Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

Everyone was completely battered after that fight. William was exhausted to the extreme from having used all those spells, and this was reflecting in his physical state. He could barely stand. Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Hemlock was passed out on the ground. Lucy and Seraphina were the people who were in the best condition.

"What are we going to do now?" Lucy asked Seraphina, "the two of them can't go on!"

Seraphina also didn't really know what to do. "I think we should go back to the village," she said, "if you managed to follow us here then the path must be clear. I think it's the best thing we can do right now."

William agreed with her. "Yes, you're right. You still have the strength to fight so if any elemental shows up, we'll be fine."

With the objective decided in mind, they all did everything they could to get out of that place as quickly as possible. William walked over to the dead elemental, and picked up something that was on the ground.

It was the elemental's core. The System did not recognize the item and said that something had dropped, but William felt that it was a very important item.

The elemental was special, and it was also level 60. After picking up the core and putting it inside his backpack, William left alongside Seraphina and Lucy.

Lucy wouldn't fight if anything appeared, so she was responsible for carrying Hemlock on her back. William really wanted to help, but he could barely walk. He was too tired.

Lucy was struggling a bit to carry Hemlock, a large and heavy sailor. Seraphina helped a few times when she realized the surroundings were safe. She had to stay ready for combat, so Lucy had to manage.

"I told you not to come," William said, a little frustrated, "your parents must be worried."

She gave a laugh, "it's a good thing I came, huh? If I hadn't, you'd be dead."

Deep down, William knew she was right. Although Lucy hadn't been important in the fighting, she was the one who had given William that last drop of strength, especially when he had taken the drop of blood.

That was still going through his memory. He had no idea that Lucy's blood would be so precious as to give him so many benefits.

Another thing that was worrying William was the fact that he would have to explain a lot to Seraphina, and to Hemlock too.

Hemlock had still been unconscious for a large part of the fight, which meant that he hadn't seen the same things that Seraphina had seen. Of course, William would have to explain a lot of things anyway.

"Maybe you're right," William said, "but even so. If your parents get too worried, they might decide not to let you come with me."

When William said that, Lucy got a little worried, since her dream was exactly that: to go with him to learn magic.

When William noticed Lucy's worried face, he tried to comfort her. "They'll let you go, I'm sure. But let's try to avoid saying it was that dangerous. They don't need to know you went as far as we did."

Lucy looked down a little embarrassed, "thank you for helping me..."

Seraphina, who was further ahead having to focus on the surroundings, said, "can you two lovebirds stop and hurry up? We have to get Hemlock to a doctor soon."

William didn't even reply to what Seraphina had said. He thought Lucy was a beautiful woman, but the two of them didn't have anything going on. Seraphina was just making a joke.

As for Lucy, well, she blushed, and her heart raced a little. No one noticed anything different because she was carrying Hemlock.

The journey back to the village took a while. About halfway there was when Hemlock woke up. He was able to walk on his own, making the journey faster.

The wounds on his body were serious, but he had a very high magical level, which meant he was much more resilient than a 'normal' person and was also able to recover more quickly.

But even with all that, they needed to take him to a doctor, and that's exactly what they did as soon as they arrived in the village.

The bad part about being in the middle of nowhere was that there were few doctors. In fact, there was only one person on that island who could help them.

The doctor in question was an elderly gentleman who was quite surprised when he saw Hemlock's condition. And worried too.

"Lie down on the table please," the old man said, "and explain to me what happened."

Seraphina then explained roughly what had happened, focusing more on the types of injuries that were on Hemlock's body, as this would give the doctor more information to help him.

William wasn't very confident, as the doctor didn't seem to be a mage, and the wounds were quite severe, which would take a while to heal 'normally', but he was surprised when he saw that the gentleman had a collection of potions, which he had made himself!

He gave him a potion to help with recovery and pain, and also crushed some herbs and made an ointment to put on the burn, and then bandaged it all up.

"I think you'll be able to make a full recovery, and at most you'll be left with some scars on your arm, but I think a man like you will like that, won't you?" the doctor said, smiling.

Hemlock laughed, "Certainly. Scars are what inspire fear on the seas. Now I feel like I'm an even more badass captain."

Seeing Hemlock recovered, William and Seraphina were calmer. The doctor noticed William's state and said, "this young man, despite not having many visible injuries, seems to be barely able to stand. I'll get something for you too."

The doctor rummaged through his potions again and returned with one that had a purplish hue. "Take this, and rest for about two days. You'll feel as good as new."

William took the potion, thanked the man, and left. Hemlock was the one who paid for the treatment, as he had received a lot of money from the king to complete that mission.

Lucy decided to return to her parents' house to enjoy the last few days she would be on the island. She didn't want to risk doing anything wrong that could cause her parents to change their minds.

"Take care of yourself, Lucy," said William, "and don't do anything foolish. Just wait."

"I'll try," she said, waving, "bye guys."

When the three were alone – Hemlock, Seraphina and William – the events of the day replayed in their minds in flashes of memory. All those other sailors had died. People Hemlock knew very well.

"I'm going to grab some drinks," Hemlock said, "want to come?"

In unison, William and Seraphina replied, "definitely."

They didn't head for any of the restaurants that offered both food and drinks. The beverages in those places were generally more expensive, and not as strong. What they needed was that good old-fashioned bar, the kind that could offer the strongest concoctions in the region. Luckily, they found the place they were looking for.

It was a small establishment on the corner of that little town. The number of people sitting at tables having drinks wasn't what indicated the place was good. Actually, what showed the quality of that place were the drunks, some fallen on the ground, others sitting and talking loudly.

In the time they spent looking at the door of the establishment – about 30 seconds – they already noticed a fight happening. Two drunkards came out swinging.

"This is definitely the best place," William said.

Hemlock agreed, "By far. Let's go."

They entered, grabbed a table, and started drinking.

The variety of drinks in that place was impressive, and the other patrons even gave William and the others ideas for drinks.

"Mix this here, with this here, and it'll be AMAZING," an old man said.

The things he was suggesting they mix were drinks that didn't even have labels. William had no idea what they were made of, but he drank them anyway.

The concoction was strong. He closed his eyes as he took it all in one gulp. "Man, this is really strong."

Hemlock was sitting next to him having a few beers, and decided to try the mixture William had tested. "Make me a shot of that."

William did, handed it over, and Hemlock drank it with gusto. He liked the drink and made the mixture several more times.

They spent the night drinking, until they reached the level of staggering drunk.

When they got to that point, Seraphina helped them get back to the tavern where they were sleeping, as she had drunk considerably less.

"Come on, it's time to go back," she said.

But as soon as they left the bar, a group of 3 guards from that small town appeared.

"Stop right there," one of the guards said, "you are under investigation. Come with us."