Eliona's War 1: Hesitant Healer

Chapter 9

Welcome, Severance! You have successfully loaded into the World.

Time remaining: 03:59:57

You have unassigned skills.

Severance opened his eyes to the usual chaos of Ascendance. Hundreds of people milled about, generating a constant background of noise. Ah, he did not miss this place in the slightest.

Unfortunately for him, the game thought he needed to come here as often as possible, because although he'd logged out at the orphanage, it had brought him back here. He even recognized the big stone building beside him as being the centerpiece of town.

While he stood there getting his bearings, there was a brilliant flash of white light. Another player appeared. For a brief moment, the player stood motionless like a dead statue. The eyes were closed. But only for a moment.

They snapped open, life sparking within. The chest heaved slightly, as if taking in air. The player moved his head, blinked, and then strode forward into the flow of people around them.

Severance watched the whole process, both fascinated and unsettled. It was like watching a robot come to life.

Did he look like that when logging in? He sifted a hand through his hair, feeling the fine strands slip through his fingers like silk. It felt so different from his real hair that he couldn't help but touch it. He let his hand drop to his side.

The first order of business today was to find Lady Joveline. He'd left before he could finish healing all the orphans, so he wanted to check with her and see if there were any kids that still needed help.

Taking a deep breath, he ventured into the throng and looked for the little brook that ran through town. From there, he just had to follow it to the golden tree. He kept his head down, shoulders hunched, and continued putting one foot in front of the other until he found the tree. Like that, he was able to make it to her without getting overwhelmed.

This time, Lady Joveline was much busier. A jumble of people formed a haphazard queue before her. When Severance joined in at the back, he found himself constantly jostled, with at least two people cutting in ahead of him. He lowered his gaze and said nothing.

Players shouted at each other, irritation and joy blending into a discordant cacophony. Tension thrummed through Severance like a vibrating guitar string. Ascendance was an overcrowded nightmare and he hated it.

Severance forced his hands to unclench, unsure of when he'd even curled them to start with. He reminded himself of the reasons why he wanted to be here. Healing. Uncle Fenn. And—nope, that was it. Well, okay, and maybe he was slightly bored sitting in his apartment all day with nothing to do.

You have unassigned skills.

The System flashed him a reminder. Severance's attention went to the floating words. He had seen the notice when he'd logged in, but hadn't paid it much attention. Right now it was a very welcome distraction.

"System," he murmured, very aware of how anyone nearby could hear him. "Skills."

Immediately, a semi-transparent blue window popped up:

Unassigned Skills
Level 3 Skills – Choose one

Radiance – heal everyone for 10% within 3 meters of you. Cooldown: 9.5* sec
Radiant Dome – place a stationary dome that heals those within. Lasts 20 sec, 1% per sec. Cooldown: 29* sec

*Because you have ≥10 wisdom, cooldown times are slightly decreased.

Severance tilted his head. Level 3? 10 wisdom? Had he really leveled up that much last night?