Mill knocked before opening the door to Izick's hospital room. She found him fully dressed, tying his shoes in preparation to leave.

  "You should be resting. Aren't you still hurting right now?"

  "Of course. It even hurts to lift my arms, but I don't have the luxury to rest. I probably won't be able to sleep for the next few days anyway, now that my life has stopped making sense."

  Mill set the food on the table in front of Izick. She pulled out fruits, meats, and cheeses and placed them on the table. She couldn't help but notice that he somehow looked even more depressed than when she first left.

  "I brought you some food. A good meal can help you heal faster. It's devastating to lose that pension, but maybe there's a way to pay for your sister's medicine without it? I'm not going anywhere, so we can think this through together."

  Izick shook his head as he stood to his feet.

  "Cylvia's medicine is my main issue, but now I have more issues. Besides, I can't keep leeching off of you. I heard from the nurses that you've been paying for my bills here. I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

  Izick quickly grabbed a strange staff wrapped in white hospital bed sheets and headed toward the door.

  "Thanks for everything, but we should part ways here. I left my Long Book number on the desk."

  Mill grabbed his shoulder to stop his movement as she stared at the strange staff in Izick's hand.

  "Not so fast. Where did that staff come from? It wasn't here when I left."

  "It's my new walking stick."

  Silence followed as both of them were in a stalemate. Mill got in front of Izick to get a closer look at the staff while blocking his exit.

  "Don't worry about the hospital bills. I don't want anything in return for helping a friend. There's no need to rush, especially since we're both branded as traitors."

  Mill pulled out a chair from the table for Izick and motioned for him to sit before sitting in the opposite chair.

  "Look, I promise to listen if something is bothering you, but I'm not leaving until you explain what's going on."

  "Are you sure you want to know?"

  "Absolutely."

  Izick stared at the ground and sighed as he tried to gather his thoughts.

  "I'm involved in something extremely dangerous and confusing. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, and I don't want you involved even if you did," Izick said, gripping the 'walking stick' in his hand. Mill chuckled lightly as she grabbed a white fruit with red specs from the basket.

  "Try me. I've seen some pretty weird things over my career as a mercenary Healer. Besides, what could be worse than being literal traitors to the crown and the entire country of Arekia?"

  Izick took the seat across from Mill before unravelling the white wrappings on his staff, revealing the white and gold shotgun.

  He carefully laid it on the table so Mill could see it. Her eyes opened in shock as she began to stammer nonsense.

  "T-this is Alister's weapon!"

  "Or more specifically, the Staff Hero's weapon, which is called the Honor Rod, if that's what this thing really is."

  "But why do you have it?"

  Izick sighed deeply as he stared at the weapon with disgust.

  "Because Alister made me the new Staff Hero. You can't see it, but there's an annoying blue box floating in front of my face right now. We know it as the Blessing, but the heroes from Elseworld call it the System or something," Izick said as he pointed to the floating blue menu between him and Mill.

  "Are you serious?"

  "It's hard to believe, but I'm not making any of this up. That Honor Rod just appeared out of thin air. I also got a letter from Alister himself…"

  Izick explained the letter and everything he experienced with the Blessing. He made a rough drawing of the Hero System's main screen on a sheet of paper for Mill to get a visual representation of what he was seeing.

  Mill inspected the sheet of paper Izick handed her and silently nodded as he stated his situation before gritting her teeth and crushing the white fruit in her hand into a mess of pulp and juice, causing Izick to pull back, startled.

  "Alister! I'm going to kill that sorry excuse for a hero! How could he do this to a kid like you? I'm not letting him get away with this!"

  "So you believe me?"

  "I have no reason to doubt you. I haven't known you long, but you're not the type to joke about something like this. Also, having Alister's gaudy weapon supports your claim. I believe you," Mill said while furiously cleaning her hands off with a handkerchief.

  Izick smiled brightly after hearing that someone believed him. He felt like less of a basket case knowing that he wasn't in this alone.

  "Thank you, Mill. I think I needed someone to believe me more than I thought."

  "No problem, but there's something that's really bothering me about this 'Blessing' Alister forced onto you," Mill said with more calmness and worry.

  "The fact that I don't know what it does or how to get rid of it?"

  "Yes, those are huge problems; however, it's the thing I understand the most out of all of this that troubles me," Mill said as she picked up the rough drawing of the Hero System's main screen and pointed to the Class designation, which said [Mage].

  "This Hero System, or whatever, that Alister forced onto you, changed your class from Scout to Mage."

