Blessed One

Even though the system had never seriously considered the needs of its host from beginning to end, the outcome was good.

Mel Carlo obtained the medicine.

"Do you know magic too?" Kate asked Mel Carlo through the pain.

"Mm, a little." Mel did not deny it. It would be best if it could be considered magic.

"What kind of magic did you use?"

"Space Magic."

"You're lying. Space Magic is Ancient Magic. At your age, never mind learning it—even if you had somehow mastered it, you couldn't possibly have enough mana to cast such a spell."

Mel Carlo frowned slightly. He had really stepped into a pit this time. No one had ever told him about this!

"You can assume I possess that kind of ability." With a wave of his hand, Mel Carlo brought back the large tree that had just vanished. It landed on the ground, and clear chopping marks could be seen at its base.

This tree had not fallen naturally. The goblins had cut it down. They had guessed that this was the route Mel and the others would take, so they had set up an ambush along the way.

Mel tried to use the System space to pull the arrowhead directly out, but the System space seemed to fail when it came to things inside a human body. They could only dig it out.

"That explains it. You're a Blessed One, born with such a special ability." Kate continued speaking to Mel through the pain.

"Let's not worry about that yet. Treat your wound first. This is my secret, so please keep it confidential." Mel Carlo took out the medicine one by one.

Alcohol, bandages, white medicine powder, anesthetic.

"This is anesthetic. Insert the needle into the wound and press it. When we dig out the arrowhead later, it'll hurt less."

Mel Carlo picked up the alcohol. "This is alcohol, for wiping wounds. Normally, it shouldn't be used directly on an open wound, but I suggest cleaning it anyway. That arrow may be poisoned, and it could also cause an infection. This will hurt a lot."

"And this powder can stop bleeding."

Freli's attention was immediately drawn to the things Mel Carlo had taken out. Was this the big business Mel had mentioned before? The glass bottles were of exceptional quality, yet they were merely used to hold medicine. Even the bandages were of fine quality. Just where had this kid come from?

"Hurry up and treat the wound so we can continue on our way." Mel Carlo did not like saying much, especially since Kate had been injured protecting them.

Following Mel Carlo's instructions, Freli began treating Kate's wound. After using the local anesthetic, Kate discovered that even when the wound was dug open, she felt no pain at all.

Before the anesthetic wore off, they cleaned the wound thoroughly, applied medicine, and wrapped it in bandages.

"Boss Mel, would it be convenient for you to reveal the recipe for this medicine? I've never seen a medicinal powder like yours."

"Sorry, I came across it by chance, so I don't know the exact formula either. As for the alcohol, it's strong liquor that has been highly distilled and purified. It can't be drunk. Its concentration is seventy-five percent."

Freli felt his head ache from hearing that. Of course, he had drunk strong liquor before, and he had seen people use it directly to treat wounds. But because of the cost, it was basically never used on a large scale.

He immediately recalled what Mel had said before. If Mel established his own caravan and merchant guild one day and possessed enough strength, this business could indeed be done.

"Mr. Freli, will the rest of the journey still be dangerous?"

"To be honest, I can't say for sure. Things are already different from when we came here. There are clearly more monsters now, and even a low forest like this has a Goblin lair." Freli did not dare make any promises.

The group set out again. Once the anesthetic wore off, Miss Kate felt the pain in her wound. "Have some chocolate beans. They might ease the pain a little."

He took out [Chocolate Beans ×50].

Mel Carlo directly took out a handful of chocolate beans. Chocolate existed in this world, so taking out food like this would not seem too strange. At least it was far less shocking than those glass bottles from before.

It was not as though this world had no glass. The decorations in churches used it, as did the windows of noble homes. However, their glass was mixed with all sorts of colors and lacked purity.

He shared some with Claire and Freli as well. This sort of thing could only be considered a snack anyway.

Yet the instant they tasted them, they realized these chocolate beans were anything but ordinary. Sweet—so sweet. How could they be this sweet? There was even the rich fragrance of milk.

Kate popped all the chocolate beans into her mouth, and the pain in her arm immediately eased considerably.

"I want to ask, what exactly is this Blessed One you mentioned? Is it like an apostle?" Taking advantage of the lull, Mel raised his own question.

He had learned about apostles from Master Anke before, and now he had heard of Blessed Ones. The two sounded rather similar.

"No, they're different. A Blessed One's ability is innate. Legend says it is a gift from the gods. The blessing or protection each person receives may differ, and some people receive curses instead."

"Then what about apostles?"

"Apostles? Apostles are creatures that exist in mythological stories. Generally speaking, they are people or other creatures that suddenly gain tremendous power—power from the gods."

"But isn't that also a gift from the gods?"

"Mm, I can't explain it very well. If you want to learn about such things, perhaps you should ask a scholar who specializes in them. I don't understand them myself, but I know they are different. Outstanding Blessed Ones can generally attain high status, depending on their specific abilities. But legends about apostles? They are nothing but disasters!"

"Oh." Mel nodded.

He had learned another piece of information: apostles were not good things, and in this world, they might be creatures that existed only in mythology. That meant apostles had not appeared for a very long time—or perhaps they were not active on this continent and had hidden themselves away.

But Mel himself knew that his abilities came from the system. He just did not know whether the system was some kind of god in this world. For now, aside from that one prompt, the system had basically never communicated with him at all.

Just work hard, and leave the rest to fate! What exactly did that mean? Was there some hidden meaning behind it that he simply had not understood yet?

"Why didn't you tell us about your ability before?" Kate looked at Mel.

"Everyone has their secrets. To be honest, when I first met you, I didn't trust you that much." Mel did not find the question awkward. It was best to tell the truth.

Besides, there were still many things he had not taken out.

"You think you understand me after only a week?" Kate smiled as she crunched on the chocolate beans.

"If I were you, I wouldn't have gone out hunting back then. I would have relied on my own strength and taken all the supplies for myself."

Mel Carlo was not joking. In that situation, unless someone had a space like his for storing supplies, there was no way they could remain calm. Hunting outside during a blizzard was extremely risky.

Everyone had their flaws, but Kate's character was genuinely good.

End note: My name is Mel Carlo.