NOVEL WEB V2 Chapter 81: Concerns
- 1st Person POV (MC)
-Weeks After-
I’m in a medical clinic near my home while sitting on one of the seats after checking in with the receptionist. It has been a couple of years since I went to the doctor...
“Haaaaaa...”
I let out a long sigh, weeks have gone by between being online in the game grinding as per usual and doing day-to-day activities in real life.
I must say, the EXPs from mobs have been downsized quite a lot, as of right now my char is around LV10-ish even if I have done adventurer’s request and hunted tons of mobs.
(“Haaaa... Slow and Steady wins the race I suppose.”)
...
...
...
Though, I have things that are more concerning about what’s happening to my body IRL.
Like...
I haven’t gone to the bathroom to do Natural Business No.2 for weeks now!!! Each time I tried, nothing came out even if I did it hard enough to pop a blood vessel and! Natural Business No.1 always give clear colour.
(“No, I did not do that ‘No Poop’ month challenge or something like that.”)
I do not intend to cause issues for the plumbers thank you very much...
(“And I swear, I didn’t drink *That* much water rather I didn’t drink at all! My Business No.1 still provides clear waters.”)
Do I have kidney issues and constipation? These questions plague my mind so I take it upon myself to visit a doctor.
...
...
...
“Ah, that’s me...”
I almost dozed off until I heard a voice calling my name which jolted me awake.
Immediately, I stood up and greeted him as he introduced himself as Dr. Sven. He made a gesture to follow him as I did...
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Sven.”
“Pleasure to meet you, how are you?” -Dr. Sven-
“Well... Haha, it’s somewhat, good... But it’s going to be a strange story.”
His eyebrows raised in curiosity but also picked my uncomfortable cues while still maintaining his professional demeanour as he opened the door of his office and made a welcoming gesture for me to enter.
In his office; there’s a clean bed, weight scale, height measurement tape, several children's drawings depicting him as a doctor treating the child’s injury, a doctor’s desk and seat, and more.
As he sat in his chair after closing the door behind us for more privacy. He gestures to a chair opposite of him silently asking me to sit as I did.
“So, what brings you here?” -Dr. Sven-
He readied himself to begin typing and I told him all about the issues I had been experiencing. His facial expression slowly changes from curiosity to more concerned features regarding my issues.
...
...
...
“Uh-huh... Hmmm... How about we do a blood and urine test to figure out what’s going on? And... concerning your bowel movement might I suggest light laxatives? You’ve been maintaining your diet pretty well... I’ll give you a prescription for it. I will do more research than after.” -Dr. Sven-
While he was talking, he also did some other check-ups like heartbeat and blood pressure and all came up as normal.
“That would be great Doctor...”
Finishing that, he went back to his desk to print out a referral form and a prescription for the medication as he mentioned...
“As this is a peculiar case, I would hope to see you again next week for a follow-up on the blood & urine test and the progression. Okay?” -Dr. Sven-
He gently smiled as I nodded in agreement and he wrote some notes on the referral form such as ‘Follow Up next week’ and more.
--
Without further ado, I left the clinic once I paid for the doctor’s service and went straight to the pathology place next door.
(“It is pretty handy to have one immediately next to the clinic. I must say...”)
“Oh? Not a lot of people waiting... It’s my lucky day!”
I went in and was explained the procedure of blood taking I simply nodded, making my right hand available for her to start the process...
“Ngh!”
A sharp sudden sting pierce through my right arm as she begins to fill up several tubes of my blood.
...
...
...
(“The doctor wants a full-blown check eh? Welp, I haven’t had a blood test for years after all...”)
“Ohh? That’s different.” -Phlebotomist-
Hearing that, I got curious and turned my head towards her as she finished filling up the tubes. At that moment, she held one of the tubes and raised it high enough for the light to hit it.
Its... Huh... I understand why she said it.
I know what the normal colour of blood looks like especially if it comes from veins since I was working on those kinds of things anyway.
But...
My blood is incredibly dark, not the normal deep scarlet red rather it's just black not even the sunlight can pierce through.
