Chapter 9: Dreaming (1/2)

Time trickled by as Lorian refined his path. As time slowly passed on, Lorian eventually stopped and looked up. 

The face could be dimly seen as he stood up from the rock he was on and slid down the side of the rock.

He landed on the ground with a thumping sound as he grabbed his stuff that he left next to the rock.

He grabbed his flask of water and took a long gulp. The water was slightly warm, but Lorian was so thirsty that it didn't matter much to him.

He started walking back towards the city gate as he pulled out his backpack and started rummaging through the backpack, grabbing the rations he had bought earlier.

As he walked back, he ate some of the meals that he had bought and started to think. Lorian had a stern gaze as he walked through the dimly lit forest.

The had been slowly turning yellow, and the leaves on the floor gazed off a crunching sound as Lorian walked on top of them.

The air started to get warmer as he eventually ended up at the city gate; the sun was close to setting, and streaks of orange and yellow dyed the sky as he walked up towards the same guards he had seen this morning.

Since Lorian was a Path Master that had a token, he could skip the entire line that was still waiting outside the city gate.

The guards from this morning were still positioned there as they recognized him after Lorian pulled out his token, showing it to the two guards.

Lorian quickly walked back to the inn; he was going to stay here for one more day before quickly moving out. 

The dining room was still open, but Lorian did not go to the dining room. Lorian walked upstairs and quickly entered his room.

Like usual, Lorian walked in, checking the room for anything suspicious before quickly heading to bed. 

Even though the sun hadn't completely set, Lorian had big things planned for tomorrow and had to leave quite early.

Lorian quickly closed his eyes before falling into a deep dream.

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[Attempt 2/100]

"Splash!"

A loud sound woke me up as a jolted awake. I took a look outside and realized it was still the dead of night.

The moon was out shinning, and the stars gleamed in the sky. I slowly climbed out of the bed as I quietly opened the door and glanced outside.

When I looked outside, there wasn't much to see; nothing special could be seen—no beasts, no monsters, no nothing.

"Crack!"

The sound made me flinch as I looked around the shack; the ground was shaking a bit, but there wasn't anything inside. The sound seems to be coming from outside, but I wasn't so sure.

I put on some clothes and shoes that Old Man Riven had given me as I walked outside, trying to find the culprit of the sound.

As I walked outside, nothing was seen for a moment. I walked around the shack and eventually found what the culprit of the noise was.

As I walked into view, a loud cracking sound could be heard before a tree fell down, emitting a loud cracking sound before shaking the ground as it landed against the ground.

I couldn't believe what I just saw, but what shook me a bit further was the smooth sound of water. 

Expect this time that same sound of water felt different for some reason. As the air started to clear out due to the tree being cut, I could make out two figures in the distance.

One was Old Man Riven, and the other one was a white wolf. I had seen wolves in my time on Earth, but I have never seen one like this.

Every moment that I could see it, it would disappear from my sight, blending in with the color of the snow.

But the wolf has bleeding and left bloody marks on the trail every time it moved, allowing Old Man Riven to find where the wolf was.

But Old Man Riven was also not in a very good situation, his left arm dripping with blood as he looked ahead.

The moment the wolf moved Old Man Riven, he launched a Water Path Skill against him, creating a loud splashing sound as he did so.

The water seemed delicate but also sturdy at the same time; it quickly formed into a crescent shape as it flew towards the wolf. The wolf quickly dodged it as it also launched a skill in return.

An icicle could be seen within the air, launching towards Old Man Riven with a terrifying speed.

Old Man Riven quickly reacted and dodged before launching multiple crescent water blades back, slicing the wolf in some areas.

The entire fight was jaw-dropping. Even though I knew Old Man Riven was in deep trouble, I just couldn't hold back my awe.

On Earth, something like this could only be seen within a movie or book; such a scene appearing in my view seemed impossible.

Time quickly passed on as Old Man Riven and the wolf kept fighting; they were at quite the standstill, each other chipping away at each other.

Even though I wanted to help Old Man Riven, I knew that the second I joined the fight, I would be turned into mincemeat, not even lasting a second.

Eventually Old Man Riven was starting to gain the advantage; with precise Water Blades that he shot out and careful dodging, he managed to get the upper hand and held the advantage.

It wasn't long before he made a mistake, and Old Man Riven used a water blade to slice the wolf's head clean off.

As the fight ended, Old Man Riven stood above the wolf's body; his body was covered in wounds.

Old Man Riven collapsed on the snow a moment later, dying the snow into a crimson red color.

I ran over to Old Man Riven and I flipped him over, trying to identify his wounds. He was bleeding profusely in multiple areas and was slowly freezing.

Using all my strength, I loaded him onto my back as I slowly tried to walk inside the shack. The entire process took entire minutes because of the weight and how weak I was.

When I finally got inside, I swept off everything on the table as I gently laid him on it.

My entire body was sweating as I quickly rummaged through all the cabinets within the house. 

I found dry wood as I lit it in the campfire, warming the entire house up to help Old Man Riven from freezing to death.

Inside the house there was nothing else.

"I need to do something." All I could do was scream at myself for being utterly useless.

Old Man Riven had given me a place to live and taught me so much; he was like a parent to me, yet I couldn't do anything back.

I raced through my brain; there had to be something that I could do.

I was a scientist in my previous life; there had to be something; otherwise, what the hell have I been studying for?

Finally, a flash of inspiration entered my mind. I quickly ran outside the shack as I went to the fallen trees that had fallen due to the fight.

Looking around, I quickly found multiple sturdy sticks as I ran back to the shed.

Using the sticks and clothes around the house, I made multiple tourniquets to stop the bleeding. I grabbed some water from nearby and started to wash off the wounds.

I quickly switched from the tourniquet and started to apply pressure to the wounds that he had.

I wasn't sure when the wounds would heal back up; it could take hours, and I wouldn't risk it.

The tourniquets had helped him stop the bleeding, but the rest of it was just left up to me applying pressure to the wounds, making sure that no blood would seep through.

I don't know what the wolf had used, but the bleeding wouldn't stop for any reason; the second I stopped applying pressure, the big wounds would start bleeding again.

All the small wounds were bandaged and were safe for now, but the big wounds weren't.

It was middle of the night, and I didn't know when Old Man Riven would wake up or when sunrise would happen.

I had to keep holding it until Riven could wake up and tell me what to do next.

Even if I have to stand for hours, I will do it.

I would much rather die than let Riven die because I got tired.

The first life in this world went horribly.

I died once, and I had once felt like there was nobody else that could help me.

Old Man Riven had helped me.

Even though he didn't know who I was or where I came from,

He showed me the basics of this world and gave me an opportunity to live.

Compared to what he has done for me, something as simple as standing for hours is nothing.

Even if it doesn't really do much, I wanted to repay Riven.

No, I had to repay him.

So right now, I will stand here for hours or even days until he wakes up.

The wounds created by the wolf were beyond what I could handle.

There was no other option right now.

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A/N: "Old Man Riven" was the "Uncle" from chapter 7, I have just updated the names, I apologize for the inconvenience.