The Lone Healer-Chapter 50: The Hall of the Luminous, Part Fifteen

Sometime later, after Neve had allocated all of the Attribute Points she’d earned, Neve finally got up.

Neve decided that hitting enemies over fifty times just to get one kill was overrated, so she put all of the points she’d earned into Strength.

Granted, all that meant was that now, maybe it would be 40 hits instead of 50, but, still, she felt she needed that strength going into the next 5 waves.

As, now, she’d be under-leveled from here on out.

Level 48

MP: 600/600 (+300)

EXP: 440/480

AP: 1690

WS Tokens: 8210

---

Endurance: 20

Speed: 40

Precision: 15

Strength: 17

Arcane: 60

[Even though that gross water’s gone, it still smells awful here. I feel like if I rest for too long, I’ll pass out. If I’m gonna lie down, I’d rather do it back at Ahlakan’s house.]

On that note, she forced herself to get back up and walked out of the temple.

The city’s inhabitants stood outside. They perked up once they saw her. Some of the skepticism that Neve had seen in their eyes since she arrived finally vanished. In its place was a clear sense of hope.

[How long did it take me to get through all of this? An hour? Did they wait for me the whole time? Well, I guess for a civilization that’s been stuck in this place for who knows how long, an hour is nothing.]

With legs so weary that Neve worried they might fall off mid-stride, Neve walked toward the group. Her boots left grimy prints where she walked, and a few people turned their noses up with disgust, but the impressed glint in their eyes did not fade away.

"I-Is it done?" One of them asked.

"Not yet," Neve answered, loudly enough for all of them to hear. "I’m halfway there."

---

{Wave 15 completed!}

{New Rorvan Spells and Rorvan Techniques available!}

{Check with Ministress Jia for more information}

[I don’t think I’ve ever been more thankful for being able to take a shower than I am right now. Holy shit, I smell awful.]

As the cold water hit Neve’s chest, the healer closed her eyes and tried to think of everything she could do to prepare for the next waves.

[Equipment, spells, techniques. I already looked into my options with equipment. So, now I need to check on spells and techniques.] Nodding to herself, she tried to think of people to talk to. [I guess the ministress will let me know who to go to. I hope the stuff I get will be useful...]

Remembering the quest she received from Ahlakan earlier, she called Tamira to her mind.

[Tamira?]

"Yes?"

[Was that the only quest in this city?]

"Maaaaayyyyybe."

[Useless.]

"Teehee~"

Just like that, Tamira left.

[... She had said that clearing the Hall of the Luminous would take a couple of weeks. I’m halfway through, though, and it’s only been a couple of days. Maybe- no, no,] she stopped herself. [If I had to guess, the majority of the time in that estimate she’d given is going to be spent now, preparing for the last 10 waves. I’m level 48, and wave 20 will have enemies at level 60. Wave 25 will have enemies at level 75. Who knows how long it’ll take to prepare for them.]

Once she was done, Neve walked out of the bathroom with a soft, white towel wrapped around her body.

The house was quiet.

[Is Ahlakan painting again?] Neve found herself wondering. [She was good at it... Was the ’real’ Ahlakan that good or are the Forces That Be trying to make me be impressed? I don’t know.]

She walked into the guest room quickly, her eyes low.

Casually, she opened the door, took her towel, and threw it off to the side.

[Maybe, I could...]

It wasn’t until the damned thing was in the air, soaring through the small space, that Neve realized something crucial.

Ahlakan was in the room, sitting on Neve’s bed.

She’d been staring in silence these past few seconds, and now her wide eyes were roaming up and down Neve’s naked body while her mouth appeared to open on its own.

"Fuck!" Neve quickly reached for the same towel she’d just tossed aside. "W-What are you doing in here!?"

"I..." Ahlakan took a deep breath and looked away. "I apologize. I was waiting for you here because I thought you’d change into your clothes in the bathroom. I didn’t think you’d..."

"W-Whatever," Neve replied, trying to force her face to stop being so red through sheer will. "Can you step out for a sec?"

"Sure."