She gently shakes it before shrugging and starting the paperwork process. At a glance, at least my blood has the consistency of normal blood.
(“Well... Let’s see the results next week.”)
I also gave my Business No.1 sample to her and left the pathology place so I could go to a pharmacy to get my medicines.
-Back Home-
“Fwahhh!!!”
I slammed my body straight on the bed mentally tired after changing my ‘out’ clothes to comfortable ‘in’ clothes.
“NGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
I stretched my body in a somewhat weird but satisfying pose before screaming and finally winding down.
“That’s enough outside activity for this week... Haaa, I’ll be online this evening. But for now! An afternoon nap would be great.”
Snuggling even more to my bed and wrapped myself up into a burrito. I closed my eyes and steadied my breath.
Like a charm...
...
...
...
“Hoammmmzzz...”
(“What time is it?”)
Glancing at the corner of my eye, it's currently 16:30ish PM. That explains why the sun’s still shining...
Blearily rising from the bed, I rubbed my eyes and started to have an early shower and dinner since I was planning to dedicate the whole evening to grinding and more.
-After all of that-
“Okay! Time to start.”
Wearing the all too familiar helmet and positioning myself comfortably on the bed, I clicked the big button at the top as my worldview shifted...
-Entering O.w.O-
The familiar cyan-coloured forest greeted my eyes as I arrived at my home. In anticipation, I waited with expectation and...
*THUD* *THUD* *THUD*
Gallops can be heard in the distance and alongside it, I can hear leaves rustling as Gaia in his majesty arrived soon after.
His voice rang in the forest like birds chirping as he said...
“Master! Welcome back.” -Gaia-
(“Hehe... Cheerful as ever.”)
I squished his soft and fluffy cheek. In my mind, I wouldn’t even dream of calling him and Oreo to the battlefield. They’re too lovely to fight!
I already did my re-craft in the morning so I guess... Uhm...
(“I developed a bad habit, no... No, it’s not a bad habit. It is called pre-cautionary measures!”)
I close my eyes and focus on the image of that archer as the darkness of my view changes alongside familiar clicks & clacks.
I see...
A land covered by a veil of snow, where in the distance, I can see a mountain covered in white and in the centrepiece of my vision is that archer ploughing through the snow with his teammates seemingly searching.
(“I assume they are looking for targets to PK, hmmm... There must be an incentive on why they began killing non-human players. I mean aside from other things...”)
Should I pester him? Technically, I can do this every hour but I am not that petty and not in the right moment too...
Shrugging, I decided to not do that. Instead! I have a schedule planned in mind. Upon knowing that better alchemy materials exist, I better explore other Areas!!!
I can feel jitters from my back and a grin beginning to etch itself on my lips as I do my preparations before heading out.
(“Okay... 35 Explosive [Sigil] and 7 [Contingency] each with varying effects.”)
Confident in my preparations, I head out to the post-rebirth Area ‘Ancient Woods’ previously called ‘Deep Woods’.
This Area is laden with sturdy and stout trees covered in moss although they are not as tall as Lainore forest’s trees, they all have thick canopies that blot out sunlight causing the place to be darker than usual even in the daytime.
In addition...
My eyes scouted for a bit seeing a bunch of rubbles either being hidden by thick roots and vines or laid out in the open. Remnants of ancient ruins are scattered everywhere...
(“It seems to be a common theme in Ancient Woods.”)
“[Discover: Materials]”
A quick pulse skitters out from me highlighting a silhouette of gatherable nearby and as far as I can see...
“Okay... [Unknowable]”
A high-tier Dark {Spell} capable of masking one’s presence, eluding normal senses, and becoming incredibly silent in movement. Plus! I can cast {Spell} without cancelling the buff early so it’s a good concealing magic.
Hidden by this magic, I systematically do a round of gathering all sorts of mats from typical woods and stones, ores and gems.
“Haha! It works wonderfully...”
I have passed by multiple enemies primarily Hobgoblins in the daytime and Werewolves in the nighttime.
