56: The Hall of the Luminous, Part Twenty-One

The Hall of the Luminous, Part Twenty-One

As Neve walked out of Minerva's house, early in the morning, she roamed the streets absent-mindedly, feeling calm for the first time in a while. 

The citizens of Rorvan hadn't gotten up yet. She guessed that sleeping was probably one of their favorite activities given that they were trapped here with very little to do. 

Naturally, the previous day's events took ownership of most of her thoughts. 

Every time she closed her eyes, she could recall what that intimate moment was like. Ahlakan's hands on a journey of exploration across her body, their tongues embracing each other empowered by a mutual curiosity. 

It all made Neve wonder about something she hadn't really cared about up until now. 

[Will everyone actually just disappear as soon as I finish clearing the dungeon?] 

It was selfish. Incredibly so, but now she had a personal reason as to why she really hoped that wouldn't be the case. The thought that it was most likely going to be the case was enough to make the girl let out a long, disappointed sigh, as she walked through the eastern side of the city. 

Something caught her eyes, though, distracting her if only briefly. 

Among the rows of closed doors was one building that was actually open. The old mage's shop. 

[Hm...] Neve stopped for a second. [Maybe I can get another spell before I head back into the dungeon.] 

On that note, she walked over to it. 

Knocking on the door twice to let the mage know she was there, she entered the building. The old nulin man was reading a book when he saw Neve and frowned slightly. 

"I didn't say you could come in, but whatever." Kelvon closed the book and stood up. "Our talk made me wonder about something. I was looking for spells I could give you, and-"

"Do you have anything offensive?" Neve asked, cutting him off. "I'm in pretty desperate need of damage." 

"No, I do not," he quickly replied. "At least, no damage spell that a healer can use. Also, that's two rude as hell things you've done now and I'm wondering if maybe I should kick you out."

"And miss out on the excitement of actually talking to someone for the first time in however long?" Neve asked with a smirk. 

"... Regardless. Anyway," he waved a hand, "I wanted to ask you. Neve, what is the essence of being a healer?" 

The question caught Neve off-guard. As she took a seat opposite the mage, she tried to think of a quick answer. 

"Uh, to help people?"

"No," the man replied. "I mean, mechanically, Neve. What makes a good healer effective on the battlefield." 

Hearing him narrow down the question like that, Neve's next response came much faster. 

"Positioning." She shrugged. "At least, that's the main thing to me. Kiting, and timing too."

"Indeed. Now, if we were to wrap these things up and place them in a box, that box would be called..." He waited for an answer but because Neve did not respond, he said, "being logical. That is the essence of being a healer, is being logical." 

The mage stood up, pacing around the room. 

"It is about making calculations in the middle of a fight. What is the action with the highest percentage chance of winning a battle at any given moment? Who needs help and how exactly can you help them without putting yourself in danger? How much mana can you afford to use in the current situation?" He asked as Neve nodded along, slowly. "All of these questions are what any good healer must think about during battle. And, I believe I have a spell that can help you with that last one." 

Neve perked up when she heard that. 

[That's huge! Mana management is one of my biggest problems right now. What is he going to show me???] 

"Here, a demonstration." 

The man then pulled out his old, wooden staff and cast a spell that covered him in a blue aura. 

"This is called {Rorvan's Spirit}. And, eh... It's a spell I developed myself during my time here," he stated. "I had hoped it would aid the other sorcerers and I in being able to outlast the countless waves of monsters in the Infested Hall, but, there appeared to be no end to them. If things are somehow different for you, then... Maybe you will make better use of it than we did."

"What does it do?"

"{Rorvan's Spirit} is a spell that increases your mana regeneration as you take more damage. It costs quite a bit to activate, so I suggest you take a moment and plan out when exactly you want to use it. Let's head to the back and you can try it out for a while."

---

Sometime later, Neve ended up with the aforementioned spell, and a tangible excitement at the prospect of using it. 

Rorvan's Spirit - 50MP

{Increase mana regeneration the lower the user's HP gets. Maximum mana regeneration of 100% is achieved when HP reaches 20%. Lasts for 2 minutes.}

Of course, she didn't like that she needed to be very, very hurt in order for the spell to reach maximum effectiveness, but it was still nice to have something that could speed up the process of waiting to have enough mana to resummon Erin in fights. 

