Soft, silvery lights of Orn cascaded down the dark skies, gracing everyone and everything in their path with her warmth. It did not matter if the ones receiving her love were humans, Oren Beasts, or even just some inanimate objects like the black sands. In the eyes of the Goddess of Night, all were equal. And everyone deserved her love equally. Or at least those who could receive her love and grace did.

The Lost City, proud and adamant to go its own ways, refused to let the soft light dominate within its territory, using the loneliness, despair, and insanity hidden within its own dim red glow to overpower the love and peace pervading in the air, keeping the Wanderers roaming its streets as vigilant as ever. Just to be sure, it spread the stench of blood in the air to further stimulate the nerves of the Wanderers, as if trying its best to keep them from trusting each other.

There was no space for peace within the Lost City. Except for when Wanderers were in their rooms and manors, of course. Or when they were in the Blood Hall. Large to the point of absurdity, the Blood Hall, standing taller than even fifteen storeys, was emanating the same red light as the rest of the city. Even the stink it carried was the same. If there was any difference, then it could only be the intensity of the stench and light.

Such a grand building, enshrouded in such a gloomy light… It almost seemed as if the building was made for Heterodox Wanderers to gather and let loose. Coupled with how gloomy the Wanderers themselves were… And yet, somehow, as soon as the Wanderers came near the Blood Hall, they lost most, if not all of their gloominess. They still remained wary of others, but not to the extent of treating the entire world as their enemies.

Despite its appearance, the Blood Hall was indeed one of the safest places in the Lost City. Coincidentally, other than the Arena, it was also the only place where Wanderers could get treatment for their injuries. If Wanderers could drag their battered body to the Blood Hall, that is. And had enough Blood Coins to afford their treatment. Unlike the free treatment in the Arena, getting treated in the Blood Hall was expensive.

So expensive, in fact, that even among those who could afford the treatment, unless absolutely necessary, few ever came for the treatment. As such, when Alnea came in with the Star Seekers, there were not many people in the line in front of him. Only two. One with lacerations across his chest and face, and one with severe burns on his left arm from below the elbow. Probably from their battle in the Arena. And they were all being handled by the lone man behind the counter.

“…torn muscles… three bone fractures… bleeding curse… lack of blood… six hundred and fifty Blood Coins…”

“…second degree burn wounds… nerve damage… partial left eye blindness… four hundred and thirty Blood Coins…”

“…Next, let’s see,” said the man to Alnea. “Muscle fatigue, loss in blood, and lack of vitality, probably from detonating your Blood Crystals. There is also some strain from overuse of other Martial Styles… but no dark wounds. You can probably recover on your own in a week or so. Do you really want me to treat you?”

“…I am not here for myself,” Alnea said, pointing to the men lying on the giant makeshift stretcher made from the skin and bones of the Oren Beasts they had killed earlier.

“Your friends?”

“More than friends… They are my teammates.”

“It’s all the same,” the man said, waving his hand. “Carrying others, and helping them get treated… How refreshing…”

“…Just treat them.”

“No need to be so impatient,” the man said. “From what I can see, they have been wounded for hours. Waiting a couple more minutes is not going to affect them much.”

“…I do not wish for them to suffer any more than they already have.”

“…Tsk. Fine. Kids these days have no sense of humour. Anyways, it looks like their wounds are quite heavy. Do you want me to treat them completely, or—

“I want them to get the best treatment.”

“It is going to be expensive…”

“How much?”

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“Let’s see…” the man mumbled, before squinting his eyes, flashing with green light, at the injured Star Seekers. “Second degree burns all over their bodies, multiple hairline and major fractures, internal injuries, and numerous torn muscles… Where exactly did your teammates get such wounds?”

“…In the Black Desert Trials…”

“…Forget it. It does not matter to me anyway. I just need to treat them…”

“…How much?”

“…Details will be known only after I begin healing them, but it should be around ten thousand Blood Coins. Do you think you can afford a complete treatment?”

“…Please start the treatment.”

