"Seventeen seconds? I might not even last ten..." Henry whispered trembling, then his gaze shifted to the orc fallen sword.
He crawled, fingers stretching. Just as he grabbed it, the orc ripped the arrow from its toe and limped toward him.
It loomed above. Snarling, bleeding, and furious.
"Ahhhh!" it growled, dragging Henry up by the neck and pinning him to the wall.
[-1 HP]
[-1 HP]
[-1 HP]
Henry groaned, barely able to move. Just as the orc raised it's fist, Henry used the opportunity and plunged the sword into its eye.
[-9 HP]
The beast screamed and dropped him.
[Weapon reloaded -1 HP]
[HP:5]
[Weapon Ready]
"There's still hope" Henry whispered weakly, he tighten his grip around his bow and aim at the orc.
The orc staggering, tied to pull the blade from its eye.
*Whew.*
The arrow struck true, straight into its forehead.
The mutated orc went still. Then fell.
[You've killed an Orc!]
[+10 XP]
Henry dropped his bow, breath heavily with blood on his lips.
......
Henry stirred, eyes blinking open to the dim light of the dungeon ceiling. For a moment he just lay there, staring upward, the faint smell of damp stone and stale air filling his lungs. Then reality caught up.
"Dammit… I fell asleep," he muttered, rubbing the grit from his eyes.
*Ding!*
[HP restored: You've been unharmed for ten minutes]
[HP: 25/25]
His heart sank a little at the reminder. He was still in the dungeon, still surrounded by whatever monsters lived here. Sleeping here had been reckless or stupid even.
"Ahh… whew." Henry exhaled slowly, pushing himself upright. "Can't wait to get out of here."
His gaze drifted to the orc corpse nearby. Above its head, faintly glowing, floated an Evolution Crystal. Henry stepped closer, fingers curling around it before tossing it back in a single swallow.
[Evolution Crystal absorbed]
[Evolution Crystal: 7/10]
[STATUS]
[Name: Henry]
[Race: Goblin]
[Class: Marksman]
[SP: 0]
[Level: 3]
[EXP: 60/300]
[Evolution Crystals: 7]
[HP: 25/25]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 13]
[Stamina: 13]
[Vitality: 11]
[Skills: Inspect Lv.2]
"Three more to go," he murmured, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His eyes wandered over the orc's body, more specifically, to its gear.
The sword and shield felt heavy in his hands, unbalanced for his smaller frame, but valuable nonetheless. He stored them away and his gaze landed on the armor.
'That should sell for a decent price.'
He stripped it off the corpse, piece by piece, and tucked it into his inventory. Then, taking a steady breath, he turned toward the far door.
The metal handle felt cold under his fingers. Henry pushed it open and stepped into the next chamber.
It was larger than the previous room, shadows pooling in the corners. He scanned the space and froze.
Two figures lay on the floor. Motionless.
Cautiously, Henry approached. Their clothes and weapons marked them as adventurer humans.
Kneeling beside the first, he turned the body over. A deep slash cut across the man's throat, and the second had a gaping wound in his chest.
" The blood are still flesh, those orc did this" Henry whispered.
He took their swords, feeling a flicker of guilt, and stored them away. "Forgive me, but you won't need these where you are."
His curiosity itched. 'Why were humans here?' He searched their belongings, fingers brushing against something smooth and cool, a crystal.
"Evolution Crystal…" he breathed.
"They must have come to hunt beasts for these… and ran into something stronger."
'If humans sought crystals, that meant there had to be a settlement nearby' A bigger question gnawed at him. 'Did they, too, evolve using these?'
Before he could dwell on it, a voice echoed in his head.
"If you're looking for assistance, I can answer 99% of your questions. I would be of great help to you."
Henry shot to his feet, scanning the shadows. "Dammit… who the hell is that?"
"I am RAI," the voice replied smoothly, directly inside his mind.
Henry's brow furrowed. "My system talks now?"
[For more access, activate RAI for question-and-answer assistance.]
"What is RAI?"
[Reincarnated-kind Artificial Intelligence.]
His lips twitched. "This… could be useful. Alright—activate."
[Are you sure?]
"Yes. And why do you sound like you're warning me?"
[Once RAI is activated, it cannot be deactivated.]
Henry hesitated only for a moment. "Fine, as long as you can answer my questions."
[RAI is activating… please wait.]
Minutes felt like hours, then finally the notification popped up.
[RAI has been activated.]
A light flared before him, shaping into the figure of a boy, maybe sixteen, wearing a faint smirk.
Henry blinked. 'So this is RAI?'
(Yo, Henry. Thanks for activating me. You won't regret it.)
Henry narrowed his eyes. "Hope not."
(Alright, little goblin, what's your first question?)
"Hey, cut the 'little goblin' crap. I'm your boss. Without me, there'd be no you."
(Sure, you're my boss. But I've been around for thousands of years, and you haven't. You need me more than I need you.)
Henry clicked his tongue. 'Cocky AI…'
"Fine, RAI. First off all, where have you been since my reincarnation?"
(In the system. You just never turned me on.)
"Well, you can't activate yourself, so you still work for me. Show some respect."
(Alright, B Henry. What's your question?)
"What's the 'B' for?"
(It stands for Boss.)
"…Drop the 'Boss.' Just Henry is fine."
(Fine. Now questions?)
Henry drew a slow breath. "Do humans use Evolution Crystals too? Do they… evolve?"
AN: Hello dear readers if you're enjoying the story so far and want to continue seeing more chapters support my book with powestones.