Reincarnated Hero System

“I wonder if my appraisal can show anything about it.”

Beatrix tilted her head with a thoughtful expression. “Appraisal, huh? Might be worth a shot. Could give us a clue on how to get across safely… assuming such a way even exists.”

“Then we’ll head there tomorrow,” Evan said. “It’s already late, and I have no desire to wander outside in this messed-up place after dark.”

“…hmm… yeahhh…”

Beatrix gave a sleepy hum in agreement, her voice growing more sluggish near the end.

Evan looked up from the tablet when he noticed the odd tone of her voice, only to see Beatrix drifting off to sleep on Artemisia’s shoulder.

He looked between Artemisia and Beatrix, then back at Artemisia before asking, “Did you do something to her?”

Artemisia responded calmly, “Just a little sleeping medicine.”

She gently laid Beatrix down on the bed and pulled a blanket over her.

“Why forcefully put her to sleep?” Evan asked, one brow raised.

“She may act normal, but her condition is worse than she lets on.”

At those words, Evan recalled what he had seen in his appraisal and nodded lightly.

“Ah… cracked energy core. That’s something I can’t say I can relate to.”

His response made Artemisia spin around in surprise.

“How did you—”

“Full Appraisal, remember?” Evan cut in before she could finish. “It shows the condition of my appraisal target.”

“Oh…”

Right before Artemisia had sealed Beatrix’s magic earlier, Evan had used his appraisal skill on her. Naturally, he’d seen the Condition Tab, which clearly stated that her Energy Core was damaged.

For someone like Beatrix, a goddess, that Energy Core was her Divine Spark, the source of both her magic power and her divinity.

While not quite as excruciating as soul damage, the pain from a cracked energy core wasn’t something to scoff at either.

The fact that Beatrix could still laugh, jump around, and even teleport across more than a kilometre in that condition left Evan nothing but impressed.

The pain from a cracked divine spark was comparable to being stabbed through the heart, if not worse, since said divine spark was quite literally embedded within a god’s heart.

Damage to it could very well mean damage to the heart itself, and that was a whole different, nastier problem altogether.

Given that, it was entirely understandable why Artemisia had no intention of allowing Beatrix to move around or attempt any teleportation until her divine spark had properly healed.

“How long do you think it’ll take for her to recover?”

To Evan’s question, Artemisia shook her head and replied, “I’m not sure. I’ve tried everything I can. But the severity of the damage means it’s going to take time. Worse yet, the nature of this place is impeding her recovery.”

They were in the Infernal Dimension, after all, and the negative polarity of the ambient energy here naturally debuffed positive-aligned types like Artemisia’s and Beatrix.

Considering that, Evan muttered under his breath, “You say you’ve done all you can, so I’m not sure there’s much I can add… but let’s see anyway.”

Setting the tablet aside, he stepped closer to the bed and posed a question to Artemisia.

“Do you have a means to check the exact level of damage and the speed of her recovery?”

Artemisia nodded in response. “I can use my Unique Skill. Why?”

Evan didn’t answer that. He simply lifted his left palm, Mesarthim’s GREEN flames of life engulfing it. He lowered his hand onto Beatrix’s chest, activating his Permeating Wave skill to allow the flames to bypass her flesh and bones flesh, directly reaching what lay underneath.

The moment the flames wrapped around her heart, Beatrix shifted uncomfortably, her body reacting on instinct as if to awaken, but Artemisia quickly forced her back to sleep with a spell.

“Alright,” Evan said. “Can you check the recovery speed, so I know whether what I’m doing is actually helping or if I’m wasting my time.”

In response, Artemisia activated her Unique Skill and said, “It’s not something I can determine immediately. Give it a few minutes.”

And so, they gave it a few minutes. 15, to be exact.

When the time elapsed, Artemisia, who had remained silent the entire while, finally spoke.

“It is speeding up her recovery. Around 10 to 12 percent. Or rather, it’s more like your skill is cancelling out the environmental debuff that’s impeding her recovery.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. But I’m not sure how long I can keep this up.”

Evan went silent for a moment, then summoned a chair from his inventory and took a seat beside the bed.

“I’ll keep at it until I’m down to around 50 percent of my magic power.”

The moment he said that, Artemisia froze, turning to him with wide eyes.

She knew exactly how much magic power Evan possessed, and more importantly, the high quality of it. For him to continue using his skill on Beatrix until his reserves dropped to 50% was no small thing.

And seeing her reaction, Evan gave her a side glance and spoke. “I guess when it comes to Beatrix, you’re not so stoic anymore, are you?”

Shifting his gaze back to the sleeping girl, he added,

“We’re stranded on an unknown continent, on an unknown planet, in some unknown corner of the infernal dimension, with little to no information about the state of things, and devils trying to kill us for reasons we still don’t understand.

