Overpowered Reincarnation Perks! - Chapter 12.4

‘He’s not nearby. Then there’s no need to waste time here.’

I quickly ran down the stairs. The stairwell was dark with small windows. I leaped down three steps at once by guesswork and then pressed against the wall.

‘Fortification Construction.’

[Currently, there are no allies nearby. Skill activation impossible]

He’s not here either. Let’s go down to the lower floor.

[Currently, there are no allies nearby. Skill activation impossible]

I kept going down one floor, using the Fortification Construction skill, and when the skill was canceled, I would go down to the next floor, repeating this process.

I think I’ve come down more than 10 floors, but still no response.

‘Could Arvan have already escaped?’

The noisy sounds have faded away. It seems Callion is deliberately buying more time.

‘If worst comes to worst, I can hide in an underground passage and escape later.’

As I came down to the lower floor, it suddenly became dark. The upper floors had large windows that let in moonlight. Here, it was pitch black, as if all the windows were closed.

‘I should have brought something to light the way.’

This is no time for regrets. Even Callion can’t buy time indefinitely. If Arvan isn’t here either, I need to find shelter too.

I called upon the skill again.

All conditions for Fortification Construction have been met.

Construct fortification / Cancel

He’s here. Arvan is here.

‘It’s fortunate I found his location before giving up.’

But it’s so dark, I’m not sure if I can find him.

“Arvan?”

I hope he sends a signal after hearing my voice. I walked inside, feeling my way with my hands. It’s too dark to see anything.

“Arvan. Where are you?”

Clank. A sound like a door opening came from somewhere.

‘Is it Arvan?’

Just as I was about to turn around, someone’s hand covered my mouth.

“Mmph!”

It’s a hand large enough to cover my entire face.

Could a soldier have been hiding even in a place like this? And I left my hammer behind!

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Even though I scratched at the hand covering my mouth and elbowed the stomach, the assailant didn’t let me go.

Clank. Along with the sound of a door opening, someone’s footsteps were heard. The faint moonlight coming through the opened door gap outlined someone’s silhouette.

‘Is it Arvan? I need to signal that I’m here, but this assailant… Huh?’

Suddenly my body was lifted up, and everything went dark again. Creak. A sound of something closing was heard, and then it became quiet again.

The characteristic stuffiness of a confined space. I instinctively realized that the man had dragged me into some narrow hiding place.

‘What are you trying to do, dragging me into a place like this!’

As I bit the man’s hand with all my might, the arm around my waist tightened, and he buried his head on my shoulder.

“Calm down, Ju-in. Stay still.”

It was Arvan’s voice.

‘What? It was Arvan who dragged me in?’

Strange. Arvan’s build wasn’t this big. Both his body and hands were much larger than I remembered.

The sensation of my feet being off the ground felt even higher than when Callion or Senes had held me.

“A-Are you really Arvan?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

The faint scent of herbs seeped through the darkness. It was exactly the same as when I kissed Arvan.

“H-How? Why did you suddenly get so big?”

“Ugh…”

Arvan groaned and slid down. My feet which had been floating in the air touched the ground.

I understood why the herb scent that had felt so spicy seemed faint. A pungent iron smell that was too strong for my head to process.

It was the smell of blood.

“Arvan. Are you hurt? Are you…”

“Ju-in. Please be quiet.”

Arvan pulled the back of my head. As I was buried in his cold clothes, the smell of blood became even stronger.

‘Arvan. Where are you hurt?’

The smell of blood is too strong. And his breathing is unstable too.

[Virtue of the Sacrifice]

Do you want to consume your life force to heal the wounds of your ally [Arvan]?

The healing skill window that I hadn’t thought to call up in my panic appeared.

There was no reason to refuse. This is an emergency situation. It’s not the time to ask how he got such an injury or why his body is much larger than usual.

When I brought up the guide display, it became slightly brighter and the shapes became clearer. Except for being blue, it was similar to viewing through an infrared camera.

“Hic…!”

There was a hole in Arvan’s abdomen. It was such a severe injury that it was hard to believe he had dragged me here.

“A-Arvan.”

Arvan, who seemed to be trying to hold back his groans, pushed me away slightly.

“It’s… it’s okay.”

What’s okay about this? This wasn’t an injury that could be treated with first aid.

If I don’t heal him quickly, he might die.

“Those guys, until they leave… Ugh. Stay here.”

“Arvan. Don’t talk.”

I cupped his cheeks with both hands and made him open his mouth, which was full of blood. As I kissed him, the taste of blood spread in my mouth.

“…!”

I could feel his surprise. He might have accidentally bitten my tongue too. But that wasn’t important right now. I firmly wrapped my arms around the back of his neck as he tried to escape and pushed my tongue into his mouth.

It was my first time experiencing a kiss that tasted entirely of blood instead of saliva.

But I’m not foolish enough to expect romance while healing.

“Hup, ugh.”

Blood flowed again from deep in his throat and spilled between our lips. I licked inside Arvan’s mouth while keeping my body tightly pressed against his.

Gulp.

The blood came down my throat, but I swallowed it instead of spitting it out.

[Healing in progress.]

I can see the system message even with my eyes closed. The loading bar was slow, but I could feel Arvan’s breathing gradually stabilizing.

‘Thank goodness. I can heal him.’

The deeper the wound, the slower the healing speed. It was a terrible injury, but as long as I’m healing him, Arvan won’t die.