Everything felt like a dream, but sadly, it wasn't. Luca opened his eyes and found himself back at the beginning of the nightmare.
The blue sofa, reflecting his fear, was both soft and firm enough for him to lean against.
"Ah!"
Luca accidentally screamed, even though the burns and injuries from the game had almost completely disappeared, the lingering pain still caught him off guard.
"You're back!"
Amelie opened the door and stepped in, carrying a stack of novels she had recently bought. She went to the bookshelf and arranged the books in order.
"Yeah..."
Luca replied wearily, adjusting his posture to find the most comfortable position. Seeing him fatigued, Amelie took some biscuits from the glass jar and poured two cups of tea.
"Here! Drink this!"
Luca looked at the cup of tea and nodded. He began to drink, his eyes sparkling. The tea had a sweet taste, quite similar to peach; if he could, he'd definitely have to ask for the address of the place where he bought it. Amelie took the book from the table and put it away.
"You must be in a lot of pain! Don't worry, he'll be here soon!"
"He?"
Luca didn't know who Amelie was referring to until he saw Orion walk in with a man in a very distinctive outfit that was sure to turn heads.
The man's plague doctor-style outfit exuded a gloomy aura. The most striking feature was the white bird-beak mask, a stark contrast to his wide-brimmed hat and jet-black high boots.
The man sighed at Luca's expression.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, I'll go change right away."
The man spoke in a calm, gentlemanly tone, while Orion sat down in a nearby chair. Amilie immediately jumped up to pour Orion some tea.
"Lord Orion! You're here! It's been so long since I've seen you sitting here with everyone! I'll go prepare your favorite dessert!"
Amelie, like a girl in love, happily went out to get a sweet treat for Orion.
"You must have had an interesting experience, right?"
Orion focused on Luca, who had just escaped from the 'Infinity Void'.
Luca nodded.
"Yes."
Orion looked directly into Luca's eyes.
"You should get used to it too, because this game might follow you until you die, but it's also a good opportunity to become stronger."
The man had changed into a more presentable doctor's uniform, his dark purple hair neatly tied back in a stylish ponytail, and his languid eyes behind sharp black glasses stood out.
"Please take off your shirt."
Luca froze in place while Orion immediately offered a reassuring smile.
"Calm down, it's okay, Cassian is a very good doctor."
That's not about it! Who would ever ask someone to take off their clothes the moment they meet them?!
Luca thought to himself, but since it was a chance for free treatment, why not seize it? Luca took off his shirt, revealing a body bruised from previous pains and swollen wounds, some of which were on the verge of scarring due to Luca's carelessness in not seeking treatment and enduring the pain… It looked terrible, and Luca's handsome face was also significantly damaged by the wounds.
"You clearly don't know how to love yourself. Your BMI is probably below the safe limit. Your internal organs may have started to malfunction."
Cassian sighed helplessly, took out a piece of paper, and moved closer to Luca, examining his wound with his hand and some medical supplies from a leather pouch with a red plus sign in the middle.
"There's a microfracture of the clavicle. The lumbar spine has been subjected to excessive stress for a long time, and there's also damage to the patella from repeated impacts."
"Muscle atrophy due to malnutrition, along with spreading hematoma and an acute inflammatory reaction."
Luca listened as Cassian listed a long series of symptoms and his physical condition, to the point that Orion, sitting nearby, looked utterly astonished by Luca's apparent indifference.
Amelie then entered and placed a slice of lemon cake she had made herself for Orion… but as she turned towards Luca, she froze in place.
"What?! Your body looks like it's been bitten by a dog!"
Amelie returned to her seat, naturally moving a little closer to Orion.
Cassian said nothing, just put on his gloves.
"I'd like to use room 035."
Orion simply nodded.
"You don't need to ask me, just treat Luca first. After all, he's a new member of our team."
Cassian said nothing, only nodded and extended his hand to help Luca stand up.
"Please follow me."
Luca nodded, took Cassian's hand, and followed behind, while Amelie chatted animatedly with Orion.
Luca followed Cassian down the corridor with its various doors, but where they led was a mystery.
