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Story mode temporarily suspended. Performing diagnostics.

Mental stability at 60% and stable. Learning capacity at 70% and stable.
Personality completion at 98%. Physical damage at 70% and is unstable. Blood loss at 90%.
Magic capacity at 124%. Magic Burn at 40%. Magic Level at 12% and dropping.

Restructuring healing priorities. Enacting recovery procedures.
Critical failure of main character averted. Adding supplementary diagnostics.
Magic system initialization... paused. Excessive damage detected. Physical block was removed.
Attempting healing... ... ...healing unsuccessful. Retrying... ... ...partial success.

Mental stability at 90% and stable. Learning capacity at 95% and stable.
Physical damage at 40% and is stable. Blood loss at 60%.
Magic capacity at 124%. Magic Burn at 20%. Magic Level at 36% and slowly rising.

A previous diagnostic failure has been repaired.
Physical Status returned to 'Weakened'. Time to fully recover: One week, three days.

Do you wish to pause this story while your body heals or do you want to abort? All current progress will be saved if you wish to return at a later time.

I just ripped half of my heart out of my chest and I'm not giving up now, not after everything else I've been through. I thought. Can I spend some credits for a faster recovery out of the story?

That option has not been unlocked. If you wish for access, several side quests are available.

No, that's all right. I had a few too many of those already. I thought with a laugh. I am not risking meeting something like that giant marsh panther again!

Story mode reinstated. Initializing time skip of one week during unconsciousness. Done.

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I slowly opened my eyes and everything was dark. Thankfully, it wasn't pitch dark like the last time I had been unconscious after being seriously hurt. I felt weak and groaned at the empty feeling in my stomach.

“MASTER!” Several voices yelled and it echoed several times in the dark room. The mage lights were ignited and the room lit up to show me my maid, my slave, my sworn sword, and my apprentice were standing around my bed in a clear vigil.

“The rumors... of my death... weren't as exaggerated... as they were the last time I died.” I said.

All four of them burst out crying and tried to hug me at the same time. It was both weird and oddly nice. I had no idea why, though... and then I felt it. Tiny strings of connection were there between four of us. Magic tingled along my nerves where they touched bare skin to mine. Almost as if they could feel it as well, their hands lightly touched and caressed my hands, neck, and arms.

It was when Farra's hands moved the blanket covering my chest and ran her hand over the spot on my heart that I felt the tough skin. I looked down at it and easily saw that someone had used number ten potion to seal my chest back up. Badly. It was a mess.

“Someone... explain.” I said and let my head fall back to the bed. I was exhausted. “Food. I need food, too.”

“You need to drink a healing potion first, Master.” Hanna said and handed me one. “No matter what we tried, even gruel, you couldn't keep it inside your stomach.”

I tried to lift the vial and my arm gave out.

“Oh, Master.” Hanna whispered and uncorked it for me and slowly poured it into my mouth.

I swallowed carefully and when it was gone, I closed my eyes and let it flow through my body. I let my magic take hold of it in my stomach and swirled the effects through my body. I hadn't done that in months and it felt like I had only just done it yesterday.

“Ohhhh.” Hanna, Farra, and Gella moaned and their hands held onto me as they closed their eyes, too. Their magic joined mine and it went along for the ride as my magic filled my body and spread the healing potion. My body seemed to expand and reinflate in certain areas that had become sallow after a week of no food or movement.

“How... how are you doing that, Master?” Falla asked, reverence in her voice.

“Years of practice.” I said. The thing was, I didn't feel any stronger. I was just as weak as I was before the potion.

*Grumble!*

The four women's eyes snapped open and stared down at me.

“I said... I needed food.” I responded.

Hanna was the first to chuckle and it set the others off. The four of them started laughing and their tears continued as they did so. Their hands rubbed my bare chest freely for several minutes, then Ann took a deep breath.

“Garret!” Ann nearly shouted.

A crewman entered the room and he carried a large washing basin for her. She pointed to the nightstand and he placed it there, gave me a salute that I returned, and left.

I looked at Ann and she looked a little sad. I assumed it was because I couldn't move to get to the bath room. “Sponge... bath.” I said and her face changed to happiness.

“Strip him.” Ann ordered.

I was almost instantly completely naked with a thick towel placed underneath me, so the bath wouldn't get the bed wet. To my surprise, none of the others left the room as Ann washed me all over. They even helped turn me over to let Ann scrub my back. It took a while, because of all the mangled grooves from the excessive whipping I had been through.