Remembering her summon just now made Neve's excitement simmer down just a little, though. 

This morning, after she'd woken up, the summon had acted quite cold toward her. 

It seemed like no matter how hard Neve tried, she couldn't quite improve the girl's view of her. 

She almost wished she'd never made the decision of telling her about her true nature. So far, all it had served to do was make things awkward between them. 

[I should head back and see if Ahlakan wants to go gather those herbs,] Neve thought. [Then, we take on the next 5 waves.] 

And so, she promptly made her way back to Minerva's home. 

As she walked in, Minerva herself was nowhere to be found so Neve guessed she was still asleep. When she walked up the stairs to speak to the woman's daughter, however, she realized the same could not be said for Ahlakan. 

Neve didn't find Ahlakan in her own room but found her when she went back to the guest room. She and Erin were sitting on the bed, giggling together as Neve walked in. 

"Good morning," Ahlakan greeted the woman with a smile. Erin had no reaction outside of a slight nod as the grin she'd been wearing on her face went away. "Had a nice walk? Not much to see in Rorvan, is there?" 

"Yeah, just... trying to wake myself up a little," Neve replied as she looked back and forth between Ahlakan and Erin. 

Perhaps sensing her curiosity, Ahlakan said:

"Erin was telling me about how the two of you met." She gestured at the woman. "How you fought your way through a fortress of marauders and rescued her from imprisonment. Made you sound pretty heroic."

"It was nothing," Neve replied quietly. "I just found her key, so I got her out. That's all." 

Clearing her throat, Neve crossed her arms. 

"So, about those potions..."

"Ah, yes. There are a few more herbs we could gather," Ahlakan said excitedly, standing up off the bed. "Erin? Would you like to join us?" 

"Certainly," the summon replied. Ahlakan walked out with Erin behind her. Her eyes lingered on Neve for a moment before she slithered past her summoner and went out into the hall, following behind Ahlakan. 

Neve sighed. 

[... I really didn't need all of this awkward shit. I'd love it if I could just focus on getting stronger to deal with Thomas and those assholes. What's the point of all this?] 

---

It had been a short trip, as Rorvan wasn't the biggest place out there. Granted, Neve hadn't been to any other underground cities, so, maybe this place could be considered massive. She had no idea. 

But, soon, the trio returned with the herbs Ahlakan had mentioned, placing them all on the kitchen counter. 

"Like I said, these aren't too useful, but... Maybe you'll find something to do with them," Ahlakan stated. 

[On the contrary,] Neve thought as she saw the potions' description on the quest menu, [these are just what we need.]  1

{Quest Completed!} 

{Gain 5 Dark Rorvan Herbs with Ahlakan)

{Reward: 5 Potions of Bloodlust} 

{Potion of Bloodlust: Increases damage dealt by 15%, but increases damage taken by 10%} 

[From this point on,] Neve thought, as Ahlakan made the potions, [we'll be outmatched in terms of raw power. These potions might just give us what we need to get through waves 20 through 25.]

As Ahlakan crafted the potions in front of Neve and her summon, the healer glanced over at the lamia. 

Erin looked back at her, slightly raising a brow. 

[Maybe I could get Erin's level up a little higher before we do this. Erin is level 41 right now, and she's the main reason I stand any chance of winning at all. I need her to be stronger.] 

"You're looking at me rather intently," Erin whispered. Ahlakan, who was focused on making the potions, didn't hear her. "Was she not enough to sate you?" 

"..." Neve blinked. "What?"

"She told me a little about what the two of you did," Erin stated with a smirk. "She sounded like she enjoyed it quite a bit but, I don't know... I was wondering if maybe I could do a better job. On both of you, I mean. Wouldn't you like that from your summon?" 

Neve looked away. 

"I don't like it at all when you talk like that." 

"It's simply me adhering to my nature. What's the point in pretending that isn't the purpose of my existence? I'm just one more worthless spell in your repertoire, after all." 

Feeling slightly irritated, Neve sighed. 

[I don't want to treat her like that. But... If we're going to survive the next series of fights, then, I have to do this. I may as well just get it out of the way now.] 

"... Well, unfortunately, we're gonna make use out of that in a little bit." 

Erin's smirk went away and she tilted her head, narrowing her eyes a little. 

"What exactly does that mean?" 

As soon as Ahlakan finished, Neve showed her exactly what that meant. 

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