[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke
Chapter 92 - 23 Merit Points

Chapter 92: 23 Merit Points

Xion woke up with a terrible headache. His skull throbbed as if someone had been hammering nails into it all night. His body ached in places he didn’t even know could hurt. Like his pinkie and toes.

With a groan, he blinked his eyes open, only to be met with an unfamiliar ceiling. The fresh sunlight made the golden patterns across the white ceiling shine even brighter.

The soft scent of rare herbs and incense lingered in the air.

Wait... This wasn’t the room he was assigned to. Where the hell was he?

Xion frowned, trying to sit up, only to hiss when a sharp pain shot through his arms. The last night’s events were already crowding his mind. Eli, Soren, beating him up and the last thing he remembered...

Disco lights?

Xion blinked. No. That couldn’t be right. There were no disco lights in this world! His memories must have been distorted. The alcohol must have really fried his brain. But then, why did he recall hugging someone?

His breath hitched.

Nikolai....!!!

Wasn’t he a prince? A real fucking prince?!

Xion bolted upright, ignoring the fresh wave of pain that surged through his body. His brain was still foggy, but if that memory was correct, then last night, he had committed a terrible crime!

However, he also punched Soren enough to break a few of his ribs. So, technically, the pros of drinking outweigh the cons. He did well, right?

He was sleeping in a well-furnished room instead of a jail. Did that not mean Nikolai had not taken his offence seriously at all?

And if he really did end up offending the royalty, he would just run away. Yup, sounds like the best plan.

While convincing himself that everything was fine, he took a few deep breaths. Then, he covered his face with his palms and groaned. I am never drinking again!

Before he could drown himself in the ocean of his spiraling thoughts, a flashing blue icon caught his eye.

His system panel was open. Instinctively, Xion flicked his fingers to pull it up.

As the blue translucent screen appeared before him, his eyes scanned the numbers and immediately widened in horror.

3,000 merit points... gone.

"...Hah?"

Xion felt his soul leave his body the second time. No way. That was all the hard-earned merit points he had saved up! What the hell did he even buy?!

Biting his lips, he scrolled through the purchase history. There in the cart was a Bazooka, a literal tank, a missile and such terrifying objects which he silently removed from the list.

Luckily, he had only added those to his priority list and had not bought them. Otherwise, he would be dirt-poor now.

As for the things he had bought, he was actually quite satisfied with his choices of having a strength boost, a punching machine skill, and a protective shield.

They all had indeed saved his life, but 3000 Merit points were a bit too much!

Just as he was about to wallow in regret over his drunken shopping spree, a new notification flashed.

[Congratulations! Your recent purchase has upgraded your system to the next level!]

Xion froze. Now that the system had reminded him, was he not supposed to upgrade when he shopped more?

Indeed, a shiny new [Upgrade Complete!] message was being highlighted.

Xion looked at his new status, where Premium Shopper was tagged. This gave him an opportunity to unlock exclusive items and better discounts.

That meant... Xion hastily went to the laboratory option. It was green! He had attained the conditions to open his own lab!

Without hesitation, he clicked on it. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in a well-furnished real lab.

A sleek black microscope? High-end centrifuges? A 3D holographic scanner?! Xion swore he could cry. This was better than his university lab!

There was a list of rules which told him that the time here worked differently than outside. It was basically ten times slower.

He eagerly looked at all the modern instruments with such nostalgia as if they were his friends.

The lab was huge, divided into different parts, and there was even a room for him to rest. A perfect fluffy bed and also a modern bathroom!

Hence, when he looked at his now merit points, which were only pitiful twenty-three, he did not feel so bad.

Lab cost him 100,000 Merit points along with his Premium Shopper status.

He reached for the stethoscope, but the moment his fingers curled around the cool metal, a sharp tremor ran through his arm. His grip faltered, and the instrument nearly slipped from his grasp.

