Staring up at Elise, I tried speaking but my throat was too dry, it hurt to try and speak. Seeing me trying to talk, Elise smiled and helped me sit up in the bed and grabbed a glass of water. Trying and failing to grab it, my hands were stiff and couldn’t hold it as the glass nearly fell from my hands. Catching it, Elise held it up and helped me drink, slowly pouring the water into my mouth as I drank as quickly as I could.
After two glasses of water, Elise carefully laid me back down and pulled a blanket over me. Sitting down next to me, she huffed and looked at me with some anger. Seeing her eyes, I could tell she also looked tired, like she hadn’t slept for some time.
Before I could speak, she moved her hand and gave me a soft chop on my head.
“Idiot. Three times. Three times you nearly died while they were treating you. You burned your mana veins, nearly destroyed your mana realm, your right leg was nearly unhealable and your body had nearly fallen apart. You have no idea how worried everyone has been, especially Elizabeth, she’s been holed up at that inn, refusing to come out because she feels nothing but guilt.”
Hearing Elizabeth’s name, I felt relieved…so she’s alive. As the rest of Elise’s words slowly tumbled in my mind, I started to realise the full scale of what occurred. Without waiting for me to speak…or try to at least, Elise folded her arms and continued staring at me.
“Bloom and Leon are fine, they’re experienced fighters and avoided serious injury, both were just exhausted. Amelia lost a hand and ear, and now fears anything that resembles a bear. Alice has been sleeping ever since, and before you panic she’s fine and being taken care of, she just exhausted a lot of her magic.
“Elizabeth lost an arm but kept her life. She was seriously injured because of the blow she took. Aubrey has lost two levels due to using her lifeforce to keep you stable. And finally you, the worst of the lot.”
Holding up a hand in a fist, she raised a finger. “Your mana veins were completely burnt out.” Raising another finger, she continued. “Your mana realm nearly shattered, in fact I’m surprised it didn’t. Your life as an adventurer should’ve ended with just those two, but for some reason your veins and realm have completely recovered. We have no idea why, however someone has obviously assisted you in recovering them.
“Third, your body was falling apart, in fact when you were found you were dying. It’s been three weeks since then, and it’s taken that long to finally stabilise your body and stop it from dying. Fourth, you lost your leg. A benefactor called in a favour to have it regrown, however it’s completely new meaning you don’t have your previous strength with it.”
With four fingers raised, she looked down at me angrily before her face slowly softened as I digested everything she’d said. Slowly smiling at me, Elise pats my head.
“However, you managed to save everyone there. Whatever spell or magic you used nearly ripped you apart from the inside, but it worked. You killed the bear, if you didn’t, no one knows what would’ve happened. A party of Gold adventurers only arrived on the scene about three minutes after your spell. They are the ones who saved your life, thankfully their healer managed to keep you stable. If you want, I’ll introduce you to them once you’re out of this bed.”
Nodding, I wanted to ask about the children but my throat still felt dry. Seeing me trying to talk, Elise spoke like she knew what I was going to ask. “The children and carers from the orphanage all lived, some minor scrapes and bruises, all thanks to you. In fact, you saved more than you may think, some even call you the hero of the slums” Giggling lightly, Elise sat back a bit as I got confused.
“T-the…*cough*...bear*cough*” Trying to speak, my throat was too dry, causing it to itch and make me cough.
Patting me on the head, Elise’s face turned serious once more.
“There is more to this, Alisha. That monster should’ve never appeared there, in fact there is evidence that it was teleported. I don’t know who or what teleported it there, but I’ll want to remind you to be careful. ”
Hearing the hinting tone in her voice, I understood the situation isn’t as simple as it seemed. A name came to mind as I felt my heart sink. The Church of the Moon Goddess. Shaking my head, I didn’t want to think it was them, but I knew it’s likely. Sure, perhaps someone just wanted to cause chaos and it has nothing to do with the Church, but I knew the likely answer.
Sighing, I knew they wouldn’t stop until I was dead, but why did they want me dead? I couldn’t understand that point, I know that they refused to accept me cause I’m part monster, but is their hatred really that deep, or is there something more to this?
“By the way, the new look suits you well.” Hearing Elise’s comment, I turn and tilt my head. Smiling, she points at my head. “Your hair, it’s gone from all black to all silver. So have your ears and tail.”
Frowning, I grabbed some of my hair and pulled it in front of myself and saw that it was indeed silver in colour, similar to Sally’s in colour but with more depth. Looking at Elise with a confused face, I tilt my head as if to ask. Elise shakes her head while shrugging.