When I was flipped back over, there were a few more tears on their faces... until Ann washed my crotch and then made me erect with her practised rubbing. She took me into her mouth to perform the ritual and it was the first time that I had it done while laying down. It was both weird and much more pleasurable. I had been so used to standing for it that it never occurred to me to do it any other way.

The other women stared at her expertly handling me and I tapped Ann's head to warn her. She moaned at making me finish so quickly and sped up her movements. She would have to be very careful with gravity working against her this time instead of allowing her to easily take it. She stopped moving and sucked hard on me as I finished for her. Her moan was very loud in the silent cabin as she took it all and enjoyed it.

Only Hanna's face wasn't red from embarrassment when Ann sat up with a huge smile on her face. I was washed down there a bit more and then dried all over.

“My lord, do you wish to remain thus or do you require clothes?” Ann asked.

“I'm still weak and staying in bed, so dirtying more clothes isn't necessary.” I said and she nodded. “Perhaps underwear, just so I am not rubbing against the blanket.”

Hanna passed a pair over and the others helped as Ann applied the underwear to me. A couple of them let out sighs. I couldn't tell if it was from relief or sadness, though. A blanket soon covered me up to my waist.

“I will be back with some easily digestible food for you, my lord.” Ann said and left the room.

I looked at Farra. “I asked for an explanation.” I paused and took a breath. “What did the old man... do to me?”

“He... he did as you asked.” Farra said and turned her head away slightly. “He poured a healing potion directly into your heart. It didn't work.” She turned back to look at my face. “He waited for the potion to go through you before he tried another... and then used number ten to seal your heart back up and then squeezed it to get it beating again.”

Oh, damn. I thought. No wonder I'm weak right now.

The Hag had squeezed my heart to make me weak enough to add that device and blocked most of my magic. If the old man squeezed it again to get it started, then I might be okay. He was nowhere near as strong as the Hag and it wouldn't have damaged me.

“The bleeding slowed down and then he was glad that your heart closed over fully. Since it worked for that, he put your torn muscles and skin back together and used more number ten potion.” Farra said.

“Not at the... same time.” I said. “Please, not at the same time.”

Farra smiled a little. “No, he knitted the muscles together first and I held them for him to add several drops. Then we put drops along the edge of the skin and flesh only, then carefully laid it back into place.”

“Then... what's this?” I asked as I slowly rubbed my hand across the rough and slightly mangled skin over my heart and part of my pectoral muscle.

“An accident. We hit a hard wave and the small amount left in the vial spilled out and splashed onto your chest.” Farra said and then sighed. “He tried to scoop it up.”

“Oh.” I said and stopped rubbing. The rough and mangled skin wasn't actually mine. It was the bottoms of the old man's fingers. “Did he lose much when someone cut him free?”

“It was nothing that a healing potion couldn't fix.” A man's voice said as he entered the room. “It was my own potion, too!”

I smiled at his happiness, because he was proud that he had healed himself. I remembered feeling like that the first time I successfully brewed my own healing potion.

“Show me.” I said and he came over and flipped his hands over to show me the underside of his fingers. I nodded at the healed skin and he grinned at me.

“I'm sorry that I ignored the main rule for handling the number ten potion.” The old man said. “Unfortunately, your chest was not a flat surface for it to remain on and I couldn't let it splash down your side and merge you to the deck.”

“I appreciate... the forethought... and the sacrifice.” I said.

The old man chuckled. “I had Gella cut me free as soon as it set a couple of seconds later. I'm glad she is so handy with blades. I doubt anyone else on this ship could have only cut the skin between us and then cleaned us up as much as possible without hurting us further.”

I held a hand up and Gella took it instantly. “Good work.”

“I am your sworn sword, my lord.” Gella said and hugged my hand to her chest, getting a much stronger tingling feeling from me because of it. “It is my job to see that you do not come to harm if I can help it.”

I nodded and she reluctantly let my hand go.

Ann came in with a bowl full of broth and several pieces of bread on a tray. “I should ask you all to leave...”

“We're not going anywhere.” The three women said, quite adamant.

Ann laughed softly and put the tray on my lap. “You haven't left his side all week, so I wasn't going to ask.” She sat down at my side and helped to prop me up into a sitting position with pillows. “Do not try to eat too much at once, my lord.”

“You don't have to worry about that.” I said and smiled. “You're feeding me.”

The others let out gasps and Ann smiled happily.

“Of course, my lord. Thank you for the privilege.” Ann said and tore up a piece of bread and dipped it into the broth. After a second, she used a napkin under it to carefully put it into my mouth to take a bite. The other women watched attentively as Ann fed me for nearly ten minutes. When the bread was gone, she put a hand on my belly.

“How are you feeling, my lord?” Ann asked.

