Chapter 196 - Mad Scientist

"Though that was what I said, I do need to dispose of Rodrick's corpse first or else."

Looking at his corpse that was a far cry from the time when he was tortured by her, she shook her head. She didn't know what has gotten to her during that time as her torture was pretty inhuman to say the less. She had thought that she might have accidentally awakened something that shouldn't within her, which she hopes it was just her imagination going wild. That said, it would be bad to leave Rodrick's corpse alone if she were going to resurrect Ria in here. 

It all began from a spark of light before turning into a full blazing ball of flame, ready to burn and destroy things in its path. Once the fireball had fully formed, Sheila immediately throws a couple of them toward the corpse on the ground, which prompted it to explode upon contact, leaving nothing in the aftermath. With this, the story of a prideful person that goes by the name Rodrick Jayson finally came to an end.

With just a thought, a still-fresh corpse of Ria suddenly appears neatly on the ground. If not for the blood and deep wounds all over her body, one would have mistaken her to be sleeping. When the sleeping beauty appeared in her view, her eyes started to moisten up. However, she holds it still as there's no time to waste. In her hand, there's a single vial with rainbow liquid. Yes, it is the Elixir she got upon completion of a quest in the past. With this, she can resurrect, literally anyone, so long as their death has not passed the thirty minutes time limit.

She also didn't expect the inventory to be of use for this important moment as, without its ability to stop time everything within it, she would not be able to revive Ria on her own. The moment she put the corpse in her inventory is the moment she was relieved and thought that they could be saved. However, upon pondering seriously for a bit, Sheila realized that she could immediately revive Ria if she brings the latter into the Trial Tower with just the two of them after sending Yuna off. There's no need to fight Rodrick at all if she wanted to. 'I was really affected by her death that I can't think properly, huh?' thought Sheila.

Lowering herself on her knees, Sheila put her right hand behind Ria's head as a cushion while opening the cap of the vial with her other arm. Once that has been taken care of, she swallowed down the whole content of the vial before lowering her head. And without Ria's consent, Sheila forcefully opened the latter's lips with her own, forcing the content in her mouth down the throat of the said sleeping beauty. 

Just as she thought nothing happens, Ria's whole body was suddenly engulfed with a blinding light, forcing her to shut her eyes and look away. When the light was gone, she could finally see and quickly judged that there doesn't seem to be any significant change that occurred to Ria's body. After all, she didn't know whether the elixir would work as it should since she had never tried it before. Even now, she still worries despite having read the detail on the vail.

A few seconds passed, Sheila was finally relieved once she sensed the sleeping beauty's heart started pumping out blood like normal. While she was holding onto her breath, Sheila witnessed Ria's eyelids slowly reveal the beautiful brown eyes to the everpresent sunlight. It took a moment for her sight to get used to the bright sunlight, and when she did, she suddenly recalled her last memories. Before she could even flinch out of fear, her body was suddenly wrapped with the warmth of a hug.

"I'm sorry. Because I was negligent, you had to suffer. I'm sorry."

Sheila repeatedly apologies to her, along with sobbing during the hugs. At first, Ria was confused. But upon thinking back on that particular memory, she came to a realization. It seemed Sheila was blaming herself for the fight that happened a moment ago, or at least that's what Ria thought. However, once she heard the words spoken by the latter during the sobs, she realized the situation is much more serious than she had thought it would be.

'No wonder I didn't remember anything of how I got here, so I was beaten to death, huh? The last memories I remember were indeed being beaten ruthlessly by that guy but, I never thought that I would die from that. The painful feeling is still there, however, I can't show my weakness in front of this girl, or she might blame herself more than this.' With that thought in mind, Ria wraps her arm gently around the latter and said.

"It's not your fault, never was. Yes, if you weren't negligent, I won't have to die. However, the past is the past. We need to look into the future. I'm here and sound, aren't I? I trust that whatever happened to me, you will bring me back to life, won't you? After all, you still need someone to take care of your mess. Though I wish you would stop making trouble for me, I knew it's impossible. I wouldn't be able to rest easy and pass on to the afterlife if you are still as you are, after all."

As she spoke, Ria never stops petting gently on Sheila's back. 'In fact, it was mostly my fault. If I was stronger, things would have taken a different course. Because I was weak, I couldn't do anything and died just like that.' thought Ria.

"Furthermore, you are already a full-grown young a.d.u.l.t, an age where tears are very rare. Come on, stop crying. Honestly, if someone were to look at this, they might think I'm your older sister or something."

"I-I'm not crying! Dust just got in my eyes, that's all!"

"Yes, yes."