"You don't need to be so tense. Just think of this as an organization with a museum on the surface."
"Okay."
Luca nodded and followed Cassian to room number 035. As soon as he entered, Luca could smell the scent of medicine and the neatly arranged equipment on shelves, and a bed in the middle.
"Lie down. After I give you the basic treatment, you can go find Seraphine if you want to speed things up."
"Seraphine?"
Cassian simply nodded and helped Luca climb onto the patient bed while he cleaned the medical instruments and checked his gloves one more time.
"That's right, she's not a doctor, but her skills do have healing capabilities, in a way."
Luca's only option is to listen to the doctor; after all, he had no choice, and they hadn't shown any malicious intentions yet… he could trust them for now.
"You should treat yourself to some sleep after you get back. I bet you didn't sleep for days during that game, did you?"
Luca nodded repeatedly and looked at Cassian.
"That's right, and the props and next levels suggested by the system are all very mysterious."
"Yes, they're mysterious, but very useful. I'm using them anyway, it's just that their effects in real life won't be as strong as in the game. The props are usually in your inventory; check it later… now, let's begin."
Cassian placed a pillow under Luca's back to make him sit up and lie down at the same time. On the wooden table were clean bandages, thin wooden splints, steel scissors, and needles and thread sterilised with strong alcohol. Cassian used one hand to hold Luca's shoulder and the other to raise his left arm to the correct angle. Luca gritted his teeth in pain as he felt them moving.
"You have a fractured clavicle. If it had shifted by two millimeters more, you would have needed surgery to correct it."
He didn't raise his voice, and with just a light press, a very faint 'click' sound was heard, causing Luca's face to turn pale.
"The joint is in place."
He took a thick fabric figure-eight brace, wrapped it around both shoulders, and tightened it just enough to pull the bone into alignment.
"Pain is normal, numbness is the real problem."
He checked Luca's fingertips.
"Still pink, good, just a little more, almost done."
Cassian sighed and continued, this time targeting Luca's muscles.
"Deviation three degrees to the right. Prolonged protective muscle contraction."
Cassian noted this in his notebook, then placed his hands on either side of Luca's spine, pressing deeply into the point of stiffness.
"Exhale."
As Luca exhaled, Cassian, without hesitation, decisively and gently rotated his upper body. A small crackling sound was heard in the joint. The back muscles relaxed noticeably.
"No hernia, so that's good."
He placed a leather splint around his lower back, secured with small metal wires.
"Take it off when you sleep. Put it back on when you stand. If you want a quicker solution and don't want to wear a brace, go to Seraphine's every day and take this medicine. It's a prop, but I encourage you to wear it anyway."
He knelt on one knee, examined the kneecap, pressed, slid, and compared the two sides.
"Periarthritis generally doesn't involve ligament tears."
He quickly mixed a paste of crushed willow bark and mild alcohol, applied it evenly, and then bandaged it diagonally.
"Don't run or kneel. If I see you do anything stupid, I'll force you to stay in bed."
Cassian handed the medicine to Luca and then put away the tools.
"Generally speaking, the next important issue is your own diet. I know you understand what I mean. I'm a doctor, so I can only advise you; the decision is yours, I won't stop you."
Luca sat on the bed, nodded, and then got off.
"Thank you for taking care of me."
"You're welcome. If needed, I'll take you to see Seraphine."
"That's wonderful."
Luca was very grateful to Cassian for giving him a free checkup; he had scored points with him.
Cassian opened the door and led Luca around—or rather, to Seraphine—until they exited the museum.
"Isn't she in the museum?"
"No, she's only there when needed; normally, she's here."
After walking for a while… could this be fate? The place where he once robbed was where a member lived.
"This place was built with donations from Orion."
"Orion is that rich?"
Cassian shook his head and sighed
"No, you'll find out later, and besides, we're getting paid a large part by the church."
"The church?"
"Well, each god has a temple or more, and we're at the church of the god Providence."
"If that's the case… doesn't Orion have a boss?"
"It's the same thing, generally speaking, each land is like in a game or a story; each place has a king, and the king of this land is the official owner of everything, the one who pays our salaries."
"Why? Does he have to do that?"
