Chương 428: B7—Chapter 11: Never Trust a Duck and Other Gems

I was in the kitchen, scooping coffee into the pot, when Al came down looking neat as always. He gave me a polite nod before pulling out a stool and settling on it, folding his hands on the counter like he was waiting for something.

"Do you know when they're coming back?" I asked as I poured water into the pot.

"Two of the local weeks." I almost spilled the coffee.

"What? Why so long?"

"Mahya purchased a portal with a two-week duration until clear. They intend to remain the entire time to harvest resources from the surrounding area, as well as to search for dungeons and portals that are not recorded on the list. She and Rabban agreed that all edible and ore resources belong to her, while they receive the remainder, including cores." I set down the pot a little harder than I meant to.

"I still can't believe Mahya's willing to give cores away."

"It is not that surprising. The dungeons here are young, their cores small. We have access to far superior options in Zindor." I grabbed two mugs from the shelf and slid one toward him.

"Yeah, she said that. But why aren't they coming back at night to sleep at home?" Al accepted the mug with a slight inclination of his head. He lifted it carefully, as if testing the heat before answering.

"She took the RV." While cooking breakfast, I channeled mana into Malith's bracelet. Rue's presence was constant, so it didn't tell me much. Right now, he was asleep, probably snoring. Through the bracelet, I could also sense Mahya. I couldn't say if she was asleep, but she was healthy and not in a dungeon or portal. The knot of worry in my chest eased a little. Knowing I'd feel it if something happened to Rue and, by extension, Mahya, kept the worst of it under control.

Still, I had to admit I had some mother-hen tendencies I needed to get over. We were all adults, perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. After breakfast, I prepared another batch of pemmican. From my experience, it worked well for providing a concentrated dose of energy for limb growth. Once everything was ready in the early afternoon, I headed to the Healing Hall. The same lady sat at the reception, still tapping on the pad. This time, I fixed my oversight from the previous day and walked straight over.

I leaned on the counter with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Jo, as you know, but you never told me your name." She gave me the famous strange look, eyebrows twitching just slightly, but to her credit, it vanished almost instantly. Still, I sighed in my head. What now?

"I am Oos. It is a pleasure to know you," she said, and dipped her chin in greeting.

"Any new patients at the Emergency Room?" I asked, shifting my weight and tapping a finger lightly on the counter. Another strange look, this one quick but sharper. Yeah, yeah. I'm an alien. Sue me.

"Yes, we have two new people in the Receiving Ward. Do you need me to call Im, or can you go yourself?"

"I know the way," I said, turning to go.

"But I still need to see Im at some point. So I'll be glad if he checks in with me. Also, I need you to eat as much as you can starting now and until I take you." Her posture stiffened, and she leaned forward.

"Take me? Take me where? Why? Did I do something to hamper your work?" I shook my head and waved off her concern.

"No. Take you to regrow your missing arm. Or at least start to regrow it. I'll need more than one day, so you won't look like a skeleton when I'm done." She stared at me, eyes wide, fingers curling against the desk.

"Why? I don't have money to pay for such treatment, and do not believe manager Fu can afford a thousand mithril from the Cleaners budget." Holy shit! Thousand mithril? Are they nuts?! Of course, I didn't say it out loud. Didn't want another famous look.

"Like I told Im, it would cost you a mug of beer or ale. If my familiar comes with me, it would cost you two." Her chin quivered as she stared at me, and a single tear slipped from the corner of her left eye. The sight made me shift uneasily, so I turned and headed toward the ward. Just before I stepped into the hall, a quiet "Thank you" reached me from behind. I half turned, gave her a small nod, and continued to the ER. Yes, they called it the Receiving Ward, but to me it was the ER. In a way, it felt like home.

Maybe Earth never really did, but I had enjoyed my nine years in the ER, so it did. Kind of. In the ER, Len sat between two beds, chatting with two men. The moment she noticed me, she jumped to her feet and blushed, her gaze darting anywhere but toward me. Now it was my turn to give her the strange look. After a moment, I shook my head, said, "Hello, Len," and moved on to check my new patients. I sat on the stool that Len vacated.

"Hello, I'm Jo, a healer. What happened?"

"Caustis sprayed us." The man grimaced, shifting his weight on the bed as if even speaking made his pain worse.

"What's a Caustis?" I asked, glancing between the two of them.

"A worm that spits acid," the other one answered. I diagnosed them one by one, relieved to find the situation wasn't bad. Both had acid burns on their legs, but otherwise they were fine. One casting of Neutralize Poison cleared the acid, and one Healing Touch was enough to get them back on their feet. I didn't even need to fortify them or leave them to sleep it off. They stood, each shook my hand, bowed with thanks, gave Len a bow as well, and left the ward.

I turned to head out to look for Im when the ward door slammed open so hard it banged against the wall and bounced back. Pi skipped into the room, arms spread wide.

"Who's dying and wants to live?" Len and I stared at her. She glanced around, frowning.

