Chapter 9

CRASH! SNAP! SNAP! BAM!!

I landed hard onto the ground, landing on my left side as I felt a SNAP occur, hearing it clearly as well. I cried out in pain as a red box appeared underneath my health bar and right beside my EXP bar, the red box had a broken bone icon. I held my left side as I coughed rigorously, shifting around in pain.

It hurts! Jesus Christ, it fucking hurts!

I had never broken bones before, so the immense pain of breaking virtual bones for the first time was something I never thought I'd experience. I cried out in pain more grabbing onto the grass and clenching it tightly, tearing it off a bit as I struggled to get back up.

I leaned more onto my right as I couldn't feel my left leg, it felt numb somehow as I tried to get up using my left leg first. It was a mistake to try that, feeling an immense pain putting even the slightest pressure on it. I gritted my teeth, pushed myself back up onto my feet, leaning more on my right foot as I began limping.

This hurts...so much...

I kept limping trying to figure out where the hell I was now, seeing that this part of the forest was significantly different that the other one. This forest felt more ominous, limping around in a forest as I leaned onto a tree to catch my breath.

"Emi...God please have Emi find me..."

I muttered to myself, hoping Emi's confidence had come back to her, pushing myself back up and off the tree, limping around. I spent the whole day trying to find a way out as the sun began to fall once again. I took this time to sit down and make a campfire, sitting near it as nighttime arose.

The forest was dense, multiple trees and bushes were around, perfect for ambushing mobs and players alike. I had opened my menu and begun looking through the skill section, seeing if there's any useful skill that can help my condition. Luckily, there was one skill that could help me.

Medicine Skill: 0

Cooking Skill: 0

Medicine and Cooking skills seemed important if they were based at zero, although every other skill besides the ones I was doing on the regular were above zero. I tapped More Information underneath the medicine skill to learn more about it.

Medicine Skill: 0

More Information | Take your medicine and make it useful for yourself or your comrades, ground up simple medicinal herbs and create potions or even buffs to help turn the tide of battle.

I stared at the word medicinal herbs, remembering seeing a weird looking plant off in the distance while limping. Maybe I can create something to repair my leg... I closed my menu as it became my priority, taking the night to sleep in rather than to daydream.

***

Four hours after waking up I was already searching for herbs, picking random plants as most plants were used for cooking or decor. My leg was getting worse and worse, the numbness becoming increasingly more painful with every step. Where are these herbs... I continued searching within ten feet vicinity of my campsite. I was looking all over the place, but I didn't know what it looked like, taking plants that very much looked like plants.

"There's just so much greenery here!! How the hell am I supposed to find a fucking herb!!"

I shouted, slamming the side of my fist onto a tree out of frustration, breathing heavily I took a deep breath, knowing I have no one to blame for but myself now. I continued looking, taking the entire day to find the requirements to make a healing item.

While sitting in-front of my campfire once again, I had my menu opened, tapping on a box to add required plants and herbs into a box. Tap Tap Tap Tap...Ding! The textbox dinged as in the middle of the box underneath the requirements was a large button.

I tapped the button as the box disappeared with my menu, a mortar and pestle appeared in-front of me, along with my ingredients neatly laying beside the mortar. I grabbed each ingredient and tossed it in, familiar with how a mortar and pestle works. I began crushing up the ingredients in the mortar as I added water little by little and eventually filled the mortar with water.

That should be the end of it...

The liquid and the ingredients began glowing as I looked away from the glow, it then dived down as I investigated the mortar, seeing a green, watery substance sitting calmly within it.

I...I guess I'll drink it...?

I set the pestle to the side as I lifted the mortar up to my lips, drinking straight from the mortar calmly and slowly. I wanted to be sure I got the full effect of whatever I just made, making sure there wasn't a drop of it wasted.

Once finished I wiped my mouth, seeing my health regenerating and my broken bone debuff disappear. My leg felt like it did before I broke it, I was able to freely move it and I feel better now. I'll have to make more of these... I smiled, seeing the pestle and mortar disappear into polygons.

I spent the night sleeping near the campfire, taking the next day early in the morning. I began to navigate through this dense forest as I heard a sudden crash nearby. I ran towards it breaking through a tree line and saw someone lying on the floor, running up to them and kneeling in-front of them.

"Hey! Hey!!"

I shook their shoulder as they seemingly passed out, their health was extremely low, and I didn't have anymore of the ingredients on me. I looked around as I gave them a piggyback ride, carrying them on my back as I began running around once again, this time carrying a guy on me.

Don't die on me! Don't die on me!

I continued running as I looked over my shoulder, seeing their hair split on their left side as they seemed almost familiar in a way. I couldn't put my finger on it but I turned my head to see the wreckage of what seemed to be a pretty big fight, following the wreckage of an aftermath, I then saw a dirt path that led me towards Honruka Village.