Chapter 7: Addicted Healer

(Well, where am I?)

As I slowly look around, I remember that the last thing I did before passing out was absorb the patient’s Originium. There was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to gain power. The more Originium they have, the stronger the arts I can copy from them.

Yes, that’s why I aimed for the most severe cases. But for now, I need to think carefully about what I can do next.

(Oh, frost and lightning arts, which are rare, along with healing and gravity—this is a great haul.)

While I already possess those arts, their power is stronger now. This means that even if I reduce the amount of Originium in my blood, at least these four will remain at a level where I don’t have to worry about their power or my control over them dropping, which is a good thing.

Of course, none of the patients are Wahrsagung users, which is to be expected since they are rare. If I remember correctly, in Arknights, only two operators have that ability: Rosmontis and Virtuossa.

(But I haven’t met either of them yet. I would like to copy their abilities, even if they are minor, since they don’t have much Originium in their blood. I still wonder how long I’ve been unconscious.)

As I ponder this, my gaze meets someone, and upon closer inspection, I’m reminded of someone.

(Amiya? Wow, she looks so young compared to when she first appeared in Arknights, but not that young compared to her time in Babel. It's no surprise, considering Babel fell around six years ago.)

Amiya continues to gaze at me as she slowly approaches.

“Ummm, everyone wants to say thank you for curing them of their Oripathy.”

"Oh, it's okay; I'm just doing my duty."

Silently, she slowly steps back, which surprises me even more. Amiya, as I know her, is quite talkative. While she's not annoying, she definitely shouldn't be the silent type.

"Uhmmm, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry! I forgot to introduce myself."

Amiya bows toward me and smiles as she stretches her hand out to me.

"My name is Amiya. I am the leader of Rhodes Island, though most of my work is handled by Doctor Kal'tsit."

"How polite for someone so young! My name is Alisia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Amiya."

As Amiya shyly scratches her head with her other hand, I take her outstretched hand.

"It's okay, Amiya. Even though you're young, you're leading a huge organization—it's amazing! This ship is even bigger than anything I've ever seen."

"Thanks, but you're more impressive than I am, Alisia. You managed to cure Oripathy."

"Ahahaha, well, it's not really a cure, and I can do that because of my talent, but yeah."

Now that she’s mentioned it, I feel like I’m forgetting something. What is it?

(Oh yeah, Orga.)

"Amiya, can you guide me to the top of this ship?"

"I can, but why? I heard you need to get some rest."

"Well, let's just say I need to play with my pet."

"Oh, you have a pet, Alisia?"

Amiya's eyes sparkle as she looks at me, making me shift my gaze away.

"Yes, if you could guide me, I would appreciate it."

"Okay, let's go."

"Oh, wait."

As we move, I need to camouflage us, so I use one of the arts I copied to make us both invisible.

"Oh, I can't see you, Alisia."

"Yes, this is one of my arts. I'll grab your hand, so please lead the way."

"Okay."

We slowly walk out of the room where I woke up and head toward the lift, which looks almost the same as the one I took when I arrived.

Soon, we reach the roof of the Rhodes Island ship, and the view is magnificent, especially the distant ocean and the village near the cliff, even though they are far away.

(Oh, I almost forgot about Orga again.)

Thinking about my summon, I call him using my art, and from a distance, I see Orga flying toward us at high speed. I'm relieved that I’ve managed to make the people on this ship ignore him for now. If I could copy Virtuossa's art, I could probably enhance its power, but there’s only so much I can do without the right tools.

(But isn’t Orga a bit bigger than last time?)

With that thought, I attempt to send a telepathic message for him to shrink, and it seems to work as Orga diminishes in size and slowly lands on the ship. Suddenly, I hear a thud and turn to see Amiya on the ground.

Well, even when he’s smaller, Orga is still the same size as Mon3tr, so it’s no surprise that Amiya got scared.

"Alisia is that."

"Yeah, this is my pet, Orga."

"Wow, it looks like Doctor Kal'tsit’s Mon3tr."

"What is Mon3tr?"

"Oh, that’s Doctor Kal—"

"Amiya, there you are! What are you doing up here?"

(Oh, that voice.)

I slowly turn to where the voice is coming from and see Kal'tsit with a serious expression. I notice she has already summoned Mon3tr behind her.

(Uh oh... I'm screwed.)

"Oh, Doctor Kal'tsit, look! That creature looks like Mon3tr."

"I can see that. And who is that creature?"

"Oh, it's Alisia's pet."

"Pet?"

Kal'tsit's gaze slowly shifts from Orga to me.

(Ugh, somehow, even though I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, her gaze just feels hurt. It reminds me of Pastor Ruciel.)

"Now that I think about it, I haven't introduced myself. It's a pleasure to meet you, Originium Saint. My name is Kal'tsit, and I am the advisor and leader of the medical staff at Rhodes Island. I hear you've been a bit rough with my team."

"Ahahaha, I wonder what you're talking about."

"Mama, playtime?"

As I looked away to avoid Kal'tsit's gaze, Orga rubbed his head against my back, seeking my attention as usual.

"Heh, mama, huh? I never thought the Originium Saint had a child."

"Teacher Kal'tsit, what is the Originium Saint?"

(Someone please bury me; this is too embarrassing.)

In the end, Kal'tsit shared stories of my deeds in Laterano with Amiya while I played with Orga, trying to ignore their conversation.