His hands, though externally healed, still lacked their usual strength. The dull ache that had settled deep into his muscles made even the simplest movements feel like a chore.

His gaze dropped to his right arm, where a heavy bandage wrapped tightly around the skin. Even the act of lifting it sent a fresh wave of discomfort radiating up to his shoulder.

Without putting too much pressure, he clenched his fingers and recalled how he had, in the spur of the moment, used thorny vines to hit both Eli and Soren.

He wondered what might’ve happened to them and to Rael. He had not seen the boy since yesterday.

As he was observing the lab, his eyes caught the book floating in the middle of the air. There, on its cover, was written Mana curses.

The language was not from Earth. Rather, it was written in Eldoria’s one of the most ancient languages, Solmari.

Is that why I got the gift to understand all languages? Xion mused as he turned to the first page.

It was so densely scribbled that it was hard to see where the line started and where it ended. He sure would have to put more energy into it.

Curses... That was exactly what Rael had told him about Moonshade Affliction. But he, being the stubborn medical student, had denied it.

Xion shook his head at his stupidity. He literally got transmigrated into another world. What was there so unbelievable about curses?

Maybe his direction was wrong from the start. Nonetheless, with the book and lab, he should be able to figure out something about Rael’s curse.

Then, there was also that transmigrated senior. His original intention was to stay lowkey, which seemed impossible after last night.

There was Klein too. A blood-sucking monster, and then there was Caspian, who he had met as of yet.

However, everything aside, he now wanted to go to church.

If that person, who was the supposed angel, was indeed from his timeline, she should have left some clues or at least something like a journal for people like him.

Church. Mana curses...

He needed to figure out too many things. He rubbed his forehead slightly.

With a swish of hand, he appeared back in the room. The time seemed to stay still. As if he had always been there.

He slumped on the bed, his eyes falling on the foggy waves emitting from the incense burner.

The scent was calming, and without even thinking, he knew it was something of Theodore’s. He had sniffed it on the archduke’s coat.

Should I go back to my room or wait here? Xion could not decide, and hence, he just remained there.

Even without asking, Xion knew that Allen must be the one to patch him up.

If there was one thing he regretted doing, it was to hurt his hands.

No matter what, he could not afford to lose them. Not when his entire life depended on it. He clenched his fingers. The strength was finally coming back to him.

As he was busy clenching his hand and releasing it, the door opened.

"Teacher, you are awake. How are you feeling?"

The taller male was sure excited to see him awake, yet his face was as serious as ever.

Xion chuckled lightly, "Doing much better. Of course, thanks to you and your master."

His words made Allen halt for a brief moment. But Xion did not notice it, as the healer was busy thinking about other things.

Xion would be lying if he was not impressed by the archduke. He was tall, handsome, rich, and most important of all he had helped Xion.

So, the fear he had always had in his heart had lessened. Only a bit, though.

"I am glad to hear that." The alchemist had already taken a seat beside the bed, checking on Xion.

From his hands to his back, where he was hit by a stone, Allen made sure to treat every one of his bruises.

"What happened to them?" Xion asked. He was now sitting on the bed, letting Allen remove the bandage from his arm.

There was a deep blue mark near his elbow. Xion remembered that he had hit it when he fell. He hissed when Allen applied a cream on it.

The coldness seemed to penetrate directly into his skin.

"We can’t use any more mana to treat your wounds. That will disrupt your natural mana flow."

Xion hummed in response. He knew that much. But that was not what he was waiting for Allen to say.

Perceiving his gaze, Allen relented. "Soren and his people were punished for causing a scene at the banquet and also hurting the royalty."

Xion, for sure, remembered it was the opposite. It was Nikolai who had kicked Soren. But money speaks, and who was Xion to complain when it was beneficial to him?

"They have been sent back to Marquis estate. You don’t have to worry about any of them appearing in front of you."

Them here were his family members. Xion was glad that he would not have to see them.