Honestly, it doesn't feel like she just came back to life. Rather than that magical sort of awakening, it feels more like she just awoke from a long and peaceful sleep instead. The pain and exhaustion that she suffered back then all have disappeared, which caused her to doubt whether everything around her is real. It really feels like waking up from a dream.

A few minutes passed, Sheila finally calmed down for a bit. Currently, she was laying her head on top of Ria's t.h.i.g.h while informing the latter of the information she gained from the dead Rodrick. During the torturing session, she also had the time to analyzed the crimson gem for a bit. She was surprised to find that small little thing to be so wicked that if one wants to surpass their body's limit, they have to pay with their lifespan as the price. 

No wonder Rodrick appeared as if he had aged excessively once his berserker state calmed down. She had thought it was because of the torturing she did to him that brought such a change to him, however, her guess was off the mark. 

"The Church? Did he tell you which church it was? After all, there are countless religions out there."

Sheila shook her head while it was stroked by Ria. 

"Perhaps, they didn't tell him, or he didn't go out of his way to get the information. Either way, that's all he knows. First of all, we will look into the famous ones before going onto a smaller scale. Though the time it takes might be greater, it is better than looking around in lost."

Ria nodded her head approvingly before saying, "That's wise. So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to leave this place and catch up with them? As far as the time difference goes, they should still be in school at the moment."

"Yes, I have to. It would leave a bad aftertaste if I ignore this, after all." 

With that said, Sheila slowly got up on her feet while brushing the dirt off her pants. Though the time passed very slow in the Trial Tower, every little second count. If she were to miss them now, there would definitely be a whole lot of problems waiting for her in the future. No matter which choices she picks, there would definitely be problems at the end of it. Nonetheless, she could still delay them for a while. If she could do that and use the time to grind level, she would be a lot more prepared to face them by then.

"You're too kind," Said Ria with a radiant smile on her face. Sheila shrugged off her shoulders in response to her words. 

"Are you going to stay here, or could you help me explaining stuff to Yuna in my place?"

"So, you ended up bringing her inside," 

Said Ria, followed by a sigh.

"I've got no choice. It's definitely not because I don't want to waste more of my expense that I decided to go with an easy choice, definitely not."

In the system's shop, there are many kinds of items, be it rare, legendary, or mythical, everything is there. However, the price also increased along with the rarity. Because most item that she found useful is pretty high for a price, she was pretty hesitant on wasting her expense unless necessary. Though she won't admit being an addict, she spent most of her gold on the gacha system instead. 

"Sigh, Alright. She's probably confused there and must be hungry since she had stayed for a couple of hours by now. You stock some food in your inventory, right?"

"Of course. Will this be enough?"

With just a snap of her finger, some of the food she saved up in her inventory was then smoothly delivered into Ria's inventory. Although both of them are technically an 'inventory', they are not the same. As the host of the system, obviously, her privileges are much better than the one given to them like Ria. To make it easier to understand, within Ria's inventory, the time didn't freeze or stop like Sheila's. And it didn't have infinite storage either.

Looking at the transferred pilled of food in her inventory, Ria nodded her head in affirmation. 

"Then, I'll see you later." 

With that said, both of them disappeared at the same time from their spot as Ria was then teleported right next to the exhausted Yuna on the ground, meanwhile, Sheila's figure materialized in the real world. Once she was sure no one was around on the scene, Sheila quickly jumped out of her shadow before taking the stairs leading up to the second floor. 

From what Rodrick said, they were planning on kidnapping people for their experimental subjects. Yes, it was for that forbidden act. She had thought she heard it wrong, however, the prove had shown itself before her. For a failure subject, they can't go beyond their limit like Rodrick. Furthermore, they do not live long, only around 30 years' worth of lifespan the moment they become the subject.

As for a 'successful product' like Rodrick, their lifespan remained the same, however, their body is much tougher than average. No, they are in an entire league of their own. A failure could never reach the same height as them. Though it was already quite good, it seems that the 'Mad Scientist' thought otherwise. When asked, he/she answered that it is nowhere near his/her initial target. 

Rodrick didn't know where did this 'Mad Scientist' came from, however, he did know that the Church is backing him/her up. Also, it was the work of him/her that saved him from dying under the falling debris. If Rodrick didn't wear the artifact gifted to him at that time, he would have gone to hell by then. 'So it's actually an artifact, huh.' thought Sheila. 

She wanted to think deeper about it, but it doesn't seem like the situation permit her. When she comes to her sense, she already arrived at her destination. 

The classroom which is supposedly noisy during a normal day, however now seems to be eerily silent. Without a second thought, she quickly slides the door of the classroom open.