Ahlakan did as Neve asked then. Feeling her heart beating a little too fast, Neve threw on some random clothes from the drawers in a hurry. So much so that she ended up with some yellow cotton pants, a sleeveless, low-cut red shirt, and a blue necklace.

She felt like a walking rainbow.

"I-I’m done," she called out.

Ahlakan slowly opened the door, then.

The girl walked in meekly, her eyes quickly falling back onto Neve’s body before confirming that she was, in fact, not naked anymore. Crossing her legs, the healer managed to calm herself down as the girl sat next to her.

"So, what did you want to ask about?"

"I..." Again, Ahlakan snuck a glance at the human before tearing her eyes away. "I wanted to know if you wanted to gather more herbs."

"Oh," Neve replied, pleasantly surprised to hear that was even an option. "From the lake again?"

"If you want," Ahlakan replied. "But, there is another option."

"What is it?"

"To the northeast, beside the temple, there’s a pocket where some other herbs can be found. I haven’t made any potions with them because mother always told me that those won’t make anything useful, but they may aid you in your mission."

Neve was willing to go along with this, but just in case she wasn’t, a message appeared all but instructing her to take Ahlakan up on her offer.

{Quest Received!}

{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%}

"My mother told me that some warriors went crazy upon ingesting the potions created with that pocket’s herbs. Do you still wish to go gather them with me?"

"Yeah," Neve answered instantly. If this message hadn’t appeared, her choice may have been more difficult to make. However, with the prompt in front of her, letting her know exactly what effect the potion would have, the choice was easy to make. "Before we do, I want to go talk to the ministress, though. Can you go with me? I feel like she might just end up stabbing me out of spite if I walk up alone."

"She is not so irrational," Ahlakan told Neve with a chuckle. "But, sure. If it would comfort you, I will walk by your side."

---

The ministress sat behind her desk, sipping some black liquid as Neve and Ahlakan walked into her office. Before, when Neve had first met her, her eyes had quickly taken on a powerful distrust. Now, however, there was simply quiet resignation.

"... My warriors tell me you’ve been walking into the temple. Have you given up yet?" Jia asked with a mocking smirk.

"Nope," Neve replied, walking forward. "I’m halfway done with it."

"How does one determine they’re halfway done fighting an endless force?" Jia asked, tilting her head as she rested her head on the palm of her right hand.

"It helps that I know they’re not endless," Neve answered. "You’ll understand that in a bit, though. But, I do need some help."

"Help?" Jia asked, standing up from her table and walking toward Neve. She got closer and closer until she was standing in arm’s reach, looking down at Neve. "We’ve been trying to eliminate those creatures for years. Even if you’re right and there is a limit to them, what makes you think we could help?"

"I don’t know if you can," Neve answered, looking up at the taller woman. "But I want to make sure. Does anyone in the city sell magic spells? Can anyone here teach me and my companion some techniques?"

Jia then placed a finger under Neve’s chin and pulled her face up. Narrowing her black eyes, she frowned as she looked down at the human.

"You sure are demanding."

"And you sure seem eager to refuse to help in your own survival," Neve answered, albeit more quietly as a result of the shortened distance between them. "If I fail, what changes? Why can’t you just try to assist me?"

For a moment the two of them stared at each other. Eventually, however, Jia had an odd reaction.

She backed away all of a sudden, as though Neve’s body had burned the hand she had placed on her.

In an instant, she was right back at that chair, turning it away from Neve and staring at the wall behind her, all while Neve watched, confused.

"There is a magician to the south of the city, by the Blessed Lake. You can ask him if he has anything that might help. In addition... Carlen," she said, and one of the guards stepped forward. A woman with strong arms, holding a spear.

"Yes, ma’am?"

"See if our guest and her friend can learn a thing or two about fighting."

"Understood." Carlen turned toward Neve. "Do you wish to start now?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Come on, then."

Carlen walked out of the office. Ahlakan’s eyes met Neve’s and the healer just shrugged at her.

[This is good enough.]

Before Neve walked out of the office, she looked back at Jia.

The ministress hugged her own body, and even from here, Neve could see how her body trembled as she breathed.

[Uh... Why are they acting like this? Is there something I’m missing?]