Chương 96: Tub Time

June rested against the rim of the yunomi-like tub made with Leonard's magic. There were now plenty of healers once again in Brighthaven that would have thrown themselves at the opportunity to help the Lord of Light recover, simply out of gratitude or from hidden motives alike. But, to a flesh-shaper, like June, a healer was nothing but a luxury that he didn't need. Even if his body took the brunt of the faction's trauma during the doomsday week, there were others who needed it more.

Of course, healing through medical or source means would be significantly better; the pain would lessen, unlike healing through flesh-shaping means, which was a gruelling ordeal of grating off flesh and setting it right. June's face and upper body were a little pink, while his lower body was in the process of disposing of damaged flesh. He sat in a pool of once fresh water from a nearby lake, now a viscous soup of pus and skin ranging from perfectly cooked to charred.

Despite deserving respite after his long ordeal, June still had a duty to his people; in any other case, June would have gotten a healer or taken his time to minimize the torturous pain of rapid healing to perfection. Unlike Martin, June was the representative of Brighthaven, not just a figurehead; Leo used to be the one to run the puppet show and keep everything running, but once he was struck down, Leonard took his place.

The once soft-looking elven man looked rugged, his reserved gaze turned into one that forced the attention of others; he had changed a lot more than anyone else June had met during the games. Leonard stood in the corner of June's tent with a stern look, with one of his new assistants, Felicity, covering her nose from the stench of burnt flesh and warm pus. Felix was also taken in as another assistant, but he currently waited outside, being unable to stomach the scent and the gruesome shape June had taken.

June lifted a hand and shot a finger gun at Leonard.

"Recap, please." Leonard took a parchment booklet and a make-shift clipboard and flipped through some pages. The elven man cleared his throat and began to read in a stern voice. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Due to the events of event 1 of 4…. The survivor count, which was stated on the end date of event 1 of 4, has gone from 15, 000 to approximately 3, 500. According to several defectors of the Royal Faction, the search for Prince Martin had blindsided all other activities of the Royal Faction; the acting leaders, in their zealous search, neglected or abused their subordinates further, which spiralled further once event 1 of 4, known as Doomsday, occurred. A census is being conducted currently for specific counts."

He flipped to the next page.

"During the Doomsday event, Brighthaven sustained massive casualties and injuries, which are now fortunately being remedied by escaped or defected healers from the Royal Faction. The Lord of Light has fallen ill after overexertion over the sudden death event and due to both willful negligence and spreading ourselves too thin. The over-exertion of the Lord of light had cascaded his condition into a critical state." June sighed and listened to Leonard flip to the next page and continue reading the report.

"The Lord of Light suffered memory issues likely due to over-exhaustion, and while left unattended within his shell, ended up being cooked alive within it. The Lord of Light, fortunately, recovered after 1. 5 days of rest and is undergoing recuperation. Proceeding well." June tapped a finger on the rim of his earthen tub.

"Do we have any new information on the second event?" Leonard passed the clipboard back to Felicity and cleared his throat again.

"The second event already began this morning; Eren heard correctly, because they released an IMP-class nightmare. We don't know where it is, but we do know that the Colosseum can't handle making intelligent creatures, so our odds are pretty good." June whipped his arm to the side like a whip and extended it across the room to grab a towel.

"Ok, slightly worrying; our scout units are out again, right?" Leonard glanced at Felicity, and she turned to leave as June began to hop out of the tub.

"We lost 4 out of 14 units completely, and most units sustained casualties, so Silvester is handling reformation… for the time being, we just pray that we don't encounter it." June hopped out of the tub with viscous blotches of flesh and pus still dirtying him; his body, on the other hand, seemed mostly healed, other than being a little pink. He wrapped his lower half with the towel made from foraged hemp and cracked his neck before stretching his back backward.

"The events are randomized, right? Why would they do a Doomsday and then an IMP after?" June stepped to the side, letting Leonard step up and make an identical tub.

"I'm not sure if they are randomized. The Doomsday event was horrible in sheer terms of consistency; there were no hiding spots during it, but I think you underestimate a single IMP even if it is dumbed down. Statistically, it takes a full cohort of 5-8 Dreamers to kill one. Even if you haven't lied this far, I still doubt that you were able to kill one as a mundane. June shrugged.

"Anyhow, we'll deal with the events as they come, but for now, could you call a water mage in to refill the tub?"