“I came to survey the lake,” Elizabeth replied calmly, scanning the man standing before them.
A pair of pitch-black horns, roughly fifteen centimeters long, protruded from Verve's forehead. Sharp teeth glinted in his wide-open mouth, and his dark brown pupils stared at her with a mixture of awe and panic.
Elizabeth instantly recognized him as one of the first people who had spoken to her when she originally woke up in this alien world.
“Sharu, it is far too dangerous out here! I will take you back to the safe center of the camp immediately!” Verve cried out urgently, before shooting a furious glare at Valeria.
How dare she lead the Sharu straight into the perilous depths of the mountain forest?!
Even if she is the Chief's daughter, she won't get away with this!
Valeria tilted her head slightly, pouting her lips in irritation. Her red eyes shot Elizabeth an urgent look, as if silently screaming:
Hurry up and explain it to him before he pins all the blame on me!
Catching the unspoken signal, Elizabeth spoke up in a firm, brook-no-argument tone:
“Do not blame her. This was my personal decision and my direct order.”
“Sharu, I beg you to be reasonable. Please return to the camp immediately; the forest is crawling with bloodthirsty beasts,” Verve pleaded frantically.
“And where were you rushing off to in such a hurry?” Elizabeth deftly changed the subject. Having painstakingly hiked all this way, she had absolutely no intention of turning back empty-handed.
“Ah! By the Ancestors, with all this commotion, I almost forgot the most important thing!” Verve snapped to his senses, profound anxiety washing over his face. “Sharu, do you happen to have a Bone Tablet on you? One of our Totem Warriors has sustained critical injuries!”
“I don't have any Bone Tablets on me.” Elizabeth furrowed her brow and shook her head.
I left the camp on a whim to survey a water source. How was I supposed to know I should be hauling magical tablets around with me?
“Who got hurt?!” Valeria interjected fearfully.
“It's Mang. A massive Wild Beast got a hold of him,” Verve answered with a heavy heart.
“How critical is his condition? How far away are they?” Elizabeth pressed hurriedly.
She already understood enough about the realities of this world: a Totem Warrior would only request the use of the Sharu's precious resources if the situation had become life-threatening.
No one would dare waste the Sharu's power on mere scratches.
“It's very bad. The beast tore his stomach open… The others are carrying him and rushing toward the camp,” a visibly shaken Verve explained.
He had the overwhelming urge to simply grab the Sharu and sprint with her to safe ground, but he didn't dare show such blatant disrespect.
“Take me to him. I can use healing magic,” Elizabeth ordered firmly, her expression turning cold and focused.
The tribe had a mere handful of Totem Warriors left. Losing even one of them at such a critical juncture would be a catastrophic blow to the clan.
Furthermore, ever since unlocking her Skills, she hadn't yet had the opportunity to test her Healing Magic in practice. A wounded warrior provided the perfect opportunity to verify the actual efficacy of her new powers.
“Sharu… you've already mastered Sharu Techniques?!” Verve froze in utter stupefaction.
Chief Neria always said that grasping and activating even a single technique takes a new Sharu at least thirty days of deep meditation!
The man wrestled with his thoughts. Bringing the priceless Sharu even deeper into the thicket was lethally risky - if anything happened to her, he would be cursed as the eternal traitor of the clan.
“If we stand around here debating idly any longer, that warrior is simply going to bleed to death!” Elizabeth snapped impatiently.
Why is everyone here so incredibly stubborn and fixated on rigid rules?
“Alright… let's go!” Verve grunted through gritted teeth, seeing the unyielding determination in her blue eyes.
Having made his decision, the horned warrior pivoted on his heel and sprinted uphill. Sharp branches and thick vines blocking the path were mercilessly cleaved by his broad stone knife in a fraction of a second.
The pace under his lead increased drastically compared to Valeria's cautious guiding.
Snap, crack…
Elizabeth and Valeria had to break into a fast jog just to keep up with him on the steep slope.
So this is the true power of a Totem Warrior?
His physical prowess, explosiveness, and sheer strength are staggering… easily exceeding an ordinary human's by at least fivefold, Elizabeth thought to herself, assessing the explosive power coiled within the man's frame.
She involuntarily began to wonder whether in the future - aside from developing her own spiritual Sharu powers - she herself might also be able to awaken an internal Totem and gain such overwhelming physical might.
After all, in such a ruthless, primal world, possessing formidable combat strength was the only absolute guarantee of safety.
Crunch, crack…
Neria pushed forward steadily and carefully up the steep incline, carrying a heavily built man in his thirties on her broad back.
One Totem Warrior cleared the path ahead, while another brought up the rear with a drawn stone axe, constantly securing their flank against any predators drawn by the thick stench of fresh blood.
“Mang, hold on! Focus all your power and channel your Totem Mark straight into the wound!” Neria rasped through gritted teeth, quickening her pace despite the immense weight.
No one in the squad had anticipated stumbling upon a Blood Wolf - a Peak Beast among the Common Beasts - during a routine search for fibrous plants.
The beast was entirely devoid of fur; its body was encased in a thick, cracked carapace that eerily resembled coagulated blood, granting it far greater resistance to blows than ordinary forest predators.
Mang had been caught in an ambush. Had it not been for the monster's relatively low agility, the beast would have bitten his head clean off instead of merely ripping his stomach open with dagger-like claws.
Cough, cough…
Mang hacked hoarsely, blood spilling from his mouth. “Chief… I'm afraid I won't make it to nightfall…” he wheezed, his voice fading.
He could perfectly feel the last dregs of strength draining from his body as a paralyzing chill crept up his limbs. He was no longer able to maintain the glow of his Totem Mark - he had lost far too much blood.
“Stop sprouting nonsense! Focus all your will on stemming the bleeding!” Neria cut him off sharply.
As a seasoned warrior, however, she knew perfectly well that her comrade's chances were virtually zero. With his abdomen torn open a hand's breadth wide, without the immediate application of a Sharu's healing Bone Tablet, death was only a matter of minutes.
“Cough… Chief Neria, if I don't say this now, there won't be anyone left to listen in a moment…” Mang managed a weak, twisted smile as drops of blood dripped from his chin straight onto the leader's shoulder. “Listen to me… When I pass, give my dried meat rations to Mao. He should finally awaken his Totem this year…”
His son, Mao, had recently turned twenty-one and was his greatest pride.
“Alright… Your son will grow into a magnificent warrior, I promise you that.” Neria's voice trembled, her red eyes glistening with suppressed pain. Yet another loyal brother-in-arms was about to perish right before her eyes.
At that exact moment, a violent rustle of leaves tore through the oppressive silence of the forest.
Snap, crack…
Three figures suddenly emerged from the dense underbrush. Verve ran at the front, instantly triggering a sudden surge of hope in Neria and the other warriors - they were certain the scout had already reached the camp and returned with salvation.
“Chief Neria, I'm back!” Verve called out loudly, skidding to a halt before them.
“Where is the Bone Tablet?! Quickly, hand it here!” Neria demanded frantically, practically dropping the wounded man from her back.
“Uhh… I didn't bring any Bone Tablets.” Verve hastily shook his head.
“What did you just say?! You don't have a tablet with you?!” Neria's eyes widened furiously, pinning him with a murderous glare. “If you didn't bring salvation for Mang, then why in the hell did you come back empty-handed?!”
“I brought the Sharu herself!” Verve instantly leaped to the side, revealing Elizabeth and Valeria standing right behind him, both doubled over as they tried to catch their breath after the grueling uphill sprint.