nerver surrendering, Alex was embodying those old customs. He smiled a bit as he continued working through his combat stances and movements. Next, he began working on circulating his ki energy around his body. This time there was no resistance when he started trying to draw it out from his center. It felt a little larger than before.

Is this an increase from training?

He didn’t waste time contemplating anything he didn’t actually know the answer to. Instead of wasting time, Alex just went on practicing using the power of his ki. He continued drawing it out and then releasing trying to increase the speed at which the energy would empower his body. The goal was trying to make the increase in power instantaneous. He did it over and over again. When he felt his ki was less than half of what he had begun with he felt like his training was concluded for the day.

I need to try out this inventory thing before I go anywhere. If I can use it to carry food, water, and those skins I should be able to hunt less often which keeps me safer for a longer period of time or when I hunt I can bring back more things without having to leave a trail of blood for predators to follow.

Alex went inside and ate with Eve. Her cooking had improved. The food was cooked much more thoroughly. There weren’t any pieces that seemed like they weren’t all the way done. He was impressed. The Spartan thought the word inventory and a 2 x 3 grid appeared in front of his eyes. He picked up a piece of meat and placed it on the top right box. The food went through the grid. It felt like some sort of cool liquid enveloped his hand and the piece of meat. Once his hand completely disappeared he let the meat go but he didn’t hear it hit the ground. He pulled his hand back and in the box, there was a small picture of the piece of meat and the number 1 at the top right-hand corner of the box.

So that means it’s in the storage and I can store 24 more pieces in the same box. This is perfect. This is a complete game changer.

Alex quickly grabbed three more pieces of meat and did the same thing. The box now said 4 in the top right-hand corner. He placed his hand in and he could feel the meat was stacked one on top of the other. He quickly pulled a piece out and it was still just as hot and juicy as when he put it in. Next, he grabbed 5 of the water skins that he had confiscated from the goblins and placed them inside his inventory along with his skinning knife. Now he had 3 more spaces to fill while he was out.

“Eve get your things ready so that you can come with me while we hunt for more food and fill the water skins. I have a couple of things I want to do before we go and take on the goblins. Before I can do that I want you to reach level 5. What level are you now?”

“Currently, I am level 3. Why do you need me to reach level 5 right now other than I will be stronger as I level?”

“At level 5 you will gain a gathering and crafting skill. My hope is that you would learn something useful to us like alchemy and herbalism. That way you could possibly make poisons and potions as well as collect plants for a variety of uses.”

“Your idea is sound and I’m in the mood for some hunting”, she said with a smile.

“Alright I’ll meet you outside when you are ready”, Alex said while walking out the door.

A few moments later Eve came out carrying a water skin tied around her shoulder and a shortsword in a sheath tied to her hip. The two began walking through the woods towards the waterfall area as he wanted to fill the water skins first. They arrived without incident and Alex quickly filled all 5 of his water skins. Eve filled hers as well.

“Where did all of those water skins come from?”, asked Eve.

“Well after I survived for a week I got access to some new options. One of those options was having an inventory space. It has 6 slots now and in each slot, I can store up to 25 of each item.”

“That is great can you put my water skin in there too?”, she asked excitedly.

“Yes, I also have some food stored in here as well”, Alex said as she handed me her water skin and he put it into his inventory. “Ok, now I’m going to find us some things to hunt so that you can level up.”

She nodded and Spartan waited while Alice began searching the area for tracks. After a few moments, she found tracks of a few monsters but one that was strange. She highlighted it for him. Alex looked at the footprint and it looked like that of one of the rabbits but about 25% larger. He began following the tracks. After he walked a little farther on the plains, he was able to see what made the tracks. There was a rabbit that possessed all black fur and was about 30% larger than any of the other ones that he had previously fought.

“Alice, analysis of this creature?”

“Unable to analyze for strengths and weaknesses but it appears to be the alpha or lord type rabbit monster. It is the boss of all of these monsters. It will be faster, stronger, more durable, and much more dangerous.”

“Understood.”

“What is that thing?”, asked Eve.

“I’m not sure but we will have to take it down together. You stay back and use your magic from distance. I will fight it up close and draw its attention. Wait for the best moments to use your magic. We don’t want it to recognize what you are doing. I will try to keep its attention so that it does not attack you.”

“Right!”, she said as her slowly unsheathed her sword.

The monster’s hair was standing on end like a cat that was showing its intent to fight back. Alex walked slowly towards the monster with my sword and shield ready. He began drawing out his ki as he could feel this thing was dangerous. Alex took a deep breath and then with all the power within his body he charged forward. His body flew across the ground as if he was shot out of a cannon. The creature barely had enough time to react to his movement before his shield smashed straight into its face. He felt a sickening crunch as my shield collided with its face with all his weight behind it. The beast let out a roar of pain as Alex tried to follow up with his sword, unfortunately, the thing Alice described it being tougher was right.

Alex swung his sword horizontally trying to cut into its thick neck but before he could the beast smashed its front leg into the Spartan's chest knocking him backward off his feet about 4 meters away. The attack felt like it broke a few of his ribs and possibly punctured one of his lungs as he struggled to breathe. The impact made him lose his concentration and his ki energy returned to its place in his abdomen. He knew he had to get up because he was in grave danger if the beast charged at him.

