Epoch 19

Epoch 19: The Side Quest.

Tang Tang was overjoyed to find a soybean, but as soon as he heard a system notification, his excitement faded away.

[Ding!]

[Side Quest: Save Pen

Time limit: 20 minutes

Reward: 100 points

Failure: Pen will die

(Caused of death: Anaphylactic shock.)]

'Anaphylactic shock!?'

Then a timer appeared in front of him.

[19:59]

"If he is not poisoned, what happened to him?" Lia curiously asked.

"I will explain later. Let's save Pen first, or we may lose him." He said the last part in a whisper, but it was enough for the beasts with heightened senses to hear.

There is no antihistamine in this world. Tang Tang was scanning the encyclopedia to find a substitute while he was giving orders.

"Yan talked to Pen. Don't let him fall asleep."

"Hou, get a pot of water. The colder the better."

"Tribe Leader Bei, Lia, let's transfer Pen to a soft monster skin without too much fur. The fur might irritate his rashes."

[17:21]

After a minute, he found what he needed.

"Xue, boil ginger. Put two cups of water and half of the root," he ordered.

Without asking questions, everyone moves fast.

[16:09]

Suddenly Yan's frantic voice can be heard, "Pen! Pen! Don't close your eyes."

Tang Tang rushed to their side and checked Pen's breathing and pulse. The young sub-beast is wheezing, a sign that he has trouble breathing, and his pulse is getting weaker and faster.

"Here's the water," Hou said, carrying a large pot of water.

"Can I have a dua fruit?" Tang Tang asked.

[14:35]

Hou immediately handed him an orange fruit with the thought that Tang Tang was hungry.

"Not this. I need the yellow one."

Hou was puzzled, but he didn't ask any questions and just handed him what he needed. Tang Tang cut the fruit in half and squeezed it into the water, then dipped a piece of soft monster's skin in it.

"I will wash Pen's body," Tang Tang simply said.

[13:09]

Lia understood it and immediately ordered everyone to get out. Only he, Tang Tang, and Yan left.

Tang Tang wanted to put a cold compress on the rashes, but there was no ice available. That is when he thought about apple cider, which can help reduce inflammation and itching.

With Lia's help, they continue washing Pen, while Yan making sure that he will not fall asleep.

[11:01]

'Damn it!' Tang Tang wants to curse out loud. The timer is making him panic, especially since it is a countdown to someone's life and death.

He doesn't care about the side quest anymore. All he wants is to save Pen. The two of them were not close, but he is still the younger brother of his friend.

[10:35]

"Tang Tang, the ginger is ready," Xue called out outside.

Tang Tang hurriedly went out and took the bowl of ginger soup.

"It's hot," Xue reminded him, but he didn't have time to care about it.

Tang Tang asked Lia and Yan to sit up, Pen, as he fed the young sub-beast warmed ginger soup using a spoon.

"Pen, please drink all of this." Tang Tang kept on repeating until the bowl was empty.

[08:15]

Even though Pen finished the ginger soup, Tang Tang is still uneasy because the timer is still running.

After lying Pen back down, Yan asked. "What should we do next?"

Tang Tang looked worriedly at them and said, "We just need to wait and pray that the medicine will take effect faster."

The tears Yan had been holding back since earlier started streaming down his face again.

[06:20]

Tang Tang constantly checked Pen's pulse while telling Yan and Lia what had actually happened to Pen in an attempt to divert his attention from the timer.

He told them all he knew about allergies.

"There are foods that we cannot eat?" Lia asked.

"Not everyone, but there are a few people like Pen. Some were allergic to food, environment, plants and animals, or what you call here, monsters." Tang Tang explained as simply as he could.

"I–it means that Pen cannot eat food with this plant anymore?" Yan asked.

"For now, yes. It's unfortunate since this plant can produce a lot of good fo—" Tang Tang's heart almost stopped when he saw the timer.

[00:39]

[00:38]

[00:37]

'The timer is still running!' It means that Pen is not saved yet.

Tang Tang closed his eyes and prayed to every saint and god he knew. He doesn't know what to do anymore. He already tried his best.

Tang Tang was aware that his knowledge was lacking when it came to health care and medicine; he just wishes that he had been transmigrated after he graduated from university. He will surely help Gaia with his knowledge at that time, but now? He doesn't know.

That is when he heard Lia and Yan exclaim, followed by a system notification.

