Instantly my mouth let out a small scream when I found Dimas' hot body. His body temperature was very high compared to normal body temperature. My hands felt like blistered just by sticking them on the skin. Such a contrast to the cold on this mountain.
As my mouth kept calling out his name, my hands shook the man's body, hoping to wake him up. Nevertheless, Dimas remained in his sleep with heavy breaths. Repeatedly calling Dimas' name apparently made Shella wake up. The girl, who was half-conscious, seemed to digest the current situation.
"What's wrong with Dimas?" asked Shella with a confused face.
"I don't know, his body was so hot! Could you help me to check it out?"
Hearing my brief condition, Shella switched to the 'reliable pharmacist' mode even though she had just woken up from her sleep. The girl approached Dimas and checked his temperature. As soon as her hand touched Dimas' forehead, she immediately lifted it up.
"Gosh! His body is so hot!" she said frantically.
Shella immediately took her big bag containing medical equipment, then took out some tools and equipment. The girl with straight hair to her back was wearing the white gloves that became her trademark when she worked as a pharmacist. Then she put a small pipe one inch long in Dimas' mouth.
It was some kind of alcohol-based temperature gauge. The way it worked was exactly the same as the thermometer in my former world. Bring the tool closer to the patient's body. The alcohol would show the body temperature. The only difference was the unit of measurement on the device, not degrees Celsius, but another unit called a pip. The normal human temperature was around 14 to 16 pips.
How could I know that? When I was sick in Glafelden, my temperature was measured using that device.
"Oh my god! His body temperature reached 19 pips!" shrieked Shella. It took me by surprise.
"Don't you have something to lower his body temperature?"
Not replying to my question with words, Shella showed it by looking for something in her bag. A few moments later, she took out several small pieces of cloth covered in some kind of thin transparent plastic. I didn't know the exact name, but it looked useful for lowering body temperature.
Shella placed a piece of cloth on Dimas' forehead. Once removed from the plastic wrap, the cloth adheres firmly to the skin. Perhaps this thing was some kind of fever-reducing plaster that had been found in this world. I've never tried it, but it looked like it might come in handy.
The girl with long hair then unbuttoned the thick jacket and shirt Dimas was wearing. Sweat soaked the muscles of the man's chest and stomach. Shella put a few more pieces of cloth over Dimas' body, hoping that these plasters would reduce his high body temperature. At that moment, Shella was silent for a moment. Her eyes noticed something on Dimas' body that I couldn't see from this side.
"Anggi, help me tilt his body!"
"Okay," I replied quickly without thinking.
I helped Shella tilt Dimas' body to face me while the girl examined Dimas's back from her side. Her eyes were glued to one side. Her right hand slowly approached Dimas' back. Not to put a fever-reducing plaster on but to feel his skin. I couldn't see what was in there. So I didn't know what made Shella look so scared.
A moment later, she removed what looked like a piece of cloth and a bandage with bloodstains on it. Thanks to my eyes that could see in the dark, I could tell it was bloodstained even though the light here was only from a small lantern.
Fear entered my mind. A second later, I laid Dimas' body in a prone position so that I could see his back directly. A wound about fifteen centimeters long was lined across his body. It wasn't too deep, but wounds like this must be treated immediately so that they weren't fatal.
"D-D-Dimas? He hurt?" I stammered because I held back the shock and fear mixed into one. "Where did he get this wound from? Was it when fighting against the Tarantula monster before? Why didn't Dimas say that he was injured?"
"Look at this, Anggi! This was no regular wound. This wound was poisonous!"
My eyes once again focused on the wound on Dimas' back. A line that ran horizontally gave a fairly serious effect. In addition to festering, the wound's edges also appeared to be blistered and watery. Perhaps this was what made it difficult for his wound to close and made Dimas's condition worse.
"Can you cure it, Kak Shella?" I asked hopefully, but the girl gave a small head shake.
"This poison was strong, I can't make potions with the herbs I brought," said Shella in a panic. Her face looked scared and confused. She didn't know what to do.
I was silent for a moment. Was it true that nothing could be done to cure Dimas? At this rate, the man would definitely not last long. Not. There must be a way. Shella said she couldn't cure Dimas with the herbs she had brought.
Doesn't that mean he just didn't have the ingredients?
"Tell me what materials you need. I'll find them in this mountain!" I suggested calmly, trying not to drift into a panic.
"But we don't know whether the ingredients grow in this mountain or not, right?"
"There's nothing wrong with trying. As long as there's hope, surrender isn't an option."
My deep words seemed to imprint on her. The girl began to lower her tension in a calm and relaxed phase. Whereas a minute ago she was so panicked like her money bag had just been stolen in the city center. The girl took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Her eyes then looked at me calmly.
"I'm sorry, Anggi! I really panicked when I found out about Dimas' wound. It's because a strong poison wound like this requires ingredients that were fairly difficult to obtain."
"It's okay if you panic, as long as you don't get out of control." I smiled at Shella, hoping to give the girl a sense of calm and comfort. "So, what materials were needed to make the antidote?"
"Three Black Selinide Mushrooms and a bunch of Turnia Flower Roots."
"I've seen Turnia Flower before, but this was the first time I've heard of Black Selinide Mushroom."
"This Black Selinida Mushroom was fairly rare. They grow in dark and very humid places. You know the Pitcher Plant? It looks like that. It's just that this fungus grows on tree roots. It's also pitch black in color and emits a pungent stench." Shella explained slowly while I listened carefully. "You need to remember, when picking it, don't use your bare hands. Because the sap in the mushroom could burn your skin."
"Are you sure it's the right material? The mushroom looks poisonous and hideous."
