Staring at the skill description, Hyacine fell into deep thought before turning her head to look at Little Ica beside her.
She reached out with both hands, picked up the little creature, and muttered to herself with a strange expression, "Little Ica... you're so tiny. Can you really become a Hundred-Ton King?"
"Doo?"
"Nothing, I'm just joking."
Seeing that Little Ica looked just as dazed and clueless as ever, Hyacine let go of it and shifted her gaze back to the system panel.
However, just as she was about to check the next Purple item, a person came flying in from outside the alley. They slammed heavily against the wall and collapsed not far from Hyacine.
"Eh? What happened?"
Hyacine's hand paused, her attention fully drawn away by this sudden intruder. She closed her System Inventory and jogged over to the person.
"Yikes... multiple fractures, internal organs pierced by bone shards, massive hemorrhaging. How tragic."
At that moment, the person heard someone speaking and struggled to open their eyes, catching sight of Hyacine.
"Save... save me..."
The moment he saw another human, the primal survival instinct inherent in all living beings compelled him to squeeze out those words. But immediately after speaking, the agonizing pain coursing through his body forced him back into unconsciousness.
"I don't know what's going on, but let's save him first."
The instinct of her current body urged Hyacine to treat the person before her. She didn't dislike this impulse; besides, she could use this person to figure out the current situation.
With that thought, an Iridescent Light began to glow from Hyacine's hands. As the light bathed the man's body, his broken and displaced bones began to knit back together at a rapid pace.
Once the bones were reset, his internal and external wounds began to close. In less than ten seconds, the man who had been at death's door was fully restored to health.
[Saved a stranger. Stellar Jade +10]
Is this how I earn Stellar Jade now? Ten per person saved?
Hyacine mused over the system notification as she withdrew the Iridescent Light.
The moment the light vanished, the young man began to cough violently.
"Cough, cough... blegh..."
He spat out a mouthful of clotted blood and snapped his eyes open. He first touched his previously mangled areas in a daze, only to feel smooth, uninjured skin. He used the wall to push himself up, and feeling the surge of vitality within him, he muttered in confusion, "I... I'm not dead?"
"You're not dead. I saved you."
Hearing Hyacine's voice, the young man quickly turned his head. When he saw a beautiful pink-haired girl, he subconsciously swallowed hard, blurting out, "So... so pretty..."
Realizing his rudeness, he immediately slapped himself and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said something so disrespectful!"
"Eh? How was that disrespectful?"
Hyacine was genuinely puzzled. Since when was calling someone pretty an insult? Forget it—if she couldn't understand his logic, she wouldn't bother. She needed information first.
"Excuse me, do you know where we are?"
"You don't know?" The young man was stunned, but he quickly recovered. If she asked, he would answer. "This is the City of Chaos. We were just fighting a... uh, a big guy in armor..."
"A big guy in armor?"
Hyacine's first thought was Sam, but she quickly shook her head. Firefly was currently asleep; there was no way she'd be here.
"I'll go take a look." After saying that, Hyacine walked out of the alley.
"Wait! It's dangerous out there!" The young man instinctively tried to stop her, but seeing that she had no intention of turning back, he grit his teeth and chased after her.
Stepping out of the alley, Hyacine saw a crowd of people lying scattered across the street. In the center of the road stood a two-meter-tall Armored Freak, brandishing a massive heavy hammer.
Surrounding the freak were many people wearing uniforms similar to the young man's, firing rifles. Others were Ability Users, bombarding the freak with various elemental powers.
It was unclear what material the freak's armor was made of; despite the torrent of bullets and the impact of fireballs and frost, the surface barely showed a few scratches. However, anyone who failed to dodge a swing of that hammer was essentially left in critical condition.
Hyacine gave the Armored Freak a cursory glance and lost interest; at most, it only had the strength of a B+ rank. Instead, her eyes locked onto the large number of casualties lining the roadside.
"So many injured people... If I heal them all, won't I get a ton of Stellar Jade?"
Hyacine's eyes sparkled. Ignoring the ongoing battle, she dashed straight toward the group of wounded.
"Boss! we can't beat this guy!" Amidst the chaotic street, an Ability User firing flames shouted desperately at a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man performed a roll to dodge a descending hammer blow before retaliating with a punch to the armored man's gut. The strike only left a small dent in the armor, but the man's expression shifted from frustration to joy. Previously, he couldn't leave a single mark.
He turned to the Ability User and shouted, "We've been at it for half an hour! The energy sustaining the hardness of his armor is finally running out!"
"But our brothers... so many are heavily injured! If they don't get medical help, they won't make it!"
"Tsk..."
Irritated, the boss landed another punch while narrowly dodging an attack. "Send a few people to move the wounded! I'll hold him off!"
"But... eh? What's... what's happening?"
"Stop babbling and do it! I can't hold out much longer on my own!!" Seeing his subordinate stammering while he was struggling to survive, the boss roared in fury.
"No... Boss! The injured brothers—all of them are healed!"
"What?!"
The boss was stunned. He instinctively looked toward the source of the commotion. What he saw left him paralyzed for a moment.
Just as the subordinate said, the men who had been lying on the ground in critical condition were now standing up, looking completely unscathed and utterly confused. In the center of the crowd stood a pink-haired girl he had never seen before. Her eyes were closed in prayer, and her body was radiating a brilliant Iridescent Light.
"That's... Holy crap!"
Snapping out of his daze, the boss was suddenly struck full-force by the hammer. He was sent flying directly toward Hyacine.
After slamming into a wall and sliding down, the boss crawled up, dazed. "I... I'm okay?"
But the moment he looked up, his pupils shrank. He lunged forward, screaming at the top of his lungs:
"Little girl, look out!"
The Armored Freak had already charged over, swinging its heavy hammer with crushing force straight toward the pink-haired girl.