“Are you sure? Defaulting on payment in the Blood Hall is a very serious offence, you know?”

“…You just heal my teammates, and let me worry about how to pay your fees.”

“As you wish,” the man said, shrugging his shoulders, before pointing to the empty area next to the counter. “Lay them down over here.”

Alnea glanced at Karl and the girls, only to find them all looking back at him. They looked tired, and exhausted beyond their limits. Especially Karl. He looked as if someone had sucked all his life out of him. Given what they had been through during the day though, his reaction was more than understandable. Even Cecilia, who was usually a ball of energy and enthusiasm, had been quiet for most of the past hour. She did not even bother cursing Vestia when the latter tried to lean on his shoulders, and just offered her own shoulders instead. Though she did glare at him…

Still, no matter how tired they were, for their teammates, they found a pool of untapped strength within themselves once again. Nodding in tacit agreement, they picked up the giant makeshift stretcher, and moved it to the place where the man had pointed out, before stepping aside, making way for the man to squat down and examine Zain and the rest in a more detailed way.

“How long is it going to take?”

“…If I concentrate, then maybe around half an hour,” the man said, releasing a white glow from his hand, before placing it on the heads of the injured Star Seekers one by one. “But if you keep talking, then even three hours will not be enough.”

Half an hour… That should be enough, Alnea thought, as he stepped back, and turned towards Karl and the girls. “Stay here. I will be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Cecilia asked in a hoarse, and tried voice. “The Lotus clan…”

“…There will be no Lotus clan involved. I may be reckless at times, but I am not suicidal.”

“Where are you going then?”

“…The counter of the Black Desert Trials.”

“…If it is because of the Blood Coins, then we can just pool our Blood Coins together,” Vestia said. “I am sure that we will have enough—

“No need. You have already done enough, Vestia.”

“I have just done what I should do as a Star Seeker.”

“…Including asking to spend a day with him?”

“…We are all humans, after all. Being a little selfish from time to time is fine…”

“…Forget it. I am too tired to deal with you right now.”

“Then should we—

“It is exactly because we are a team, that I cannot let you contribute this time, Vestia,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “The potions were expedient measures… Things are not so urgent right now. If you keep pouring in your resources into the team without any limits, it will seem as if you are training your subordinates, or as if you are in a cooperative relationship with the team, rather than being a part of the team itself.”

“…But that should hold true for you too…”

“Of course. And not just me. It holds true for everyone.”

“Why are you insisting on paying for their treatment all by yourself then?” Yuri said, staring him into his eyes. “Are you feeling guilty?”

“…I am not so fragile anymore, Yuri. Though everyone was pulled into this mess because of me, they were all aware of my feud with the Lotus clan before they joined the Star Seekers. And they were all warned of the danger that they might face. Even back in the desert, I was always the first to rush towards our enemies, and did my best to ensure everyone’s safety. Not to mention how we rushed back despite our own exhaustion and injuries…

“But that is it. Everyone here is a Wanderer. We can all think for ourselves, and take our own decisions. And we must all be responsible for the injuries that we suffer. The fees for their treatment… I am just paying it upfront for them. When they recover, they will have to pay it back to me. And I am sure that they will be more comfortable if I am the only one holding their debts. So…”

“…Poros fang’s, you can be so verbose at times.”

“…I will be right back,” Alnea said, smiling at Cecilia’s poor attempt of trying to diffuse the tense air, before walking straight towards the counter of the Black Desert Trial. Somehow, it was even more crowded than usual. Though, on second thought, the crowd did make sense. After all, most of the Wanderers taking the Black Desert Trials left the city in morning, and came back at night. If they could complete their quota, that is.

Vestia had told him how most people had to venture into the desert for days, maybe even camp out in the open, before they could complete their quotas, and come back to claim their rewards. Thankfully, the process of collecting the rewards itself was not too cumbersome. And the woman behind the counter did not seem very interested in idle talks. Despite there being nearly thirty people in the queue before him, she took only a quarter of an hour to deal with all of them, before finally turning towards him.