Chapter 2/4. enjoy.
Donations: 27/30
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“Kiria, are you sure you feel fine enough to move? Harvey said it would be best if you stayed for another 2 to 3 days,” Nortrem asked worriedly as he watched Kiria sling her back over her shoulder.
The party had resided at Harvey’s place for the past week and Kiria had seen substantial improvement during the time. As of now, with her approval, Victor had decided to head back to Thoreni city to report the failure of the mission. Everyone was dressed in the same army camouflage uniforms, with the occasional metal armour that looked out of place. Being the group’s herbalist, Kiria did a stock take on the herbs that was left and packed them into her bag.
“Hey doctor,” Visage called out towards Harvey while resting his elbow on Nortrem’s shoulder casually. “So right now, at this moment, MY blood is running inside Kiria is it not?”
“Yes that is true,” Harvey replied while nodding his head.
“So… Nortrem,” Visage continued, a sneer growing on his face. “How does it feel to know that a part of me has been inside Kiria? I mean, it’s MY blood, which can be considered my bodily fluids. You – “
Visage was cut off mid mockery as an arrow whizzed past his head, slicing just a thin thread of blood on his cheek. With a surprised look, he turned to see a horrifying smile on Carla’s face. His facial expression immediately changed from a mocking jeer to a fearful apologetic look. Carla stomped over and twisted his ear, before pulling him along out of the building.
“Don’t mind him Nortrem,” Victor said. “My sister will take care of him.” He continued with a sneer.
Harvey watched the scene unfold; chuckling to himself as he quickly packed a backpack for himself as well. Within the backpack were medical supplies, antibiotic shots for Kiria, a newly fabricated suit for himself, multiple portable power banks, clean towels and a large plastic tarp. With a loud click, the plastic backpack snapped shut like a luggage, and Harvey threw it on his back.
Seeing this, Victor, Nortrem and Kiria looked at him quizzically.
“Uhh… you going somewhere Harvey?” Victor asked curiously.
“Following you guys of course,” Harvey replied curtly, as if it was the most natural thing. “She has to complete her course of antibiotics.”
“Are you sure? It’s very dangerous out there in the forest. You could get injured like me. It is support members like me and you that are usually the most vulnerable in a party,” Kiria asked worriedly, not willing to let her saviour risk his life.
“Pffft…” Nortrem stifled a laugh. Up until today, Kiria had only seen the gentle caring side of Harvey who had stayed indoors for the most part. His movements were so delicate and precise that she had just assumed that like her, he was not combat oriented.
“Please, the entirety of Thoreni would be burnt to ashes before you see a scratch on this guy,” Visage suddenly interrupted, one of his ears blazing red and swollen. Harvey promptly walked over to a refrigerator and pulled out a cold pack, tossing it to Visage who placed it over his red ear. It was clear he had suffered quite a bit under Clara.
“Really? That’s hard to believe,” Kiria commented, a little surprised. “Do you practise a certain sword art? Or close combat skill?” She asked, getting more interested in this metallic person.
“Well, from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t really have any offensive capabilities. It’s just his armour is so tough his defence skyrockets beyond anything I’ve seen.” Victor explained, watching Visage wince as Harvey applied a light layer of cream on his ear.
“Well, since everyone is ready, let’s get going shall we? Don’t wanna burn daylight,” Harvey asked, leaving Visage who was being pulled by his other ear back out the door. Indistinct yelling could be heard moments before the glass doors shut completely, isolating the interior of the building from the rushing water of the river.
“Burn daylight? You can’t burn daylight Harvey,” Kiria chuckled as she headed for the exit, the doors sliding open once more. It was already mid-morning by the time everyone left the building. Harvey initiated the lockdown sequence, causing the metal shutters and bulk doors to seal off the building. He turned to take one last look at his home of almost 2 years, before jogging to catch up with the party.
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[[Later that night]]
“Kiria, time for your medication,” Harvey informed her as he picked up an auto-syringe from the medkit. “Pull up your sleeve,” he ordered, before placing one end of the cylindrical device against her arm. Pressing a small red button on the side, the syringe activated, empting the contents in the glass vial rapidly. “Only 2 more to go and the course will be complete.”
“Hey can I ask you a question?” Kiria asked while rolling down her sleeve. The camp fire crackled as Visage returned from the woods with a few dead animals in his basket. Victor and Carla proceeded to skin the animals and drain their blood, preparing them to be cooked and preserved.
“Sure. What is it?” Harvey replied, his electronic voice emanating from his shoulders.
“Why did you save the Pritor? Leaving it alive would endanger many more people in this area. As a herbalist, I really don’t see the point in doing that,” Kiria asked.
“Because that’s my job. It is not up to me to decide if someone or something is worth saving. My job is to save them. Every life is important. Even if you know that it might lead to dire consequences, the life in itself is important. I save what I can, whenever I can. If I cannot, I make them as comfortable as I can, easing their pain to the utmost of my abilities. Isn’t that what you do as an herbalist as well? You help ease people from their suffering through your knowledge and skills with plants and herbs. As a doctor, and surgeon, I too have the skills to help any life that I come across.” Harvey explained.
“And what if that person is your enemy? What if it was a murderer who appeared at your doorstep asking for help? Would you save him too?” Kiria questioned.
“Yes. Anyone who asks for my help will get it, because I can afford to offer it. Like I said, it is not up to me to judge the worth of a life. That is up to your judges and officials who handle criminals. Naturally, in that specific scenario, even if I informed the authorities and the man was to be sentenced to death, it is my job to make sure he is not suffering up till his sentencing.”