Shella smiled faintly, hearing me. "Don't you know? Poison could be used as medicine if used in the right dosage."
"Is that so? Fine, I'll try to find those two ingredients now!"
I got up and took my small leather bag without asking any more questions. Since I would be carrying a poisonous mushroom that would burn the skin, I'd better use something as a container to avoid getting hurt. Besides that, I also brought my water bag and my small dagger and slung them around my belt.
"Please take care Dimas for me!" I said before leaving this small tent.
"Leave it to me. You be careful too! Don't get hurt again. I don't want to have to treat two patients at the same time."
"You're right. Then I'll go first," I said with a smile.
After that, I immediately stepped away from the tent, down the mountainside where the plant vegetation was more varied than in the peak area. My feet trotted along the steep path. Unlike when climbing, descending the slopes at night was much faster and more enjoyable. Now I no longer needed to use extra energy to carry heavy luggage under the hot sun.
Suddenly I remembered Dimas. That fool was injured in the fight with the spider monster earlier, but he didn't tell Shella and me about it. Maybe because I've been with him for a long time, I could understand Dimas' way of thinking. He definitely didn't want to look weak in front of others. That fool must have also thought he could deal with the wound alone.
This stupid my friend! His pride in wanting to look strong was really annoying. I've complained to him many times about this, but he always ignored it. If he survived this, I would curse him to death.
My current focus was to find the two ingredients needed to make an antidote for Dimas' body. Black Selinide Mushroom and Turnia Flower Root.
As for the Turnia Flower, I've seen it at the Glafelden City flower shop. Turnia flower was an annual plant with a height between 70 to 90 cm. Each stem has only one flower at the end of the stalk. The shape of the flower when the bud was like a drill bit but would be very beautiful when it bloomed. If the season came, the Turnia Flower, which has dozens of petals, would bloom clockwise. Because of its very beautiful shape, Turnia Flowers were hunted by people as gifts or decorations at home.
However, recently news emerged that the root of this flower could be used as an ingredient for herbal concoctions to treat many diseases. Because of its properties, the popularity of the root of the Turnia Flower has skyrocketed and has made it one of the best-selling commodities on the market. You could indeed find this flower in the wild, but not a few also grew it in the city. That was what I knew from the Turnia Flower.
In contrast to other materials, Black Selenium Mushroom was the first time I've heard its name. From Shella's explanation, this poisonous black mushroom was shaped like a Pitcher Plant. Has a toxic sap that could burn the skin.
Suddenly I gulped. If its sap was lethal, what if the mushrooms were made into potions and stuffed into Dimas' mouth? Wouldn't that hasten his death? I was really confused. Honestly, I didn't understand the herbology that Shella was studying at all. Hopefully, the Turnia Flower Root mixture made the mushroom sap safe for consumption.
After an hour passed, I had arrived in the middle of the mountainside. Though it took half a day to climb from here to where the tent was set up. From this point, I walked towards the north, because before I had seen the Turnia Flower field around there.
It didn't take long until I arrived at the fields of the Turnia Flowers growing. This place was quite small, not as wide as a meadow at the foot of a mountain. Maybe it was only half a football field. This place was at the end of the cliff. No other plant grew here other than Turnia Flowers and grass bushes.
I immediately approached one of the flower stalks that rose from the ground. It was still not the season, so I couldn't see the dozens of crowns blooming beautifully. Could only see flowers in buds which were similar to drill bits.
Well, it didn't really matter to me! Right now, I just need the roots.
In one fell swoop, I pulled out a stalk in front of me. Then cut off the roots with a small dagger hanging from the waist. After that, I put the roots in the leather bag that I carried. Shella said she only needed one, but I took five more Turnia Flower roots. Of course, just in case Shella has to make such a potion someday. So she didn't need to be confused when she ran out of materials.
After stuffing a few bunches of flower roots into the bag, I hurried to leave the field. My next goal was to find the Black Selenium Mushroom. It was quite difficult because I didn't know where they grew on this mountain.
Searching for them randomly would be a waste of time and effort. The longer the time wasted, the more severe Dimas's wound would spread. That meant I shouldn't be wasting precious time. Shella said this mushroom grew in dark and damp places. Looked like the riverside was the place I should be exploring.
I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on using my Super Sense. From this field, I got a clear projection of my surroundings. Even though this world was monochrome, the picture I got was more detailed than what I could see with normal eyes. From birds flying tens of meters above, colonies of ants that continue to work without rest, to views of several hundred meters in all directions.
It worked much like a ship's sonar waves if I had to describe it. Sound waves were emitted in all directions. If they hit something, the waves would be reflected back and caught to the receiver. In the case of my ability, my body emitted continuous sound waves every second and powerful that it could penetrate great distances.
With this ability, I could easily find the flow of a river that was only a few dozen meters ahead. I had just deactivated Super Sense, I was suddenly startled by a loud banging sound coming from something falling in front of my eyes. The shocked me jumped back and took a safe distance.
Something had fallen in the field center and created a splash of sand and dirt in the air. There were a lot of broken flower stalks around, but I didn't really care about that. My eyes were now focused on something that had just fallen.
A beast slowly rose from the ground. It was really hard to believe even though I'd seen it with my own eyes. A bear, or rather a monster bear about eight meters tall, stood up and glared at me. It has four equally large hands with long sharp claws on each hand. Its white fur reminds me of a polar bear, but it was definitely not just an ordinary bear.
"W-Where did this bear come from?" I asked frantically. "Why couldn't my Super Sense detect it earlier?"
A second later, the bear monster let out a howling sound that broke the silence of the night and the dark sky.