Bits and pieces of conversation go by, until at some point, I'm aware that I don't hurt anymore. My eyes squint open bit by bit, and I groggily sit up, looking around in a stupor.

It takes some time to realize that I'm in a small room. Small enough that I actually get a pang of anxious claustrophobia. On reflex, I bring my hand up to rub at my neck, even though it's been a while since I actually had a collar there.

Looking around slowly, I start to realize... is this Arkida's place? How did I get here? What was I doing before...?

Then someone walks in. I jolt and look up to the bobbing mess of brown hair, and the cute, excited face that approaches.

“Arkida?” Her name leaves my mouth automatically. No wait, this is her house... Of course it's her...

“Yumi, I'm so glad you're awake! You've been out for hours.”

“What's going on?” I ask, confused and still half-asleep.

In response, she moves slowly to the edge of the bed. “Yumi... You got attacked in the guild, do you remember?”

It takes some time thinking through my hazy brain, but then it comes back to me. Everything with Gen, my quest, in the guild... Then I recall her words at the end, describing how he tried to kill me and broke my neck.

I can already tell my neck is fine, so they must have healed it, but...

“Y-yes, I remember what happened,” I answer stiffly. I honestly wish I didn't...

“After you were attacked, a lot of healers helped you. They had to use some really high level magic and magic crystals to save your life. Like, really high level magic... The guild captured your attacker and took all of his possessions, and even sold him off into slavery to repay the healers.”

Oh thank god... I can't imagine how it would have gone if I had to pay for all that healing myself...

“We banned him from the guild and spoke to the town guard too, so even if he eventually repays his debts, he'll never be welcome in town again. You have nothing to worry about from him ever again.” She says it so reassuringly, it helps the thumping anxiety at the slightest thought of ever seeing that monster's face again.

My lips tilt up a bit, and I end up sinking down a little more into the bed I'm lying in. So he actually got what he had coming. I let out a sigh of relief, and maybe a few tears. Finally some karma...

“That's really good to hear, Arkida.” I flop back, stretching out a little, but that just makes me realize this bed is bigger than I thought. This is Arkida's bed, isn't it?

Wait, my mind is wandering...

Slowly pulling myself up again, I slide over to sit on the edge beside her. We stay like that for a few long, strangely comfortable moments, before I find my mind tracing back over everything that happened. Things I was trying not to think too deeply about.

So I quickly stand up instead. The move is a bit sudden, and I wobble on my feet.

Arkida rises too, taking my hand to help me balance. “Don't worry, the healers did everything they could, fixed you up as good as new. Like, well... really good as new,” she repeats herself. I don't really know why, but I nod anyway.

Just standing up like this, I do feel completely better, not a single trace of pain anywhere from everything that was done to me. I can't say I feel entirely refreshed since I apparently didn't sleep for all that long, but at least my body feels in tip-top shape again.

She releases my hand once I'm steady again. When she does, I find myself feeling kind of stiff, which I'm guessing is an after-effect of everything they did to fix my body.

I slowly move through some stretches. First, arms up, over my head, then down to touch my toes. I'm so glad that the pain is all gone. I take note of the loose house-clothes I've been changed into, more baggy than usual, and ask what happened to my gear.

Before Arkida can answer, I wobble a little while bending over to stretch, and almost topple before she catches me, still awkwardly bent over with my hands to my feet so she basically has to grab my whole torso and butt to keep me from falling.

Then she gets back on topic and says that it's all in the bathroom, but I don't have to worry about it, I can deal with cleanup later. It doesn't have to be right away. I straighten up, then twist a little, back and forth.

“Ah, that's nice...” I mumble as the stiffness steadily leaves me. I roll my shoulders a few times. “Thanks a lot for helping me out back at the guild,” I thank her sincerely, only for my stomach suddenly growl loudly.

I turn a bit pink when that ruins the moment, but Arkida just giggles and says, “Here, I'll make some food. Go get yourself washed up.” She gives a playful jerk of her head with her words, and moves a few steps to the door.

