AI Doctor : From Slave to Beast King

"Do you have something to cover yourself with?" Damien asked. "I know the treatment for this but it will take a few minutes." Fortunately, he had stocked up the herbs before leaving the town or else Xavier would have scratched himself until he bled to death.

Xavier scowled. Most probably he wanted to say something along the lines of —It is your damn fault that I am suffering like this. But fortunately for Damien, Xavier's itching must be truly bad because he didn't say a word.

Instead what he did was to take out a piece of balaclava from his space ring.

"A balaclava? You will end up getting roasted in that thing," Damien said as he walked over to a small rock that was protruding out of the ground.

"It is the only thing that I have at the moment," said Xavier in a clipped voice. "It is magically enchanted to repel water, ice and everything that comes in my way."

"We can only hope that it also repels these winds without turning you into a steamed wolf, eh?" remarked Damien as he took out the leaves which were white as snow from his space ring along with a mortar and pestle. He ignored the glare that Xavier aimed at him.

'I hope that I activate the processing skill as soon as possible. It's seriously so uncool to do this every time,' he thought as he poured a good deal of the Ivory leaves inside the mortar before adding the slime of C-rank Snail Beast.

It cost a fortune to him but fortunately, Lord Gilderoy kept his promise and sent him the reward as promised.

With his hands working deftly, the cream was ready to be applied very soon.

"Here," Damien said as he pushed the mortar to Xavier who took it and gingerly applied the cream on his face and arm. It must have worked because the cream disappeared very soon.

Xavier took off the balaclava, he was sweating buckets of sweat but at least he was now welt-free.

"What will you do without me?" Damien asked smugly and the man simply glanced at him before saying, "I am in this situation because of you and your stupid heroic spirit, Lord Damien."

Damien: "…"

"Alright, if you are done then—" Damien was still speaking when he felt something lick his hand. Startled, he let out a scream, "The beast is here!"

His fingers pulled the dagger from its sheath as he turned to stab the very thing that was attacking him from behind.

He was going to go big or go home but —

"A rabbit?"

The rabbit was shivering as he covered his long ears with his paws. The wings behind him fluttered and shivered along with his little arms and legs.

"Pfft."

Even though Xavier didn't say anything, Damien could feel his face getting warm in embarrassment and humiliation. Of for the —

"Host, your heartbeat has increased by forty-five per cent," remarked Dan to add insult to his injury. "It seems like you are in danger of heart failure."

"Shut up."

"But your heart rate is really high, host. If you don't calm down, then you will end up fainting," Dan continued with an expression of 'I am doing this for your good.'

"I am not going to faint —it's just a little thing…"

Before he could finish, Dan continued speaking, "From the host's experience and memories. This feeling is quite similar to the time when you stepped on the tail of the dog and it chased you until you climbed up the trunk of a tree."

"You remained stuck there for three hours."

"Hmm from the collected information, this is called fear."

And if an AI system could give him a stinky eye, Dan surely did.

"I got worried for no reason."

"Shut up, for your information, I was six back then," countered Damien. "Anyone would be scared of a dog that was bigger than them. And this rabbit startled me, I am not scared just surprised."

"But your heart rate—"

"Shut up before I mute you," Damien threatened the 3D hologram.

Dan studied him for three seconds before —

"Heh."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Damien questioned angrily.

Dan opened his mouth to say something when—

"My lord, can you help me?"

Damien turned to look at Xavier with his brows furrowed. Since when did he start to talk in that squeaky voice?

Xavier shook his head and pointed at the rabbit who was shivering on the boulder.

"Are you saying that a rabbit just spoke?" Damien thought that Xavier was pulling his leg until —

"My lord, do you have something that can help my foot?" Damien heard the rabbit speak again.

He turned and looked at the rabbit with a tiny horn on his head before asking, "You want me to help you with your foot?"

"That's right, my lord. Didn't you help this beastman just now? I think you can help me just fine," said the rabbit.

Damien felt like he was dreaming, he knew that there were beastmen in this world and super ugly beasts on top of that and they had never surprised him as much as a talking rabbit did.

"You—you can talk? Are you a beastman?" Damien asked while eyeing the rabbit who turned affronted.

"Aye sir, what do you mean by comparing me with a beastman? I am more noble than them," said the rabbit with a haughty sniff. "I can carry objects as heavy as you. I can also fly and then there is also my skill," he snapped his fingers and a small girl the size of Damien's paw appeared out of nowhere.

"The spirit realm, Clymine," said Xavier as he turned to look at the rabbit. "You are one of the steads."

"Steed? Like the horse?"

"No, lord Damien," Xavier shook his head. "Steads are magical beings. Like elves, goblins and ghouls. They have a magic of their own, and like those beings, they stay away from the beastmen."

He glanced at the little rabbit before saying, "I have heard about them but this is my first time seeing one as they never appear alone. Especially not out of their territory."