Leilin forced his head to turn away as a wave of searing pain shot through his shoulder.
"The host has been struck by an arrow! Warning! Warning! The arrowhead carries a high-concentration bacterium. Immediate cleansing of the wound is advised!"
"Damn it!!!" Leilin yanked the arrow out, then pulled a silver dagger from inside his shirt. Gritting his teeth, he carved away a ring of flesh around the wound.
He fished a green potion out of his waist pouch in a flash, pouring half onto the wound and swallowing the rest. Only when the Chip's voice chimed with "Contamination contained!" did he let out a long, shaky breath.
At the moment Leilin was hit,
Doris was now charred black from head to toe. More than half her wings had snapped off, one arm had vanished entirely, and a Shadow Hand was still clamped around her ankle. Her life energy had plummeted to critical levels — she could die at any moment.
"Revenge!! Revenge!!!" Doris mumbled incoherently. Then her eyes flashed cold, and she bit straight through her own right leg.
Crack!! A severed thigh went flying, and the Shadow Hand coiled around her ankle rapidly dissipated.
"We'll all die together!!!"
Doris's entire body swelled, the fleshy growths on her face pulsing and writhing. Her speed tripled in an instant as she hurtled toward Leilin.
"Damn!!!" Leilin clutched his shoulder and retreated at full speed, hurling his last Explosive Potion at her.
Boom!!! A deafening explosion ripped through the air.
Red flames and green pus churned together, casting an eerie green glow.
Leilin hit the ground and rolled several times, finally clearing the blast radius.
The ground around him was littered with green bone fragments and scraps of flesh, a nauseating sight.
"Huh?" Leilin noticed that as soon as the green remains hit the ground, a ring of yellowish liquid appeared around them, corroding the earth. His expression darkened instantly, and he hurried to check himself.
Several drops of yellowish fluid had already eaten through his leather armor at some point, opening gaping holes in his skin. The tissue around the wounds had turned pale yellow and was going numb.
"The host has suffered secondary contamination from an unknown bacterium. Rapid division and mutation have begun. Take action immediately!!"
"Chip! Analyze the injury! Give me a treatment plan!!"
"Task initiated. Analyzing..."
"Ding! Cross-referencing with the database — treatment for this injury requires thirty grams of Human-headed Bird feathers, five hundred milliliters of Pink Ink Oil, fifty grams of Green Coconut Stone..."
The Chip rattled off a long list of materials.
"Where am I going to buy all that in time? Chip, give me an emergency suppression method!" Leilin's face was grim.
"Applying fire to the wound can effectively slow the rate of bacterial mutation and spread," the Chip suggested.
"Fire?" Leilin tore open his clothes, grabbed a branch, and lit it. He pressed the bright yellow flame against his wound.
Sizzle!!! The sound of searing flesh filled the air, carrying the acrid smell of char. Leilin's face contorted in agony.
A few minutes later, the Chip sent him a confirmation. Leilin tossed the torch aside, collapsed onto the ground, and gulped for air as cold sweat dripped off him in streams.
"This enemy is insanely dangerous!!! Strong resistance to physical and fire attacks, high speed, and poison on top of it all — this was clearly designed specifically for me. If it weren't for the Chip, I'd probably be..."
Doris's bodily fluids combining with the bacteria from the earlier arrow to cause secondary contamination — even the Chip hadn't calculated for that. What Leilin had estimated would be a minor injury turned into a near-death struggle that he barely won.
"And I've used up every last Explosive Potion! I'll have to gather ingredients all over again!"
In his recent battles, Leilin had crushed his enemies with potions, but the cost was staggering — at least a thousand Magic Stones thrown away. Thank goodness he could brew Explosive Potions himself, or the expense would have been even worse.
"Fire only slowed the bacteria's spread temporarily. To truly cure this, I need to buy the proper materials!" Leilin stared at his charred wound, frowned, and downed a Stamina Potion. Then he stood and set off toward Grey Stone City.
The commotion here had been enormous. The city lord's mansion had surely noticed by now, and troops would be on their way.
Leilin endured the pain and slipped into Grey Stone City, secretly retrieving his chest. He didn't even bother with the two horses — instead, he stole a chestnut-brown stallion outside the city and fled through the night, heading for a
As for any summons from the city lord, he tossed those completely out of mind.
...
More than ten days later, on a road in Walkerlan Province, a chestnut-brown horse galloped along the highway carrying two large chests and a black-robed rider who sat hunched on its back, snorting with each stride.
"Chip! Show me my current status!" Leilin's body bobbed with the horse's gait as he called the command in his mind.
"Leilin Farell, Second-rank Apprentice, formal Knight. Strength: 1.3 (2.5). Agility: 1.5 (2.7). Constitution: 1.0 (3.0). Spiritual Power: 4.1 (4.4). Mana: 4.0. Status: Infected with unknown bacterium — weakened!"
"Even though I suppressed the bacteria quickly, it's been over ten days and my body is still weakened. Only my maximum Spiritual Power has gone up a bit — that's probably from the constant meditation!"