Right after Zara's corpse fell to the ground, notifications popped up.
[Ding! The quest is complete.]
[Ding! Host has received 120 points, 90 system exp and an Aether Weapon card (1). Host can find the card in the inventory.]
As Ren was smiling happily, notifications appeared again.
[Ding! System leveled up!]
[Ding! Scan Feature is unlocked.]
Unlike usual, Ren did not check the feature or the card immediately because Evelyn needed his help.
When Ren was in front of her, Evelyn expressed her gratitude. "Thank you for saving me."
Even though she would still die in two hours, she was fine with it. At least Zara and the other had died.
"It's nothing." He answered as he smiled softly.
'System, what's wrong with her?'
Her face was pale, and she was having trouble standing, so he wanted to know what was going on.
[Host, she has been poisoned, and it's a deadly one.]
His system checked her condition using the Appraisal feature.
'She is poisoned?'
He did not hear anything about this earlier, so he did not know that she was poisoned.
'Ah, right. That antidote card.'
He suddenly remembered the Donxi Antidote card.
"Did they poison you?" Ren pretended as if he knew nothing.
"Cough…Cough…" Evelyn coughed up before answering his question. "Yes. I don't know the name of the poison, but it's a deadly one."
She said he did not need to worry about it because he had killed Zara and the others, so she did not mind dying from poison.
"Wait here." Ren used the Lightning Movement skill to distance himself from her.
'System, activate Donxi Antidote card.'
He went to a quiet place because he wanted to activate the Donxi Antidote card.
Even though Evelyn was his benefactor, he would not tell her about his system. His system was his trump card, so he would hide it from everyone, including his future lover.
[Ding! Donxi Antidote card activated.]
A jade bottle suddenly appeared and floated before him.
Ren grabbed the bottle before he finally returned to where Evelyn was.
"I have an antidote that can cure all kinds of poisons." Ren said as he showed Donxi Antidote to her.
"Antidote that can cure all kinds of poisons?" an unexpected happiness consumed her because she found a glimmer of hope to survive the deadly poison.
"Yes." He nodded his head. "But this Donxi Antidote has after-effects."
"What is the after-effects?" she asked curiously.
"You won't be able to use spiritual energy or mana for seven days." He gave an honest answer, "In other words, you will live like an ordinary person for a week."
The happiness within her was reduced drastically after finding out the after-effects.
She was in a dangerous forest, so not being able to use mana was tantamount to suicide because she could not protect herself without magic.
'What should I do?'
She began to waver whether she should take the antidote or not.
"If you take this antidote, I'm willing to protect you for a week." He had planned this before telling her about Donxi Antidote because he wanted to return the favor.
"You will protect me for a week?" she said in surprise.
"Yes." He nodded his head.
Evelyn did not say anything and looked at him intently, trying to find out whether he was lying or not.
Even though she said nothing, Ren knew what she had in mind. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm willing to protect you for a week because I want to return the favor, nothing more than that."
He then continued, "If you don't believe me or think I have an ulterior motive, I can leave this place now. You can take that antidote because I don't need it."
Like before, Evelyn did not say anything and looked at him.
'He doesn't look like he is lying. And he also doesn't look like a bad young man. Should I take the antidote?'
There were three reasons why she saw him as a good young man.
First, he wanted to return the favor. Second, he told her about the after-effects before she drank the antidote.
And lastly, he still treated her nicely and with respect despite knowing her condition.
She believed most men would take advantage of the situation because she was powerless at that moment.
"I will be in your care for a week." She took a big gamble.
"Don't worry. I'm a man of my word." He stated.
"Cough…Cough…" after drinking the antidote, Evelyn coughed up blood again.
However, the color of the blood was not red but dark.
His system said it was the poison, so he did not need to worry about it.
"Thank you." She thanked him again.
"Can you walk?" her body still looked frail, so he wanted to know if she could walk or not.
"Yes. I can walk." She responded.
Actually, her body was still weak, but she decided not to tell him about it because she did not want to burden him.
"Then let's leave this place and find a safe place to rest." He wanted them to leave that place immediately because magical beasts were sensitive to the smell of blood.
"Alright." She agreed.
When they were about to leave that place, Ren suddenly remembered that he still hadn't looted his enemies' belongings.
"Please wait a minute." Without waiting for her answer, he rushed toward the corpses of Kael, Amy, and Zara.
Evelyn was stunned when she dashed toward their corpses.
'What is he doing?'
A question suddenly popped up in her mind.
After taking their space rings, Ren returned to where Evelyn was.
He did not check the items inside the space rings immediately because it was not the right time to do that.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.
"I'm taking my spoils of war," he answered as he showed her three space rings in his right palm.
Even though some people would detest his actions, he did not care about it because he needed money to continue living.
And he believed other people would take their space rings if he did not take it.
As someone who killed them, he would not let others take benefit of his actions because he used energy to kill them.
Evelyn smiled softly as she stared at the space rings.
Even though he looted their belongings, she did not say anything to him.
She hated Zara and the others to the bone, so she would not stop him from taking their space rings.
[Host, you are starting to behave like a bandit now.]
'Well, I'm alone in this world, and I need money to continue living, so I won't pretend to be a good person.'
He would keep looting his enemy's belongings because that was the consequence of causing trouble for him.
[Host, it seems like you will become a bandit leader in the future. The system suddenly can't wait for Host to command countless bandits and do exciting things.]
The corner of his lips twitched.
'This system…'
He did not expect his system to say something shocking like that.
"Let's leave this place now." Ren uttered.
"Alright." She nodded her head.