“I can only speculate why it happened. The spell you used absolutely drained your mana, and from the recounts I’ve heard you had used quite a bit. The only thing I can think of is that in addition to using every drop of mana, you used a portion of your lifeforce to form and compress that spell.
Even without seeing it myself, the spell you used was powerful enough to kill a level 100, which sure was seriously injured, but shouldn’t have been possible. Though, that spell did rip you to shreds…”
Saying this, Elise stands up and looks at me. “I’ll leave you so you can recover in peace. You should be mentally prepared though. The city awards those who performed outstanding deeds during times like monster tides, however they don’t acknowledge what you accomplished. In saying that, the adventurers at the Guild now all know about a white haired girl with fox ears and tail that defeated a level 100 while only being level 27. The Guild plans to reward you as well, since the Guild does acknowledge what you have done.
“They will want to drink with you, praise you or even perhaps attempt to defame you. All I will say is, do not let it get to your head. You were incredibly lucky, Alisha. The bear had been so severely injured, allowing you to dodge its attacks. If you came across that bear while it had no injuries, you’d have died before even knowing it attacked you. I don’t want to see you walk around thinking you’re the best, just keep doing what you do, and always remember that danger lies around the corner.”
Smiling at me, she ruffles my hair. “I have to go. I was only here to check up on you, don’t go trying to run out. I’ll let everyone know you’re alive and well tomorrow. Rest for today.” Turning, Elise walked until she exited the room. Laying back, I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander. After recovering, I had to go back to the Tomb of Lilith and keep levelling, even if I had to risk my life right now gaining strength was the most important thing…
Recalling the words of Teacher Lee and Cerberus, I jolted out of my thoughts. Just going and levelling would gain me strength through the System yes, but I needed more than just that. I need to learn more magic, train my body more and learn more stances. The stance Teacher Lee taught me has gotten me this far, but perhaps learning more would allow me to fight in different situations.
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With a sigh, I planned to ask Elise what I could do, or if she knew people that could teach me. Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the System and all of the notifications it had.
You have created a new spell. The created spell uses a magic that is beyond you. While you are able to reuse this spell, doing so will cause harm to your body and potentially lead to your death.
Midnight: Puts the target into an eternal slumber, ending its life. Can be resisted.
Cost: 100,000 Mana and a portion of your lifeforce.
Blinking at the spell, I now understood completely why this spell had nearly killed me. The sheer mana cost confused me, I didn’t have that much, not even close, even when I was well rested, so where did the rest come from? Remembering my body breaking apart, I figured that had been the reason. Seeing the part about using a portion of my lifeforce, I knew this cost was also high.
Looking at the next notification, it told me about discovering the magic, but due to it being beyond my understanding the System provided no information on what magic it was. Bringing up the next notification, it was about defeating the bear.
You have accomplished a feat considered impossible. You will not be rewarded experience from killing the Elite Disaster-Class Bear due to the sudden increase in levels will harm you. You will be provided an additional reward due to this. You will receive the following:
1x Wish Box of Need
Astrid’s Rapier of Piercing
A hidden condition has been met.
Looking at the two items, I wondered what they were. As I’m about to claim them, I remembered where I was. As if waiting for me to remember my current situation, a lady came from the door and approached my bed. Dressed in a white coat with a white cloth over her mouth, she looked at me before talking.
“Would you like some food, love?”
Feeling how hungry I was, I tried to reply but found my voice was still crocking. Nodding instead, the lady simply nodded as well before leaving the room. Leaning back on my pillow, I checked over my body. It was heavy, my muscles stiff and tired. My right leg didn’t feel right, even though it still moved correctly. Sighing, I did as Elise said and decided to rest.
***
After eating and sleeping for the night, I awoke to the lady who had previously bought me dinner. Not sure of her expression, she handed me another try of food. Before she could leave, I spoke up as best as I could.
“Can I *cough* have my bags *cough* and some clothes?” Seeing her look back at me, she nodded before walking out. A moment later, after I had finished eating, she bought me my bag and a set of clothing, a sleeveless shirt, skirt and underwear. Putting everything on while standing a bit unsteadily, I sat down on the chair next to the bed. I didn’t like laying for so long, and since walking was rather difficult I decided to sit.
Sighing, I considered what to do. I wasn’t used to waiting around to recover, usually my wounds would heal fast, and while they had healed my body still felt heavy and weary. Guessing this was due to my lifeforce being used, I slowly stood and started pacing around slowly.
At first, my right leg was unstable, putting weight on it nearly caused me to stumble over with each step, however as I slowly walked I got more used to the leg. As I’m putting more weight onto the leg, the door slammed open, scaring me as I lost balance and fell to the side.
“Amelia! Help her up!”
