Angelet moved everything into the tent before stepping in himself.
Outside, the rain grew heavier with each passing moment.
Huddled inside the dry tent, Angele sat cross-legged in front of a small translucent window, watching the rain and wind sway the branches.
There was no one around.
Beyond the tent, a dark and cold forest stood silent in the heavy rain. The day was getting darker.
Angelet suddenly thought of his father, who had gone to the Anser Prairie. He wondered if the mission was progressing smoothly. Manas had also left, a close classmate, and now Angelet had no idea where he had gone.
Anne had returned to her family yesterday. Then there was Liliana's teacher, Yuri...
In a moment, Angelet recalled everyone he knew. He suddenly felt a bit lonely. In a situation like this, on a journey to an unknown destination, there would always be some inexplicable feelings of uncertainty.
...
Angelet rubbed his temples, closed his eyes, and began to recall memories using the basic meditation technique taught at the academy. His breath became unusually rhythmic.
"Beep!! Abnormal status of the subject detected... Abnormal status of the subject..."
Suddenly, the chip's alerts were continuously transmitted to Angelet's brain.
He suddenly felt a slight tingling and itching at the infected wound on his lower back. He jolted.
"Is the wound infected?" He quickly opened his eyes and looked back at the wound.
He saw the green ointment on the wound's surface had solidified into a firm mass, but the skin around it was slightly dark red.
"Initiate emergency processing plan." Angelet spoke calmly and silently.
"Task established, analysis begins..."
"Identify necessary materials: 15 grams of golden fragrance flowers, 180 grams of one-eyed deer antlers, 520 grams of fish maw..."
A series of material names continued to enter Angelet's mind from the chip. But his expression became increasingly difficult to look at as the documents were presented.
"At this point, where can I find these?" He looked back at the wound. This dark red infection was completely different from infections on Earth. Small stones started to grow inside and outside the wound, quickly adhering to it. Visible to the naked eye, they grew densely, each about the size of a sesame seed, some black, some white.
The small wound quickly developed into a wide sore, like a malignant ulcer, making Angelet's whole body goosebump.
"I can't let it continue like this." Angelet gritted his teeth and quickly started packing up. He had to start collecting medicinal materials immediately; otherwise, it might be too late.
...
Five days later, around noon.
In the midst of a dense green forest.
On a narrow road.
Two healthy black horses were slowly moving forward, with a young man in tight black pants lying weakly on the back of the first horse.
This young man was Angelet, five days after the wound got infected.
His face was pale and tired. His whole body moved up and down with the horse's motion, seemingly without energy.
"Luckily, I found some soothing ingredients. Otherwise, this time I would really be in trouble." He muttered under his breath.
At the wound on the lower back, there was a black mass adhered to the skin, looking somewhat conspicuous.
After a while, Angelet dismounted, leading the horse into the forest on the right for a rest.
Sitting on the grass, Angele took out dried meat and vegetables, taking small bites occasionally, and drinking a sip from a water pouch.
"The bacteria here are much stronger than on Earth..." Angelet thought helplessly, his weakness reminded him of the previous world with various anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs.
"I've entered the territory of the Ramsouda Kingdom marked on the map. The map is no longer useful. I don't know when we will reach the next town." He looked helpless along the road ahead.
In the gaps in the forest, he could vaguely see a winding road leading into the distance, seemingly without an end. And inadvertently, white mist began to slowly appear on the road.
...
The sound of horse hooves from the road became denser and rhythmic.
In the white mist, two large white carriages painted white gradually appeared amidst the forest.
Two white horses in front sniffed and advanced rapidly.
A young girl's voice came from the first carriage. "Father, how much longer until we reach Lennon?"
"More than ten days. We've only traveled half the distance. What's the rush?" Another male voice responded.
"So long..." The girl became helpless.
"Yes, the territory of our clan is too far from Lennon. We can't do anything about it." The man consoled.
"But we can..." The girl wanted to say more, but was immediately interrupted by the coachman ahead.
"Master, mistress, I found a young man lying by the road up ahead, looks like he's dying." The coachman shouted.
"Found someone? In a place like this?" The carriage curtain was immediately opened. A middle-aged man with a soft appearance protruded, wearing a white noble outfit, radiating a sense of dignity.
"Right ahead, to the left." The coachman pointed in a direction.
The man looked in the indicated direction and saw a man dressed in black lying motionless on the grass beside two black horses in the left forest.
"What's going on? Mark?" A woman's voice came from the carriage.
"There's a person lying by the road, seems to be dying."
"A person by the road? I want to see, I want to see!" The girl in the front carriage shouted.
"Stop the carriage! I want to see!" The girl inside the carriage yelled.
Under the girl's shouts, the two carriages slowly stopped. A man with a beard in a black metal armor stepped out of the rear carriage, quickly walked to the first carriage, and helped a young girl in a white dress down from the carriage.
"Sir Dunleavy, can you protect me and let me see?" The girl said.
"Of course." The bearded man laughed, took hold of the girl's gloved hand, and let her down from the carriage.
The noble man also helped a beautiful lady down from the carriage. "Dunleavy, be careful," he warned.
"Yes, sir." The bearded man nodded, leading the way towards the young man lying on the road.
In a blink, he reached where the two black horses were. He knelt down to look at the young man lying down, his eyes falling on the wound on his lower back—a circular wound, slightly black at the edges, emitting a faint putrid smell.