[???'s POV]
'She' tied back her hair and sat back down on the couch with a sigh, crossing her legs. The lanterns hanging on the ceiling spread weary circles of dim light around her.
After Hiyomi had left, it'd been easy enough to tamper with the code and calm down the professor—that way, he'd actually been relatively agreeable.
'She' had sent him on his way back to the Royal Academy after checking the quest log.
I could have just spawned in more potions, but then it'd destroy the quest progression…
[Daffodil] nervously tapped her finger on her lip and cringed inwardly, trying to calm herself. 'She' had played along for the quest, but… would Hiyomi really be alright? Of course, 'she' couldn't interfere with questlines directly—'she' had no jurisdiction there.
'She' was restless.
Very much so.
[Daffodil] rubbed her head.
Sigh… What am I even doing?
Originally, 'she' hadn't even considered borrowing Midori's body again, but when they'd gotten an emergency patch request regarding certain aspects of the game, [Daffodil] had been forced to slip back in.
Not that 'she' was—it was pleasant to see Hiyomi again, but [Daffodil] had stayed long past her expected patching time. If 'she' stayed any longer, 'she' might be inspected by her superiors on the Dev team.
'She' sighed heavily.
No, 'she' had too much work to do… 'she' couldn't afford to waste her time, waiting around. It was getting late. Who knew if Hiyomi had logged out mid-quest at a campsite for the night?
At least, that was what 'she' thought. 'She' just had to wait.
…But why was 'she' even waiting?
- - -
[Hiyomi Asuna's POV]
The next moments flew by like a burning fever as my vision went red.
———
You have killed a player.
Your stats have been shared in the [PVP Leaderboard].
EXP has been distributed.
Additional EXP granted. (+Self-Defence, +Questline Protection)
———
You've leveled up! Attribute points are available!
———
You have killed a player.
…
You have killed a player.
…
You've leveled up! Attribute points are available!
———
"Huff, huff…"
I grasped my arm, my trembling hands, all in an effort to calm myself as I slumped over on my knees. It's fine. It was in self defence. Even the game said so. Even though it was a game, Lucidia was so realistic that it didn't feel like it.
I shivered, looking at the glittering blue stars that marked the places the assassin's party once stood. They winked like little fireflies, and I recognized them from the base PC game.
Ah…
I'm a doctor.
I'd played plenty of games and had killed thoughtlessly, clicking away with a mouse... But now that it was in VR with all these graphics, I…
…
…I don't know. I fucking hate this. The entire reason that I became a doctor screamed against this.
The sound of sniffling snapped my gaze upwards.
Ah, right. There was still one person remaining from the assassin's party. The healer girl. I stood and walked over to her, pulling myself together and blocking out the faint whispers of the flickering fire that still danced from the cart.
My clothes were already in tatters, singed from the fire and fights, leaving way more skin bare than I was comfortable with. I fiddled with the clothes as I strode forwards, trying to pat down the burnt fringes while I kept my gaze to the ground to hopefully hide my flushing face.
And here I was, thinking that we were done with the clothes problem…
Nope.
Stringy holes were left in my leggings, revealing particular patches of skin that were… mmmn. I'm sure the degens among you could imagine.
Either way, if she chose to fight, I probably wouldn't win—I was spent, and my HP was still very much so below its maximum. And honestly, I already felt exposed enough without looking like some half-naked creep on top of it…
And speaking of that, thank you, Lucidia devs. Really. Was the clothes-destruction realism necessary?
…I'm writing you another email. Expect another 4000 plus words.
I clutched my knife as I walked closer, my soot-covered boots rustling against the wild grass. I paused just out of the healer girl's staff's reach.
"A-Ah…" Her eyes swam as her knees quivered. "S-Stay back…"
Oh, boy. Luckily, my flushed face was hidden as sweat rolled down my face from the heat of the cart fire baking my back so I could at least attempt at modesty.
"I don't want to hurt you," I said. "But then again, you were with them, so… I'm not sure what to do with you."
I was bluffing about being able to hurt her, of course. No way in hell was I winning with 10 hp left, but hopefully confidence would sell the lie.
"I-I don't want to fight either… Can't we just… leave and pretend none of this h-happened?"