Best if everyone’s in top condition, just saying.”

With that, Evan went silent again, and for a moment, Artemisia kept her eyes on him, then looked away and softly murmured a quiet, “Thank you.”

Evan didn’t respond. He just sat in silence, keeping his hand steady over Beatrix’s chest.

◇　◇　◇

An unknown amount of time passed before Evan finally broke the silence with a request.

“Artemisia… about my eye. Would you mind keeping that a secret from my companions in the future?”

At this, Artemisia turned toward him and opened her mouth, about to speak, but she stopped, and then returned her focus returned to Beatrix, using her Unique Skill to carefully regulate the amplification she was applying to Beatrix’s natural recovery.

With Evan’s flames working in tandem, the rate of recovery was increasing significantly, though she had to concentrate to ensure the magic didn’t overflow or spill out of the fractured divine spark. It wasn’t enough to just supply energy, it had to stay where it was needed.

Once she had properly modulated it, she turned back to Evan and said, “You’ve asked me to remember quite a few things for the future… but I hope you haven’t forgotten there’s a ten-thousand-year time gap between this time period and the one you came from.”

“I haven’t,” Evan replied.

He then raised his free right hand and pulled up the Reincarnated Hero System Archive interface. The diaphanous display appeared before Artemisia’s eyes, lined with organized sections and indexes, resembling a detailed strategy guide.

“But you made this.”

Artemisia looked at the floating interface, her expression unreadable.

“That thing contains virtually all information about future Aidos,” Evan continued. “You’re the one who created it. If you can make something like this, I’m pretty sure the few things I’m telling you now will still be around in ten thousand years.”

Artemisia fell silent at his words. True, she had been recording everything Evan had asked her to remember on one of her tablets, but beyond that, she narrowed her eyes and asked, “Did you just create a paradox?”

Evan blinked. “What do you mean, paradox?”

She gestured toward the interface. “That thing you’re showing me now… it’s now going to be the reason I’ll end up creating it and giving it to you in the future.”

Hearing that, Evan rubbed his chin and nodded.

“You’ve actually got a point. But honestly, it’s nothing too serious. I mean, time travel is a paradox in itself.”

He waved it off before continuing, “Just don’t forget, okay? No matter how much they ask you, don’t let them know about any of this.”

At that, Artemisia nodded slightly but added, “You’re making that request under the assumption that I’ll be with them in the first place.”

“There’s a very high chance that you will be,” Evan replied. “So… just in case.”

And with that, the conversation faded into silence, the only sound in the room being Beatrix’s steady breathing.

◇　◇　◇

Beatrix was the first to awaken the next morning, and as she slowly sat up on her bed, two realizations struck her almost immediately.

The first was that her falling asleep the previous evening had been anything but natural. Her sleep had definitely been artificially induced.

The second, which followed closely behind, was even more surprising. The damage to her divine spark had healed far more than what should have been possible over the course of a single night.

If one were to quantify the health of her divine spark as a percentage, it was at approximately 69% the night before. Now, however, it had climbed to 78%.

A 9% increase in just one night was impossible through natural recovery alone. Which could only mean someone had intervened while she slept.

Her gaze moved to the other bed in the cave, where Artemisia remained sound asleep, and after a quick scan of the room, she noted that Evan was nowhere in sight.

Rising to her feet, she headed out of the cave but still saw no sight of Evan. Just as she was about to use her spatial power to scan the region, a sonic boom echoed through the air above.

Looking skyward, her eyes caught a streak of white-gold light descending rapidly before it slammed into the earth a few hundred meters away. A shockwave swept through the area, stirring the dust and sending a light gust toward her.

From the centre of the dissipating cloud, Evan emerged, casually brushing his palms as he stepped forward.

“Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” he called out, his tone light.

That single question was all the confirmation Beatrix needed to know Evan had something to do with the sudden improvement in her divine spark’s condition.

“I’m feeling far better than I should be,” she replied. “What the hell did you guys do?”

In response, Evan simply raised one hand and ignited it with a vivid green flame.

“Turns out it’s very effective on damaged divine sparks,” he said with a hint of pride, brushing the remaining dust off his legs before giving a long stretch and turning his attention back to her.

Beatrix, still trying to process the whole situation, blinked and asked. “Your flames are that effective?”

“Yeah. Well, considering my flames’ true nature, it makes sense.” Evan replied, shrugging. “Honestly, I’m just as surprised as you. I didn’t expect them to be this effective, especially given my race. But clearly, they are.”

The bit about his race made Beatrix’s brows furrow in confusion.

“Given your race? What does that have to do with anything?”

As the green flames dimmed and vanished from his palm, Evan replied.

“You’ll understand in about 400 to 500 years.”

With that cryptic response, Evan walked past the goddess, leaving her standing there in confused silence.