Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

5. Entering the Village of Virt

The entire village of 30 or so residents gathered in front of her with eyes filled with amazement. Make no mistake, Frost was no stranger to being the center of attention. Her profession back on Earth required her to speak to up to tens of people at once on complicated matters.

But it was an entirely different scenario when she was received like some Goddess. The Blessing of the Nexus was a bigger deal than she initially realized. A hundred emotional outcries fell onto her all at once.

And to be perfectly honest – she couldn’t make out a single word.

Thankfully none of them had stepped into her comfort zone. Not yet at least. She feared she might end up getting dragged off by the whole crowd in the next moment. Before things could take a turn for the worst, she loudly cleared her throat and yelled:

“AHEM! One at a time, please! Can we start with introductions first!?”

The chatters eventually subsided. All eyes were glued onto her for some time as she scanned the entire village with a sweeping gaze. Right behind her was a large, monolithic structure made from a similar stone to that of the Nexus.

Surrounding it was a permanent circle of indecipherable inscriptions and symbols. No matter the unevenness of the ground the circle somehow remained perfectly flat.

“U-Um. Miss Blessed?” The voice of an old man patiently asked, raising a hand from the front of the group.

“Hmm? Oh. Right. Sorry. I should’ve made myself clearer.” Realizing that they were waiting for her to speak the whole time, she took a step forward and proudly presented herself. “I am Frost, and I’m a wandering healer. Pretty renowned as well if I do say so myself.”

– Ish, but let’s roll with it. No point in selling myself short to strangers. If I can keep it up then there’s less of a chance they’ll try something. Not that they’re bad people but… my naivety will absolutely get taken advantage of if the opportunity arises.

“I was told this was a nice town to visit first. Glad to see that they were right.” She concluded.

“Waaah~! A healer!? Does that mean you can heal people!?”

Frost nodded in response to the child’s amazement.

“That’s right.”

A small gasp of awe followed, causing her to wonder if healers were a rarity in this world. The fact that their location is smack in the middle of a forest doesn’t help either, but then again, she didn’t know how far away the next major settlement was.

As long as they were impressed by her status as a healer then she had some much-needed leverage on these people. Frost was by no means a manipulative person, but in an unknown world she needed every little bit of edge she could get her hands on.

After all, her only offensive skill was [Punch].

As confident as I am in my strength, I’m not too sure how that translates in this body. I’d rather avoid any confrontations for the time being. And besides… Status.

Status could be used on other people and creatures so long as they did not possess the Blessing or if the creature in question was not a Corrupted. Interestingly it only showed a select few stats. From their ATT stat alone, she knew she’d easily be overwhelmed in a combat situation.

Still however, her AGI stat was triple that of almost all of them. But that did not say much since these people were also incredibly lower leveled.

But she digressed.

“I am the head of this village. It’s been a remarkably long time since your kind have visited our lands of Grandis. Please, oh Blessed healer! We have no coin to offer but we can show you the delicacies of our humble village!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Really, I’m just here to visit and get my bearings. Grandis hasn’t been visited in so long so things might be different.” Frost expertly played along. “If you don’t mind, I can offer my healing in exchange for some information.”

“Of course!” He rejoiced along with the rest of the village, elated to hear this. “Although truth be told, we’re in little need for a healer. We thank the deities of the Nexus for our good health. But if you could cure the ‘grey eye’ disease our village mother possesses, then we would be more than happy to offer you our knowledge of these southern forests. 15 yeas has changed Grandis for the worse.”

“Grey eye? Can you show me?” Frost asked, already having an idea on what the disease was.

“Please wait here. We will ask the village mother for your invitation!”

Frost already had an idea on what this ‘grey eye’ disease was. Cataract.

Cataracts were no more than the thickening and clouding of the lens in the eye. While surgery was the only way to cure it on Earth, it may be possible with magic alone. This worked for her in two ways. One, to gain favor from the village, and two; gain practical experience with her skills.

A beginner town through and through, huh.

* * *

Frost was eventually escorted by the village head alone to a beautifully crafted wooden hut. It had no doors or proper flooring. Instead, an elegant carpet made from a collection of beautifully sewn deerskin spanned the small area. There was only one room and in the center of it was an old woman and a platter of herbal tea. In one corner stood a long mirror, permanently reflecting the woman who blankly stared up at her as she approached.

