Maelora

There was no heap of essence gems inside the chamber, but Klein did find a couple of shelves carved into the stone wall, filled with stacks of vials. Most of the vials were empty and broken, but some were still in good condition, their elixirs retaining their potency. He sniffed a couple to make sure of that. 

Klein neither had the time nor expertise to know which elixir did what, considering this world's alchemy might run on a different system. However, that didn't stop him from collecting most of the salvageable pieces into his dimension storage. 

Other than a couple more heaps of essence gems, Klein found nothing worthwhile in his little adventure. Now, if he could just find his way back without getting noticed by any parties. Maybe Elowen could help with that, but he couldn't talk to her out in the open either. 

Given his bounty, he began to wonder what the right path out of this region would be. Ignoring the maze-like pathways, he would still need to be careful of the elves. 

Maybe I should hide somewhere deep until all of them go away, he thought, opening another chamber after spending half as much time on the rune combination.

Klein released a deep sigh of relief upon entering the chamber. As he put his attention to the interior, slow groans of pain reached his ears. Frowning, he moved ahead. 

The chamber was huge and obscured, making it difficult to notice the owner of the voice immediately. But as soon as he did, a curse escaped his lips. He recognised the person, and it was no friend of his.

Weirdly, she was spread lazily on the stone ground, her clothes dishevelled, revealing a good part of her midriff and fuller body. Her golden hair spilled around the floor as though she were having a hysteric episode, but what confused him was how Maelora was squirming on the ground, blood gorging out from several parts of her body, and not all seemed to be from blade wounds.

Whatever they were from, she had lost all of her arrogant tendency, looking as vulnerable as ever.

Klein was at a loss. He didn't wonder if he should help her here, or withdraw before she noticed him. He didn't believe her becoming considerate for him even if he used his potions on her. 

Slowly, Klein turned his head and dashed the way he came. But alas! It seemed the slight movement didn't go unnoticed by the girl, even when she was groaning in pain.

"Wait," she said, lifting her head towards him as she crawled. Her hazy eyes barely seemed to recognise him. She muttered some other words that he barely understood, not just because he didn't know their language, but due to how slurred her voice was. 

Klein didn't wait for her to recognise him and dashed to open the stone entrance, only to find it was sealed shut, unmoved by any of his efforts. Not wanting to spend the time opening the rune combination, he thrust his empowered fist into the stone. It barely budged as some runic marks lit up, thrusting back a recoiling force that sent him flying.

Meanwhile, Maelora finally collected herself, standing back on her feet to intercept him. Her face was completely red, and her dress was still in a state that revealed far too much of her curves, which were far from modest. 

As he had expected, she glared at him, her anger directed fully towards him. Thankfully, she didn't move to assault him but simply stared at him in complete bewilderment, her flushed face growing even paler. 

"Don't move," she said, followed by some more incomprehensible words. 

Klein tilted his head as a thought crossed his mind. Maelora knew him to be a simpleton, and he decided to act accordingly. Maybe she'd forgive him, thinking it was a poor mistake from a poor fool. 

As he stared at her stupidly, the big-breasted Elven woman straightened her clothing, though some parts of it were missing, making it impossible to regain any semblance of dignity. It looked like she was putting every bit of her strength into standing up.

They remained in that impasse for some time. Klein glanced around the room, searching for any possible way out, while Maelora stood trembling slightly, her jaw clenched as though she were considering something difficult. 

It took a moment for him to realise he could help her. Klein thought for a moment and removed his overcoat, holding it out towards her. 

Maelora stared at him and then at the coat, her expression showing disbelief at the audacity of the human fool who dared to pity her. But finding him staring at her body, she took a couple of steps forward and seized the coat. 

But the little movement was all she mustered, as her world tilted, as she fell downwards with the overcoat.

Klein caught her instinctively. He was thinking of letting her fall when he noticed, the girl had finally lost consciousness. 

He draped the long overcoat over her, resolving some of her dignity, but the bigger problem still remained unsolved. With a thought, he laid her on the ground, the overcoat still open to peer at the front of her body. Blood stained her torn clothing, while gorging wounds peeked up hideously in her otherwise otherworldly form. 

Bringing out two healing elixirs from his storage, he considered her wounds. He probably would never get any commendation for it, but he couldn't just leave her here like this. 

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