"To keep things secret, probably. Anyway, to sum it up, our king pays us, the capable ones, to handle matters that affect the game in secret. Sounds cool, right?"
"That's really cool…"
Cassian nodded and walked towards the door, and stepped inside. Luckily, Luca had concealed his identity during the robbery; otherwise, he might have been dragged away the moment he appeared. Luca felt fortunate in some way until he saw Cassian walk straight to the end of the corridor, a place Luca had never been before, where there was a small door, and he knocked three times.
"Come in."
A sweet, slightly childlike voice came from inside, and they entered only to find a girl who had just finished praying to God and was standing up, looking towards them.
A little girl, perhaps around 10 years old. A young nun with pure beauty, she possessed long, light gray hair that gently framed her small face and gray-blue eyes. She wore traditional nun attire with a black headscarf and a modest, high-necked long dress.
Her small hands were clasped together in prayer, holding a tall white candle with a silver metal handle.
"Is there anything you need?"
"Excuse me for interrupting your prayer, but Luca, the new member, needs a little speed-up."
"So urgent…?"
The little girl, seeing Luca standing right next to Cassian, realized she hadn't introduced herself, so she put down the candle, spread out her skirt, and bowed to Luca.
"Please forgive my rudeness, my name is Seraphine Duskvale, you can just call me Seraphine."
"Just call me Luca."
Luca replied with a bow. After they introduced themselves, Cassian spoke up.
"I'll go first, Sephin, I still have an experiment to complete."
"Yes, may God bless you."
The little girl clasped her hands in prayer and bent down to pick up the candle, placing it on a nearby chair. Cassian said goodbye to Luca and walked away,
"See you tomorrow, Luca."
Seraphine looked at Luca.
"Oh, excuse me, let me help you."
Seraphine approached Luca, clasped her hands together, and began chanting a spell that Luca had no understanding of.
A beam of light surrounded Luca, concentrating on his minor wounds, healing them instantly, while the larger ones became less painful, almost as if they were being 'purified'.
"May the lord protect you."
Afterward, Luca was deeply grateful.
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me, it's all thanks to the lord's power."
Luca didn't know what to say either; perhaps Seraphine was just a very devout person, and since she had helped him, he had no objections.
"Well, I won't bother you any further. As Cassian instructed, I'm going home."
"Yes, may God bless you."
Luca nodded and walked away… in that room, only the little girl was there, praying as if the room belonged to her. The room was simple, with only a small door, but in the right corner, in the middle, stood a large statue, almost completely covering everything… the image of a balance scale. The rest was monotonous, with pristine white walls and window frames of various colors, mostly… no, all of them were related to balance.
Enough thinking!
Luca walked past the bustling crowds, the stalls, and the people. He would probably skip dinner tonight… but remembering Cassian's advice, Luca reconsidered. He went back to the bakery and met Mrs. Mary.
"Hello, ma'am… do you have any leftover bread, even just crumbs?"
"Luca… that's not good for you, look at you."
Mrs. Mary kindly took out some bread crumbs and a usable bowl of soup and put them in a takeaway bowl.
"Here, as a token of our appreciation for you being a regular customer, I'll only charge you the original price: 7 copper coins."
"Thank you."
Luca was so happy he almost cried; getting an extra bowl of soup for free was such a bargain!
He went straight to his room, turned on the light as soon as he entered… finally, he was home. He used his remaining energy to eat bread dipped in soup, then put the bowls back on the shelf, waiting to use the remaining water to wash them after his shower.
Luca went into the bathroom; he was too tired to worry about the horrors around him. Of course, he only lightly wiped himself down; he didn't want to damage the cloth bandage covering his wound. After changing into his old clothes—the same ones from the night before—he used the remaining water to wash his clothes and dishes simultaneously by hand and hung them to dry. Anyway, the game was only a few minutes away from the real world, so it was still daylight, but Luca was exhausted.
Finally, Luca finished, went into his bedroom, closed the door, and rolled onto the bed.
"Finally, I can rest…"
Luca was about to drift off to sleep.
"Papa!"
Don't tell me that troublesome kid has shown up again!?