The Final Desperation

The doctors of this world use many plant remedies for their treatments. It might sound strange to modern people, but these applications have been proven effective over many generations. From father to son, these crucial pieces of information were passed down, slowly accumulating until they became their own complex subject.

As such, many kuniars settled in places with readily available herbs. Whether it was with their tribe or on their own, they always ensured they had access to these medicines of nature.

Bechel and Mokan were no different, with their home consisting of a light forest filled with wild plants and tiny critters. Patches of moss were strewn about in the shades of trees, flickering with the speckles of light that entered as the leaves above waved in the breeze.

As they journeyed through the forest, Mokan meticulously gathered the necessary plants, placing them in his grass-woven basket. He made sure to leave the roots behind, ensuring a sustainable cycle.

Once he filled the basket, he fastened the cover and backtracked out of the forest.

"I got everything. We can leave now," he said to Genji, who nodded and hopped on Bruce.

When they returned to the tribe, only a few hours had passed. Bechel had finished all the other preparations and was only awaiting their delivery of supplies. Upon receiving the basket of herbs, Bechel brought out a stone mortar and began breaking down the ingredients.

Plant after plant entered the mortar and became a green paste. Bechel strained the liquid at the bottom and firmly squeezed the matter into a ball.

"Here, take this and get started. I'll be done soon," Bechel said to Mokan, transferring the paste into a small pot.

Mokan took this to a fire and poured in a flask of blood, mixing it rigorously to dissolve everything. Once the mixture reduced to a syrup-like consistency, he added some freshly cleaned bones and set the mixture aside to cool. Then he repeated the process with the other paste made by Bechel.

When Bechel finished his tasks, he washed his hands in a nearby river and gathered the hunters. A line of people formed around him, entering one by one. Sitting down on the grass mats, they took off their garments and bared the parts where they wanted the inscription. In most cases, this was the biceps or chest.

Bechel dipped a bone needle into the blood concoction and steadied his arm above the hunter's bodies. Then he flicked his wrist in rapid succession, leaving deposits of blood beneath the ruptured skin. Once the needle came out clean, he dipped it again and repeated the process. In and out the needle went, eventually forming a tiger design on the flesh.

The process highly resembled getting a tattoo, but with blood as the ink and more severe aftereffects. Genji could sense a strong fever overtaking the hunter even from his position, followed by unnatural swelling. The hunter also experienced shortness of breath and dizziness, making him very weak.

"Take care of yourself," Bechel said, cleaning up the blood with a wet rag. "The effects will last a few days."

The man nodded and vacated the mat for the next person in line.

'No wonder only doctors can engrave inscriptions. Under these circumstances, a single mistake could leave them bedridden, if not cripple them. This method is quite risky. I can't imagine the casualty rate before they figured out how to mitigate the rampant energy in the blood,' Genji mentally noted.

Genji also noticed the bone needle had chipped around the tip, having broken down under the impact of the procedure. Except there were no fragments in sight.

'Did those chunks get stuck beneath the skin? How uncomfortable. But I guess that's the least of their worries.'

"I'm going out again. Prepare more medicine for me," Genji told Bechel as the doctor took his break.

"If possible, can you get the blood of a Warven Bull? We could use that more than anything else right now."

"Sure. Tell me about it."

"It's a bull with red skin, a rectangular snout, and curved horns behind the ears. They have some of the strongest muscles for their size. You can find them in the Grassland of Wilted Rocks, past the Cascade of Flowing Water."

Genji gave Bechel a blank stare. "You do realize those names mean nothing to me, right? I don't know the area enough to understand what you're talking about."

"My bad. I'm not used to describing our locations any other way. I'll get someone to guide you."

A few minutes later, Ugali stood before Genji with a satchel of travel supplies. "Hello again. I figured I would do it since I'm familiar with you."

"How far are we going?" Genji asked, noticing Ugali's bag was filled to the brim.

"A round trip will take a few days. Cascade of Flowing Water is settled by the Nokan tribe. We'll stop there for the night and continue in the morning."

"That doesn't explain why you need to carry so much."

"The Nokans have access to a precious mineral. We hope to trade for some on this trip."

Genji nodded in understanding and prepared to set off again. This would be a great opportunity to obtain more historical records and verify the feasibility of his plans.

The two of them rode at a moderate speed for the next few hours, stopping occasionally to let their steeds rest and hunt for food. This was mostly for Ugali's mount since Bruce was still as energetic as before and even helped with cooking.

"No matter how much I see it, I still can't believe it. Why does your horse know how to cook?" Ugali asked halfway through their meal.

"Interest is the best teacher," Genji replied. "And he's very enthusiastic about food."

"Then why is he not tired? Isn't he a little too strong for a mount?"

"He wouldn't have time to worry about food if he wasn't strong."

"..." Ugali couldn't retort to this response, so he stopped asking questions and they resumed their journey.

