CH.137 Healing after a Duel<strong>[Lucia POV]</strong>
<span style="font-weight:400">“BRIAN!” Both Alice and I screamed as we watched Brian be consumed by an attack from a spirit tiger.
<span style="font-weight:400">He had been in a summoner duel with another adventurer. And while the small dragon he summoned had made aplete fool of both the tiger and its summoner, Brian was now on the receiving end of an attack from the tiger. Not because the attack was meant for Brian, but because he just happened to be standing in the wrong spot when his dragon dodged an attack.
<span style="font-weight:400">As the attack faded, I saw Brian standing there where he had been, with his hands covering his face. His clothes were almostpletely decimated, leaving only his shoes (that were outside the attack area), underwear and some of his undershirt that was under his crossed arms intact.
<span style="font-weight:400">“White Lightning.” I just barely heard Brianmand his summon.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Phew.” I let out a sigh. He survived. If he is alive, I’m sure we can heal him.
<span style="font-weight:400">I looked as the small dragon let out a massive beam of light from its mouth. The beampletely enveloped the tiger.
<span style="font-weight:400">I didn’t really realize its power until the attack ran out. The tiger was nowhere to be seen.
<span style="font-weight:400">The beam had gouged out the ground and left arge channel into it. Thankfully, nothing else was standing in the way of that beam or they would have been annihted as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">The adventurer that had challenged Brian just stood still, with his pants soaked by … well, urine.
<span style="font-weight:400">Then the small dragon and the book it had appeared from disappeared, as Brian fell face-down to the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">“BRIAN!” I yelled as I ran over to him. Alice followed me just a step behind and another two behind her was Alex.
<span style="font-weight:400">As I got to him, I immediately checked if he was still alive by holding my hand to his back and to my relief, I could still feel his heartbeat. I then carefully turned him onto his back, so I could get to work. I checked his breathing, but it was extremely shallow.
<span style="font-weight:400">He wasn’t looking good. His skin was badly damaged all around his body, but especially on his arms, it hadpletely burned away, to the point where I could see his muscle tissue.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Lua? How is he?” Alex asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alive. For now. But not for long if I don’t do something.” I responded, before starting a chant. “Water, the liquid of life, help this wounded body in this time of need, Aqua Heal.”
<span style="font-weight:400">It was the best I could do right now. There are more advanced water spells for healing, but I can’t use them. And using blood magic on someone who is hurt this badly won''t help.
<span style="font-weight:400">As I was pouring more mana into my magic, I could feel it not take effect. My spell isn’t strong enough. I need more power.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Let’s use this.” Alex said as he handed me one of Brian’s cards. Red Medicine. I knew of it, but had never used it myself.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah. Activate it please.” I said as I focused on my spell. I had to keep it going, so that Brian wouldn’t die.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Red Medicine.” Alex said to activate the card. A potion bottle with red liquid appeared as the card vanished. “So… how do I use this? Do I just make him drink it?” He asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No. Give it to me.” I said as I took the potion bottle.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Brian is passed out, there is no guarantee that he’ll be able to drink the potion. If I use water control, I can make sure it gets into his stomach, but I’d have to cancel Aqua Heal for that.
<span style="font-weight:400">FUCK! What do I do?
<span style="font-weight:400">As I thought that, a small box that looked like a status screen appeared before me. It only had three words on it.
<table style="border-copse:copse;width:50.2513%;height:25px">
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<td style="width:100%;text-align:center"><span style="font-weight:400">Summon Water Spirit</td>
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<span style="font-weight:400">Summon Water Spirit. A skill I gained when I was with Brian and a greater water spirit gave us its blessing. I had never used it as I wasn’t sure if I deserved it. But now, I have no choice but to use it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Summon Water Spirit.”
<span style="font-weight:400">As I said that, I felt a massive surge of mana flow through my body. I recognized the feeling from when we were blessed. The power of spirits had surrounded me.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Let me help.) I heard a voice in my head say. The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t tell who it belonged to. (I’ll take over the Aqua Heal, you do what you feel is correct.) The voice added.
