n

n

nEldrian did not rush anywhere after using his points, instead he sat against one of the medical beds. Unlike modern ones, these ones were certainly not comfortable. They were also not on wheels, rather they were quickly constructed wooden structures.

nResting his back against one of the sturdy legs, Eldrian slowly started meditating. Not wishing to leave Kydone alone. It was strange that no one else was here, stranger still how quiet the camp was.

n'What happened?' Eldrian wondered, making sure to never get lost in meditation. He made sure he could still take in his surroundings, something he found hard to do. Meditating tended to be all-encompassing, at the minimum he tried to limit each session to an hour.

nChecking on Kydone in his breaks, and making sure nothing changed for the worse. Eldrian was relieved every time he used his newfound ability and it confirmed that she was alright.

nHis concern was such that he did not even explore this ability no matter how curious he was about what it would be able to show him. He stayed by her side, ready to help if needed.

nBy now it was nearly becoming night, Eldrian having been unconscious in reality for three hours, and four more have passed in the game.

n'Log out? Or?' Eldrian pondered as he checked again that everything was fine with Kydone. He felt guilty, knowing that she would not have stayed to fight if not for him. Stayed to protect him.

n'Why did she do that?' Eldrian wondered, failing to understand. She knew he would not truly die, he had even told everyone that that was precisely his reason for wanting to go alone.

nContemplating while playing with one of his small stalactite-shaped rocks. Those formed by Vrachos which he had made as ammunition. Eldrian's thoughts were interrupted by a whisper.

n

"You're awake,

" Katania whispered after passing Kydone's bed and finally seeing where the missing patient was. She was beyond tired, but she did her best to appear alert and collected before her patient.

n

"Yes, is Kydone alright?

" Eldrian stood up and looked over to the sleeping demi-human. Kydone had curled up into a ball recently, her tail wrapped over her side. She looked extremely cute, if not for the bandage Eldrian would assume she was just sleeping. Not unconscious.

n

"She is. It will take her a few days to recover, a few more before she will be able to do things on her own again.

"

n

"What? Why?

" Eldrian asked,

"I thought you healed her.

"

n

"We did. But the damage she sustained is not just physical, her soul was also damaged. We can't heal that.

"

n

"You can't?

"

n

"No, the best we can do is ensuring her physical condition,

" Katania said, moving over to Kydone and casting the divine equivalent of the Anthos spell line. Except it was divine magic and Tier 6, hence far more effective than anything Eldrian could cast.

n

"She is doing good, do you know if she has woken at all?

"

n

"She has, but only for a few seconds.

" Eldrian replied, Katania smiling in relief. Her facade slipping and her tiredness quickly overcoming her as her last bit of adrenaline left her body.

n

"That is good...

" Katania paused as she fought off sleep.

"It means that all that is left is for her to recover. She is not in danger any longer.

"

nNodding, Eldrian felt extremely relieved.

"What happened after...

" Eldrian faltered to say more, the memory of what happened shocked him deeply and even caused his legs to wobble for a second.

n

"We arrived a few seconds after you managed to kill the ghoul. We weren't sure what happened, but you were both in bad condition. You were already dead, so I focused on healing Kydone. Sorry.

"

n

"No, no-no-no. That is good.

" Eldrian quickly interrupted,

"Always save someone else over me.

"

nKatania nodded, the nod nearly causing her to close her eyes. She was glad that Eldrian was not mad about that.

"After stabilizing her I did not have enough mana to repair your body and revive you...

"

nKatania paused, still shocked by the condition Eldrian had been in.

"We rushed you both to camp, and luckily it seemed that your soul was still around.

"

n

"Yes, ours wanders far longer than your.

" Eldrian said,

"But what happened after. Why is the camp so quiet.

"

n

"That...

