The Hero's Cocktail
Huff! Huff, huff, huff...
It feels like waking up from a long dream.
When I came to my senses, I was only sticking my head out of a muddy swamp.
Probably swept away by a landslide and drifted here.
No matter what, I have to get out of here first...
“Kuek! W-what?!”
Intense pain shot through my shoulder.
There was no one else around, but the pain was so great that I let out a cry by myself.
When I looked again, a tree root-like object was stuck in my left shoulder.
Shit... should I pull it out?
Pulling it out would cause a lot of bleeding.
After thinking for a moment, since I can't stay here like this, I'll pull it out.
“Hoo, hoo, one, two, three!”
I wanted to just yank it out quickly, but to prevent unnecessary damage to the surrounding tissue of the wound area, I had to pull it out as slowly and carefully as possible.
“Kuek, hoo, hoo, again. Kue... hoo!”
I pulled it out. Thankfully, the bleeding wasn't too severe.
Now, let's get out of here.
After checking the surroundings, I grabbed a nearby branch with my good right arm and slowly climbed up to the surface.
I came out. I was lucky.
But since I caught my breath, I need to figure out the situation first.
“Status Window!”
I quickly checked my current body condition.
Full body bruises, scrapes... well, this is what happens after rolling around, so unavoidable.
Shoulder puncture wound... this is not good. Bleeding isn't severe yet, but there's pain, and bacteria might enter the blood causing something like sepsis?
I'm dead right away.
But luckily, my legs aren't injured.
Anyway, I need to deal with this shoulder first.
At least, I should do emergency treatment as much as possible.
I started rummaging through my bag.
First aid kit, first aid kit...
Before leaving, when I saw me making the first aid kit, Lily said this.
No, since I'm going to be with you all the time, why carry that?
Yeah, even if there's a healer, you should carry these. They might save your life in unknown situations.
Well, the best is to prevent such situations without a healer.
Oh, found it.
Even if it's a first aid kit, it's just a few bandages and some basic medicine.
Still better than nothing.
Now, something that can help...
Distilled ethanol.
This is quite good. It can disinfect the wound.
I soaked a cloth in alcohol and wiped the wound, then wrapped it with a bandage on top.
Next is willow extract.
Natural painkiller. I don't know if it works, but let's take it anyway.
Now, what to do really...
Where are the others? Or are they alive?
I have to think they are alive. I can't fall apart here.
First, I need to get treatment. To do that, I have to go to a place like a village.
Where did they go, if they survived...
Did they go back to the village we started from? Or back to the original destination village.
Even if I know where they went... since I don't know the way, it's useless.
Since I don't know, I tried to check the compass again... but the compass is spinning like a crazy carousel.
Ah, did I have a map?
When I opened the bag, there was an extra map stored!
But it's all soaked in water. Haha. It's completely ruined.
Damn. What to do with this?
I can't just sit here.
Let's move.
If walking doesn't work, change direction immediately.
As long as I don't die of thirst, this is the best method.
Good, let's go. But where?
Hmm.
First, I started walking aimlessly after leaving. By the way, the direction was decided by flipping a coin.
“Damn, it's so hot like a dog...”
Because it rained, I could see clear weather without a single cloud. No, it would be nice weather normally, but with my bad condition, walking in the scorching sun is killing me.
I'm going to die here.
How much water is left?
Good. Thanks to volunteering to carry the heavy water bottles, I still have two clean water bottles left.
But I don't know how long I'll have to walk... so drink a little at a time.
I drank only enough to quench my thirst. If I could, I'd chug it, but it's foolish to provoke future dangers to satisfy current desires.
About an hour passed.
Nothing.
Damn, if I came down from the mountain and walked myself, I'd know.
There was only the mountain, and around it is just plain land.
Endless plain stretching on.
And I was walking on it.
Nothing here...
I stopped and decided to go in the opposite direction.
Damn, not here either.
I turned around and walked back the way I came for an hour, then walked more, but it was twice as hard.
Is there any reward? No.
This time, let's turn left!
It's really shitty.
No matter how far I walk, no house in sight, the water is decreasing making me anxious, feet feel like they're falling off.
Probably I'm going to die here.
It's so empty...
Now the sun is setting. I need to sleep somewhere.
No choice, so I dug a hole in the ground.