“Hey, Arkida,” I call her name, and she stops, turning partway back. “Thanks again... Not just for today. For everything. Really.”

Arkida smiles softly. “You're welcome, Yumi.” Then she continues out, and I head to the bathroom. Since she's making food and I don't want to take too long, I don't run a bath, and just sit to wash myself quickly instead. I was gone for six days on my quest and went through all that shit on top of it, so I'm really dirty. I decide to put off shaving later, but then while I'm washing, I notice I'm not quite as hairy as I'd expect after so long away. “Weird...”

I scrub myself down quickly, but even then, I can't not notice that things aren't right. Like, with my body. It's hard to place though, just something being faintly off, everywhere I look. Like how I'm just not quite as muscular as I was before my quest, after all that physical training I went though. Something about the healing having to fix so many injuries?

“Weird...” I mutter again, before pouring some water over myself to rinse off. Standing again, I go over to the mirror, and come up short on sight.

“The fuck?”

I look younger.

Not just kind of thin and scrawny so I look younger than my real age. Practically pressing my face to the mirror, I see it in the details, in the tiny lines in my skin of my face. My hands. My arms and legs and everything. “Status, my Status...” I mumble, half panicking at the strange phenomenon. With my thoughts, it appears.

Yumi Adventurer Rank: 9 Race: Human Age: 20 Job: Offensive Magic Class: Synergist Style: Finesse Focus: Area Control Health: 148/148 Stamina: 83/176 Mana: 596/596 Status Strength: 70 Vitality: 98 Stamina: 145 Agility: 73 Mind: 413 Magic: 111 Remaining Potential: 320 Skills Speech: 91 Reading: 83 Math: 57 Logic: 66 Serving: 15 Cleaning: 26 Magic Casting: 28 Magic Weaving: 25 Mana Regen: 27 Mana Absorption: 13 Rapid Casting: 21 Multi Casting: 21 Magic Control: 13 Mana Cleansing: 3 Mana Channeling: 12 Cooking: 20 Massage: 7 Sex: 5 Appraisal: 13 Diplomacy: 4 Maintenance: 7 Grooming: 16 Walking: 14 Fasting: 16 Physical Resist: 4

“The fuck?” I repeat.

I got younger.

And I lost a Rank.

And I fucking got younger.

Before I know what I'm doing, I'm stumbling back into the living room, shouting into the attached kitchen. “Arkida what happened to me?!”

She turns back from her cooking and jumps when she sees me, waving a spatula at me somewhat frantically. “Clothes, Yumi, clothes!” That's enough to make me cover myself with my hands, but not enough to stop my questions.

“I got younger, my Status says I'm twenty now!”

“W-well, yeah,” she stumbles a little in her speech. “Like I said, they used really high level healing magic on you.”

“B-but, huh? What? How?” When my ramble of words doesn't actually accomplish asking my real question, she cocks her head to the side, and I try again. More slowly. “Why does high level healing magic reduce my age?”

“Oh, that's what you mean...” Then she perks up a little, like she realized something. “Right, because you lived with the beasts instead of humans.” I twitch a little at the random slur, but she goes on.

“Some really high level magic like what was used on you works by basically turning back time on your body, undoing the damage that was done rather than trying to repair it. That's why you're totally good as new. The healers erased the damage instead of just healing it.”

I stare at her, taking some time to really digest her explanation. Make my brain accept the concept that these people can literally time-magic me.

“Still, you said twenty? Then the magic took off four years? Normally it isn't quite that dramatic. Because you're an otherworlder I guess? You did say you have a longer lifespan, so maybe that's part of it,” she theorizes lightly, like this isn't immensely concerning.

“In any case, that's why I said that you're as good as new. For the most part, your body should be in the condition as it was when you were twenty. Unfortunately, there is a downside. Magic like that is extremely expensive to use, both in terms of magic crystals, and it also needs to use a lot of your own magic to make it work. Your Rank should have decreased by one, along with decreases in a lot of your Skills and different abilities.”