 

---

 

The sun arced across the sky, and soon dusk was upon them. The orange light of the setting sun cast long shadows, amplifying their every movement. As they journeyed on, they came upon multiple layers of rocky slates stacked to form a stair-like pattern. A thin stream of water flowed over the slates, trickling down the steps.

'Is this the Cascade of Flowing Water?' Genji wondered, not expecting the sight. He had imagined a waterfall, but the name still seemed fitting.

This is the distinctive aspect of these location names: one can get a mental picture of the area just by hearing it. The imagery is vivid enough to feel as if the speaker directly transmitted the memory into the listener's mind.

Looking upstream, Genji saw a permanent settlement constructed from wooden frames, clay supports, and thatched roofs. As they approached, a sentry stopped them for questioning.

"We're here to lodge for the night," Ugali explained. "I'm from the Helix tribe."

At the mention of Ugali's tribe, the guard smiled warmly and welcomed them. "Ah, friends from the plains. Come in. We're about to have our communal dinner."

Ugali expressed his gratitude and followed a guide to a spot where they could set up a tent.

"They seem quite receptive to us," Genji commented as he helped Ugali. "Are all of you like this?"

"Yes. Unless it's a hostile tribe, we usually allow travelers to stay the night, as sleeping with a group is always safer than being alone in the wild. You never know when you might need them to return the favor. Having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy."

"No questions asked?"

"Just the tribe name. If they recognize it, they'll be more hospitable; otherwise, they'll just offer the bare minimum."

"Then what if someone lied about their tribe? As far as I can tell, nothing is stopping them. What if they are a bad guest pretending to be someone else?"

Ugali laughed. "We take pride in our tribes. We can conceal it, but we never lie about it. Doing so is akin to forsaking our community. Plus, why would anyone make their lives harder by being rude? Why do you ask? Have you encountered something like that?"

"I just like to consider the worst-case scenario."

"That's not a bad trait, but be careful that it doesn't dictate your actions. If you treat others with the expectation that they will do wrong, you contribute to the problem. Eventually, everyone will adopt that mindset, and we will all be worse off. All actions have consequences, and all outcomes have causes, whether good or bad."

Genji smiled mirthfully at this lecture and thought, 'Then I must have a lot of repercussions awaiting me considering how much I've killed. I wonder when they'll catch up to me.'

Genji didn't think much of it since he was never one to believe in fate or karma. Instead, he preferred to believe in himself and all the challenges he'd overcome to reach this point. There was a lot of luck, yes, but never something so detached from reality like fate.

Seeing Genji's response, Ugali said, "I can tell you're a pragmatist, but try to consider the consequences of your actions. You never know when they will come back to bite you."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," Genji answered perfunctorily, causing Ugali to shake his head in disappointment. However, he didn't push the topic any further, knowing it would be useless.

'I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you won't regret your choices in the future.'

A few minutes later, dinner was called and they joined the crowd. The Nokans had more people than the Helix tribe, so the bonfires were much larger than what Genji had seen before. Yes, bonfires, as in multiple. Specifically, there were three, each flanked by people working to feed everyone.

A whole pig was skewered and hoisted over the raging fire, being constantly turned to render the fat. The loud crackling of firewood and harmonious conversations echoed, highlighting the lively atmosphere. People danced to the rumbling of drums and the melodies of bone flutes.

But amidst this gathering, Genji noticed someone who stood out from the rest, not because of anything particularly unique, but rather due to how stiff his movements were. It was as if he didn't know how to dance.

[Member of MetaRealm. Insight is ineffective on members of the realms.]

Sensing the stare, the man turned around to meet Genji's gaze. A brief moment passed as realization sank in and the man recognized Genji's presence. They held this position for a few seconds before the man raised his water flask in greeting. Then he chugged down its contents and returned to his original activities.

"You know him?" Ugali asked, witnessing the exchange.

"No. Just someone in the same field as me."

"How do you know?"

"We have ways of recognizing each other." With those words, Genji finished his meal and returned to their tent.

Ugali shrugged off this curt response and found some like-minded hunters to socialize with. In this manner, the celebration continued well into the night, filled with laughter and drinks. But as the temperature cooled and nightly breezes formed, the tribesmen began turning in for the night, leaving only a few sentries to keep watch.

Snores and the rustling of cloth soon followed. At this time, Genji snuck out of the tribe and met with the man from before.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Genji asked, having understood the previous signal.

"Let's cooperate," the man said, stepping out from behind a rock. "We're both after the same thing, so let's share some information."

"Then you should know there can only be one winner. It doesn't make sense to help a competitor like this."

"Maybe, but that only matters when we're competing for the treasure. At the moment, we don't even know if the treasure exists. Why don't we help each other out and make our lives easier? If there is a treasure, we'll see who is more capable."

Genji considered the proposal for a few moments before agreeing. "I have about 200 years of major events from my side."

"330 here. As a sign of sincerity, I'll go first." The man began narrating the story he had heard from the people here. After 30 minutes, he stopped talking and looked at Genji. His meaning was clear: it was Genji's turn. If Genji wanted to hear more, he needed to share his story as well.

