[BL] Accidentally Becoming the Healer of the Deranged Archduke-Chapter 214: Bad Decisions of Irresponsible Adult Xion

Nine long hours.

That’s how long Xion had been locked inside his lab. And the results, while not exactly comforting, at least proved he wasn’t wasting his time.

There was a strange poison in the blood that was killing the victims. It wasn’t natural, nor was it entirely magical.

Once it started spreading, it burned through the veins like fire. The excessive heat attacked the internal flesh, turning it into something like charred remains.

The result was a thickening of blood until it was almost sludge, and then came the bleeding.

Or rather, the vomiting of blackened blood.

He had also brought back the dried leaves the merchant’s wife mentioned.

But there were no traces of toxins present in the leaves. In fact, Lady Norva, Lord Varnehold’s wife, had vouched for it too. Said she drank it every winter to avoid catching a chill.

She was right. The tea worked exactly the same way. But this time, it had resulted in the opposite.

The dried leaves had intensified the symptoms. The fever might have scorched the girl for a week before forcing her to vomit black bile.

She didn’t even make it past the third day before coughing up blood.

"So... what now?"

The system finally broke its silence. Because of course it did. Couldn’t miss a chance to rub salt in his open wound.

"You know it’s poison. Big achievement. But you don’t have an antidote. You don’t even have a name. How very... competent of you."

Xion, slumped on the chair, didn’t even bother opening his eyes. "If you’re here to gloat, feel free to disappear back into your system space and sulk quietly."

"Disappointed that your shiny AI companion isn’t clapping for you? You wound me."

The system let out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Honestly, it’s not my fault you’re poor and can’t even afford the cheap stuff anymore."

"...Don’t start." Xion had no desire to hear the talk about how irresponsible he was as an adult.

"No, no, really. Let’s talk about your financial decisions. Let’s revisit the time you spent your last five hundred points building a small cottage for that old woman."

"It had automatic heating!" Xion argued, then immediately regretted wasting the energy.

He had spent most of his points building hospitals and schools, buying books, setting up supplies, and trying to make it all look like something that could’ve been produced by human hands.

And to make it more believable, the system enchanted each book to look like it had been handwritten by him. Though it took a bit extra point, it worked.

But in the process, he’d somehow fallen deep into system debt. And the interest rate was worse than any loan shark in a capital city.

It took him six months of non-stop healing to pay it back.

Six months of treating infected wounds, broken bones, magical burns, and every stupid injury the villagers could throw at him.

Now that he spent more time teaching than treating, the merit points had slowed to a painful crawl.

Despite his VIP status in the system, which was the main reason he was even allowed to take things without paying, he only had a pitiful 3,000 merit points!

Still, it wasn’t like he regretted it. Mostly.

"Maybe you should start thinking bigger," the system said casually like it hadn’t just spent the last few minutes roasting him alive.

"How about going for high status? Maybe royal clients? If not them then we can look for some noble who needs a personal healer. That’s where the real points are."

Xion scoffed, "No thanks. I like me when I am poor."

"But you’ll get points and protection. You get better ingredients. And if they try to double-cross you... Just put poison in the soup. Problem solved."

Of course. Poison was always the solution to this version of the system. Ever since it evolved, it had developed a very... casual relationship with the concept of murder.

Its expanded knowledge came with a proportional increase in headaches for Xion.

Gone was the cute, overeager assistant always nudging him to buy things and stay cheerful.

This new version? It was like having a sarcastic roommate whose throat you just couldn’t wait to strangle.

And no, it didn’t learn this from baby Noxian. Xion was sure of that.

He let his head roll to the side, resting against the delicate leather headrest as his eyes flicked toward the corner screen where the test results were still blinking at him.

He was past the point of being tired. His muscles had long since stopped protesting. Now, they simply refused to budge even an inch.

Powerless, he could only ask the system for help.

"Can you search the encyclopedia for me?" he didn’t have the strength to open that huge mammoth of pages.

"All registered flora, fauna, magical anomalies. Anything that causes fever, black blood, and slow systemic collapse. Cross-reference with the symptoms."

The system scoffed, "You’re so broke you can’t even afford me as your assistant anymore."

Xion, "..." Fair.

Well, it was not hard to guess that this snotty system was mostly annoyed at him for not gaining more points.

"Fine, fine. Let me dig through the archives like the obedient assistant I am. It’s not like I have better things to do... like simulating battle tactics or plotting a palace coup."

Xion let out a weak snort and closed his eyes.

It wasn’t the first time the system had urged him to cozy up to royals, or at least ingratiate himself with the higher-ranking ministers.

But Xion, being predictably Xion, had ignored the advice without hesitation.

Now, whenever trouble came knocking, the system made sure to mock him with all the smugness it could muster.

Ironically, it was also the first to leap into action whenever things spiraled out of control.

So, without bothering to worry, he let his shoulders sink into the plush comfort of the chair.

One thing he appreciated about his lab: no one dared disturb him while he was inside. Even if he disappeared for days, they knew better than to knock.

It gave him the opportunity to stay in his system lab without any concern.