<span style="font-weight:400">I felt my spell operate with no input from me and decided to trust the voice. I knew if I didn’t, Brian would just die. I need to get this potion into him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Water, Move as Imand, Water control.” I chanted. I used it to pull the potion liquid out of its container and then slowly fed it to Brian.
<span style="font-weight:400">I felt the potion settle down in his stomach and let out a small sigh.
<span style="font-weight:400">With the spirits now helping me and the potion in his stomach, I feel like this is going to work.
<span style="font-weight:400">But I know I need to keep pushing. Until Brian is for sure fine, I won’t stop. And with that potion now inside of him, the next step is spreading it. And I have just the magic to do that.
<span style="font-weight:400">As Brian’s left arm still had that … thing for his cards, I moved so I could take his right hand into my own. And as I did, I noticed that his right hand was tightly holding onto a card.
<span style="font-weight:400">Monster Reborn. The card that can resurrect the dead. Perhaps he thought that something might go wrong in the match and had it on hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">I took it and held onto it, before I bit his wrist. It is necessary for whates next.
<span style="font-weight:400">True blood magic. An evolved, or perhaps cured, form of blood magic. I haven’t had it for long and I’m not fully used to it, but as it’s just a slightly more powerful form of blood magic, I feel like I can manage.
<span style="font-weight:400">I used blood magic to elerate Brian’s natural digestion so I would get the potion into his bloodstream. Then I used Blood Scan to search for any abnormal locations and focused the potion over to those areas. And as I did, I felt the Aqua Heal that the spirits controlled move around with it.
<span style="font-weight:400">I watched as the potion and my magic took effect and his skin began to quickly regrow. I had to focus a lot of power specifically on his arms and we had to use the second Red Medicine that Alex had to get Brian into a stable condition, with all of his skin regrown.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">After what felt like an eternity, but was only a few minutes, I was happy with the state that I’d gotten Brian to. He was still passed out, but he was breathing steadily and his heartbeat was stable.
<span style="font-weight:400">I removed my fangs from Brian’s wrist and took a deep breath in.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... is … is he going to be alright?” Alice asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. I think he will be.” I answered. At this point, unless he experienced more trauma, he should be fine.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Ah. Thank the Goddess.” Alice said.
<span style="font-weight:400">As she said that, another system screen appeared before me.
<table style="border-copse:copse;width:50.2513%;height:128px">
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Individual Lucia has saved System Support holder Brian Wood.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Rewarding individual Lucia.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Removing the Blood Curse from Individual Lucia.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Failed. Individual Lucia does not have the Blood Curse.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Searching for alternative rewards.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Alternative reward suggested.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Getting permission.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Alternative reward permission granted.</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Granting Individual Lucia Basic System Support.</td>
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<table style="border-copse:copse;width:50.2513%;height:25px">
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Basic Support System Unlocked</td>
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<span style="font-weight:400">I looked at the final screen. System support? Unlocked? For me? The legendary System Support?
<span style="font-weight:400">I opened my status so I could see for myself.
<table style="border-copse:copse;width:50.2513%;height:675px">
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Name: Lucia</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Race: Dhampir ?</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Level: 44</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">HP: 1240</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Mana: 2100</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Strength: 320</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Defense: 400</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">Magic: 1160</td>
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<td style="width:100%;height:24px"><span style="font-weight:400">True Blood Magic LV.5(Racial) </td>
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<td style="width:100%"></td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Card Summoner LV.1 (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Summon Water Spirit (extra)</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Water Magic LV.5</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Mana Control LV.7</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Magic Boost LV.2</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Quick Cast LV.5</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Fast Mana Recovery LV.4</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Knife Technique LV.1</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Staff Technique LV.3</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400"></td>
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<td style="width:100%">Blood Sucker (Racial)</td>
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<td style="width:100%">Water Spirits Blessing (Greater)</td>
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Lifesaver</td>
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<span style="font-weight:400">I have a new title? Lifesaver? Titles are kind of skills, but not really. ording to what I learned from Mrs. Moon, titles are skills that don’t improve your status, but do have a helpful effect. But plenty of people go through their lives without ever gaining a title.
