Not long after leaving the barracks, Valyr had arrived at the entrance of the village clinic, taking a look inside to see if Vera was busy with other tasks. Fortunately, there were none, with a somewhat sleepy Vera walking out of the back of the clinic with a cup of what looked like coffee on one hand.
Letting out a yawn, Vera lightly scratched her back as an expression of slight satisfaction appeared on her face. Taking a look at her surroundings to see if there was anything amiss, her gaze eventually stopped on a certain man looking through the entrance, prompting her mind to instantly become alert.
“V-Valyr!” Vera could not help but exclaim, eliciting a light wave from Valyr in response.
“Sorry to be disturbing you this early in the morning,” said Valyr as he let himself in, coming closer to where Vera was. “However, I urgently need you to concoct something for me.”
“Hmm?” Hearing Valyr’s words, Vera could not help but raise an eyebrow as she took a sip from her cup. Just as she was about to ask him what he wanted her to concoct, her eyes quickly noticed the same bag she had seen yesterday slung over his shoulder. However, unlike yesterday, where it seemed that the bag was only halfway full when he arrived, the bag in front of her was filled to the brim with materials.
Specifically, the important materials needed for her to concoct the two elixirs from before.
Naturally, Vera was left at a loss for words, looking at Valyr with a shocked expression on her face, only to shift her gaze to the bag over his shoulder soon after. “Eh? I thought you said it would take you a week to procure another batch of materials?”
“Indeed, I did.” Valyr nodded. “However, what I didn’t expect was that, by the time I returned to the barracks yesterday, I was given a chance that allowed me to buy all of the remaining materials necessary for me to concoct the remaining vials I need.”
“A chance? What chance?” asked Vera, taking yet another sip from her cup. Though, when she heard the words that came out of Valyr’s mouth, she tried her hardest not to spit out what she drank, barely stopping herself from doing so.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard yet, but a monster tide will befall our village within this week,” Valyr explained, making Vera stare at him wide-eyed. “As for the chance that brought about our current situation, I volunteered to help out the village in defending against the monster tide. Because of that, the guard leader somewhat gave me a lot of money, which allowed me to buy the materials you see slung over my shoulder.”
By the time he was finished explaining, Vera took in a few deep breaths before letting out a long sigh to calm down her emotions. Looking at Valyr, she asked in a solemn tone, “Do we know how big the monster tide is?”
“According to the others, we’ll be up against a small-scale monster tide,” said Valyr in response, deciding to keep the worst-case scenario of the situation to himself. After all, with how she reacted at him mentioning a monster tide, he had no doubt that her reaction would be more intense once she found out that the village might face a tide close to medium-scale.
“Will the village be safe?” Vera asked soon after, her hands slightly trembling from the thought of chaos enveloping their village by the time the tide arrived. “Will I be able to treat all of the injured from the tide?”
Noticing that Vera’s train of thought was heading towards a downward spiral, Valyr went ahead and assured her that everything was going to be fine.
“The weakest among those who’ll be volunteering to defend against the tide are us guards, who have been training for situations like these. Aside from that, every person who has a Rank 1 class and above have been recruited as well,” Valyr said to her with a light smile. “In other words, if there comes a time where you’ll be treating injuries, it’ll only be light wounds at the very least.”
Hearing those words, Vera went silent for a bit before letting out a long sigh. As she looked at Valyr once more, the latter could not help but notice that there was a hint of concern in her gaze.
“Is that the reason why you’ve come to the clinic so early in the morning? To have more of the elixirs concocted?” Vera asked, placing the cup she held on a nearby table.
With a nod, Valyr removed the bag around his shoulder before giving it to her. “But of course. The more strength we have as a whole, the better.”
Receiving the bag given to her, Vera looked at the contents for a bit before deeply inhaling. In an instant, the expression that adorned her face changed to that of determination, nodding at Valyr as she told him to follow her to the back of the clinic.
Once there, Vera did not hesitate to start the concoction process, the experience and feeling of concocting both types of elixirs still vivid in her mind. With great haste, she went ahead and started concocting the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, making sure to not let her previous success get to her head and affect her ability to make the subsequent attempts a success.
After she was finished with the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, she moved onto concocting the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, only taking a small break to satiate the hunger and thirst she felt after placing her full attention on the cauldron for hours straight.
Eventually, just like the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir, she went through all 10 attempts of concocting the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, a tired yet satisfied smile adorning her face once she was done. After that, she looked at Valyr, who gave her a thumbs up in response.
As Vera rested for a while, recuperating the physical and mental energy she had exhausted throughout the whole ordeal, Valyr looked at the final results of the entire process, surprised that she was able to successfully complete eight attempts out of ten. On a nearby table, 16 vials were neatly arranged into two rows, separated according to the color of the liquid they contained.
Looking at the vials for a bit, Valyr went ahead and placed most of it into the now empty bag, leaving a vial of both liquids for Vera to take once more.𝐎𝐕𝑳𝐞xt.𝗇𝓔t
“Once more, you’ve gone above and beyond, miss Vera. How much should I pay you for your service?” Valyr could not help but say.
In response, Vera profusely waved her hands in refusal. “You don’t really have to, sir Valyr. The vials you’ve given me and the experience I’ve obtained from the entire process is enough payment for me. Plus, think of it as me indirectly helping out in the defense against the monster tide.”
WIth his mind focusing on her last statement, Valyr could not help but let out a light chuckle. “Since you don’t want me to pay you for your service, how about I treat you to a meal once we pass through the monster tide?”
Unsurprisingly, Vera’s face could not help but turn slightly red at the straightforward offer. However, she did not refuse it at all, instead lightly nodding as she said, “I’ll be helping everyone as much as I can from the rear lines. After all, I’m the only doctor in this village.”
“Our lives are in your hands, doctor.” Saying those words, Valyr finally bade farewell to Vera, leaving the clinic as he took a look at how much time was left before night fell.
“Early afternoon.” Noticing that the sun had already gone past its zenith, Valyr walked closer to the village gates before taking a detour into a secluded alleyway, not hesitating to consume all of the vials in his bag in one go.
Whoosh!
To no surprise, the burning sensation from the Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir and the cooling sensation from the Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir clashed with one another, making Valyr feel a hint of pain from the whole ordeal. However, after some time, this sensation gradually became more and more pleasurable to the senses, making him feel as if he had unearthed a bit of the untapped potential in his body.
Ding!
[As you have consumed 10 vials of both Basic Physical Reinforcement Elixir and Basic Mental Reinforcement Elixir, your body has reached the initial state of tempering, achieving Basic Reinforcement.]
[You have gained the passive skill ‘Basic Reinforced Body and Soul’.]