The Lone Healer-Chapter 165: Heartless Enterprises, Part One

As Neve and Erin drew closer to the tall building on the opposite side of the map, a shot rang out.

"Hm?"

Neve did not react at all, but Erin instantly got between her and the direction from which the shot had been fired.

Neve looked to her left. There was a hole in the ground, burning as though a laser had just landed there.

"Neve, don’t move. We might be in danger."

The healer thought the exact opposite, though.

[... Looks like an intentional miss, to me.]

A voice then spoke up from loudspeakers Neve hadn’t noticed.

"Who are you two? Speak."

The robotic voice that spoke to them did so with a firmness that made Neve wonder if she or Erin would be receiving a shot to the head for any wrong answers.

Neve, completely uncaring, said:

"We’re travelers from another world."

There was a pause. The voice considered their answer before responding:

"Like the murderer who tried to kill me? You’re with him?"

A brief flash of Neve’s snuffed-out rage came back.

[Thomas...] She shook her head. [I’m guessing that he tried to kill this NPC to get more levels before our fight. But, he failed? Hm... This NPC must be pretty strong, then.]

"No," Neve replied. "We aren’t with him."

Again, the robotic voice took a moment to consider their words.

"I hope you understand that I can’t just give you the benefit of the doubt here. I lost an arm to that flesh sack."

[And yet, you aren’t shooting me in the head right now. So, in some way, you are giving me the benefit of the doubt.]

Sighing, Neve said:

"Okay, then let us prove it to you."

"How exactly do you plan to do that?"

"Judging by the fact that you’re holding up in that building, I’m guessing you either can’t leave or won’t leave for some reason. Do you want anything?" Neve asked. "Just tell me where to go and I’ll get it for you."

"..."

[These pauses... Does it really take that long for a robot to process information?]

"Fine, then," the robot finally responded. "There’s a marketplace to the west of you that I cannot visit. Somewhere in there, you should find a pack of nutritional liquids. Bring that back to this exact spot where you’re standing now and I’ll try to believe you."

At that moment, something popped up.

{Quest Gained!}

{Assist Andromeda}

{Reward: 10 IP}

{Reward: Technique: Reconstruction}

[Yeah, I had a feeling this was tied to the Floor Quest. I need to remember, though,] Neve noted, [I might need to complete this in a particular way to get that Technique. Completing the quest alone doesn’t mean I’ll get all of the rewards, like what happened with Lam... Though, if I had gotten Lam as a vendor, traveling with me, would Thomas have killed her too?]

Neve almost smacked herself.

[Why am I even asking? Of course, he would have.]

"Alright," Neve finally answered. "I’ll go get those... liquids. What am I looking for, exactly?"

"A big container with an equally big label that reads ’nutritional liquids’. You’ll know it when you see it."

"Okay, sure, I’ll be back in a bit."

With that unpassionate response, Neve promptly began walking to the west.

"Neve, I am concerned," Erin said. "I believe I may have finally gone crazy as well. I actually heard the voices in your head, this time."

Neve stifled a laugh.

"It was bound to happen, with you hanging around me for so long."

Automatically, Neve’s legs took her to what she believed was the place this "Andromeda" was talking about. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[Yeah... This looks like it would be the place.]

Up ahead was a collection of tiny shops. Each one seemed to have once sold some trifles. Fireworks, toys, food, and drinks. However, covering it all somewhat was a dense, green mist. Even the rain seemed unable to pass through, as the floor was completely dry here.

Neve saw an android body resting against one of these kiosks. Unlike the others she’d seen, there were no wounds on this thing. And yet, the android’s body was burned, as though a vat of acid had been dropped over it.

[Ah, I get it. So, Andromeda’s probably an android, and this is why it can’t walk in here.]

"Okay, the voice said that we’d know this thing when we saw it. So, keep an eye out."

"Of course."

Cautiously, they began to make their way through the marketplace. Neve’s ears were perked up, trying to listen. Signs written in this world’s native language flickered. A sizzling sound came from some of the leftover androids. There was a faint clicking in the distance.