<span style="font-weight:400">For me it''s different. I’ve had Blood Sucker since the day I was born. A title that allows dhampirs to survive on blood alone, no other sustenance required.
<span style="font-weight:400">And now, thanks to Brian, I had two more. Water Spirits Blessing (Greater) increases the power and decreases the mana use of all of my water magic.
<span style="font-weight:400">And Lifesaver, my new title:
<table style="border-copse:copse;width:50.2513%;height:33px">
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<td style="width:100%"><span style="font-weight:400">Lifesaver: Doubles the effectiveness of all healing done by magic or skills.</td>
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<span style="font-weight:400">But what about the System Support? Why can’t I see that?
<span style="font-weight:400">(Miss, it is the mark next to your race.) I heard a voice say inside my head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“M-Mother?” I asked. That voice belongs to my mother. I know it does. I’d recognize it anywhere.
<span style="font-weight:400">(I apologize, but I am not your mother. I am your Basic System Support.) The voice said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Lua? Is something wrong?” Alex asked, probably hearing what I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“N-No. Everything is fine.” I said hastily.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you sure? You are saying some weird things. Are you sure you didn’t use all of your mana?” Alex asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I didn’t. But I did use a lot.” I admitted.
<span style="font-weight:400">I have over 2000 mana, but in these few minutes I had used over 1500 of it. And it was still draining down.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Oh, sorry. That’s because of me.) The voice that came after I used Summon Water Spirit said.
<span style="font-weight:400">Now that I was more calm, I recognized that voice.
<span style="font-weight:400">(The water spirit that blessed us?) I think Brian said he could talk to the System Support in his head, so I tried to do that with the spirit.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Oh. I’m d that you remember me. Neither you nor the Hero has really called for me, so I feared that you had forgotten me or found me unhelpful.) The spirit said.
<span style="font-weight:400">(...) I didn’t know how to respond. I know I haven’t used that skill once, but I’m surprised that Brian hasn’t either. (I’ll try to call you in the future. Thank you for helping.)
<span style="font-weight:400">(Then I’ll undo the synchro so you can rest.) The spirit said, before I felt its power leaving my body.
<span style="font-weight:400">The spirit then formed a body of water next to me, before the water sshed to the ground as the spirit left.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">“We are so sorry!” The other party had prostrated themselves before us.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Please don’t report Tye or our party!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“We’ll do anything!”
<span style="font-weight:400">What the report was referring to is a dangerous adventurer report. They are something that should be filed with the guild after an incident that takes ce between adventurers, like on a quest or, like is the case here, after a sparring ident. Depending on the severity, the punishments can be anything from a fine to being kicked out of the guild, or even very or imprisonment.
<span style="font-weight:400">Considering that their adventurer almost killed another adventurer in a duel he started, anything from expulsion to very isn’t impossible. Well, the rest of the party would likely only be demoted by one rank, but the summoner could face arger punishment.
<span style="font-weight:400">They could try to argue against it being their fault, but they would lose. We have the numbers advantage, we have the Bakpany’s vice-president as a witness, we have a noble’s daughter. And most of all, Brian himself is a holder of System Support. If he revealed it and used it as a guarantee, no argument could be made against him.
<span style="font-weight:400">To go against a System Support holder is to go against the System itself. And to go against the System is to go against the Goddess.
<span style="font-weight:400">And if we go that far, I might as well add the blessing from a greater water spirit, that both Brian and I hold.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Don’t forget that you also hold the System Support.) I heard my mother’s voice in my head.
