Although Steven had already decided to leave Rhodes Island, he didn't imdiately go to Kal'tsit to explain his decision.
In fact, he didn't even know exactly where he was right now. Besides, there were still quite a few things he needed to take care of before leaving.
For the next few days, Steven genuinely lived a relaxing and carefree life.
If he wasn't hiding away with so of the seasoned elite operators, drinking and playing cards, he was hanging out in the patient room of the three Abyssal Hunters, watching them argue and fight while taking the opportunity to pet his adopted daughter.
Ti flew by quickly like this.
However, once those elite operators finally fully grasped the rules of Dou Dizhu and Mahjong, it beca harder and harder for Steven to win money off them.
As for Skadi and her crew, they hadn't changed much. Now that Steven wasn't actively interfering in their fights, they were at least evenly matched.
The only exception was that Specter—every ti a fight ended, she would turn to Steven and invite him to spar with her in an expectant tone, as if she was really looking forward to another round.
Of course, Steven never agreed.
Pointless things don't beco aningful just because you repeat them.
The good thing was that, as ti passed and their relationships grew closer, Gladiia had also beco much more comfortable with them. Maybe before her mory loss, she had already been on good terms with them, so there weren't any awkward barriers between them.
This reassured Steven.
If Skadi and Specter could take care of Gladiia, he wouldn't have to worry about her as much.
After observing them for a few days, Steven found that, aside from Specter being a total lunatic, Skadi was actually pretty easy to read.
She wasn't good with words, tended to space out, and had a very clumsy way of expressing her emotions and thoughts.
To sum it up—she's a little slow.
But precisely because she was so straightforward, Steven trusted her more.
If everyone were as cunning and shrewd as Kal'tsit, he wouldn't feel comfortable leaving Gladiia in their care.
As for Kal'tsit and Warfarin, they have been busy lately.
Ever since Steven miraculously treated that infected girl, the effects of his healing had been so shocking that they had been studying her nonstop.
As a result, he hadn't seen much of them in the past few days.
Well, aside from Warfarin trying to sneak into his room at night every now and then—only to be promptly picked up by the collar and thrown out the door.
Kal'tsit, on the other hand, stuck to their usual arrangent.
Every night, when she brought Mon3tr to Steven's room, he would catch a brief glimpse of her.
But that was it.
She didn't say anything cryptic or ask any tricky questions—a rare thing.
anwhile, Gavial, who had promised to be Steven's research subject, insisted on dragging him along every day to examine Rhodes Island's infected patients.
Even though Steven knew absolutely nothing about dicine, she would patiently explain everything to him, answering his endless questions.
Thanks to her, Steven finally learned to differentiate between the world's major races—at least well enough to stop calling people things like "cat-girl" or "dog-girl."
Of course, Steven wasn't just listening.
Whenever Gavial was completely stumped by a particularly severe case, he would casually throw out so outrageous suggestions.
For example:
"If a patient's infection is too severe, why not just cut off the infected part and use healing art to regenerate it?"
To this, Gavial could only respond helplessly—
"You're overestimating the healing art of this world. Originium Arts may be impressive, but they're not miracles. We're still a long way from being able to bring the dead back to life or regrow limbs out of thin air."
Hearing this, Steven started feeling that this so-called Originium Arts… wasn't as amazing as he had imagined.
In short, the past few days had been quite comfortable for Steven. But at his core, he was not soone who could just settle down and live a peaceful life.
And so, on another bright and sunny day, after spending half the night tinkering with Mon3tr, Steven returned the creature to Kal'tsit—and finally voiced his decision.
"I think it's about ti for to leave."
Watching Mon3tr swiftly retreat behind Kal'tsit, Steven spoke in a casual, indifferent tone.
Honestly, if there was anything he was reluctant to part with, it was Mon3tr.
What a magnificent creation—powerful, sleek, and even self-aware.
Unlike the puppets, villagers, or monsters Steven could summon, Mon3tr had sothing they didn't—emotion.
If he had more ti, and if he hadn't promised Kal'tsit not to harm Mon3tr, he would have loved to take it apart and examine its inner workings.
Oh well. It's not like he was leaving forever.
He'd definitely return one day to continue his research.
"Hm? But our research isn't even finished yet…"
For once, a hint of confusion flickered across Kal'tsit's usually icy expression.
