Liam pulled both of his Shadow Moon Blade out of the back of the skull of the Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior. As soon as he got the notification and felt the massive creature start to fall forward, Liam turned and walked down the back of the creature, carefully balancing himself and using the angle the body gave as it fell face first in the dirt. Right as he got to the bottom of the creature’s spine, he jumped off to his right.
As soon as Liam’s feet touched the dirt, he felt the sensation that drove his body suddenly vanish. Every muscle and bone in his body suddenly screamed as he felt whatever was helping him keep standing just disappear. He quickly dropped to his knees as he put his arms and hands out to stop him from completely crashing into the dust and dirt.
His lungs burned ferociously as he tried gasping for any air he could to try and cool them down. His arms and legs twitched and tensed as he felt his body shake. His vision blurred a bit as he felt sweat roll down his forehead and arms. Chimes started to echo in his mind as notifications popped up one after the other. Too overwhelmed with his current predicament, Liam minimized them to check out later.
“What…the…fuck,” Liam said between gulps. “Is…going…on?!”
I…I am actually surprised. Eri said as she tried to organize her thoughts. I had some belief that you could somehow pull something out your ass at the last second, but…a Battle Zen wasn’t what I was expecting.
“A…what…,” Liam gasped tried to endure the pain that was ricocheting throughout his body. “Why…does it…feel like…I…just ran…a…mara…thon?”
Subjectively and a bit literally…you did. Eri replied. She then quickly added, Drink a Stamina Potion. What you’re feeling has to do with what you did and the fact that your stamina is almost zero.
Liam shifted his focus to his health, mana, and stamina bars. All three were extremely low. His mana wasn’t as bad as the other two, but they were all pretty low. As he looked at his bars he also got a good look at Cindy’s and felt his heart sink.
“Cindy. 191/2,323 HP. 1,358/1,910 MP. 1,770/2,010 Stam. Level – 21.”
Liam frantically reached to open the pouch on his leg and pulled out a potion. When he noticed it wasn’t a health potion he reached back and pulled out another. Again, it wasn’t a health potion. He kept doing this until there wasn’t any more potions he could grab.
He felt his heart pound harder as he let out a hard liquid coughed. He grabbed one of the Poor Orange Stamina Potions that laid on the ground beside him and tore it open before forcing it down his throat.
He dropped the vial after he finished the last drop and felt his strength slowly return. The aches and pains in his tired body that would normally disperse dampened enough that he didn’t feel like his body was so fragile anymore, but everything still hurt.
He quickly opened his inventory and searched for his health potions. After taking a few seconds he came to a stop and let out a curse. He only had one Poor Minty Health Potion left. This complicated things.
He took another peek at his health bar and saw it had raised by two points during the time he rummaged for a health potion and drank that stamina one.
He grimaced as he thought over what he could do. He knew he couldn’t drink it because he needed it to raise Cindy’s health after pulling that dagger out. If he made her drink it then he would have to be careful not to get hit by any monsters. After getting hit by that Zombified Hobgoblin Zombie he got an idea on how easy it would be for a random monster to kill him. Especially if he came across any more anomalies like the ones he had just fought against.
“No…Cindy is a priority. If she wakes up any time soon, I can just ask her for one,” Liam muttered to himself as he got back to his feet. He took a step forward and felt pain run up his left leg. He gritted his teeth, trying to push past the pain and limped his way out the cave.
He found Cindy still in the same spot he had left her, resting against the boulder.
He let out a sigh of relief before making his way over to her. As gently and slowly as he could, he placed her on her back. He inspected the area where the dagger was sunk into and thought about what he needed to do. As he thought about this he realized he had no clue what to do.
He had never used any first aid like items here in this world. The way things worked here were completely different than how it would work back in his home world. As these thought started to cause a stir of panic within him, he heard a gentle voice speak.
The sound of her voice was cool, calm, and collective. It helped ease Liam’s mind as she instructed, Don’t panic Liam. I’ll guide you through this. Take a deep breath in, let it out slowly, and calm your thoughts.
Liam closed his eyes and did as he was instructed. He could feel his nerves start to calm.
Again. Eri said.
Liam took another breath in, held it for a brief moment, and released it.
Have you calmed down? Eri asked.
Liam nodded his head.
