After a while, Raymond thought of a way to do it.
Use a skill.
'I remembered this skill, maybe I can use it to make it happen! Check the market!'
Boom!
A list of available skills popped up, and he looked at the one he'd been eyeing.
[First Responder]
[Classification: Support Skill
Rank: Rare
Skill Level: D
-This skill is for healers who act as first responders!
-Gain the ability to rescue patients isolated in the wilderness!
-When rescuing patients, you will unleash the abilities of an 'Experienced Ranger'!
-As your skill level increases, your rescue abilities will increase!]
'A Healer should go, in case there are injuries that need urgent attention. I'll go.'
Raymond decided.
'Of course, I can't just go for free.'
He decided to use this opportunity to squeeze as much out of the mulberry as he could.
"I'll go."
"...!"
Everyone looked at Raymond in surprise.
Even Duke Leif was surprised.
"Baron Penin, you will step forward?"
"Yes. Lord Elmud must be injured. It is my job as a healer to treat him."
"Do you realize it could be dangerous?"
Raymond made a deliberately sad face.
"Indeed, I am fully aware of the risks. However, as a healer, I have a responsibility to my patients. I cannot simply stand idly by when there is someone in need. It is my duty to take these risks."
The sound of his self-sacrificing voice shook the barracks.
Everyone looked at Raymond in admiration, especially the knights who had been jealous of him until now.
'Such a heart.'
'We don't have the courage to come forward either.'
For a moment, they genuinely admired Raymond.
It was a misunderstanding, of course.
Raymond had a black heart.
'Okay, successful image making.'
His first dark thought was that he had just demonstrated image-making!
The knights would look at him with new eyes from now on.
Next up,
'I'll use this opportunity to win the favor of Marquis Aris.'
Gaining the favor of Marquis Aris, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, would help him in many ways.
'I'm taking a leap of faith, so I'll make the most of it and utilize the support to my advantage in the future!'
So Raymond set out to the rescue.
***
It was urgent and a rescue team was immediately organized.
People skilled in mountain searching were selected.
Among them was Christine.
"Why are you going?"
"Master is going, and I'm going with you. Just hold my hand tight, and I'll protect you."
"...Do you know how to climb mountains?"
"Somewhat. Don't you know I'm a genius? I can do anything with my body."
She was not just saying that, Christine was a genius.
Not only was she smart, but there was nothing she couldn't do.
"I don't think this is the time to worry about me, do you? You have to be careful, Master, you could fall at any moment."
Christine was genuinely worried about Raymond.
"I'll take the lead, and you can hold on to my hand as you climb down."
Raymond shook his head.
He appreciated the concern, but it was unnecessary.
'Use Skill, First Responder!'
[The 'First Responder' skill has been activated!]
[You possess the abilities of a seasoned ranger!]
And that's not all.
[You're rescuing a patient!]
[Your 'Heart of Steel' skill is activated!]
[Your 'Heart of Steel' and 'First Responder' skills synergize!]
[You become a 'Brave Rescuer'!]
A skillful body and a heart of steel became one.
Raymond galloped down the rough mountain path to the base of the cliff.
It was a sheer slope with no path, not a horse trail.
But Raymond expertly rode down the slope.
'I don't know what kind of injury he might have suffered, and we need to get him out as soon as possible. Let's hurry.'
With that thought in mind, he moved quickly. He was like a squirrel.
Christine and the other members of the rescue party were wide-eyed at the sight.
'No, how?'
'Like a ranger?'
This was especially true of Sir Ballast, the senior knight in charge of the rescue team.
He was a ranger himself, so he knew what a big deal that was.
'Was there a particular reason why His Highness Duke Leif ordered me to do this?'
For the record, he was given a special assignment by Duke Leif in secret.
'Keep an eye on Baron Penin's 'movements'.'
'Movements?'
'Yes.'
At the time, he didn't quite understand what the order was.
But at this moment.
Lord Ballast thought in disbelief.
'There's no way Baron Penin was trained as a ranger, and yet he can move like that?'
Lord Ballast swallowed hard.
'...A prodigy, gifted by the heavens with an exceptional body?'
Duke Leif must have found out by some chance and ordered him to watch!
'Come to think of it, he defeated His Highness Seitil in a duel, and he never learned to use a sword.'
In retrospect, it was inscrutable.
Something so outrageous that he dismissed it as a coincidence.
But now he saw it.
It wasn't a coincidence.
Baron Penin was a genius.
And an enormous one at that.
The rescuers looked at Raymond in awe, and thankfully, they all made it to the bottom of the cliff without incident.
Then Raymond's work began in earnest.
"There are signs of a human passing by on this side."
It wasn't just that he was good on the mountain, he didn't miss the slightest trail.
It was like watching a veteran ranger.
