"Huh?" Arthur stood there, dazed as he watched this scene. The mana disappeared, and the quietness of the night resumed. It was only then that Arthur realized the person who fell was drowning.
"Why is everyone drowning in this place?" Arthur mused to himself before jumping in the lake. He was not a good swimmer, but he knew the basics. Luckily, he was able to pull the person to the shore in time.
It was a girl with blonde hair and doll-like features. However, a scar ruined those features. It was running from the top of her eyebrow, across her eye, and reaching her cheek.
Arthur noticed that the girl was not breathing, and he started compressing her chest to expel the water from her lungs. He didn't know if this was the proper procedure, but he knew nothing else about first aid.
Arthur felt uncomfortable touching her chest like this, but he knew it wasn't time to worry about these things. He kept performing the procedure while realizing this was not the only problem. There were so many wounds on the girl's body that Arthur didn't know if she was even alive when she fell.
As he was about to perform artificial ventilation, she started coughing out water from her mouth and nose. However, she started panting heavily as she barely opened her eyes.
Arthur noticed that she had silver eyes, and they were scanning him through the slits she opened with effort. It seems she realized there was someone there, as she started reaching with her hands. However, she didn't go toward Arthur but toward her belt that had a dagger attached to it.
'Is she scared?' Arthur thought as he grabbed her hand and got closer to her. "I won't harm you. Just rest." He said as he moved the dagger away from her.
Arthur started using the Heal rune on her body. However, he realized it wasn't enough as she kept bleeding. Arthur pondered over the issue before he tried using multiple runes on her, including strength and stamina.
Her complexion got better, but she was still in critical condition. Arthur wished he could use numerous Heal runes on her, but he couldn't. Whenever he tried using multiple runes on himself or another object, the runes would collide, and he wouldn't be able to.
If he was, then he could have used multiple Strength-I runes on his body. He would be unbelievingly powerful for a short moment. It seemed his ability wasn't evolved enough for that, as the legacy told him his ability level was insufficient.
Arthur picked the girl up and dashed back to the pub. Using the fastest speed he could without hurting her further, he reached the pub after a few minutes. He heard the bell ring after he entered its radius, and Kira woke up to its sound. It looked at Arthur and the person on his back.
Arthur remembered how he healed from the injury he received underground. It was Kira's saliva that saved him, as it had healing properties. After the fight with Lian, his injuries were internal, and that's why he had to use his rune. Unless…
Arthur shook the thought away and laid the girl on the ground. He then pointed toward her wounds and to Kira, who kept looking at him with confusion. Arthur struck out his tongue out and started licking the air in the girl's direction so that Kira would understand what he meant.
As he was gesturing this way, his eyes met the girl's eyes that were now open. Although she was still panting heavily, she looked at him with confusion and disgust.
Arthur realized he had been licking the air in front of her the whole time without realizing it. He coughed as he felt his face burn from embarrassment.
"Please don't worry, my friend here can heal your wounds. Just lie down and rest for now." Arthur pretended that nothing happened, and Kira came to his rescue. It seems the gesturing worked as Kira sniffed the girl's wounds before it started licking them.
The girl's body shuddered at the sticky sensation of being licked, but she couldn't move. She looked at Arthur one more time before she closed her eyes to rest.
Now that patient was out cold, Arthur breathed in relief. This memory would be one he would remember before he fell asleep. Arthur then went into the house and brought some sheets to clean the wounds. He also used some of his water after having Kira warm it using its flames.
He started to clean the scars that looked like burn marks and cuts. After cleaning them, Arthur lit some fire next to her in case she got cold. He made a bed out of some sheets he got and allowed her to rest.
Arthur sat down while leaning on the pub's wall. He was getting sleepy after what just happened, and he felt safe enough to sleep as Kira was still around. The last thought he had was how lucky he was to have Kira by his side.
***
Arthur felt the light seep through his eyelids, waking him up. The birds were chippering away, singing the morning tunes. He stood up from his seat as he saw that the fire has turned to embers after warming them all night.
Stretching his body, Arthur regretted not sleeping on something softer last night. He walked over to the girl, who now had a much healthier appearance than yesterday. Her breathing was also normal, and Arthur sighed in relief.
It was then that he noticed the robes this girl wore, which he had seen before. The group he followed into the trial wore the same black with silver engravings robes.
Arthur decided to ask her later, and he went to make breakfast. He wanted to cook something that an injured person could eat but didn't have any materials for cooking porridge or soup.
He used some rabbit meat and fruit he got. He used honey from the pub to coat the meat since he once heard it was a suitable replacement for onions, as it breaks down the meat's structure. He wasn't sure if this was true, but he decided to test it anyway.
As Kira was roasting the meat, Arthur used a knife to peel the fruit he got. Some of them were exotic, as he has never seen such fruit before, but there were also apples and whatnot.
After the meal was ready, Arthur decided to wake the girl up. He nudged her body slightly as he called for her. After a few minutes, the girl opened her eyes. As soon as she woke up, she tried to get up, but Arthur stopped her.
"You're still hurt. Lie down." He said as he held her shoulders. It seems the sudden movement was too much for her as she winced in pain and went lied back down.
"Who… are you?" She asked weakly, and it was the first time Arthur heard her voice.
"Does it matter? I doubt it would change anything if I tell you my name." Arthur lightly smiled as he pushed a piece of meat toward her. He had cut the meat into tiny pieces so that the girl would be able to eat them.
The girl looked at him without saying anything before parting her lips. The meat slid into her mouth as she used all she had to chew it. Using the chance that she was closing her eyes, Arthur used his strength, stamina, and heal runes on her.
Her chewing got easier as she snapped her eyes open in confusion. It seems that she was confused by the sudden return of her strength. Arthur kept feeding her until there was none left. After that, he asked Kira to lick her wounds again.
After the meal and Kira's healing saliva, the girl slept again. Arthur stood up and had his breakfast before going back into the pub. He wore his armor and carried his sword. It was time for him to go and take his revenge. Since he couldn't take Kira underground because of its size, he instructed him to protect the girl while he was gone.
Arthur retraced his steps toward the place he almost died. Since he was wounded at that time, he didn't remember the exact location. He went back to the cave and then toward the Beras field. He then started walking along the forest line until he found the place he came from.
He dashed in the general direction while using his detection rune. After a while, he sensed the underground lifeforms and began heading toward the entrance by the mountain's range.
Standing in front of the entrance, Arthur had memories of his earlier endeavors. Steeling his heart, he advanced through the cave while killing or avoiding any blue and red gem goblin ants. They no longer gave him any stat points, and that's why he only took their cores after absorbing them. He could later sell them in the outside world.
After walking for a while, Arthur finally found a violet gem goblin. He didn't need to hide this time as he was a lot stronger than before. He used the runes on his armor and the protection-II rune before he advanced toward the monster.