"Catherine, is your magic not working?" Jack asked as he moved closer.
Catherine shook her head; none of the two primary healing magics she had mastered possessed a poison removal effect.
Catherine looked at Ian's traveling bag and said, "There should be an antidote potion in Ian's backpack, but it has a seal on it that belongs exclusively to him, and I can't open it."
Jack sniffed and reached out to grab Ian's traveling bag, but an invisible force surfaced with it, preventing him from opening it.
"You're resisting when your master is going to be gone!" Jack bellowed, his arm muscles suddenly bulging.
Yu Buang ripped with a hard sound, ripping a hole in the traveling bag, from which various props fell out.
"It's this!" Catherine picked up a lavender glass bottle.
The cork was removed, and the potion contained therein was poured over Ian's wound.
However, until the bottle of potion was all poured out, the black color at the nape of Ian's neck didn't go away; only the expansion was briefly suppressed.
"What's going on? This antidote potion is intermediate quality ..."
At the rate the toxin was spreading, Ian certainly wouldn't last long enough to return to town to receive treatment.
"Try my bottle; I hope it hasn't expired yet."
Jack's traveling bag wasn't as advanced as Ian's, and after opening it easily, Jack removed a potion from it.
The liquid in the bottle flowed with colorful hues, and at a glance one could tell that it was not an idle thing.
Removing the plug, Jack carefully tilted the potion towards Ian's wound, looking at his expression of prudence with some pain in his heart as if what he was dropping was not a potion but a brilliant silver coin.
With just a few drops of the potion, the black color of Ian's wound receded like a tidal wave and finally dissipated into a burst of foul-smelling black smoke into the air.
Looking at the miraculous effect, Catherine somewhat couldn't believe her eyes, "This, is this a universal potion?"
The Universal Potion, as its name suggests, removes a range of negative statuses, including toxins, curses, freezing, petrification, burns, and more.
Even the most inferior universal potions belonged to the ranks of advanced potions.
And judging from the color of this bottle of universal potion, it definitely wasn't the most inferior kind either.
Catherine looked at Jack with a slightly mixed expression.
This man who couldn't even spare a stamina potion after a battle actually had a potion of this quality with him.
"I didn't expect that you, Uncle, such a stingy and petty person, would actually use such a precious potion for the safety of your temporary teammates." No matter what she had gone through, Catherine's style of speaking was still as snarky as ever.
Jack also remained unmoved in the face of Catherine's sarcasm.
"As a shield guard, it's already a shame to let your teammates get hurt, and it's even more of a failure if you watch your teammates die right in front of your eyes."
Catherine couldn't help but roll her eyes at that.
The worst wound on Ian was the one you hit him with your shield, I believe!
It was a spiteful comment, but Catherine held back from saying it.
Because she realized that Jack, with his helmet off, didn't seem to look too bad?
After the toxin was completely removed, Ian woke up.
This gave Catherine a new appreciation for the grade of this universal potion.
"Elder O'Shield, thank you for saving me; this favor will be remembered forever." Ian thanked them, and he didn't mention the original price to compensate for the loss of the Universal Potion.
To this noble-born adventurer, his own life could definitely be worth much more than an entire bottle of universal potion.
Nor was he willing to simply and perfunctorily pay back Jack for saving his life.
"The strength of those two guys doesn't look like ordinary bandits. Their purpose should be to assassinate you, Ian." Jack said.
Although he was in a state of anger just now, he was still taking in all the behavior of the two looters.
Common sense dictates that it would be optimal to focus on killing Catherine, who was physically the weakest.
But from the start, the two looters' target of attack was Ian.
Therefore, it was not difficult for Jack to come to such a conclusion.
Ian's face hardened a bit as he realized this as well.
Assassins sent by a rival clan? Or is it someone within the family who wishes to remain outside forever?
Without a clue, Ian shook his head and said, "Let's ignore this for now, and when we return to town, I hope that Elder O'Shield will accept my and the Lazar family's behind me, gratitude!"
Catherine, who was listening on the sidelines, was a little envious.
Having already teamed up with Ian for three missions, she hadn't even touched the family behind Ian.
I didn't realize that the older man had gained such friendship from Ian just by this one time.
While talking, several people had already walked out of the underground labyrinth.
It was dark night. A round of red curved moon hung high in the sky, and bright stars dotted above the curtain called black night, adding a few more lively points to this quiet night sky.
"It's already so dark; why don't we just stay in the outpost camp for the night?" Catherine suggested.
The outpost camp was a temporary staging area built to raid this underground labyrinth.
The camp has the basics of food and lodging, as well as a wagon rental service for adventurers traveling between the town and the camp.
It was not convenient to make the journey in the dark, and Ian and Jack agreed to come down.
No more surprises were encountered on the way to the campsite.
The soldier on duty couldn't help but take a few more glances at the flaming kobold with its chest still heaving as Jack and the others passed by.
Envy appeared on the soldier's face.
It's a living fae kobold that can fetch a hefty price in the hands of nobles who prefer to collect magical beasts.
Even if you submit it to the Adventurer's Guild, you can still get good pay and adventure points.
"Elder Ao Dun, you are the strongest, so how about you take custody of this Goblin first? Of course, if it's too much trouble for you, I can also look after it for you." Ian said.
Jack took a look at the half-dead flaming kobold in his hand and hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I need the outer skin of the flaming kobold, and maybe I'll have to kill it later, so I wanted to get your opinion."
Catherine's eyes widened in disbelief, "Although the guild quest only requires the head of a Goblin, a living Flame Goblin can definitely be sold for several times the price of a single head, ah?"
Jack said, "If you agree, I'm willing to give up my share of the mission pay to make up for your losses."
Ian immediately shook his head and said, "Being able to capture this Flame Goblin alive would have been a credit to you, Elder Ao Dun; submitting the head would have accomplished the mission as well, and compensation or anything else is not necessary at all."
Jack was quietly relieved to hear both of his teammates say that.
While the Flame Goblin's skin is a must-have, Jack's dwindling pocketbook is in serious need of a new companion.