I was a little disappointed, after investing so much effort. I mean, don't get me wrong, the results were spectacular, but I expected it to work a lot better, you know? With the new reformed core, I expected to have a incredible increase in mana cultivation speed, but I had only doubled my absorption speed. It might sound a lot, but remember that my talent of D was the worst of the worst, doubling it not amounting to a lot.

I spent an hour beside Rocky, absorbing the ambient mana in the surroundings. Its core drawing in mana constantly made the mana where I was thicker, allowing me to advance ranks faster. Coupled with my core improvements, this was enough for me to return back to Rank 3, worth the effort.

Now that this mess is over with, I should really find a proper place to hole up, like a village, town or some city. Oh, and I still needed to find out where I was, so that I could return home, back to Lumious to find my mom. I couldn't help but worry, would she be fine now that the authorities at Lumious think I'm dead? I hoped that they would allow her to stay until my membership ended, at least.

I was about to wander in a random direction, but realised the two men from earlier had made a huge mess as they ran. Branches were broken, shrubs, bushes and trees crushed, you get the idea. The trail of destruction was my best bet to find civilisation in the shortest time, but the memory of the chaser made me apprehensive. I was sure he would settle our grudge with a shockwave to my face.

Fuck it.

I decided to follow the trail anyway. The chased man likely had the sense to run towards a town or city just so he could seek protection from the authorities. There was the off chance that he was running aimlessly in fear, but it wasn't like I had better choices.

Along the way, I spotted a huge scaly monster that stomped around and crushed many trees, but fortunately, it had no interest in me, possibly because of my size. Shrugging off the event, I soon arrived to a horrid scene. The man who ran earlier laid on the ground bruised all over and covered in blood, and I assume some of his bones were broken too.

Walking over to him, I tentatively poked at him, and he spasmed a little. Wait, he was still alive? I put my ear next to his mouth, and heard soft, almost inaudible breathing. He seemed to be unconscious from the pain. I wasn't sure what exactly to do, so I reached out and touched the bag he clutched tightly in his hands.

The man's eyes shot wide open, and he grabbed the bag with all the strength he could muster in his state. I wrenched the bag out of his arms, and he wheezed in silent agony, trying to take his bag back. Now, don't get me wrong here, I was trying to help! From my experience with Blondy when he healed me with a paste, I knew there was a good chance he had magical meds on him as well.

"Don't move! I am going to search your bag for medicine to help you."

The man looked at me with a conflicted expression, trying to say something, but there was no voice. I suspected his vocal chords were crushed. He then fell unconscious yet again. I must say, I was quite impressed with his willpower, being able to get back up to defend his belongings in such a state. I would not be able to do the same.

I ruffled through his bag, tossing out miscellaneous objects all the while. It wasn't polite to mess up his things like that, especially those expensive looking spellbooks, wands and potions, but time was of essence. The potions might help, but I didn't know what they did without labels and they would probably choke him to death in his current state. I eventually found a jar of paste labelled "Wounds Begone!" by a piece of paper stuck tightly on it. That was a horrid name, the person who named it definitely having a terrible naming sense. There was also a strange sap-like smell that came from it, rather unpleasant.

I poured the half the contents of the jar on him, covering the man in the white cream. That might have been a huge waste of the salve, but I wasn't sure how effective it was, so better safe than sorry. I then spread it generously all over him, and flipped him over, doing the same on his other side, emptying the jar. I then flipped him back on the right side so he could breath properly.

"PFFFFFTT!"

The man coughed violently and the gunk that went down his nose and mouth shot out at once. He continued to cough violently, spasming on the ground, then laid back down, out cold yet again. I sat beside him and watched as the wounds on him closed slowly, similar to watching paint dry or grass grow. There was a nagging thought that the attacker might return, but I told myself sternly that it was impossible, ignoring my doubts.

I kept watch for a long period of time, hoping predators or bandits would not attack as I reorganised his bag. A large purple wolf did take a curious look, but scurried away from the smell. The man finally recovered, coughing and wheezing violently as he stood.

"You... You freaking poured the stuff down my nose! That was horrible!"

He seemed enraged, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I saved you and this is what you complain about?"

The man realised I had a point, and tried to calm himself, coughing out a lot of phlegm and cream all the while. I couldn't blame him for his anger if I were to be honest. That salve smelled terrible, and probably tasted worse. The large swaths of the stuff coating him from head to toe was also beginning to dry, definitely uncomfortable. He finished expelling the substance and stared at me with a serious expression.

"For saving me, a core disciple of the Iodious sect, I will invite you to join my sect as a inner disciple!"

"Huh, what?"

"Whatever, come along now!"

He reached out a hand and pulled hard on my hand, dragging a confused me in an unknown direction.