Fortunately, the damage hadn't been too severe. It was a little wasteful, but Lin Yun still used a charge of Channel Divinity to force the guy back to his feet. Only magical healing could instantly wake someone who had passed out. It was kind of like splashing them with cold water, except much more effective.
2D6=3
As expected, when it came to healing, he still couldn't compare with a proper healer. Lin Yun instinctively looked at the Goddess Priestess, tears welling in his eyes.
The Goddess Priestess noticed Lin Yun's gaze and turned to look at him. Of course, with her helmet in the way, even her keen senses couldn't tell what he was thinking. She simply smiled at him, her face filled with reverence.
In the Goddess Priestess's eyes, the ability to heal a whole group of people at once was a true miracle.
Just as Lin Yun was wondering whether he should use another charge of Channel Divinity to get the guy back on his feet, the man let out a muffled groan.
The burly centaur clutched his head, looking miserable, then turned to Lin Yun with a furrowed brow.
Lin Yun thought the centaur was about to pick up where he'd left off, but instead, he dropped to his knees in front of him and said, "Boss, please help me save my little sister."
"Your sister? Is she a centaur?" the young warrior asked curiously.
"No, she's not my sister, but I treat her like one. Once, when I came to the human world to buy supplies for my tribe, I saw the little thing all alone, hunting like a wild animal. She was trying to catch a rat, and I felt sorry for her, so I gave her some bread. She ended up following me all the way back to my tribe. She's grown quite a bit since then. I don't think it's right for her to keep living with me out on the Great Plains. She's human, so she should be in the human world. We were on our way here when she spotted some prey and ran after it. By the time I caught up, a group of goblins had blocked my path and trapped me in a net. I'm strong, so I broke free pretty quickly, but the goblins had already taken the girl." The centaur reached for Lin Yun's arm, but Lin Yun—
D20-1=18, opposed check successful.
He dodged the centaur's grab just in time. With the guy this worked up, Lin Yun wondered if he'd have to lose HP otherwise.
Now that the man was awake, things would be easier. "All right, since you've accepted defeat, let's get moving. You don't want anything to happen to that girl you mentioned, do you?" Lin Yun said in a muffled voice through his helmet.
"Yes, Boss! Let's go right now!" The centaur perked up at once.
"Wait. Before we go, I'd like to buy some potions." Lin Yun turned to the receptionist.
"Oh, of course, Mr. Silent. Please follow me." The receptionist paused for a moment, then quickly hurried off. In high heels, no less.
The Adventurers' Guild also sold potions. In theory, it could post quests and have Adventurers with the skills to make potions contribute their spells, which could then be used to produce magical potions.
Incidentally, they also used the herbs they collected to make some ordinary healing and antidote potions now that they had the funds.
To put it simply, Lin Yun's concoction was called a healing potion, while the ones sold by the Adventurers' Guild were called Cure Light Wounds Potions. The name made the guild's potions sound more powerful.
In reality, Lin Yun's healing potion only restored D4+1 HP, while a Cure Light Wounds Potion restored D8+1 HP. There was a huge difference between them. Some particularly fine—or, more accurately, higher-quality—potions made by skilled professionals could even restore D8+2 or +3 with Cure Light Wounds.
The same went for Lin Yun's antidote and the one sold by the Adventurers' Guild: his couldn't compare. Still, his antidote granted a +4 bonus to saves against poison for two rounds, doubling the original +2 bonus.
Since Lin Yun didn't have the feat for making potions, he could only produce ones with ordinary effects. Naturally, they couldn't compare.
A Cure Light Wounds Potion cost only 25 Gold Coins. It wasn't too expensive... Well, at least not for Lin Yun, who had a special way of making money. And once again: poor Dwarf blacksmith. Poor, poor Dwarf blacksmith.
In any case, to stay safe and avoid being caught so unprepared again, Lin Yun bought ten bottles in one go, spending 250 Gold Coins. After the receptionist took the little pouch of coins, she pulled ten bottles from a cabinet nearby. But... sharp-eyed as he was, Lin Yun noticed something.
D20+2=20, success.
His knowledge of potions told him that one bottle was clearly purer than the other Cure Light Wounds Potions. And if he wasn't mistaken, it was probably...
