Chapter 62 - Why does nobody answer my questions ?

A warm beam of morning sunlight filtered through the window, brushing softly against Luca’s eyelids.

"Ugh..." he groaned as he stirred, a dull, throbbing ache pulsing through his skull. His vision swam for a moment before he blinked away the blur and took in the pale ceiling above him.

"...Huh. That’s... a familiar ceiling."

He blinked again, slowly turning his head.

"But... where is it?"

The sterile white walls. The faint scent of healing herbs in the air. The rows of beds sectioned off by privacy curtains. It took a second—but then recognition clicked.

"Uhh... this is the infirmary I was in... after the dungeon incident, isn’t it?"

His headache spiked, as if his brain had decided to punish him for remembering too fast.

"Right... the monster... in the hideout..."

His heart skipped. "Aurelia... Is she okay—?"

Before he could spiral further, the door creaked open.

A familiar voice chimed in cheerfully, "Hey friend! Nice to meet you today as well!"

Luca turned his head stiffly toward the entrance.

"...E-Eric?"

Standing in the doorway with his usual disheveled uniform and lopsided grin was Eric. The moment his eyes met Luca’s, that grin widened with visible relief.

"Ah, thank the Goddess! You’re finally awake!" he exclaimed. "You know how much everyone’s been freaking out?! Wait—hold on—I’ll call the healer!"

Without waiting for a reply, he dashed out of the room like a storm.

Luca blinked, confused. His lips parted in a mutter, "What does he mean,

finally

woke up...? Wasn’t it just a night...?"

Eric returned a moment later, dragging in a middle-aged healer dressed in pale robes. The healer came straight to Luca’s bedside, staff in hand.

"Let’s see... hmm," he said while placing a glowing hand gently over Luca’s forehead. "How are you feeling? Any nausea? Can you move your limbs?"

"I... I just have a slight headache," Luca muttered, then tried to sit up—only for his body to resist with heavy stiffness.

"Ah—what the—why can’t I move properly?!"

The healer chuckled softly. "Perfectly normal. After all, your body’s been still for—well, quite a while."

"Wait, what do you mean by—"

But the healer had already turned and exited the room, robes fluttering behind him.

Luca’s confusion only deepened.

He turned to Eric, brows furrowed. "Hey... How’s Aurelia? And what did he mean by

after so much time

—"

Before he could finish, Eric suddenly slapped a hand over his own forehead, horror dawning on his face.

"OH. FUCK. How did I forget THAT?!"

He turned and sprinted out of the room again like a man possessed.

"...Huh?" Luca blinked.

Left completely alone, the only thing he could hear now was the soft rustling of leaves outside the infirmary window, and the pounding of his own heart.

The room was quiet—almost too quiet.

Luca sat up slowly on the infirmary bed, the dull ache in his body still lingering. An hour had passed since he woke, but he hadn’t moved much. He just sat there... thinking.

How much of a butterfly effect did this incident cause?

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

Everything’s moving too fast.

First, the Blood Crystal was revealed in the second arc... and now this.

That monster was supposed to appear at the end of Year One. I don’t even remember how it went exactly—just that I attacked with Moonslayer, Aurelia followed with Blazing Nova Slash, and then... darkness.

He clenched his fist.

I lost consciousness... That’s all I remember.

I’m even more sure now. The third arc... there’s no way it’s going to be "normal."

He leaned back against the bedrest, eyes narrowing.

Thank god I secured Seraphina’s favor beforehand, or...

He didn’t even want to finish the thought.

Then something else returned to him—a conversation he had just last week with Master.

I realized something during that talk.

I was afraid of butterfly effects. Afraid things would change too much. That I’d lose my edge. My knowledge.

But... so what? If I follow the game’s original script, this world is destined for destruction anyway.

So what if things change?

His expression hardened.

Now that I’ve decided to give my best for even the slightest chance of survival...

Maybe I should change how I think.

Instead of seeing this like a game I’ve cleared a thousand times, maybe I should treat it as a brand-new one. Unpredictable. Harsh. But still playable.

And it’s not like my knowledge is useless.

It can still help me get the hidden pieces. Predict certain outcomes. Prepare. That’s my advantage.

Just as he let out a long breath, lost in thought—

BANG!

The door slammed open with force.

Before he could even react, someone burst in, leapt over the threshold—

And tackled him onto the bed.

His back hit the mattress with a thud, his breath knocked out for a moment.

"Wha—!?"

Then a voice—familiar, shaking—filled his ears.

"You—you idiot! Why did you do that!?"

Eyes wide, Luca looked up to see Aurelia straddling him, her face inches from his. Her eyes were red, her hair wild and unkempt, cheeks flushed in a mix of anger, panic, and... something else.