She was well aware of Steven's daily routine on Rhodes Island—by all accounts, he seed to be enjoying himself here.
Why would he suddenly decide to leave?
Has sothing happened?
Had he grown dissatisfied with Rhodes Island?
That didn't seem likely—he hadn't really been interacting with many people lately.
"As for researching a cure for Oripathy, I've already done everything I could. I tested my thods on that girl—Frostleaf. Whatever you can learn from that is up to you."
Steven smiled.
He wasn't lying—he had used both milk and healing potions when treating Frostleaf.
If Kal'tsit and her team could actually figure sothing out from that, then good for them.
"Besides, I just want to go out and see the world. I want to et the infected outside of Rhodes Island, to see for myself if this land—so ravaged by Oripathy—still has any hope for a cure."
For once, Steven dropped his usual carefree attitude and spoke seriously.
During his ti at Rhodes Island, he hadn't just been goofing off.
By following Gavial, he had t many people suffering from Oripathy and witnessed the determination of elite operators like Outcast who were fighting to cure them.
That didn't an he had suddenly turned into so selfless savior, but at the very least, he had started considering ways to make their lives a little better.
At the sa ti, he understood that he had only seen a tiny fraction of this world.
If he truly wanted to make a difference for the infected, he needed more than just what he had learned here.
And, most importantly—
Ursus has mines!
If there were mines, how could he, a Minecrafter, NOT dig them up?
"I respect your decision."
Kal'tsit remained silent for a long mont before finally nodding slightly.
Steven had only co to Rhodes Island at her invitation—when he chose to leave was entirely up to him.
If there was anything to regret, it was her failure to give him a reason to stay.
"Are you leaving today?"
Locking eyes with Steven, Kal'tsit asked her question flatly.
After spending so much ti with this guy, at least when it ca to Steven, Kal'tsit had learned to efficiently extract the most important points from his words and condense them into the simplest possible response.
"Pretty much. I still need to say goodbye to so friends, and then I'll be off to continue my journey."
"Of course, you don't have to miss too much. Like I told you before—if the day ever cos when you feel Rhodes Island has no choice but to dig out that 'Doctor,' you're always welco to contact . I'd be more than happy to co back and et them."
Steven stroked his chin.
The main storyline hadn't started yet, so naturally, he wanted to roam around while he still could.
But of course, he hadn't forgotten about the main quest—after all, it was the real source of points.
"..."
Kal'tsit stared at him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"Why are you looking at like that? Oh, wait—don't tell you actually consider a friend? Do you expect to say goodbye to you too?"
Steven raised an eyebrow.
It wasn't like he was going off to die.
Did she really need to look at him like that?
—Or could it be that she was actually a little reluctant to see him go?
On second thought, Steven figured that actually made perfect sense.
After all, he was a walking gold mine.
Letting go of such a valuable asset—who wouldn't feel a little reluctant?
If the roles were reversed, he'd definitely tie himself up and dissect every last one of his secrets before even thinking about letting go.
"Ahem. I was just reminding you—Ursus is far more chaotic than you might expect. It's not just the infected—you'll also have to deal with the guerrillas, the military, and even so strange entities known as 'Collapsals.' You'd better be careful."
Kal'tsit cleared her throat, turning her face away.
But she still made sure to warn him regardless.
Even with his current level of strength, Ursus was no joke.
Unlike Iberia's Inquisition, Ursus' official forces weren't the type to play nice—and given Steven's personality, she wouldn't be surprised if he clashed with them.
That was not an outco she wanted to see.
And as for those "Collapsals" lurking across the frozen wastelands… even she couldn't fully explain what they were.
"Oh? So should I take this as… you caring about ?"
Steven grinned at her.
As cryptic as her words always were, at least this ti, he could hear sothing else behind them.
"Sigh, well… since you're being so kind, I guess I'll be nice enough to give you a reminder too."
Steven smirked, then looked at her seriously.
"Try smiling more—it makes you look younger."
"And sotis, thinking too much and saying too much… aren't good things.|
"No matter what, everything cos to an end eventually. If you try too hard to keep everything under your control… it's only going to exhaust you."
If it was a battle of cryptic ssages, Steven was more than capable of playing that ga too.
After saying his piece, he fell silent for a mont—then flashed her a grin.
"See you around, Miss Kal'tsit. Hopefully, next ti we et…"
"You'll seem a little—hm, how should I put it—ntally younger?"
< >
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