"Where is everybody?" Len pointed at me. Pi skip-hopped over, planted a quick kiss on my cheek, and patted my arm.

"Good work." With that, she spun on her heels and skip-hopped out of the ward. Len and I exchanged a look. She lifted her shoulders in a small shrug, while I shook my head in bewilderment and stepped out to look for Im. I found him in the linen room, leaning on a shelf stacked with folded sheets and speaking with the other lady who was missing an arm.

"Hello, I'm Jo. A healer. Nice to meet you." I gave her a small nod. She smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling.

"I know. Len could not stop speaking about you. I am Bo."

"A pleasure." I shifted my weight and crossed my arms loosely.

"Now, Bo, I need you to eat as much as you can until I take you. Don't worry, you didn't do anything. I'll take you to regrow your arm, and it won't cost you a thousand mithril—only a mug or two of beer or ale." I turned toward Im, avoiding her gaze in case she started crying too. I didn't want to see it. That always made me uncomfortable.

"Im, are you ready?"

"Are you sure?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Positive." I gave him a firm nod. Another strange look. I was collecting them today, like Scrooge McDuck hoards gold. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I followed him out of the room.

"Do you have a private treatment room here?" He paused, then turned and led me the opposite way, toward the first room in the hall—the only one he hadn't shown me the previous day. Inside stood a massage table, padded and covered in leather. It even had a hole for lying face down. Huh. I handed him five pieces of pemmican and two bottles of water.

"Finish eating and drinking all of this. If, when you're done, you still have space for more, tell me."

"I ate well, like you told me," he said, adjusting his seat before taking the first piece.

"I'm sure, but I need you to eat more. The more calories you have, the longer I can work on you, and maybe I can finish regrowing the leg in two days instead of four or five. So do your best to eat until you feel you're about to burst, and then keep going." He chuckled, mouth half-full.

"You have interesting expressions." I shrugged, watching him chew.

"What is calories?" he asked after a swallow.

"Units of energy that the body gets from food. The more you have, the longer I can work without making your body eat itself." He nodded, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and started eating in earnest. He was a good boy and ate all the pemmican, then two more on top of that, and drank three bottles of water. When he couldn't eat another bite and looked ready to throw up, I put him to sleep and performed the familiar operation.

I cut away the layer of scarred skin along with some of the healthy flesh, then began regrowing his leg. He had eaten well, and the pemmican did its job. I started with a stump that ended just below the knee. By the time his body began losing weight, the leg had reached almost to the ankle. Since he was slightly overweight and could afford to lose ten to fifteen kilos, I completed the ankle before finally stopping.

I cast Fortify Life Force, woke him up, helped him relocate to the ER to sleep it off, and went to call Oos to the OR, feeling almost like a "real" doctor. She was still tapping at her pad, and it piqued my curiosity. What the hell was she typing there all day long? For a second, I almost asked, but stopped myself at the last moment.

"Are you ready to start getting your arm back?" I asked. She glanced around the empty hall.

"I can't leave the reception. They might bring more injured."

"Can we ask Bo to cover for you?" She gave me a look, eyebrows climbing almost to her hairline.

"Cover what?"

"Can we ask Bo to replace you?" I clarified. She thought for a moment, then nodded. I went to get Bo, led Oos to the OR, repeated the same explanation about the food, and got to work. When her arm reached almost to the wrist, I stopped. She didn't have any extra weight to draw on, so I didn't risk pushing further. I cast Fortify Life Force, then moved her to the ward to sleep it off. Next was Bo. Im, who had finally woken up and was eating like a ravenous beast, took her place at the reception.

I brought Bo to the OR and repeated the process. By the time I was done with her, the sky outside had darkened. My mana was running on fumes despite my regeneration, and the ward had filled with a party of three who'd been attacked by insects that left them with broken bones. I forced myself to sit for half an hour, raising my mana just enough to heal them. Once their bones were mended and all the sleeping beauties were settled, I finally dragged myself to bed.

The following day, I started with the people in the ward. At first, I planned to continue with the three from the hospital I had begun working on, but they all looked a little drained. Not exhausted, but definitely not upbeat or perky either. So I gave them another day to eat and rest and started with the others instead. That day, I treated another three patients from the ward, along with the man who had lost both legs and worked in the hospital.

Once again, I finished late with my mana running on fumes, though this time there were no new patients in urgent need of help. Who did wait for me was the manager Fu. The moment he saw me, he strode over wearing a strange expression, as if he couldn't decide whether to smile broadly or look serious. Not exactly angry, but definitely upset. His face kept shifting back and forth in a comical display of happy-sad-happy-sad.

"Hello, Fu. Is something the matter?" I asked as he approached.

"I wanted to thank you for the work you are doing in our Healing Hall." He clasped his hands in front of him, then opened them again as if unsure what to do.

"Usually, party healers heal the patients in stages, as they need the mana for their dives. It is a pleasure to have a high-level dedicated healer. But I have a problem …" His voice trailed off, and he glanced to the side, avoiding my eyes.

