Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter Fourteen: The Healing Potion

Despite his mind being too fuzzy, Silver slowly rose from the position he had been, after falling from the highest peak of the tree.

He was lucky. The vest of the night as well as the hammer glove he has been wearing has one advantageous buff feature—a plus percent for body defense—which made him alive even after falling from the hundred meter tall of the tree.

A grunt was released from his throat as he endured the pain of his lower back, which receives the biggest blow from the falling he had experienced. Include the fact that he was poisoned by a Harpy, his body suffers from an unexplainable pain.

He was being covered by the fire from his vines. It does not burn his skin—It was surprisingly cool.

But something in him was burning. His insides was swirling with intense heat, intense temperature, making him sweat uncontrollably. The revulsion of the food he had eaten earlier this morning was starting to rise, making him want to throw out—all of it.

Yet, he held it. He bit his lower lip hard enough to remind himself that he needs to forget whatever pain he is feeling right now.

It was because Alina is missing.

For him, the fault why Alina happened to be abducted by something—or someone—unknown, was because he was too incompetent, too weak to help and guard her. Had he been fast enough, strong enough, great enough, or skillful enough, he would be able to help her from the danger she had suffered.

It was with the reason why he need not to quit, but to continue. It was his fault why Alina was missing, that is why it was also his responsibility to find and help her back into his side again.

She was his partner. For him, a partner shall never be left behind, nor forgotten.

He was too thirsty. Yet, just like the pain in his body, he piled it at the back of his mind, for he had to stand up first and fully welcome the laugh of the dangerous dark clown who suddenly appeared in his front awhile ago.

The screeches of the burning Harpies echoed in his ears.

Then a loud, thick laugh harmonized the dark clown’s sand-textured laugh.

It came from the woman he saw earlier as his mind was swirling while lying miserably on the ground. It was the big woman who wore pink dress, pink hat, and a weird, skeleton-like gauntlet.

The grim man beside him wore stoic look. He was looking directly at the dark clown who was laughing, obvious that he was not amused nor feared by its presence.

Had no big Harpy fell in the between of them, the clown's—and the pink woman's—laugh wouldn't be stopped.

Then the clown coughed and adjusted the coarseness of his throat.

“Aunt Mathilda, why are you laughing?” he asked, awkward was written on his face.

“Well, nothing wrong. I just found the special game you've mentioned was kind of cringey yet exciting to play.” She then flicked her fingers coated in skeleton figure of her gauntlet. “I mean, you see, to title your game ‘Hide and Seek' seems like you were running out of concept!”

Her loud, thick laugh echoed in the whole place again.

“Well, Aunt Mathilda, I would be too ashamed to tell that, if I have no idea about the rules yet,” the clown said.

“Tell me about it then,” she said.

As Silver finally managed to stand straight, the clown looked at him, smiling creepily.

“Mr. Silver, you’re too hurt,” said the clown.

Silver did not answer. Instead, he only fixed his gaze towards the smiling clown, sharp and edgy with his stare.

“Well, once a stupid, always a stupid,” the clown said. “But for your convenience, I will tell you one big thing you probably didn't know. This is not a secret. You were just stupid not to know it.”

The clown's voice were incontestable when in terms of being creepy. His voice was deep, yet coarse, as if he was made to give chill and fear to whoever would be listening to him.

“Please check your inventory,” he said, “every player was given one health potion in case of emergency. You may drink it to remove the pain in your body.”

Hurriedly, Silver scanned his inventory. Sooner, he then spotted the image of the bottle whose name was written below:

● Health potion (7).

“I—I've got seven,” he said, amazed.

“That's because you managed to get that as a loot from the three-headed snake you've killed yesterday. Stupid.”

Silver materialized one health potion from the inventory. On his hand, there appeared one small cylindrical bottle, size similar of his index finger. Its liquid was green, shining from the red light that the burning harpies has given from above.

He immediately drank it, gulping every drops of the green liquid inside.

The burning sensation flushed down, the heat skipped away, the pain snapped into nothingness, his gut calmed, his broken bone now fixed.

“What the hell happened?” he asked.

“The potion, young man, the potion,” Aunt Mathilda answered sarcastically.

Silver cannot believe what had happened to him. He immediately healed. His energy immediately replenished.

“Now, for the game,” the Dark clown said.

Yet, before he could even talk again, another interruption has happened. A shriek from a woman made them jump in surprise. It was coming from behind the giant tree.

Then a girl ran out from it, revealing herself. Her skirt was being eaten by the fire, her face panicked, her tears trickling down.

If a queen of clumsiness has ever been born, it would be of great probability that Yohanna Caster would be on the reign. As she ran, her feet tangled on a vine, making her fall, flat on the ground, eyes closed, tears falling on the cheeks.

Silver ran towards her, trying to find solution of distinguishing the fire eating her skirt.

The clown then smiled—or smiled wider.

As Silver panicked on the fire rapidly eating Yohanna's clothe, he had no idea how the dark clown started to plan everything.

Its mind started to work, started to link different events, begin to conclude different scenario in his head. His smile became more horrible. The images in his head, whatever the turnout will be, is satisfying. The events will be extraordinary. The respected spectators, for sure, would be happy.