NOVEL NEXT V1.05 Only One Choice
The whole situation was more than I could handle. I was sent down here to kill rats and found a giant rat-person monster who bit me. I’m lying on a bunch of broken glass and a puddle of a mixture of wine and liquid metal. And now I’m seeing a little blue box telling me there’s something installing?
Installing… 3%
There it is again! What’s installing and where? And why am I seeing this box like a little text message?
My shoulder and back started feeling warm. I could feel the blood oozing out of countless cuts and the bite, but there was more. It felt like my wounds were already infected and inflamed. Then the heat grew into a more painful burning until all I could feel was my body engulfed in the horrible sensation.
Installing… 7%
Error… Need more materials.
Collecting from available sources…
The searing pain continued to grow. Then there was the weird sensation of something crawling into my back. Millions of tiny pinpricks outlined every cut on my back. Things are far worse back there than I thought.
I wanted to scream. But my screams died in my throat. My eyes bulged from their sockets as my back arched. The ceiling was still barely visible from the lamp that still rolled on the floor. Make it stop! Please, I’ll do anything.
Installing… 15%
Error… Foreign DNA found.
Foreign DNA? I couldn’t think too much more as the pain cranked up another level, and I went from a silent scream to being unable to breathe. My heart pounded in my chest as the rest of my body locked up. I couldn’t flail around anymore.
Installing… 25%
Expelling corrupted wererat DNA…
My shoulder started spraying blood.
Installing… 37% Stabilizing host…
The burning sensation started to ease up, but my body still wouldn’t respond. I still couldn’t scream for help.
Currency module installed.
Upgrade module installed.
Host baseline confirmed.
Language module installed.
Installing… 55%
Connection established.
Building interface.
A series of blue boxes flashed across my vision. Each one vanished before the new one appeared. I didn’t know what to make of all the messages. I was in too much pain to comprehend my situation at all. And even as my vision blurred, the boxes in my vision were perfectly visible. The pain died down for the time being, and I could comprehend what I was reading.
Installing… 77%
Paused. Inquiry:
Which type of enhancement is the host’s preference?
(Please select one.)
1: Mystical enhancement.
Nanites will infuse the host, with more primordial energy. This will augment the host to become more in tune with the elements as the host takes on the characteristics of each element.
2: DNA evolution.
The host can absorb DNA from harvested lifeforms and chose which traits to augment their body with. Nanites will perfectly fuse the host’s DNA with the harvested DNA. There will be a 0% chance of rejection, failure, and uncontrolled mutations. These traits can be replaced, enhanced, or combined.
3: Artificial augmentation.
Nanites will enhance the host’s body by replacing parts with cybernetic versions. These parts can be replaced or enhanced further.
4: Locked.
Artificial soul detected.
5: Locked.
Host is not a dragon.
6: Locked.
Host is not undead.
Several others continued saying locked for various reasons, from obvious to outright ridiculous. What on Earth is a miniature giant space hamster? The pain had lessened significantly, but my body wasn’t moving. My eyes closed themselves, leaving me to see only the swarm of blue notifications. Thankfully, all the ones that said “Locked” disappeared, leaving me with only three choices.
Why don’t I feel the need to breathe? I can’t even feel the passage of time. Whatever is going on, something wants me to choose between these three options. None of them sound pleasant. I don’t like the idea of taking on the characteristics of elements. That just sounds wrong in a lot of ways. Fusing DNA? That’s going to be a hard no for me. You just said that you expelled foreign DNA, and now you want me to willingly alter my DNA? You must be out of your mind. Also, that sounds like the fastest way to become some disgusting freak like that lizard slug at the gate. That leaves only one decision.
Artificial augmentation selected.
Resuming installation.
Wait! I didn’t say I wanted that one, yet.
Installing… 95%
Excess energy detected.
Please select an augment.
(Please select one.)
A list of thousands options scrolled before me faster than I could read. I don't want to die. I don't care about any of that other stuff.
Analyzing request...
Installing Cellular regeneration augmentation.
What does that mean?
Re-initializing senses…
Done.
Re-initializing motor function…
Done.
Returning host to peak condition… Done.
Installation… 100%
My eyes snapped open as I gasped for breath. The air, as musty as it was, tasted sweeter. It felt cooler against my skin. I could feel the glass against my back. All the spilled wine was soaking into the shredded back of my clothes. Nothing felt like it had dried yet, but it still felt disgusting.
I heard what sounded like licking. The glass shifted as I sat up. Pieces of glass tumbled onto the stone floor. The licking stopped, and I saw the rat monster was sitting on the ground too, and his head was turned towards me.
“No mate?” He sounded very disappointed. Then he stood up. “If not mate, then food.”
The maliciousness in his eyes had me looking for the dagger. I can’t outrun him, so I have to fight. The dagger was along the wall, too far away. So I grabbed the largest piece of sharp glass within reach. The rat monster had pounced again. I ducked under and rolled past him and out of the glass. He landed on the broken wine and potion bottles.
Uh, where did the black liquid go? Nevermind. Concentrate on the monster.
The rat let out a screech as the glass sliced open his hands and feet. I charged him, my piece of glass angled to stab at him. Glass crunching under my shoes caused the creature to turn to face me, only to have the piece of glass in my hands stab into his neck. I could feel the glass slide in my grip and cut my hand. But it looked like I hit something vital, as blood seeped from his neck.
I looked down when I felt an itch in my palm. The two lines where my hand was cut from the glass stopped bleeding. Somehow, I could feel the skin closing up and healing. What the…?