  "Yeah, I thought that was weird too, but it's not as weird as calling me the Staff Hero of Arekia and dropping the Honor Rod in my lap."

  "I would disagree. Classes are directly tied to our Mana Bases, which determine our Mana capacity and knowledge in Mysteria. No offense, but you don't have the largest Mana Base, so the Mage class is absolutely the worst class for you since that class is the most Mana-intensive of the four major classes. The fact that Alister could change your class, and possibly even manipulate your Mana Base, on a whim is extremely concerning," Mill said with a worried face as she tapped on the table with her finger.

  A cold sweat rolled down Izick's face as Mill explained his dire situation.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "It doesn't make any sense for him to hand you something as powerful as the Hero's Blessing and an Honor Weapon like the Honor Rod without invoking some sort of Malevolence on you. This is getting pretty scary."

  Izick gulped as he stared at the Honor Rod.

  "So what should I do? I thought about burying this thing or tossing it into the ocean."

  "I would advise against that at the moment. I don't know what it is yet, but that snake Alister definitely cursed this weapon somehow, knowing his personality. I know close to nothing about the Honor Weapons of the Summoned Heroes, but I'm familiar with weapons cursed with Malevolence from my work as a Healer. You might already be under some sort of Malevolence from the Honor Rod," Mill said, eyeing the weapon on the table.

  "Negative effects can sometimes be triggered by meeting certain conditions, which include time, touch, distance, or coming in contact with Mana. It's slight, but Mana is flowing off the Honor Rod right now. We can't be too hasty about our actions without knowing the trigger."

  Izick bit his lip as he looked down at his hands. What Mill said made perfect sense, and he could've gotten himself killed due to his own ignorance.

  He was somehow even more in over his head than he thought. Mill noticed Izick's frustration and worry, so she grabbed a white fruit and offered it to him.

  "Worrying about this and falling into despair will only play into Alister's hands. Let's think this through after filling our stomachs. Like I said before, there's no need to rush. I'm not going anywhere," Mill said with a welcoming smile. Izick thanked her for the food and accepted the fruit before taking a bite, its rubbery texture and sweetness calming him.

  Izick stopped chewing as his eyes narrowed with concern. He quickly wrapped the Honor Rod and then tossed the weapon under his hospital bed before plopping on top of it.

  Four knocks sounded off on the door before Mill could even ask what was going on.

  "Mr. Featherbelle, investigators are here to see you. Can we come in?"

  Mill raised a brow as she turned to Izick. He raised his hands in defeat.

  "Come in."

  The door flung open. Two nurses walked in, followed by four men in black suits.

  The men looked around the hospital room, but the tallest of the four men only inspected Izick with his derpy and sleep-deprived eyes.

  The gold woven into his black tie, suit jacket, and white shirt gave him an air of superiority over the three other men who stood behind him, but his oily, shoulder-length, disheveled hair, coupled with his scruffy facial hair, made him look unkempt.

  He nodded to Mill as he pulled out a chair and sat in front of Izick.

  "Apologies for the interruption, Mr. Featherbelle. I'm Inspector Frinchel Danza of Janson Yard, but call me Frinch. I'm currently interviewing former party members of the fallen Staff Hero's party. Mind if you can answer a few questions for me? Don't worry, we're not here to arrest you."

  Mill raised a hand for Inspector Frinch to stop.

  "My friend here has only been awake for mere hours. I want him to rest as much as possible. Why don't you come back later?" Mill said with a welcoming smile. The man smirked as he motioned to Izick with his hand.

  "Rest? He's fully clothed and wearing shoes. He looks ready to go on a nice little walk, not rest. It won't take long, it's just a few simple and easy questions."

  "Fine, I'll answer some questions," Izick said flatly as he studied Inspector Frinch, who seemed to be doing the same thing to him.

  "Great, that makes everything easier for us. Tell me, Mr. Featherbelle, what was your position in the Staff Hero's party? Official documents only list your position as 'auxiliary' and nothing else," Inspector Frinch said as he pulled out a small notebook and pen.

  "It's just as your documents said. I was an auxiliary member of the Staff Hero's party. I held many positions related to menial and tedious tasks, but I was mainly his luggage boy, which isn't unusual for someone my age."

  Inspector Frinch stared down Izick with searching eyes.

  "Really? I heard you were also one of his Scouts. Was that one of your positions?"

  Izick returned the Inspector's stare with his own steady glare.

