Tutorial Rewrite 39 (Patreon)

I’m sitting on the floor, He’s sitting on a tiny chair. Somehow, we’re at the same eye level. I don’t like it.

After a minute or so, the army starts moving again, slowly. I’d like to enjoy the scenery but I can’t allow myself to look weak in front of this stupid priest.

The stumps of my feet are itching. I need to do something about them.

After a few minutes, he pulls out a book out of nowhere and starts reading. In the meanwhile, I’m going to see if my meditation can heal this or I’m going to have to do a feetless playthrough.

Step one, I need to clean the stumps as best as I can. They got really mangled by the gravel and the dirt, and I think I’ve got pebbles all the way into my bone marrow. Cleaning them would probably be almost impossible at this point.

I don’t like the idea, but I’ll probably have to slice off the bad parts, like you do with bologna. It’s as simple as that. I have fairly good mobility with my arms, so it should be possible. I just hope that the priest won’t notice and try to do something about it.

Inconspicuously, I glance up at him. He’s reading his book. Yeah, he won’t notice. I can do this.

I can’t physically turn around, so I’ll have to do it like this.

Silently, I summon the one sharp sword I own, namely the one I got from the first big goblin. It’s sharper than my knife, and will probably be able to cut through bone if I do this right. Yeah. I just gotta do this the right way. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I can heal an imperfect cut. Yeah. Just gotta… cut… it!

Slash!

—Gh…!

Shoot. Heck. Damn it. It didn’t get through my bone. Heck. Okay. I just need to try again. Once more. One… more… slice!

Chop!

<You have learned:

Fracture Resistance Lv.2>

It didn’t slice. It just broke. Shoot. But that also works. I just need to slice off the last bit and I’m good. Yup.

Saw saw saw saw saw saw, pop.

Fresh blood gushes forth. Ahh. Right.

But now… Now it’s controlled. And I’ve already lost a foot once, so I know I won’t die. Yeah. I just need to wait until it stops bleeding and it’ll be fine. Yeah. That’s all.

Just need to… wait… a… little…

…Ah! Can’t sleep. Sleeping kills me. Yeah. Can’t sleep. Absolutely can’t sleep. Sleep is death.

<You have learned:

Unconsciousness Resistance Lv.2>

Gulp.

Right. One stump done. One left to go.

Haah. I really hope these grow back so I didn’t do all of this for nothing. Right. Next one. I raise the sword. My hand trembles. One good chop and it’ll all go away. I clench my jaw. My teeth grew back. That’s proof enough. If teeth grow back, then so do feet. It’s basically the same thing. Yeah.

I steel myself and bring down the sword on my ankle.

And for the first time in a long while, maybe in forever, it goes just as I wanted. The sliced-off stump soars through the air with a firework display of blood, and then it falls back on the wooden floor with a meaty slap.

…I did it. I really did it. One chop was all it took. Hahaha. Haha. Haaah…

I wanna sleep…

I put my sword back into my inventory, and since I might need them someday, I put the stumps in there as well. And then, even though I want to sleep for real, I draw the stumps of my feet close, and I begin to meditate.

After a few minutes, they stop bleeding. An hour or so more and a thin layer of baby-bottom-soft skin forms to make them into proper stumps. If I scratch at them they start bleeding really easily, but it’s a first step. Whether or not I’ll be able to grow back feet or not is still up to chance. I wonder if lobbed-off appendages heal back on in the lobby? Hmm. This might actually be a very important thing to know about…

Unfortunately, I know just the guy to ask. Damn it. I hate that I keep having to crawl back to him.

Huffing, I open the community tab and enter the only chatroom I’m still a member of.

<Status—Community—Top>

<SOUTH Korea chat>

<HookedOnBach[F6]: You really don’t know

who the secret leader is supposed to be? :(>

<HerringFerry[F3]: tbh i think only

the Hard exec actually knows.>

<TerriblePretender[F20]: Does it matter tho.

Whoever it is we’ll just take him down too.>

<LionMawMadness[F10]: Your dumb>

<PrissyKittyPrincess[F3]: were is

mole>

I couldn’t see him scrolling up a little, but there should be some way of getting hold of him.

<LionMawMadness[F10]: omg lol guys look

Miss Kitty returned. have you reached

level 40 yet kitty lol>

<PrissyKittyPrincess[F3]: fuk off>

<TerriblePretender[F20]: I don’t appreaciate your tone

but to answer your question Moleman

is currently challenging the 23rd.

It’s very hectic.>

<PrissyKittyPrincess[F3]: don care didnt ask>

<HookedOnBach[F6]: Kitty, if you want

to ask him something, just send him a PM.

Also, stop being so rude. >:(>

<PrissyKittyPrincess[F3]: ur a slag>

<HookedOnBach[F6]: That’s not even

a real curse word. :/>

I exit the chat. Send a PM…

But that’s so… personal.

If I do that, it’ll look like I actually care about his opinion and what he has to say or something. And that’s weak. Ugh.

…But I don’t have much of a choice. I kind of need to know whether or not I’ll get my feet back or if I should just start looking for peg legs. Although it hurts, I go into the members list of the SOUTH Korea chat and look up Moleman. Once I’m on his profile, I press the send personal message button. And now, I just stare at the screen. It’s empty. Blank. Tabula rasa.

My fingers tremble. I take a long, deep breath.

And then I get to typing.

<PrissyKittyPrincess[F3]: hey

do limb regen in lobby or

like if u hve high healing or do they

jus not>

I stare at the message I’ve typed. After a moment of thinking, I pull up the keyboard again and add a little word.

<PrissyKittyPrincess[F3]: hey

do limb regen in lobby or

like if u hve high healing or do they

jus not

thx>

Send.

I feel hot and ashamed. But there’s nothing more for me to do in the community tab, so I put away the window.

We’re still moving. I guess I’d better keep meditating because right now, if I tried to walk, I’d just scratch up my feet again and the situation from before would just repeat.

Ah, hang on. The priest is staring at me. I stare back at him. His eyes slowly fall to the pool of blood below me that’s currently soaked into the floorboards. I say nothing and he gives no comment. After a few seconds, he goes back to reading. Yeah, you better!

Mrr. My back itches. Oh, yeah, I’m still prickly with arrows. I should probably push them out, or pull them through, depending on the situation. And then there’s also the huge spear. I guess I’d better get to it. Haaah, this is starting to feel eerily nostalgic.

I start with the spear because it’s the easiest. I really do just have to push it through, but then the hole that it plugged and that I had healed around is opened again and I’m bleeding like an uncorked wine barrel. I think I can feel someone looking at me with worry, but it doesn’t matter. This much blood is still fine, I think. The more important thing is my lung. I close my eyes and start to meditate.