The wounds in this body had actually healed. The stab wounds that would have left permanent scars had closed by the time of my last examination. However, the reason the medical staff kept me in the recovery ward wasn't those external wounds. It was the severe damage to my internal organs.
It seemed the Orc's blow had worsened the internal injuries in my body. Somehow, the stab wounds had recovered at an unnatural speed when I first woke up and occupied this body, but the actual injuries had grown worse because of that blow—the one that knocked me down and left me unconscious.
That pig monster, which had punched my body hard enough to knock me unconscious on the first day I awoke, had cracked my breastbone and destroyed my internal tissue.
Strangely, my body recovered at an absurd rate in just three days.
Apparently, when I first regained consciousness in Sanctuary of Players, a day had already passed. I'd been unconscious for an entire day.
On the first day I woke up, I couldn't even move my body without wincing in pain. But by the third day, the pain had simply vanished. I could sit up, and even take a few slow steps, though my body still felt somewhat weak.
This rate of regeneration was clearly an anomaly. I didn't know whether it was a special effect caused by the soul transference this body had been prepared for, or whether this body simply possessed a special ability of its own.
I assumed it was influenced by the body's preparation for a new soul, since no special ability was listed on the status panel—an ability that would affect recovery speed and therefore be categorized under skills.
As a result, every four hours, the military doctors and priests from the Legion took turns entering this recovery tent to examine me after I had awakened from my coma.
"Are you still experiencing any pain, especially near your Mana Core?"
A doctor who looked like a senior physician asked me that question during the examination.
What did bodily pain from internal injuries have to do with my Mana Core?
I didn't understand the question. Could he have assumed that my astonishing recovery speed was the result of my Mana Core's influence?
The influence of my ability over Mana?
"How is it possible that the Mana fluctuations in your body have already stabilized?"
A priest chimed in with another question after the senior doctor's.
Another question that left me confused.
What was wrong with my Mana?
They were always surprised and connecting everything to Mana.
All I could do was put on a bewildered expression and pretend to be an innocent child who knew nothing. Which, in truth, was exactly how little I understood their questions.
"I... I don't know. When I woke up, the tightness in my chest suddenly turned warm, and then the pain slowly disappeared."
During the intense question-and-answer session with the military medical staff, I took the opportunity to gather the basic information I desperately needed right now.
"Sorry... if you don't mind me asking, what date is it today?"
I needed this information to get started and make plans for the future using Sanctuary of Players. By knowing the current date, I could search the players' perspective videos for information about events happening now and in the future.
One of the female nurses offered a faint smile as she straightened the medicine bottles.
"Today is the 15th of Solace, 298 LunarSun."
The 15th of Solace, 298 LunarSun...
The beginning of spring. That meant the new year had just begun.
As I remembered it, Tales From Players began in 300 LunarSun. That meant I still had two years before the players started TFP.
The calendar system in the world of Erantel was rather unique. A year had eight months, with each month consisting of sixty days. Their names were divided evenly according to the influence of the dogma of the Dawn Church and the Evernight Temple.
The first four months fell under the protection of the Dawn Church and represented light and warmth:
Solace: The beginning of spring.
Lumina: The height of spring.
Ignis: The beginning of summer.
Radiance: The height of summer.
The next four months, meanwhile, were ruled by the domain of the Evernight Temple, associated with silence and cold:
Pluvia: The beginning of the rainy season.
Tenebris: The height of the rainy season.
Umbra: The beginning of winter.
Requiem: The height of winter.
Two years. Enough time to prepare everything I needed to begin.
Hopefully...
As I slowly walked around the tent on the second day, Serenity—the female Serpentspire knight who had been one of the three knights at the Orc cave and chosen to save me—came to visit me alone.
In a softened tone that still conveyed the bitter truth, Serenity introduced herself before explaining the situation.
She told me that every villager had been slaughtered by the monsters, and that I was the only survivor—the sole person left from the entire village.
No sound came out as I listened to the female knight's explanation. My mouth hung slightly open, and my body trembled.
I had no idea what she thought when she saw my response, nothing more than this stunned expression. My feelings weren't fake. I knew I hadn't known a single one of them—not even the child's parents, who had appeared in the last memory flashback.
And yet... the shock was real. Perhaps it was the true feeling this body had experienced—the bitter reality revealed by the female knight.
Serenity also revealed a darker indication: suspicions of a conspiracy involving the local village chief, a monster lair located far too close to the settlement, and the involvement of a dangerous organization behind the tragedy.
*Crack...
My hand clenched as I heard the report. The female knight's explanation.