"What is it?"

"The center cannot afford to pay you for regrowing limbs." His shoulders sagged as he spoke.

"Even if we stopped paying rent on all our buildings, we still would not have enough money for even one limb."

"How much do you pay for regular healing?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Depends on the severity," he said, rubbing his palms together, "but usually between two to ten gold. If more than one healer works on a patient, we split the payment between them."

"So pay me ten gold for each person getting their limbs back, even if it's more than one." He stared at me, lips parted.

"Are you not afraid?"

"Afraid of who?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"House Pelmen." His voice dropped, and his eyes flicked around the hall as if even the name might summon them.

"And who are House Pelmen?"

"A healing house that specializes in regrowing limbs." His brows shot high, his eyes wide, and his mouth twisted in exasperation.

"How have you not heard of them? Everybody knows who they are. Their banners hang in half the cities, their healers are whispered about like legends, and their prices are carved into stone as if by law. They are the ones that set the price, and no one dares challenge them." I tapped my fingers on the counter and thought for a moment.

"Will you have a problem with them if I continue?"

"Me? No." He shook his head quickly.

"I am not the one regrowing limbs. You are."

"Don't worry about me," I said, waving off his concern with a flick of my hand.

"I can take care of myself." He pressed his lips together, eyes going distant as if chasing some stubborn thought. After a long pause, he blinked and focused back on me.

"Will you be willing to help more disabled Cleaners?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem." I gave him a casual shrug. Relief broke across his face, and he burst into thanks, words tumbling out so fast I stopped trying to follow. After a solid minute of gushing, he finally let me crawl home to bed. That was how I spent the next two weeks. Not Earth weeks, the local ones. I mostly regrew limbs, but almost every day I healed injured Cleaners, which served as my "breaks" between regrowing limbs. After my third day as a re-grower, I got a level in my healer class.

Level Up +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +2 Vitality, +3 Free points Class: Healer Level 17 Free Points: 8 On day eight as a re-grower, I got another one. Level Up +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +2 Vitality, +3 Free points Class: Healer Level 18 Free Points: 11 That evening, Fu visited me again. His face lit with a smile when he spotted me, but as he came closer, the smile faded, and his steps slowed. By the time he reached me, his brow was furrowed, and he kept wringing his hands.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"I am not sure." He shifted his weight and let out a quiet breath through his nose, clearly troubled.

"Yesterday and today, seven people who finished their contracts as Eliminators signed on as Cleaners. They did not say anything outright, but I fear the reason. Word may be spreading that you are regrowing limbs." He paused, gaze flicking toward the door before meeting my eyes again.

"I am worried for you. You are helping many good people, and I do not want something bad to happen to you." I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I told you, don't worry about me." I paused, thinking of a way to explain without revealing the glamour secret, then an idea struck. I had seen quite a few artifact shops in the Eliminators' hub. Leaning close to his ear, I whispered, "I have a rare artifact that lets me change my appearance. So even if they try to harm me, I can alter how I look and become somebody else. Of course, we would have to 'sign' a new contract, but I do not think that will be a problem, right?" He stared at me.

"Do you know how rare and expensive such an artifact is?" Such a thing actually exists? Huh. I nodded, and he looked relieved. So I left it at that. After ten more days, I got another level. Level Up +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +2 Vitality, +3 Free points Class: Healer Level 19 Free Points: 14 By that time, the amputees' ward was empty, and I was working with the last of the center's workers who were missing limbs. Somewhere along the way, I became a sort of celebrity.

People I had never met greeted me warmly, others kept bringing me food and drinks, and I couldn't step outside without at least two people coming over to shake my hand. And, of course, Pi "attacked" me with kisses on the cheek and completely unrelated pieces of information whenever she ran into me. She had some real gems to share, such as:"Never trust a duck. They look calm, but they're planning something."

"If you sneeze three times in a row, it means the gods are gossiping about you."

"I once saw a man turn into a chair. Not a magical chair, just a regular one. Nobody sat on him, though. But maybe I made a mistake—I was small." She also kept me updated on various foods sold in various places, though never with enough detail to know what kind of food it was or who exactly was selling it. At some point, I stopped being confused or bewildered. I finally understood what Rabban meant. Pi was a unique personality, and you got used to her. Eventually.

Mahya and Rue still weren't back, but I checked the bracelet and my connection with Rue every day. They were fine. On some days, I couldn't feel them, but the next day, I always could, and it was a relief to confirm they were safe. During that time, Al buried himself in the center's labs and gained at least another level, maybe even two. I didn't see him for almost a week, and when we finally crossed paths, he felt stronger again. It was nice to make progress doing what I liked instead of fighting.

Al also looked relaxed and smiled more than usual. He hadn't disappeared for a while, so this time it was about personal growth, not a guy. Basically, everyone did their own thing, whatever they liked most. Those weeks were good ones.