novelraw Chapter 228: Come Here for A Minute!
Chapter 228: Come Here for A Minute!
Click!
The heavy oak door clicked shut, leaving the room in a warm, sunlit quiet.
I sat there for a long moment, staring at the empty space where Tessa had just been.
Slowly, I raised a hand, my fingertips brushing lightly against my own lips.
Sigh!
"This girl..."
I murmured to the empty room, a soft, involuntary exhale escaping me.
My chest still ached, but the suffocating weight of the dungeon felt a little further away.
I shook my head, gently slapping my cheeks to clear the residual heat from my face.
I can’t afford to get distracted.
I had been unconscious for three days, and the last thing I saw before I blacked out was a terrifying stream of cyan system notifications.
I took a deep breath, mentally calling up my interface.
"Status."
A flurry of translucent blue screens instantly cascaded across my vision.
[Ding!]
[Rank UP!]
[Congratulations host, on reaching B-Rank!]
[Bonus: +10 added to all stats!]
[New Skill Unlocked!]
I blinked, my eyes widening as the main panel stabilized.
[STATUS]
Name: Jin Raith
Age: 17
Class: Debugger
Level: 30
EXP: 560/7,400
Rank: B
MC (Mana Capacity): 46/700
Affinity: Dark Lightning
HP: 2,950/2,950
MP: 1,650/1,650 (660 + 990)
STR: 48 —> 58
VIT: 47 —> 57
AGI: 89 —> 99
INT: 110 —> 120
WIS: 55 —> 65
LUK: 29 —> 39
Allocation Points: 5
Skills:
- Active: Light Orb, Alchemy (Intermediate), Debug Vision, Rolling Thunder, Void Thunder
- Passive: Poison Resistance (100%), Social Engineering, Iron Will, Mana Reservoir, Combat Analysis
- Combat: Orthodox Fang (Mastered), Lightning Fang (Proficiency: Mastered)
- Administrator Mode: [Locked!] (1d 12hr remaining!)
...
Holy crap, I thought, staring at the numbers.
My MP had absolutely skyrocketed.
And then there was the new skill. Void Thunder. The system had formally recognized the implosive, singular strike I used to erase that Grade demon.
But my eyes inevitably drifted to the bottom of the screen. The glowing, cyan-tinged text pulsing with a strict countdown.
I focused my intent on it.
[Administrator Mode]
[Description: Temporarily unlocks [Root Access], bypassing all physical limiters and mana costs to preserve the Host’s existence.]
[Warning: Utilizing Root Access places catastrophic stress on the Host’s physical chassis. The system requires a severe cooling period to repair neural and muscular damage. Cooldown: 5 Days.]
"Five days," I muttered, doing the mental math.
I had been unconscious for three, which meant I had roughly a day and a half left before I could even think about relying on it again.
I let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through my hair.
So it’s not a free pass to godhood. It was a literal trump card. If I used it, I became an untouchable for exactly five minutes... and then I became a completely helpless, unconscious liability for the next few days.
It was a terrifyingly double-edged sword.
But sitting in bed analyzing menus wasn’t going to fix the reality outside this room.
Before that...
This looks a bit odd, let me correct it.
I allocated the unlocated stats points.
STR: 58 —> 60
VIT: 57 —> 60
HP: 3,100/3,100
I pulled back, and grinned.
That’s better now.
Then I pushed the blankets off and swung my legs over the side of the mattress. The moment my bare feet touched the wooden floorboards, I felt it.
The aching in my ribs was still there, but it felt distant, like a fading bruise rather than recently shattered bone. My body felt incredibly light, yet densely packed with latent kinetic energy.
The B-Rank evolution had literally rebuilt my muscle fibers while I slept.
I stood up, testing my weight. I didn’t wobble or feel dizzy.
I looked around the room and spotted my gear neatly folded on a chair in the corner. My dark coat had been washed and expertly stitched where the demon had sheared it, and Oathstorm was resting quietly against the wall, its pitch-black scabbard gleaming in the sunlight.
I quickly dressed, strapping my sword to my hip. The familiar weight of the blade was deeply grounding.
I walked over to the window and pushed the wooden shutters open.
