My body felt just as bad as it did the day before but waking up to the sunrise, instead of sunset, told me the toxin had probably run its course. I groaned, waiting in bed a few minutes before I gathered the will to move. ‘Screw this. I just made bank, I’m going to buy some medicine. No, but it’s a waste of money if I’ll get better without it…’ I double-checked to make sure, but just as I thought my medicine bag was empty.
‘Just this once I could waste money, I mean I made bank on this last job… No… If I make an exception now then I might do it again later.’ Even putting my armor on hard with the weakness in my hands. ‘Then again… Not using medicine might make it more dangerous to harvest the spiders Ted brings in…’
I let out a sigh and another groan slowly making my way to the medical tent only to find a massive line all the way out in the street. Normally I didn’t mind waiting, but I was already in a bad mood so it was a bit annoying. ‘Something must have happened… Did someone get ambushed during a hunt? No, this looks bigger than that. If the hold up is this long.’
“Ashton’s party right…” A man in front of me said to another.
“Yeah. Not just them though. I heard some members of the Iron Vanguard guild got caught up in it.”
“You serious? How was there even a problem then?”
“Don't know, from what I understand everyone’s out of antidotes, so the only way to cure the poison is with magic…”
Even I’ve never been bitten or stung… ‘They have to either be weak or just plain stupid. Ashton shouldn’t be either though. Is it that common?’ Spider venom was dangerous, and often lethal without treatment so even I carried a bottle of antidote… The same bottle… For over 6 years. I didn’t think anyone actually relied on them.
‘Ashton…’ He was just another guy that wouldn’t let me in his party at one point… To get payback I did his party’s quest by myself before they could. If I remember right it was something like take down a school of heat slimes. I set out the same night he took it, rather than in the morning, and I spent 12 hours straight pouring mana into rune traps that ended up leaving nothing but scattered dirt and splattered slime guts all over everything, even me. I still don’t know if he was more shocked at my Gorey appearance or the fact I did the quest alone, but the look on his face was worth it either way.
I looked down, fidgeting with my armor straps to pass the time. ‘He’s a bit annoying, but I hope he pulls through. I wonder if he even remembers me.’
In what felt like seconds I was already stepping inside the tint. ‘That all was a long time ago. I’m not so petty anymore. And he has a pretty well-known D-rank party now.’
I ducked under a flap of fabric and as it slid over my head I began to see why there was a line. Every single bed was occupied, most with people groaning in pain. The ones that weren’t were completely motionless, but honestly, that was scarier.
‘Then the line is moving too fast. something isn’t right. I waited my turn and walked up to a young girl who was completely alone. She was handling the whole counter by herself. I could see bags under her eyes, but somehow she still managed to greet me with a smile. Judging by her robes, she was still only an apprentice.
“Do you need medical supplies?” She asked, her hands folded behind her back, showing a perfect posture that made her look almost refined, even in the apprentice robes.
“Mm…” I nodded. ‘I’m out of everything so…’ “Beeswax, to pack wounds. Some clean bandages, disinfectant, and a healing and mana potion. What else… Uhm, I heard you’re out of antidote, so you probably don’t have any saxifrage… If you have sun leaf and river mist I’ll have 3 bundles of each, but if not that’s fine. Oh, and I guess some disinfectant, in case I run out of mana.”
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The poor girl looked like her head was about to explode. “Let's see uhm you said.. Beeswax and… Oh, Sorry, we don't have any potions right now not for healing or mana.” I could tell from her eyes she wasn’t having trouble following my order, she was just too exhausted to think straight. Somehow her shoulder never slumped though.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR OUT!” a man screamed, causing the poor girl to flinch. As her eyes refocused she started to breathe heavier, only then did she start to show the slightest signs of exhaustion in her demeanor.
‘Man… I know how she feels. Jerks like that should just die. Well, I guess this reaction would be expected though…’’
‘Supply shortage then… That’s not a good sign. People are gonna start dying soon.’ “Can I still have everything else?”
“U-uhm yea. What did you want again? Sorry, I– Sorry– Sorry I’m just…”
‘Did she stop breathing?’ Her eyes started quickly scanning the room as if she were counting, moving so fast they were giving me a headache. ‘Did that one guy yelling at her… No who knows how long she’s been dealing with angry adventurers.’’ I let out a soft sigh. “Hey… Hey, miss?” She continued moving her eyes as she started mouthing the numbers.
“I’m sorry can you please repeat the order?” She said back without so much as looking at me.
‘What is she counting? Well, she seems fine now at least.’ I repeated the order again but as she turned around more yelling froze her stiff until she started to shake.
The crowd was starting to erupt as someone pushed his way to the front and slammed his fist into the counter. “If you’re out of potions then why aren’t you just making more!”
I let out another sigh and leaned forward onto the counter myself, rubbing my head. “I get that you’re mad, but can you be a dick after she finishes my order? You're stressing her out and it’s slowing her down because she’s tired…”
I heard the leather in his glove squeal as his fist clenched even tighter. ‘Here we go again…’
“What did you say?”
Taking another deep breath I pushed myself away from the counter and squared up with him. He was only about a foot taller than me, and human, so honestly I wasn’t worried. “I said piss off, or at least wait your turn.”
Out of the side of my eye, I could still see the young girl still frozen in place, too nervous to even turn around. “People like you are the worst… Seriously, I mean even back alley thugs piss me off less. Just go die somewhere.”
He let out a loud growl, making me start to eat my own words. ‘Ah geez, I went too far again didn’t I…’
He threw a quick jab, which I easily ducked, but pulled my counter punch before it landed, realizing I was throwing it with my crippled hand. “AGH! Even fighting you is pissing me off!”
As he threw another punch. I slipped to the outside and grabbed his arm stomping on the insides of his thigh as I pulled yanked his wrist forward before shoving him back to the ground.
“Go back and find 5 other guys, make one of them an Ogre, then try to pick a fight.” I spat on the ground as he let out a sigh, hanging his head.
‘Wait… I won? I mean of course I won, I’m probably the only person here that knows how to fight hand-to-hand. But wait, no one else is fighting me? So like, does this still count as a brawl?’ I leaned over to look at the crowd, waiting for more people to join in but nothing happened, everything just went dead silent. ‘So. I’m standing… This is what winning feels like?’
He growled again as he stood up. “You’re righ–”
The moment he moved I reflexively jabbed him in the nose, still feeling the adrenaline rush. ‘Wait, what was he saying.’ His body slowly fell to the ground with a thud. ‘Oops… Oh, well… It’s probably fine…’ I cleared my throat, turning back to the girl, still stiff as an animal playing dead. When I tapped her on the shoulder it was almost like she pretended nothing had happened.
The moment she gathered my supplies I sent them to into my storage one at a time.
“Spatial magic?” she mumbled.
I looked back at her. Her hands now resting on the counter. They were purple. ‘Mana deficiency… On top of everything else? “Where is your teacher?” I mumbled out loud by accident.
She hid her hands back under the counter. “D-don't worry about it, I'll be fine.”
To hear her say that with a smile, while literally working herself to death… When she was even younger than me… The sheer amount of pain that she must have been feeling was unimaginable. I had done some pretty stupid things before for training, but even my hands never got the bad.
It made my mouth go dry. “If you say so…” I mumbled, unable to even manage a smile as I turned and left. After news of them being out of potions spread the line thinned considerably, but even that didn't fully ease my conscience from the weight of just leaving her. ‘Well. Everybody has problems… The line should clear up soon.’