<span style="font-weight:400">p, p
<span style="font-weight:400">With two loud ps, Timothy took control of the situation.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then we will do this. As Brian is out, because of you, and Lucia is extremely low on mana, because of you, I’ll have you join our escort party until we reach Sawyer city safely. If you manage to do that, the guild doesn’t have to know about this little incident.” Timothy said. “Are you three fine with that?” He then asked us.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I think that’s letting them off easy.” Alex said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I… I want to wait for Brian’s opinion.” Alice said.
<span style="font-weight:400">“If Brian thinks it’s fine, I’ll let it be.” I said. I don’t think Brian would hate him for something like that, but I want to hear him out first.
<span style="font-weight:400">“T-Thank you. We’ll make sure nothing can hurt you!” They said in unison.
<hr>
<span style="font-weight:400">With Saber Fang (that is their party’s name) keeping the night guard, we would be able to sleep through the entire night.
<span style="font-weight:400">I’m really d that that is the case, as I really am tired after using all that mana.
<span style="font-weight:400">Our sleeping arrangements were a little different fromst night, as Brian was sleeping between Alice and I. I didn’t mind doing it and Miss Alice outright demanded it. She said she doesn’t really trust these adventurers, and by sleeping with Brian she would make sure they don’t try to kill him in the middle of the night.
<span style="font-weight:400">I also agreed, as I wanted to make sure to stay close to him, in case his situation gets worse.
<span style="font-weight:400">Brian’s magic waist bag, I think he calls it a fanny pack, hadn’t been decimated, as he took it off before the battle, so we were able to get some spare clothes for him from there.
<span style="font-weight:400">His sleeping bag and travel pelt were also there. I don’t know why he has two travel pelts, especially of such high quality, but I don’t mind at the moment. I stacked the two pelts on top of each other, before carrying Brian to it.
<span style="font-weight:400">I also removed the two cards Brian had on his … summoning thing. I should ask what it is when he wakes up. But anyway, I took the two cards for safekeeping, and after I removed them, therge thing disappeared, leaving only a simple bracer behind.
<span style="font-weight:400">There was also something strange with the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon. The ss-like thing on it had been colored orange. The Toon World didn’t have that. And neither did my Vampire Lady, or the two cards Miss Alice has.
<span style="font-weight:400">Well, I can probably ask about it from Brian tomorrow.
<span style="font-weight:400">Assuming that he wakes up tomorrow.
<span style="font-weight:400">Please, wake up tomorrow.
<span style="font-weight:400">Before falling asleep, I heard my mother’s voice in my head.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Connection made with System Support ‘Laura’. Making a telepathic link.)
<span style="font-weight:400">(What does that mean?) I asked my System Support.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Oh. Miss Lucia. I made a connection. Thank you so much for saving Master.) I heard a female voice in my head.
<span style="font-weight:400">I don’t know whose voice it is, but it brims with reliability and … big sister energy?
<span style="font-weight:400">(... Who are you?) I asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Yes. I should introduce myself. My name is Laura and I am Brian’s System Support.) She said.
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">So… not only did I get a System Support of my own, I can now also speak with Brian’s System Support.
<span style="font-weight:400">…
<span style="font-weight:400">I’m not sure how to handle all of this. I just. This is too much. I need sleep.
<span style="font-weight:400">No! I need one thing before that.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Miss Laura. Is Brian alright?) I asked Brian’s System Support.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Yes. Thanks to you he is fine. He is just sleeping and should wake up by tomorrow morning. And if he doesn’t, well, I’ll make sure he does.) Brian’s System Support answered with a more mischievous tone.
<span style="font-weight:400">(... don’t be too hard on him. He went through a lot.) I said.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Don’t worry. I know what he likes.) Laura said.
<span style="font-weight:400">(Shut up, both of you. It’s Lucia’s bedtime and I won’t let you bother it, even if you are a superior level System Support.) My System Support told Laura off. I have to say, having my mother argue against the big sister-like Laura is quite funny. Like a mother telling the kids having a sleepover to go to bed already.
<span style="font-weight:400">But I did as instructed, and soon found myself fast asleep.
<span style="font-weight:400">