“I want to say full.” I said and she chuckled.

“I'll let you try to take several drinks of the broth if you promise to only do that and not try to take it all.”

I nodded and she lifted the bowl to my lips. I took several swallows and then stopped. I felt the excess liquid settle around the previous bread I had eaten and that was a really weird experience for me. Bloated, they called it. I chuckled and held my hands out to the women around me, because I knew how to get rid of that feeling.

“A hand with a bit of magic, please.” I said and Hanna, Gella, and Farra grabbed my arms and looked very happy. I swirled my magic through my arms and theirs responded in kind, then I used magic as I scooped out the nutrients and things from inside my stomach, dissolving the food there, and pushed it out to infuse it with my body all over.

“Ohhh.” The three women moaned.

My stomach growled a moment later and I smiled at Ann. “I need more bread and broth, Ann.”

Ann blinked her eyes at me for a moment, then she laughed and tipped the last of the broth into my mouth. “I'll be right back.” She stood and looked at the three women around me. “Perhaps taking turns feeding you will keep them busy.”

Hanna let out a little squeal and Gella and Farra looked quite happy to help.

“I'll carry the tray.” The old man said and picked it up. He had been there the whole time and he wasn't sure what was going on. He felt the swirling magic and his hadn't reacted at all.

I wasn't going to tell him that he would have to want his magic to form the connection in the first place. Since neither he nor I did that during my stupid attempt to save myself from magical slavery, there was no danger to him being caught up in what was happening to the others.

The question was, did Molly have the same reaction to me? Did she have the need to keep touching me and was that why she wasn't here? Or was she in the same situation with the old man and nothing formed between us? Not that I wanted there to be. If it happened, I would deal with it when I was better. I just hoped that Jensen didn't try to kill me if that connection was actually there.

“Bring me the device and your notes on it after I eat.” I told him and he nodded. I knew that he had studied it during the time I was unconscious, because both he and Farra had them on their hearts and he wanted them removed as soon as possible. He did not want to do it like I did, though.

Ann came back alone with more food and Hanna fed me first. I did the dispersal trick to dissolve the food and get it into my body, instead of letting my body absorb it naturally. The three women moaned again and then it was Gella's turn to feed me. I did the trick again and then Farra fed me. This one I left, because I didn't want to feel hungry again. The women looked at me expectantly and I chuckled.

“I'm sorry. I don't want to... feel hungry again.” I said as an explanation.

Farra looked sad at not being able to share like that again after feeding me.

“I can still share a bit of magic.” I said and she caught her breath. “No, I don't need a reason to.”

“M-Master.” Farra whispered and gave the other two a questioning look.

“Go ahead.” Hanna said and Gella nodded.

“Thank you.” Farra said and stripped down to her underthings and then climbed into bed with me.

“What are you doing?” I asked as Farra unabashedly cuddled into my side. She put my arm over her shoulders as she laid her head on my chest, right over my heart.

“We've been taking turns doing that all week as we let your magic flow over us.” Hanna said. “It's... we've never felt so comforted before.”

“I haven't heard it was even possible.” Gella said. “We thought it was a side effect of what you did to yourself by nearly tearing your heart out. Then you surprised us as you casually shared your magic with us as if you've always done it.”

“I have always done it, once I learned it was possible.” I said and the three women exchanged glances. “If you're wondering, yes, I can get you pregnant on the first try.”

Farra moaned as she hugged me tightly and I felt a dampness on my thigh. Gella shivered slightly and gave me a longing look. Her hand gripped the hilt of her sword tightly. Hanna just looked stunned.

“I'm betrothed.” I reminded them.

“We know.” They said as one and Ann laughed.

“I never knew that you could become even more desirable, my lord.” Ann said. “Lady Helena must have so much trouble dealing with all the contract offers!”

“I let her handle the entrepreneur part of our business.” I said and that made her laugh more.

The old man came into the cabin and he had a small stack of papers and the device. “Master.”

“Pull over a chair.” I said as he handed me the papers and then he, Hanna, Gella, and Ann sat down. I started reading the notes and realized that I had been extremely lucky to have not died. The device was a physical replacement for a heart. It served the same functions, except it ran on magic and not blood or muscle. It limited personal magic use and stored it instead.

“It is a wonder and a horror.” The old man said and I nodded in agreement.

That thing I felt break and let go inside of my chest, while engaging the concealment enchantment, was a magical storage crystal that were used as 'testing' crystals by the Mages Guild. The discharge had cracked the crystal and blew a hole right through my chest as the magic was released.

A wonder and a horror indeed. I thought and stared at the thing.