Astarto Village, at the village clinic.
"Welcome to the village clinic, how may I help yo—?!" Sensing a couple people enter the clinic just a couple of hours before sunset, Vera was left at a loss for words as she looked at the sight before him. Though battered and bruised all over, Tristan carried Valyr on his back, who seemed to be in a far worse state than the former.
"What happened to you two?" With slight panic in her voice, she rushed over to where the two were, aiding Tristan in carefully transporting Valyr. Placing the latter down on a nearby bed, Vera could not help but look at the two with an expression filled with worry.
"We got ambushed on the way back to the village," Tristan said in response, making Vera cover her mouth in shock as she felt tears start to well up in her eyes. Just as she was about to ask Tristan further regarding what happened, the latter reminded her that there was a far more important matter at hand.
"We can talk about what happened later. For now… take care of Valyr."
Hearing those words, Vera lightly nodded as she redirected her attention towards the man on the bed near them. With Valyr looking at her with a bitter smile, Vera went ahead and placed her hand on the former's body, causing him to wince in pain for a bit.
Apologizing for the pain she was inflicting, she then told Valyr that she would be quick, hastily channeling her mana through Valyr's body to get a better idea of how the man before her fared. Unsurprisingly, Valyr could not help but let out a light cry in pain, feeling as if every wound on the inside of his body was being torn open again by Vera's mana. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and endured it, knowing very well that she shouldn't be disturbed at this moment.
Once Vera was done assessing the severity of Valyr's injuries, the tears that threatened to flow down earlier now gradually streamed down her face, wondering how the man before him was even awake. "Torn muscles, broken bones… it's horrible what they did to you."
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this." Valyr flashed a wry smile at Vera, which changed into a slight frown soon after as the pain he felt somewhat flared up. After a while, he let out a sigh. "If only I was stronger…"
"It was a losing battle from the very start, Valyr." Moving closer, Tristan lightly placed his hand over Valyr's shoulder as he shook his head. "There's no point mulling over the past."
At that point, the curiosity Vera felt had reached its peak, deciding to ask the two as to who ambushed them, as well as why they were ambushed. Naturally, Valyr mentioning that the one he fought against was a Rank 4 class holder took Vera aback, thinking that if the opponent didn't decide to spare his life at the end, he would've been a goner.
Then again, Tristan's opponent was no pushover either, being a Rank 3 class holder. Though, with the disparity in strength between him and his opponent being far less than what Valyr had to go through, he had only accrued bruises and superficial wounds at most.
Nevertheless, with how the ones that attacked them out of nowhere were of a significantly higher rank than the two of them, both Tristan and Valyr could not help but ask themselves once more as to why they were ambushed, with Vera offering a few possible ideas regarding the reason behind it. However, just like the two earlier, the three came to the conclusion that they had no clue, prompting them to place the matter at the back of their heads for now as they thanked the heavens no one had died.
Still feeling sorry for the two of them, Vera gave Tristan an Inferior Rejuvenation Potion, which the latter said was enough to heal all of the injuries he had gotten. Surprisingly, he was correct, with all of the welts, bruises, and light wounds he had received from the fight disappearing within minutes.
As for Valyr, an Inferior Rejuvenation Potion was far from enough to heal him. Instead, Vera brought out a Lesser Rejuvenation Potion and helped Valyr consume it. Soon, a far more soothing energy than what the Inferior Rejuvenation Potion gave washed over his body as the pain he had been enduring seemed to disappear for a while. By the time the pain returned, it was at a level that Valyr had no problem enduring.
After that, she gave Valyr a Bone Reconnecting Potion, a potion that helped heal the broken bones all over his body. Unlike the soothing feeling the Lesser Rejuvenation Potion gave him, Valyr felt like all of the bones in his body were being sewn back together into place, prompting him to grit his teeth as the peculiar pain the potion made him experience eventually disappeared after a couple of minutes.
Channeling her mana into Valyr's body once more, Vera let out a sigh of relief once she found out that most of the injuries Valyr had were more or less healed. With that, she gave him yet another Lesser Rejuvenation Potion as Tristan watched the entire scene unfold in front of him.