" Katania bit her lip as she wondered if Eldrian was stable enough for the shocking news. Him being able to stand was shocking enough, him seemingly full of energy made no sense.

n

"I already know something happened,

" Eldrian tried pushing Katania to share with him what happened. It took a moment, with him explaining the unique method they had for keeping track of their quests.

nKatania was shocked hearing about it and it gave her enough energy to stay awake for the conversation. She knew that something similar was possible even for them, this however, was an interesting upgrade.

nA quest could be guaranteed by the gods, with one simply needing to swear by their name as a guarantee of one's honesty.

nThe method Eldrian explained simply sounded more involved, with the gods actually taking the time to watch over them constantly. This slightly irked her, as a loyal believer of Asteria she felt her years of devotion were being thrown in her face.

nRepeating in her mind that Eldrian and the others like him were Chosen, and that it must be for a reason, Katania managed to cool down.

n

"Alright, what do you know?

" Katania asked, trying to gauge how much she should share. While asking she also took Eldrian outside. Not wishing for Kydone to possibly overhear the shocking news.

n

"Not much, only that some kind of evolved undead escaped,

" Eldrian replied, Katania failing to find the words as this was about all that they knew too. He just did not know what the escape had cost them.

nTaking a deep breath, Katania explained what she knew. She had not personally been there, she only arrived as the Flaming Reanimate had retreated. Just in time to stabilize Pelaros, but not rested enough to actually heal him. Only to be sent back to the camp to make sure Kydone was alright.

nThat was when the undead attacked again, this time in mass. Everyone was still shocked from the news and sightings of the flaming skeleton who almost no one could track.

nThe sudden attack had cost them a great deal. Katania had been working nonstop. She was beyond tired and only barely managed to stay awake to come and see how her first two patients were doing.

nThe attack was so sudden and unorganized that it made no sense. If not for the latter the damage would likely have been unspeakable.

n

"I am going to my tent.

" She said after finishing her short description of what happened. Not wishing to fight off sleep for a moment more.

n

"I-

" Eldrian paused as Katania simply left,

"Dumbass, it was clear she is tired. And hearing what she went through I shouldn't have asked her to explain.

"

nSighing, Eldrian looked down the path between the tents. Many wounded and tired centaurs, humans, and demi-humans returning. Most of the injuries weren't deadly, however, it was clear that the healers must have gone through hell. Quite serious injuries were simply tied with a bandage, some even burned their wounds close instead of getting them healed.

n'Seems not all the natives are ignorant of that method.' Eldrian mumbled, recalling how Erik had complained about the healers he had worked with scoffing at his method. 'Well... They are all dead now.'

nEldrian had meant that as something to uplift his mood, yet it ruined it all the more.

"Fuck, they are all dead.

" He mumbled this a bit louder, the seriousness of the situation hitting him again.

nFinding a nearby spot to sit, Eldrian started meditating again. He needed to get used to the new way his mana flowed. He also needed to learn some Tier 3 spells, heck, he still needed to learn Tier 2 skills.

n

"No time.

" Eldrian thought, again he did not have enough time for everything. Against his better judgment and repeated warnings from Gengxin, Eldrian did not log out until it was time for his PVP matches with the others.

nEven then he only headed to Elizabeth's virtual home. Not waking in reality, Eldrian wanted to use every second he had.

n

"Elizabeth!

" Calling out as he arrived, Eldrian rushed to the other three who had also arrived. Erik and Judith being the two early birds.

n

"What's up?

" Elizabeth asked, the others turning to him in surprise. They had gotten into a certain routine for the matches. Generally, everyone just met and queued, shouting upon arrival was both surprising and irritating so they had stopped doing it.

n

"Can we just do two matches?

"

n

"What? Why?

" Judith asked, not happy to have fewer. Normally they would aim for five if everyone was present. Depending on their luck, if their first two were wins then they generally called it a day. But that was happening less and less.

n

"Because...

" Pausing, Eldrian realized he did not have a proper reason. His wanting to play for nearly 24 hours would simply sound insane.

"I reached Tier 3 too, so if we lose we are going to lose even more points.

"

nNormally reaching a higher Tier should be good news, yet they had learned that it was one of the worst things that could happen in the tournament. It both decreased the points they gained from a win and increased those they lost.

n*AN: If you are not reading on NovelFull, then you are reading a stolen work.*

n