Augmented Aspects: Chapter 58 When You Know You've Been Conned (Patreon)

Chapter 58

When You Know You’ve Been Conned

Rage, the slow simmering rage of how you realize you are the ultimate pawn of something greater. All the clues were there, and only now that I am finally removed from the situation does it all really begin to make sense.

Now that I have a patient, and an operating table, I’ve taken a few moments to realize what happened. I was punished for doing well, I had just achieved so much, and mentally I was so used to having everything taken from me by this stupid system that I expected it. Hell, I even agreed to it, realizing that I would take a huge financial hit by withdrawing my funds early, in order to be able to join the tournament.

Then there was the marathon of card duels, outthinking my opponents, carefully maneuvering myself, all to have it taken away. I knew it was too good to be true, at that point, I was in a dream. I felt like I was in a fog filled haze, which was why when I was taken back to be interrogated, I all but expected to go to jail for my actions.

They had me on all three charges, at least that was what I thought. I was underage, but again we are in the spirit realm, on a tower no less, who is to say what is old and not old enough to be a child here? To hold me accountable to mortal laws would likely make some terrifying beasts of the nether get annoyed.

Then there was the accusation that I somehow colluded with Glenn to get that far? As if somehow I was unable to accomplish great things on my own? As if I needed some man to help me? Grr!

It was infuriating.

“Then, there was the fact that they were able to take away my earnings because I somehow circumvented their stupid cuffs. I wasn’t the only one mind you, but no, they went after me all the same.” I say to Zero, the only creature within earshot of me.

Well there is the patient, but he is currently passed out thanks partially to the curse that is tearing apart his body, and partially because of the sedatives I gave him due to his constant moaning from being in pain from his curse.

“You mean, you are mad because they accused you of breaking the cuffs that are still bound around your wrists, right now? The cuffs that should be preventing you from doing anything that you are doing at the moment?” Zero asks, gesturing to the very cuffs.

At that I look down and realize he is right, the cuffs are still on. “Don’t you dare take their side!” I hiss, “or you can leave as well.”

Then thinking about the bracers, I realize that while I can operate with them on just fine, I don’t want to waste 50% or more of my mana reserves just to work normally. So focusing on the cuffs, I reach out and Telekinetically click, the latches that hold the bracers.

Clink, clatter, clop.

The three bracers fall to the ground, and I feel a strain remove itself from my mind as I deactivate my newly created channeled powers.

“Oh, that feels so good.” I say, as I gently massage my head. That was likely another reason why I was so tired, those spells were a constant drain on me. While they didn’t seem like much at first, I am sure they had a cumulative effect on me over the course of the 48 hour marathon.

“Do you think just removing those cuffs was that good of an idea?” Zero asks.

“Last warning.” I hiss, as I begin to feel the crash of so many emotions going through me. I had seen it all, the highest of highs, what I thought was the lowest of lows, to go straight to a security concern. Then to have everything taken away. I had felt numb, even the extra guild tax had seemed like I deserved it in some way, it was hard to explain. But now that I have had time to reflect, I realize I was played.

This was the second time I had been burned by Lenny’s place. The first was when I disagreed with the treatment of someone who committed an act of infidelity towards another co-worker’s partner. While I completely agree that cheating is terrible, it was clear that Lenny went too far.

Then now this, I was in a tournament and given a chance to shine, and I was cheated. While I know the professional gambling tournament is a separate entity from Lenny’s place, I can’t help but think that it was allowed to act as it did on Lenny’s establishment without his permission.

I was done.

I would move the book club, I would give zero my information to pass on. I was done with the lot of them. I felt well and truly betrayed.

Fortunately, I still had work to focus on.

The patient before me was interesting to say the least. This was the first time I had seen a living curse. Odder still, the curse seemed to be sentient. It was like a mouse that would scamper and run through the body. I would set up basic traps, but the curse would bypass most or chew a hole through some of my flimsier designs.

Honestly, I was rather impressed with its ability to try to avoid me.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Zero asks.

“I think I am going to create a lattice framework with a glob of healing energy at the center. The idea will be to have the curse squeeze its way into the tube, to grab the cheese.” I say, as I imagine a more sophisticated mouse trap, one where I replace the cheese with healing energy. Fortunately, I should be able to do this handedly, as I will use my now free spirit reserves to create the narrow funnel that the curse will have to squeeze through. Then I can use Telekinesis to help hold the edges shut, as I create an intense globe of healing energy at the very core that should prove to be irresistible to the life consuming curse.

“What no? I mean with the guild? Are you going to return those?” Zero asks, gesturing to the bracers that are on the floor.