"I'm sure all of the potions you've been giving him all cost a pretty penny, right?" Tristan could not help but ask Vera. "If so, I'll pay for all of it."
"You don't have to, Tristan." Valyr looked at him in response, slowly shaking his head before turning to look at Vera. "Tell me how much the potions cost after everything is done."
"I insist, Valyr." Unfortunately for him, Tristan did not relent. "It's partly my fault why you ended up in that situation. I… wasn't able to help you out."
"Enough." Feeling as if the conversation was eventually going to go nowhere, Vera decided to interrupt. Looking at Tristan and Valyr, she then opened her mouth. "Valyr doesn't need to pay for the potions. This is the least I can do."
Hearing that, both Valyr and Tristan looked at each other with a bitter smile. With the matter settled like that, they placed all previous thoughts at the back of their heads.
Eventually, Tristan told Valyr that he was going to return to the smithy, reminding to get tons of rest. In response, Valyr was about to stand up from the bed and head back to his dormitory, only to be stopped by Vera as she suggested that it would be better for him to rest here for the day. Seeing as the woman before him was adamant, Valyr could only acquiesce as he bade farewell to Tristan with a sigh.
Sometime later, Vera told him to get plenty of rest, to which Valyr nodded in response. After that, Vera left him on his own, finally allowing the man to be alone with his thoughts.
Bang!
Once he was certain he was alone, Valyr bit on his lips in rage as he slammed a fist on the ground. Eventually, a bit of blood started to trickle down as tears started to well up in his eyes. 'I was a fool.'
'I was a fool to think the world was going to give me ample time to get stronger.' Valyr inwardly berated himself. Clenching his fists tightly, he could not help but recall the helplessness he felt while being beaten up by the Rank 4 class holder. 'I've already been given a second shot to make things right, so why did I think the world would be that merciful to also give me time?'
Although he did not know the real reason why he and Tristan were ambushed on the way back to the village, he did have his guesses. In his mind, the only thing that would make people of that level move was if he had something precious on him. Unfortunately for him, he did have something precious.
His Mythic class.
'I don't know who told those two that I have a Mythic class, but whoever they may be, I'll pay it back tenfold.' At that moment, murderous intent enveloped the entire hall of the clinic, reaching an intensity only Valyr in his past life had unleashed a few times. 'And to that fucker who decided to play around with my life, I swear I'll make yours a living hell.'
'Mark my words.' With this thought in mind, Valyr took in a few deep breaths, calming his emotions down as he felt his rage gradually consume him. After a while, he let out a long sigh as he reflected on all of his actions so far. 'In actuality, the speed at which I've been progressing isn't half bad. However, with how danger lurks in every corner… I need to get stronger faster.'
With his mind fixating on the phrase 'get stronger', the words of the assailant that knocked him unconscious resounded in his mind, feeling his rage bubble up once more. Thankfully, he calmed it down once more, taking in a few deep breaths as he laid down on the bed allocated to him.
'I hate the feeling of having my life being used as a play toy.' Staring at the ceiling of the village clinic, Valyr could not help but feel like the personality he had cultivated in his past life clash with the one he had inadvertently cultivated during his time in Greater Beyond so far. Eventually, one of them triumphed over the other as a thought surfaced in his mind.
"I said I was going to reveal everything before I left the village for good… but you know what?"
"Fuck staying low-key. What's the point of hiding my true abilities if that just results in me being thrashed around? Didn't I get a second shot at all of this in order to make sure that doesn't happen?"
Letting out a sigh, he sat upright on the side of the bed as his demeanor changed in an instant. At that moment, gone was the Valyr that decided acting like a newbie was the ideal thing to do early on. Instead, taking its place was the old Valyr, the Valyr that had already experienced everything life had to offer. The same Valyr that treaded on the boundary of life and death during the final battle.
The same Valyr… that would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
"Since I have the knowledge… then it should only be natural that I use it to the fullest."
