The proofreader Sarah quickly set up while saying. "I'm awake... ooooww". Sarah blinked rapidly and then said, "you could have warned me that you would do a diagnostic test, those things always mess me up." Clutching her head with both of her hands and her knees raised to her chest. She said, "oh, hey, you got me a new body." Sarah looked down at her hands, which gleamed in the repair bay lights." Why am I wearing an engineering uniform?"

- "I don't have blueprints for officer uniforms. Oh, and here's a thumb drive containing video logs of some of the creatures I had to fight, I need your help on designing some better defenses.

-Sarah took the thumb drive and put it into a slot just below her rib cage." Wait, they got into the ship. How strong are they, you hit them in the eye, and it bounced off?"

- "Yes, the creatures in this world are insanely strong. I was hoping you would have a better idea on what to use against them."

- "One of the things we can do is electrifying the hallways. From the videos, I think they have something to do with ice-related powers. Maybe try superheating the floors, You know the leidenfrost effect. That should make it so that the wolves have no traction, and you'll be able to either keep them from going forward or have them fallen to holding cells."

- "I can't electrify the hallways because electricity quickly drains when it goes over any distance. But I can superheat the floors. I can convert one of the rooms at a sharp turn to be a holding cell and replace the floors there with forge panels. They should be able to get hot enough within 30 seconds or less. The wolves should have no traction at that turn, and they should go sliding into the cell."

-Sarah then clapped her hands and said. "right so that should fix the Wolf problem, but we still need to figure out a better way to take care of any of the other creatures."

- "I actually have this weird ability that makes it so I can copy life that dies inside the ship. Since a few of the wolves died here, I'm able to make a weak version of them. They have no skills or abilities, and they can't learn anything without a soul. But I was planning to attach a harness with high-powered rifles to their back to see if that helps us any."

- "Ability, what you mean?"

- "I'm not 100% sure on this, but when our cores come into contact with the atmosphere, we get something called the HUD. It's supposed to train you in basic magic. Mine specialized in making dungeons. The humans got their own HUD, Carol who was the head of medical ended up getting healing abilities. Andrew was a nurse who got ranger abilities. Steve Also a nurse, got alchemy. You may get abilities to if you're core exposed the atmosphere. But when I was exposed something tried to take me over, so I'd like to do more experimentation, before risking your core."

-Sarah now looked at me like I was a madman. "Wait, you expose the humans to an unknown atmosphere with chemicals that we know nothing about?"

- "Okay, when you put it like that you make it sound like I meant to do that, but I tested the atmosphere before I exposed them to it and nothing came up. Even now, I still can't figure out what's causing the new abilities."

- "Have you done a full spectral analysis sweep?"

-Sounding sheepish I said, "Noooo, it didn't know I had to, I just use the Scout drone and its information."

-Sarah facepalm "well at least I can take care of that, for now, I'm going to get started on repairing the ship. Can you give me control over the drones?"

- "Yes and no. I can't give you full control, but I can make it, so they listen to you. I can also give you nine more bodies so you can oversee the work, but I can't give you direct control over any of the worker drones. Not unless I designed to be that way anyways. They use a weird crystal to communicate between them and me, and I don't know how to give that over to you.

- "Well, at least it's better than nothing And I will finally have something to do. The first thing we'll need is at least two dozen combat drones. Don't bother with the wolves just yet. We don't have the facilities to train and keep them. I will make sure to build some of those. Also, the sniper rifle you have over there is a good idea. Make sure to get bring up at least 30 of those. I'll have to make an armory as well so many things to build."

Sarah wandered off smiling. I guess she was just happy to be doing something again. Sarah and I kept working through the night and in the morning. I called Carol to talk about opening the command deck.

Sarah was still half asleep when she answered." We'll have to wait a few days before we actually go and wake them up. Stevens has been getting more and more knowledge from the library. Andrew has been actually taking lessons in the arena. So we're learning a bit more about how magic works here. And I'm bankrolling both of them from the money I'm getting from healing adventurers. It's probably going to be about a week before we head back to the base and unlock the command deck. Is there any reason why we need to open a now?

- "No, I just wanted to see what you guys opinion was."

- "Okay, well, for now, send back your infiltrator and will keep it in one of the rooms in case we need you here."

- "Okay, I'll do that but make sure to put in your earpieces in case we need to get in touch with each other"

- "I hate wearing those things know how uncomfortable they are?"

- "Nope, and I never will hehe."

Carol hung up.

Sarah and I kept working on the base for about a day and a half. It was the morning of the third day after Carol first started healing when I got a report from a Scout drone.