Hearing a loud voice, I knew who’d just entered. Feeling an arm wrap around my back and helping me up, I saw the elf named Amelia, her wavy blonde hair covering part of her face. As she helped me back to the chair, I sat down while muttering a thank you before glaring at the one who caused me to lose my balance.
“Missy, yer always welcome teh duke it out with me.” Standing there with his hands on his hips, Bloom gave me a rough smile. Behind him is Leon who was slouching, and when we met eyes, he gave me a silent nod.
Looking at Bloom, I sigh and rub my forehead which throbbed slightly, partly because of hitting the floor and partly because of Bloom’s presence. I didn’t dislike this man, however his loud voice was certainly something I could do without.
“Is there something *cough* I can do for you, Bloom?” Looking up and feeling a bit irritated, Bloom met my eyes as he laughed loudly.
“I came teh see the hero of tha slums!” Loudly speaking, Bloom was about to continue speaking when Amelia smacked his head from behind.
“Idiot. Keep your voice down, she’s still recovering.” Looking towards me, she smiles while slightly bowing her head. “I apologise for this moron. We came to visit and to give you our thanks for saving our lives.”
Looking over Amelia, I could see the missing hand and ear. Not sure how to respond to her thanking me, something I don’t think has happened to me before, I simply smile meekly before nodding. Leon moves over to me before kneeling and placing a hand to his chest before me. Blinking, I wasn’t sure what he was doing.
“Leon can’t speak. In his culture, this is the highest form of thanks one can give, it’s also a pledge to you that he will be willing to give his life for you, if there is ever the need.” Explaining to me, I started feeling a bit panicky.
“N-no, there’s *cough* there’s no need for such a thing.” Waving my hands in front of me, I noticed that Amelia gave me a helpless smile. Holding in yet another sigh, I simply smiled instead and said “I have to *cough* thank you, Leon. If it wasn’t for your *cough cough* spell at the last moment, I *cough* might have died.”
Standing, he reached into a pocket and handed me a strange stone with engravings on it before turning and walking back behind Bloom.
“That stone of yours, your raven will be able to learn something from it.” Speaking in place of Leon is once again Amelia. Nodding, I put the stone away in the bag next to me, though I didn’t know how it would help Alice.
“Missy, I ain’t said this teh many people, but thank ye.” Bloom gives me a nod before looking at Amelia. “Give ‘er that.” Shaking her head, she sent an annoyed glare at Bloom before walking over to me.
“It’s not much, but we pulled a few favours to get you this. It’s an adventurer’s golden ticket.” Handing me a golden metal plate the size of my palm, she smiled. “This will allow you entrance into any dojo in Vale and choose any instructor to become your teacher.”
Tilting my head, I was about to ask her a question when Amelia giggled. “A dojo is a place where they teach martial arts. There are many in Vale. Bloom has said your fighting style has training to it, but it’s very wild, like a monster. We figured having a proper teacher will help you refine your fighting, or if you want to learn a new martial art you can do so. You can choose any in Vale, even those reserved for noble brats.”
Thanking her, she giggled before Bloom spoke up. “We’re ‘ere teh thank ye, not be thanked.” Smacking his head again, Amelia told him to shut up.
“If you ever need anything, and I mean anything at all, come find us. Want us to help you kill some monsters? Kill the king of Vale? Hide a few bodies? We’ll help you without hesitation, I swear this upon my name.”
Waving to me once more, Amelia turned and walked away as Bloom smirked. “Missy, when yer out of ‘ere, I expect a fight.” Turning on the spot with Leon, they left the room as it returned to silence. Realising I hadn't asked the question I wanted to know, about why Amelia hadn't had her ear or hand regrown like they had done for my leg, I decided I'd ask next time.
Not sure how to react to what just happened, I looked over the golden metal plate. It had strange engravings on it and had a faint purple glow to it, something I hadn’t noticed the first time. Nothing displayed from the system, but turning it over I found my name inscribed on the back. Putting the plate, or as Amelia called it, the golden ticket, away into my bag, I sat back while rubbing my eyes. Just talking and listening made me feel exhausted.
Considering laying down and sleeping, the door opened once again. Holding in the sigh that desperately wanted to come out, I turned my head to see a teary eyed Aubrey looking at me, trembling before rushing into me…literally.
“Ah, Aubrey, that hurts!” Squeezing that out as Aubrey crashed into me, I heard her sobbing while hugging me, smothering her face into my shoulder. Soon, she stopped crying as her breathing became soft. Looking down, I saw she’d fallen asleep! Lost, I sat there with her asleep on my lap as one thought ran through my mind…I wanted to sleep too!