"Jor! You and Bor take the bulk of the boar meat!" Lia's voice was now hoarse, stripped of its flat command, revealing a raw, emotional intensity. "Mara! Kai… you guys support Kyle! I will take the front. We are returning back. Now!"
The Low Beginner hunters, stunned into obedience and respect by the terror they had witnessed a few moments ago, didn't argue. Jor ignored his wounded shoulder and took the heaviest sling full of boar meat and the crystal of Stalker they had defeated. Whereas, Mara and Kai formed a protective V around Kyle, half-carrying his blood-drenched body.
Kyle was barely conscious and his mind was slowly losing and drifting towards the abyss end. The pain in his right shoulder was a blinding, all-consuming fire. His endurance was completely depleted, and the world was swimming in a haze of red and black. He felt Lia's hand gripping his left arm, her fingers small but surprisingly strong, pulling him forward at a terrifying pace.
Every step was a fresh agony, but the fear of the forest kept him upright.
…
The returning journey to the village was…. Well full of pain for Kyle.
Lia had stripped her commanding aloof personality and was moving with a desperate, singular focus: getting Kyle back alive. She had used strips of her own torn clothes to create a tight bandage on Kyle's shattered and bleeding shoulder, ignoring her own blood-soaked deep, spurting thigh wound.
They burst out of the Dark Forest at dusk, stumbling back toward the Wolffang House entrance, looking less like hunters and more like survivors of a massacre.
They were drenched in a terrifying mix of black Boar gore, Stalker ichor, and their own bright, human blood.
Seeing their conditions, the village guard, Rix, immediately raised the alarm. People rushed forward—not to gawk, but to help.
They were immediately whisked away to the main healing tent of the village and a stern-faced healer, an old Mid-Apprentice rank woman named Elder Elara, took the charge of healing them, her face was grim and she was shouting instructions to other healers in a frantic urgency.
Seeing the state of Lia's blacked thigh wound she reprimanded her by saying – "Lia! You moved too slow!, you are poisoned. Go sit on the left bed. I'll be there soon. "
Then her eyes moved towards Kyle, "And this boy!... Fuck!... his shoulder is a pulp!."
" How in god's name did a Mid-Novice like him take a Peak Beginner hit and survived?..."
Lia ignored the scolding. "The potion, Elara… He needs the Grade Three serum to have any chances of recovery. Use the emergency stock and deduct the price from my hunting contributions"
Elara, surprised by Lia's ferocity, quickly nodded and administered a thick, glowing yellow serum. The Grade Three potion was a powerful, expensive medicine reserved for the most serious injuries.
As soon as the liquid entered his mouth. Kyle felt a sudden, intense warmth flood his body. The agonizing pain in his shoulder retreated instantly, replaced by a tingling numbness. The serum's powerful magical properties began knitting his torn muscle and fractured bone back together with immediate efficacy.
"He'll live," Elara declared grudgingly, wrapping his shoulder in thick, clean linen. "The potion did its job. But you, Lia, that thigh wound is deep. You were lucky you didn't lose your leg."
"I was not lucky Elara, the carrier boy chose to sacrifice himself to save me and create a chance for me to kill the stalker" Lia retorted, her voice flat now, the moment of vulnerability gone, replaced by a fierce, contained emotion. She limped over and sat beside Kyle on the rough straw bed, watching him intently.
….
Soon it was night time and the whispers began to spread through the small, nomadic village. The story of the hunt was sensationalized and over-exaggerated, gaining momentum with every retelling at the WolfFang House.
" You know that the entire team was about to be wiped out by a Peak Beginner rank - Stalker! A creature that only Apprentice rank hunters usually survive!" - Said a thin skinny guy who was selling meat sticks.
" I know. Lia was pinned! And the Stalker was crushing her! It was a death flag but she somehow managed to kill the stalker who was a minor rank above her.!" replied the newbie who was passing by.
" Nah…Nahh. You noobs. As if someone in that situation can turn around and kill the beast. It was all due to Kyle, the carrier of the team who threw his useless body at the beast, distracting it long enough for Lia to deliver the final, killing blow! " said person C sitting in front of the vendor.
" He took the blow meant for her!... Wow! Such braveness…though idiotic is impressive " vendor said with surprised eyes.
