Aftermath

While everyone was still at the height of their excitement, relishing in the reality that their village had survived yet another monster tide, Valyr went ahead and separated from the quick response team. Then, he headed in the direction of the six, being greeted by the sight of them lying down on the ground with smiles on their faces, ignoring the fact that the ground was saturated with the Tidemother's blood.

Naturally, Valyr could understand the reason behind their actions, knowing very well that their nerves throughout the whole fight had been taut, with their bodies being pushed beyond their limits. With that, he flashed a smile at them and thanked them for their efforts before looking at Damian and Tristan. "So you guys defeated the Tidemother, huh?"

"Surprised we did, actually." Damian looked back at Valyr, a light yet relaxed smile adorning his face. "This is actually the first time it's gone berserk."

"Sure, it may have gone berserk, but we've fought against the Tidemother multiple times already." Surprisingly, just as Damian had finished his words, Tristan appeared beside Valyr, wrapping his arm around the latter's shoulders. Grinning, he looked at the man beside him. "Instead, I'm curious as to how the hell you pulled off that stunt earlier, Valyr."

Hearing those words, the other five shifted their gazes towards Valyr, who instantly felt like the spotlight was focused on him the very moment they did. Of course, even he did not know he had been able to pull off what he had done earlier, knowing very well that it would have probably taken him a couple more Brutal and Vital Hits to defeat the Inferior Tidespawn if not for the sudden Fatal Hit.

With that in mind, the nervousness Valyr felt gradually disappeared, prompting him to shrug his shoulders as he opened his mouth. "To be honest, I don't know either. I guess I was just incredibly lucky to pull off that attack."

"Is that so?" Although Valyr knew how he had achieved it, the clueless expression on his face was enough for Tristan to decide to not pursue the matter any further. Instead, he focused his attention on the chestplate Valyr wore, which now had a large X-shaped hole on it. "Anyways, you really showed no mercy on the chestplate I gave you, huh."

In response, Valyr bitterly smiled. "You know, if I wasn't forced to make a move against the Tidespawn to get the others moving, it would have stayed intact."

As he said this, Valyr could not help but feel a hint of guilt at the fact that he had damaged something that was temporarily given to him. Though, just as he was about to ask Tristan what he could do to pay for the damage to the chestplate, the latter waved his hands off nonchalantly, getting an idea of what Valyr was about to say before he could even open his mouth. "If you're planning to repay me for the armor, you don't have to. Consider your safety the perfect repayment for it."

Then, with a chuckle, he continued. "Plus, I have like a few dozen more of what you're wearing tucked away in the smithy, so it doesn't really matter that much."

"Well, I guess it's time for us to head back." Seeing that the conversation between the two was over, Damian went ahead and stood up, prompting the other four to stand up as well, getting prepared to return to the village. "Are you coming along with us, Tristan?"

Just as Valyr was about to ask what Damian meant by that, Tristan shook his head, pointing at the huge corpse before them. "Of course not. I gotta harvest the spoils from the Tidemother since no one else is gonna do it."

"Just make sure you have someone come to the corpse to come pick up the stuff." With that, he removed his arm around Valyr's shoulder, turning around to head closer to the Tidemother's corpse. "Oh, and also, can you have someone bring a couple boxes of empty glass vials?"

"I'll have someone to do that once we get back." Nodding in response, Damian then bade farewell to Tristan, returning to the village with his body language how much at ease he was. Naturally, as the other four had no other business there, they all followed behind him back to the village, with Valyr coming along as well.

Sometime later, their group had congregated with the quick response team from earlier, returning as one whole group back to the village. Once they had arrived, everyone cheered for them with great vigor and excitement in their voices as their village had survived yet another monster tide.

While being enveloped in a joyous atmosphere once more, Valyr could not help but take a look at the sky, noticing that only a couple hours remaining before the sun would set, making him realize once more that he had not eaten anything yet aside from the meal he took before the monster tide began.

Aside from that, he also noticed how the walls adjacent to the village gates had been destroyed by the rogue monsters from the fourth wave, inwardly hissing as his eyes glossed over some parts of the walls that almost destroyed houses in the process, thinking it was too close for comfort. Nevertheless, none of the buildings inside the village walls had been affected, which prompted to let out a sigh of relief while wondering how long it would take the village to gain enough strength to survive a monster tide unscathed.

Swerving through the crowd that surrounded Damian's group and their quick response team, they had eventually made it past the village gates, being greeted by the sight of Vera and a few other volunteers in the village tending to those who had been severely injured during the tide.

With that in mind, Valyr headed to where Vera was. Though, just as she was about to greet him with a smile, her eyes could not help but widen in shock as she noticed the large gash on his chestplate. "Are you fine, Valyr?!"

"Aside from the large X-shaped cut on my chest, I'm fine for the most part." Cracking a joke that Vera didn't receive well, Valyr went ahead and removed the chestplate Tristan gave him, placing it by the side for now as he allowed the woman before her to look at the wound the Tidespawn had given him.

In fact, it was only now did he find out how grievous of an injury the Tidespawn had dealt him, sharply inhaling a bit of air as he realized just then that one more hit would've sent him to the afterlife. Naturally, Vera had realized this as well, causing her to look at him with worry, while at the same time letting out a light sigh of relief. "At the very least, the wound has healed up somewhat, so you're not in a precarious situation."

Rummaging through the various pockets on her robe, she then gave a vial containing pale green fluid to Valyr, which prompted the latter to use [Analysis] on. "Have this."

Ding!

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[Inferior Rejuvenation Potion] (Item)

Rarity: Common

A healing potion made by a novice alchemist. Although the original recipe of the potion has been downgraded multiple times to be suitable for novice alchemists to concoct, the alchemist that made this potion put their utmost focus and effort into it, allowing it to reach the limits of what could be classified as an Inferior grade potion.

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"Thanks." Although Vera hadn't explained to Valyr what she had given him, the latter unhesitatingly removed the stopper on the vial and downed all of its contents, quickly feeling a soothing energy course throughout his body as all of it congregated towards his chest. Surprisingly, the wound on his chest closed up considerably at a visible rate, bringing a bit more color to his complexion as Valyr felt better than before.

"Since you gave me this healing potion, can I help you guys out in any way?" Giving back the now empty vial to Vera, Valyr decided to offer a bit of his aid. After all, that was the very least he could do.

In response, Vera looked at him for a bit as a glum expression appeared on her face. Soon, an apologetic smile replaced it as she went silent for a bit, letting out a light sigh soon after. Eventually, she looked at him straight in the eye as she opened her mouth.

"Could you… tally up how many casualties we've gotten during this monster tide?"