“Why would I? I am banned from going near the tournament for seven years after all.”

“You know that sounds very childish.” Zero exclaims.

“Then why don’t you do something productive for once and you turn those in for me, while I try to save this man’s life?”

At that Zero pauses as he just stares at me.

“Well go on, I don’t need you there staring at me.” I say, as I begin creating my funnel trap inside the patient’s chest. Fortunately there is a lot of loose skin for me to work with, that I am able to make the funnel long, narrow and filled with an interwoven design that also has slightly barbed points, especially if the creature tries to escape out the way it came in. The idea is that it will be smooth in, but any attempt to escape will cause severe damage to it.

I focus on the trap for so long that everything seems to fade away around me. I am just here to create this one giant trap of spirit magic. Finally, after a long time, the construct is complete. I pause for a moment, only to realize that I have other patients who are waiting for me. Of course, I think to myself, never a moment’s rest.

I also realize that this is likely what the system wanted, to distract me away from the fact that I had been robbed. Well, I was not worried about that anymore. I was going to get even, I was owed a quarter million in experience, now it was up to me to figure out how to get that experience back.

“Hello?” A patient asks, coming back while I am in the middle of operating. Granted I was taking a moment to let my mana pool replenish, but still he should know not to come back here.

“Please wait out in the lobby. I will be with you shortly.” I call out to the patient. Then realizing that I could use some assistance, I call out for my familiar. “Zero?”

Nothing.

Mentally I realize he likely went to deliver the bracelets back. Expanding my senses I see him there talking with Lenny and the others.

Figures, he is likely in on it, too.

No, that is not fair. I am lashing out because I am tired, and angry, and I want someone to focus my rage on. Unfortunately, that person is Zero.

I make a mental note to apologize to Zero, but of course I can’t do anything until after this patient. Well, these patients, as I am apparently taking too long on this one. Who knew trying to solve a supposedly incurable curse would take time?

Realizing I was going solo, heh, what else is new. I use my Omni-Healing to create the brightest and most condensed core of health magic I can, right at the heart of the tube.

The curse moves around cautiously, seeming to feel its way around the perimeter. Fortunately, I had prepared for that, as I made the outside have hundreds of tiny prickling spines that would jab into the mouse like ball of semi-sentient energy, the closer it got.

Skree.

I swear I could almost hear it cry out in pain as a part of its outer skin had been ripped off by a few barbs that were impaled when it got too close.

With that, the curse became a little more slower with its approach, to tempt the curse more, I made the ball slightly bigger in size. Now the ball of healing energy was the size of a curled up finger.

This caused the curse to shiver in delight at the smell of fresh health. I knew this was a lot of health as it would be more than enough to heal the visible wounds the patient had twice over. By all accounts, that much healing on this body would be a waste, but I figured it would take at least double this to get rid of the curse by normal means.

With the new size, the curse begins to slither round the tunnel, occasionally hissing in pain as it gets too close. Then once it is slithers around to the front, it finds the nice smooth tunnel I created for it. It is soft and smooth going in, so it goes in quickly. Only noticing something might be wrong, once it is a few inches in, and the tunnel it is going down suddenly shortens. Then it tries to back out, only to be met with sharp barbs that dig in deep to the skin.

SKRAH!

It hisses in a high-pitched whine. I want to try to spring my trap on it, to try to crush it with Telekinesis, but it isn’t in far enough, I still need more. So, I wait.

After a second, it wiggles its way free, as the outer layer of the curse that was caught and pulled away begins to dissolve like smoke.

“I will peel you like an onion.” I mutter to myself, as I continue to reinforce the case, while also moving the glowing ball of health further down the tube. I even cause the ball to vibrate.

That is the trick, the slight vibration, that is enough to get the curse to surge forward. Though surge might be a relative term, as its progress is painfully slow, particularly as it gets to the final section, the section I thought of as the area where the head would go. By now the curse has had a few outer layers of magic taken off, and I can almost swear the magic has taken on the form of a snake. A long thin snake that has sharp teeth and is willing to strike at the ball of health. Then just as it rears back to make its move, I cancel my spell. Well, my healing spell. In a second, the ball of brightly glowing health dissolves into nothing.

Hiss.

The curse lunges forward, not realizing that its prize is now missing and all it gets is a barbed spike of pain to chomp down on. The moment it latches on, that is when I use Telekinesis to try and seal off the ends of the tube, while using my spirit energy to seal the ends shut. Then realizing that the now fully sealed curse needs to be removed, I use my spirit energy to create an incision in my patient’s abdomen, right along the path that the long tube occupies. Then swiftly using Telekinesis, I pull out the spiritual prison. As I do, the curse inside violently smashes about, wriggling and thrashing wildly, trying to force its way free.

