459 Meeting Zero (1/2)
”Does it taste really bad?” Zero asked and Truen shuddered at the bitterness on his tongue.
”It's bearable if I only did it once or twice. However, doing this every five minutes or so can be a little difficult even for me,” Truen explained. He was still regrowing his skull and eye when Someone else knocked on their door.
”I'll get it,” Zero said and Truen agreed. He was in too much pain to move.
”Master!” a familiar voice cried in relief when the door opened. Zero's legs were still shaky and not fully regrown so when Bob pounced on him, his right ankle snapped.
”Ah.”
Bob looked down at his master's ankle that was bent an odd angle and instantly became sheet-white. Zero noticed the dragon's panic and quickly tried to explain the situation to the growingly hysterical teenager.
”B-but I-”
”No, it's not you. I'm still trying to regrow the vaporised body parts of this vessel, it doesn't hurt but I'm not ready to be going on adventures anytime soon,” Zero explained and Truen gagged on another mana potion with a more intense flavour.
Bob took five minutes to understand the condition of his master and Truen's condition. No wonder he could feel their contract bond very weakly. Zero was extremely low on mana and Truen was in a terrible condition.
”What should I do so that you can recover faster?” he asked and Truen held back a scream at the agony as his body tried to regrow missing organs.
Zero felt pity for his friend and asked if Bob could cast a strong sleeping spell on Truen before they continued talking. Bob got to it immediately and Zero retrieved some things from his inventory to set up a mana potion IV drip for his sleeping friend who was still twitching in a lot of pain. Zero added some natural painkillers to numb the nerves and Truen visibly relaxed in his sleep.
”Now where were we?” he asked Bob. ”Oh yes, the gnomes. What happened? Also, where are Jermine and the sand walkers?”
Bob grimaced. ”Jermine is fine but I think we will have to walk or ride on me for the remainder of our journey. Ela and Gregoria didn't make it.”
There was a moment of silence for the sand walkers who perished tragically. Zero only hoped that their souls could find their way back into reincarnation for a better life. Bob continued to fill Zero in on the details of what happened.
”What should we do now?” he asked Zero. ”The gnomes have nothing left, I don't know if bringing them back to Rocket Mountain would do us any good. We also do not have the means to bring them back now in a single trip.”
Bob blinked. ”I have some mana reserves. Would it be better if I lent you some of my mana to create that waystone instead? It would be better for everyone to return to Half Moon Village as soon as possible. The gnomes are now completely defenceless and I took the gamble of leaving them alone with Jermine to check on you and Truen.”
Zero nodded. If they returned to Half Moon Village now, not only can the villagers help to keep an eye on the gnomes, he would be able to recover quicker at Trigresion Falls or even visit the Spring of Vitality using the Ten-Path Crossway portal.
”Let's do that then,” he told his loyal dragon. ”I can't walk properly so you might have to carry me out.”
Bob nodded. ”Don't worry, master. I might be shorter than you but dragons are quite strong even in human form.”
Zero decided to forego his elven appearance to conserve mana and changed back to his default child's appearance so that Bob would find it easier to carry him on his back. The dragon didn't complain and folded his wings protectively around his master so that he could free his hands for other things.
Jermine and the gnomes waited for about an hour outside. The mole beast girl explained that Zero was the leader of their small party and he was an adventurer chosen by the guild master of Rocket Mountain to find some gnomes.
”According to Bob, Zero needs some gnome technicians to repair Master Dorgon's crafter's suit so that he can build a divine statue for the giants. The giants have been plagued by a mysterious disease for a long time and Zero was the healer who found a cure.”
Thomas and Wesley listened to Jermine tell them more about Zero and the adventuring party. They swallowed the lump in their throat with difficulty after learning that they attacked the kind doctor and his guardian wrongly. No wonder the Gods were so angry with them!
Before they could apologise, a warp portal opened beside the golden lamp and Bob reappeared with Zero on his back, folded nicely in his wings. All six gnomes stood up at once and Jermine turned in the direction of new footsteps.
”You're back?” she asked and Bob nodded. Zero looked at the six gnomes and noted how they were all getting on in their years.
”Thank you for worrying about us,” Zero smiled and reassured the mole girl with a pat on her furry head. ”Truen is still recovering, he was badly hurt. I'm also unable to walk at the moment so I'd need your help. As for the six of you,” he turned to the nervous gnomes. ”I believe Hades dropped by earlier.”