My Grim Reaper Class: I can kill anything.

Selene worked for nearly two hours.

The first step was cutting Nathan's shirt with the small knife. The fabric was stuck in several places from dried blood. Selene wet it with hot water before cutting, to avoid tearing the scab off along with the fabric.

Nathan felt the warm water running down his chest and back. Then he felt the knife blade slide along his right flank with a precision that didn't hurt him but kept him awake due to the psychological weight of having metal near an open wound.

When the shirt was off, Selene assessed.

"Two broken ribs confirmed. The third cracked but without displacement. Right flank with a penetrating wound approximately five centimeters deep. Left arm with muscle laceration but no apparent nerve damage. Right thigh with a long but superficial cut. Neck with grip bruises."

Liaraen listened from the side.

"Verdict?"

"He survives. But he needs a minimum of fifteen days of rest. And the ribs are going to take six weeks to knit. During those six weeks he can't fight, can't train, can't do heavy physical work. If he tries, the ribs displace and one punctures a lung and he dies."

Nathan opened his eyes.

"Selene."

"Yes?"

"Six weeks without work leaves me without income."

"I know."

"And Liaraen needs to eat."

"I know that too."

"And the Vaelith house gave us money but it's not infinite."

"I know that as well. And we're going to resolve it afterward. First you survive. Second you rest. Third we plan. In that order."

Nathan nodded. He stopped arguing.

Selene cleaned the wounds. First with plain hot water, to remove the dried blood and the remains of the herb from the shelter kit that had already lost effectiveness. Then with the green liquid from the vial, which Nathan felt as a soft acid applied to each wound and which drew several grunts from him during the process. Then she applied the white powder with a small brush, covering each wound in a thin layer.

The powder stopped the residual bleeding almost instantly.

Nathan felt it. The constant moisture that had been dripping from his right flank over the past hours stopped. As if someone had closed an internal stopcock.

"Selene."

"Yes?"

"What is that powder?"

"Greater sorrel root combined with pulverized river fish scales. High-potency natural coagulant. Expensive, that's why I keep it under lock. But it works."

"Alright."

"Don't move for the next ten minutes. The powder needs to form a scab before I can cover with bandages."

"Alright."

Nathan stayed still. He looked at the ceiling. He listened to Selene's movements preparing the clean bandages and the herbs she was going to apply underneath. He listened to Liaraen beside him, still standing, leaning against the edge of the table.

After three minutes, Selene spoke again.

"Liaraen."

"Yes?"

"Now you."

"My wounds are minor."

"We're treating them the same. Sit in the chair beside the table."

"After Nathan."

"Nathan is going to be immobile for ten minutes. During those ten minutes I treat you. It's time management. Not a matter of emotional priority. Sit."

Liaraen sat.

Selene started with the cuts on the right arm and left shoulder. She cleaned with the same hot water. Applied the same green liquid. Then white powder in smaller quantity because the wounds were less deep.

While she worked, Selene asked.

"Do you have ribs too?"

"No. The fight was with high B-Rank creatures and human puppets. They grazed me in several spots but no impacts that fractured bone."

"Calf?"

"Superficial cut. I could walk without problems during the return."

"Side?"

"The same."

"Good."

Selene moved to the left shoulder cut. Cleaned it. Applied. Then covered everything with clean bandages secured with small knots.

When she finished, Liaraen had three new bandages: one on the right arm, one on the left shoulder, and one on the right calf.

She stood up.

She flexed her right arm carefully. The bandage held.

"I can move."

"You can. But don't use the sword for at least five days. The right arm needs to rest or the cut reopens."

"Alright."

Selene returned to Nathan. The ten minutes had passed.

She checked the powder. Confirmed the scab. Began applying thick bandages over the right flank, wrapping Nathan's torso in several turns of cloth that immobilized the ribs at the same time as covering the penetrating wound.

The process took another half hour.

When Selene finished, Nathan was wrapped from chest to hip in clean white bandages. The right thigh too. The left arm too. The neck with a small patch covering the most visible bruises.

Selene stepped back a pace.

Assessed the work.

"You're going to live."

"I appreciate it."

"But you need a bed. Now. Not the table."

"Alright."

Selene and Liaraen together moved him from the table to the guest room on the second floor where Nathan had slept the first nights after returning from Aelthoren. They laid him on the bed with his torso slightly elevated by pillows so the ribs wouldn't bear weight during sleep.

Nathan ended up lying down.

With his eyes open looking at the room's ceiling.

With the accumulated exhaustion of the last seventy-two hours finally descending on him without any residual adrenaline to hold it back.

Selene stood beside the bed.

"Nathan."

"Yes?"

"You sleep now."

"Alright."

"Minimum ten hours. If you wake before that, you look for me, you don't get up."

"Alright."

"When you wake and eat, we talk about the full report. Not before. Do you understand me?"

"I understand."

"Good."

Selene turned to Liaraen.

"You sleep too. In your room. The one at the end of the hallway. Same as the last few weeks."

"I can stay with Nathan if he needs something."

"He's not going to need anything I can't cover from the kitchen. And you sleep better in your own bed after thirty hours without real rest."

Liaraen thought about it.

Then she nodded.

"Alright."

Selene closed the curtains of Nathan's room until only a strip of light was entering through the edge. Then she left the room with Liaraen behind her, leaving the door ajar.

Nathan was left alone.

With his entire body aching but contained by the bandages. With his breathing regulating to the slow rhythm the immobilized ribs allowed. With the familiar room ceiling above him.

He closed his eyes.

Alright.

We made it.

We sleep.

He fell asleep.