Glancing over the window again like she says, I see it now. They did all go down a little bit. With things explained, I'm quickly calming down. And getting incredibly embarrassed. I flee back to the bathroom so I can get dressed.

As I'm pulling the oversized clothes on, it makes me realize that I'm just a bit smaller than before. It's hard to notice, maybe just an inch, but I'm definitely a little shorter.

Four years younger... I'm glad it didn't reduce my body's age more than that, or I'd start having serious issues with the sudden height change. I'm already feeling kind of wobbly from the little bit I did lose.

Hell, twenty is the age of adulthood here, so any more and I might end up navigating the clusterfuck of suddenly being a minor again. Depending if they care about current body age over how long you've actually lived...

I shake my head. Not a topic I need to get into right now.

When I go back into the kitchen, the food is finished. We sit down to eat, and I ask about something I've been trying not to think of since there's nothing I can do about it, but I absolutely can't ignore anymore.

“So umm... you know how Gen-Genripl did, uhh... did that to me?” She raises an eyebrow, but lets me go on. “I was wondering, with all the healing magic, I don't need to worry about... you know...” I stare at my food and whisper, “Baby...”

There's a small pause, then she gets it. “Oh! No. No, you don't have to worry about that. The magic should have totally wiped out any changes down there.”

I let out a slow, relieved sigh. I was really trying not to think about it since there's nothing I could do about it anyway, but it's immensely relieving to take that worry of the table. The last thing I would want is to carry that bastard's child...

“Good, thanks Arkida.” With my quiet words, I start eating her wonderful, comforting food.

After dinner, I spend some time just trying to relax and unwind while Arkida goes back to work. I'm left alone in the small apartment, lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling. My mind goes back over everything, heart trying to unpack and decompress it all.

And I start crying.

Sometimes quiet with trickles of tears minutes apart. Sometimes in big wracking sobs and wails. It's not just the pain though, or the regret or anger. It's the relief too, that after it all, the hammer of justice did come down. Gen didn't just get away with it. He didn't just get to hurt me.

That when all is said and done, this world still has consequences for people who commit atrocities like that.

Of course, none of that would have happened if I hadn't called him out. Consequences require some action on my part, they won't just happen on their own. I have to be able to stand up for myself. Even if it's hard and it's not in my nature, I have to do it when it really matters, or people like him might get away with those things.

I don't know how much later it is when I've cried myself out. By that point, I'm tired. Emotionally and physically exhausted.

And definitely a little more at peace.

I get up, splash some water on my face to wash away the tears tracks, and eat some food. Then I go take a nice bath; I need it right now.

When I get out, I find myself staring at my reflection once more. It's still such a sight, how I'm just suddenly younger now.

Still... given the amount I lost, I'm actually a bit younger than when I originally came to Verilz. That kind of makes it feel like I get to start over. No, that definitely seems too optimistic, I show myself a wan smile in the mirror. Even if they used magic to erase the effects on my body, all those things still happened. I still am who I've become here. For better or worse.

Besides, it's not like...

…

I stare at my neck, change blindness having hidden it until I looked for it.

My mark is gone. The little glowing scar-like blue lines around my neck. That magic got rid of it too. There's a kind of giddy energy that comes over me, just for an moment, before my mind makes the next logical jump and my heart stops.

I frantically pull aside my shirt to stare at my crest.

“Ok,” I pant out, blood suddenly rushing in my ears. My crest is still there. “Whoo...” I let out another clipped breath. Given how I'm younger than when I came here, I thought it might have rewound me back past the point where I even got my crest, but it looks like even weird time-healing magic can't overcome crest magic.

Wait, no, duh, I was still able to open my Status yesterday, of course I still have my crest. I shake my head at myself.

However... With my attention quickly returning to my neck now that I've gotten past the spot of panic, I watch myself turn back and forth a few times to confirm that the mark is definitely gone, nothing but clear skin around my neck now.

Then, I have a short instant of an idea. I could just run away. Take off into the wilderness and relocate to a new town where no one knows me and never talk about my past again.