“I see. Well that’s a new way to look at things…” Kiria’s voice meandered off as she began to ponder.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“And what’s your goal? Why did you become an herbalist?” Harvey asked.
“To be honest, money,” Kiria replied with an embarrassed grin. “I would normally say it’s the joy of helping others, or some other crap along those lines, but I actually started studying herbs because of money.”
“Do herbalists make a lot of money? Last I checked, the prices of herbs are very high and even then, their effects are not guaranteed. Wouldn’t you need to spend quite a sum of money to buy herbs to use?” Harvey questioned with a perplexed tone.
“No. Herbalists can barely scrape a living if they are good. But you need to pass an herbalists exam within one of the main capitols to be an alchemist. Alchemists use enchanted equipment to combine herbs to brew potions. And those are worth a lot of money. Potions are far more effective in healing than raw herbs, but they require a precise knowledge and skill to brew. Alchemists are always in high demand no matter which region you go to. My parents own the majority of businesses within Thoreni, so they can afford to stockpile herbs for me to study,” Kiria explained.
“I see. I keep hearing about this enchantment and such. Does magic really exist? I have yet to see anyone use magic,” Harvey asked.
“Of course magic is real. It’s extraordinarily rare in humans and Anima, but demons and elves are highly proficient in magic. The 2 races combined their efforts to summon the world tree a long time ago to seal the Evil god in a time vault. The tree can be seen nearer the south of the continent. Humans rely more on enchanting weapons and tools to wield magic, compared to casters from the demon and elf race.” Kiria continued.
Then, Nortrem came through the bushes abruptly, a frantic look on his face.
“Guys, we need to pack up and leave now. There is a predator nearby. It could be a horned bear or Winged Wolf. I found tracks while foraging. Either way, they will be attracted by our scent and the light of the fire. We better move towards open ground quickly.” Nortrem warned as he quickly began throwing dirt on the fire. Kiria got up quickly, albeit a little wobbly, and helped pack up the belongings. Everyone quickly donned their equipment, preparing to set out in the moonlight.
The nearby undergrowth rustled. Then silence ensued as everyone became alerted. Weapons drawn, the party watched their surroundings carefully, scrutinising every single branch and leaf for movement. More rustling, this time, it was moving around them, circling the party. Their eyes followed the noise, weapons poised to strike at any time. Harvey stood up as well, preparing to jump and intercept whatever predator might attack. He knew his body was more likely to withstand an attack compared to the humans, and even if it was damaged, he could simply replace the damaged parts.
Then, Harvey did an unexpected move. His posture changed from that of a guarded alert stance to one that was more relaxed, his shoulder drooping a little as he calmly walked over to Victor. The rustling had stopped and the night was dead silent while everyone held their breaths. Their senses were all heightened and concentrated on the location where the rustling was last heard.
Harvey extended his hand and touched the tip of Victor’s short sword, lowering it with ease despite Victor holding it up with all his strength. Then, he faced a seemingly random direction in the forest and spread out his arms, as if preparing to hug someone.
*Thud!*
Without giving anyone a chance to react, a black blur that had once perfectly blended in with the night pounced out at Harvey, right into his open arms. The force of the pounce was so strong that Harvey had fallen backwards onto his own metallic bum despite being prepared to receive the blow. Instantly, everyone turned to see the familiar Pritor with bandages around its leg licking Harvey’s face.
Harvey had known. Right from when the rustling started, he had switched to infrared and thermal scanning to observe his surroundings. Seeing the figure of a Pritor, he brought up the tracking program at the back of his head, only to confirm that it was the same Pritor he had saved. To make sure it felt safe to show itself, Harvey had lowered Victor’s sword before stepping up to welcome it. Sure enough, it took the opportunity to pounce.
The large cat looked healthier than ever, with some traces of dried blood around its lips. Harvey quickly picked the cat up off his body and wiped the saliva that was starting to clog up the sensors on his face. The Pritor took a look at the feeble humans, before snorting and returning its attention to Harvey, getting ready to pounce once more. Being an apex predator, it seldom came across anything that was tough enough to rough house with that wasn’t trying to kill it; hence Harvey made the perfect playmate.
With yet another silent pounce, the cat threw all of its weight against Harvey, knocking him onto his back once more, all while purring softly. As it chewed on Harvey’s shoulder, the 2 of them rolled around on the ground, with Harvey trying to stave off its advances. Kiria watched on with a fearful expression, her hands still tightly gripping the tachi that was slotted inside its sheathe horizontally on the back of her waist.
Finally, Harvey decided it was best to end the playtime, noticing the nervousness of the party who was still standing around with their guards up. He grabbed the Pritor by its scruff, causing it to go limp momentarily. He stood up and placed it on the ground, muttering a single command.
“Sit,” He instructed, to which the Pritor sat upright like a loyal dog, its 3 tails swishing slightly on the ground. Harvey dusted himself off, plucking leaves, moss and soil off his robe which was torn up now from the scuffle. He then crouched down beside the Pritor, and examined the wound on its leg. It had healed nicely, with signs of black fur growing back where he had shaved off. It left a zig zag scar near the ankle of its hind leg, but would not be visible once the fur grew back. Clearly, from its previous actions, the limp was gone and the wound no longer affected the Pritor.
Seeing the obedient cat, the party all began to relax, with the exception of Kiria was was still stunned by the Pritor’s behaviour. The once savage and ruthless predator that almost killed her was now sitting there in front of her like a domesticated cat, and one that showed unprecedented affection for its owner no less. Victor and the rest however, began taking off their armour and setting up the camp once more, this time making sure to place their items away from the cat which was purring with its eyes closed while Harvey stroked its head gently.