201: The Healer's Light, Part Eight

The Healer's Light, Part Eight

{Charlotte}

For once, Charlotte was watching the chaos unfold from a distance. She had been tempted to get close, to stay in the middle of the action as she usually was. 

But, this time, she knew, in the back of her mind, that if she tried she would likely end up dying immediately. 

"How are we supposed to take this thing down!?" An archer cried out as she took aim at one peculiar monster in the distance. Usually, when it came to archers the main thing they were worried about was missing. In this case, that was the last of her worries. 

A monster the size of an average, middle-class house was currently stomping through the streets. It resembled an orc, except it had grey skin instead of the typical green and it had a long, thick tail that it dragged behind it. 

Wielding a club, the monster approached some of the higher-level players sent to intercept it. 

Higher-level players had been deemed necessary here for the simple reason that this orc's level was 45. 

Making this, possibly, the single strongest monster to have appeared during an outbreak, as far as Charlotte knew, anyway. 

The archer who'd yelled that question out earlier continued firing one arrow after another, while Charlotte stood next to her watching the fight with a camera. 

"Where are the high levels!?" A level 18 sorcerer asked. The man tried to assist some of the sacrificial lambs sent to distract the monster within melee range, but the orc had mages of its own behind it, creating their own barriers and launching spells at them in return. 

"They should be on their way!" A tank player yelled in response. "The Golden Dragons are sending a few- AGH!?" 

The tank player got caught by surprise as a sword slashed him from behind. It didn't get through his armor, but it distracted the tank long enough for that monstrous orc to swipe at him with its club. 

The result was that the tank flew through the air, leaving behind a trail of red, damn near blown apart by the blow. 

"What...?" The archer next to Charlotte asked as all players in the vicinity turned their eyes toward the culprit, a swordsman who was turning his sword toward his fellow players. 

He spoke at a volume that was barely above a whisper, but Charlotte still heard him, as she used a Technique she'd learned recently to heighten her senses. 

"Let the end come..." The man muttered. "Let the end come..." 

[Another follower of the Hidden Blade Guild. Figures,] Charlotte thought as she stared at him, just before the other players collapsed on the swordsman. [As far as they're concerned, this is it. All these outbreaks mean that the Forces That Be have had enough, time is up, and the world is ending.] 

Many people, even among those who weren't willing to join the Hidden Blade Guild in their quest to speed up the apocalypse, believed this to be the case for one simple reason. 

Because if you didn't believe this to be the end, that meant you actually had faith that one, lone player, a healer, could finish the Final Challenge on her own. 

This was why it wasn't just the number of Hidden Blade Guild attacks that had ticked up amidst the outbreaks, but the suicide rate had gone up as well. 

Charlotte did have that belief, though. It was why she was able to see this orc break players apart with its club like piñatas without despairing. 

... Though, she did feel it would be nice if Neve could speed things up a bit. 

---

{Neve}

With the barrier broken, Neve and Erin continued to walk through the level, along with Viscera who followed behind them quietly. 

"Neve, tell me," Erin said, "if you kiss me again, would the buff you cast upon me get stronger?" 

She smiled at the healer in a way that made Neve feel pretty embarrassed. 

"I don't know," Neve replied quietly. 

"It's worth experimenting then, isn't it? We've done a lot for the sake of science already. Why stop now?" 

Sighing, Neve turned toward her friend. 

The lamia bent down a little and planted a gentle kiss on Neve's lips. Though it was so soft, it still set Neve's lips on fire. 

And, a message appeared. 

Status Effect Applied!

Charm

{Attributes increased by 2 for 10 minutes} 

Erin Leynall

Level 67

MP: 170/170

EXP: N/A

Activity Points: N/A

WS Tokens: N/A

Mood: 95% (Near-Lover)

---

Endurance: 57

Speed: 72

Precision: 87

Strength: 47

Arcane: 17

"So, what happened?" Erin asked. She was a little bit too close, still. 

