Chapter 23.

Right in the middle of Cultivation, Nick heard a great scream. He was on his feet within a moment, looking around nervously for the danger, but only a squirming Enora came to view. She was on the ground, clutching her left arm while battling against a pain visible on her face : tears and frowning brows and clenching jaw. And her forearm. It was really something hard to describe comfortably, as it had been heavily burnt. From the elbow to the tip of the fingers, the skin was either bright crimson or charcoal black. Blood tainted her clothing and the stones around and dripped in the bonfire with sizzling noises.

Rose came back from the river in a hurry, stunned by what she discovered in the process. But she and Nick quickly moved together, him grabbing the big woman to drag her to the river, her looking for the medicinal kit they had assembled between themselves. Honestly, they did not have a lot left, as they got hurt at least lightly in every fight. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Enora thrashed madly on the way to the river, making it hard for Nick to help her. She was in so much distress that the world was probably unrecognizable to her, or maybe it had disappeared. It did not matter to Nick though : he had to tend to her, and he would. He thought of knocking her out to make his job easier but did not dare in the end. "What if she gets worse and we can't know it because she is unconscious ?". With great efforts, the woman was brought to the river, writhing on the ground with blood everywhere, even Nick's. She had scratched his arms a lot. Then he tried his best to set her on her back.

- This is weird !, he told the approaching Rose very loud to cover Enora's violent commotion. I've seen her hurt before, very bad even, and she never went crazy like that !

- I don't know, let me see the wound first., the girl said.

Taking care of the immediate danger was a priority, both of them agreed yo that. Again, the skinny man's job was to make healing possible by maintaining the patient still, which happened to be a nightmare as said patient was stronger and taller and uncooperative. All the while, Rose ignored his struggle to actually focus on the burnt arm, first using cold water to clean it as well as she could, then applying all the salve they had left before bandaging. She knew this injury would need way more care than that, but it was all she could do yet. After some time, Enora passed out. Whether from pain or something else, it did not matter.

- Let's get her to bed, she needs warmth and rest., warned the girl. We won't be able to move for the coming days : she will probably have a fever.

After a few seconds of silence, Nick made his decision.

- I'll go hunt if necessary.

Rose nodded wearing a grave look, apprehension in her eyes. They set Enora as comfortably as they could, then sat in tense silence, waiting to see her wake up or die. But apart from ragged breathing, nothing happened for a while, to the point where Nick just decided to cultivate. "Not that I don't care, but if I'm gonna be waiting, I'd prefer to pass the time in some way …". So he opened his book and began reading a new part.

' You have absorbed and purified some basic energy, congratulation on this first step. Keep in mind though that wild magic is the easiest to manipulate at this stage. That's right, the easiest, as it is the only energy that does not move at all in the Flow. Imagine doing the same with the other elements, the ones that move all the time. It would be quite harder right ? But do not be discouraged, basic energy is beneficial to every mage, as useful as it is looked down on, which is a lot. Basic energy is scoffed at by mages, but the mortals use it constantly as it is easy to train in and straightforward in its effects. You can use it to make yourself stronger, swifter, heavier or lighter. You can heal your own wounds or even permanently change parts of yourself. The particularity of this energy is that it cannot be used outside the user's body, meaning you will not be able to create flames or wind. However, History is filled with presumptuous mages being taken out by efficient uses of basic energy, and that is the main focus of this book : teaching the most efficient use of Wild Magic. Keep storing it little by little to have a decent amount when you really need it and read carefully now as I tell you of how to use it. Even though it is the magic that can be stored in larger quantities, it is also the one that is the easiest to waste, as its expertise hinges on timing. To use it, you spread it in your body, but you cannot do it all the time because of waste. If you keep your arms strong for an hour straight, then you will run out and become easy prey for your enemies. You have to mind the situation, find the right moment and quickly burst, then go back to a normal state. If you want your legs to get very strong, to run fast, bring the energy there and will it. A bit of practice is in order, but it won't take long, I think. You might be wondering by now why this energy is called 'wild' when it does not even move in the Magical Flow. That is because basic energy is the one with the deadliest and most gruesome cases of mistakes during Cultivation. It is very peaceful in the Flow but becomes violent once inside the body if other elements are present at the same place : wild. '

Nick followed the instructions he read to the letter, grabbed a stone nearby the size of his fist and injected wild magic in his arm and hand. Then he crushed it. It actually hurt a lot, with the joints of his fingers getting red and his bicep sore, but the end-result was splendid : from stone to pebbles, from pebbles to grey coarse sand.

- Amazing.