My thought was disrupted as the creature scrambled over the broken glass towards me again. Pools of blood mixed with the wine as he took each step. His claws slashed at my face, and I felt the claw scrape against my cheekbone. I stumbled backwards and put my hand on my face. Again, the itching sensation returned, but on my face, I could clearly feel the wounds close up and stop bleeding.
The rat monster stumbled as he took another step towards me. Blood matted most of his fur at that point. It reached for me and wheezed before going limp. In the bottom right corner of my vision, I saw a small display of two hundred and fifty. I blinked, and the message disappeared. What is that?
“What did you do?” Cushin’s voice echoed in the room. He held a lamp up and pointed at the broken bottles of booze. “And is that a wererat?”
I glared at him. “I demand a raise.”
His face turned red. “You owe me thousands of shards for damaged goods.”
“I don’t have any,” I said as I backed up towards the dagger.
He reached behind his back and pulled out what looked like a pistol. “Then I’ll have to take what I can get.”
He fired the gun, but there was no pop. Just a whizzing sound and my stomach exploded in pain. I looked down and saw a bullet hole just below my ribs. Then I could feel something moving inside as the itching blended with the pain. I couldn’t help but stare as a small rock popped out of the wound as it closed up. The little rock bounced against the floor, disrupting the silence.
“What in the Nexus are you?” the elf man whispered.
There is no way I’m human anymore. I can’t be. How can I just take a bullet like that and have my body spit it out without leaving a mark? It hurt, but I was never in any danger of dying. And what do all those strange messages have to do with all of this?
Another bullet hit me just below the collarbone. The impact caused me to stumble backwards. I could feel blood filling my lung as it became harder to breathe. My hand instinctively covered the wound, but I could feel something moving inside me, inside the wound.
Then he shot me again. This time, he hit my heart. Four more shots followed in rapid succession. All of them hit me in the torso in various places. Each one fired, shook my body, and wracked me with pain. I fell to my knees, blood pouring from six wounds in my chest. I just stared at them.
He shot me. He’s going to kill me. There’s no way I survive this. I’m going to die, again. Tears filled my eyes as my head started getting light as I felt myself suffocating. My lungs were quickly filling with blood, and my heart was stopping. But all of that paled in comparison to the crippling pain burning through my body. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t.
All I could do was stare; stare at my killer again.
But I never lost consciousness. Please, just let me die. I don’t want to feel the pain anymore. Just let it end!
Instead of dying, a stone bullet popped out of my chest and hit the ground. Then another one. And another. All six bullets eventually rested on the ground, covered in my blood. Shortly after, I could feel my heart beating faster than ever. Which I followed by screaming from the pain that still overwhelmed everything. I clutched at the wounds as I fell into the fetal position.
This pain is too much. Why does it have to hurt so much? How am I not dead?
Footsteps approached me as I continued screaming and crying. “How are you still alive?”
“I don’t know.” The pitiful sound of my voice managed to get through my sobbing. “Why are you trying to kill me? Why?”
“You destroyed thousands of shards worth of merchandise.” Cushin opened the handle of his gun. He picked up a brick from the ground and pushed it into the handle. The brick seemed to shift and be swallowed up by the weapon. “Since you said you didn’t have that kind of money, I’ll just settle for what I can get from the system for killing you. Something is better than nothing.”
I’m going to die over spilled wine and money? But he sent me down here to fight that monster—a wererat, I think he called it. This is all his fault. Why do I have to die? I don’t want to die.
He pointed the gun back at me.
Something in my mind seemed to shift. If he won’t let me live, then I will survive on my own!
“You… Should… Just… Die! Why… Can’t… I… Kill… You?” He punctuated each word with a bullet fired at me.
Each shot felt like another burning explosion of pain. One bullet hit my jaw. Another one pierced through my throat, while my collarbone was snapped in two by a third. Three holes bled from my chest. The last two bullets were embedded in my arm as they covered my head.
It was hard to breathe. Pain filled my mind, and I couldn’t move my arm. If this can’t kill me, he’ll keep shooting until it does. I can’t take this pain anymore. I won’t!
I could taste the blood as I pushed myself off the ground. Not Again! The dagger was nearby. I saw it and scrambled over to it. The shock in the elf’s eyes as I pointed the blade at him while he stuffed another brick into the handle of his gun was almost satisfying. I am not helpless this time.
He fumbled with the gun as I ran towards him. I could feel the bullets leaving my body again and the wounds healing. My knuckles almost popped from how hard I gripped the weapon as I stabbed at his large gut. A primal scream left my lips.
He shot me. I stabbed him. He shot me. I stabbed him.
Cushin tried to fend off my attacks with his free arm. We traded wounds until his gun ran out of bullets again. Then he dropped the gun and reached for me. A half dozen wounds bled and soaked the bartender’s clothes as he tripped forward. He landed on me, but I had the dagger between us. There was a subtle crack as my dagger plunged even deeper into him.
His weight was difficult to push off me, and even as I fought to push him off, he didn’t fight back. The elf coughed up a pool of blood as his body went still. In the corner of my vision, I saw a small display that read eight thousand two-hundred fifty. Okay, that’s twice now. What does that mean?
I gave up on holding onto the dagger as I tried to shift out from under Cushin. Eventually, I made my way out and kneeled next to his still unmoving body. I think he’s dead. He’s probably dead. He should have moved by now. I checked his breathing and didn’t feel any.
I killed someone.
The sound of boots hitting the floor echoed throughout the cellar.