[This is the same message as last time, right?] 

"It, ehm... refreshed the effect," Neve declared. "It didn't make it any stronger." 

"Tragic." Erin giggled. "Be sure to let me know when the effect needs 'refreshing', then." 

"Right..." 

Continuing down the corridor the three of them came to a section that Neve probably should have expected. 

The next building was entirely disconnected from this one. There was a massive gap between them, where clouds acted as a sort of false cushion, obscuring the true height of this floating city. 

And, between both these sections of the city, were many, many, many little blocks, forming the single toughest platforming section Neve had seen yet. 

Before, both on the previous floor and back at Roha where Neve had met Erin, the platforms had been spacious enough to allow for a small amount of overshooting or undershooting, giving the players meant to jump on top of them some room for error. 

That wasn't the case here. Each platform was only big enough for Neve to get her feet on them. Nothing more, nothing less. 

And, there were dozens of them, with some near the back moving from side to side. 

There was no doubt about it. This would be the toughest platforming section yet. Especially if Neve wanted to get to that golden chest she saw hovering over thirty meters above. 

... If Neve had any intention of doing it normally.  0

"Viscera, can you fly me up to that thing?" 

The fallen angel wrapped an arm around her waist and did just that. 

Erin nodded, slithered back, and sat on the ground, knowing what Neve meant to do. 

Skipping the arduous process in its entirety, Viscera placed Neve on the tile right in front of the chest, and stayed there, flapping her black wings in the air, waiting for her next order. 

As Neve opened the chest, a voice popped up. 

"Ah, smart! Good thinking! But, be careful, you take too many of these kinds of shortcuts and I might just make things harder for you to compensate~" 

"..." 

Neve stopped. 

Ordinarily, she simply would not respond to Tamira, as she'd all but sworn not to do at this point. But, this time, she simply couldn't help herself. 

It wasn't a meaningful victory, but Neve still wanted to savor this moment, knowing she'd gotten one over on the snake. 

"You literally can't," Neve said, out loud. 

"Oh? Why's that?" 

"Like you said, back when we made the deal to increase the rate of healer drops, it takes time for you to change levels." 

"No, I said I didn't like to change levels quickly because it can cause glitches. What makes you think I care now?" Tamira asked. 

"Cause you're too proud. Yeah, you're a sadist, but you're a sadist with an ego, and you probably don't want to risk breaking the level you designed just for the sake of punishing me because I skipped one section. If that's something you'd do, then, go ahead. Prove me wrong. But, I don't think that's your style." 

"..." 

Tamira remained silent. So much so, that Neve wondered if she'd straight up left without a word. But, the echoing, low cackling that Neve heard in her skull told her that wasn't the case. 

Neve ignored that laughter, though, and focused on the chest. 

She opened it and, once again, found nothing she could use. 

Still, the item inside was worth quite a lot of money, so, Neve stored it in her Inventory and turned toward Viscera. 

"Hey, take-" 

Neve flinched. She almost fell off the tile she stood on. 

For a second, the person she saw wasn't Viscera, but instead Ahlakan, with her body cut up and torn, looking back at her, crying tears of blood. 

The image changed right before Neve's eyes, though, and once again, it was Viscera that Neve saw. 

The healer balled her hands up into fists, but didn't let her anger get the better of her. 

Instead, she thought to herself: 

[So, I was right, wasn't I? You petty bitch.] 

And, as silence was the only response Neve got, she took that as confirmation that, indeed, this was the case. 

"Okay, take me over there," Neve told her charmed angel, pointing at the other end of the platforming section, leading into the next part of the map. 

Viscera did so, and Neve quickly re-summoned Erin. 

"Found anything useful?" Erin asked. Neve shook her head as she brought up her map. 

[We're halfway to the boss already,] she thought. [Keep it up,] she told herself. [You have a new goal. And soon, Tamira's going to know exactly what it is you have in mind.] 

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