Genji followed the man's example and spoke for a similar amount of time before passing the initiative back to the man, who continued his recounting. They went back and forth multiple times like this, each taking notes on the important points.

Toward the end, they held a questioning session to confirm their notes and sort through their information. However, the results were disappointing, with no clues in sight.

"I expected this. If it were easy, then we wouldn't be doing this in the first place," the man sighed.

Genji said nothing and simply stared at his notebook full of underlined text and sporadic circles. The corner of his mouth curved slightly upward as he made his last scribbles and got up from the ground. "Then I'll leave you to it. I still have somewhere to go."

As Genji walked away, the man couldn't help but wonder if he had missed something. Why did it seem like Genji benefited more from this exchange than him? 'Ugh, I hate academia. I would rather fight those pesky orcs than spend another day trying to figure this out.'

When Genji returned to the tent, he realized Ugali was already awake and organizing his luggage.

"Did you finish what you wanted to do?" Ugali asked, his back turned to Genji.

"For the most part." Genji sat down, fed Astros some snacks, and stroked his fur. "What about you?"

"I found someone to trade with. We can leave any time after that."

"Then let's go."

They left the tent, packed it up, and rendezvoused with Ugali's friend. They exchanged a few courtesies before Ugali handed over most of his luggage. In return, he obtained a coarse pouch fastened by brown twine.

Light platters could be heard when he shook the bag. Ugali opened the sack and picked out a sample to inspect the products. A red pebble the size of Go stones was pinched between his fingers as Ugali held it up to the sun.

When Ugali shook the bag, light rattling could be heard. He opened the sack, picked out a red pebble the size of a Go stone, and held it up to the sun. After confirming that it was transparent and clear, he nodded in satisfaction and returned the stone to the pouch.

In that short time, Genji obtained the item's stats.

 

[Small Stone of Vitality]

Rating: Rare

Effect: Increase your max health by 7–9 points upon use. (Effect depends on the size of the stone.)

Description: A rare stone that contains a mysterious energy native to this world. Absorbing it will slightly strengthen your body.

 

The effect was weaker than Bechel's vitality medicines of the same rank, but the stone had a crucial advantage in that it could be used repeatedly without diminishing results. In theory, Genji could continuously increase his health if he could obtain enough of them.

However, this was only theoretical, as his strength would eventually reach a point where the energy within the stone would become inconsequential. But at that point, he wouldn't need to care about these stat gains.

Despite these advantages, Genji still preferred Bechel's medicines. The reason was simple: they were replicable. Unlike the stones that could only be found by chance, the medicine had a clear formula, allowing for mass production.

'It's impressive that he replicated this effect, though. I wonder if he's the only one or if there are others.'

They left the tribe and continued onward toward their destination. After two hours, they encountered the bulls, and Ugali stepped back.

"All yours," he said.

Genji drew his saber and approached the herd. As he neared them, the bulls lowered their heads, aligning their horns with Genji and scraping the ground with their hooves. Then they charged forward in formation, aiming to ram their target.

Genji twisted his torso to slip through the narrow gaps in their ranks and slashed out as he passed. A massive fountain of blood gushed into the air, followed by the heavy thud of a decapitated head.

Pivoting his foot, Genji twirled his blade like flowing water and weaved through the crowd. When he emerged on the other side, a lane of creatures collapsed in blood, felled with a single stroke each. The heavy scent of iron greatly agitated the survivors, but their fear overpowered this instinct and prompted them to flee. In this moment, Genji was the embodiment of carnage.

'This guy...,' Ugali thought, subconsciously holding his breath. 'I've heard rumors of this, but this is on another level. Just how many battles has he fought to reach this point?'

Genji gave his saber one last swing to clean off the blood and walked back over.

"No time to be spacing out. We have work to do," Genji reminded Ugali, waking him from his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah." Ugali brought out some bladders and scrambled to catch the draining blood. Genji followed with a normal dagger and made cuts along the major arteries before inserting the containers into these openings. Once he made a full round around the carcass, he plucked the first container and tied it shut.

Genji began the second round after repeating this with all the other bladders and swapping them for empty ones. When they filled up all their containers, they shifted their attention to the flesh.

Applying a subtle amount of cutting intent, Genji glided his knife through connective tissues without resistance, allowing the knife to come out clean. Multiple swift movements flashed across the carcass, skinning it in record time.

Genji gestured to Bruce to save this for their next meal and moved on to the next one. In the end, they stacked a tower of bloody hides on the mounts and left the rest for the hyenas. Ugali scowled at this scene, instinctively uncomfortable with the wastage.

Genji simply patted his back and said, "Cheer up. This will help your people a lot."

Ugali only nodded quietly and hopped on his mount. Then they headed for a nearby river to wash off the blood and prepare for their return trip.

As they left, Genji tapped Bruce to get his attention and outlined some words on his neck. 'If you want the excess blood, you'd better do it now while he's distracted. Otherwise, we'll continue like normal.'

With this, the sanguine puddle behind them began subtly shifting.