Ok, you’ll need to remain calm as you do this. I will instruct you how to do this step by step. Eri started. First, you will need to pull out the following Medicinal Creation items that girl gave you earlier. The items you’ll need are the Poor Cloth Bandage Wraps, Poor Water Slime Cotton balls, Weak Antiseptic Ooze liquid, and Weak Hydro Goo Salve.
Liam opened his eyes and searched for each item Eri listed. After locating each item and placing them close by, Liam waited to hear for the next step.
Ok, you see where the dagger is located? Eri questioned as Liam looked.
It was located on the right side of her stomach right next to where her belly button would be. The cloth-like shirt she was wearing hide the exact location the dagger was pierced through.
You’re going to have to carefully tear the spot where the dagger is. The tear needs to be big enough for you to be able to see the entire wound. Be careful not to pull the dagger out nor touch the dagger. Eri instructed.
Liam gulped as he looked at the spot. He felt bad for ruining her shirt, but he knew if he didn’t do this then she would be dead soon.
Liam gripped the handle of one of his Crude Bone Curved daggers that he didn’t use in the recent fight and slowly cut a square like hole from her shirt. He then took the dagger and carefully cut a line from where side of the edge of the dagger inside her was then down to the free end of the cut piece of shirt.
After he did that, he placed both the cut cloth and his dagger down and waited for the next set of instructions.
Next switch out of the current armor set you have on and replace it with that weaker set. Also make sure your gloves are off. Eri stated as she waited for Liam to do as he was told. Next you’re going to need to pour a little bit of that Weak Antiseptic Ooze Liquid over your hands. You don’t need a lot just enough to lightly coat your hands with. After that shake your hands away from her so you don’t get any on her.
Liam looked skeptical as he listened but did as he was told. He felt a slight tingle as the liquid touched his bare hands.
Doing this will kill any lingering diseases that might have come in contact with you or the items you have. The acid from the Ooze liquid mixed with other ingredients are great to use when doing this. Next you will need to pour just a small amount around the wound where the blade is sticking out from. Again, this will help kill any ailments that are hanging around the area of the cut.
Liam placed down the vial of Weak Antiseptic Ooze Liquid and waved his hands away from Cindy to dry any excess liquid that was hanging around. He then grabbed the vial again and focused as hard as he could while slowly tipping the vial over the wound.
He moved as slowly and cautiously as he could, trying not to touch the hilt of the dagger, but still trying to get it as close to the wound as he could. As soon as he saw a trickle of the liquid start to flow out, he slowly moved it around the outline of the blade.
Liam saw Cindy’s body react slightly as soon as the liquid touched her skin, making him almost instinctively flinch. Luckily, Liam didn’t react how his body wanted to and kept at the task.
Good job. Now comes the hard part. Eri started. You’re going to need to open the lids that contains the Poor Water Slime Cotton balls and the Weak Hydro Goo Salve. Keep them both close by. Once you’re ready, you’re going to need to pull that dagger out as clean and straight as you can. You might feel some resistance so don’t freak out. However, you can’t stop the moment you start because it’ll cause some damage and we want to keep it at a minimal since the Bleed Debuff will accelerate her health dropping.
After you get that dagger out, you are going to grab two of the Water Slime Cotton balls and place them over the entire wound. The Water Slime Cotton balls will both keep the blood that will flow out from spreading as well as siphon as much of the venom that is coursing through her blood around the wound. This will dampen how much damage the venom is causing to her health pool.
Liam felt the pressure start to push down on him as he tried to take in every instruction and explanation Eri was giving him. The more he listened the more he was glad he wasn’t back on Earth. If this was going on back there, he wouldn’t have all these convenient medical supplies. He also wouldn't be the one doing this too.
He was also thinking about how grateful he was having Artem on his team back in the Tutorial Area. Even though the big guy had Healing Magic, Liam would catch him studying up on first aid and the items people used when treating wounds when they were out of mana and mana potions. He never studied it because he believed he wouldn’t need to with the caring half-orc around. Now he was kicking himself for thinking that way.
Keep in mind that you are going to have to switch the cotton balls until you can’t siphon anymore venom out of her. Eri started back up. It may take a few cotton balls so be ready for when you’ll need to switch them out so no blood that carries heavy amounts of venom touches any of her skin. I’ll tell you when you’ll need to switch. After that is done you will need to spread a generous amount of that Weak Hydro Goo Salve. It’ll cover the wound and keep it as clean as it can until she gets it checked by a healer. It will also counteract against the damage over time effect the bleeding and the remaining venom still in her system does. You got all that?
