Adam awoke with a start, his senses slowly returning to him. His pupils darted around and he glanced at the familiar cave chamber he found himself in.

Isn't this

The next moment, his body began to throb with pain immensely. No, to be precise, it was always hurting. But he only just started feeling the sensation when he came to.

Even the slightest of movements sent waves of agony through his burnt skin and flesh. He winced as he tried to sit up, but he could not.

In the end, he could only helplessly look around as he desperately tried to endure the pain.

But this place It can't be

The following moment, two furry little creatures approached him. They stood on each side of his face, glancing at him with curious eyes.

When Adam saw these adorable creatures, he confirmed that he wasn't just seeing things and that this place he was in, was indeed the place he had come to a while ago.

"You guys" the youth's words were interrupted when the panther cubs pounced on his face and licked his cheeks.

"Meow~"

Adam was first stunned, but then he realized what must've transpired after he passed out. A faint smile gradually bloomed on his face as he felt the ticklish sensation on his cheeks.

But soon, his smile faltered.

Memories of that dreadful explosion flooded his mind. The blazing heat, the blinding light, and the harrowing pain. Everything came back to him, causing his entire body to tremble subconsciously.

He remembered the feeling of being engulfed by those destructive flames, the overwhelming sense of helplessness he felt in the face of death.

Recalling all those gruesome memories, he couldn't help but involuntarily clench his fists.

Kevin, that sly bastard No wonder he was acting so psychotic before he died.

Despite the pain and fear, Adam felt a deep sense of gratitude.

He had made it out alive. That's all that mattered.

The youth gently pushed away the cubs and sat up straight, taking support of the wall behind him. Every other inch of his body was heavily burned, so no matter where he touched, it would hurt.

Wincing in pain, he was slowly able to sit upright. Then, he glanced around at the cave.

A few meters away from him, Ennea was sleeping soundly, recuperating from her injuries. Seeing her alive and well, Adam heaved a sigh of relief.

Then, his gaze fell on the other side of the chamber. There, a figure was lying on the ground, staring at him from the shadows. The creature's four yellow eyes sometimes flickered with an ominous red light.

Adam was filled with complicated emotions.

"You saved me?"

The Hexclaw Panther let out a soft growl. Then, her eyes narrowed before finally closing.

Adam deeply stared at the other side of the cave where the beast had just been. Earlier, he could make out her presence, but after she closed her eyes, it seemed like she had entirely vanished.

Truly a creature of the shadows! Adam marveled.

The next moment, he took a deep breath and sincerely muttered, "Thank you."

"Grrrr"

Another soft growl could be heard from the other side before everything turned tranquil. Except for the excited meows and purrs of the two panther cubs who were running around Adam.

The little fellows were very energetic, to say the least. Not only did they play around with Adam, but they also climbed over the slumbering white fox and started jumping on her back.

Of course, Ennea was deeply asleep so she didn't notice it. Or perhaps she did but didn't care.

Adam couldn't help but smile warmly watching them play. He then turned his attention back on himself, examining his gruesome wounds.

His hands trembled as he gently poked his burned and blistered skin, feeling the raw flesh underneath. The pain was intense and he couldn't help but wince and suck in a breath of cold air.

As the youth examined his injuries, he couldn't help but loudly gulp when he realized just how extensive they were.

He slowly raised his hand and touched his face. Feeling the charred skin there as well, he couldn't help but smile wryly, "I was already bad-looking to begin with. Now, I've become even uglier than a troll."

After examining the injuries all over his body, he came to the conclusion that although it appeared bad, it wasn't actually that bad.

He didn't receive any critical injury from the explosion. Thanks to his quick thinking as well as the defensive technique from the Astral Tyrant Manual, he was able to negate the majority of the damage.

The youth mused to himself, Healing potions will fix my injuries for sure, but the burned marks are going to stay on my skin permanently, I'm afraid.

Not unless I go to that lady back in Moon City. But that is impossible at the moment.

He rid himself of such thoughts and deeply sighed, "Haa I'm just happy to make it out alive."

All he had to take care of now was the soul-rending headache that still hadn't abated. This was a major concern for him.

Moreover, using the spell on Kevin seemed to have slightly worsened his injury.

"But it was all worth it!" He sneered as he recalled drowning Kevin in black flames and killing him with his own spell.

Then, he glanced at his injuries again and decided to begin the healing process.

His eyes flashed with newfound determination as he conjured a set of sanitized bandages, healing potions, balms, ointments, and other things he'd require.

"This should do for now," he muttered softly. "When I've recovered a little more, I can brew more potions. Thankfully, my earring isn't damaged or I would have been truly screwed."

He knew that his road to recovery would have otherwise been very long, but thanks to the memories of the experts, he knew mystical ways to expedite the process.

It also helped that he had a vast quantity of herbs and other ingredients in his earring. Moreover, he also needed to get back to the eastern camp as soon as he possibly could.

There, yet another battle awaited him.