Chapter 6: Solaria, The Sun Herb

The ground trembled beneath my feet as we neared the location of the medicinal herb.

Two… maybe three… or more.

Something massive was moving nearby.

The black leaves overhead whispered with an eerie rustle, and the trees loomed like silent sentinels.

It felt as though something lurked just beyond the dark bushes and high branches, watching us.

"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Janbo barked in rapid succession, his voice sharp and urgent.

His posture shifted, muscles tensed, ready to lunge.

"Defense Roll," I muttered, tossing the dice.

It landed on four.

The number gave me a fleeting boost of confidence, a dangerous illusion of safety.

After all, even a four-roll punch couldn’t pierce Boru’s defenses.

Janbo kept barking frantically as we closed ranks, our backs pressed together.

The bushes and branches rattled.

Leaves shook violently.

Then two blurring shadows burst from the darkness.

One went straight for Lily, but Janbo intercepted it with a snarl.

The other lunged at Reimei.

I caught sight of it in my peripheral vision and instinctively stepped in front of her.

I trusted my boosted defense 400 in total but the next thing I knew, four sword-like claws were sticking out from my chest.

A blinding wave of pain crashed over me, and blood filled my mouth.

I got overconfident.

Reimei’s horrified expression was burned into my mind as the claws tore through my body.

I refused to fall.

Even as my consciousness wavered, I held my ground.

The monster was still trying to skewer Reimei with the black claws poking out of my body.

"Coin… Double Toss!" I shouted in panic.

At the same moment, Janbo hurled the other monster into the one pinning me.

Two Coins of Fortune instantly materialized in my hands.

Two perfect heads, the odds in my favor.

In an instant, my wounds sealed as if they’d never existed.

That hurt, I thought, steadying my breathing as I tried to get a better look at our attackers.

"Sword Ghouls…" Lily whispered, her voice tight with fear.

They looked like rotting mannequins, bodies half-decayed, the air around them heavy with the stench of death.

Each arm ended in five elongated, blade-like claws.

Looks like a monster from a horror movie, I thought.

Reimei was frozen, still too stunned to speak or move.

"Dice… Strength and Speed, Double Roll," I ordered automatically, calling out exactly what I needed without a second thought.

Four dice materialized, two red, two green.

The red dice landed on double fours; the green on double threes.

Good thing I went for a double roll on both.

A single three or four in strength and speed wouldn’t cut it here, I thought.

"Reimei! lend me your daggers!" I commanded.

The urgency must have snapped her out of her daze; she threw both daggers toward me without hesitation, and I caught them midair.

"Let’s go, Janbo!" I shouted.

"Bau! Bau!" Janbo barked in agreement, his eyes locked on the enemy.

The two ghouls staggered upright again, ready to strike, but I was faster.

With my boosted speed, I closed in on the one to the left while Janbo lunged at the other.

Rather than striking the claws directly, I aimed for the joint where the ghoul’s left hand connected to its arm.

One clean slash severed two of its black, blade-like claws.

Those claws are tougher than Reimei’s daggers, my instincts told me.

The ghoul let out a piercing screech as its mutilated hand dropped to the forest floor.

"Eight left," I said after the ghoul’s screech faded.

My voice deliberately aimed at taunting it, letting it know I was counting down its remaining claws.

The ghoul lunged at me with frightening speed.

Smart one… I realized.

It knew the two daggers in my hands weren’t enough to parry or block all of its claws.

Using my boosted speed, I sidestepped and slipped behind it.

Before it could turn, I hurled both daggers with all my strength, one aimed at its head, the other at its foot.

Both blades sank into the ghoul’s rotting flesh.

Surprisingly, it still moved… even with one dagger buried deep in the back of its skull.

A quick glance at Janbo showed his opponent in far worse shape, the ghoul on his side had already lost all its limbs.

"Mei! Burn it!" Lily shouted as a large fireball began forming at the tip of her staff.

The ghoul in front of me twisted its foot, preparing to move, when a flaming arrow shot clean through its torso.

"Burst!" Reimei commanded.

The arrow erupted in a blaze, engulfing the creature in flames.

At the same time, Lily launched a fireball at the remains of Janbo’s opponent.

In moments, both ghouls were burning.

Reimei’s dagger was ruined, one blade warped and melted, the other rotted away to just the hilt.

"Sorry about the dagger," I apologized.

"It’s okay… but are you alright, Raki?" Reimei asked, her eyes filled with concern.

"I’m fine," I replied, glancing down at the four neat holes in my clothes.

"You sure?" she pressed.

"Yeah… see? No wounds." I lifted my shirt, showing her the perfectly healed skin beneath.

Lily gave me a mildly suspicious look while absentmindedly patting Janbo’s head.

Those creatures… they’re on a whole other level compared to Dark Trolls or even Tainted Giants, I thought.

"We should grab what we came for and get out of here immediately," I said, reminding Lily and Reimei of our original purpose.