'What?'
Lord Ballast exclaimed once more, this time with confusion.
'That's not just physical prowess. Yes, instinct. It's a natural sense of insight!'
Without knowing the effects of the 'First Responder' skill, he could only assume.
'I thought he was just a good healer, but he's not. Baron Penin is a stroke of genius, both physical and mental.'
Lord Ballast drooled.
'Such a perfect person exists.'
In all his life he had never met a person so perfect in every way as Raymond.
In the midst of his admiration, Sir Ballast asked a question.
'What is Duke Leif going to do?'
Raymond is Seitil's enemy.
This fact is widely known.
From Seitil's perspective, defeating Raymond is the correct course of action.
Given Raymond's exceptional capabilities, he undoubtedly poses a significant threat to Seitil.
But what has Duke Leif decided regarding Raymond?
Will he favor his blood nephew, Seitil, or not?
Just then, Sir Ballast's gaze fell upon the intended target.
In the corner, amidst the bushes, he spotted a silver-haired boy!
"Lord Elmud!"
"Keuk."
Raymond's face went rigid.
He was covered in blood!
"Ugh."
"Sir Elmud, open your eyes!"
He checked for consciousness, but there was no response.
He only groaned with a pale complexion.
"Apprentice, vital signs!"
"I'm checking! B.P. 50/30, pulse 150!"
B.P. 50/30, massive blood loss, severe shock!
'Where is he bleeding from?'
He asked quickly.
'Upper arm! He's got a cut on his upper arm! Arterial bleeding!'
The upper arm referred to the section of the arm above the elbow.
Elmud had tumbled from the cliff, his forearm slashed by a sharp rock, evidently severing an artery.
Raymond's gaze fell upon a cloth tightly bound around the wound.
It seemed Elmud had managed to tie it himself, attempting to stem the bleeding.
'He's heard of the emergency hemostasis training I gave the soldiers before they left. That's why he's still alive.'
If you leave an arterial bleed untreated, you won't survive long.
He thought he was still alive because he performed the hemostasis.
He must have benefited from the physical prowess of a Sword Expert who has reached the level of a quasi-superhuman.
'But that's the limit. If it weren't for the Sword Expert's strong body, he'd definitely die. We need to give him first aid right now!'
"Rapid infusion of fluids and blood transfusion will be performed!"
"Yes!"
The treatment for hypovolemic shock was one.
The missing fluids and blood had to be replaced!
Christine moved quickly, grabbing a blood vessel in a now-familiar motion, connecting the IV, and running a simple blood cross test with Elmud's blood.
'Good thing I brought the blood in the ice cube artifact.'
Ice Cube Artifact.
It was a magic tool he had commissioned from the Magic Tower to store blood before he went into battle.
For your information, these were also very expensive.
They cost 3,000 pence a piece.
Bad wizards.
Cross-testing confirmed that it was transfusable, and he immediately connected the blood vial.
"..."
The rescue team watched the intensive treatment with bated breath.
Fluid and blood rapidly entered Elmud's body.
Was it because he was an advanced Sword Expert?
Fortunately, he responded positively to the treatment.
His complexion improved, and his breathing became more steady.
Raymond checked Elmud's blood pressure once more, finding it had risen to 90/50.
"Is he going to be all right?"
An anxious knight inquired.
It was Marquis Aris, Elmud's father.
"Yes, it appears he has overcome the critical stage."
"Ah, thank the heavens, thank you, Baron! It is all thanks to you."
The knight expressed his gratitude sincerely.
However, Raymond's expression remained tense.
"...It is not yet over."
"What do you mean?"
The statement left everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Raymond bit his lip hard.
'His brachial artery is injured.'
The brachial artery, a crucial blood vessel supplying the entire arm, posed a significant problem.
Being an end-artery meant there were no alternative vessels to take over its function.
If left unrepaired, the area beneath it would suffer from inadequate blood supply, leading to potential tissue necrosis.
'How much time has passed?'
Raymond nervously calculated the time that had elapsed.
It was now morning, approaching noon, since he had embarked on the rescue mission straight after the dawn operations meeting.
He'd slipped and fallen late last night, so almost twelve hours had passed.
'I hope the blood vessels aren't severed and completely deprived of blood supply, otherwise even a strong Sword Expert's body wouldn't be able to withstand it.'
Raymond thought hard.
'But it won't last until we get back to the barracks. I need to do something now.'
Action.
Emergency surgery would have to be performed.
Otherwise, Elmud would lose his arm.
But there was a problem.
'Vascular repair surgery is not my strong suit.'
Raymond clenched his fists.
He'd become a specialist, but the same specialist can be very different.
Raymond is a "junior specialist," just starting out.
And vascular repair is a complex procedure that is not easy for a junior surgeon to perform.