I looked her over. She had icy snow-white hair that cascaded down her porcelain-like skin and was wrapped in a common healer's robe. She clutched what seemed like a beginner's healer staff between her hands like a teddy bear.
She was pretty, and would probably hear that often. You all know the trope. The doted on, innocent, princess. (No. I only have eyes for Midori. I will die on this hill for that.)
She trembled.
It was cute, and she hadn't done anything, but…
I clutched my knife tighter as a knot of anger fastened itself around my heart.
God, their party screwed this shit over for me so, so, so much. The assassin practically assaulted me, the potions were gone, and the soldiers at the outpost were depending on those vials.
Fuck.
I bit my lip as the flickering tongues of flame washed my back with warmth and light while casting my face into a chilled darkness. I exhaled softly.
…Why was I arguing here?
The healer hadn't healed anyone. She'd just… stood there. I was wasting my time. The horses had run off, and the doctor had gone… who knows where.
The outpost was out there on the horizon… I'd probably be able to make it before sunset, but who knows how many would bleed out before then…
The patients took priority.
As always.
The wet sniffles of the healer girl drew my attention back to her.
I had no idea if she was playing the sympathy card or if she was genuinely scared. "Sigh… You all messed a lot of shit up, I hope you know. Now people might die because of this. I'll leave you for now."
"M-Might die…?"
I turned away, my boots scuffling against the rough ground. I was too exhausted for this. Midori's cloak—charred, singed—barely clung around me. Sigh… great, now I was going to return it in this condition as well. Another thing ruined…
Cwyge.
Was Midori going to scold me once I got back? I tried to remember at least some resemblance to Midori's warmth as I clutched it tighter, my headache pounding in undulations, crashing against my temples.
I took a deep breath.
Now wasn't the time to panic. I had to figure this shit out. I clutched my eyes tighter. I'd dealt with much, much more back at Forest Brooke General Hospital.
This should be easy. Think, think, think. Hiyomi, where's the genius in me when I need her?
I glanced at the cart—it had been completely destroyed, and the baked glass chips that used to be healing vials littered the ground, twinkling like crystalline firestars as they caught the light shed from the waves of flame.
It didn't look like I'd be able to salvage anything.
Well, that's fucking fantastic…
Now we'd need to make up for the lost potions as well—not to mention, this was all urgent.
Looking around, my eyes caught on the twinkling stars that marked the places the assassin's party had fallen.
…
…Hang on. Player items drop on death, right?
…Did they have any healing potions?
I reached for the center node of the stars. Each pulsed from my touch and rang, clearly and softly like a bell or a glass wind chime as I quickly scanned their contents.
While it did feel unethical looting the small pulsating stars that used to be players, I soon came away with twelve healing potions. Apparently no one in that party believed in drinking potions during combat. Lucky me.
I left everything else; I wouldn't be able to use them anyways.
It was nowhere near the amount of potions that I'd been originally traveling with, but it was a start… at least.
That threw the last remnants of my plan out the window. Now, I was stuck between either staying at the outpost to do my best to save soldiers, or delivering the twelve potions and running back to find the doctor or go back to the Agëmon Royal Hospital.
I groaned, pivoted on my heel, and started down the road. Crunch, crunch… my feet stepped on the mixed gravely, gritty, dirt path.
Hopefully Midori would be able to make enough potions for the Royal Hospital in time, but as for right now, those soldiers who are in direct danger at the front outpost took priority.
I heard steps stumbling behind me, kicking stray stones away with a clatter.
The healer girl raced after me, her voice wobbling. "W-Wait! What did you mean about people dying??? T-That's not something to joke about…"
I glanced over my shoulder. "…I had a quest. I was supposed to deliver those potions to an outpost with wounded soldiers. Then your party jumped me, and—" I gestured at the ruins of the cart.
Her face crumpled and the cloth of her robes swished as she clutched her staff. "Oh… I-I didn't know. I swear, I didn't want this—I… they just told me to follow along…" Her eyes shone on the verge of tears as she padded along after me. It was kind of cute, in a way. Like a husky, or another similar-like dog… -w-
"What's done is done. Why are you following me?"
"I… I just thought maybe… I could help? I-I'm a healer. I've never done quests before, and I know it's not the same as potions, but maybe I can…" She trailed off.
