Rivor walked calmly toward Zilon, a gentle smile on his face despite the cuts and bruises that marred his body.
Zilon examined his condition with a critical eye.
*Several cuts on his arms and legs, a gash on his right cheek, and blood dripping from his neck... He's in worse shape than he's letting on,* Zilon thought, his expression softening with genuine concern.
When Rivor reached him, Zilon forced a smile. "I guess you defeated all of them. Though..." He gestured to Rivor's injuries.
Rivor glanced down at his bloodied body and chuckled. "Oh, this? It's no big deal. What I'm concerned about is you. Are you alright?"
Zilon rubbed his neck, feeling the sting of the cut. "I'm fine, except for this. It's not too deep, but it's bleeding more than I expected."
Rivor's expression turned serious as he examined the wound. "This doesn't look good. The assassin's blades likely had a bleeding effect. Only strong pills or skilled mages can heal injuries like this."
Zilon's eyes widened. "Then what do we do? Can my money buy you any medicine to heal yourself?"
Rivor shook his head. "You don't need to worry about me."
He reached into a small pouch at his waist and pulled out two small bottles filled with a glowing green liquid.
*Wait, he's had that on him this whole time?* Zilon thought, watching intently.
Rivor uncorked one bottle and drank its contents. Almost immediately, his wounds began to smoke and close at a visible rate.
"Whaaaa...?" Zilon's jaw dropped. *A healing potion? Of course!*
As a gamer, anime fan, and novel reader, Zilon was familiar with the concept of healing potions. But seeing one in action—feeling its effects firsthand—was an entirely different experience.
"This is a healing potion," Rivor explained, holding up the empty bottle. "A strong one, too. Potions are graded, and this one is mid-grade. It's not cheap, but it gets the job done."
He tossed the second bottle to Zilon, who caught it with one hand.
"You should really be more careful with these," Zilon said, examining the bottle. "What if I dropped it? I'm pretty sure even for you, this isn't cheap."
Rivor chuckled. "You're right, but I knew you'd catch it. Besides, it's an old habit of mine—throwing potions to my comrades."
Zilon nodded and drank the potion. The liquid was surprisingly sweet, and he felt a warm sensation spread through his body. The cut on his neck stopped bleeding almost instantly.
"There you go. You're healing, too," Rivor said with a proud smile.
Zilon touched his neck, relieved. "Thanks. That's... incredible."
"Now that we're done with this..." Rivor held up the gem-like stone he'd retrieved from the hooded man's corpse.
"What is that?" Zilon asked, feigning ignorance. He had a general idea from the system message he'd received earlier, but he wanted to hear Rivor's explanation.
"This is a skill scroll," Rivor said, holding the stone up to the light. "Do you want to know more about it?"
*Why does he sound like an NPC?* Zilon thought, suppressing a laugh. "Yes, please."
Rivor chuckled. "Skill scrolls are skills contained within these gems. They can be obtained by defeating enemies or purchased from stores, though high-grade scrolls are expensive and rare."
He went on to explain the grading system: red for common skills, yellow for uncommon, green for rare, blue for epic, and so on, up to violet for demigod-tier abilities. Platinum and gold scrolls were reserved for unique or special skills, often tied to weapons.
*Basically, the rainbow colors of my world,* Zilon thought, his mind buzzing with the new information.
"But why is this one multicolored?" Zilon asked, pointing to the gem in Rivor's hand.
"That means it's a random drop," Rivor explained. "Crushing it could give you a skill, a weapon, or something entirely useless. It's a gamble, but it's always exciting to see what you'll get."
Zilon groaned. "Wow, my brain is melting from all this info."
Rivor laughed. "It's a lot to take in, but it's just the basics. You'll get used to it."
"Okay, then why don't you break it and see what you get?" Zilon suggested, trying to sound casual.
Rivor shook his head. "I think I'll give it to you."
"Wait, what? But what if—"
"Don't worry about that," Rivor interrupted. "You need this more than I do."
Zilon hesitated. *He's right, but...*
"I'm not sure I can accept it," Zilon said, looking away.
Rivor's expression hardened. "I wasn't asking. I was ordering. Here."
Zilon gulped under Rivor's intense gaze and reluctantly held out his hands.
"Remember, these things lower their durability based on the strength of the person holding them. You can't crush it until you're ready," Rivor explained as he handed the gem to Zilon.
Zilon nodded, clutching the gem carefully.
"Now, make a fist," Rivor instructed.
Zilon took a deep breath. *Lady Luck, please give me something useful.*
He crushed the gem in his hand.
A blinding white light erupted, engulfing the alley. When the light faded, two glowing orbs floated in the air before merging into Zilon's forehead.
Neither Zilon nor Rivor could tell what color the orbs had been.