I woke up to a white ceiling, a stark contrast from the bluish-black I expected.

A throbbing pain shot through my head, and annoying, periodic beeps rang out beside me. Was it a heart monitor?

I placed a hand on my head and let out a sigh as I turned to my side. As I thought—it was a heart monitor.

"Shit..."

I pushed myself up the bed when something on my side shuffled. Locks of red hair were splayed on the sheets.

The sleeping Emilia woke up from my movements and rubbed her eyes as she turned toward me.

"Ar... thur...?"

"Morning, tsk. Aren't you late for school?"

The pain in my head was too much.

I winced and looked back, only to find Emilia's eyes widened and tears streaming down her face.

"What—"

"AAAH!" A scream that sounded closer to a wail left her. She jumped on me and grabbed my clothes tight.

"Idiot! Idiot, what were you doing there? T-there was an Earthquake and—sniff... uwaa!"

Yeah, she wasn't going to be able to explain anything. I pressed the nurse call button with one hand while trying to back away, but it seemed like she wasn't going to let go.

Hesitant at first, I gently placed a hand on her head as she continued crying.

"What if something happenedddd!"

"I'm pretty tough."

It still hurt quite a bit—the spot where the wolf scratched me and also the spot where that damned NPC hit me.

I had a gist of what happened and wasn't worried about my items, but I couldn't be entirely without worry until I heard it personally.

Not long after, the door to the hospital room swung open, and a nurse stepped inside.

"You're awake! Doctor!"

And she ran away.

Well, I guess having someone cling to me wasn't so bad.

***

Thankfully, if not the nurse, the doctor pushed Emilia away. She tried to stick around and was dragged out of the room.

The doctor just asked me a few questions and left.

As it turns out, this was a hospital under the Babylonia Corporation. Just as I had expected, one of the biggest hospitals in the country.

The nurses took my blood to run some tests, and I was told that someone else would explain things to me.

After they left, Emilia shuffled back in and sat next to me.

It seemed I had been asleep for a whole day.

"T-there was an Earthquake... hick."

"Breath, breath, it's ok, you're alright now."

"Yes, so... so there was an Earthquake."

"I got that part."

"Sniff..."

I was suddenly the one taking care of the person despite being the patient.

It was then that the door opened again, and three people in suits walked in. The two behind them, in black suits and visors, seemed like bodyguards, while the one at the front donned a maroon suit, his hair curled up in a perm.

"Ah, hello!" He said, rubbing the back of his head. "Mr. Arthur Graham? I am Dominique Hendrix from the Babylonia Corp."

The man handed me a business card, and I nodded.

"You must have heard already, but during an Earthquake, the mountainous structure we used as a dungeon in the game collapsed."

"Right."

"The wounds you faced were serious. It seems multiple boulders fell on your back and on your head."

I closed my mouth and listened.

The wounds I faced. That was what had been keeping my pain at bay.

All I did was fight mobs and an NPC. Yet I had ended up with serious wounds.

Was it due to the stones all along and not because of the game? That made little sense; there was no way I wouldn't be able to distinguish between them. The weight of the stones, the texture, game or not, all of it should have been carried if I was truly facing a life-or-death situation.

Even people who are blind had their senses heightened, and I was playing a damned game.

The man continued explaining matters, from how they were bearing all of my hospital fees to how they would avoid such incidents in the future. He also mentioned how we wouldn't be getting any death penalties in the game, and all our stats and items were going to be on hand.

The site was about to be closed until they decided to open it again, so meeting the NPC once more was out of bounds for me.

"Are there any wolves in that dungeon?"

"Wolves? No. Not at all. I have to say, it was not that wise of you to run deeper into the cave in the new openings, Mr. Arthur. We will certainly issue guidelines and player rules for such emergencies. You have my word."

Deeper into the cave?

Does that mean those terrains were not in the game?

Then the damned wolf and the NPC too?

It seemed rather hard to believe. There was something going on here, but I had learned as a member of the underworld to never trust big corporations. If there was something strange, it was something they absolutely did not want others to know about. It would be more than easy for them to get rid of two orphans in case we touched a reverse scale.

"Then, I will let you rest—"

"Wait."

Dominique stopped at my words.

Pain was for later, and so was confusion.

My eyes sparkled as I looked at his blonde hair, permed up like a chicken. This guy... was going to lay me golden eggs. There was no way I was going to let him leave.

"You have told me how you are taking responsibility for the matter. But what about compensation?"

Cough up all your cash, Mr. Dominique. Or I will swindle it out of you.