It does, in a way, its movements help me get it out of the body of my patient faster. With the curse now removed, I begin using Omni-Healing to its fullest on my patient, trying to get him back up to full health. All the while, I use Telekinesis, and the residual mana from my personal well to try to constantly seal, tighten, and bind the monstrous curse tightly in place.

“What is happening?” The same patient that just barged back here earlier asks.

Hiss.

At that moment, the curse hearing the voice of a fully awake patient, thrashes violently and rips a hole into the side of my containers.

Hahhisss!

It cries out, in a high pitch sound that instantly causes my ears to bleed. Fortunately I have had to deal with a lot of pain, and my Regeneration is already working to fix the worst of the pain. I still can’t hear, which is likely a good thing, as the curse is violently trying to free itself.

There is an odd effect, now that the curse is truly free and exposed to the air, it begins to disintegrate rapidly, as layer after layer of its skin flake off and begin to dissolve in the air. This is a good thing and a bad thing all at once. It is good that it is now dissolving, as it proves that without a host to sustain itself, the curse will quickly burn apart. It is bad in that the curse is now getting smaller and smaller in size, meaning I am having a harder time keeping the snake-like curse inside the trap I set for it.

Hissing Strike!

The curse realizing that it is dying, sees the patient before it, and lunges towards the unsuspecting patient within a second.

Reaching out my hand futilely I try to warn the patient to stay back, while at the same time I reach out Telekinetically and try to grab the creature in my best Darth Vader impression.

Whoosh.

The snake like curse stops inches away from the patient’s face, as it is there, it begins dissolving into thin air. Layer after layer is being burned away before their eyes. The patient is frozen stiff as panic grips them, holding them into place. This is bad, as I don’t want to have to carve out this same curse from yet another patient, with that in mind I mentally buckle down and squeeze the curse tighter and tighter with my Telekinetic Death Grip.

GAHH!

The curse gives out one last his of pain, as it finally dissolves into nothing.

Panting.

Phew, that had been fun. Scarry as all get out, freaking snake curses. Also, I take it back, I had been so wrong. That was never a giant mouse, that thing was all snake. While my trap did work, I can’t help but wonder if there were better designs that I could have gone with. Then again, that one had been effective, if not just a little out there.

Now that I had a moment to process the fact that the seemingly living curse I had been battling with for hours was destroyed, I turned my attention to the impatient patient. The one who had the privacy door wide open leading to not just him, but all of the other patients in the waiting room. Each one apparently had a view of the door, and all showed different degrees of terror as they no doubt had seen my final battle with the curse.

“I ask again, that you wait in the waiting room. I swear I will get to you, as time permits.” I say.

At that the man just nods, “sorry. I just heard the sounds and wondered…” He trailed off as he looked around. No doubt he could see the trail of ash that lined the walkway from the patient to just in front of him. Then with a slightly frightened shuffle he tried to leave, but didn’t stop staring forward at me, the patient, and the floating trail of ash in the air.

With one awkwardly groping hand, he reached back to find the door frame, then seemed to pull himself out of the room, then ducked out of the way once he was clear.

I paused, a slight sense of impatience filling me, as I just stared at the patients in the waiting room. No one moved, everyone seemingly trying to stay still enough so the still smoking ashes won’t come back to life and find them worthy to be the next target.

“The door.” I say, a bit of annoyance creeping into my voice.

“Right.” The man calls out from the side, then quickly darting around, they run around the door, then close it, using the full weight of their body to ensure the door remains closed.

I just shake my head, if they were that afraid of the monster, then why seemingly go out of their way to try and play with it.

With that, I turn my way to the patient, and am met with a message letting me know my work on them is complete.

Impossible Quest Complete: The Cursed Remains of Ebinar Ghould: You managed to cure a patient of Death’s True Curse. Rewards: Experience, New Spell, Skills.

Seeing the message, I realized that everything was done. The spell was likely the one about creating the spirit magic trap. The skills, well I likely learned some in that, I kind of wanted to know, but my mind was fuzzy. I suddenly felt woozy from over exertion. With a start, I realize that my personal wells are down to nothing. Only now that I have a moment do I truly allow my mind to relax long enough so that I can take satisfaction in something going right, even if the rest of the day was complete shit, this moment was right.

Then, sitting down, I take in one deep breath, then I feel the world go dark as I exhale, as true exhaustion takes me.