“Not entirely, but I have faith you’ll straighten me out before I make a mistake,” Liam whispered as he stared down at Cindy.
Damn straight I will. Eri said with a slight smile. That smile then faded as she added with a serious tone in her voice, Try to focus as hard as you can on the task. Don’t think about anything else except for what I told you and anything I say. Ok?
Got it. Liam thought as he took a deep breath in and slowly let it roll off his lips, trying to calm himself down even more.
He did this a couple more times as he slowly moved his hand closer to the hilt. The more his hand got closer the more his nerves started to tense again. No matter how he acted, what he thought or said…he was scared. He was scared that he might screw up and end up either hurting her more or worse…kill her.
You won’t kill her. Not with me here to guide you. Now quit overthinking things and focus. Eri stated.
Liam was able to hear some urgency in her voice this time as she spoke. It became clear as she continued, Her health is still dropping. We don’t want it to drop pass a certain point or it will be too late. I don’t want you to use that last Health Potion you have until after we’re done with this. So, you need to get your head in the game.
Liam didn’t respond. Instead, he took in another deep breath. As he released it, his left hand reached for the handle of the dagger as his right hand moved to grab a couple of the cotton balls.
With as clean of a motion as he could he gripped the handle and pulled as swiftly as he could while moving the cotton balls to replace the spot the weapon was embedded. He felt the dagger try to resist the pull but didn’t stop as he applied a little more strength to his movement. The slight adjustment almost caused an issue as he didn’t account for the resistance while moving his right hand with the two cotton balls. His hand almost received a cut as it barely missed from the tip of the blade in time.
Liam felt his heart sink as Cindy’s stomach suddenly arched up as the blade slipped out. Her sudden jerk caused his right hand to start to move back out of the way as her pained filled groan sent a chill right down Liam’s spine as he feared that he had messed up.
However, before he could let the sudden scare distract him, Eri shouted, Focus and get those cotton balls over the wound!
Snapping back and casting away the negative thoughts, Liam threw the dagger to side, away from Cindy, as he moved his right hand back over the wound in time as blood started to gush out.
The Water Slime Cotton balls did as Eri had said as Liam watched a crimson mixed with dark purple liquid start to fill the see through light blue bubble like cotton balls. Liam was impressed with the material. Even though it was called a cotton ball, it did not look like any cotton ball Liam had ever seen before.
The only thing that made Liam think it was a cotton ball was the shape and the feel of it. Even though the object looked like a bubble like liquid, it felt just like a cotton ball. The best part about the object too was you couldn’t feel the liquid at all. He didn’t know how it was made, but the watery substance was encased inside the cotton-like bubble. Thanks to how see through it looked, Liam was able to see all the venom mixed blood that was being siphoned inside.
Get ready to switch with new ones. Eri announced, bringing Liam’s thoughts back to the task at hand. Now!
Liam quickly switch the venom mixed blood filled cotton balls with fresh ones with his left hand. He quickly threw the used objects to the side before moving his free hand over to the container. Readying himself for the next switch.
Get ready. Eri said, making sure Liam was focused. Now!
Once again, Liam swapped cotton balls. This happened a couple more times making Liam grow more concerned with each switch. The consistency of the dark colors didn’t change with each swap of new cotton balls.
Liam peeked at Cindy’s stats as he switched once more. Her health was now entering the thirties. Fear and panic was starting to creep up his spine as he switched once more. Negative thoughts started to form in his mind as her health continued to drop.
With each new switch more thoughts and fear formed within him. After the seventh switch, Liam felt some relief as the color had started to brighten up. His fear and negative thoughts were also dispelled as Eri announce, One more switch should do it. After you switch with the final round of Cotton balls, take your index, and middle finger and scrap a generous amount of that Weak Hydro Goo Salve. Make sure you get enough to cover the entire wound in one go. It doesn’t matter if you use too much. You can correct it after you spread the salve.
Feeling better about the whole ordeal, Liam nodded as he placed the final round of Crude Slime Cotton balls. He then scooped up a healthy amount of the salve and placed it near the wound, readying himself for this next part.
Now. Eri said with some relief.
