I didn't die? [2]

I swayed on my feet and just as I was about to collapse.

"Kaito!" Lila rushed over, slinging her bow across her back.

"You crazy bastard, that was incredible!" She said as she helped haul me to my feet, my arm draped over her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you out of the way."

Then she half-carried me back to where Elena was maintaining her position behind some crates. Noticing us coming closer, and seeing my condition, the healer immediately placed her glowing hands on my chest, and I felt some strength return to my limbs.

"This is just mana exhaustion," Elena sighed in relief. "You'll be fine, just need to rest."

Meanwhile, Marcus and Gareth had regrouped for their assault on the Alpha. The massive rat was cornered now, but still dangerous as hell.

"A Dire Rat Alpha shouldn't have been here," Marcus panted, wiping blood from a scratch on his cheek. "This was supposed to be regular extermination."

CLANG!

Gareth absorbed another crushing blow, his shield now sporting multiple dents. "Does it matter right now? Let's just kill the damn thing!"

Lila quickly gathered her scattered arrows, dipping several in a small vial from her belt.

"It's paralysis poison," she explained to me, noticing my gaze on her.

"Should slow it down enough for the boys to finish it."

Then she began shooting the arrows, the first volley missed completely as the rat dodged them all.

Lila gritted her teeth and knocked few more arrows.

'I'm not done with you yet, big guy.'

TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!

Then the next three arrows found their mark in the Alpha's hindquarters. The creature's movements then began to be more sluggish, its lightning-fast dodges turning into clumsy stumbles.

"Now!" Marcus roared.

He and Gareth rushed in from opposite sides. The Alpha tried to turn to face Marcus, but Gareth's sword bit deep into its exposed flank. When it spun toward the tank, Marcus's blade found its spine.

SCREECH... Gurgle...

The Alpha's death cry cut off abruptly as it collapsed in a pool of its own blood.

THUD!

The warehouse fell silent except for our heavy breathing.

"Well," Gareth said, leaning heavily on his sword. "That sure was fun."

Then they all sat down nearby, catching their breaths.

And my echo, who had had ran away the moment alpha appeared, came back shivering and wide eyed.

And just after what it felt like five or ten minutes. Marcus stood up.

"Alright, collection time," he announced, pulling out a large hemp sack. "Claws and tails prove the kill. Guild won't pay without them."

I watched in fascination and mild horror as Gareth casually started hacking off rat appendages with his sword.

"Here, let me show you," Lila said, noticing my green expression.

She knelt beside one of the smaller corpses with a skinning knife and gave me a demonstration. "See? Cut here at the joint, not through the bone. It saves your blade and makes cleaner cuts."

Then nodded and handed me the knife.

I took it and tried to copy her technique on the rat I'd killed.

As I crouched down and put my blade on its skin, it slipped, twice before I managed a decent cut, dark blood coating my hands.

"Ugh." I grimaced, holding up the severed tail. "This is disgusting."

"You'll get used to it," Elena said with a sympathetic smile, who was watching me from the very start. "Though I still prefer the healing side of things." She added with a light chuckle.

"Ewwww!" My echo said, trying to hide behind her.

"Better than starving," Gareth added, tossing another set of claws into the growing pile. "Speaking of that, nice work back there, kid. That warning saved our asses."

Marcus straightened up, wiping his blade clean on a rag. He looked at me with genuine respect. "Seriously, Kaito. Without that heads-up about the Alpha, Elena would have been dead now. Maybe more of us, the Dire Rats are very sneaky predators, and we weren't expecting one here."

He reached into his pack and pulled out a well-maintained sword, nothing fancy, but the steel was good quality, maybe, I think.

"Take this. Can't have our savior walking around with borrowed equipment."

"And this too." Lila too pressed her short sword into my other hand.

"You've earned them both."

I tried to push the weapons back. "I can't take these. They're too valuable—"

"Bullshit," Lila interrupted. "You saved lives today. That's worth more than steel."

"Besides," Marcus grinned, "you're going to need proper weapons if you keep fighting like that."

I looked down at the swords in my hands, feeling their weight.

They were real weapons. Given to me by people who actually knew what they were doing.

"Thanks," I said quietly.

After finishing the scavenging, we got out of the warehouse.

The walk back to town was quieter than our trip out. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving behind aches and exhaustion that settled into our bones. The sun had dipped low on the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.

Elena fell into step beside me, her staff glowing faintly as she maintained a healing aura for the group. "How are you feeling?" she asked gently. "First real fight can be... overwhelming."

"Feeling like got hit by truck-kun," I admitted, adjusting the new swords on my belt. They felt foreign there, but not unwelcome. "Is it always that intense?"

She blinked and tilted her head.

"Truck-kun? What's that?"

"Urgh... That's" I fumbled.

"Can't you just speak normally? Why using modern tongue here?' My echo scolded.

Seeing my little discomfort over how to explain this, Elena decided to let it go and changed the topic. "You did well, though. Better than most rookies. That warning about the Alpha probably saved my life."

"Just noticed something felt off," I said with a with a low chuckle, rubbing my neck.

"Lucky, I guess."

"Luck helps," Elena agreed. "But so does paying attention. Keep doing both."

"I'll try."

Then we resumed rest of our walk in silence.

By the time we reached the guild hall, the evening crowd had settled in.

Adventurers shared drinks and stories while clerks processed the day's completed jobs. Marcus headed straight to the counter with our bag of proof, leaving the rest of us to collapse into chairs at an empty table.

"God, I need a drink," Lila groaned, stretching her bow arm. "And a bath. Definitely a bath."

Ten minutes later, Marcus returned with a satisfied grin and a pouch that clinked promisingly. "Sixty silver total. Twelve each." He counted out the coins and handed us our share.

I stared at the small pile of silver coins in front of me. My first real payment as an adventurer. It felt surreal.

"Well," Marcus said, standing and shouldering his pack. "This was fun, but we've got an early start tomorrow. Let's head back."

The others gathered their gear. Gareth nodded to me gruffly, Lila gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder, and Elena squeezed my hand gently.

"Take care of yourself, Kaito," Marcus said. "And if you ever want to team up again, just ask around. We're usually here most evenings."

And with that, they were gone, leaving me alone—well, with my dead version though—at the table.

I sighed and leaned back on the chair.

"I didn't die."