The Tival battlefield lay in ruins across the southern district. Imperial forces attacked in waves while defenders dodged through rubble and debris. Laser beams crisscrossed the air. Explosions echoed constantly.
I Will Carry You had good luck this match, as he was assigned to the Imperial attacking side. He controlled an Assault trooper and tried to tear open a weak point in the traitor defense from the flank. The fighting went back and forth. His stream chat maintained its usual banter of "Liora's aim is improving!" and "The master of body-tracing occasionally hits someone!"
He performed a tactical roll into a half-collapsed building for cover. As he prepared to use a medkit to restore his health, something strange caught his eye near the battlefield medical station.
A Medic player named EndlessSpring moved like a battlefield angel, weaving through gunfire to save people with incredible efficiency.
He didn't fire his weapon at all. The medical laser rifle stayed slung on his back like decoration. His hands always gripped medical packs or revival injectors. His gaze scanned the battlefield sharply. Wherever a teammate fell, he rushed over like a shark scenting blood.
His movements flowed impossibly smooth. He rushed to a downed AI soldier and half-crouched. He pressed the medical pack. Green light flashed. The health bar rose visibly. The soldier stumbled to their feet and rejoined the fight. The entire process took less than three seconds.
When he encountered downed players, he was even more precise and steady. He braved incoming fire to perform complex emergency aid with revival injectors. He often pulled them up before enemies could finish them off.
His positioning and awareness were the most impressive. He seemed able to predict artillery impact points and sniper sightlines. He always completed rescues at the most dangerous margins, then retreated to cover unscathed to seek his next target.
I Will Carry You crouched behind his own cover and watched helplessly as EndlessSpring whooshed past.
The Medic revived four downed AI and one player in just half a minute without taking a scratch. He couldn't help checking the battlefield info panel for EndlessSpring's stats:
Kills: 0
Deaths: 0
Saves: 77
Time: 07:13
"Holy shit?!" I Will Carry You exclaimed aloud, forgetting he was streaming. "Dude, what? Battlefield miracle worker! 77 saves in 7 minutes?! Is this guy hacking?!"
The stream chat went wild over these absurd numbers:
"Holy crap! 77! In seven minutes!"
"Is this guy a mobile fountain?"
"No shooting, pure healing? What kind of playstyle is this?"
"That positioning is too slick! Bullets curve around him?"
"Liora, go leech off him! This match is in the bag!"
"ID EndlessSpring? Writing it down, gonna queue with him if I match up!"
I Will Carry You's curiosity peaked. He forgot about pushing forward. During a gap in enemy fire, he scrambled and rolled over to EndlessSpring. The Medic had just completed another rescue and was briefly catching his breath behind a broken cement pipe.
"Bro! Bro!" I Will Carry You activated proximity voice. His tone was full of admiration and curiosity. "You're amazing! 77 in 7 minutes! Why don't you kill anyone? Just keep saving people? How do you manage this efficiency?"
EndlessSpring seemed startled by the teammate suddenly approaching. His character instinctively shrank back. Through the virtual character's faceplate, one could vaguely see a slightly youthful, somewhat awkward young face, like a college student.
He froze at the question. Then he slowly turned on his mic, his voice carrying a shy, student-like quality:
"Huh? I... I'm too bad at this. Can't aim, so I can only heal."
His tone was sincere, with a touch of self-deprecation but no hint of boasting. As if saving people wasn't some highlight-reel operation, but merely the most basic duty he was forced to choose because he was bad.
I Will Carry You was about to ask more, like how he dodged bullets or how he judged rescue timing.
But then,
EndlessSpring's entire field of vision was suddenly saturated by thick, dark green, tinged with the sickeningly sweet scent of decay. The green rapidly formed into a bizarrely styled panel.
The panel's frame looked woven from rotting vines and bloated fungi. It constantly oozed murky droplets like pus that dripped down the edges. The background consisted of writhing, growing patterns of putrid green moss and mold. At the panel's center, an emblem formed from decaying flowers, buzzing fly swarms, and the outline of a benevolent fat face emitted an unsettling glow filled with vitality.
Lines of text, as if written in slime with crooked letters yet carrying strange warmth, slowly emerged:
[The Grandfather... has sensed...]
[Your... benevolence...]
[Your... accepting... bosom...]
[And... your potential... recognition... of the eternal... cycle...]
The text gave off a sickly-sweet fragrance like spoiled honey mixed with rotting fruit.
[The kind yet... fair... Grandfather...]
[Loves... equally... every living being... in the universe...]
[And you... will soon... also be... one of them...]
The rotting flower emblem suddenly blazed with murky green light!
[The Great God of Life and Universal Love, Lord of Eternity and Cycles, Grandfather of the Plague Garden!]
[Has cast upon you... a trace... of pity and attention]
[Legendary Quest: Activated!]
[Quest Name: Sevenfold Benevolence]
The quest details unfolded with slow yet undeniable authority:
[Quest Objective:]
Complete seven independent matches. In each match, save at least 77 friendly units and accumulate 777 points of damage taken. (Note: Damage must be actual damage to your health. Shield absorption does not count.)
[Current Progress:]
* Matches: 0/7
* Saves: 77/777 (this match's save count has been recorded)
* Accumulated Damage: 0/777
[The Grandfather's Temporary Grace:]
Upon accepting this quest, the Grandfather will temporarily give you a trace of divine blessing. You will receive the [Life's Blessing] effect:
* Minor increase to body's base damage tolerance
* Extremely slow automatic life regeneration
* 20% reduction in medical pack usage time
* 15% reduction in time to revive downed teammates
This effect persists until quest completion or failure.
[Quest Declaration:]
The great Grandfather loves every life in the universe, from the greatest stellar beasts to the smallest grain of dust. As a potential devotee of the Grandfather, Nurgle, you should strive to spread His kindness and universal love, allowing more lives... to merge into this eternal and equal... cycle.
---
EndlessSpring froze completely. He stared blankly at the green panel before him, which brimmed with decay and a benevolent aura. He couldn't even hear I Will Carry You's chattering questions beside him.
He only wanted to save people because he was bad, he couldn't hit anyone. He liked watching fallen teammates stand back up. He liked that feeling of pulling life back from death's edge, even if it was only virtual. He never imagined this would draw the attention of such a thing.
Grandfather? Nurgle? The Plague God?
He looked at that rotting flower emblem and the quest name Sevenfold Benevolence. Then he looked at the medical pack in his character's hands, emitting healing green light. An extremely complex emotion welled up in his heart, mixing absurdity, unease, and a trace of strange attraction.
I Will Carry You also saw the suddenly appearing green panel with its distinctive style. Special teammate UIs were visible as outlines and faint glows within a certain distance. Though he couldn't see specific details, its ominous aesthetic immediately made him think of Old Devil Medici's special mechanics.
"Holy shit! Bro! You triggered a hidden quest too?! And it's green! Is that... is that the Grandfather?!" I Will Carry You's voice cracked with shock and envy.
EndlessSpring didn't answer. He silently looked at the Accept Quest option. A grayed-out Decline option sat beside it. His finger trembled slightly over the virtual button.
In the end, his purest interest in saving people itself won out. Combined with the temptation of the Life's Blessing that would let him save even more people, it overcame his natural disgust toward the decaying deity.
He gently pressed Accept.
[Quest... accepted.]
[May the Grandfather's... universal love... be with you...]
[Go spread... the joy... of life...]
Deep green light gently enveloped his Medic.
I Will Carry You watched in shock from the side. The stream chat went absolutely wild.
Nurgle's path of benevolence had quietly opened its gates to a Medic who only wanted to save people, in a way no one had anticipated.