Scout drone: sightings of an all-terrain vehicle heading towards irontown, sending images.

Images showed a picture of what looked to be a hover car. It was weird because it had runes all along the outside edge. It looked more like a limo than a carriage. Its made out of wood, and the panels were painted white with golden sigil's written on the surrounding base, and the sigils were glowing. Maybe it was a magical vehicle of some kind. This was the first time I've ever seen enchantments, so I was curious.

While I was watching the vehicle, I got a call from Steve"hey Cray, something's going on with the guards. It won't let us leave the inn, and they won't let Carol heal any more of the injured adventurers. Do you know what's going on?"

- "No, I was just watching a vehicle come up to the town, give me a minute I'll send my infiltrator back over there."

I hung up the radio and looked towards Sarah "something's going on. I need to get the dropship up and running now." Sarah nodded while saying. "right, I finish that earlier this morning. All it needs is to be loaded up with the combat drones and that one combat Mech." I smiled, Just from thinking about it. "yeah, I probably won't get to use it. I'll send 10 of the combat units, that should be enough to take care of any problems.

Combat Mechs are 4 m tall, slow and customarily required a human pilot. This one had reverse articulated legs and four arms, two of which were a meter long and attached at the center of the chest. The second set was 2 meters long and is for caring around much heavier equipment, such as a minigun or a rail cannon. The smaller hands have five fingers and, the larger only had three digits each. I had to quit this one with a 3 m long rail cannon and set it up as a wandering boss. I had also attached a large ammo backpack to it in the same machine gun I'd used against the wolves was given to the smaller set of arms. The machine-gun had a camera mounted to it This time, so I could aim using the camera.

I'm hoping to one day be able to upgrade the Mech to have the same agility as the combat drones right now he's just too bulky and slow, and technology could only get me so far. I'm hoping magic will fix the agility and movement speed. Now I'm also really hoping to get those enchantment runes and see what I can do with them.

-I need to focus on the current problem "Sarah, can you send one of your drone copies on the ship to pilot it?"

- "Yeah, I can do that. Are we planning on attacking and extracting the medical team."

- "Not just yet. Let's figure out what's going on First. The guards haven't taken them. But they aren't being allowed to leave the Inn. So circle the town with the dropship until we know it's needed.

I watched as one of Sarah's copies begin walking over to the hanger while she was doing that I switched back to the infiltrator. I opened my eyes "seriously again. Stop putting blankets and clothes over me." Irritated I pulled the clothes off of me and opened the door going down the stairs to the main lobby. When I started getting to the bottom of the stairs. A guard stopped me. I looked around, and there were eight guards in the room along with Carol, Andrew, and Steve. Gard, who stopped me spoke. "Sorry, this is kingdom business, you'll have to leave."

Carol then spoke up "he's with us"Gard side and then brought me over to them. He then walked back to guard the stairs.

I then asked Carol. "Have you guys figured anything out yet?"

Steve

"Yeah, I was doing some research on Carol's healing when I came across this. It's because of the king, and according to the history books. I got a hold of the reason why there are no more healers. The Royal families killed them off long ago. When Carol reaches her Max level, she will get an ability that reverses the aging process by about six months. Every time she casts it, it will take up most if not all of her mana to do it. The healers are forced to cast it every day continuously. And they're imprisoned for the rest of their lives. And that's only if they don't die from mana sickness first."

Andrew

"The guards got a message from the king saying that he wanted Carol to heal one of the Royal family members. I'm kind of worried though because they could've just come up and got the healing. But instead, they took me for my training and Steve from the library, then took both of us here. They may want us as hostages to make Carol work for them."

Carol

"Ever since we figured out that the magic system is actually more of a training tool. I figured out that I could actually not just heal but break bones and make injuries using my healing abilities."

Andrew and Steve shuddered, and Andrew said. "Yeah, I heard about those experiments. you know they're now calling you the mad doctor right?"

Carol grinned evilly, as she said. "If they want me to fix a small injury for free, then they should Expect a little bit of experimentation."

Cray

"Okay, besides Carol inventing new ways to give me nightmares. Do you guys think I should send a dropship over here to pick you up?"

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Steve

"No, that would be a terrible idea. The whole city has a dome over it. You can't see it unless you hit it, but it's meant to keep out flying monsters. So wait until they bring Carol out of the town walls."

Andrew

"Speaking of which, do you know when they're coming?"

Cray

"I think so. They should be here in the next five minutes If the guards don't stop them at the gate. There's a huge enchanted vehicle that looks like a limousine coming this way. It could be the Royal you're supposed to heal. From what I saw it could easily carry up to 10 people comfortably. Two guards are standing on top, and there's a section on the back that could be carrying something large. Or it's just meant to be a cell, to carry Carol back."

