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Chapter 90: 030: Her First Time
A few hours later, at the northern exit of Gray Town.
"Sir, they might have escaped in this direction!"
"Damn it, with so many people, you still let them get away? Are you all useless?" A knight furiously grabbed the collar of the soldier reporting to him.
The surrounding soldiers were silent with fear, unsure of what to say.
After all, those were Transcendents...
The knight also knew that it was too late to say anything. He let go of the soldier’s collar and coldly ordered, "Go after them. If they manage to escape back, none of us will survive!"
The soldiers’ faces turned pale.
"Yes!"
Under the knight’s leadership, the large troops hurriedly rushed toward the northern outskirts of the town.
Not long after they left, inside a nearby house—
"They’re finally gone..."
Lynch wiped the blood off his body and turned to look inside the room. In one corner of the house, Avery sat on the ground leaning against the wall, pale-faced and covered in wounds. Her once pristine white cloak was now tattered, with patches of dried blood stuck to her snow-white skin.
At the moment, she was using the remnants of her spiritual power to treat herself, tending to the less grievous wounds with makeshift bandages fashioned from torn fabric.
Lynch walked over and asked, "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
Avery shook her head, "I’m fine..."
Looking at the wounded girl in front of him, Lynch’s eyes revealed a mix of astonishment and admiration.
Most of Avery’s spells were support-based, akin to a healer in a team-based game. She typically relied on others for protection due to her relatively weak combat abilities.
But during the recent breakout, she hadn’t dragged Lynch down, staying closely behind him the entire time.
How many times had blades and arrows been aimed at her? As long as the injuries weren’t fatal, she chose not to dodge, not even deploying Defense Magic, enduring the attacks just to avoid falling behind.
Sharp swords, those were sharp swords!
Lynch thought to himself, as a rough-skinned, thickly-built knight, even he would feel pain from a few cuts. Let alone a delicate girl like Avery—had it been any other girl, just one of those strikes would have likely left her screaming and fainting.
But Avery?
Look at the wounds on her body now: the skin had been sliced open, revealing the dermis underneath. In some spots, even the bone was visible. Her left shoulder and back were pierced with arrows, and several bloody punctures were evident nearby—this was after an initial cleanup.
Such injuries would be unbearable even for Lynch, yet the girl, who ought to be pampered, hadn’t uttered a single complaint from start to finish.
Like a wounded wildcat after a fierce battle, silently tending to its wounds.
Lynch asked, "Do you need my help? I have some healing Magic Potions here."
"No need..."
Avery shook her head. After pausing, she looked around the room. Realizing there were no other separate areas, she raised her head and said, "I’ll need you to turn around for a bit."
Lynch understood she was going to treat her entire body, including areas she didn’t want anyone else to see.
"Alright."
Nodding, Lynch turned his back to her.
Avery didn’t waste time. She removed the barely remaining fabric pieces of her cloak and inner garments, standing completely bare as she began treating her wounds.
Lynch, although sustaining some injuries himself, found them minor and opted not to expend spiritual power on them, allowing them to heal naturally. A knight-level constitution was remarkably resilient.
Taking the opportunity, he opened his system panel to review the updates, finding a long list of notifications.
[Thunder Strike Skill Level +55]
[Body Dematerialization Skill Level +80]
[Elemental Shield Skill Level +60]
[Earth Sinking Spell Skill Level +66...]
After a round of combat, several spells had gained hundreds of skill level points. Combined with the gains from Ghost Island earlier, Lynch’s newly acquired spells had significantly leveled up.
[Elemental Voidification lv0: 682/1500.]
[Space Distortion lv1: 1263/1500.]
[Dark Flame lv1: 862/1500.]
[Earth Sinking Spell lv1: 686/1500.]
These four spells had seen notable improvement, particularly Space Distortion, which was nearing lv2 proficiency.
[Multi-element Shield lv2: 82/3000.]
[Thunder Strike Spell lv2: 68/3000.]
Even more satisfying were the breakthroughs with these two spells, each reaching lv2 skill level proficiency.
It was worth noting that these mid-level spells had only recently been acquired at the Wizard Market. Originally, Lynch had estimated it would take at least seven or eight months to progress them to lv2. Now, in less than two months, the goal had been achieved—a boost of half a year ahead of schedule.
This was an unexpected surprise.
Lynch couldn’t help but think.
"Lynch..."
"Apprentice Lynch..."
At that moment, Avery’s voice called him from behind.
Lynch asked, "What’s the matter?"
Avery replied, "Turn around. I need your help."
Lynch assumed she had finished treating herself, so he turned around. To his surprise, Avery was still mid-treatment and completely exposed.
"Ah?"
Lynch quickly turned back around.
Behind him, Avery’s voice came again: "It’s fine, turn around."
This...
At least in that moment, Lynch truly had no ulterior thoughts—he merely wanted to maintain proper decorum.
But judging by Avery’s tone, this was evidently important, so after some deliberation, he slowly turned back around.
Although he had noticed during their usual interactions that Avery had a good figure even under her robes, it wasn’t until now that Lynch fully appreciated how good. Two words could summarize it—
Perfect.
Her milky-white skin was smooth and flawless, her curves were well-proportioned, and every feature was meticulously shaped. If not for the ghastly, centipede-like wounds, she looked like an exquisite work of art.
Moonlight spilled softly through the windows, casting a gentle glow on her helpless, wounded form, imbuing her with a beauty tinged with sorrow.
Lynch asked, "What do you need me to do?"
Avery sighed, sounding exhausted. "I’ve run out of spiritual power. I need your help bandaging me."
Lynch seemed confused.
"I have recovery Magic Potions," he offered.
Avery shook her head, appearing slightly resistant. "No, I’ll pass on the Magic Potions."
After a pause, she explained further, "I’ve already treated the critical injuries, the rest are minor ones. You just need to bandage them for me."
"Okay."
Lynch sort of understood—a matter of side effects. Recovery Magic Potions could replicate effects similar to spells but often came with residual issues like scarring or uneven skin tone.
While these effects could be remedied or repaired with magic later, the process was cumbersome and some effects could linger for extended periods.
Lynch suspected Avery was avoiding these side effects, opting instead for natural healing, which would simplify future magical repairs.
Avery, perhaps noticing Lynch’s thoughts, voluntarily added, "It’s not just about repairs. My constitution is somewhat unique—the residual effects of Magic Potions aren’t easily expelled and interfere with my cultivation."
Lynch understood: "I see... Alright, then."
Nodding, he walked over, picked up the bandages, and started wrapping Avery’s wounds.
"Do you need stitches?"
Upon closer inspection, Lynch noticed the gaping sizes of Avery’s wounds, especially the sword cut across her left chest—it almost cleaved the breast entirely in half. While the bleeding had been stopped, it would likely feel uncomfortable without stitching.
Avery nodded, "That would be best."
Without hesitation, Lynch retrieved the necessary tools from his Space Pocket: silver needles, iodine, suturing threads, tweezers, an alcohol burner, cotton swabs, and more than ten items neatly packed in a toolbox.
This sight left Avery momentarily dumbfounded: "You’re... incredibly prepared!"
Lynch replied matter-of-factly, "These everyday essentials should always be on hand."
Avery blinked.
A bitter smile broke across her face as realization dawned: "Oh, right. I almost forgot—Biological Transformation is your area of expertise!"
Suddenly, an intense wave of frustration swept over her heart.
Losing to a peer—this was her first time.
