Antoine woke up with a start because of Custos' barking. Though still half-asleep, he quickly got dressed. It wasn't the first time Custos had woken him up in the middle of the night, and every time, it was for an emergency.
Convinced it was the wolves attacking his ranch again, he rushed outside without waiting for Custos and headed towards the ranch. He reached it in seconds, but upon arrival, he saw nothing.
Deciding to scout the area to look for wolf tracks, he was surprised to find no signs of the predator's passage. Custos, who had been left behind, arrived while still barking, as if urging him to follow.
"It looks like you want me to follow you, Custos. Very well, but you'd better have a good reason for waking me up in the middle of the night," Antoine said to the Tibetan Mastiff, pretending to be angry.
Custos responded with a bark before turning around and heading up the mountain.
Antoine followed him, and they quickly disappeared into a pine forest.
Time passed, and Antoine soon began to see the first traces of snow around him. As they moved forward, the snow piled up, becoming deeper and deeper, significantly slowing both Custos and Antoine.
Despite the intense effort it took to move in such an environment, Antoine felt no fatigue and easily kept up with Custos.
Thirty minutes later, the snow was so deep that Antoine had to stop to make makeshift snowshoes for himself and Custos. After putting them on, their pace increased, and soon, Antoine heard Custos bark to signal that he had found something.
Seeing that he had caught his master's attention, Custos began digging in the snow. Antoine quickly joined him, and they dug together, clearing the snow away. While they dug, Antoine noticed the strange condition of the tree and the presence of several broken branches around it.
However, he didn't draw any premature conclusions, convinced that whatever lay buried beneath the snow would answer his questions. After a moment, his fingers touched something warm.
Suddenly, a feeling of dread washed over him, and he began digging furiously. His intuition proved correct: the body of a boy, around ten years old, lay unconscious in the snow. His lips were chapped, and his body was quickly cooling.
Panicked, Antoine quickly removed his furs and other warm clothing to cover the boy's frozen body, leaving himself with only a light tunic that fully covered him.
He then picked the boy up in his arms and ran as fast as he could towards his home, leaving Custos, surprised by his master's speed, to return to the camp on his own.
Once back in his cave, Antoine gently laid the boy on his bed before checking his condition. Observing his injuries, he realized he had worsened them by carrying him like an idiot.
"I'm such an idiot... He clearly fell from a great height, breaking several bones, and I brought him here without considering his condition."
"His condition is deteriorating too quickly... I have nothing to heal him, and I don't know anything about medical care. Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Antoine shouted, consumed by anxiety and regret.
"He's going to die because of me..." As Antoine's mental state deteriorated under the weight of despair, a sudden idea struck him.
Thinking quickly, he remembered the system, and the panel, which had disappeared for a week, reappeared before his eyes. Clinging to one last hope, he decided to explore the shop tab, hoping to find medical supplies or a miraculous item to save the boy.
As he frantically searched the shop, Antoine spoke to himself, clearly trying to reassure himself: "What if this system is real? What if I'm not crazy? Please, tell me you're real and that I can save him..."
While scrolling through the shop, he suddenly froze, his eyes locked on the description of an item:
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"Healing Pill"
Boosts regeneration, allowing one to heal from even mortal wounds. Best used with an energy pill for maximum effectiveness.
Price: 10 hermit points
---
Feeling as though he had found the Holy Grail, Antoine quickly bought it and gave it to the boy before searching for the energy pill.
A few seconds passed, which felt like an eternity to Antoine, before he found the energy pill. He quickly purchased it and gave it to the boy as well.
After finding what he was looking for, Antoine continued to browse the shop for a while but couldn't find any other item that might help him heal the boy.
Deciding to wait and see the effects of the pills, he went to fetch blankets to cover the boy before sitting on the ground, facing the moon.
"I pray to all the gods and goddesses that exist or have existed, please let me not be crazy. Let the effects of the pill be real. Please, let the boy recover and let me not be a murderer."
Repeating these prayers over and over, Antoine, who didn't believe in any god, became as devout as the most fervent believer. Time passed quickly, and the boy's breathing grew stronger and more regular, his complexion regained color, and his body temperature rose.
As the boy's condition improved, Antoine saw Custos, who had been left alone in the mountains, return to the cave, exhausted. Finding some comfort in his dog's presence, Antoine tried to give him a hug, but Custos avoided him, clearly showing his displeasure at being left alone so far away in the mountains.
Taking another hit to his already low morale, Antoine dragged his feet as he went to check on the boy. Seeing that his condition was now stable, Antoine's mood lifted slightly.
Deciding to keep watch all night, he settled next to the bed and began to meditate, coming out of this state every 30 minutes to check on the boy's condition.