After some time had passed, I opened my eyes to find myself laying down on a big, white bed, inside a strange room made out of wood, and I was covered in bandages. I tried getting up, to check where I am, but my skull throbbed the moment I tried moving. "Ow–" Lifting my arm was also impossible, I was too weak to even slightly move it.
All of a sudden, a mysterious, calm and feminine voice came from right next to me. "You shouldn't try to move yet. You're pretty messed up." I gasped, startled. I had not the slightest clue there was anyone with me in the room. "Who… who are you?!"
"Calm down.. I'm just a nurse following orders." She replied with an exhausted voice, followed by a soft sigh.
I noticed she was mixing something in a bowl, but after taking a good look at her, I realized she did not seem dangerous.. nor did she seem like she was lying. She looked like she was used to these kinds of situations. Not to mention, she looks very exhausted with dark bags under her eyes.
I turned the other way, staring at the wall, embarrassment covering my face. I asked, nervously "Is she alright..?"
She turned her head to face me, "Who is she?"
"The red haired girl.." I replied back to her.
"Oh, you mean Anna." the nurse said casually, her eyes softening as she spoke. "She was fine—just some slight injuries.."
I let out a big sigh of relief, knowing the girl that had protected me was doing well. "I'm glad.." A weight was lifted off my chest, but then the memory of what happened at the end of the battle flashed in my head.
I turned to ask the woman a question once more. "But who was that guy who attacked the beast? He cut its arm off with a single blow.."
She stopped mixing with the spoon, turning her head back to me. Her eyes widened slightly with a mix of surprise and something else, maybe disbelief.
"You seriously don't know the silver knight?" Confusion overtaking me, I thought to myself, "Silver Knight..? What's that supposed to mean?"
"N-no..?" I said with a nervous look on my face. The woman let out another sigh, as she turned around to mix her ingredients once again, she then replied back saying "That was the Silver Knight, Lucan. One of the strongest in the entire Aelorian Empire..." she stopped, then continued, mumbling, "...after the Aeons."
My eyes widened, as something more confusing had been revealed to me. "Aeons..?"
The woman, once more let out another sigh. "Where exactly are you from to not know that?" Putting on a serious face, she said "Aeons are special-beings, with special powers. Their powers could defeat any foe. Yet most of them stay neutral, doing neither good nor evil. They are completely mysterious. Some of them are even pronounced dead."
I replied back to her "I see.."
A couple of days have passed, with the same routine everyday. I wake up, eat my daily breakfast and lunch handed out by the nurse, then take my medicine and rest. I'd grown bored and tired of it, but it gave me enough time to think about what I needed to do next.
"You're free to go now, but be careful next time and don't jump in fights like that." the nurse told me, as I was getting up from my bed. "Yeah.." I replied back, with a nervous look on my face.
During my stay here, I had made up my mind, and found out more about this world. I had two main objectives; Get stronger, and find the truth behind this summoning. After everything I'd been through, it all felt painfully real. There is no other meaning to this besides that it is true and I am not dreaming.
To get stronger, I had to find ways of doing that first. It won't work out like how it would have in my old world, after all there are fantasy powers and mana everywhere in this world. I just need a way to understand them, once I am able to do that I can then focus on training my physical body.
I didn't want to get stronger just because of the guilt I felt from my last battle, but because of what happened in my past life as well. I need to take this opportunity to the maximum and change how I am. Even in another world, the past still haunts me.
Staying here for a couple of days gave me many chances to ask the nurse more about this world. The reason I got permission to leave so early even after suffering multiple injuries is because of the nurse's healing 'power', or what they would call a core.
A core is a space within the mind that lets you channel mana from the air around you. Most people are able to use their cores, but some aren't so free to do that. They lack a core, but what makes up for it is even stronger powers hidden deep within them. Instead of just a space in their mind, they have it in their literal soul, allowing them to use many different types of abilities and powers alike. Their names are Blanks. Indicating the blank inside their own soul, which holds mysterious powers, and lets them channel more mana than an advanced core inside a normal person. Lucan is apparently a Blank.
The nurse had only a core, and could use up to advanced healing abilities. Nothing special, though. It can heal as much as a scratch but when used more in a day, it will obviously heal more. That was everything I've heard and understood from the nurse so far.
I wonder if I even hold a core at all..
After I was done gathering my thoughts— I took back my clothes that I was using when I got summoned here. They were washed cleanly by the nurse, without a single stain left.
Then I thought it was time to leave. I walked towards the door. I thanked the nurse while she was still stirring ingredients in a bowl, for the care she's given me these days and stretched my hand towards the door handle, but as I was about to open the door, I heard a familiar voice. "Excuse me."
The door was opened, my eyes slightly widened, "Huh?" I said with a confused look covering my face. I was frozen in place out of confusion. Moving my head to see who this person was, I looked and saw it was the woman who helped me and sacrificed herself to protect me. "Oh, it's you!" she said while looking worried, yet relieved as well. "H-hello.."
She moved out of the way, so I could exit the nurse room. Before leaving, I felt the urge to thank the nurse and tell her farewell before exiting, especially since for some reason, I had a free stay here, but I never got the chance to really ask about it.
So I once again thanked the nurse for her care and told her goodbye. As she was sitting down, still mixing ingredients on the table, she let out a sigh, and said "Just leave." I nodded in obedience and as I was closing the door, I noticed the nurse smiling, even slightly. It gave me a weird sense of relief.
As I closed the door and looked back at Anna, she said "Well.. I have a lot to say." Nervously, I said "Look, Anna. I am sorry for being a coward, and hurting you–" "No." she replied, cutting me off.
"It wasn't your fault. It was mine for being too weak, I could have done a lot more."
Yeah. If I wasn't there… She was disappointed in herself for acting too rashly, but she was also obviously happy to see me again. "You're too kind." I mumbled, quietly, with a smile on my face. "Huh?"
"Don't worry about it." I told her, brushing it off. She looked very confused, but then it looked like she had something else to say almost instantly "Also, how do you know my name?" she said.
...
I was a bit surprised I let that slip. After a brief moment of silence I said, breaking the silence, "The nurse back there told me about you.."
She raised her eyebrows as she thought once more of something to say "Oh!" She then said "Speaking of names, I haven't learned your own name."
"I am Alex, just Alex." I thought it was best to leave out my family name, after what had happened between my father, and my own parents in general. "That is a nice name!" She said back to me, with a big smile covering her face.
Then, all of a sudden she put on a serious face and said, "In any case, I must tell you something more important." I was surprised this conversation took a sudden turn, but I was ready to hear it. We were just talking about a close fight, anyway.
"Yeah..?" I nervously replied back, with a worried face. I was scared of what she has to say. Hopefully I didn't break a rule by trying to fight back that monster, or something..