Chapter 80: Whispers Beneath the Bandages
"As you can see, over the past three years, your body has been in a state of constant deterioration. And because you lack a divine frame, it’s been extremely difficult for us to make a proper assessment of your condition. But one thing is certain- it’s as if there’s a bottomless well inside your body. Your mana levels keep dropping, and that’s why we’ve had to sustain you with a vial of mana potion every three days..."
Berthud continued his relentless monologue, detailing every grim corner of Auren’s health with the tone of a man who had long stopped caring about bedside manners.
The old healer looked exactly like someone who spent more time hunched over patients than sleeping—his thick gold beard was unkempt, his large belly strained against his robes, and his eyes sagged with the weight of chronic exhaustion.
But despite his disheveled appearance and perpetually annoyed demeanor, Berthud was widely regarded as the most skilled healer in all of Runewood. If anyone could keep someone like Auren alive, it was him.
Auren, for his part, sat like a half-wrapped mummy propped up in bed, arms limp at his sides and legs barely able to twitch. The bandages wrapped around his body were tight and stained faintly with dried blood and potion residue, making him look more like a relic than a recovering warrior.
Beside him, Jaira stood attentively, arms lightly folded, her sharp eyes fixed on Berthud as if mentally recording every word.
For the past three years, she had been Auren’s guardian and nurse, never once wavering from her post. Assigned directly by the Elven Queen herself, Jaira had handled everything from Auren’s potion regimens to monitoring his fluctuating vital signs- even when his body had seemed ready to give up.
Above Berthud’s head, softly pulsing in the air like a ghostly nameplate, hovered his Divine Frame:
*
Name: BerthudLevel: 43Title: Pragmatic Elven HealerClass: Verdant Arbiter
*
The gentle shimmer of it reminded Auren just how different this world was. Titles. Levels. Classes. Power etched into the soul. And yet, despite the magic all around him, even the best healer in the forest couldn’t quite explain what was going wrong inside his body.