"Help..." The voice wasn't a scream. It was a thread. A sound that barely survived the wind. Kai turned sharply. A few steps away, among thick roots and thorny bushes, there was a figure lying on the ground.

  It was a female body. It was too still. Covered in open wounds that were still bleeding. The clothes were little more than rags soaked in red. The ground around her was dark, sticky. The smell of iron was thick.

  Her dirty feline ears trembled slightly on her head. She had a rigid, motionless tail. Her golden eyes opened for a second. They looked at him. Not like someone who expects to be saved, but like someone who has already given up.

  Kai felt something uncomfortable in his chest. It's not my problem, he thought. He approached anyway. "Are you hurt?" Stupid question. Her arms were open in raw flesh. Her torso full of deep cuts. One leg twisted at an impossible angle. She was breathing badly. Each inhation shorter than the st.

  "Help me... please..." the catgirl sighed, the phrase dying before finishing. Kai knelt in front of her. The leaves crunched under his bare knees. When he touched her shoulder, he felt the cold. She was too cold. She's fading, he thought.

  He had no bandages. He had no water. He had no idea what to do. "Shit." The air in front of him lit up again. The blue screen appeared floating in his vision.

  [Welcome to the Procedural World]

  [Zone 1: Tribal Forest]

  [Name: Ka

  [Css: Warrior]

  [Subcss: ??? (Locked)]

  [Level: 1]

  [Status: Normal]

  [Skill: Accelerated Adaptation (Passive)]

  He already knew that. Wait, "Procedural World." That sounded like this wasn't going to end anytime soon. He looked at the catgirl again. The interface changed.

  [Name: Katherine]

  [Species: Catgirl]

  [Status: Severely Injured (Critical)]

  [Stats: VIEW DETAILS]

  He opened the details almost without thinking. Everything was in red. Strength at minimum. Agility minimum. Vitality completely at the limit. Great. "Useless even for surviving," he said out loud. Katherine, the catgirl, moaned in compint. Her eyes half-opened again. There was no pride there. Just fear of what might happen.

  Apparently, she didn't want anything heroic. Just not to die. Kai swallowed. No one helped me when I sank. The thought appeared unbidden. And leaving her here... would make me exactly like them. He looked away, annoyed. "Fuck." What the hell did Accelerated Adaptation do?

  [Accelerated Adaptation – Passive (Level 1)]

  [Effect: You learn and adapt to new situations, skills, and environments at a greater speed.]

  Very useful. But that doesn't stop hemorrhages. He looked around. There were only trees, darkness, and blood. Then another message appeared.

  [Opportunity detected: possible bond with potential subordinate.]

  [Warning: Katherine will die in 5 minutes if you don't act.]

  Five minutes. His pulse pounded in his ears.

  [Irreversible bond avaible.]

  [Accept?]

  Irreversible. The word stuck in his head. He didn't know what it implied for her to be his subordinate. He looked at her trembling ears. Her breathing was irregur. Her body cold. He could do nothing. No one was forcing him. It's not your responsibility. He had already learned what happens when you try to help.

  Five minutes. If he left, she would die. If he accepted... He didn't know what would happen. But something had to change. "Fuck..." He looked at her one st time. She didn't seem like someone important. Just someone who didn't want to die alone. "I accept," Kai said out loud toward the blue window.

  The fear didn't disappear. The decision did. A warm sensation ran through his arm and flowed toward her. Katherine arched her back and gasped, her body shaken by a violent spasm. A silver colr appeared around her neck. Thin. Engraved with blue runes that glowed faintly.

  [Bond established.]

  [Katherine is now your subordinate.]

  The wounds began to close slowly. Not completely, but enough. The blood stopped gushing. Her breathing stabilized. The color returned to her face. Her ears perked up slightly. Her tail moved once. Kai fell backward, sitting on the damp ground.

  He didn't know if he had done the right thing. He didn't know what that bond really meant. But he knew something with absolute crity. Nothing in this world was going to be free.