The rising sun

Shocked, all Saito would do is stare at the head resting at his feet. He did it. He beheaded it. 
After all this fear, all this running. It's dead.

Panting, he begins to feel dizzy. How does he even get out of this ravine? It's still late night. Would they even see his smoke signal? Looking out at the distance, it's pure darkness. A path would take a while to find. He sits down and opens his bag, taking out the smaller package that was gifted to him. Without hesitation, he opens the smaller pouch. The moment the powder gets in contact with air, a purple cloud comes out of it, quickly rising up the sky.

Oh. Yep, they'll find me. 
Tossing the bag aside, he quickly drinks and eats a ration.
(My head's spinning, I hope I don't pass out).
Nobody came here before. He's never seen this ravine in the past streams.
Is there monsters here? He'd scout the place of his naked eye, but without seeing much.
(Hope not.)
He lays down, now resting, calming himself down.

A notification jumpscares him.
"Level up! You are now level 25!"

From level 18 to 25? THAT'S AN INSANE JUMP.
You may create three new spells.

Three!? Sweet. Breaching level 20 never was something that people thought to be realistic on the web. This is a massive milestone by itself. Happy with himself, he stares at the stars.
(They'd be a lot more beautiful if that purple fog wasn't in the way.)

How long until they get him? Will they get him? I'm not even sure there's a way out of this ravine.
Maybe they'll fetch the longest rope known to mankind and climb down for him.
If not, maybe he can make his life down here. Him, the cold stones and the rotting body of an once great guardian. Yep. A dream, I tell you.

Minutes passes. A hour even. Eventually, he passes out from exhaustion.
He did use a great deal of magic. All those emotions would also wear anyone down.

He'd suddenly get awakened, feeling something pull on his arm.
Saito screams, recoiling.
Everyone stops. He'd recognize a couple villagers, including Trevor, here to bring him back.

"Oh thank god I thought I was getting mugged."

They quietly laugh, amused.
"Good job on killing that thing. Can you walk?"
He stands up slowly. His legs feel numb. Is it because he took a hit from the monster? Oh.
His right arm hurts like crap. (I can tell I broke something).

"Kind of. I think I broke my arm too."
"Alright, I'll help you walk back. Which arm broke?"
"My right one."
"Alright."

Trevor moves over, moving his arm over his neck to help him walk back.
One of the villagers walks up to the head of the werewolf, picking it up.
"Can we bring this back as trophy?"
"I don't mind."

They quietly cheer, now making their way back home.
"Is there monsters here?"
"No. It's too close to the werewolf's lair still."
"But.. Since it's dead now.. Will monsters return?"

Did he make more problems for them?

"They will, in time. But no monster will be as dangerous as that one. It'll be a lot better once they return. It'll probably force whatever bandit camp left to completely leave the vicinity too."

Oh I didn't think about that. That's good.

The walk back home would take maybe two hours because of his slow pace.
He recovered from bruises before after sleeping. But broken bones? What if he's stuck fighting the assassin with a broken arm now? I'm sure they got something. Or at least they'll try to do something. Unlike his previous incursions into the woods, the way back is peaceful. No monsters, no animals, no ambush. Just a quiet travel. Villagers would occasionally attempt at striking conversation to distract him from the pain, which he greatly appreciates. The only thing this village has to be careful with now is the border. But there's no way to fix that issue. Whoever is leading that kingdom is responsible. It's not someone you can walk up to and just kill. 

The walk back is excruciating. Finally reaching home, Trevor brings him to his bed, removing his damaged armour on his behalf.

"Thanks."
"Lay down there and rest. There's no longer any danger around, you've done your job. Let us take care of you now."
"I need to fight in 2 days. Else he'll come for me here."
"We'll find something. Let us do this for you now."

Saito nods, resting his body into the soft bed.
(I feel like a broken record.. But I could die happy on this bed.)

It takes very little for him to fall asleep deeply, snoring until morning.

He tilts his head, the rising sun bothering his eyes, hurting them. 
As he moves his hand to scratch his eyes, a severe pain from his right arm stops him from doing so. (Ow. Oh right..)

He uses his left hand to do so instead, looking through the window at the clear blue sky.
In his life, he has been as happy to see something this simple. Every day can be his last. Makes you see life differently. The sound of birds singing are music to his ears. Birds? It's the first time he has seen any bird here in the streams. Did killing the beast bring back animals in the forest?
I hope so.

Now there's only one obstacle left. The assassin himself. His strength is no joke. Regardless of how strong he is now, there's no telling if he can win. But thinking about it, he doubted himself before each battle. And each of them ended with a victory. Maybe thinking positively would be nice for a change. 

A knock at the door alerts him.
"You can enter."

Via walks in, bringing food, her smile vibrant.
"Good morning Saito, welcome back among us."

He smiles in return.
"Thank you."

She rests his food on the night table.
"They've been singing your praises all morning. People are calling you a hero now."

No. No no no. I'm nothing like that. Are people in his world also seeing him that way? Probably. The game was choosing individuals it considered "heroes".

"I'm nothing like that."
"It's not a bad thing to accept compliments. Trevor has been boasting about the light gem he gave you, bragging it allowed you to win."

Uhh. Yeah that thing did nothing. I'm sorry Trevor, but I'll keep that to myself. I'm not letting him know.

"Ohh, haha, I see."
"We don't have doctors in town, but someone here has dealt with injuries before, he'll look after you. We're also asking around for a potion you could borrow. Anyone would lend it to you I'm sure."

Now that I think about it. Potions are incredibly effective. They have to be rare right?
"How expensive is a potion? Is it a rare thing?"
"My husband spend a chunk of his life savings on the one he gave you."

(WHAT? They're that big of a deal??)
Now that makes more sense. Wait. What about the guard he got the potion from? Was he a rich kid or something? Why was he even there if he had that kind of wealth?

"I'm really thankful for it."
"You should be." She then smiles softly.
"But you deserve it. You've done so much for this place already."

I can't disagree with that. This deadly hole is starting to look like a good place now.
He very slowly pushes the warm blankets aside, sitting up to consume his meal.

"Say. You guys invited me to stay after. But are you sure? I understand I've done a lot, but permanently inviting someone over is a really big thing to offer."

She tilts her head with a smirk.
"Well. Got anywhere else to go?"
"..No."
"You can stay. I'm sure that, in time, they'll pull themselves together to build you a home if you ever want your own place. I assure you Saito, you're welcomed to stay. We truly appreciate you."

He smiles to himself, feeling happy.
"Thanks. It means a lot to me."
"Now eat up. You need to heal those wounds right?"
"Yep I do."

She turns around, returning to the kitchen.
All I can do now is believe in the villagers that they'll somehow pull a potion from who knows where.