Ewan and the others toiled for hours before the rush of the desperate patients ended, as the tent hushed after suffering from the slew of deathly groans.
He sprawled on the chair, Kidd snored on the ground, while Iris hung by his shoulder, wasted. Even with the blood-element Novas coins, she strained herself healing all the patients. Her struggles and her pain made Ewan want to give up many times. The injured strangers were not his priority. He might help them on a bright sunny day, when he’d had a jolly good morning, but their lives weighed nothing against his Astylinds’ discomfort, let alone their wellbeing. Yet, he had a motive for his actions here, and the struggle for it was inevitable.
Many died today, but their hard work also saved many lives. Most of all, Ewan’s name gained recognition. They all had lost their Astylinds, so he wasn’t optimistic about their lives from now on. But that didn’t matter as they had served their purpose for him.
The hectic day came to an end when the bruised and the battered Ashevas came back from the battlefield. Their smiles and their grins were the sign of victory, while their wounds and scabbed scars were their medal of honor.
“Ewan, I heard about your feats today, good job,” Kiev said, approaching Ewan.
“I’m dead tired though,” Ewan said.
Trask laughed on the side. “You’ll get used to it,” he said.
“You sly bastard, you joined the medicine unit,” Mize said, grinning at Ewan. “We were waiting for you to join us.”
“Doesn’t matter, he’s still a part of our group,” Kiev said, smiling.
“I’ll join you guys next time, just wanted to get used to all this,” Ewan said.
“Don’t worry, your job won't change even on the frontline. You’ll be our exclusive healer,” Kiev said.
Ewan smiled. “Where’s Sheree?” he asked, glancing at the big group getting comfortable on the ground behind Kiev. They sprawled on the grass, grinning and laughing, while some started to nod off—this must be the whole group he mentioned.
Trask sighed and shook his head.
Ewan lifted his brows. “Dead?”
“Oi, don’t kill off the only beauty in our group,” Mize said. “She got injured and retreated in the afternoon. She must’ve dealt with it herself, so she didn’t come here.”
“Let’s go, let’s get some rest,” Kiev said, gesturing to the group behind him. “Sleep well tonight, tomorrow we’ll have a trade meet with the whole group and a feast. I’ll call for you then.”
So, the battle ended…they must’ve gained a lot to call for a trade meet so soon.
The group went their way, and Ewan packed up the books he took out and left for his villa after signing the register, leaving Kidd snoring on an empty bed whose bloodied sheet had dried.
……
He lounged in his yard as usual, gazing at the stars, his Astylinds playing around. The severity of even a small-scale war threw off his confidence in his plans. His stubbornness for the mystic-type material could take his life the next time he visited the battlefield. He would be on the frontlines then, not in the back, dealing with the aftermath. And this was a step he had to take, joining the front lines was a must for him.
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The lack of Varos could plunge his chances of survival there, even as a healer. So, since death wasn’t an option for him, he had to change his plans.
One final try….
Tomorrow was the trade meet with the whole group. If he didn’t find what he was looking for, he would give up on the mystic-element and go with Tigog Acrix. This material aced most of his tests so far. If he had to choose an earth-element material, this was a good option.
As he broke the barrier his obstinance had raised, the tasks he overlooked since he came here resurfaced—his Astylinds’ grade. Instead of a meaningless quest for an unknown possibility, it was far more efficient to focus on his Astylinds. After all, he was a Severynth—a Summoner.
Frost and Orange were still fine. They hadn't hit the ceiling of their species yet. They wouldn’t evolve when breaking through to Level-10, so Ewan could take his time pushing them up to Grade-S. Not to mention their requirements would need him to expand his radius beyond this city, deep towards the inland or out into the endless waters, which wasn’t feasible for him right now.
But Iris wrote a different story. Her species limited her to the Step-0 stage. If she were to walk forward, she had to evolve. As per his Pa’s words, she would open special evolution paths if she broke through with a higher grade. ‘How high’ was the question he wanted to ask yet had no one to answer. Thus, he chose the highest to be on the safe side—Grade-S.
She was still only at Grade-C, though…
Ewan sighed. He had a long way to go. At least he had enough Novas to support her failures now.
……
The next dawn broke from the horizon, and he got to work on his changed plan. His booming business needed a constant supply of potions, Nana needed potions for her Astylinds, Iris needed her potion too. The material tests for Tigog Acrix, his spell practice, his studies…
When he wrote it all down, the list overwhelmed him. The day didn’t have enough hours for him.
Regardless, he had to take one step at a time. He set aside a few hours for brewing potions for his business while spending the rest of the day ticking off other tasks. The potions for Iris and Nana didn’t take much time, his high success rate pushed him across the end line in just a couple of hours. The rest of the afternoon went to Tigog Acrix and some spell research. By the time dusk fell, all the tasks had sapped him dry. Yet, his day had not ended.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [8th Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 1.9
Spirit: 16.9
Anima: [Fire – 16.9 | Ice – 16.9 | Blood – 16.9]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [8th Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-C]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 27,142
Crelith: 4,061