"Now that I think about it, why is a patient walking around? And what about your summon? Does it have intelligence?"

Hearing that made me stand up a little, but at the same time, I wanted to argue that Mon3tr is indeed intelligent; she even managed to grow a human body after being severed from her connection with Kal'tsit when the priestess deleted Kal'tsit later on.

"Well, I am not a patient after all."

(For now, let’s just say that my Originium blood shouldn’t be that bad.)

"I don't want to hear that from someone who has a severe case of Oripathy."

(WHAT?)

After that, Kal'tsit dragged me back to the room where I had woken up, while Orga flew away after I sent a command through telepathy.

Inside the meeting room, Kal'tsit is having another discussion with Cardinal Yvangelista XI and Pastor Ruciel.

"What did you say?"

"She has a severe case of Oripathy. I’m even surprised she has managed to survive this long."

Kal'tsit hands a copy of Alisia's file to both the Pastor and the Cardinal.

"She has a dense amount of Originium in her blood, which has caused her to enter stage III of Oripathy. Normally, her body would have crystallized and developed abnormal growths. Additionally, the effects on her internal organs typically lead to loss of mobility and organ failure."

Hearing the severity of the case, both the Pastor and Cardinal begin to look pale.

"That girl is smiling while enduring this pain."

"We are failures as adults..."

"While I know this is shocking for both of you, it remains a mystery why she is still functioning despite having such a high level of Originium in her blood, which is usually fatal for most people. In fact, she's almost at the death line, which is 0.8 u/L. Therefore, I suggest allowing her to stay at Rhodes Island for further examination."

After hearing this, the Pastor and Cardinal exchange worried glances before the Cardinal turns to Kal'tsit.

"Let me hear what Alisia thinks before I make my decision."

"Of course. She should rest in one of the medical rooms for now, so I will guide you."

As they walk, Kal'tsit continues to speak with both of them.

"Typically, the higher the density of Originium in the blood, the greater the assimilation between body cells and active Originium, commonly referred to as crystallized."

"But that doesn't apply to Alisia."

"That's correct; this is the first time I've encountered a case like this. Usually, even with a low density of Originium, depending on the level of assimilation, the patient can be in significant danger. Even low assimilation can be fatal if the crystallized portions reach vital organs."

"Still, Alisia never shows this issue while treating patients. Sometimes, she crystallizes, but the moment it appears on her body, it disappears."

"Yes, from what I've read in the envelope, that's what you both have told me. But if that's the case, is it due to her body's constitution, or is it something else? Until we discover what it is, Alisia's life could still be at risk."

As they spoke, they finally reached Alisia's room, but the silence inside worried Pastor Ruciel, prompting him to open the door and reveal an empty bed.

Upon seeing that, a vein began to throb on Kal'tsit’s forehead as her anger grew, while Pastor Ruciel and Cardinal Yvangelista XI let out tired sighs.

"So she got bored."

Kal'tsit slowly turned her gaze to Cardinal Yvangelista XI with such intensity that he flinched like a small animal facing a predator.

"Can you explain that to me?"

"Alisia has a habit of doing random things when she gets bored, from making explosives to summoning creatures, often creating trouble in the process."

As this was said, both the Pastor and Cardinal observed the vein on Kal'tsit's forehead throbbing, prompting them to slowly avert their gazes.

"At times like this, even we lose track of where she might be."

Kal'tsit then used her communication device to alert all staff at Rhodes Island to search for Alisia. The medical team quickly reported that they had seen Alisia in the nearby Treatment Facility.

Upon hearing this, Kal'tsit rushed out of the room, closely followed by the others. True to the report, Alisia was indeed treating less severe Oripathy patients after finishing with the more critical cases.

The sight of her made Kal'tsit's vein look ready to burst, and later, the medical staff noted that it was the first time they had seen her so angry—a memory they wished to forget.

However, they soon learned that the girl who had been treating the Oripathy patients was now confined to a quarantine room, tied to the bed like a criminal.

(I feel an itch...)

Now I’m tied to this bed because of my earlier actions, even though it’s a win-win situation: I strengthen my art while helping others recover from Oripathy. Yet everyone is making a fuss.

(I mean, it’s not like I have a severe case of Oripathy, right?)

I summon the panel to check my information and am shocked to see the amount of Originium in my blood: 0.79 u/L.

(Oh, that’s what I forgot! I should have lowered the amount of Originium in my blood, but why did it rise again? Oh right, I cured those severe patients a while back. Damn it! At least let me cure patients in peace since I need to collect more art.)

I know that complaining in my head does nothing. I could escape if I wanted to, but I don’t want to face Kal'tsit again; that was scarier than my graduation exam.

Now that I’m tied to the bed with nothing to do, I decide to expel the Originium in my blood using my first skill, where I drool it out.

(While that’s fine and dandy, wouldn’t this isolated room be dangerous?)

Thinking about it, I decide to solidify my saliva into Originium crystals instead, sticking them to the ceiling above the entrance so no one will notice unless they look up. Since they are stable, there’s no risk of infection.

(Oh yeah, why didn’t I do this when making Orga?)

I reflect on my ability to create solidified Originium crystals as I check the panel again, which now shows 0.35 u/L—normal, I think.

(Yosh, with this, it should be fine, right? I feel sleepy though since I don’t have anything to do.)