Xander hesitated.
Right now, putting everything in health seemed like a good thing.
But he would also need his strength if he wanted to climb out of the hole.
Considering the fact that he had not eaten anything all day, this seemed like the only logical solution.
However, he looked intently at a particular stat.
Intelligence
He willed in his mind and two points went straight to intelligence. It increased.
[Intelligence :13]
It was like a fog in his mind had been cleared up.
Looking around, he could not help but think of how dumb his fight with the Alpha scavenger had been.
There were a lot of more intelligent moves he could have made.
For example; From the beginning of the fight, he would have tilted the femur upward, stabbing through the creature’s neck all the way to its brain.
The battle would have ended even before it began.
That way, he would have not needed to waste so much energy.
Xander face palmed. Putting points in Intelligence might have been the smartest move he made.
Looking at his stats again, he willed, dumping two more points in Strength.
[Strength: 6]
He suddenly felt a wave of strength in his muscles.
He decided to keep the remaining 4 points for emergency situations.
Also, the Scavengers were about done with his wounds.
He pushed against the dirt.
His bones made snapping sounds as he stood up, and then he stretched.
It felt good.
However, nothing would feel better than leaving this place.
He turned to the wall. He was a considerable distance from it, but it no longer felt like a journey.
He took a step forward. But paused.
Xander looked towards his path to freedom, and then back at the piles of trash.
The world out there was not forgiving. With the laughable strength that he had, he would need to rely on something, a weapon perhaps.
Maybe something like the femur he used earlier on, his eyes searched the dirt for it. But then, they fell on something else.
Blood.
Just before his battle with the Alpha began, the creature had ripped apart one of its kind.
Xander remembered the way the blood droplets stung.
Even after healing with the aid of the Scavengers’ saliva, the hand he plunged into the Alpha Scavenger’s throat still hurt.
Xander reckoned that the only reason his hand had not melted off, was because of the saliva mixing with the blood when he dug his hand through the wound in its throat to choke it.
He could clearly see that some of the wastes that had been stained with blood looked melted, as if stained with acid.
He looked around some more. They were some discarded leather skin bottles.
Xander did not know what animal it was made from. But this animal clearly had a resistance to the Scavenger’s blood.
And so Xander got to work.
Firstly, he made sure that the bottles he used did not have holes in them.
Fortunately, they didn’t.
Altogether, he filled three of them with Scavenger blood.
Not to the brim, so it did not weigh him down.
Attacking was one thing. But it would not be enough.
What if he ended up injured again?
Xander turned to the Scavengers. Carefully, he decided to try his luck.
Fortunately, they did not mind him harvesting their saliva into another bottle.
Afterwards, he found that broken femur.
After all this preparation, he was ready.
One steps at a time, he began climbing towards his freedom.
As he did, Clicking sounds came from behind him. As if the Scavengers were inviting him to stay.
Obviously, he couldn’t.
Finally, a hand reached the edge, and another, and then with effort, he pulled himself over, rolling onto his back.
Looking at the big beautiful moon in the star filled sky, Xander could not help but chuckle lightly.
"I survived. I actually survived." The laughter came from the depths of his being.
The background sound of machinery from the factories served as music to his ears.
Xander raised a hand to the sky. "Father," the image of Jobadiah came to his mind. "This time around, I’ll do it. I’ll find a good girl, have plenty kids, and live a humble life."
The words felt more like a promise to himself more than it was a promise to his father.
Regardless, saying it felt good.
"Who’s there!?"
A man with a Fire torch approached.
Of course, Xander had forgotten. Depending on the size and number of incinerators, guards were placed around to ensure Scavengers remained where Scavengers should be.
Quickly, Xander got to his feet. But his hands spasmed a bit.
Even after adding points to strength, it was obvious that his body still needed the sustenance of food.
He rose shakily to his feet—at the exact moment the guard reached him.
The light from the torch reached Xander’s face, and he raised a hand to block the light from reaching his eyes.
The man stared at him in disbelief, "Negative Profession!?"
’Shit’
Xander acted in the instinct to survive.
His hand reached for one of the leather bottles by his waist, and he flung the bottle towards the guard.
The contents spilled in the air.
Sizzle...
"Arrhhh! My eyes." The fire torch fell, and Xander took the opportunity to run away.
Other guards heard the guard scream and hurried over, but Xander had already taken cover and slipped away.
As far as he knew, he had effectively blinded that guard.
[You have committed an act of villainy.]
[+1 point]
The System rewarding him was proof of that.
While it was truly not his intention, Xander had no choice.
The guard had seen him. There had been no other choice. Xander filed that thought away for later and ran.
At least this way, it would not be easy for anyone to believe him.
They might just think it’s the Scavengers fighting.
This much was not new of their kind.
The Incinerator was placed close to the factories, but still a good distance from town.
This was a good thing. Adding the fact that it was night time and most people were sleeping, Xander could use the cover of night and sneak away.
However, as he walked the only path—putting distance between himself and the Incinerators, he began to feel dizzy again.
He really could not escape his fatigue. Loss of blood and a lack of food was a dangerous combination.
He staggered left and right, but persevered.
At this point, he had reached an area of tall corn fields.
’I can’t hold on anymore. I need to rest a bit. Just a bit is fine...’
This was the last thought he had as he fell face first to the ground.
As he did, a pair of boots stopped just before him.