Free Web NovelChapter 47: Leveling Up In Bed?
The nurse had been very clear.
No strenuous activity of any kind. She’d run through the examples with the calm efficiency of someone who’d been handling Resonators for decades.
Apparently, one student had once tried to argue that flying drills didn’t count as strenuous because his feet never touched the ground.
He had lost that argument.
Damon wasn’t about to test her patience.
His body still hurt. The C-Rank recovery draught was helping, warmth spread through his chest with each heartbeat, but bruised ribs healed on their own schedule, and his palm still throbbed where Kara’s gauntlet had burned it.
So he lay there, staring at the ceiling and counting tiles.
Then his system pulsed.
[SUBORDINATE ACTIVITY DETECTED]
Damon blinked. "What?"
[SERA AZURE — SUBORDINATE]
[STATUS: ENGAGED IN COMBAT]
[LOCATION: C-RANK PORTAL — VERDANT EXPANSE]
A smaller screen appeared in the corner of his vision, like a picture-in-picture feed. There was no video, only text, but it was updating in real time.
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]
Damon stared at the notification.
Forty tribute. He was lying in a hospital bed, doing absolutely nothing, and he’d just earned forty tribute.
"You’re kidding me."
Another pulse.
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]
[TRIBUTE: 368]
She’d killed another one. Two boars in the time it had taken him to process the first notification. The hybrid boost was clearly doing its job. freewebnσvel.cѳm
He pulled up his status screen and checked the numbers.
The experience bar had moved. Not by much, but it was creeping toward the next level.
Passively. While he was horizontal.
"If this keeps up, I might hit level six before I even get out of bed."
He nearly laughed. A month ago, he’d been grinding push-ups for fractions of a percent. Now his subordinate was farming tribute for him while he counted ceiling tiles.
The door at the end of the infirmary opened, and Lena walked in carrying a paper bag in one hand and a steaming cup in the other. She stopped when she saw his face.
"You’re smiling. Why are you smiling? You hate the infirmary."
"Sera’s in the C-Rank portal."
"I know. She told me she was going." Lena set the cup on his nightstand and dragged over the chair. "What does that have to do with you grinning like an idiot?"
Damon angled his system screen so she could see. The tribute counter ticked up again while they watched.
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 400]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +45]
[TRIBUTE: 413]
Lena stared.
"She’s farming for you."
"In real time. Every kill she makes, I get half the experience and full tribute." He picked up the cup she’d brought him. Tea, floral, with a faint citrus note. "I’m progressing faster in this bed than I did during my first week of training."
"That’s..." Lena shook her head. "That’s completely unfair."
"I know."
"You sound proud of it."
"I am." He took a sip. "Two years of nothing. I’m allowed to enjoy this."
Another pulse.
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]
[TRIBUTE: 453]
Lena leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "So what now? You just lie there and let her do all the work?"
"For the next day and a half. Nurse’s orders."
"And after that?"
"Thornhaven," he said. He’d learned the name during his many trips to Verdant’s Edge, overheard from traders and passed between Resonators like common currency. "The main city in the C-Rank portal. Two days north. Sera and I are planning the route now."
Lena went quiet for a moment. Her eyes flicked to the bandages on his palm, the stitches on his lip, the way he still favored his left side.
"That’s a long expedition." freewebnσvel.cѳm
"I know."
"You’ll need supplies, real supplies. Not just a handful of recovery draughts."
"I was hoping you’d say that."
She let out something that was half sigh, half laugh.
"Of course you were." She got to her feet, already reaching for her satchel. "I’ll have a full expedition kit ready by tomorrow night. Stamina potions, antitoxins, mana draughts. I’ve been working on a D-Rank stamina formula. It’s not stable yet, but—"
"Lena."
She stopped.
"You don’t have to push yourself. What you’ve already given me is more than enough."
"It’s not about having to." She met his eyes. "You made me a promise. I prep you. You come back. That’s the deal. And if you’re going to be traveling four days through monster territory, I’m going to make sure you have everything you need."
Damon held her gaze for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright."
"Good." She moved toward the door, pausing with her hand on the frame. "And Damon?"
"Yeah?"
"Once you get strong enough, be sure to take me on a portal sometime, kay?"
She was gone before he could answer.
The infirmary settled into silence again. Outside the window, the sun had started to sink, washing the sky in orange and pink.
In the bed two spaces over, Matthew Voss still hadn’t woken, his chest rising and falling in slow, even breaths.
Damon’s system pulsed once more.
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED] x2
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 750]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +85]
[TRIBUTE: 538]
Two at once. She’d taken down two boars simultaneously.
"Sera," he murmured, "what the hell are you doing over there?"
His communicator buzzed.
Sera: Got a couple more boars. Mana’s holding fine. The hybrid boost is unfair.
Sera: Also, I may have aggro’d two at once by accident.
Sera: Killed them both. Don’t worry.
Damon typed back.
Damon: I wasn’t worried. I’m watching the tribute counter.
Sera: You can SEE that?
Damon: In real time. It’s very satisfying.
Sera: I’m doing all the work and you’re just lying there counting numbers?
Damon: Nurse’s orders.
Sera: Unbelievable.
Sera: Anyway, I’m heading back to town. Made about 600 credits in materials. We’re going to be rich by the time we reach Thornhaven.
Damon: Get some rest. We’ll plan the route tomorrow.
Sera: Yes, boss. Enjoy your bed rest.
Damon: I am.
He set the communicator down and leaned back into the pillow. His tribute had climbed from 288 to over 500 in the span of an hour. His experience bar was inching toward level six. And he hadn’t had to lift a finger.