Liam threw the Crude Slime Cotton balls to the side while running the Weak Hydro Goo Salve over the entire wound and then some.
Liam let out a long breath as he looked at her health pool. It had just hit ten health points and suddenly stopped as the salve started working its magic. He could feel his heart beating fast and hard against his chest as he felt the tension and adrenaline in his bones release.
“You know what…I think this was much harder and scarier than facing that Zombified Hobgoblin,” Liam muttered as he felt a couple of sweat drops roll down his forehead.
I bet. Eri replied with pride. Regardless of how scared you were…You did a good job.
“Thanks,” Liam smiled.
You’re not done yet though. Eri stated. You now need to wrap that wound with the bandage and force her to drink that Health Potion.
Liam let out another burst of air before forcing himself to finish the task at hand.
It took Liam a little over ten minutes to get everything finished. After he was done, he cleaned up the mess he had made. While cleaning up, Liam decided to place the cotton balls filled with the venom mixed blood into a container so he could study it later. He also found the cursed dagger that caused it all and placed it into his inventory.
As he was cleaning, he was reminded that he needed to collect the souls of the monsters he had killed that were still inside the cave and collect the loot from the Elite Monster. He limped inside and did that. The loot he received left him confused.
“Medium Bones x 4. Item type – Crafting Material (Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Construction, Enchanting, Rune Crafting.)”
“Hobgoblin Thwacking Mace. Item type – Weapon (Mace). Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Poor. + 10% damage against Goblin type species.”
“Vial of Rageful Rabies Venom. Item Type – Crafting Material (Alchemy).”
Liam’s mouth slowly opened and turned into a mix of confusion and disgust. He blinked a couple of times as he read the last item, making sure what he read was right.
“Rageful Rabies Venom? The fuck?!” Liam cursed as he realized he was in fact reading that right.
It’s a nasty venom that causes a Disease Debuff. Eri stated. The venom makes the target go into a berserker rage all while taking damage from the Rabies that flow through its veins. It’ll make the target a bit stronger, but it’ll make them lose almost all of their intelligence and wisdom. The worst part about this venom is the only ways to get rid of this venom is to either have someone who has an Expert level Cure ability or death.
“You’re saying that it’s at the level of Mummy Rot?” Liam questioned.
You could say that. Eri answered. However, there is an issue about this venom…
“What’s the issue?” Liam asked.
The issue about this venom is that only a select few monsters can produce this. Eri said. That being said, for you to get this as loot from this Zombified Hobgoblin means it was either poisoned by a creature that can produce this or it was injected by someone who used the venom in a poison craft. Judging by what happened to this creature, I’d say it was the former and not the latter.
Liam’s brows scrunched. Confused, Liam asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Well, I say it has to be the former because the venom has a unique trait when used in its natural state. Eri started. That unique trait is if someone or something dies while having this venom, in its natural state, in their system…they are turned into an Undead type of creature…
Liam felt his heart sink as his thoughts started to race. He stared at the remains of the Hobgoblin as he took in Eri’s words. “You’re saying that this creature was injected with the pure form of the venom and then died and became an undead?”
A sudden nagging feeling crept up in the back of Liam’s mind as he slowly turned to look at the Diseased Feeble Forest Goblins. “Eri…by any chance do you think that these…”
Yes. Eri answered, not needing to know where his line of thoughts were heading towards. I would highly suggest you pile them all together and burn their corpses as soon as possible before they fully turn.
“Why do I need to do that? Won’t their bodies disappear since they were defeated?” Liam questioned.
In normal cases, yes. However, like I said, they have the Rageful Rabies Venom coursing through their bodies. They did experience a death, but that’s only their first death. The venom is slowly turning their bodies as we speak and soon they will reawaken into mindless zombies.
“Shit,” Liam groaned as he tried to move as fast as he could to bring all the Diseased Feeble Forest Goblins into a pile. After the last one was brought over, he pulled out his last vial of Snake Oil and poured it over the bodies. He then channeled some Arcane Mana and poured that mana into his Light and Burn spell, making the flame hotter than normal before throwing it over the bodies.
Not wanting to inhale any of the smoke or burning body smell, Liam made his way out of the cave. He let out a few coughs which caused sharp pains to rummage his body, reminded him he was still sore and hurt.
After he finished coughing and wiped away the tears from his eyes, he looked forward and froze.
