The silence on the ship was unnerving. Everyone froze. The vessel that once held nearly a thousand adventurers now held only hundreds.
Aurelia stood beside me, her expression serious and unwavering. She walked and picked up her wand. Compared to Kora's, it was smaller, decorated with colorful gems arranged in a spiral. She turned back to me.
"Talk to me if you consider the proposal. You'll need it."
She turned and walked toward where Dominio lay. So Dominio wasn't the one who had proposed their alliance. It was her. Interesting.
I turned to see a group of men and women in white and red robes. Raemon stood at the center of them. Everyone focused their attention on the figures.
He raised his hand. "To those who have grabbed the ribbons, congratulations. If you are injured, come to the med bay. We will provide you with enough healing and resources to bring you back to health."
Everyone followed the group toward the med bay. Hundreds of adventurers walked alongside them. Raemon looked at me, smiled, and gave me a nod.
I smiled and nodded back. If it wasn't for him, I would have been dead. I was grateful for his help.
I followed the group into the large med bay. Every injured adventurer lay on a bed, sleeping or sitting while the healers treated their wounds.
I looked around, navigating the area. Where was Rela? I turned left and saw her lying on a bed, drinking something from a goblet.
Her body was completely bandaged except for her head. Her crop top covered the bandages, though dark stains of her black blood had seeped through. My shoulders relaxed, as if letting go of something heavy. I was just glad she was safe.
"Hey, Rela." I approached and waved from a distance. The smell of blood, wounds, and medicine overwhelmed my nose. The noise of screaming, groaning, and healers instructing others to stand still or offering reassurance filled the room. So this was the life, huh.
I approached Rela. She turned to me and smiled brightly. "Hey, you're still alive!"
She started to get up, then winced in pain. I held her down. "You should rest. You're injured."
Her resistance weakened, and she complied. She looked up, still smiling. "Says the one who looks like he's been through war." She poured red liquid into a metal goblet.
"The doctor said this stuff prevents blood loss, so I should keep drinking it. Since my black blood is poisonous."
"Poisonous?"
Rela offered me the drink. I took the goblet and drank. My body immediately reacted. I no longer felt the blood escaping my wounds. Not to mention, the medicine was tasty—it tasted like cranberry juice.
"You see, ogres have something you humans call the black system. Our blood, organs, even our bones are black, and they're poisonous if someone drinks them. So the doctors came to me immediately because of that."
I placed the goblet on the bedside table. "Speaking of which, weapons barely even penetrated your bones. Dominio only gave you small cuts all over your body. That's all. Why is that?"
"Black bones are strong. Beyond strong. Including our flesh. So you need to amplify your weapons with Lumin to at least do damage."
Wow. The fact that Dominio knew that and adapted to it was impressive. Making a titan like Rela fall to her knees—even though one hit from her could severely injure him—was impressive.
A doctor gently placed his hand on my shoulder. "You need healing. It's clear your body went through a lot."
I nodded to the doctor. His face was etched with concern. I guess the doctors really do care for us. I waved to Rela before following the doctor to a white bed.
"I'll bring bandages and other equipment. You'll need a few hours of rest so your body can recover." He turned back as I lay on the bed.
Finally, my body was at rest. The fact that I had even survived was surprising. Though I still had to keep that promise to Kora. I should LIVE. Not for me, but for her.
The doctor returned and began his procedure, healing me and bandaging my wounds. If this was the first ship out of two, I couldn't imagine what had happened on the second.
I stripped down and lay on the bed. My leg, stomach, and back had been stabbed. My shoulder was slashed. Blood had dried on my forehead. All that from one fight with someone physically weaker than me.
"You need to sleep. Probably four hours. Sleep makes the effects of my healing magic work faster."
"Thanks for helping me." I closed my eyes and slept. The once-loud med bay faded into silence and peace. This was the respite I would get during this exam.
---
Hours later, my eyes opened. I sat up. The room was empty now, lanterns on the ceiling lighting the space.
I looked to my side and saw my armor on a stand, with a brown box beneath it. A white tunic vest lay on the counter.
The doctor returned. His eyes were heavy, his beard and hair unkempt. I guessed even the doctors were tired. Made sense, given the job of healing hundreds of people.
"Okay, it's clear your body is recovering fast. Faster than most, which makes sense since you're a berserker. You can go back to your room and rest. Come see me tomorrow for a check-up. Your liver was almost cut by a blade, so we need to monitor that more closely." His face was concentrated on a scroll as he walked out.
I got up and opened the box. My claymore lay inside, still stained with blood. Only three of my smaller blades remained.
I stood and walked through the med bay. Some beds were empty, left with only bloodstains. Even Rela's bed was empty, black stains marking the sheets.
I closed the door behind me and walked through the hallway. Everything felt normal, even after all that. Pictures of adventurers lined the walls, and the sound of waves filled the corridor. The ship had only started moving after the battle royale.
I opened the door to my room. The same boring, uncomfortable layout. At least I had a view of the ocean. Only one lantern hung from the ceiling.
I sat on the bed. If this was the adventurer's test, I couldn't imagine being an actual adventurer. Kora had dealt with all this. Though she had done it with her brother—a skilled swordsman. His literal corpse had almost killed me once.
A knock came at the door. Then the doorknob turned.
"Who's there?" I reached for my claymore.
The door opened. I felt a strong aura from whoever stood there.
It grew heavier and heavier as the doorknob continued to twist.