I had already suspected it to some extent. It was something I had anticipated. And yet... for some reason, I felt incredibly angry and frustrated. Again, those were feelings I shouldn't have been experiencing—feelings that had surfaced anyway.
Was this the influence of this body's emotions?
"An organization...?"
I repeated her words.
My eyes widened, not because of the bitter truth about the village chief's filthy scheme and an organization, but...
"What kind of organization would be willing to do something like that, Knight Serenity?"
I asked to make sure.
She only shook her head slowly, her expression grave. Then Serenity continued her explanation—
"We're still gathering evidence. A forbidden symbol was found at the site... an organization the Empire goes to great lengths to avoid and hunt down."
There were no further clues, only a forbidden symbol that could represent anything. Nothing had been confirmed completely—there was merely strong suspicion pointing toward one of the organizations that existed.
An organization wanted by the Empire?
If this was connected to Tales From Players' lore, there were seven major organizations with the most dominant influence throughout the Erantel Continent—whether on the side of good or evil.
Of course, these seven organizations were separate from the two religious organizations that ruled the Erantel Continent.
Orthodox of the First Sun
A radical faction born from a schism within the Dawn Church. After the founders' era ended, their successors split apart, choosing to secede because they believed the current Dawn Church had softened its sacred dogma.
They claimed to be the bearers of the pure, uncompromising "First Light," and didn't hesitate to destroy anyone they considered deviant.
They were successors to the harsh dogmatic school of thought that had grown during an era of raging wars. That set them apart from the church's current successors, who had entered an era of peace and adopted gentler, softer views.
The Silent Sages
A group of silent scholars who devoted their lives to gathering the world's secrets. They remained neutral and had never taken sides in any war. To them, information was the highest currency, and the sole purpose of their existence.
At times they were extreme, and at times they would do anything to obtain the truth behind knowledge. Nearly all their members shared the belief that they should never be bound by anything. Pure knowledge was all they sought.
Crimson Libertines
Followers of the goddess of lust and freedom who operated behind the curtains of pleasure houses, from high-class establishments to seedy dives, as well as secretive nighttime sects and families.
Entertainment was prayer, and lust was the expression of their worship.
Interestingly, their members' abilities and skills were very similar to those of the Evernight Temple's followers.
This had sparked an eternal hostility between them. The Crimson Libertines considered the Evernight Temple too cold and hypocritical, while the Evernight Temple condemned them as shameless, sin-drunk degenerates. The similarities between their techniques often caused ordinary people to mistake one group's members for the other's.
The Greed Obsidian Cartel
A syndicate that controlled the entire circulation of illegal goods in Erantel, from the trafficking of rare races and deadly poisons to the organs of ancient monsters. Their underground network of routes secretly crossed the borders between kingdoms and was almost never successfully tracked.
The organization ruling the underworld and illegal trade.
The Silent Howl Order
A forbidden organization that had secluded itself to study and imitate the powers of creatures from other dimensions in pursuit of instant bursts of strength. However, the incompatibility between the biological structures of humans and other races in the primary world forced its members to endure horrifying backlash that damaged their own bodies.
The Dawn Church and the Evernight Temple both labeled them Demon Followers because of how they obtained power—by sacrificing themselves and others.
Offering up large numbers of lives as sacrifices was one of the practices associated with their actions.
The Reliquary Aegis
An organization consisting of archaeologists, explorers, and elite mercenaries that dedicated its life to excavating ancient ruins.
Since this world was the world of Tales From Players, a VRMMORPG, dungeons, ancient ruins, and magical places naturally existed. It was in such places that magical items, spell scrolls, and other consumable items could be found with ease.
Exploration and treasure hunting were common occupations among Erantel's inhabitants, and this organization held complete control over those activities.
The Umbral Veil
A dagger in the darkness that never missed its mark. An organization of assassins that acted not out of revenge or politics, but according to sanctified contracts.
Once a paid mission was accepted, the target was guaranteed to die without leaving behind any magical or physical trace—the main reason kings and nobles always slept with one eye open.
If an organization was connected to this incident, one of the major organizations had to be involved. An organization capable of throwing the territory of a great imperial margravate into chaos. Their movements were the kind that could act in secret beneath the watch of a powerful domain.
There was something deeply strange about this incident. The village chief had conspired with monsters that had been allowed to remain near the settlement, yet the village itself—including the chief—had become victims of those same monsters' massacre.
Based on my experience playing TFP, it was highly likely that several organizations had been playing their own parts, their conflicting interests eventually colliding and causing this incident.
As I stared at Knight Serenity sitting beside my bed, I realized that I had stepped far too deeply onto a dangerously complicated chessboard.