CHRONICLES of a PC Gamer Stuck Inside an RPG (Book One: Duelist)

Chapter 81 - First Strike

I heard the sound of birds in the distance. Finding my eyes closed, I slowly opened them.

"He's finally awake," a voice said.

As my mind became more alert with each passing second, I realized that I was laying on something soft and bouncy; it was probably a bed. My eyes wide open now, I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Vines and flowers dangled above me. I took a moment to recall the last thing I remembered. It was Gaea using her wand and putting me to sleep. "Where am I?" I asked aloud.

"You're back in my humble shop, milord," a male voice replied.

Ah! I recognized the voice as belonging to Roen, the signmaker. I slowly sat up. I saw the half-elf and his wife standing next to my bed. However, I did not see my master. "Where's Kalistra?" I asked.

"I'm by the window," she answered.

I turned my head toward left and there she was, by the window as Kalistra proclaimed. However, I noticed a bruise on her forehead right next to the scar of the cross. "What happened to your head?" I asked. I tried to keep calm but I failed. Badly. Before I knew it, I started laughing and pointing at the cat girl's forehead.

The evil minx used her speed to zoom across the room and stood right in front of me. With a scowl, she poked a sharp claw right into my shoulder.

Oww! "-2 Health." I dismissed the pop-up. I looked up at my master.

She turned her face to the side with a "hmph."

"Did you receive Gaea's mark?" Roen asked before our antics erupted into a full blown argument.

I responded by pulling up my sleeve and showing the sign of the seed on my right forearm.

The half-elf nodded. "In that case, let me teach you a minor spell." Roen turned toward Kalistra. "I want you to kneel before him," the half-elf requested.

"Why?" the cat girl's eyes narrowed at the audacious request.

"Please do as my husband asked," Valatea implored.

"Fine," the fickle Kalistra groused and did as she was told.

Roen turned back toward me. "Milord, please hold your hand over her forehead. Focus your mind on the symbol of the seed and say aloud, 'Minor Heal.'"

I held out my hand over my master's forehead as instructed and closed my eyes. I pictured the seed in my mind and said, "Minor Heal." I felt a burst of energy explode from my palm. When I opened my eyes, I saw a faint golden glow under my palm. When I removed my hand, the bruise on Kalistra's head was gone. "I did it!" I exclaimed happily! "Divine spell LEARNED: Minor Heal. +100 XP." When I dismissed the message, I noticed that my green mana bar, located at the upper left corner of my vision, had dropped slightly. "How often can I cast this spell?" I asked.

"This is a special ability granted by Gaea. You can cast Minor Heal as long as you have the mana. However, the spell is limited to only minor flesh wounds. Moreover, it is considered a very inefficient healing spell because it heals only one health point per mana expended," Roen explained.

Valatea nodded. "Normal healing spells can recover a few health points per mana," she added.

Since I had access to an almost unlimited amount of minor healing now, I made an impulsive decision by asking the couple a question. "Do you know how my master got that bruise on her head?" I asked the elves because the cat girl would never admit to anything embarrassing about herself.

Roen grinned. "When you got separated from us, Kalistra tried to chase down some faeries to demand your return. Unfortunately, because the cavern was really foggy, your master ended up running into a wall," he recalled.