What did it feel like to return from the dead?
Erich's answer: warm, soft, and fragrant.
It didn't sound quite right, but when Erich woke up, the back of his head was resting against a warm, soft surface, and a faint, sweet body fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose.
Then he opened his eyes. A pair of bright eyes was right in front of him, so close that he could see his own reflection in her pupils.
Lilith.
Wait, why was he sleeping on Lilith's lap?
Before Erich's mind could fully clear, his mouth moved first. “Hello.”
Lilith let out a shriek that nearly blew the roof off the tent. “He's awake! He's not dead!”
Hurried footsteps and noisy shouts came from outside the tent, but Lilith ignored the commotion. She leaned down close to Erich, her hands feeling all over his face as she pelted him with a barrage of questions. “Are you okay? Do you feel unwell anywhere? Does anything hurt? Do you have any idea how much you scared me? You were lying there covered in blood, and no matter how much I called out to you, you wouldn't wake up!”
“Stop, stop, stop.”
Erich was rubbed so hard he couldn't even open his eyes. He mumbled for Lilith to stop. In his dazed state, he reached up and pinched Lilith's cheek by feel.
Lilith let out a startled gasp. She abruptly retracted her hands and sat up straight, her eyes darting left and right, not daring to look in Erich's direction.
Erich took the opportunity to sit up, stretching his limbs as he asked,
“How long was I out? Where is this?”
Lilith's voice was much softer now. “You've been unconscious for nearly three hours. This is a temporary camp set up by the survivors.”
Only then did Erich take in his surroundings. The tent wasn't large. A damp-proof mat was laid out on the ground, and a few medicine bottles sat in the corner. The entrance flap was half-open, revealing the gray sky outside through the gap.
The tent flap was lifted, and Marcus walked in, hunched over. Behind him followed Grace, Bryant, and Nasha, all of them bearing the scars of battle.
“Erich, how is your body?” Marcus crouched down, scanning him from head to toe.
“I'm fine.” Erich patted his chest. “What about the serpent? Is it dead? Did you figure out what happened?”
The others exchanged looks before finding stools to sit on. Marcus briefly explained what had happened afterward.
At that time, Erich had used his body to channel the lightning. After that golden pillar of thunder struck, the lightning raged continuously, leaving the giant serpent on the verge of death on the spot. Marcus and the others seized the opportunity to charge forward together and sever the serpent's head. Afterward, Bryant and a few others headed to the surface to call for reinforcements, while Marcus and the rest searched the ruins for Erich. When they found him, his clothes were completely destroyed, his body was covered in scorch marks and wounds, and he was completely unresponsive.
Grace had immediately cast the absolute limit of her abilities—a peak fourth-tier healing spell. The spell cured all of his external injuries, but he simply wouldn't wake up. The group gathered around him and shouted for a long time, but there was no response. Eventually, Grace told Lilith to stay and watch over him while the others went to meet the guild's reinforcements.
“The guild arrived very quickly,” Marcus said. “The leader is a scholar who specializes in ancient creatures. He took a look at the giant serpent's corpse and is still wandering around over there.”
Erich suddenly asked, “Who changed my clothes?”
The group fell into a synchronized silence, each looking away.
Erich gave a couple of dry laughs. “It's fine, it's fine. Keep going.”
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Marcus immediately resumed speaking. “As for the identity of the giant serpent, the guild's current preliminary guess is that the snake god's remnant soul possessed an offspring with a close bloodline, manifesting into this form.”
Erich: “The snake god? Vaughan?”
Grace took over. “Probably. Those snakefolk have been worshiping their god all this time. No one expected the legends about the dungeon to actually be true—at least, a part of them.”
Marcus scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. “And that offspring was the petrified serpent egg we brought with us...”
Erich didn't feel there was anything to feel guilty about. Who could have known a petrified serpent egg could cause such a massive commotion? “Let's go. I want to see how things are outside.”
With that, Erich got out of bed. Unfortunately, he had slightly overestimated his body's recovery. His legs buckled, and he almost fell to his knees. Fortunately, Lilith, who was right beside him, was quick to support him.
Supported by her, Erich walked out of the tent. Only after leaving did he see the full picture of the temporary camp. It was larger than he had imagined. Over a dozen tents were pitched on the cleared ruins, with adventurers in various guild uniforms walking to and fro.
A young adventurer carrying a spear walked past Erich. He suddenly stopped and nodded at him. “Mr. Heavenly Thunder, how is your body?”
Erich was taken aback for a moment. “Huh? I'm doing alright.”
The man smiled, shouldered his spear, and walked away. Erich and Lilith took a few more steps. An old mage crouching by a campfire cooking looked up and raised his cup to him. Walking further, several young men moving rocks stepped aside to clear a path when they saw Erich passing, their gazes filled with an inexplicable respect.
Erich lowered his voice and asked Lilith, “Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
Lilith's ears turned red from his sudden proximity. “You don't know? That divine punishment of yours was way too exaggerated. Who wouldn't be terrified after seeing that? Besides, adventurers value strength above all else, so they naturally respect you. 'Heavenly Thunder' is the moniker everyone gave you, and it just spread from there.”
Erich felt the name was a bit tacky, but it didn't seem too bad either.
After walking around for a bit, Marcus approached from the other side, looking like he had just finished a meeting with the guild members. He checked Erich's complexion and asked, “Since you're fine now, should we prepare to return to the surface?”
Erich nodded. “Pretty much.”
After a quick pack-up, the group walked toward the camp's exit. Bryant caught up from the side, holding a staff in his hands—the very snake-shaped staff that had been inside the box.
Bryant presented it to Erich.
“Mr. Heavenly Thunder, we were only able to deal with the giant serpent thanks to you. This 'Serpent Ferry' is the guild's reward for you.”
Erich did not decline and took the staff.
“Thanks.” Erich weighed it in his hand before slinging it onto his back.
Bryant nodded and turned to tend to the others.
Erich looked back once more at the battlefield behind him. The giant serpent's corpse had already been cleared away by the guild, leaving only charred scorch marks and ruined structures on the ground.
“Let's go,” he said.
Rate on N.U.
