After an entire year, the woman''s eyes suddenly opened! She panicked for a second and immediately tried sitting up…


    "UGH!!"


    Only to realize that she can''t! Her body was in too much pain!


    She sent her consciousness inside her body and was thoroughly shocked. Many of her internal organs were damaged, numerous fractured or broken bones, torn muscles, and even her skin were still covered in light wounds.


    She didn''t know how long she was out; no, she''s not even sure how she''s alive right now! She should have died!


    The woman turned her head to try and figure out where she was, but she was still in the same cave that she jumped in when she was on the brink of death.


    However, after examining the cave for a bit, she saw something suspicious. There were remnants of someone recently making a fire.


    She knew that she wasn''t the one who made the fire, so that could only mean one thing.


    Someone found her.


    Killing intent leaked out of her eyes when she thought of being at the mercy of someone else right after she had just escaped death!


    However, seeing as how nobody is here right now, she was determined to heal herself and leave this ce immediately.


    With those thoughts in mind, she shut her eyes and began circting her Qi throughout her body to try and heal all those wounds.


    She guessed that it''d probably take her at least a few weeks to a few months just to be able to walk again and around a year to reach her peak state. That is if she only uses her Qi and doesn''t take any pills or elixirs to speed up her recovery.


    "Ugh! If only these injuries weren''t so deep and I could treat them sooner, I would be able to heal myself in at most a few weeks!"


    The womanined but still kept circting her Qi in hopes of healing her body sooner.


    This continued for a few days until the woman was interrupted when she heard someone enter the cave. Her eyes narrowed, and she was ready to put her life on the line again, should her captive have any weird thoughts toward her.


    Not long after she heard those footsteps, the appearance of a beautiful young woman with long green hair and green eyes holding a bloody saber entered the woman''s eyes.


    The green-haired woman seemed to sense a gaze on her and turned toward the woman with a hint of surprise in her eyes and said, "Oh? It looks like you''re finally awake."


    ***


    Cine had just returned from a long hunt and entered the cave like usual. However, this time, when she entered, she felt someone staring at her.


    She saw the ck-haired woman that she''d been ''nursing'' staring at her with hatred in her eyes. She was a bit surprised by this turn of events, but she was able to calm her emotions quickly and said, "Oh? It looks like you''re finally awake."


    The woman seemed surprised by Cine''s words but kept her guard up and didn''t say anything.


    Cine facepalmed, looking at this stubborn girl who seemed hellbent on not trusting her. Although she wasn''t expecting anything in return, a ''thank you for saving my life'' would be nice.


    "In case you''re curious, I''ve been taking care of you for about a year now. I don''t know how long you''ve been injured, but based on your wounds about a year ago, you looked like you were injured recently since you were on the brink of death. Oh, my name is Cine, by the way." Cine said indifferently and was about to begin meditating when she heard the woman''s voice.


    "Why…?"


    "Hmm? Why what?"


    "...Why''d you save me?"


    Cine stared at the woman for a few seconds with the same nk look on her face, which made the woman feel somewhat ufortable.


    "Because I wanted to."


    "Eh? But why?!"


    The woman was confused and demanded a real answer from Cine.


    Hearing the woman''s words, Cine had a sudden urge to knock her back unconscious, but she decided against it. She''s spent nearly a year taking care of her all in hopes of the woman regaining consciousness. She can''t knock her out as soon as she wakes up, right?


    "Look, I just felt like it. I found this cave, and since it fit my requirements perfectly, I decided to make it my temporary home. However, I discovered your unsightly body knocked out at the end of the cave. You didn''t have any loot on you, and I don''t feel right killing someone I don''t know who is on the brink of death. Since this cave was perfect for my needs and because I didn''t feel like killing your pitiful self, I can''t simply let a nearly dead person rot away in my temporary home. That being the case, I decided to use all the healing pills I had me all in hopes of you regaining consciousness. Essentially, you lived because I didn''t want to dirty up my little cave."


    The woman''s eyes and lips were twitching nonstop as Cine spoke, and she began regretting questioning this crazy woman''s motives.


    "Ahem! I-I see. Thank you for saving me. I''ll be sure to repay this favor in the future. Oh, my name is Asami Sasaki, by the way." Asami said, avoiding eye contact with Cine.


    "Asami, huh. Well, I''ll be staying here for the next ten months or so. If you need help with anything, feel free to ask me. Though I''ll warn you again, I don''t have any more healing pills. Oh, but I do have plenty of food with me. That should help with some of your blood loss. I need to meditate now, so try not to disturb me."


    Cine tossed a spatial ring full of food near Asami and immediately started meditating.


    Asami''s lips twitched uncontrobly, but she didn''t say anything as Cine had already done more than enough.


    It''s just:


    ''Why do I feel so irritated whenever she opens her mouth? Can''t she just speak normally?''


    Asami thought to herself.


    However, soon her expression turned into shock when she felt a unique aura radiating around Cine, who was deep in meditation.


    ''No way! Has this girl actuallyprehended Intent?! No, this isn''t quite Intent, but she''s not that far from achieving it. A genius! She''s a fucking genius! How old is she? She''s only at the Peak of the Foundation Realm, so she can''t be that old! But why is she out in the mountains? Wouldn''t it be better for her to meditate in a safe ce in a city or Sect?''


    Asami tried specting Cine''s origins, but she''s never seen or heard of a person who looked or acted like Cine, nor has she heard the name Cine before.


    ''Well, whatever. Cine said she''s going to be staying here for another ten months or so. I should be able to learn more about her during this time. But first, I have to heal these nasty wounds.''