  "Is that what your 'official documents' said? I thought I was only an 'auxiliary' member?"

  Inspector Frinch smiled as he nodded and jotted something down in his notebook.

  "Let's leave that topic alone for now. Did you have prior knowledge of Alister Black's plan to betray Arekia?"

  "No."

  "Have you tried to contact Alister Black since his betrayal?"

  "No."

  "Have you contacted any other Staff Hero party members since Alister Black's betrayal?"

  "Yes."

  Inspector Frinch frowned at this question before scribbling in his notebook.

  "And who were these party members?"

  "Only me," Mill said, interrupting before Izick could answer. "I already talked with Inspector Potts earlier."

  "Ah, I see. But I want to hear it from Mr. Featherbelle. Is she the only party member you were in contact with?"

  "Yes."

  Inspector Frinch pestered Izick with a few more questions before standing and putting away his writing materials.

  "Well, that will be all from me. We'll be taking our leave now. Contact me if Alister Black attempts to reach out to you or if something comes up. Here's my card," Inspector Frinch said, holding out a white business card to Izick.

  "Sorry, could you place it on the nightstand over there? My shoulders hurt, and I don't want to move my arms too much," Izick said as he motioned to the nightstand by his bed with his head.

  Inspector Frinch chuckled to himself as he placed the business card on the nightstand.

  "You have a bright future, Mr. Featherbelle. Let's go, boys," Inspector Frinch said as he turned away from Izick and walked past Mill. He stopped by the table where Mill sat, then snorted and walked out.

  The three other men in suits fell in line behind Inspector Frinch, who quickly left the hospital room. The nurses soon took their leave as well after checking on Izick's condition and reprimanding him for trying to leave without clearance.

  Izick waited for the nurses to leave before placing a finger across his lips to signal Mill not to speak.

  She nodded in understanding as Izick stood up and walked over to the nightstand where the business card was placed.

  He pointed to the business card and then to his ears, before making an 'X' with his arms.

  Mill placed her hand over the business card and whispered a few words, causing it to combust into flames and disintegrate into ashes, leaving a clean desk.

  "OK, I think we're good now," Izick said, sighing and lowering his head in exhaustion.

  "I think so too. I didn't notice any Surveillance Skills, only Inspection Skills from that Inspector and his subordinates," Mill said before pointing to the desk.

  "And what was with that business card? It was faint, but I felt some weird Mana flowing off it, and you clearly didn't want to touch it."

  "That was a Scanner card. Dirty Scouts like him use those cards to scan suspects, glean biometric information, and track their movements. Some even have Surveillance Skills built into them to listen in on conversations."

  "That's pretty scary. But you said he was a Scout?"

  "No doubt in my mind. He was likely a specific type of Scout called a Tracer. They're very good at tracking people, reading Mana, investigating crimes, and detecting lies through body language. I just hope he didn't notice the Mana coming from the Honor Rod. I tried masking the Mana with my own by sitting on it," Izick said while patting the hospital bed.

  "I had to pick my words very carefully since he was reading me, searching for even an ounce of a lie."

  "Yikes, good thing I didn't lie to him."

  "I wasn't worried about you. I know you're an honest person."

  "Well, it's hard to build trust as a Healer if all you do is lie, but I digress. Let's get back to our original conversation. Our top priority is to figure out exactly what Alister did to you and the Honor Rod."

  "Yeah. Do you have any idea about what my next move should be?"

  "There's a Druid Convocation on the other side of town that might give us some answers."

  "I know they're the ones responsible for summoning the Heroes, but aren't they a bit secretive?"

  "Yes, but it's worth a try."

  Izick paced around his room as he thought it over. He nodded his head before swiping a speckled fruit from Mill's basket.

  "Let's go see a Druid. I've got no better ideas," Izick said, taking a bite out of the fruit. "Besides, we have to leave here before the investigators come back. Things will get bad if we stay at this hospital too long."

  "It's that bad, huh. Should we leave right now?"

  "Nah, let's leave in the morning. You can go back to wherever you're staying and pack. It's going to be nightfall soon, and that's great for Tracer Scouts like Inspector Frinch, who probably wants to stalk us from the shadows. Let's keep an even playing field and leave during daylight."

  "Sounds like a plan. I also have a bag I carry with me that you can use for the Honor Rod."

  "That could work in the meantime, but sometimes a bag can bring more attention. Now, about duping the hospital staff here…"

  The two of them ate while discussing their plan of action to avoid investigators and what to expect at the mysterious Druid Convocation.