(“I am amazed that these creatures have their own ‘Activities’ and are capable of interacting with natural critters of this Area.”)
Like hunting for food and drinking water by the river, doing some weird rituals, and patrolling their surroundings around their spawn field.
The World Boss of each respective field also go on patrols so it’s not stationary like the ones in Pre-Rebirth Areas.
(“How interesting...”)
(“Ah! Finally found an alchemical materials, lucky me... “)
Approaching closer, it has similar fern-like plants clustered together. I expect this will be a Vitality Berry or some kind.
Aaaahhhh... I see... I see...
It... looks like Vitality Berry but it’s a variant that’s expected. The fruit is square and has a greenish shade like an unripe apple. Upon plucking them, I got a description of it and it’s named ‘Stamina Berry’ a better version of Stamina Herb.
Safe to say... I will encounter a better version of Mana Herb too once I make their respective potions, I’ll increase the price a bit to showcase that they’re stronger than my normal potions.
Speak of the devil, there you go... right on the nick of time night-cycle arrived. As soon as it did, some scattered vitality and stamina berries vanished replaced with a similar sort of berry with diamond-shaped fruit and a blue hue aptly named ‘Mana Berry’ after plucking them.
“Haaaa... No one sees me, I count that as a win.”
Throughout all of these, I kept refreshing [Unknowable], [Sigil], and [Contingency] as well as cast [Detection] every so often. So far so good but let’s not jinx it!
Without wasting a single second, I quickly teleported to My Home to assign the utility golems to plant and care for these seeds.
“Master!!!” -Gaia-
Like an overenthusiastic puppy, this oversized stag of a creature greeted me by rubbing his face to my own, I could smell mints on his breath and the strong scent of flowers while we walked.
*RUSTLE* *RUSTLE* *RUSTLE*
I heard the rustling of leaves as Gaia lowered himself by folding his legs which made me think that he was tired or something but before I could say it...
“Master, get on top.” -Gaia-
He said it with pride, that would break my heart if I said no and so, I obliged. Positioning and making myself comfortable on Gaia’s back as he raises. He then begins to leisurely walk around the outer circle of my home to the middle circle.
This walk is quite nice, I can see my Mini Biomes in its entirety. Where small rotund adamantine golems take care of plants and harvest them, critters predator and prey alike exhibit a natural cycle, and it gives these biomes ‘Life’ Plus they left me alone not registering my presence even if I’m super close like in their face kind of thing.
But...
I glanced to the side, noticing that each time Gaia walked nearby, one of the critters predator and prey alike momentarily paused staring at him before continuing their activities.
He seemed to be revered, maybe it’s because of his ‘Divine Beast’ kind of thing.
Well... I’m glad he has a great relationship with Oreo and the critters in my home.
(“Haaaa... the nostalgia, I still remember spending hours on end healing and taking care of him.”)
Though for Oreo, it was a short moment. They are independent after all.
It is faint but I can somewhat feel their presence between the trees slithering in branches. While keep following us like a silent guardian exploring the mini biomes of my home.
--
The scenic journey around my house takes an hour or so and that already yielded lots of alchemy materials from golem’s harvest.
Gaia transported me to the central part of my home where the temple is located and where I usually spend time...
(“Well, I guess it’s time to craft better potions then.”)
Navigating my {Skill} panel, I clicked on the Crafting tab and headed straight towards Alchemy as I confirmed on ‘Free Mode’
By replicating my previous method of refining Vitality, Stamina, and Mana Herb. I created the same series of potions just a better version of them.
(“How much do I sell them?”)
That is the question...
Maybe 50% more? I sold my recovery potions for 20k Zenis so if it’s 30k I think people wouldn’t mind...
Let’s try that! So, I began to bulk craft 99 potions in ‘Auto’ mode.
(“Ah... Someone bought the (Legendary) ring. Yay!!! Extra money! Who wouldn’t love that?”)
After finalizing everything, I got a message from Siegfried and Booba, an invitation for another grinding session.
(“Of course I’ll go!”)
With that, I head out...