Akira's POV
"Finally awake I see"
I opened my eyes and saw Vanessa before me. Stern as always. I tried stretching but the pain seemed to restrict my movements.
"You have been asleep for three weeks. It's a miracle you pulled such a useless stunt and still managed to walk out alive. Except for the few broken ribs though"
She was still saying something as I zoned out. I had defeated a dungeon head myself. At least I thought so. Until the next words escaped her mouth.
"Just one goblin. You only took out one goblin. And you passed out. It wasn't even an advanced goblin"
One!
I fought only one monster!
And it wasn't even the head of the dungeon!!!
But the system had me believe I had defeated some high level monster. Whereas I only defeated a goblin!!!
"How did you guys find me?"
"Your watch alerted the guild. It must have triggered when you fell off"
I looked down on the bandages that were tightly wrapped my body. I wished it was possible to check out the stats on my system. And with that, the screens popped up in front of me.
[Rank: D. Weapons: A Rank Dagger. Beasts Bonded: Celestial Dragon. Skills: Immunity. Level: A]
[HP: 100 out of 1000]
[Strength Level: Fairly Weak]
Fairly weak!! I upgraded to a D rank in less than a few days!!!
I tried moving but a sharp pain tore inside me making me hiss.
"I wouldn't move that much if I were you. You are lucky we had a few hunters nearby. Otherwise, you would have demon food. Note to self, always require backup when entering a dungeon. Especially with the fact that you are a low rank hunter. The lowest if I am to be brutally honest. And you barely have any combat strength."
I simply nodded as I lay back down. My gaze stuck on the ceiling. I was thinking about everything and yet nothing in particular.
I had merely defeated a goblin and here I was, strapped with bandages and barely have any life left in me. In a comatose for three straight weeks cause of my injuries.
If I didn't have the system, what would have been my fate?
I glanced at the floating screen in front of me. Unable to look away from the floating screen in front of me.
Memories of my past life flashed in front of me as my memories of mum there took root inside. And with that, another stab of pain struck in me.
I couldn't help but wonder. Was she okay? Was she alive? Did she miss me? How about her health? Was she all alone over there?
A tear slid from my eye as the realization that I would never see her again dawned on me.
The door opened and my 'mother' in this world walked in. She had a calm look upon seeing me finally awake. She was relived. But I couldn't bring myself to be excited upon her revival.
'She's just a replacement'
'She's not real'
'She's doesn't even know the real you'
The negative thoughts consumed me so much that I unconsciously avoided her touch when she leaned in to hug me.
She must have noticed as she cleared her throat and calmly sat down beside me. Trying her possible best not to touch me.
And another wave of emotion courses through me; Regret.
It wasn't her fault. She had lost her son to a stranger from another world and she didn't even know. But what hurt the most was how cruel fate was. Her having the same features of my mum. Not one difference. From her smile to the crinkle in her eyes everytime she laughed to the mole on her left cheek.
The only difference was our hair. On earth, we both had brown hair. But here in Dune, we both had silver hair. Seemed I was to take after her no matter where I went to.
Another thing I was worried about was the fact that I was a stranger in my own body. I craved stuff I knew I would never glance at on a normal day.
I had a fucking sleep schedule! From being a night bird to not being able to keep my eye open after seven at night.
This was all becoming as frustrating as it could get. And frankly I was tired of it all.
"How are you feeling now? They said you just had a few scratched here and there. Is it true?"
The worried look on her face made me reign in my anger. She was my mother here.
Whether I cared about it or not.
But her statement made me realize, they didn't tell her the whole truth. And now I was on tenter hooks again as I had no idea how much she knew.
"Is that all they told you?" I couldn't help the harsh tone I released which made her flinch. Which made me guilty.
"I'm sorry. I have… I haven't been able to take it all in"
"It's okay baby. They simply told me you were injured during training and simply needed rest as you had worn yourself out too much. Is that all that actually happened?"
At least the gears in her brains still seemed to function. I didn't know why I couldn't stand Vanessa around me. Ever since she had subtly ignored Gleam and refereed to her as a monster.
"Yeah. I guess it was. I can't remember much though"
"But how do you feel now?" She raised her hand to hold my face. I could sense the hesitation in her actions which made me hold her hand.
A visible sigh of relief escaped her as she finally calmed down.
"I just want you to be safe okay. I'm not trying to be naggy or anything. But I sincerely don't want you to end up like the other time I saw you in the hospital"
Her words sounded sincere enough. She wasn't the reason I was here. And while I held onto the painful ache of not being able to see my mother on Earth, the least I can do is to protect my mother here.
The conclusion made everything easier for me as I scooted over and laid my head on her laps. She chuckled as she used her hand to massage my scalp. Her fingers smoothning out my hair.
"Your hair got longer. Do you want a haircut?"
"No. I want it like that" I didn't know why I couldn't bring myself to cut it. I had tried countless times. But I still couldn't do it.
"Okay then. If that's what you want"
She braided it in a way that allowed her easily pack it up. Her touch was like a calm to my raging storm.
"There. All better now"
It was all silent as I felt myself dose off. I had to think of a game plan. And I had to think of it fast.