Chapter 358 – Questions

Chapter 358 – Questions

Dark mud crusted the Stalker’s flagging body, spindly limbs sickeningly twisted and black veins spidering across its milky skin. The pungent stench hung in the frigid cavern. Wisps of mana seeped from the corpse like smoke drifting from a dying fire.

Kai drew a slow breath, savoring the relief in the absence of dread. The whispers of doom had faded into a distant murmur. He hadn’t realized the pressure of the fear aura on him, trying to worm into his thoughts, until it disappeared.

His mind loosened in fleeting pleasure, the rush to battle quieting too. Had Kahali’s Retribution helped him fight off the Pale Stalker—urged him against the venom feeding his fear?

He dismissed the notifications blinking in his vision for later, bracing to withdraw the mana augmenting his body.

Strength bled from him at once. Pain seared his flesh, torn muscles and joints strained raw from pushing past his limit. His knees almost buckled. He leaned on a stalagmite and blinked his moist eyes, waiting out the urge to vomit until he felt confident he wouldn’t blackout.

You know, I could really use my potions. If only I had my ring, huh?

He glowered at the empty cavern. If staying upright didn’t take all his focus, he would’ve flipped his middle fingers, hoping the academy watched in confusion.

Damned assholes…

Turning from the dead beast, he took a careful step.

Alden still stared at him.

“Hey, you okay?” Kai staggered forward with all the dignity of a man caked in mud, cuts, and bruises. The ebb of adrenaline stirred the throbbing gashes in his ribs and the sting of the Stalker’s venom. Nature Healing had stopped the worst bleeding, so he wasn’t going to die. “I told you I had it. Thanks for the poison. It worked great. You alright?”

Alden neither spoke nor moved, his violet eyes the only sign he lived beneath his sculpted bearing. “That was a spatial skill,” he stated, voice flat.

“It was.” His shrug turned into a twitch when pain stabbed his shoulders.

“You cast it twice within seconds.”

“I did.”

“Who are you truly?”

“Hmm… my ID says Matthew? I’m your roommate and a student at Raelion. If you meant something else, I’ll need you to be a little more precise.”

Alden’s face set into an icy scowl. “Are you from House Astares? Or one of their retainers? How much did my grandmother pay you to guard me?”

Huh…?

Kai suppressed a rising laugh, knowing it wouldn’t go over well. “I’m… not sure what you’re saying.” He tried to keep a level tone and open expression. “As far as I know, I’ve never met anyone from House Astares. My family has no relation to them. Also, no offense, but I have no idea who your grandma is. I’m sure she’s lovely though.” He stopped a few steps from Alden. “And that makes three questions.”

“Three…” A small crease marked his brow as Alden recalled their deal. His scowl deepened. “What does that matter? You—”

“Me, what?” Kai asked testily. The mud and blood soaking his clothes had started to itch; the pain and cold also didn’t help. He sighed. “Man, I have no idea what kind of conspiracy you think I’m involved in, but can we talk about it later? I’d like to sit before I pass out. And find a way out of here before we starve.”

Breaking the stare, Alden seemed to notice his state and the dark (red) patch on his side. His arm half-raised as if unsure whether to help or keep his distance. “I… Yes, sorry. Are you— You must be in pain. We should stop the bleeding.” He awkwardly shuffled closer, taking a neon-green vial from his coat. “Here, drink this.” His extended hand hung between them. “It’s a healing potion, Mat. It’ll help with blood loss too. We’ll discuss the rest later.”

A healing potion, of course…

“Thank you.” Kai picked up the vial. The syrupy liquid glimmered like a star, challenging the boundaries he thought Yellow Alchemy could achieve. From Hallowed Intuition’s silence, he figured it probably wouldn’t kill him. Though he had never—

Vertigo cut his examination short.

Note to self: always carry a potion outside my ring from now on. Hmm, guess the Trials are actually educational.

Wobbling toward a nearby boulder, each step sent a wave of agony through his torn body and the gashes on his side. He carefully lowered himself on the cold stone under Alden’s steady watch.

Bottoms up!

The potion burned down his throat, leaving an aftertaste of bergamot and burnt sugar on his tongue. A soothing warmth spread from his stomach. It dulled his pain and chased off the shivers.

Scraping together his last Earth and Water mana, Kai stripped the dirt and grime from his clothes and skin. It couldn’t mend the tears in the fabric, but it made him a whole lot more comfortable. Only the dried blood stubbornly still clung to his side.

