(Riven’s POV, The Hillside Pass)
It was only ten minutes later, when the first rays of dawn began breaking across the horizon, that Riven finally pushed the body of the dead Night Panther off himself and tried to move.
*Push*
The corpse rolled heavily onto the rocky ground beside him, as Riven immediately placed one hand over his chest and winced when his fingers brushed against the claw marks carved across his flesh.
’It hurts, but I think I’ll survive...’
Riven concluded, as although the wound was still bleeding and likely would continue doing so for some time, the blood loss did not seem excessive enough to suggest that any vital organ had been struck.
For a few moments, he simply remained sitting on the ground while breathing through the pain, as the adrenaline rush finally lost its potency and he returned to a normal state.
’I can probably use Hagrid’s shawl like a bandage....’
Riven thought, as after forcing himself back onto trembling legs, he slowly walked toward the scattered remains of his satchel and began collecting everything that had spilled during the fight.
His diary had landed near the rock wall.
The dried meat had scattered between loose stones.
His water pouch had rolled several feet away.
As Riven gathered everything one after another before slowly opening the water pouch, which he used to carefully wash the worst of the blood from his chest.
*Drip* *Drip*
The cold water stung fiercely as it ran over the open claw marks, however Riven gritted his teeth and continued cleaning the wound until most of the dirt had been washed away.
Once that was done, he pulled out Hagrid’s shawl and wrapped it tightly around his midsection, as the fabric pressed against the wound and provided just enough compression to slow the bleeding.
"That should do it..."
Riven muttered, before taking a few careful sips from the water pouch and storing it safely inside his satchel, as only then did he finally begin walking down the jungle trail again.
His appearance looked almost absurd now, as his entire body was covered in Night Panther blood from head to toe while Hagrid’s shawl remained wrapped tightly around his midsection.
As if a random person were to see him now, nobody would associate him with being a slave boy who had once scrubbed floors inside Ashfang Village.
’I wonder if I can still catch Garron and the others?’
Riven thought, as he let out a long sigh while staring down the trail ahead.
After everything that had happened, he no longer knew whether catching up to them was even realistic anymore, especially since he had lost more time surviving the Night Panther than he could properly calculate.
However, unbeknownst to him, Garron and the children were already walking towards him, as not even ten minutes later, he saw a human silhouette emerge from the forest trail ahead.
"Greetings, boy."
Garron muttered, as he calmly stepped into view, as for a moment Riven completely froze while looking at him.
’Is this real?’
Riven wondered, as his eyes remained fixed upon Garron’s face while his mind struggled to accept what he was seeing, as he wondered whether his exhaustion was now making him hallucinate?
However, as one by one, more figures began emerging from behind Garron, he had no choice but to accept that this was reality.
"You came back?"
Riven muttered, as his voice sounded strangely hollow even to his own ears.
"For me?"
He asked, as although his face remained mostly stoic, the disbelief in his voice revealed just how overwhelmed he truly felt.
*Nod*
Garron slowly nodded once before folding his arms across his chest, as his sharp eyes calmly examined the blood covering Riven from head to toe.
"I saw you bring down the Night Panther, boy."
Garron replied, as his voice carried none of the skepticism that had once accompanied every conversation between them.
"If there’s a talent capable of killing an Ember Rank Aether Beast before even becoming an Ascendant, then that’s a talent worth taking a detour for."
He concluded, as the corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
"What? He brought down a night panther?"
A knowledgeable child before Garron muttered in shock, as the instructor’s words immediately sent whispers spreading throughout the children gathered behind him, as dozens of curious eyes turned toward the blood-covered boy standing in the middle of the trail.
"Is that really Night Panther blood?"
One of the boys muttered, as his eyes widened in disbelief.
"I heard even Chief Torak couldn’t kill one."
Another child whispered, as he instinctively took half a step backwards.
"I never thought much of him during training... But I guess he’s strong."
A girl admitted, as she continued staring at Riven with newfound caution.
