Nico returned to the Adventurer's Guild and stepped through the sliding glass doors.
His head bled from the side, causing him to feel lightheaded and slightly dizzy.
With his baggy under-eye, Nico wasn't short of menacing in that moment.
Melissa noticed him and widened her eyes as she looked at his wounds. "Nico! Are you okay?! What happened?!"
"Don't worry... It's nothing a few healing potions can't heal," Nico retorted.
"You don't look so good. Maybe I should fully heal you?"
"Nah, that'll take too much time. Just the potions will be enough."
Melissa sighed and placed 5 healing potions in front of Nico, allowing him to pay for them a few seconds later.
Nico popped open one potion and emptied the entire thing before drinking an additional bottle.
He sighed and thanked Melissa as he glanced at his right arm, where his health went from orange to green.
'That cyclops was no joke. How'd something like that even spawn...? Pyrros rarely hosts any powerful bosses,' Nico wondered.
"Please help!" a sharp voice from outside rang in both Nico and Melissa's ears.
A player limped inside the Adventurer's Guild with an unconscious and injured man on his back.
The player fell to his knees and coughed up blood, Melissa immediately making her way towards the two while Nico watched in silence.
"He's...!" the player said, his words getting stuck in his mouth.
"Bring him to the back," Melissa ordered.
"... I don't have any..."
"I said bring him to the back. I never said you should pay," Melissa retorted. Then, she turned to Nico. "Come on, help him out."
Nico sighed and carried the unconscious player over his shoulder, following Melissa to the back where he placed him on the bed with a soft thud.
Melissa then gathered her mana.
Vines wrapped themselves around her arms and attached themselves tightly around her wrists, eventually reaching the crevice between her fingers.
Her brown eyes turned green as her mana flowed smoothly from her body and onto the injured player.
Slowly, his cuts were sealed, his wounds were mended and his bruises healed.
After a few minutes of complete silence, Melissa took a deep breath and lowered her arms. "He'll be out for at least an hour."
"Thank you... Please, take this..." the player said as he offered Melissa a stone with a seal on it.
"It's a rune stone. You can use it to grow stronger," explained the player.
Melissa shook her head and smiled gently. "I'm alright with that. I have no intention of getting stronger. I'm not an adventurer anymore, so..."
"But-"
"I'd rather tend to your injuries than take that from you. You were limping earlier, so I'm assuming you're not in tip-top shape either, are you?"
The player became silent. Nico watched their exchange and couldn't help but be curious.
Out of all the players he had met, Melissa alone seemed to be the most human among them.
Even now, she prioritises saving a human life instead of making money, even when she is in debt.
She chose to do what she thought was right, and that was saving people.
Nico slightly furrowed his brows. 'Why? Why is she going this far for someone she doesn't even know...?'
He left the room and returned to the reception, deciding to wait for the player inside before he could ask questions.
「Some time later...」
Nico was sitting in the lounge with Zach, who was the player who asked Melissa for her assistance.
He had short undercut red hair and bright orange eyes. His attire was a simple black tank top and military pants with black boots.
"I'm so glad Melissa decided to help us out. Without her, Eric definitely would've died," said Zach.
Nico took a sip from his energy drink and placed it on the coffee table. Then, he tilted his head.
"How'd you guys get that beat up though?"
Zach clenched his fists. "It was the game event..."
Nico raised an eyebrow. "The event? It's already landed?"
"Yeah, and this one was quite brutal. There were 5 games and you had to choose one. They change every time a new group of players attends," explained Zach.
"The game I chose was a simple shooter. My team won, but only Eric and I survived that massacre," Zach concluded.
The two sat in silence for a while, the weight of the situation pressing heavily against Zach.
Nico wanted to be more remorseful, but he had to investigate for his survival. And maybe even future players.
"So, this week's category is team play?" Nico asked.
Zach nodded. "That's right. Any game you play requires a certain number of teammates. It was ranked D."
Nico rubbed his chin in contemplation. 'Melissa said that there were rankings. This event is at rank D, this means it isn't as challenging as what's to come...'
"Have you participated in any events yet, Nico?" Zach inquired.
"No. But, I'm considering it. I can't run away forever. When's the next event supposed to show up?" Nico asked.
"At least 2 days from today. Today's event is already over and the month is coming to an end. This next event will serve as the last one."
Nico nodded. 'That gives me enough time to grind for extra stat increase points...'
"You know, you're a little robotic, Nico," commented Zach.
"Huh?"
"You seem like a very smart guy, but maybe you should tone down your intensity. It makes you look scary," he laughed as he scratched his cheek.
Nico rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the two players approaching the lounge.
Melissa walked towards Nico and Zach, Eric following behind her with a soft smile on his face.
Nico closely inspected him and realised that his cheeks were abnormally flush and his body seemed to have completely calmed itself.
It was suspicious.
Then again, Nico wasn't the type to pry if it didn't benefit him.
"Eric! You're okay!" Zach said as he stood up, tears forming in his eyes.
"Yeah, all thanks to this pretty lady," Eric commented as he tapped Melissa on the back of her waist. "She's one heck of a miracle worker!"
"Oh, stop~" Melissa responded with a soft smile.
'Ah, I see,' Nico said as he pieced everything together.
"Melissa, how can I ever thank you?" Zach cried as he held Melissa's hands.
"Just pop in every once in a while so I can confirm that you're still alive," Melissa commented as she smiled brightly.
Nico now understood why Melissa was surprised when he didn't even comment on her beauty.
As a sex worker, her charm has to be off the charts so that she can continue to sell in the market.
If her beauty even dulls for a minute, her value drops greatly.
'What a tough life that she's living. I can't even imagine her feeling comfortable with doing this...'
"You kill people to survive, I fuck them to survive. Does what I do make me any less of a player?"
Her words played on repeat for a while. She was right.
'Melissa and I are the same.'
Nico stood up and walked to the counter, spoke with the NPC and took on a few missions before leaving the guild.
Melissa watched him walk away, his snow-white hair an anomaly to the dark and gloomy weather.
"You know, Nico was insistent on me paying you back. So, here," Zach commented as he handed Melissa a small, golden stone with a plant engraved on it.
"I already told you that I don't want rune stones," Melissa pouted.
"This one will compliment your healing expertise, Melissa. Please, take it," Zach insisted as he opened Melissa's palm and placed the stone in her hands.
"We'll be off now. Thanks for everything," Eric said as he and Zach walked away. "We'll be back soon."
"Wait!" Melissa sighed as the doors hummed while the two walked away.
She looked at the rune stone and gently rubbed it with the base of her thumb.
'Nico insisted...?'
She smiled softly and crushed the stone with no hesitation.
A surge of energy coursed through her veins and pulsed through her blood, her mana increasing and her hair swaying from side to side.
「New Active Skill Acquired: Healer's Touch (Lvl.1)」
「Healer's Touch (Lvl.1): If the user wills it, they can heal those who are wounded by simply touching them. -10 Health will be taxed for +20 Health」
It was a risky skill to use. She had no one to use it for.
Not anymore.
She's lost too many people—too many friends—to feel like she could risk her life to save someone else.
But now, with this, she could act in dire situations.