Chapter 49: Not Worth the Argument
"I don't make a habit of being anyone's coach," Kalpas stated, his voice a low, indifferent rumble.
Rovel remained perfectly still, quietly awaiting the inevitable follow-up. Based on his understanding of the man, he knew that as long as he pushed just right, Kalpas would eventually agree. It was just as Elysia had said: Kalpas was a sensitive and introverted soul at his core; he just had an exceptionally abrasive way of communicating it.
Sure enough, after a few tense seconds of silence, Kalpas spoke again.
"However... since you had the nerve to draw your blade on me, I'll see for myself just how far you can go. Just try not to be as fragile and pathetic as those Honkai Beasts!"
The sharp, grating crack of Kalpas's knuckles echoed in the quiet space, a sound so visceral it could make one's teeth ache in sympathy. With a fluid motion, he pushed himself off the shelf he'd been lounging on and landed squarely in front of Rovel.
At the same instant, a series of system prompts chimed in his mind.
[SSS-Rank Hidden Main Quest (Unique): Elysian Realm, new quest objectives added.]
[Quest Objective 1: Collect Honkai Beast blood, materials, or Herrscher blood for Mobius.]
[Quest Reward:???]
[Quest Objective 2: Complete the trial of 'Decimation'.]
[Quest Reward:???]
[Activated Quest Objective 2, gained BUFF: Trial of Decimation]
[Trial of Decimation: Under Kalpas's guidance, combat skill proficiency acquisition efficiency +500% (stackable)! When sparring with Kalpas, you can gain experience points based on Kalpas's evaluation! Pain sensation locked at 100%!]
'So, this SSS-rank hidden quest does have a specific trigger method,'Rovel mused, his eyes scanning the new objectives.'Is it initiated by making contact with each of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers?'
"What, scared?" Kalpas snorted, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.
"Where do we start?" Rovel replied, his voice steady. Fear didn't enter the equation. His pain sensitivity was already locked at one hundred percent; how much worse could it possibly get?
A sharp hiss tore through Rovel's gritted teeth, his body jolting with a fresh wave of agony.
"Don't move," Klein said, her tone as flat and sterile as the lab around them. "I'm setting your bones."
"Can't you use some anesthesia? Or that medicine from last time..." Rovel pleaded, his voice strained. His face was a twisted mask of pain, a muscle twitching uncontrollably beside his eye.
"Anesthesia?" Klein paused her work for a fraction of a second. "You should be aware that everyone in the Elysian Realm is a MANTIS. For minor injuries such as these, a MANTIS requires no surgery. They recover automatically with rest. Naturally, anesthesia is unnecessary."
"Minor injuries?" Rovel's voice cracked with disbelief. "I have five broken ribs, and the bones in my left leg and right arm were practically ground into dust!"
He was rapidly developing a new definition for the term 'minor injury'.
Come to think of it, the game's damage calculation mechanics were truly bizarre. An injury of this severity had only cost him ninety percent of his health. He recalled Mobius's slap at the very beginning, which had wiped out ninety-eight percent of his HP, and all he'd felt then was a bit of dizziness. A digitized body was a wondrous, if confusing, thing.
The only reason he even needed his bones set was because the brutal spar had left him with a crippling debuff.
[Broken Bone (Severe): While bones are broken, HP cannot recover on its own. Automatic recovery time: 23 hours 17 minutes 05 seconds.]
Klein, completely unfazed by his outburst, continued her work. "Doctor Mobius doesn't keep a large stock of that medicine. It was all synthesized from materials brought in by previous trial-takers. The box I gave you contained the last ten doses."
Her eyes flickered towards him. "Speaking of which, have you already used up the supply I gave you?"
"Uh... the effect was just too good, I couldn't bring myself to... Hiss! Klein, please, be gentle," Rovel grimaced, another jolt of pain shooting through him.
"The medicine is meant to be used. Once you're capable of collecting qualified Honkai Beast materials, you can simply have Doctor Mobius prepare more for you." Klein ignored his plea, her hands moving with cold, efficient precision to realign his shattered limbs.
"Is that so? Well, I don't have the ability to collect anything right now. I suppose I'll wait until I'm stronger before I ask the good Doctor... Hiss!"
Once the last bone was set, Rovel logged out directly from Mobius's laboratory. He had just discovered that the lab had apparently been designated a 'Safe Zone', allowing for a direct exit.
"Doctor Mobius, is it truly necessary to withhold direct healing for Rovel?" Klein asked, turning to face the serpent-like woman.
"Hmph. Let him suffer a little. Who told him to go looking for Kalpas?" Mobius's emerald eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
This little confidant of hers seemed to possess a rebellious streak. She had explicitly warned him to limit his contact with Kalpas, yet the moment he woke up, he had turned right around and sought the man out. A little punishment would help him remember his place.
Exiting the game capsule, Rovel found his room cloaked in the deep dark of night. A phantom numbness lingered in his limbs, the memory of the game's pain echoing in his real body.
'Wait, the middle of the night?'
A discrepancy caught his attention. He glanced at his phone; Yuki had sent a few messages. But what truly startled him was the time: 4 AM.
"Huh? Only four hours have passed?" he murmured, a knot of confusion tightening in his stomach.
He had been knocked unconscious by Kalpas in the Elysian Realm and had slept for over six hours. That didn't even account for the brutal beating that followed or the considerable time it took for Klein to set his bones.
'Could it be... the flow of time is inconsistent between the game and the real world during the server maintenance?'
Does time flow faster inside the game?
To test his theory, Rovel activated the timer on his phone and lay back down in the game capsule.
"Why are you back again?" Mobius asked, casting a sideways glance at him as he materialized in her lab.
"I suddenly remembered I forgot to say goodnight to you, Doctor Mobius," Rovel said, flashing a charming smile. "Goodnight, Doctor. You too, Klein. Goodnight."
With that quick excuse, he logged off again.
Mobius was momentarily stunned, a faint, almost imperceptible blush dusting her pale cheeks.
"Ahem," she coughed lightly, turning to her assistant. "Klein, teaching him a lesson once is sufficient. Next time, just heal him directly. We can't have him hissing and whimpering all the time. Anyone who didn't know better might think our laboratory has a snake infestation."
"Yes, Doctor Mobius," Klein replied without comment, simply nodding in agreement.
Back in his room, Rovel checked his phone.
"Just as I thought. The time flow inside the game is twice as fast as the outside world," he muttered to himself.
That meant if the server shutdown lasted for seven days in reality, a full fourteen days would have passed inside the game.
'Fourteen days... that would make it December 7th in the game's timeline.'The date was significant. It was Kiana Kaslana's birthday, and also the day she was scheduled to enroll in Chiba Academy. And because he had access to the Elysian Realm, he was effectively fourteen days ahead of every other player.'Hmm, when you put it like that, it really does feel like I'm cheating.'
He turned his attention to the messages from Yuki. The gist was that she had wanted to invite him out to play during the server shutdown. However, it seemed someone was still fuming over Rovel's previous attitude and had forbidden them from meeting for the time being. Yuki would likely only be allowed out again once that person's temper had cooled.
Rovel rolled his eyes.
It wasn't even worth the argument.
That man could only resort to such petty, childish tactics to try and threaten him. If he thought for a second that this would make Rovel cave, he was sorely mistaken.
This only hardened his resolve. It cemented the unshakeable decision to get Yuki away from that place, no matter what it took.
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