"Look at his eyes... There’s definitely something crazy in them. He’s got the eyes of a killer."
Someone else muttered, as although many of them had complained endlessly when Garron announced they were turning back to rescue Riven, not a single one of them questioned the decision anymore.
As subconsciously, all of them understood the fact that true strength must be respected.
"Riven!"
Mary suddenly called out, as she pushed through the gathered children before rushing straight toward him.
"Are you alright?"
She asked, as without waiting for an answer, she immediately grabbed both of his hands before anxiously inspecting every visible wound across his body.
"Where are you hurt?"
She continued, as her eyes frantically searched beneath the blood covering his clothes.
"Are you still bleeding?"
"I..."
Riven muttered, as warmth unexpectedly rushed to his cheeks the moment he realized Mary was softly holding both of his hands.
"I—I, I think I’ll be alright."
He replied, as for some reason, he suddenly found it difficult to look directly into her worried eyes.
"You’re not alright."
Garron interrupted, as he slowly walked over before stopping directly in front of Riven.
"Remove that shawl."
He ordered, as he reached into the leather pouch hanging from his waist.
"Also, swallow this, it’s a different kind of Aether pill from the one I usually give you, and this one needs to be swallowed."
Garron continued, as he handed Riven a blue Aether Pill before taking out a small clay container filled with medicinal ointment.
Without questioning him, Riven immediately swallowed the pill before carefully unwrapping the shawl from around his chest, revealing the four deep claw wounds stretching across his torso.
Several of the younger children instinctively sucked in a sharp breath.
"That looks like a big beast paw."
"So he did indeed fight a night panther!"
"How is he still alive?"
They muttered, as Garron calmly scooped a generous amount of ointment onto his fingers, and prepared to apply it on the wound.
"Hold still."
He instructed, as he began spreading the medicine across the torn flesh.
*Burn*
The instant the ointment touched the wound, a sharp burning sensation shot through Riven’s entire body, as every muscle instinctively tensed beneath the sudden pain, while his fingers involuntarily tightened around Mary’s hands.
"Agh..."
Riven groaned, as despite doing everything he could to remain silent, the burning sensation proved far more intense than he had expected, as Mary quietly squeezed his hands in return.
"You’re doing fine."
She whispered, as her voice remained soft enough that only Riven could hear it.
For a while, Riven kept his eyes closed and jaw clenched, as Garron filled the ointment deep into the wounds, until all of them were completely sealed by the medicine.
"There."
He muttered.
"That should prevent infection and speed up the healing."
He concluded, as he motioned for Riven to wrap the shawl around himself once more.
As only then did Riven feel his breath return to him once more, while the heat returned to his face as he realized that he was still holding on to Mary’s hands.
"Oh..."
He muttered awkwardly, as he immediately let go before taking a small step backwards, while Mary quietly looked away.
Her cheeks looking just as red as his, as although she said nothing, she seemed to enjoy the fact that Riven had relied on her during a moment of pain.
"Alright."
Garron muttered, as he turned around without commenting on what had just happened.
"We’ve already wasted enough time."
He continued, as he began walking back down the trail once more.
"Let’s start moving again."
He instructed, as without another word, the children quickly fell back into line, while Riven and Mary drifted towards the back, where Stacy was already waiting for them.
"You idiot..."
Stacy muttered, as she folded her arms while glaring at Riven.
"Why did you run back into the village? You could’ve died!"
She demanded as Riven lowered his head in shame.
"I know... and I’m sorry."
He admitted, as a guilty smile slowly appeared across his face.
"You big big dummy! Making me and big sister worry for you....."
Stacy muttered, as she clicked her tongue before shaking her head.
"But..."
She continued, as the frustration gradually disappeared from her expression.
"I’m glad you’re still alive."
She concluded, as Riven smiled faintly before giving her a small thumbs up, as together, the three children quietly followed Garron deeper toward the south trail that led them closer to Valdrak Empire.