But since the ground is deep, some temperature regulation will be possible.
And if I can't survive the night, at least I dug a temporary grave.
Wrapped in all kinds of blankets and clothes, I stuffed myself into the hole that might be my grave.
“It's so cozy! Haha!”
What's the point of mocking and complaining? No one hears.
When night came, strong wind started blowing, and the scorching day was replaced by now it seems like freezing to death.
Uwa, just kill me.
The face hit by cold wind hurts. It's not just cold, it feels like it's cut.
Since sleep doesn't come, sitting still is a waste. Actually, if I sleep now, I might not wake up again.
So, I decided to walk again.
Before that...
“Ah! Ah, it really hurts.”
The soles of my feet, which hurt from walking all day, finally got blisters. Doctors say the skin under blisters is soft, so don't pop them, but to me who has to walk to survive, it's not important.
Still, to prevent infection, I wiped with ethanol, and wrapped the foot with bandage to make it hurt less.
I also wiped the shoulder wound again and dressed it with bandage.
Can I walk again... let's rest a bit.
The disinfectant I was holding.
Distilled ethanol.
A crazy idea popped up.
I'm about to do something that could be my last crazy act in my life.
Ethanol burns well, so gather branches to make firewood, and pour this ethanol on it to light a fire.
If I expected this, sorry, but I have no intention to use this ethanol that way.
Since it rained, no dry branches to be found even if I search with eyes peeled, and how to light the fire?
Only in movies do rocks make fire.
Ethanol is alcohol.
It's high proof, but.
I might die, but I have to have one last drink?
So, from now on, Hero Cocktail manufacturing starts.
First, if I drink pure ethanol, it's the last drink, so I need to dilute it properly.
Proof, well, there are many hardships, so let's make it strong. How about 20?
Water to dilute ethanol? All gone.
Instead, I have natural mineral water.
After the rain, until this morning it was muddy water bottom, but now the mud has settled a lot.
I started scooping the clean water floating on top with a spoon.
Hmm, it looks very rich in minerals. The color is a bit reddish. Romantic.
Next, dissolve the emergency candy I carry with the natural mineral water collected this way.
Lemon flavor. It's my favorite.
After mercilessly crushing the candy into powder with the Holy Sword's handle, put it in my mineral water.
This part requires a bit of patience. The water is cold, so the candy doesn't dissolve well.
Tip: stir well with the spoon.
After this, let's taste it for a moment. Ah, the refreshing yet bitter lemon taste is perfect.
What about the earthy taste that comes after? Ah, it must be natural spring water rising from 1000m underground.
Definitely not muddy water taste.
Now, mix this with the distilled ethanol in about 8:2 ratio to complete the Hero Cocktail.
Do not try this at home.
Since the cocktail is ready, let's enjoy it.
The bottom of the hole is open, I am the bartender and the customer.
“Excuse me, bartender sir.”
“Yes, customer.”
“The one I drank every day.”
“Although it's out of the subject, may I suggest something special today?”
“Haha, you and me, friend. I'm not a regular. Please be at ease.”
“Yes, I'll make it right away.”
“Oh, I've never seen this before. What's the name of this?”
“It's not named yet. Actually, I'd like you to name it, customer.”
“Very well.”
After drinking the alcohol, I felt the heat going down from my throat.
“Hoo. Very good. It has a somewhat thick taste, and the burn is perfect.”
“Have you thought of a name?”
“Landslide. How about landslide.”
“How did you come up with such a name?”
“I was recently swept away by a landslide.”
“You're talking about life's hardships.”
“No, really a landslide.”
Suddenly, I felt ashamed of my stupid self-inserted drama, so I threw the cup.
“Damn! I don't want to die here! It's shitty!”
After getting angry, I felt lonely again. So, I decided to resume the bartender role-play.
“Hey, customer, please calm down.”
“Sorry. I was rude.”
“It's okay. If your mind is in turmoil, how about looking at the paintings in our shop's landscape?”
“Ah, that forest picture? I've never seen it before.”
“Yes, it was recently opened...”
Eh? That wasn't there earlier?
In this barren land, there's a forest?
It's when I was scouting. I strongly feel that forest is calling me.
“Bartender.”
“Yes, customer.”
“I won't be back before the alcohol cools.”