We walked on for a short while until we came upon a faint wall of light stretching endlessly through the Black Forest.

It was no wider than the span of an arm.

"So, what does Solaria look like?" I asked.

"It’s the color of a flame… bright red-orange, with leaves in clusters of three," Reimei explained.

"It also gives off a faint glow, almost like a candlelight in the dark," Lily added.

I scanned along the glowing wall, following its path with my eyes.

"Bau! Bau!" Janbo barked excitedly.

Following the sound, I spotted it, the glowing orange plant.

In the shadows of the Black Forest, it really did resemble a small campfire.

Lily and Reimei immediately knelt to inspect it.

Lily carefully plucked the plant from the ground and placed it into a rough brown pouch.

"We can go now," she said, tying the pouch securely.

"Is one enough?" I asked.

"More than enough," Lily replied.

Just beyond the wall of light, I noticed a few more Solaria, but Reimei and Lily didn’t even glance their way.

"Bau! Bau!" Janbo barked again before trotting to the front, taking the lead.

The moment he did, Lily and Reimei broke into a run.

It reminded me that the people they cared about were waiting for this medicine, and time was running short.

"Dice, Speed Double Roll," I commanded.

"Janbo!" I called out.

Without hesitation, Janbo darted in front of Lily, lowering himself as if inviting her to hop on.

"Get on, Lily," I urged.

"Excuse me," I said, scooping Reimei up in a princess carry before she could protest.

"Ww-Wait!..." she yelped, but I was already in full sprint, tearing down the forest path toward the town.

"Hold on," I muttered, weaving past every threat in our way, too focused to even glance back.

Within minutes, Janbo and I burst through the town’s entrance.

"So, where to from here?" I asked, slowing my pace.

"You can put me down now, Raki," Reimei insisted, regaining her composure.

"It’s just a few blocks away,"she added.

She took the lead, and thankfully, the town guard let us pass without question, recognizing our urgency.

After a short dash through winding streets, Reimei stopped before an old brick house that looks like a small clinic.

"We’re here," she said.

Janbo lay down so Lily could dismount.

"Thanks, Janbo," Lily murmured before following Reimei inside.

The air inside was heavy.

Ten beds lined the room, each occupied by a patient.

Their skin was marred with blackened patches, some areas so decayed they seemed ready to crumble.

A chill ran down my spine, parts of their skin looked disturbingly similar to the ghouls we’d fought earlier.

Lily didn’t waste a second.

She took out the Solaria, plucked a single glowing leaf, and dropped it into a glass. From her belt, she uncorked two potions… one blue, one red and poured them together.

The mixture swirled into a deep purple, faintly glowing before shifting into a warm, fiery orange.

The mixture shimmered in the glass, looking almost like bright orange juice.

Lily handed it to Reimei, who immediately knelt beside a young man lying in the far corner.

"Drink it slowly, Kei," she murmured, guiding the cup to his lips while Lily continued brewing more of the concoction.

The half-conscious man sipped, and almost at once his body began to glow faintly.

The blackened patches on his skin faded away, and the rotting flesh regenerated before our eyes as if time itself had reversed.

His breathing steadied, no longer shallow and ragged.

Reimei’s lips curled into a trembling smile, tears spilling freely down her cheeks.

They repeated the process again and again until every patient in the room had been healed.

When the last bed was empty of suffering, Reimei turned toward me, holding out a fresh glass of the orange liquid.

"Drink it," she said firmly.

"I’m fine," I replied.

Her expression hardened.

"Drink it, Raki. Don’t make me force it down your throat." I could hear the worry in her voice, see it in the way her eyes flickered toward my bloodstained clothes.

"Alright, alright… I’ll drink it." I tipped the glass back, letting the cool, minty-sweet liquid wash down my throat.

Lily poured some for Janbo as well, and he drank it up without hesitation.

"Aren’t you two going to have some?" I asked.

"No need," Reimei replied with a faint smile.

"We didn’t get so much as a scratch, thanks to you and Janbo."

The Solaria Lily had picked was now stripped bare of its glowing leaves, though she still had plenty of the blue and red potions left at her waist.

"Make two more, Lily," I said, placing the two Solaria herbs onto the table.

Lily’s eyes widened.

"When did you get these?", she asked.

"Right before I picked up Reimei. Figured we might need a little extra," I replied casually.

Reimei gave me a look somewhere between disbelief and exasperation.

"You’re insane Raki, risking your life for someone you just met."

I only smiled back at her.

"Can you make me two glasses’ worth, Lily? You can keep whatever’s left," I said.

"Of course. I’ll have it ready for you later," she replied without hesitation.

This time, both Lily and Reimei poured themselves a glass of the orange potion and drank.

"Sister… Reimei…" came a faint, sleepy whisper.

Reimei’s head snapped toward the sound, her eyes instantly softening as she rushed forward.

She knelt beside the young man and wrapped him in a fierce embrace, her little brother safe in her arms once more.