[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 186: Potions and Explosions

4 hours and 48 minutes. Two days inside the lab.

That was the exact time that had passed in the real world before Xion finally woke from his coma.

The first thing he did upon waking was drag himself to the bath. He stripped off his bloodied clothes and tossed them in the bin.

He did not have the patience to wash them. So, throwing them away it was.

As he stepped into the water, the dried stains flaked off in patches. The warmth seeped into his aching limbs.

It was soothing the exhaustion still weighing on his body.

He rinsed off hastily, barely caring about the dirt smearing down the drain, before stepping into the bathtub fully.

The moment he sank in, a long sigh escaped his lips. He let his head loll back against the edge of the tub as the warm water lapped gently against his shoulders.

"What a day," he muttered to himself and then closed his eyes.

For a moment, he simply soaked, letting the heat unknot the strain in his muscles. Then, as the tension slowly melted away, his thoughts drifted back to the archduke.

Ah, Darius.

He scowled slightly, half in frustration, half in amusement. Even unconscious, His Grace had managed to be so infuriating.

When he saw Darius in such a dire situation, it was as if his entire being had clamored for him to move. Without thinking, he had jumped in front of the orc.

Of course, not without the help of the system. He was not that stupid.

At the last second, he had activated a protective shield. A good purchase, really, considering the alternative would have been him lying in pieces on the battlefield.

Unfortunately, the orc was not like the ones he had fought in Ferni, nor was it like the one he managed to kill in the forest. This one was of an even higher level.

That attack had been so strong that even the shield cracked, and he had ended up with claw marks anyway.

He traced his fingers over the three jagged lines cutting across the left side of his stomach. Without the shield, those claws would have turned him into decorative ribbons.

It would have been such a bloody mess, like a scene from those grotesque movies

He shuddered slightly at the thought.

The problem was not just the wound. The moment blood had started gushing out like tap water, soaking his clothes and even the ground he was standing on, he had made a split-second decision.

Rather than healing the wound immediately, it was better to let his blood flow freely. The more area the crimson liquid soaked, the more it mingled in the air, the better it was for his next action.

Sure enough, just as he gulped down the special medicine he had bought from the system, his blood, and every part of his body had turned into an irresistible lure for the orcs.

From the tip of his hair to the nail of his toe, he was like a most delicious feast in the eyes of those orcs.

The moment the metallic scent spread in the vicinity; the horde’s attention shifted to him.

"It was a good distraction to lure them away," he muttered dryly, shaking his head. "But too bloody."

That was when he had used the boosting liquid again.

The rush of energy had been just enough to keep him running ahead of the swarm. If not for that, he wouldn’t have made it more than a few steps before being completely overwhelmed.

As he had pulled them away from the campsite, the next part had been almost too easy.

To take care of those zombie-like creatures, he had simply bought the explosive from the system mall. Though it cost him more merit points because it was not the thing from this world, but Xion did not hesitate.

Not that he could afford to delay it.

When he first got his hands on the grenade, he had been, well... less than confident about using it.

After all, throwing an explosive wasn’t exactly in the skill set he had been taught in the school.

Potions? Sure, he was getting hand of it. Healing? Absolutely. But highly destructive weaponry? That was new territory.

Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

So, there he was, standing amidst a stampede of orcs, clutching the grenade in his slightly trembling fingers. He quickly pulled the pin like he had seen in the movies back in his past life.

And then he panicked.

Wait, wasn’t I supposed to throw it?! But when?!

"System! Instructions!" he yelled aloud.

[You were supposed to throw it immediately after pulling the pin.]

Xion: "...Oh."

A second of silence passed, but the grenade was still in his hand.

The panicked Xion almost cursed at his stiff limbs. "Oh, for fu—!"

With a yelp, he flung it away as hard as he could. Unfortunately, his aim was nothing less than an atrocity in the name of the target.

Instead of landing in the middle of the orc horde as he wished it to be, the grenade bounced off a rock, ricocheted off a tree, and flew straight back.

Right. At. Him.

His soul nearly left his body.

Instinct took over his actions. Xion kicked the grenade like it was a cursed soccer ball, sending it flying again.

This time, by sheer dumb luck (or divine pity), it landed exactly where it needed to. Right in the middle of the oncoming orcs.

A second later, a massive explosion tore through the forest, shaking the ground with a force that rattled his bones. The shockwave roared toward him like a hungry beast ready to rip him apart. With sheer survival instincts, he rushed back into his secret lab.

The moment he landed on the cold floor, the system chimed in. It’s high pitched voice was far too cheerful for his liking.

[Congratulations! You have successfully used a grenade.]

Xion lay sprawled on the floor, wheezing heavily. "Successful?! I nearly blew myself into the afterlife!"

[... details do not matter now.]