Chapter 21
"Ow… wh… where am I? Wh… what happened?" Zen muttered as his blurry eyes slowly fluttered open, his head pounding with a dull, persistent ache.
Gradually, his vision cleared, and the hazy shapes around him sharpened.
"Huh?" he murmured, glancing around in confusion. The air was thick with the sharp scent of antiseptics, mingled with something more earthy blood, herbs, and a faint trace of raw essence.
Rows of simple white beds lined both sides of the room, each separated by thick curtains. Some curtains were partially drawn aside, revealing injured Reavers swathed in bandages, either groaning softly or lying still, lost in unconsciousness after brutal missions.
At the far end was the main healing chamber which was a wide, circular space carved with glowing sigils along its walls and floor.
In its center floated a crystal orb, pulsing gently with inner light. It served as an essence purifier, feeding the steady glow of the healing wards that enveloped the clinic in a protective hum.
Healers in dull green robes moved briskly from patient to patient. Some had their palms aglow with soft blue light as they chanted spells, while others carried trays filled with glass vials of potions that hissed faintly and gave off a strange, medicinal steam.
Their expressions were calm and disciplined.
Off to the side, the priority ward stood behind reinforced doors. It was reserved for the heavily injured but high-ranking members, with walls embedded with rare artifacts to fortify the rooms.
Two stern-faced medics stood watch, their hands never far from the weapons strapped to their belts these were healers who were trained for both mending and fighting.
"A clinic? Ho… how did I get here?" Zen muttered under his breath. He strained his memory, and slowly, fragments of the past days came rushing back to him.
From the cursed moment he was dragged into this game world, to the portal break where a Reaver saved him and recruited him, then the assessment, and finally the dungeon: the dungeon where death had nearly claimed him.
Images of the beasts, and especially the wolf, flashed through his mind. His eyes widened, heart thudding hard against his chest. In a swift motion, he flung the blanket aside and looked down at his body.
"What?" he breathed, his brows knitting in confusion. His leg, the one that had been ripped apart was whole again. His skin was smooth, unblemished, without a single scar from the brutal wounds he had suffered.
No cuts. No bruises. Not even a faint mark.
"Wait… was all that I experienced just a dream? Didn't I go into a dungeon earlier?" he whispered, still staring at himself as if looking for proof of what he had endured.
"It isn't a dream, nor was it your imagination."
The sudden voice made Zen turn sharply, expecting to see a healer addressing him. Instead, a familiar figure stepped into view.
"Sir Tom?" Zen's eyes widened in recognition.
"Good to see you awake. When you slept for a week, I thought something bad must have happened to you. But I suppose the whole ordeal really took its toll." Tom chuckled, striding closer. He pulled up a chair and sat beside Zen, whose eyes blinked rapidly in disbelief.
"Wait! I was out for a full week?!" Zen nearly shouted, but quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, glancing around nervously before fixing his gaze back on Tom.
"I mean, unless I'm going senile, then you really did sleep for a week. But I'm shocked that just a D-ranked beast was enough to put you out cold. I mean, didn't you kill that C-ranked troll from your village that one time?" Tom questioned with furrowed brows.
'Huh? What does he mean just D-ranked beasts? Didn't they see the C-ranked beast's body? I was nearly ripped to shreds by a damn C-rank, not a D-ra… wait a moment!' Zen thought as he turned sharply to stare at Tom.
"Just D-ranked beasts?" he asked slowly.
"Yes. That's what the dungeon comprises. D-rank and E-ranked beasts, that's all. Though there are C ranked beasts, they are kept secured with heavy cages so they won't kill you all.
All you recruits had to do was hunt five of each rank. Or you could hunt more, though. The higher you hunt, the higher your rank will be, and the quicker you get your Essence Veil," Tom explained, and Zen's mouth suddenly went dry.
'So was my encounter with the C-ranked beast just a dream? Was it my imagination? No! That all felt way too real to be fake. Does that mean it was the game that spawned that beast for me?
Did it want to eliminate me so badly it spawned a C-ranked monster? Damnnn! This is getting more and more dangerous by the day.'
"By the way, how did your leg get so ripped off? We found it lying a metre away from your beaten-up body," Tom said, snapping Zen out of his thoughts.
"I… that… I… Quick one, though." Zen hurriedly tried to divert the question, knowing he couldn't explain it was the work of a C-ranked beast. "How did you know to come find me?"
"Oh, that!" Tom chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "All the recruits made it out safely, but you were nowhere to be found, so I decided to come look for you myself. I found you lying there, battered and ragged, and I honestly thought you were dead. Thankfully, I brought you here in time."
"Ohh." Zen nodded slowly, then sighed before bowing his head slightly. His hands clenched tightly around the edges of the blanket in frustration. "Guess I failed the assessment, huh. Thank you for your help so far, Sir Tom. I'll be leaving shortly and try to find my path in the world."
"Huh?" Tom muttered with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean, I failed to gather the amount of kills needed to become a Reaver, so I know I didn't make the cut. I'll be leaving soon. Thank you for giving me an equal chance," Zen said, forcing a smile at Tom, who simply blinked at him in confusion.
"Did you hit your head on something? Tch! Who said anything about you not making the cut and becoming a Reaver?" Tom asked with furrowed brows.
"Huh? Bu—"
"Shush!" Tom quickly cut Zen off, a smile tugging at his lips. "You are officially a Reaver of the Silverfall Clan, you butt-head. Although your rank is… well, not that great." He added a nervous chuckle.
"Wait! I made it?!" Zen shouted in shock when a searing pain suddenly burned on the back of his hand, forcing him to glance down.
"Oh! Guess they just updated the system to welcome you," Tom chuckled as Zen stared at his hand. A symbol of the clan was etched there, glowing faintly, along with another line of text that was already beginning to fade away.
"And that is your rank," Tom added with a grin.
"This? This is garbage!" Zen shouted in outrage at the rank he was seeing.