Andrew and Steve looked at each other. Steve looked concerned when he spoke." Cray. If worse comes to worse their only going to need one of us to hold as a hostage."

Carol and I cursed at the same time."Shit"

Andrew spoke in a somber tone "there probably going to take Steve since he doesn't have a combat class like me. Which means I'm expendable."

Steve

"Look, it's probably not going to get that bad. They haven't separated us, and they haven't put us in chains. Hell, they even let Cray in to talk to us."

Carol

"I think that so they would have more hostages."

Cray

"Does everyone still have their weapons."

Steve Carol and Andrew all checked their weapons. Andrew had a new sort strapped to his side and a dismantled bow on the table.

Steve lit up as he said." See, we are still armed. I mean, what kind of guards would let us carry around weapons. If they're planning on kidnapping us."

Carol

"I actually, saved some of the guards a few days ago. Some wild monsters attacked them, and a few had life-threatening injuries, so this might be repayment for that."

I pulled up the video and replayed it." The wild monster was a giant bear that had brown armor growing like scales instead of hair." I did a double take. That thing was way stronger than the wolves. One time the bear swiped its claw and hit a boulder, the boulder shattered into dust. I watch the guards use spears that just cut through its armor like butter. I need some of those weapons.

Cray

"We might have a problem, I watched a video of the guards fighting the bear, and I'm not a hundred percent sure I can take them."

Andrew

"Yeah, your abilities give you a framework. How you use and adjust them is what really makes you stronger. Level 20, means that you've unlocked all your abilities. It doesn't mean that you are amazing though, that comes with real practice and the guard's practice constantly."

Cray

"My infiltrator is level 8 and is nowhere near as fast as the guards that were injured in the forest."

Steve

"Look, we can argue about the best ways to get out of here all day. But these guys are clearly stronger than all of us put together. Not only that but we have no support until we get outside of the city. I think we should hear them out and if worse comes to worse, we can have Cray unload an army on them."

Cray

"Slight problem. I may only have about 50 combat drones. I'm going to have to wait until they get at least two hours out of the city before I can attack."

Carol

"If they hurt either one of you, I'll just rip their arms off," Carol said while smiling.

Andrew

"I think we should start focusing on saving them from Carol."

Cray

"I don't know, if they kidnap her I think it's their fault At that point."

Steve

"Cray, you haven't heard the screams of the people she's experimented on."

Carol

"I'm right here, and I can hear everything. And they knew what they were getting into."

Cray

"Guys, the Scout drones are reporting that the enchanted vehicle is 10 seconds from reaching the outside of the Inn."

While we sat, we could hear a commotion coming from outside. People were whispering and talking in the street about the enchanted carriage. They were saying. "it must be royalty, they are the only ones who can afford and enchanted carriage of the size."

Carol while speaking in a whisper said. "Pretend to be my betrothed. That way they'll ignore my brothers and hopefully just take you and me."

Andrew tried to speak while holding back a grin. "I'm sorry Cray, I hope you two have a nice life together."

Steve burst out laughing. "Oh God, Cray is going to die."

Carol hissed at her brothers. "Be quiet somebody's coming."

The door slowly opened letting in a woman dressed as a priest and a young lady wearing a maid's uniform. The guards in the room came to attention. Two women walked up to her table and sat down. The maid spoke first. "Hello I am the princesses Maid, you may call me Nola. I was sent here because we heard rumors of a healer being in this town. May I ask if any of you are called Carol?"

Carol

"Yes, that's me. I'm the healer, and my name is Carol."

Nola

"May I ask what level you are?"

Carol

"I became level 9 last night. Why have you detained me and my brothers and my betrothed?"

Nola

"It is merely a temporary precaution. We did not want you wandering off before healing The Princess."

Carol

"And what makes you think I'd want to heal the Princess. I've heard what royalty have done to my kind before. "

Nola blanched at this. "Our kingdom has nothing to do with those mistakes, and we are not looking to repeat them."

During their conversation. The priestess had been staring at us one by one. She stopped when she later eyes on me. The priestess continued to stare at me as Nola and Carol talked.

Carol laughed as she said. "Not looking to repeat them. from what my friends and I could figure out you kidnapped us and are now holding us locked up in the Inn."

Nola nonplus answered. "This is a misunderstanding, and you are not going to be kidnapped. We merely wanted to keep you all in one place. To make sure you didn't vanish before healing the Princess. It took us two days to get here, and we didn't want to waste our time. She has been in a great deal of pain, and we wanted to get her healed as soon as possible."

