Chapter 101 Not So Heartless, Am I? I
"Fuu…"
Somehow concerned, I carefully adjusted my grip on her and lowered her to the ground, ensuring she was in a comfortable position.
We were currently outside the burned goblin's hideout, close to the entrance of the hunting field.
I knelt beside Ruby, observing her closely, searching for any signs of injury. But I couldn't find one except that she had a fragile body and an overall weak constitution.
Leaving her alone, I sat several meters away from her and took out the Horizon Elixir and Catalyst Potion.
I put the Horizon Elixir on the ground and consumed the Catalyst Potion first.
As I consumed the potion, I felt a surge of energy coursing through my body.
The energy's pattern was random, it spread all over my veins and body. To fix this, I needed to be in a meditation state, cultivating the very essence of the potion.
Taking a deep breath and focusing my attention inward.
Drawing upon the amplified energy granted by the Catalyst Potion, I entered a state of deep meditation, channeling the newfound energy into cultivation practice like those in martial arts and cultivation stories.
With each breath, I felt my body and mind harmonizing, aligning with the potion's growing power.
In this heightened state of cultivation, I visualized the Catalyst Potion merging seamlessly with me. Its purplish-blue glow intertwined with my mana core and blood, infusing me with an increased growth power.
After an hour, I emerged from my meditative state, feeling a profound connection with the Catalyst Potion.
Ding—!
[The fortune has smiled upon you! You have perfectly absorbed the essence of the Catalyst Potion!]
[Your Growth Rate Power has been increased from <E-> to <S> [The original result: B-]]
[The fortune has smiled upon you! As a result of your focused, deep meditation. Your Mental has been increased from <F> to <F+>]
[The fortune has smiled upon you! You have successfully reinforced your mana core with the essence of the Catalyst Potion!]
[Your Magic has been increased from <F+> to <E->]
As you can see. I said I was confident I could hit the jackpot on the first try.
Luck really played a significant role to achieve greater power other than talents and blessings.
For me who had no blessings and a low-rank Luck stat, this was my greatest achievement in this life.
I will make sure to thank the Golden Goblin if I died later.
But, I couldn't be satisfied with just only this. My potential was still <B> ranked, and I only had one chance.
As I was about to reach for the Horizon Elixir, Ruby made a sudden sweet yawn noise, stopping me from drinking the elixir.
'Haa… I guess I can do it later once I'm done with this.'
Turning around, I observed her fragile body and confused face. She rapidly blinked as she just opened her eyes.
Then, as her eyes found me she gasped, covering her opened mouth with her hands.
Putting back the elixir into my storage cube, I got up and walked toward her.
"You're finally awake."
I recalled the moment she was passing out after the fight with the goblin king.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded shyly, trying to find something to cover her face. She felt like a different person from what I encountered before she passed out.
"You–"
Before I even could speak my first word, she cut me off with a quick speech.
"S-sorry! I was rude to you before, so I'm sorry!"
"Yes?"
If someone could tell me what happened here, please do. Because I didn't know what the fvck is going on right now!
Cough–! Cough—!
She suddenly coughed up blood, her hand grasping at her chest.
Surprised, I knelt beside her as I pulled out a small potion containing red liquid.
"Hey, drink this."
Ruby's eyes fluttered weakly as she struggled holding the pain feeling in her chest. She managed to lift her unoccupied hand and weakly grasp my sleeve, her grip feeble but desperate.
"No…" She whispered, her voice barely audible. "It doesn't work on me… *cough*"
I frowned upon hearing her words. What didn't work on you, damn it, a potion? Really?!
'As if I would let an SS-rank talent like you die here! No. No-uh. Not in my watch.'
Carefully, I rose to my feet.
"Pardon me."
Gently lifting her into my arms.
"W-what are you doing?!" She protested with her voice. Yeah, but what could she do with voice only?
That was not gonna stop me from saving the SS-rank talent that had the surname of the villain character!
"Stay still."
Glancing around the area, I quickly retraced my steps back to the hunting field entrance as fast as possible.
As I arrived at the base camp of the hunting field, where Enhanced prepared or took rest before heading out for hunting, I called for the medic.
"Excuse me! Is there a medic here?"
At first, people who stayed at the base camp were nonchalant at my call. But, when I showed them my student card and introduced myself as an Octagram student, they scattered and helped me.
'A bunch of bootlickers…'
I eyed them with a disgusted face, not even trying to hide my dislike of their demeanor. Though, they were the ones that ignored my expression at that time and continued onward with providing Ruby with medical aid.
While I waited for Ruby's recovery, I slipped away from the crowd's busyness and looked for a quiet, empty place I could use for meditation.
As I found the place, I immediately sat in a meditation position with the elixir already in my hand.
With a steady hand, I uncorked the elixir and raised it to my lips.
The elixir had a faint, sweet aroma that filled my nostrils.
As I drank it, a tingling sensation spread throughout my body.
After that, the rest procedure was the same as when I cultivated the Catalyst Potion.
An hour later, I finished my cultivation and perfectly absorbed all the elixir's essence thanks to my effort as well as my enhanced luck.
Notifications assaulted my vision with their blue window panel.
Ding—!
[The fortune has smiled upon you! You have perfectly absorbed the essence of the Horizon Elixir!]
[Your Growth Potential has been increased from <B> to <SS> [The original result: A]]
[The fortune has smiled upon you! As a result of your focused, deep meditation. Your Mental has been increased from <F+> to <E->]
[The fortune has smiled upon you! You have successfully reinforced your mana core with the essence of the Horizon Elixir!]
[Your Magic has been increased from <E-> to <E>]
[The fortune has smiled upon you! As a result of the 'Triforce Energy'. Your physical stats has been increased a level!]
[Strength: E- → E]
[Agility: E → E+]
[Stamina: E → E+]
[Health: D+ → C-]
…
Arriving inside the tent where Ruby was treated, I found her laying on the patient bed. She was sleeping soundly, her face was in peace.
'Ustrina.'
I called her surname a few times, trying to recall what I remembered from the novel but the result was null. So I searched for it on the Internet instead.
As I found the articles, my eyes flashed with recognition.
"Ah! So it's him!"