Before Frost entered, she removed her footwear much to the surprise of the old village head.

“For an adventurer you certainly know proper customs.” He said with surprise.

“I’d hate it if someone walked over my carpet with dirty shoes as well.” Frost smiled as she left her immaculate black shoes by the wooden steps. “Is this her? Hello~”

“Ah. That’s a silhouette I haven’t seen before. You may leave me with her, dear. May I ask your name, visitor? Please do take a seat.”

“Frost. And yours, ma’am?”

“Ma’am. Oh please. A crumbling skeleton like myself shan’t be called something so elegant.” She warmly spoke with a crackled voice as she took long sip from a small, wooden cup. “So is it true that your kind are returning to our lands again?”

“Well, since I’m here wouldn’t you say it’s already in the process?” Frost answered as she sat with folded legs in front of the old woman.

She was much cleaner than she expected for a place so far away from everything else. Her skin was fragile and in line with her estimated age. Her hair was gray and withered, and her body was as frail as one could be. But she seemed healthy as far as Frost was concerned.

Save for her eyes. The clouded veil of grey masked her blue iris. From only a single glance Frost confirmed the disease, which very was common in old age, and pressed the issue head on.

“Village mother then. Is it alright if I call you that?”

“I’d be elated if you did. I overheard that you were a healer. It’s been so long since the village was this loud. Thanks to your appearance.”

“I’m glad if that’s the case. So, about your ‘grey eye’. Let me try to help you. I won’t say for certain it’ll work but I’m confident in my magic.”

… if I ever said this to a patient back on Earth I one hundred precent would have been thrown off the ward and had a couple dozen audits done on me.

“Oh dear me please. It’s been like this for 15 years. Ever since Paradise was lost.”

“Paradise?”

“Blessed Frost, have you not heard of the fall of Paradise? Perhaps if you cure me, I can tell you more~”

“Aren’t you cunning?” Frost laughed along with her. “Alright. Please stay still for me.”

She took in a deep breath and swallowed the air. With a long, steady exhale, she quietly invoked Cure Disease just like how she did with Dimensional Storage and Hyperlink.

“[Cure Disease].”

But nothing happened. Confused, she pulled its information up.

< CURE DISEASE I >

< Instantly cure all tier 1 diseases and tier 1 negative statuses of self or target in contact >

< Cost : 150 MP >

Target in contact. Right! I have to be touching her.

“Sorry. I’m just going to put a hand on you, ok?”

The old woman nodded. Frost gently placed her hand onto the back of the woman’s palm and invoked the magic once more.

“[Cure Disease].”

A strange flow of energy moved down her arm and engulfed the old woman. It swirled into her blankly staring eyes, eating away at the disease until her sapphire irises shimmered brightly with moisture. It happened all before her very eyes. What was supposed to be only curable with surgery was done in mere seconds with magic.

< Tier 1 Disease : Cataract cured >

< Cure Disease I has gained a level >

“I-it worked!” Frost exclaimed in disbelief as tears tumbled down the woman’s cheek. “Ah! Are you ok!? Are you hurt!?”

But the woman was neither in agony or grief. Those tears were shed for a different reason.

“No I’m… I… I can see again… I can see you. Everything. It’… it’s a miracle…” She silently cried as she cupped Frost’s face and locked eyes with her. “Thank you oh Blessed! Thank you for your kindness!”

Happiness. This was happiness. Her disease which had left her near blind for 15 years was cured with the equivalent to the snap of a finger. Frost’s heart clenched when she saw the emotion dripping down her eyes and nearly shed a tear herself.

“I’m just doing my job. Really. You don’t need to thank me at all.” Frost smiled at her. “Here, let me help you out. I bet they’re all dying to see you cured.”

Yeah. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing people’s gratitude.

She checked her status at the same time, noticing that her mana had dropped by 150.

MP : 200 | 350 | ^1 MP/Min

Frost gently brought the woman up to her feet and guided her to the entrance. Just right around the corner were countless waiting faces, each praying for their success. Upon seeing Frost they instantly looked up with eyes of silent anticipation.

“People of Virt Village! Guess who can see again!?” At that moment, as she revealed the old village mother to them; the entire, humble village was suddenly engulfed with a choir of cheers.