Small holes had been punctured in the leather armor protecting her thigh. Despite the holes being small, it seemed like the Hydra"s fangs had pierced clean through leather.
Although Ray was an amateur in these things, he couldn"t any serious injuries such as bone fractures on her. It seemed like she had only lost consciousness due to being struck against the ground. However, her breath was ragged and her face had attained unnatural red blush.
Is the Hydra poisonous? If that really is the case, healing magic will likely not have much of an effect . . .
Ray was worried over what he should do as he remembered that in things like games, "healing" and "detoxification" were usually different magics. Although agitated, he was still able to recall the first-aid procedures for poisonous snake bites that he had seen on TV once.
If I remember correctly, the poison needs to be sucked out and the flow of blood needs to be stopped? After that, an antidote . . . I"m certain that there was an antidote potion somewhere in Ashley"s bag . . .
He unfastened the armor covering her thigh and sliced apart the cloth of the pants underneath. After confirming the small wound on her skin the Hydra"s fanged had pierced, he brought his mouth to it and proceeded to draw out the poison. After turning his head to suck and spit several times, he binded a rope around the upper part of her thigh to stop the flow of blood.
He retrieved an antidote potion from Ashley"s backpack and held it near the entrance of her mouth. However, possibly due to the fact that she was not conscious, her body refused to drink the potion.
"Ashley! It"s okay, please, you have to drink this . . ."
In the end, he had to hold the potion in his mouth and force open her mouth, making her drink the potion through mouth-to-mouth feeding.
Although Ray had succeeded in making her drink the potion, he wasn"t able to determine whether or not it was effective. He wasn"t sure what actions he should take now that he was finished.
Should I try using magic . . . detoxification should be a water elemental magic. What kind of image does it need . . .
Even as one, two minutes slipped by, Ashley"s condition didn"t improve.
He watched as she softly groaned from the effects of the Hydra"s poison. Having no other choice, Ray decided to try detoxifying her with water elemental magic.
Eliminating the poison . . . I"ll try asking the water spirits to purify the components of the poison within her bloodstream . . . imagining the purification process is difficult though . . . maybe I should try decomposing all of the poisonous components until they"ve become harmless compounds? Do I have enough magical energy for this? . . . no, what am I saying. I"m going to do this even if I collapse from magical exhaustion!
He imagined the water spirits gathering at his left hand and then once a sufficient amount of spiritual energy had acc.u.mulated, he placed his hand on Ashley"s right leg. As the blue light flowed from his left hand into her body, the only thing he could understand was that something seemed to be happening.
Although he didn"t have much confidence in himself, he knew that right now, he had no choice. In order to prevent the poison from spreading, he unfastened the rope that was bound around her thigh and moved his left hand around her whole body.
After using his magic continuously for approximately one minute, Ray felt as if Ashley"s expression which was warped in anguish had loosened up a little bit. After he forced his magic to run to the limits, right before the edge of total exhaustion, he once again took a look at Ashley"s overall condition.
Although her expression looks more relaxed than before, I can"t tell if the poison has been removed or not. If I go back to Molton, there should be a healing mage or maybe a doctor there. Even if her consciousness has not returned yet, not bringing her back will likely be a matter of life or death . . .
He decided to observe her condition for ten more minutes and also collect the Hydra"s magic stone during that period.
The symptoms of magical exhaustion were already beginning to appear as his body staggered towards the Hydra"s corpse. He held out his hand over its body and proceeded to collect its magic stone. The stone that sparkled a light blue was roughly five cemers in diameter. (TL: Gold Tee is 5.4 cm tall)
"This is thing is huge. Well, it certainly is befitting of a monster so strong . . ."
Ray tiredly mumbled out those words as he gazed at the magic stone. And then as if his mind and body had finally caught up to the full situation, cold sweat began flowing down his back as he recalled his struggle to the death with the Hydra.
That was such a close call. Although I hadn"t panicked like I did it with the lizardmen, this was only because I knew Ashley was here with me. If I had been alone . . . I would have probably died . . .
Ray"s face showed an expression of fear as his memories of the near-death experience rushed back to his mind. However, he quickly rea.s.sumed a tight expression.
It"s okay. I"ve won against a formidable enemy. I should have some more confidence in myself . . . however, I still can"t understand how Ashley got caught by the Hydra. Normally, it would be unthinkable for her to be taken like that unless there was some kind of accident . . .
Ray occasionally checked Ashley"s condition as he put their bags in order and collected the magic stone. However, she showed no signs of waking up at all. There was a high possibility that her head had received a concussion when her body was struck against the ground. Because of that, Ray was hesitant over whether or not it was safe to move her body carelessly. In the end however, there was no way he could just have them continue to spend the night like this, and he decided to return to town.
He stored both of their belongings in the item box and placed the unconscious Ashley on his back, steadying her with his spear. Fortunately, there was no need to abandon anything since everything had been placed in the item box.
He hesitated over whether or not to remove all of her remaining armor in order to reduce her weight. However, when he thought over how they had to move as quickly as possible and the possibility of being attacked by monsters en route, he carried as she was and began walking into the forest.
It was currently around two o"clock in the afternoon. Even as he carried the large-bodied Ashley on his back, Ray had to spur on his body which was staggering from magical exhaustion while advancing through the forest.
I"m really begging that nothing comes out. With me in this condition, I wouldn"t even be able to protect us against small fry . . .
He had left behind the banks of Carbide lake and entered into the hilly forest. Under the overcast sky, a cool April wind blew against him. However, as you would expect, moving while carrying one person by himself was gruelling experience.
He had to cover a distance of more than four kimels before he would reach the safety of the road. Although he managed to progress approximately one kimel after one hour, the fatigue and the numbness in his arms caused him to have no choice but to take a rest.
Ray took deep breaths as he sat down and leaned his back against a large tree.
Ashley who he had sat down beside him still showed no indications of her consciousness returning. His desire to bring her back to town as quickly as possibly grew even stronger as his impatience boiled.
It should be around three o"clock right now . . . the town"s still quite far away. Although the gate is open until eight, I don"t even know if my body can make it there . . . no, rather than that, if I don"t show her to a healer soon, Ashley is going to . . .
After resting for about ten minutes, he once again placed her on his back and resumed walking in through the forest. Although the growling of various beasts were occasionally heard, they showed no signs of approaching his current location.
While taking periodic rests, he moved forward for another two hours. However, he still hadn"t been able to even get out of the forest yet.
At around five o"clock in the afternoon, darkness began to descend upon the deep forest. His steps became more uncertain as visibility worsened.
This is bad. Although I can somehow see my way right now, there"s not even going to be another thirty minutes before it becomes pitch dark. I won"t be able to walk any further once that happens . . . there"s close to half of the distance remaining. What do I do . . .