My Unique Adaptation Skill in Another world-Chapter 11 - 10: Aftermath

Leo stood, breathing hard, only partially conscious. His thoughts were simple and narrow.

"I need to leave"

The smell of blood would draw other beasts, so he needed to move before they came.

He dragged himself forward, then reached back and seized the lynx. His arm, still fused to the sword, scraped along the ground uselessly as he hauled the massive body behind him.

He reached his pack, pulled out the wayfinder, forced the straps over his shoulders, then heaved the lynx up and over, letting its weight settle across his back.

The wayfinder activated as he stepped into the fog, light blooming in his hand, as the darkness ahead split open just enough to allow passage, then sealing behind him as he moved forward.

Reaching Beyond the fog, the forest was silent, no movement or sound.

Leo marched on, half-conscious, moving in a trance. He didn’t know which direction he was going, he didn’t care, his thoughts had collapsed into a single repeating phrase

"Outpost. Get to the outpost."

At the outpost, silence stretched.

No one could see into the forest, no aura signatures remained, even the beast’s presence was gone, only empty space where violence had been.

The murmurs started, some said whoever the hunter was probably dead, others argued that they were both dead, few who had turned believers argued that the hunter might be alive but unconscious.

The elder Oni turned toward the pale Oni with a faint grin. He remarked that it seemed he hadn’t lost the bet after all.

She didn’t look away from the forest. She was still smiling, still confident. She replied that Leo would come.

The elder shrugged, telling her she shouldn’t feel bad when he failed to appear, and that she should begin thinking about how she planned to pay up.

He stepped forward onto the stage and began concluding the hunt. The crowd stirred, some already moving, but the pale Oni remained fixed on the forest. Her confidence thinned into concern.

"Hurry," she thought. "You should be here by now."

That was when they saw him, a figure emerged from the fog.

The pale Oni grinned hard, relief crashing through her. It felt like winning multiple jackpots at once, though her posture remained composed, elegant.

The outpost froze.

Masters, elders, hunters, everyone stared.

Leo walked forward, dragging the lynx behind him, body malformed, soaked in blood, burns blackened his skin, muscle and bone exposed, one arm hung useless, the sword still fused to it, scraping along the ground as he walked.

He didn’t seem to see anyone, his eyes facing forward, unfocused, he continued walking, step after step, repeating only one thing; outpost, outpost, whether as thought or instinct, it wasn’t clear.

He reached the center before the pale Oni leapt down from her vantage point and caught him as his strength finally gave out. He looked up at her, his face was burned and broken, but he smiled, relief washing through him as he relaxed in her hold, and then he passed out.

She pushed the lynx’s heavy body away casually like it weighed nothing and signaled for the maids to take Leo.

The crowd remained stunned, as Leo was carried off. The pale Oni looked back at the elder Oni with a victorious smile, the shock visible on his face soon faded into tired resignation, he had lost the bet.

Suddenly the outpost erupted.

Cheers exploded outward, louder than anything before, hunters shouted already measuring and checking out the hunt, energy surged through the festival like wildfire.

The elder Oni watched it all and smiled, he acknowledged what the human had done. Leo had done well, he had proven himself.

Leo was taken to a room under the maids’ care. An apothecary and a prana user worked on him, but nothing responded. His body ignored treatment entirely.

Then he began convulsing.His fused arm flailed violently, threatening to cut done to Medical aid, so a maid rushed forward and severed the hand, securing the sword away from him, after that, Leo went still again.

An ancient yaksha woman named, Sushraya, the prana user, leaning on her staff, told the pale Oni that nothing more could be done, it seemed to her that his body would fix itself, although she had never seen a case like this and could not say how long it would take.

The pale Oni standing quietly, studied Leo for a long moment with a mixture of feelings swelling up in her chest but trusted he’d pull through, then she prompted and they all left, shutting the door behind them.

Back at the gathering, the elder Oni received word of Leo’s condition from a guard whispering in his ear. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He raised his hand, quieting the crowd, and spoke again, praising the hunt and the success of it all, reigniting their fighting spirit, gave a little tribute to the hunters who perished, and said that they too would be celebrated, he continued reminding them of the meaning of the festival, and the spirit of strength, pride and glory being the root of it all, the atmosphere swelled once more with a sense of pride in everyone’s chest.

Before leaving, he announced that a grand feast would be held in a few days to celebrate the hunt, until then, everyone was free to enjoy themselves however they wished.

Seven days passed, and in those seven days, the maids cleaned Leo and replaced his bandages when he wasn’t thrashing, which was most of the time.

Axiom had returned, recalibrating Leo’s adaptation for efficiency, making corrections and realigning his physiology which had changed, because of that his bones broke and reset, muscles and flesh, tore and stitched themselves back properly, his body was being remodeled violently from the inside out and everywhere all at once, causing Leo to drifted in and out of consciousness, due to overwhelming pain.

The pale Oni visited often, sometimes watching in silence, even the elder Oni came as well. Other elders and masters requested to see Leo, but the elder Oni kept telling them to wait.

On the eighth day, Leo opened his eyes, everything was blurred.

A maid noticed and ran to fetch the pale Oni, who arrived just in time to see Leo awake before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

The old yaksha, Sushraya, examined him and confirmed that he was stable. He was simply sleeping now and would wake fully by the next day. The elder Oni heard the news, announced that the feast would be held the evening of the following day.

Leo woke up properly the next day.

He was sitting up when the maids entered, one rushed off to summon the pale Oni while the other began removing his bandages.

By the time the pale Oni arrived, the wrappings were gone.

Leo’s body was fully healed/realigned/back to normal, more than that, it seemed he became better built, which caught all of their attention. He had also grown taller, nearly matching the pale Oni’s height.

She instructed the maids to bring him food immediately.

" How are you feeling?" The pale Oni asked.

"Eh, I feel fine, better than fine actually," he said, flexing his body and testing it out

"I feel lighter, stronger and all round better than ever" he continued, surprised in his voice.

"So how’d the hunting go?" She asked

he explained what he had experienced, from the starting day, to wandering into the mana dense region, his experiences in there.

"... quite frankly the last clear thing I remember is being torn apart by the beast." He replied

She told him what happened after. How he’d come in all bloodied and bruised, the crowd’s reaction, and how she felt at different moments.

Loe blushed at her praises, he looked at her as she spook and she seemed genuinely thrilled, smiling openly. He thought she looked beautiful.

When the maids returned with food, the pale Oni told him to eat and rest. He had a long night ahead. At the door, she said

" By the way, my name is, Iori, and you should be proud of yourself"

Then they left, shutting the door behind them and smiling as they heard Leo’s victory shout.