"Hey, are you still alive?"
Sylutia stood in front of a hidden cave, looking at Solin, who lay unconscious before her.
Half of his body was buried in the soft earth. His face had turned purple, his body was feverish, and he was close to going into shock.
Taking out the small knife she carried, Sylutia cut open his wrist and examined the dark red blood that flowed out.
As expected, he'd been poisoned, the girl thought. She took out the White Camellia leaves she had brought with her, pried open Solin's jaw, placed the fragrant leaves in his mouth, then poured in some water.
A little while later, Solin slowly came to. He looked up and saw Sylutia standing not far in front of him.
He noticed the leaves in his mouth. Their fragrance cleared the fog from his mind, and he realized they must be an antidote.
"Th-thank you," he said indistinctly, then weakly closed his eyes again.
He probably had no hope of passing the test now, but simply surviving was a great blessing.
In the past, he hadn't understood why his father, a veteran who had fought in many battles, had left the battlefield and settled in a remote place like Scorched Stone City.
Now he could probably understand his father's feelings and thoughts.
The battlefield and death were terrifying things. He remembered the poisonous snake he'd killed yesterday. So what if he'd won? He'd still nearly died in the mountains. Compared with surviving, victory had become insignificant.
After regaining some strength, he slowly crawled out of the soft earth, then found the water flask he'd buried and drank some water. He felt much stronger afterward.
"I'm feeling better. I should be able to make my way back slowly on my own." Sitting beneath a tree,