“Your elemental control is excellent,” Alden observed. He rifled through his coat, arranging a series of vials, jars and small boxes on the flat of the boulder. “Take this.” He put what looked like a hard sugar candy in his hand.

Kai held the white marble between his fingers—only high Yellow. His wry chuckle turned to a cough when he noticed Alden had a small box of them. “What is it?” The alchemical concoctions on display alone would have made Reishi lace his webbed hands in greed.

And this is what he carries outside his spatial artifact.

Alden put the box away. “Just a ration pellet. It’ll keep you standing and offset the potion’s toll on your body. Eat it. They take almost as long as a real meal to digest. That vial was meant for someone one enhancement higher, and you appear to have overdrawn on a boosting skill. It’ll be a problem if you faint.”

How encouraging…

Kai hesitated a second before swallowing the candy. It had no taste. “Why didn’t you tell me you had these earlier? I’ve been starving for hours.”

“That— it’s not healthy to rely on them for long periods. And… I’d forgotten I’d stored them in this coat,” Alden said, gaze trained on sorting his supplies. “Let me see your wounds.” Without waiting for a response, he inspected the gashes along his side, methodically peeling back the layers of bloodied, torn fabric that clung to his skin. Whether out of concern or desire to interrogate him sooner, he dressed his injuries with clinical precision.

“Hey! I’m—fine,” Kai hissed as a strip of cloth torn free from his tender flesh. A crimson rivulet slid through the dark, crusted side. “See? It’s already stopped bleeding.”

“How are you—” Alden frowned. “You have a high Constitution… We should clean it properly. The Stalker’s claws aren’t venomous, but you can still get an infection. Do you have the mana for it?”

“I… yeah. I’ve recovered enough,” Kai said, too weak to protest. A stream of water washed away the grime and half-dried blood. Beneath it, three gouges carved across his ribs. The edges of his skin were ridged, raw and swollen, where the claws had torn his flesh.

Those don’t look too good.

“They’re deep.” Alden examined the throbbing cuts. “You’re lucky the claws didn’t crack a rib. They’ll reopen if you want to move out of here. I’ll have to sew them shut.”

“Wait— sew what?” Kai flinched back from the impassive teen, already holding a gleaming needle and thread. “Can’t you use a hemostatic potion or something? Why do you even have those?”

“For cases like this,” Alden replied evenly. “Healing potions take a toll on the body. When a patient is weak or has suffered severe blood loss, it’s better to dress the worst wounds and wait for a healer can see to them. Unless… you’d rather sleep down here?”

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“I— Have you ever sewn someone before?”

“Several times,” Alden said tersely. “Well… Never on a living body, but your flesh should behave the same. Now hold still. I’ll need to pull the layers together if you want the cuts to close properly.”

Kai leaned back as far as the boulder allowed without falling—a remarkably short distance.

Guess if he wants me dead, I’m already toast… No, Hobbes. You should stay there, I’m truly fine. Better we don’t add to the list of things I’ll have to explain later.

To get out of this scuffed trial, he needed to walk—preferably without bleeding out. What were a few stitches from his definitely not murderous roommate? The sooner they reached the surface, the less chance another monster would show up.

“Okay, just do it.” Kai pulled aside his ruined shirt. His squeamishness had disappeared a dozen injuries ago, though something about a needle sliding through his skin still made his stomach turn.

“Keep still,” Alden said, hands steady and expression unreadable. He sewed his flesh with the cold detachment of a skilled engraver etching a blade—precise, impersonal, and just a little unnerving. “Tell me if you feel anything off. Besides the stitches.”

“I’m—” Kai clenched his hands, breathing out the cold cavern air. “Are shivers a side effect of the potions?”

“That’s the blood loss. And the Stalker’s venom. Probably.” He glanced at the darkened cuts on his forearm and cheekbone. “It’s already in your blood. Purging it now would only weaken you. You’ll do better letting your body fight it off. You might get a few levels in your Poison Resistance skill.”

“What if I don’t have one?”

Alden blinked at him and gave a slight shake. “Then you’ll get one. I’m done here.” Cutting the last thread, he wiped the needle on a cloth and let it float back into his pocket. “Mind how you move. The stitches will tear if you run or stretch too quickly. We’ll rest here for an hour or so, then move out,” he said and reached for a black jar inlaid with silver filigree.

“What’s that?”

“A hemostatic balm.”

Kai failed to mask his glare. “If you had that, why didn’t you use—”