The beast was charging toward him at breakneck speed. Alex could not deal with another attack just yet. He knew the nanites were working but they could not heal him instantaneously. Just as it tried to pounce on him, he felt a rumble in the ground then a 3-foot earthen spear burst from beneath the ground and into the soft underbody of the rabbit beast while it was descending towards him. The spear pierced directly through the joint of the beast’s front foreleg and torso. It squealed in pain but its strength and size broke the spear. Alex managed to roll out of the way just in time to avoid a blow that might not have killed him but it would have definitlely put him out of the fight. He coughed up some more blood as he readied my sword and shield to continue melee combat with the rabbit monster.

The nanites were working feverishly to heal his wounds but his body was racked with pain. Alex had no choice but to grit my teeth and bear it. Since entering this prison world he and pain had become intimate friends.

“Eve can you make more than one of those spikes at a time?”, Alex yelled.

“Yes, with my control I can make 2 at once but that is it!”, she yelled back.

“Alright, wait for your chance and this time make sure you end that thing. Try to wait for it to be on the ground so that it doesn’t break the spike. Once you freeze its movement I’ll finish it off.”

She nodded and then Alex activated his ki energy. His body became lighter again and he readied himself to end this battle. The beast growled at Alex and raised itself onto its hind legs. He could see the piece of the earth spike sticking out of its body and blood dripping from the wound. When it came back down on all four of its legs, the leg with the injured joint buckled providing Alex with an opening. He immediately moved as fast as he could toward the injured leg. In the split second that the beast’s leg buckled, he was able to close the distance.

“NOW EVE!!!”, he screamed.

The rabbit monster looked toward him with hate in its eyes. Before it could open its mouth to roar, two earth spikes penetrated its underbody coming all the way through its back. Alex took the opportunity and slashed his sword across the base of its neck. His blade cut in with a squelch and blood poured out onto my face but it only cut through the fur and another inch or two into the meat. He pulled his blade out and slashed again and again until its head came off it shoulders and fell onto the ground. Alex was breathing heavily as his ki energy had run out. Alex fell down onto the ground as Eve rushed over to me.

Achievement Cleared: For having killed a boss monster you have completed the Achievement Who’s the Boss! You have gained 1 skill point and 1 ability point.

“We did it! I gained a level now I’m level 4 and I got an achievement!”, said Eve as she rushed over and hugged Alex.

“Yeah I got the achievement too and please let me go. That thing broke several of my ribs and punctured my lung along with a host of other bruises”, Alex said wincing in pain.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know”, she said and quickly released me.

Alex gave a weak smile and began skinning the beast. As he cut through its fur and and removed it from the sking he placed the piecs on the ground. Once he finihsed, Alex stashed the fur pieces into his inventory then he took his blade and began butchering the beast. Alex cut the torso into four pieces and cut each leg into two pieces. Once he finished, Alex placed all of the pieces in his inventory. When he finished he noticed a large off-white colored cloth sack with and golden money symbol on the side. He grabbed it and opened it. Alex placed his hand inside and it was full of golden coins. He opened his inventory and began pouring the coins inside. When the coins finally stopped pouring out, he found that he had a total of 2000 coins.

“Wow that was a lot of coins, but no monster we’ve ever killed has given coins. How come this one did?”, asked Eve.

“That was another perk I recieved I managed to survive here for the week. I now have access to money for me to spend on certain things. One of the things I can use the mone for is to to upgrade the shack. Another thing I can do is apparently buy things from some kind of store but I have not seen one yet.”

“I wonder what you can purchase from the store. Maybe we can get some armor or some real weapons.”

“I don’t know but let’s get back to the shack before we get caught up fighting for our lives again.”

She nodded and we began walking back home.

Alex struggled to breathe as they walked through the forest. Each deep breath felt like someone was jabbing me in the side with a knife.

“Spartan your punctured lung has been repaired however your ribs sustained major damage. One of them broke away from the ribcage completely and punctured your lung. I had the nanites dissolve it and now they are working to recreate the rib and repair the fractures in the other ribs. The soft tissue damage is also being worked on. It will take time but the damage to your body is nothing that can’t be repaired it will take some time and you will feel a lot of pain while you keep moving Spartan", said Alice.

“Thank you.”

As they walked through the forest he started to notice the fatigue in his body caused by using all of his ki energy beginning to fade away.

It must regenerate relatively quickly or I just don’t have much so it doesn’t take long to come back. Maybe it is just both.Whatever the situation is I don't need to continue worrying about it.

After their walk finished they came into the clearing around the shack. They entered inside and Eve went about getting the fire ready for cooking. Alex placed several pieces of meat on the table for Eve to cook then he sat on the floor and tried to stay as still as possible so as to not aggravate his injured ribs.

“Alice, it is time to spend some money. I don’t really have the strength right now so can you run an analysis of the store and home upgrade menus and pick the most important things for helping keep me alive.”

“As you wish, Spartan. The menus are very extensive but I will begin running my analysis.”

Alex closed his eyes and continued with his shallow breathing. When he took short breaths he didn’t feel the stabbing pain as much. He could feel the warmth of the fire and the smell of the meat cooking. He hadn’t noticed it but Eve had also picked up a few pieces of fruit from the ground on our way back as well.

She is becoming an actual part of my team. She kept me alive today and she has been indispensable as a cook since she’s been here. Oh, and more and more I am noticing how nice her body is. Wait, did I just think that? No, I can’t worry about that now. Right now, I have to worry about survival.

“Spartan I have compiled a list of upgrades to purchase from the store right now and items to purchase from the store.”

“Thank you. Show me the list.”