Hitori was spent. That was the best way he could describe it. Every scrap had been used up. Traded in. Exchanged for services rendered.

And for what services exactly? Apparently a dozen dead spiders and a few moments rest. He collapsed into the nearest clump of grass that was still standing. It looked like the earth had taken a pair of shears to its own hair in frustration. Not that Hitori could blame it.

He was feeling pretty frustrated himself.

“Well, shit.”

Yeah, that summed it up nicely. He should call for help.

There’s no time!

He needed a moment anyway. He pulled a small circular disc from his satchel and began manipulating glowing symbols on its surface.

You think those… people will be any help, if they can even make it in time?

Hitori took a deep breath, and fell to his back. He put the communicator away. His Vital Net dutifully informed him it was currently out of the business of fixing things, and would he please be kind enough not to die for a couple hours while it was recharging.

Well, he didn’t have a couple hours, but he did have a handful of Dragon Stims.

“Hah, what if there’s six drakes my ass,” Hitori said. “You’ll be glad I was so stingy when you aren’t tomorrow’s breakfast.”

Hitori hopped to his feet, then grabbed a vial from an armored pouch on his waist. It had a small black cap, and the contents glowed with virescent light. The cover popped off with a flick of his thumb, revealing a surface covered in jagged points.

He stabbed the sharp end into a patch of exposed skin on his arm. The vial flashed, and then rapidly faded into a murky green. Tendrils of silver spiraled in the depths, the Stim utterly spent. With the right equipment and skills it was possible to leave it able to be recharged later.

Hitori tossed the vial aside. There was no way he would have had time to learn how to do all that.

The Stim fully restored his Vital Energy, and for a brief moment more than tripled his total reserves. Unfortunately, he shed all the excess in a matter of seconds, his Vital Net nowhere near dense or robust enough to handle it all.

Hitori tried not to measure the loss in marks—the currency on Esper—but he remembered the cost of a Dragon Stim dwarfed the average Seitojin’s monthly income. It would take a decent chunk out of his own future earnings to buy another. He took a deep breath.

“Alright team,” Hitori said. “I need you to do me a favor and keep not dying a while longer.”