CHAPTER 347: HOSPITAL & A NEW MISSION

"... Urgh... How could the light be so bright here?" Sheva groaned weakly as if he had just awakened from a long hibernation. "What is going on here? Where are the others? Also, where the hell is this?" He narrowed his eyes, still trying to adapt to the bright light straight above him.

Right after that, an unpleasant smile suddenly registered through his nostrils. It was so pungent, bitter, and with a little bit of... Antiseptic? Reminded the boy of the unpleasant memory of when his father died a few years ago. That was when he immediately recognized where he was right now.

’I am at the hospital?’ He groaned, trying to sit on his bed.

"Oh, you finally woke up?" Suddenly, someone with a strong Indian accent greeted him. When the boy turned around, he could see a middle-aged woman in a nurse’s attire approaching him warmly. "It is quite rare for me to see someone passing out in the middle of a chess game, but I can understand the tension at that time. The stake is a bit too high, right? But you still have to take care of your body, okay?"

Sheva could only rub the back of his head sheepishly, knowing that he was wrong this time. "Urgh... Ma’am?"

"Yes?"

"How long have I been asleep? Also, what is wrong with me?" Sheva couldn’t help but ask.

"You are just being overwhelmed, and I think that your sleeping quality has been a bit lacking for the last couple of days. The exhaustion accumulated slowly, and coupled with how your body couldn’t adapt well enough to the heatstroke, when your body reached the limit, you fell unconscious." The nurse explained so nonchalantly, as if she just described the weather outside. "As for how long... Well, it should’ve been about 7 hours from now, give or take."

Sheva nodded solemnly while also starting to do a calculation inside his head. He could remember that the game started at 11 AM today, and before he passed out, he still played against Johan-Sebastian Christiansen for about two and a half hours, so that meant right now, it should be around 9 at night. While most of his teammates were probably still awake, they all should be back at their hotel room to prepare for tomorrow’s game.

’No wonder no one is here... Also, I didn’t realize that the temperature at that time was quite bad. But it is quite embarrassing, though, to be the only one who passed on due to that.’ He muttered in realization. ’Still... It is quite depressing to wake up alone in a hospital in a foreign country like this... I wonder, how were the others going earlier? Did they manage to hold on?’

So many questions were flying through his head, with him not being able to get the answer right now. It was frustrating, but Sheva couldn’t really do anything about it. In the end, he just muttered, ’System, there is no permanent damage, right?’

[Affirmative, Host. Besides exhaustion and hunger, you are as good as new.]

Sheva nodded in satisfaction when he read the message. However, before he could go further, another notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[DING!]

[You have a new mission!]

[Health is the capital of your body! To ensure that you have a long career, please, after going back to Indonesia, start taking care of your body!]

[Mission: 5 km run, 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, 50 squats every day for a full month]

[Reward: A stamina bar]

Sheva felt the corner of his mouth twitching madly when he read that. This was like a huge slap on his face, as if the system was mocking him for his weak ass body. The worst part, though, was that he couldn’t even defend himself here. His body was indeed weak, so he could only swallow the system’s insult silently and follow the instructions later.

’Still... What is that stamina bar?’ He asked.

[It is like in the video game, Host, where you can see the stamina consumption during the battle. This will help you allocate your time and energy better in the game.]

’Well... That is... Convenient.’ Sheva muttered, starting to ponder the reward here. Even though he could feel the hint of mockery behind this reward, at least, this would really help him manage his time well. While this wasn’t the skill that he wanted the most, Sheva would definitely not refuse such an upgrade. Still, the mission really made him speechless here.

’What the fuck is this Saitama mission? Do you want me to be a main character or what? Then what, making me go bald?’ He muttered incredulously. This time, though, he didn’t get any answer from the system, so the boy just grumbled once again. ’Doing that will take a lot of time, right? System, do you want to give me a discount? Like... 2.5 km run, 25 push-ups, 25 squats, and 25 sit-ups? What do you think? Hey, System!’

It seemed that the system also recognized that Sheva was intimidated by the numbers there, so it just kept quiet and let him suffer silently like that. In the end, the boy could only let out a deep sigh, accepting his fate silently while also trying his best not to think too much about the torture he would suffer once he went back home.

Right after that, the nurse checked his condition one more time, and after seeing that everything was okay, she just left him alone one more time. The woman didn’t even tell him when he could go, just said that he needed to wait. It seemed that this was related to the administration work, so he needed to wait until those who were responsible for him picked him up.

Fortunately, Sheva didn’t need to wait for so long, as fifteen minutes later, Bagas, Sarah, and Medina finally arrived, saving him from the boredom. When they all saw Sheva in good condition, four relieved sighs could be heard instantly, as if a huge burden was lifted from their shoulders.

"Damn, Shev! You sure know how to make us all worry!" Bagas laughed, punching his shoulder playfully.

"Sorry, sorry..." Sheva grinned sheepishly. "I didn’t expect that my condition was that bad earlier..." Of course, it was a lie. However, under Medina’s scrutinizing gaze, he didn’t want to admit that he was conscious of his condition and just did everything recklessly. No, that would be a suicide move for him.

"You don’t know how worried the others are about you." Sarah smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Even though the doctor said you are fine, the fact that you cannot be awoken haunts us so badly. Anna even had the intention to sleep here before Sister Medina pointed out that this would only make you worry more, so she finally relented and went back to the hotel 30 minutes ago."

Sheva turned his head away, trying his best to avoid Medina’s gaze. While he knew that he was not to be blamed here, the boy couldn’t help but feel guilty. The fact that Medina just crossed her arms in front of her chest without saying anything or showing her displeasure only made the guilt grow more, eating him alive.

In the end, he could only try to change the topic into something that he had been curious about since waking up here. "So... How did the other games end?"