BXBX NOVEL Chapter 281 280: Healing
Kat PoV
Sitting against the wall of the entrance, I overlooked the snow laden valleys below me as I allowed my body to absorb the areas potent Wind and Ice Mana, slowly refilling my core back to its peak.
The howling of the wind down in the valleys sounded quiet from up here, and the occasional melodic caw of those blue feathered birds rung out into the mountains, but besides that...
There was nothing else here; no other animals that I could see, no monsters, no people...
I was stranded deep in the wilderness, and for the moment, I was left with nothing besides the birds as my company.
Of course, who knows what will come out to prowl at night, but by then I would have my leg healed and I would be on the move.
Where though?
While the lake was indeed beautiful, I had a sneaking suspicion that those specks of violet and crimson weren\'t just light, but instead monsters.
Of course, that wasn\'t something I could confirm, nor would I go out of my way to confirm it; I would instead avoid the large frozen lake, no matter how gorgeous it might be to look at up close.
As for the giant mountain to my right with an almost ribcage like valley of rocks at its base, I would also avoid going there, as the giant mountain wasn\'t something I wanted to risk climbing.
Stories of confident, experience mountain climbers dying on my old worlds largest peaks were something I had retained, it seemed, and I didn\'t consider myself confident or experienced with mountaineering.
Which left the wide stone arch to the left, acting as the entrance to this area...
I hope.
Otherwise, I would need to make my way over towards one of the other smaller mountains and take a peak behind it, hoping to find something resembling civilization.
Technically, should I fail to find a way to eat, I could live for around three weeks,, though whether or not I would be able to continue moving is another story.
I had infinite water with my magic, and food shouldn\'t be too big of an issue as long as I manage to successfully kill a bird or two here and there.
Now cooking it...
That would be an interesting task.
But, that was all for the future me, and now I needed to focus on reconnecting a tendon inside my leg successfully.
Reaching the amount of mana I believed I needed to both heal and to still maintain a rather decent pool to use in case of an emergency, I sat up and leaned down towards my leg, ignoring the discomfort of the now numb limb and instead tracing out a very long, complex sequence of runes.
Finishing the first sequence, I twisted it into a ring and began filling the newly created Ritual Circle with more runes, amplifying certain parts and fine tuning others.
It was a long, tedious process of double checking the runes, mapping it all out perfectly, triple checking, and then, after creating the most complex spell I had made so far, casting it and maintaining it over my achilles tendon like I was trying to enchant something, letting the spell seep into the flesh and begin to heal and mend my leg.
Wincing slightly, I tried to ignore the sharp pangs and jolts that shot around my leg as my tendon began to fuse back together and restore itself, all while the flesh surrounding it continued to shift around to better allow the achilles tendon to return to its original place.
Sweat coated my body despite the biting wind and snow, and I gasped as my entire body shook as an agonizingly tight cramp took ahold of my right leg, the muscles all clenching down as my leg began to reset itself entirely, the cool and strong current of Water Mana seeping consistently into the flesh and bone.
When it was finally all over, I opened my eyes as I panted, the pains slowly receding as I unsteadily rose to my feet, gingerly applying pressure to my right leg.
While it did feel a little tingly and weak, I could put my weight on it and even move the limb, making me smile tiredly down at my pale white leg.
Stretching out my tense muscles, I looked around the cavern again before casting my gaze towards the bright blue sky that was littered with clouds.
As my eyes landed on a bird, my stomach rumbled loudly in protest, making me chuckle as I narrowed my eyes, blocking out the suns harsh rays while tracking the bird.
It was a good distance away, so how could I..?
Hmm, maybe I just needed to get it riled up?
Though, that would only work if its not an animal, but a monster; they move towards their attacker, whereas the animals will flee at the feeling of pain.
Pursing my lips, I tried to ignore my growling stomach again, before sighing as I began to move towards the outside world, a world that I had no knowledge of.
All I had on me was two daggers, the clothes on my back, some poison, some potions, and the magic within me.
That was all, and I needed to make do with everything at my disposal.
Carefully walking down the snowy mountain, I made sure to check the trees that were sparsely scattered around the slope for anything hiding in their branches, hoping to find some small rodents or berries to eat.
Sadly, the birds remained the mountains only other inhabitants, so as I made my way towards the large arch that was my first hope, I kept an eye out for the blue feathered birds, hoping to catch one getting to close to me.
Whilst I waited for that, I continued to take in the serene landscape around me, trying to distract myself from my inner thoughts, focusing instead on taking action instead of thinking.
Too much thinking in this situation could mean lost time, time that I needed to use as wisely as I could to reach some form of civilization to figure out how to return to the Empire.
To return to Jahi, Anput, and Leone.
To return to the Marquess, Countess, and Mother.
Smiling wryly, I wondered how she would react to this; we weren\'t... the closest, but I still loved my Mother nonetheless, and I could only hope that she wouldn\'t be so distraught that harm came to my two little half siblings.
I still needed to meet them, to live my life as an older sister!
Really, Mother, everyone, please be okay.
I\'ll... I\'ll be fine out here, alone.
I\'ll make it back, I swear.
So... just wait for me, and keep living on like you have.
Don\'t... Don\'t miss me too much.
I\'m not dead yet, after all!
Licking my chapped lips, I felt my eyes water as I let out a wry chuckle, before I blinked the tears from my eyes and glared up at the birds.
Flicking my hand out in petulant anger, I sent a crescent blade of ice hurtling upwards, and my eyes widened in surprise as it cleanly struck the birds body...
And shattered, doing little to no damage.