"Neve," Erin said, pulling her attention to her. "Up ahead."

Looking past her, Neve saw what made her stop.

Three four-legged creatures appeared.

[... Gross.]

The three monsters had the bodies of dogs but the heads of lizards, with four large tusk-like teeth protruding from their mouths. Spikes ran down the lengths of their backs, twitching as they stalked the pair.

Level 66

MP: 200/200

Level 65

MP: 150/150

Level 65

MP: 170/170

As they slowly moved forward, Neve cast {Field of Brilliance} under herself and Erin.

MP: 1225/1300

Following that up with both {Encourage} and {Bolstering Presence} brought her MP down to 1175.

In all honesty, with all of the tools available to her, Neve couldn’t see how she and her summon could lose this fight. At the same time, even if she didn’t have them, she didn’t really care if they did.

[I mean, there are better ways to die than being eaten alive, but still. Whatever.]

Due to {Field of Brilliance}, {Bolstering Presence} increased Erin’s Speed and Precision by 6 instead.

Level 65

MP: 150/150

EXP: N/A

Activity Points: N/A

WS Tokens: N/A

Mood: 85% (Close Friend)

---

Endurance: 50

Speed: 71

Precision: 81

Strength: 40

Arcane: 15

The monsters charged toward them.

Erin used {The Lamia’s Hunt}, making her Speed even higher.

Then, her claw met the first of the lizard-like dogs before it could even react.

Her claw sunk into its throat, tearing it out. Its friends reacted by trying to attack her, launching themselves at her torso. Neve put a stop to that by casting {Flash Shielding}, producing a magical barrier from which their teeth bounced off harmlessly.

MP: 1150/1300

One of the alien dogs turned toward Neve, perhaps recognizing her as an easier target.

It ran straight at her.

Neve glanced at Erin. The lamia was currently finishing off the other dog, rending its body with her claws.

[... I’ll probably have to take at least a couple of hits, huh.]

Understanding this, Neve set her eyes on the dog in front of her once again.

It went to bite down on her torso, but Neve cast {Flash Shielding} again.

Once, twice, Neve prevented the enemy from biting down on her through the use of that spell she’d been gifted.

However, on its third attempt, Neve gritted her teeth and allowed it to strike her.

The dog bit down on Neve’s abdomen.

She marked herself and then the enemy on her.

As it tried to tear out her flesh with its teeth, she activated {Equivalent Exchange}. The lizard squealed, falling to the side as a terrible wound appeared on its side.

Then, Neve raised up her blade.

Her unactivated blade.

Tossing her staff aside, Neve sat on the dog’s body and raised the blade up.

Then, she brought it down on its body. Naturally, it struggled to penetrate its body, since it was currently scaling off purely physical attributes and Blade. Neve didn’t care, though.

A fire was lit inside of her, as she stared down at the opponent.

If the sword wasn’t able to slide into its body, well, Neve felt that maybe she just needed to try harder.

So, she attempted the stab again. The tip of her blade pushed through the monster’s outer layer. Neve tried again.

Blood pumped through her veins just a little bit faster. Everything around Neve went quiet. All she could think about was ending this thing’s life.

And, as her sword sunk all the way in, she knew she’d be able to do that soon.

Strangely, the thought of that made her want to push that blade in even deeper.

She kept going. Blood jumped out, landing on her face. Her knees got cold as a red pool surrounded them.

All the while, Neve did not stop stabbing that monster. Even as Erin, having finished off the other opponent, slithered up to her side.

One, two, three more times, Neve stabbed it, until, finally, the energy in her arms went away again.

The fire slowly went out until Neve went right back to being just as empty as she had been before the fight.

Only, now, tears fell freely from her eyes.

"Neve?"

The healer looked down at her hands. Her sword fell as they lost their strength.

Trembling, Neve thought:

[... What the fuck is wrong with me?]