Lucio was lying down on the cart while Aarah and Amelia sat against the wooden railings. Mark walked with the maids while his father rode the cart.
Aarah had promised to help him get treatment, indicating that she had forgiven the painful kick he had gifted her. She didn't want to apologise to a peasant so she offered help instead.
Amelia was stiff in the presence of Aarah as Lucio had already introduced Aarah as a noble.
Lucio ignored Aarah's stares and opened his player interface.
[
Name: Samael
Age: 14
Title: Herbologist
Job: Escort
Stats
Strength: 1 (Conversion ratio= 1:1000 EP)
Agility: 0.8 (Conversion ratio= 1:2000 EP)
Stamina: 1.2 (Conversion ratio= 1:1000 EP)
Vitality: 1.1 (Conversion ratio= 1:1000 EP)
Senses: 2.3 (Conversion ratio= 1:2000 EP)
Magic: 0.3 (Conversion ratio= 1:10000 EP)
Experience points: 3 -> 44
(Exp points can be converted to stats. Minimum conversion value is 0.1 of any stat.)
Skills:
Magically gifted
Tenacity
Bank
Inventory
Inspect
]
Lucio was happy that he had the skill [Tenacity] as it helped him negate some of the pain.
He checked the time in-game which said [5 Days 14 Hours]
'Haah, two days and one night left.'
The night passed smoothly as they all ate jerky and did not make a fire as the smoke would serve as their death flag.
Lucio was resting happily when he noticed an arrow zoom towards their cart from the corner of his eyes. It took him only a few milli-seconds to throw his broken chainmail into the air, making it block the arrow.
It worked as the arrow got entangled in the chainmail, before landing on Amelia's lap.
"Mark! There's an attack." Lucio said as he jumped out, making his wound hurt.
Another arrow zoomed in and pierced Mark's father right in the neck, before coming out partially on the opposite side.
Mark roared in anger before running towards the arrow while Lucio ran into the forest, Aarah following closely behind him. Lucio wondered why she followed an injured person instead of an able-bodied fighter.
Although the thought crossed his mind, he didn't really care.
While he ran, Mark had reached the archer as he avoided two arrows aimed at him. Amelia hid under the cart as her brother pulled the man sitting on a tree with a unbelievably huge jump.
The arched let go of his trusted bow before taking out two daggers as he slashed and stabbed at Mark, who managed to evade most of them but some did hit him.
Multiple small cuts adored his body as he smashed the archer's head into the tree, making him let go of his weapon which Mark gladly took before slicing off the man's throat.
He walked back to the cart to see no one. He had seen Lucio run into the forest and Aarah follow him but his sister was nowhere to be seen. Even the body of his deceased father was gone.
He looked down and found drag marks leading into the forest, so he followed as he felt dread creeping up to him slowly.
He did not want to lose his only family.
****
Lucio ran through the forest before he stood against a tree when he thought he was far enough.
Unfortunately for him, he felt the air being sliced through beside him and he instinctively ducked, barely dodging a sharp knife that was thrown at him from his right.
Lucio groaned before he pulled his daggers out and ran at the bald man who stood still with a dagger in hand, smiling.
Aarah recognised the man and felt impending doom as she looked at Lucio charging at the man blindly.
The bald man was a trusted killer of the Borgir family, one of the three most powerful noble households in the Empire of Axyte.
Although she didn't know his name, she knew that he was a strong fighter who loved torturing people before killing them. That was the only reason he was famous.
Lucio slashed at the man who easily blocked the blow with his sword.
The longer ranged weapon kept Lucio at bay as his condition worsened and the bald man seemed to love it.
Lucio felt his whole body burn as he continued slashing at the man in front of him, all rationality lost with only his instinct to survive controlling his body.
The bald man slashed vertically and cut Lucio's shirt, leaving a slash mark oh his cheek along with it.
Lucio felt the pain assault him and he calmed down before taking a step backwards, which the bald man noticed.
The man jumped to Lucio before slashing the sword diagonally. Unfortunately for him, the back step was a feint as Lucio pounced forward as quick as lighting before stabbing the man in his chest.
Not even a second passes as he pulled it out before slashing at the neck as the guy's face was contorted in pain.
Blood gushed out from the neck as the arteries were cut off, spraying Lucio who was the closest to the man.
Just when Lucio was about to relax, he felt something pierce his thigh.
He saw the bald man smiling as he quickly lost his conscious, soon his life.
Lucio fell, losing balance as he looked at the sharp sword that had been lodged into his thigh.
Although he didn't want to cry, the pain made his eyes secrete the tears that streaked across his face. It had been too long since he had been hurt this much, so he had forgotten the pain.
The recent events made him think about his choices.
'A peaceful life…. Bah! It's just a random fantasy. Unless I'm strong, there will be people who will have the power to trample over me…. Ah the sweet, sweet feeling of power.'
"He… he... he… heheheheheee… WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH" Lucio felt something awaken inside him, something that was dormant until now, sleeping in the depths of his being, locked up for years.
'Aah… I want to play those game again… those were some really fun times…' He thought as he recalled the creative games he had made, just to see the dark side of humanity bloom right in front of his eyes.
'I want that… Again…'
*****
Aarah looked at Lucio who laughed loudly as he looked at the skies with his hand covering his face, which had a mix of expressions such as anger and pain but the laugh made him look different.
Although she wanted to help him out, his current state made her hesitate. He was a stranger after all, someone who was hired. At least, that was how she convinced herself to not go near him.
A few seconds later she saw Lucio look at her before saying,
"Bring me those plants that are growing near that tree to your right."
He said as he pointed the tree. Aarah nodded before pulling out the plants harshly from their roots, damaging some of them. She walked back with a lot various plants and gave them to Lucio.
Lucio simply segregated the plants accordingly before grinding a select few to a paste with a few stones nearby.
Lucio did not talk to her nor did he look at her as he placed the paste on his wound before using a large leaf to cover it. He was happy that the sword did not pierce through his thigh, making two outlets for blood loss.
"You can leave me here or carry me with you. As you can see, I can't walk now. I would've just slept in an inn if I knew this would happen." He said as he leaned against the tree, closing his eyes.
She didn't know whether it was due to the guilt for the person in front of her or fear of going alone, as she said "I'll… stay with you."
"Two options, my Lady. Two options. Select one." Lucio said as he offered her some of the tea he had.
She looked at the tea for a few seconds until Lucio said "It's not poisoned. If you don't want it, give it back."
His words seemed to hit her nerve as she drank a mouth right the next moment, before giving the costrel back to Lucio.
A few seconds passed and she felt her mind clear from all distracting thoughts.
"Now, tell me your answer."
Aarah thought it out for a few seconds before replying,
"I'll go back alone. If you wait here for me, I'll be back here by noon tomorrow with my family guards."
"Sure… I'll wait but I'll have to find a cave. This place isn't really a good spot to wait."
Aarah nodded, she seemed serious as help him stand up.
"I'll help you find a cave. I think I spotted one while we were running." She said as she gave Lucio a sturdy branch to use as a support.
They went searching for the cave and found it a few minutes later. Aarah left him there before hurrying towards the Holy City. It was quiet near as she recognised the surround area which was quiet near to the city.
"She's cute…" Lucio muttered as he recalled the face she had as she tried to offer him help.
"Ahh… peace can go to hell. I want war..."