He blinked.

"...Good morning?"

As Luca gave a tired smile and greeted, "Good morning," he followed it up with a blink and a confused question.

"What do you mean I did what?"

Aurelia opened her mouth, clearly ready to yell again—

—but the door creaked open.

Eric stepped in, saw the position they were in—Aurelia still sitting atop Luca, her face flushed with intensity—

—and without a word, turned around and

swiftly shut the door again.

There was a heavy silence.

"Can you—uh—"

"Shut up," Aurelia snapped, cutting him off.

"Why did you use such a powerful attack?! Are you mad or something?"

Luca blinked. "You mean

Moonslayer

?"

Aurelia nodded fiercely.

He tilted his head, still utterly lost. "What do you mean by

powerful

?"

Before Aurelia could tear into him again, the door opened

again.

This time it was Kyle, hands casually behind his head, a smirk already on his lips.

"Hey, sister. You planning on keeping him pinned forever, or do you want to knock him unconscious again?"

Aurelia’s eyes twitched. Realizing the situation, she quickly jumped off of Luca, muttering something under her breath.

Luca shot Kyle a look of silent gratitude. Kyle simply nodded back, his smirk deepening.

Luca sat up slowly, brushing his hair back, and looked toward Aurelia again.

"Seriously though... what do you mean by

so much power

?"

Kyle answered before she could.

"Oh, you don’t know?"

He laughed.

"That strike of yours? It shook half the mountain. It was so intense the Dean himself rushed over. My grandfather—the Duke—came in person. Even the Master of the Mage Tower was summoned to investigate. That’s how powerful it was."

Luca’s jaw dropped slightly. "You’re kidding."

Kyle chuckled harder. "Dead serious."

SLAP!

Aurelia smacked the back of Kyle’s head.

"You idiot. Why are you making it sound cool? Someone has to tell him about the consequences!"

Luca, now sobering, turned toward her.

"What do you mean by...

consequences

?"

Before she could answer, the door creaked once more—and three more people entered.

Aiden, Lilliane, and Selena.

Aiden gave Luca a calm look.

"How are you feeling?"

Luca nodded. "I’m fine now."

But before he could say more—

"Why did you lie to us and go back by yourself?"

Lilliane’s voice cut in, sharp with emotion.

Everyone in the room—except Aurelia—nodded.

Even Selena stepped forward. "Yeah... you shouldn’t have done that. That wasn’t fair to us."

Lilliane spoke again, her eyes narrowed.

"You said we’re friends, right? Then what kind of friend does something like that?"

Aiden crossed his arms.

"That’s right. We’ve fought two battles side by side now. We’re friends, Luca. You should’ve trusted us—at least that much."

The words settled in the air. Heavy. Sincere.

Luca looked at them all—Aurelia fuming, Kyle grinning, Lilliane hurt, Aiden calm but disappointed, Selena quietly agreeing— Each one wore a different expression, yet all of them carried the same weight behind their words: concern.

For a moment, Luca didn’t know what to say. A thousand excuses formed—then faded.He looked around the room... and felt something shift inside.

Friends, huh...?

His thoughts drifted inward, a warmth blooming in his chest.

I left that day telling myself I’d help Lilliane make a friend... but without even realizing it, I gained so many instead.

Life is strange.

In my world, I didn’t have anyone. Not for twenty years. Just routine, silence... emptiness.

But here, in just two months—

I’ve made more friends than I could have ever dreamed of.

And not just anyone—these are the characters I loved more than anyone else... back when this was just a game to me.

A soft glimmer welled up in his eye, a tear flickering there—not of pain, but something gentler. Something real.

But just as the silence was starting to feel comforting—

SLAM!

The door flew open again, and the academy healer marched in, looking thoroughly irritated.

"Hey! The patient’s still recovering, you know! Stop crowding and shouting, out with you!"

Before anyone could argue, he started herding them all out like sheep. Kyle gave a mock salute before leaving, Aiden gave a respectful nod, Selena whispered a soft "Rest well," and Lilliane muttered something under her breath before being pushed out too.

Aurelia tried to stay, her hand briefly tightening around the bed’s edge—

"Out. You too, redhead."

"But I—!"

"Out."

The door finally shut behind them all, and quiet once again settled in.

Luca blinked... and chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head.

"She actually got dragged out."

He stared at the ceiling, letting the silence soak in—until a new thought slowly formed.

...Wait.

Didn’t I forget something?

His eyes widened, the ache in his head momentarily forgotten.

The consequences... what were they?

A cold knot formed in his chest.

And just how long... have I been unconscious?