Chapter 118: Recovery Ability and Its Price
When Crush and Felix arrived in the courtyard, they just happened to see Natsuki Subaru, who had just reloaded from a save, starting a new round of battle.
What they saw next was beyond their expectations.
Although they weren't fully clear on Subaru's strength, they could roughly understand the range of his abilities.
But what they witnessed was Subaru actually forcing Wilhelm to take things seriously.
From a bystander's perspective, the fight between the two could only be described as beast-like — no elegance, no grace, only sharpness and killing intent.
The two's fighting aura blended and resisted each other, and their combat postures gave the onlookers a sense of unease.
Fortunately, those watching weren't weak.
Although Felix was a non-combatant, he was at least a knight, and no matter how weak, still met knight standards.
Plus, having a clear understanding of Wilhelm's strength, they couldn't help but be deeply surprised and shocked by what they saw.
The more they watched, the more they sensed something hidden inside Subaru's body.
After Subaru was knocked flying, Felix, a rear-line medic, noticed something wrong with Subaru's aura.
When he rushed to Subaru's side and checked his condition, his expression instantly turned anxious.
Amid the ensuing chaotic commotion, an entire afternoon passed.
When night fell and Subaru opened his eyes, the first sensations were weakness and pain.
"Subaru-kun! Great, you're awake! Rem will go find Felix right now."
Before Subaru could say anything, Rem's figure disappeared from his sight. He tried to sit up but gave up after a while.
"I'm still alive... I almost thought I was done for..."
Lying on the bed, unable to move, Subaru began thinking about why he ended up like this. After some thought, he reached a conclusion.
Those advanced abilities, while powerful, placed an enormous burden on his body.
The condition for triggering Bullet Time was simple—it automatically activated when his heart rate sped up—but the drawback was rapid physical exhaustion.
And once Overexertion Burst was activated, both heart and muscles ran at an overloaded pace.
In that case, Bullet Time would remain active the whole time. Bullet Time alone could be sustained for a while, but with Overexertion Burst, the burden on his body far exceeded his expectations.
When Overexertion Burst ended, his body was almost completely wrecked.
Even his heart was nearly about to fail! Or rather, it was on the verge of shutting down. Without treatment...
Listening to the sounds of running footsteps and Rem's anxious voice in the hallway, Subaru smiled bitterly to himself, realizing he'd caused trouble again.
When Rem pulled Felix into the room, she immediately let go and ran to Subaru's bedside, looking at him anxiously.
"Subaru-kun, how are you? Any discomfort? Want some water? Are you hungry?"
"I'm fine, Rem. I feel okay. No need to be so panicked."
No sooner had he spoken than he heard Felix's resentful voice.
"No need to panic? Subaru, do you know you almost died? If I hadn't been there, you'd have died right here! How would Crush-sama explain this to Emilia?"
"Sorry, sorry... it's my fault for causing trouble. I didn't expect such consequences."
Seeing Subaru's apologetic expression, Felix sighed helplessly and went to his bedside.
"I accept your apology, but once you're better, you'll have to apologize to Wilhelm-sama and Crush-sama as well."
After Subaru nodded, Felix's expression became serious.
"Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. First, your abilities must be sealed. I don't know what kind of blessing you used, but I heard you shout Overexertion Burst.
That ability must be sealed. Though it grants you tremendous combat power, the cost is severe: it overexerts your body—more specifically, your life! While the power seems to drain your body's potential, your heart takes the hardest hit.
Though I'm a renowned doctor, faced with your extreme physiological overexertion, honestly, I don't have many ways to help you recover.
You can only rest on your own.
This time, I only did some simple things to keep your heart beating until recovery. If I hadn't succeeded in maintaining your heartbeat, you'd be dead by now. So, Subaru, absolutely do not use that ability unless it's an absolute last resort!"
After hearing Felix's words, Subaru sighed inside, realizing that ability could only be a trump card.
But soon he would face the White Whale and the Archbishop of Sloth, and before his strength was sufficient...
How could he not use that ability? As for the consequences falling on himself—if it meant saving more people, what was the problem with risking his own life?
"Okay, I understand. Sorry, Rem and Felix, for making you worry. But how long do I have to keep this up?"
"Hmmm—about a day. I don't know exactly how it works, but your body's recovery ability is actually pretty good."
"Huh?"
"Don't you know? Haven't you noticed when you get hurt?"
"When I get hurt? I didn't pay much attention, since I have too many things to do."
Felix sighed helplessly.
"When you fought Wilhelm-sama, didn't your wooden sword break?"
"Yeah."
"The wooden shards cut your cheek as they flew out. When you fell, I came over and saw your wounds were already mostly healed. It's not a strong healing ability, but it helps a bit."
Hearing this, Subaru started to think about his body's condition. Recalling past experiences and minor injuries, he began to roughly understand the system's stat points.
Points put into defense made him tougher. Small accidents didn't leave wounds. When bitten by a dog, though the dog used a lot of force, it only left a small cut on his hand.
"Well, I'll go now. Rem, you don't have to stay here. Subaru needs to rest quietly, and you've been watching over him all afternoon. You should get some rest."
"I'm fine, Rem's not tired. Rem needs to watch to see if Subaru needs anything."
"I'm fine, Rem. I'm feeling a bit sleepy now, so you should go back and rest."
After Subaru persuaded her, Rem was silent for a while before leaving the room with Felix.
Left alone, Subaru thought about what to do tomorrow.
Although it probably wouldn't be any better, he had to act and not waste time lying in bed. After all, the threats of the White Whale and the Witch's Cult were still looming and untouched.