Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 23

The very notion was ridiculous. But it came from a person who only wore black, so Severance wrote it off as a very biased opinion. He shook his head, and put the pants into his Inventory. He'd try them on later when he had a moment of privacy.

"Healers are supposed to wear white," he pointed out.

Every cleric he'd seen in-game had been in some varying shade of white. He'd figured it was a callout to real life, where doctors had the classic white coats.

"Says who?" Dhin smirked. "With that hair, white just makes you look like a ghost. You need some contrast."

Severance couldn't believe it. Now he was getting fashion advice, of all things, from a guy who wore the same basic outfit as two other people. Even a child could dress themselves with something more imaginative. Although, he supposed the black would hide all the bloodstains.

"Dhin," Rasin gave his son a look that very clearly told him to shut up. When it had the desired effect, he turned to Severance. "Thank you, Severance. You've helped us with the dungeon, so now we'll uphold our end of the bargain. We'll bring you back to town."

"Really?" Severance brightened. He was more than ready to get out of this place.

"Of course. We always keep our word."

There was a strange inflection on the word always, but Severance paid it little mind. He was more concerned with getting back to the safe harbor of town. Well, semi-safe, since it apparently didn't prevent players from getting kidnapped.

His expression grew serious, and he gave the men in black a skeptical look. They wouldn't do that again, would they?

The trip out of the dungeon only took them a short time. The entire place was now empty and devoid of all life, except for the room with the bats. They quietly passed beneath the dozing critters, and Severance exhaled in relief once they made it into the corridor in one piece. From there, it only took minutes before they reached the start of the dungeon. The portal swirled before them, and one by one, they stepped through.

"We'll take the path back," Rasin explained. "It's the most direct way."

Severance nodded, saying nothing, though inwardly, he was rolling his eyes. Oh, so now it was acceptable to use the path instead of sneaking through the forest? If they were trying to appear like normal people, it was too late. That ship had long since sailed.

He secretly peeked at Rasin, who walked calmly beside him. The side profile of Rasin's face was rugged, like a rock that weathered many storms. The nose had an uneven bump across the bridge while many deep creases already dug into the forehead and around the eyes.

Rasin wasn't a handsome man by any means. But there was a strength there, an unyielding firmness of someone who'd experienced many things and had the confidence to face many more.

It made Severance curious. What kind of life had this man led? Did he grow up in the forest, learning how to kill in order to survive?

The thought made him shake his head. Now he was just over-imagining things. Rasin was merely a character created by the people who made the game. He probably didn't even have a childhood, not a real one anyway, since he and Maun and Dhin just popped into existence one day, born out of a computer program.

That realization made Severance a little sad. It meant that the little family of Dhin and Rasin wasn't real after all. It was just a fabrication. Too good to be true.

He sighed, and Rasin glanced at him.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Severance immediately looked away.