Carol was skeptical when she said." Fine, I'll take a look if she's truly in that much pain I might as well heal her now."

Nola turned around to one of the guards and was about to speak when the priest interrupted her. "Wait, there's something not right. These people aren't who they say they are. Those three aren't even elves, and that one isn't even alive."

Andrew Steve and Carol quickly got up from the table while I pulled out my gun and stood. The guards raised their weapons, while the priest got up from the table, but Nola stayed seated. Everybody stopped moving while staring at each other when Nola spoke. "I figured that out the instant we walked into the room. I don't know what race they are, and I don't care, so long as they can help the Princess. Now, why don't we all sit back down. Guards lower your weapons."

The guards put their swords back in their sheaths, while the priest stood and looked confused. Nola continued speaking. "I'm guessing the elf is the one that's not alive since the other three are too tall and have clearly different bone structures than ours. Now if he would all please sit back down. We can finish this conversation."

Carol put her hand to her for head and sounded angry. "shit I meant to fix that."

Andrew Steve and Carol all set back down slowly. I continued to stand behind them with my pistol pointed at the floor.

Nola

"I thought you were only level 9. How do you have bone grafting already."

Carol

"I haven't needed any other spell, except healing and diagnosed. I already have advanced knowledge of anatomy. Like how normally bones grow. The magic spell just makes it a lot easier to shape them."

The Priestess

"Wait, you are just going to ignore that they are not elves, I'm not even sure what he is." she pointed and glared at me.

Nola

"I am guessing your all giants from the artifacts, am I correct?"

Carol quickly looked at Andrew and Steve then looked back and let out a sigh." Yes, we are."

Nola

"I have no interest in the reason for your group being here. If you heal the Princess, I will let you all go, unharmed."

The priestess continued to glare at me when Carol finally spoke "fine, let's get this over with, bring her inside, and I will work on her. Then we can go our separate ways."

Nola nodded and walked outside while saying"this will take a minute I'll need help bringing her in."

About a minute later Nola, two guards in plate mail, and two more priestesses walked inside. The two priestesses were carrying a heavily padded litter between them. Inside the bedding was a young girl wrapped head to toe in bandages.

The girl was unconscious and was missing her right arm from the elbow down. I couldn't see what other damage had been done because of the blankets covering her. The girl was sweating and was having trouble breathing. When Carol saw her, she immediately got up from her chair and started walking over to Princess. The two guards in heavy plate got between Carol and the Princess, but Nola told the guards to move out of the way.

When Carol examined the girl, Carol's face started getting more angry with each injury she found. Finally, Carol hissed at the maid." You, idiots, have not been letting her heal, you've been trying to forcibly use magic to seal up her wounds, but instead, you've been causing them to stay open. She must've been unconscious for months now. How long ago was she injured?"

Nola spoke in a whisper "seven years."

Carol now looked horrified. She looked back at the patient and then her face went cold. Carol started giving out orders and a stern voice." Steve, Andrew, come here and help me. Cray, I need an emergency medical table, how long will it take you to get here?"

I blinked in surprise. This must be serious if Carol wants me to reveal that we have equipment like this." I can have it here in three minutes if I rush."

Carol

"Do it, take one of the guards with you. I need that equipment now."

Nola held up her hand to stop me as I started to leave." Why do you need equipment? Don't you just heal her with your magic?"

Carol now furious yelled. "everybody out of the room now. Nola if you stop one of my orders again, I will leave her here to die."

Nola blanched and watched as Carol continued to work on undoing all the bandages that had wrapped up the Princess. She then ordered the guards to leave the room except for the two were in plate mail. Nola stayed and watched as I walked outside and grabbed one of the random guards and said. "You're coming with me. I need help getting through the gates to grab some equipment." I started running to the gates as I ordered a delivery drone to carry the medical equipment from the base at top speed.

I didn't even bother with stealth this time as the drone came straight up to the gates. The two guards that were usually standing there in the third guard I drag along all looked with horror as the drone came right up to me and dropped a package at my feet. The drone then turned around and left. I picked up the box and turned around to the guard and said "well, you heard the orders, we don't have time to stand around. move your feet, Let's go."

The two guards who stand at the gate started to pull out their weapons when the guard I grabbed from the Inn said." Wait, he's with me. We were given orders by the royal family to bring back some equipment from the gates." The guards looked at each other and then lowered their weapons. The guard and I quickly ran back to the Inn.

When we got back, I was let inside, and I gave the medical table to Carol. She had already replaced the lost arm and foot while I was gone. Carol looked up at me and said"great. Now we can figure out how much brain damage, I'm dealing with here."