Before Lin Yun could say anything, the receptionist discreetly gestured for him to keep quiet. Looking at her pale, slender fingers, Lin Yun... gave a very straightforward shake of his head, then took out 50 Gold Coins and placed them in the receptionist's hand.
As far as Lin Yun knew, a Cure Moderate Wounds Potion cost 50 Gold Coins—exactly twice as much as a Cure Light Wounds Potion. That was why the receptionist could offer one. Twenty-five Gold Coins wasn't all that much. For the receptionist, with a little maneuvering, it might be difficult, but she could still cover it up.
Silent was a noble. He bought what he wanted, and he disdained sneaky gifts like this. Either give it openly, like the Dwarf blacksmith had, or don't bother. As far as Silent was concerned, he wasn't so poor that he couldn't afford it.
Still, Silent was fair when it came to favors and grudges. Since the receptionist had given him a 25-Gold-Coin convenience, he'd return the favor with 50 Gold Coins. That was how imposing he was. The price was that his once fairly substantial little stash had shrunk to just 15 Gold Coins...
But as far as Lin Yun was concerned, it was worth it, because he'd succeeded.
Lin Yun handed over the 50 Gold Coins. Before the receptionist could react, he snatched all the potions off the table, pulling off a downright domineering "forced sale."
Lin Yun's Inspiration Die—that is, his Hero Points—went up by one again.
Clearly, the DM was very pleased with his roleplaying this time. He'd brought out Silent's arrogance as a noble while also making his utterly reasonable, showy spending look convincing.
Two Hero Points! That was an ability that could "revive" him in a crisis. Hidden inside his helmet, Lin Yun's face broke into a smile.
Meanwhile, the Bard, standing off to one side and watching Lin Yun, looked at him in puzzlement. His hand instinctively touched his chin, and a gleam flickered in his eyes.
And so, Lin Yun and the others finally set out. Since Lin Yun had bought the four-wheeled carriage, they went back to the carriage house and retrieved the carriage, which had been wrapped up in three layers. After paying one Silver Coin, they set off at a gallop alongside the centaur. Yes, alongside the centaur.
The centaur was huge, so there was no way they could have him ride in the carriage. Besides, compared with the horse pulling the four-wheeled carriage, the centaur was obviously faster and more convenient. Lin Yun also knew that Barbarians were stronger than ordinary professionals. Without heavy armor or a heavy load, a Barbarian could run nearly a third faster than other professionals of the same race. It was terrifying.
This time, Lin Yun's driving was finally a little more reliable. At least he didn't overturn the carriage.
D20+4+2+2=20, success.
The carriage ran smoothly and incredibly fast as it followed the centaur toward the village near where the centaur had been attacked by goblins.
According to the map, they had to pass through the village. And if they didn't use the carriage, by the time they got there, the girl might already have been... well, you know. So Lin Yun naturally drove the four-wheeled carriage there.
Still, Lin Yun was quite worried about the centaur. Channel Divinity had restored the man's HP to a safe level, but would he have enough stamina after this run? It left Lin Yun feeling helpless. Then again, even if he said something now, the centaur probably wouldn't listen.
All he could do was wait and see.
Before long, Lin Yun and the others arrived at the village near what might be a goblin lair. Following the approach he'd thought of earlier, Lin Yun did his best to ask around despite the urgency. He wanted to find out where the goblins might have built their lair, and whether anyone knew if their leader was a Shaman, a chief, or something else.
The centaur was impatient, but with so little information, he had no choice but to go along with Lin Yun.
After questioning several villagers, Lin Yun finally found a place that might be the goblin lair. They said it was a ruin that had once been an Elf fortress. The fortress had been abandoned after the ancient tree it depended on withered, and the goblins had taken it over.
As for why an Elf fortress was near a human village, strictly speaking, the village was a loosely governed frontier settlement. It was the sort of place that fell through the cracks, established to expand the country's territory while paying little or no tax.
Since the village paid no taxes, the surrounding lords weren't very interested in governing it, much less protecting it. And one shouldn't forget that, in this world, people were currently fighting the Demon Lord.
When Lin Yun heard about the Elf fortress, he instinctively raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Goddess Priestess. Could it be the ruin where the Goddess Priestess had first used her miraculous, all-purpose, invincible Holy Wall spell?
Before you continue