No, no. No. Like I told Arkida, the problem is me. I'm so accustomed to being a slave that people would figure it out anyway. I told her that, and even if it was an excuse at the time, it wasn't a lie.

I shake away the thought. I would feel awful ditching Arkida all of a sudden, after she's helped me out as much as she has. But still, if I could find a way to avoid getting marked again, talking my way out of it or something...

I bite my finger, trying to think. There's no way they would let that slide. Not when they think the safety of their city and their people are at stake. If I just go back to the adventurer guild and they realize their oversight, they'll definitely mark me again.

“I should talk to Arkida,” I say to my reflection. If there's a way, some method of appeal, or something, anything, she might be able to tell me. And if not, I'm sure she'd tell me so, and help me leave, to find somewhere else. It's not like I'd have to run off in the night and ditch her, I could say my goodbyes properly if it comes to that.

“Yeah, I'll talk to her when she comes home,” I decide.

The rest of the day I spend relaxing. I need it and deserve it at this point. Lying on the couch, taking a nap, doing some stretches, eating... Without games like I used to have, there isn't all that much to do when you're basically stuck inside, but I don't care all that much. Having some time to be lazy is a luxury I might not be able to enjoy again any time soon.

So, I enjoy my day off, and end up sleeping a surprising amount of it away. I really do need the rest.

When it gets dark again, I check the time and see that Arkida should be coming home any time now, and get up to make some food. If nothing else, it'll be my thanks to her.

I'm just about done when I hear the door, then Arkida's voice calls out. “Yumi, I'm home!”

“Welcome back!” I greet her... maybe a little too energetically. I try to tone it down. “I made dinner.”

“Wow, that looks nice, thanks for cooking.” We go back and forth with a bit more small talk as I plate the food and we eat. But sure enough, the time soon comes when we've made it through our food, and it's about time I get to the hard questions.

“So...” My eyes wander around the room to avoid looking at her. No matter how I try to compose myself, I don't think it's working. I swallow, and tell her. “It looks like that healing magic got rid of my slave mark.” I lift my chin some so she can see the blank space around my neck as clearly as possible. I stay like that for a few seconds, before looking down to meet her gaze again.

Clearly, she hadn't noticed until it was pointed out either, because she's shocked, and takes some time to come up with her response. “So... what do we do about this?”

“I don't know,” I admit, “After... you know. I don't want to go through all that from being marked again. Is there anyone you could talk to? Some way to get an exception made?”

Arkida shrugs. “I don't know, but I can definitely look into it. Maybe there's something in the guild rules, or... well, there was a noble that showed some interest in you after what happened at the guild, if we went to him, maybe he could pull some strings...”

“W-wait, what about a noble?” I sputter. “Let's uhh, how about we just keep this between us for now, alright?” I do not have a good history with the nobility. Altraskan nobility, but whatever, it's close enough.

“In any case, I'll start doing my research. It could take a while, but don't worry. You have plenty of money after your last quest, so you can just stay home, relax, and do your own thing, alright?”

“Yeah.” I can't help the weary smile that comes. “You're right, I need a break. Then I'll get back to training. But for now, this is enough.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” she agrees with her own little smile and a bob of her head.

Adventuring is nothing if not lucrative. I have enough gold for over half a year off, time for some extremely necessary R&R, and eventually further training. For tonight, we sit, eat, chat and hang out, and eventually drift off to bed.

After that, Arkida does as she says, beginning to look into things to help me out, and I stay home. A few days later, I find myself drowsing on Arkida's bed sometime during one of Verilz' dark periods, staring at the swirl of multicolor moons gracing the sky, with my thoughts wandering lazily.

There's a lot more ahead, and I've gone through some truly awful shit, but I'm still here, and unbelievably, I'm still in one piece. I reach a hand out toward the tiny sun as it slips out from behind a passing moon, the faint glare around my fingertips making it feel like I can almost reach out and touch it. It's such a beautiful sight, that it brings an old thought back to mind.

That thought brings a wry, battered smile on, all on its own.

To me, this place is still a magical fantasy land.