[00:05]

"Tang Tang looked at Pen's rashes. They are fading!"

Yan cried louder. "Thank God! Thank you Tang Tang!"

[Ding!]

[Side Quest Completed!]

[Points: 110]

Seeing Pen's rashes getting lighter and hearing the system notification makes Tang Tang sighed in relief, like Yan he also wanted to cry.

He makes sure that Pen's breathing and pulse are back to normal before going out of the tent.

Outside the tent, many people were waiting for the news about Pen. As soon as they noticed Tang Tang coming out again, they attempted to surround him, but the twins stopped them right away.

"Pen is now okay—" Tang Tang was not yet finished talking when Hou suddenly lifted and spun him around, which made the sub-beast cry in surprise.

"I knew it. You're really great!" The man said.

The people gathering around also showed joy and started cheering. Except for Gio and Kea, Gio even sneered before walking out of the crowd together with their group.

After being spun, Tang Tang feels dizzy and has an urge to vomit. "H—hou put me down!"

Hou put down Tang Tang instantly when he saw the sub-beast face lose color. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

Tang Tang stabilizes himself before nodding. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy."

'I am now starting to hate our height difference.' To lift and spin a 175cm man just like that is a little embarrassing.

He acted as if nothing had happened and turned his attention to Xue. "Pen still needs to drink ginger soup. Can you make another bowl?"

"Yes." Xue answered without second thought, he even ruffled Tang Tang's hair before leaving.

Then Tang Tang walked to Qiu and Tei, who were smiling at him. "Guys, can you gather more of the gume fruit?"

"Gume fruit?" Qiu asked.

"It is the fruit Pen has eaten. Like I said earlier, that plant is not poisonous. A lot of good food can actually be made from it," he said.

Qiu and Tei believe in him, but the other females are still hesitating and have doubts after witnessing what happened to Pen.

Tin, who has confidence now, said, "Tang Tang is saying the truth. I also ate those fruits,but nothing happened to me."

Tang Tang smiled at Tin, then summarized to them what he told Lei and Yan about allergies.

"I know you all still have doubts, and I will not force you to eat it. I will make something from it next time; it's your decision to taste it or not," he added.

At the end, only ten females, including Tin, Qiu, and Tei, go to harvest gume fruits. They were escorted by Gal and Tei's husband, Lou.

Tang Tang returned inside the tent with a new bowl of warm ginger soup. They fed it again to Pen, and when he finished it, they let him sleep to regain his strength.

It's already sunset when Pen wakes up. He insists on returning to his own tent, and Yan will accompany him because he still needs to drink a bowl of ginger soup every day until he completely recovers.

"Why do you eat it, Pen? Tang Tang always reminded us that we shouldn't taste any unknown plants." Yan scolded his brother when they arrived at Pen's tent.

"Now everyone in the tribe is talking about how you want recognition, which is why you do that, and even Tang Tang was blamed for it," Yan continued as Pen kept on ignoring her.

Pen knows that after the incident today, he will be the talk of the tribe. What he didn't expect was that Tang Tang would be implicated.

"T-tang Tang was blamed because of me."

"Now you heard me, huh?"

Yan knows that her brother admires Tang Tang. Since they were young, Pen has always been timid and shy; that's why the other sub-beasts bullied him. But his brother started changing when Tang Tang arrived in the tribe. She once caught him following Tang Tang, and that is when Pen confessed that he admires Tang Tang.

Pen admires Tang Tang from the first time he sees him arrive in the tribe. Tang Tang is the total opposite of him; he is so beautiful, yet he has never snubbed anyone and always had a smile on his face. The more he knows him, the more he likes him.

If someone asks him why he likes Tang Tang, a whole day will not be enough to explain the reason. And now that the person he admires has even saved his life, he is still thinking about what he can do for Tang Tang, but he has unknowingly become a burden instead.

"Some even refuse to help him find edible plants now."

"But it is not his fault," Pen said, on the verge of crying.

"Yes, but the others are not thinking the same, especially those who envied him," Yan said, provoking Pen to confess because he knew that Pen would not disobey Tang Tang's reminder and seek recognition like the others said.

Pen really plans to hide what happened to protect those people he once thought of as friends, but now that even Tang Tang was involved and blamed, there is no use in keeping it.

That was when Pen really told Yan what happened and how he ended up eating those fruits.

"That fucking bitch!" Yan angrily shouted as he stormed out of the tent.

Pen was left crying.