A cool, crisp breeze hit my face. We were in the upper rooms of the guild’s affiliated inn.
Down below, the streets of the town were bustling with merchants, adventurers, and locals going about their daily lives, completely oblivious to the apocalyptic nightmare that had almost breached their world three days ago.
Garf is dead, I thought, my grip tightening on the wooden windowsill. Mira is maimed.
And Rolf’s cult is still out there, trying to tear the world apart. We had survived the staging area, but the grand game was already in motion.
I need to check on Scarlet.
Then I turned away from the window, pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway.
Oof—
And immediately collided with someone in a wall of starched white robes.
I stumbled back half a step, looking up to see an older woman with severe gray hair pulled into a tight bun, clutching a heavy wooden medical kit.
Behind her was Tessa, who peeked around her shoulder, looking halfway between amused and apologetic.
"And just where do you think you’re going?" the healer demanded, her eyes narrowing strictly behind thick spectacles.
"You’ve been unconscious for three days, young man! The structural integrity of your ribcage was a complete disaster area!"
I sheepishly scratched the back of my neck, letting out a nervous, apologetic laugh.
"Ah, sorry, ma’am. I just... I wasn’t feeling well just laying down anymore. I needed to stretch my legs."
She let out a long, long-suffering sigh that suggested she dealt with stubborn adventurers entirely too often.
She set her kit on a nearby side table and stepped forward. Her hands glowed with a soft, diagnostic green mana as she ran them quickly over my chest and shoulders.
After few moments of check-up, the glow faded, and her stern expression softened into genuine bewilderment.
"Miraculous," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.
Then, she pointed a strict finger right at my nose.
"You are free to be discharged. However, I strongly advise you not to be reckless. Give your body the time it needs to truly heal, or those newly knit bones will snap right back under pressure."
"I’ll keep that in mind," I nodded respectfully.
And gave her a polite bow.
"Thank you."
The moment the healer gathered her kit and turned the corner, Tessa beamed. She immediately stepped up, looping her arm securely through mine.
"Let’s go out to the balcony," she grinned, her eyes bright. "I made something for you to eat. Scarlet is already out there."
Before I could even agree, she was already dragging me down the hall.
I didn’t resist, just letting her lead the way. It was honestly a relief to see the unburdened spring back in her step after the nightmare we had just crawled out of.
We stepped out onto a wide, sun-drenched wooden balcony overlooking the bustling courtyard of the inn.
Scarlet was sitting at a small round table in the corner, her chin propped heavily on her hand, looking profoundly bored.
She wasn’t in her glamour.
Tessa pulled me down into a chair next to her and immediately pushed a steaming bowl of thick, savory stew in front of me.
Before I could even pick up the spoon myself, she had already scooped up a hearty piece of meat and held it right to my mouth.
"Tessa, I can feed my—"
"Open up," she interrupted, her smile leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
I sighed in defeat, opening my mouth and accepting the bite. It was incredibly good, but I could already feel the heat returning to my cheeks.
Across the table, Scarlet loudly clicked her tongue.
She violently turned her head to stare out at the courtyard, her fox ears twitching in pure, unfiltered annoyance.
"Gods, you two are insufferable," She drawled.
"Should I leave so you can spoon-feed each other in peace? I wouldn’t want to interrupt you babying him."
I swallowed the stew, quickly clearing my throat.
"I forgot to ask," And said, desperately trying to steer the conversation back to safer territory.
"How are you feeling, Scarlet?"
Though she just scoffed, not even bothering to turn back to look at me.
"Oh, how very polite of you to ask, Jin. As for your question, I was doing perfectly fine... right up until you two came out here and completely ruined my mood."
Tessa just giggled, completely unbothered by the demi-human’s snark, and readied another spoonful of stew.
I was just about to protest the second bite when a heavy, familiar voice cut through the bright morning air.
"Jin!"
I turned in my chair.
Edric was standing in the doorway of the balcony. He wasn’t wearing his armor, just a simple dark tunic.
His dark eyes were serious, entirely lacking the warmth of the morning sun.
Then he tilted his head toward the hallway, motioning for me to follow.
"Come here for a minute. I have something important to talk."