[SUBORDINATE ACTIVITY LOG]
[SERA AZURE — COMBAT SUMMARY]
[BOARS DEFEATED: 6]
[TRIBUTE EARNED: +250]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: +2,200]
[MATERIALS COLLECTED: BOAR TUSK x12, BOAR HIDE x6, AGED BOAR CORE x1]
The system had compiled a full summary. Every kill, every tribute gain, every material drop. It read like an after-action report, delivered straight into his head.
"Subordinate activity log," Damon said aloud, trying the words. "Didn’t know you could do that."
The system gave no answer
But the log stayed there, a neat record of everything Sera had managed while he lay immobilized. He scrolled through it, noting the experience gains, the tribute, the materials she’d gathered.
She’d done well.
He closed the screen and looked up at the ceiling again.
One hundred and forty-seven tiles. They didn’t feel quite so boring anymore.
***
The next morning, Damon woke to another notification.
[SUBORDINATE ACTIVITY DETECTED]
[SERA AZURE — STATUS: ENGAGED IN COMBAT]
She was back in the portal. Of course she was. He’d barely opened his eyes before the tribute counter started rising again.
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]
[TRIBUTE: 578]
The nurse came in to check his vitals. She pressed along his ribs, examined his palm, and made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat.
"Healing well. Faster than expected, but I’ve learned not to question that with you." She made a note on her tablet. "Another day of rest. You can leave tomorrow morning."
"Understood."
She gave him a suspicious look, as if his easy compliance was somehow more alarming than an argument. Then she left.
Damon pulled up the activity log while he ate the breakfast left on his nightstand.
[SUBORDINATE ACTIVITY LOG]
[SERA AZURE — COMBAT IN PROGRESS]
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 400]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +45]
[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]
[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL: 5] → [LEVEL: 6]
[+1 ALL STATS]
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 3]
Damon set down his fork.
"I just leveled up. From bed."
He stared at the notification. Three stat points. A level-up. Earned while eating hospital eggs and toast.
He spent the points without hesitation.
[MAG: 31 → 34]
The screen pulsed.
[STATS UPDATED]
[LEVEL: 6]
[STR: 22]
[AGI: 30]
[VIT: 21]
[MAG: 34]
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 0]
[SUBORDINATE BONUS UPDATED]
[SERA AZURE — +9 MAG (ROUNDED UP FROM 8.5)]
"Eight extra MAG for Sera now. She’s going to notice that mid-fight."
His communicator buzzed almost immediately.
Sera: Did my MAG just go up?
Damon: I leveled up. Your bond scaled.
Sera: You LEVELED UP? From BED?
Damon: Shared experience.
Sera: I’m fighting for my life out here and you’re getting stronger in a hospital gown.
Damon: To be fair, the gown is very comfortable.
Sera: Cheater.
Damon: You’re leeching off me as well, so stop complaining.
He set the communicator down, still smiling. The tribute counter kept ticking.
[TRIBUTE: 663]
By the time Sera finished her morning run, he’d passed seven hundred.
***
Lena came by in the afternoon with a full expedition satchel.
She set it carefully at the foot of his bed. The leather was new, the stitching reinforced, and when Damon opened it, every pocket was full.
"D-Rank recovery draughts. Six of them. Tested and stable." She pointed to each vial as she listed them. "Four stamina draughts. The D-Rank formula finally worked. Two antitoxins, one for common poisons, one for spore-based toxins. And three mana draughts for extended fights."
"Lena, this is..."
"Don’t say too much. You still have to pay for them."
He looked up at her. "How much?"
She named a price. It was still below market. Still less than the academy store charged.
"Deal."
"I know it’s a deal. I set the price." She took the chair beside his bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. The nurse says I can leave tomorrow morning."
"And then?"
"Rest tomorrow. Portal the day after. Two days of hunting on the northern route, then Thornhaven."
She nodded slowly. "Sera told me about the route. She’s been mapping boar territories during her solo runs."
"She’s thorough."
"You’ve got good people around you." Lena stood, adjusting her satchel. "Don’t waste that."
"I don’t plan to."
She paused at the door. "Tomorrow night. Before you leave. Come by the lab, I’ll have a few more things ready."
"I will."
She left.
***
By evening, Damon had stopped watching the tribute counter so closely. It had faded into the background, a steady pulse of numbers rising every few minutes. But when the final log appeared, he paid attention.
[SUBORDINATE ACTIVITY LOG]
[SERA AZURE — COMBAT SUMMARY — DAY 2]
[BOARS DEFEATED: 8]
[TRIBUTE EARNED: +340]
[EXPERIENCE SHARED: +2,800]
[MATERIALS COLLECTED: BOAR TUSK x16, BOAR HIDE x8, AGED BOAR CORE x1]
[TOTAL TRIBUTE: 878]
He’d started the infirmary stay at 288. In two days of lying in bed, Sera had earned him more than five hundred tribute and nearly enough experience to reach level seven.
The hybrid system was broken in the best possible way.
His communicator buzzed one last time.
Sera: Done for the day. I’m exhausted. You owe me dinner when you get out.
Damon: Deal. Good work today.
Sera: Good work yourself. Leveling up from a nap, hopefully, I get bonuses like that from you as well.
Damon: I really am a role model.
Sera: You’re something, alright. See you tomorrow.
Damon set the communicator aside and sank back into the pillow. The ceiling tiles were still there, one hundred and forty-seven of them, but he wasn’t counting anymore.
Tomorrow, he’d be out of this bed.
The day after, he’d be hunting.
And after that, Thornhaven.
[SYSTEM STATUS – RESONATOR: DAMON PERSIVAL]
[CLASS: STORM SOVEREIGN (HYBRID)]
[LEVEL: 6]
[STR: 22]
[AGI: 30]
[VIT: 21]
[MAG: 34]
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 0]
[TRIBUTE: 878]
[RECOVERY: 99%]