My eyes flicked to her player icon. She was at full health and her username was Lilith_OHC, still level three from the last time I saw her back at the square.
"You're already level three. What have you been doing all this time?"
"Uhm… Qirune, the assassin… kept me as a pocket healer… so we spend most of our time PVPing… so…uhm…yeah…"
I sighed and dragged my hands through my raven soot-covered hair, smoothing my scorched bangs out of my eyes.
Jesus Christ.
"Fine," I muttered. "You can tag along. Please just don't slow me down."
- - -
By the time we reached the outpost, it was already dark, and the weary flames from campfires and torches shed what meager light they had over the wooden palisades. Smoke choked the forest off in the distance as restless sentries patrolled the walls.
There wasn't much chatter; I expected they were returning from their excursions. However, I could hear muted voices clamouring in hushed tones.
"Who goes there?" One peeked above the stakes with a crossbow wedged in his hands as we approached.
"I'm a doctor envoy on behalf of the Royal Agëmon hospital."
There was a beat of hesitation before he waved us through. The gates creaked open, and he led us toward a massive heavy canvas medical tent, where medics streamed in and out like ants desperate to keep their hive alive.
I breathed sharply.
"Inventory."
My gathering knife pinged into my hands. With sharp flicks of my wrist, I cut away the tattered sleeves of my uniform, leaving my arms bare. My cheeks flushed slightly with the thought of my skin prickling under the gaze of so many patients, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.
I looked around for something to clean myself off. Was I being a bit much for a game? …Maybe. But still, muscle memory and habits die hard—literally, when they save lives. Besides, I wasn't about to take chances with contamination etc, especially with how realistic Lucidia Online has proven to be so far.
Just then, I heard a small voice that rang with the casting of magic. "C-Cleanse!"
Lilith...?
A soft golden glow bloomed around me.
Ash and grime hissed into steam and rolled off my skin, leaving me refreshed, and presumably sterile. (...You already know that I'm tired of saying this, but no, not like that. I'm still a doctor. I have to be sterile before I walk into an operating room. What did you think I was talking about?)
Lilith stood behind me, holding her staff determinedly. She nodded shakily. I took a deep breath to clear my mind before flinging open the canvas flaps and stepping inside.
Aaaaaaand holy fuck. It was so much worse than I'd thought.
"...!"
Lilith was left speechless. (Me too, girl, me too. But then again, I've seen some pretty messed up shit before, so…)
The sharp iron tang of blood hung suffocating in the air as rows upon rows of soldiers lay on cots, some bandaged, some others making do with makeshift patches of tunics and handkerchiefs. The grass had been dyed a sluggish red, and it… probably wasn't from paint.
Some doctors rushed back and forth, but the male doctor I'd originally started out with was nowhere to be seen… hopefully he was doing okay.
I took a deep breath in and glanced back to Lilith over my shoulder. She looked unsure and quite taken aback.
"If it's too much, step out."
I strode in. A doctor immediately intercepted me, eyes flicking up and down my figure.
"You—who are you supposed to be?" he demanded. "This isn't a place for kids. We need real physicians in here, not…" His gaze lingered on the knife at my side, my bare arms, and my all-too-revealing tattered uniform. "Not whatever you are."
My jaw clenched.
Okay.
One, I'm twenty three. I'm not a kid. Two, I was fed up with being treated like this, but it still always happened. It was about the same back at Forest Brooke. Haha devs, you probably didn't intentionally code this to target me specifically, but damn does that feel personal and quite ironic right now.
"I'm a doctor," I shot back flatly. "An envoy from the Royal Agëmon hospital. I've done more real trauma care than half this room put together. Where's the head physician?"
…Okay, maybe my genius' ego was creeping in a teensy teeny bit.
Does it matter?
The man blinked. I can't blame him—if our roles were reversed, I'd probably freeze too. But with the cries of the wounded flooding the tent, there was no time to waste.
I stepped forward, locking eyes with him. "If you can't point me to the lead, then congrats—you just nominated me."
The tent fell quiet until another medic spoke, clutching a blood-soaked compress. "We don't have time to argue. If you're here to help, then you'd better carry your weight."
"Fine," I muttered, waving my knife back into my inventory as I pushed past them. My boots stamped on the moist, blood soaked grass. "I'll take command."
Time to save some lives.