" I know right… I mean every other person would have secured his own safety and would run away while the stalker was busy with Lia", person C nodded.
" Well, Lia is wounded but alive and her team has returned with the largest Boar haul in months. Along with a Peak Beginner monster core—a creature far beyond their rank!. I guess things are going to change now." said the vendor.
" True. Especially for Kyle Boobsucker… who was a living joke till now" person C laughed while taking a bite from his meat stick.
Meanwhile Kyle, who was still resting and regaining his strength, was completely unaware of the ongoing rumours. But in spite of that…his reputation was changing. He was no longer the Softblade, the disgraced man saved by Rina. He was now considered as Edgewalker, the reckless carrier who had stared at death and lived.
As the tent quieted down, Jor, Bor, Mara, and Kai approached his bed.
"Kyle," Jor said, his voice deep with respect, nodding his head. "I was wrong for making a joke on you and calling you useless when we first met. You are not a joke but a hero… and we all owe you our lives and will definitely repay this debt to you"
Mara, the archer, didn't speak much, but she gave him a solemn, appreciative look before leaving.
Bor squeezed his good arm. "When you're healed and back for the next hunt, I swear I will listen to you and your advice. Thank you."
But… Lia remained seated beside him until the others left.
"The tribe is calling you a hero now and have given you a new nickname" Lia stated, her voice quiet. "They are saying you achieved the impossible and that from now on they will treat you well "
Kyle woke up slowly due to chatters and after listening to Lia and managed a weak smile. "I'm just glad that we all survived that nightmare. Nothing else matters to me, be it rumours or praise."
Lia didn't smile. She reached out and lightly brushed her fingers across the bandage on his shoulder—a fragile, almost tentative touch that belied her rank.
"I have repaid the debt of my life by giving you grade three serum" she said, her dark eyes intense. "But I have not paid back the debt of my pride. You had put your life on the line to save me… and Kyle, I will never forget that. So, get better soon. You are now a permanent member of my team, not just a carrier."
With that, she stood up, nodded once, and limped out of the tent, leaving Kyle alone with the ringing silence and the thumping realization of what he had achieved.
A few minutes later, cleared by the healer, Kyle finally made his way back to the solitude of his small hut. He collapsed onto his furs, utterly drained but victorious.
As he laid down, the familiar system chime sounded in his mind.
...
[ Congratulations!! You have completed a Rare Achievement]
[ Name - Survive and help kill a Peak Beginner Rank Stalker]
[ Reward: 50 Dickies ]
[ Current Balance: 94 Dickies ]
....
A wide grin spread across Kyle's face. 50 Dickies!.
"I'm grateful and relieved that this fucker system atleast recognize things outside sex too"
Now I have enough dickies to upgrade the remaining two stats to G+, which will increase my rank to Peak-Novice. Same rank as that fucker bully "Torin Asshole".
"Cool… few more days and I will make sure that I repay his strike and insults back with 100 fold"
" Dude will regret popping out of his mama's womb "
"Wait… or was it her Asshole?? Huh?"
While he was dreaming about how he would take his revenge on Torin. A second notification popped up.
But…
This was different.
......….
[ Sub-Quest 2: Lolicon Conqueror!! ]
< Task: Have sex with Lia in the forest and make her submit to you>
< Reward for Completion: 50 Dickies and 100% loyalty+subservience of Lia >
< Penalty for Failure: Will lead to a decrease in fame and Lia publicly accusing you of attempted rape >
...........
Kyle just stared at what he was seeing looking like a dumbfounded idiot.
He stared at the final line of the quest with a sudden, serious sobriety and read it again and again.
"Rape accusation?... Decrease in fame?..." he whispered, running a hand over the bandage on his shoulder. "Shit. This isn't anything like the last 2 quests system had given me. The penalty for failure of the quest this time is too high, so I can't even afford failing it ...."
He looked at his available Dickies again. He was now very close to an essential upgrade, but he needed a foolproof plan and couldn't afford to waste them on stats only.
While Lia had confessed that she owed him, it doesn't mean a free pass to grab her ass and fuck her in the middle of the forest. Even if by some sheer luck she does agrees for sex, She was too prideful to get fucked in the random bushes of the jungle.
"I guess I will observe and see where the things lead and utilize every chance I receive to get close to her", and with that he drifted back to sleep.
His mind… was already planning the next steps…