Cyberpunk Hospitals and the Price of Charity
A day had passed since Amon, the ever-charitable one, had brought his party members to the hospital. The four of them were split into separate single rooms—four in total. It wasn't because Amon was a premium customer getting special treatment, nor was it some ploy to squeeze extra cash out of him. America just didn't do multi-bed rooms. That meant Amon, stuck playing nurse, had to bounce between all four rooms.
The first to recover was the blue-haired Hail. Losing an arm was still a serious injury in this world, but not life-threatening. Stop the bleeding, slap on a mechanical arm, done. Hail had been using a cyberarm for his machine gun anyway, so no rejection issues.
Next up was Tori regaining consciousness. Her eyes were already cybernetic originals, so swapping in a new one was no big deal. Fully revived after just a day, the two wasted no time checking out and pitching in to help Amon care for the rest.
On the second day of hospitalization, surprisingly, the yellow-haired Even woke up before the mage Paul.
"Whoopsie-daisy!"
His healthy bounce out of bed put everyone's minds at ease.
"Yo, I had the sickest dream!"
Hearing him spout nonsense right away made him seem fine. But Even wasn't fully back yet.
"Huh? No feeling down below."
The moment he said that, everyone's faces froze. They rushed to call the doctor.
The doc strolled in with a stethoscope around his neck and immediately ran tests on Even's body. The diagnosis?
"Uh... the short circuit hit a really bad spot."
"What does that mean, Doc?"
"I was gonna wait till you were more stable... sigh. Listen up. You'll never use your lower body again."
"What?! Hey, Doc!! What the hell does that mean?! No way! Me, impotent?!!"
Yellow-haired Even started freaking out. His party members' faces turned grave. Lower-body paralysis wasn't just the end of his adventurer life. He'd never control his bowels or bladder again. Worse, he'd never pass on his genes the natural way. Artificial insemination was an option, but good luck finding a woman willing to date a paraplegic first.
The party couldn't hide their dismay at Even's screams.
"Uwaaaah!!"
His wails filled the room. But one person in there wasn't pitying him.
"Calm down, patient."
The doctor. He knew Even's condition inside out but could only deliver the news coolly and calmly.
Even's face flushed red as he yelled.
"You think I look calm?!"
Tears welled in his eyes. But the doc's expression didn't budge. Just as Even was about to call him a psychopath, the doctor spoke again.
"You psycho—"
"Patient. Calm down. Keep raging and the bleeding restarts. Then even the junk we saved could die."
"...What're you saying?"
"Your lower nerves are mostly toast, but we saved the groin nerve bundle."
According to the doc's explanation, those nerves handled bowel/bladder control and sexual function. Even's face lit up in shock.
"N-No way."
"You won't be running anytime soon. But with rehab and leg implants, walking's possible down the line."
"So I'm not impotent?"
"Not yet. But keep getting worked up and you might be."
Even's screams stopped. He wiped his tears and thanked the doctor in a gentlemanly baritone uncharacteristic of his yellow-haired self.
"Thanks, God Doc."
This wasn't just any doctor anymore. This guy was a deity. The doc pursed his lips and nodded like it was obvious—confidence worth every penny.
Before leaving, he asked Even in a playful tone.
"Oh yeah, you were about to say something to me. What was it... 'You psycho'?"
"—I'll make a five-line acrostic poem for you."
Everyone burst out laughing.
A week into the hospital stay, Paul still hadn't woken. His vitals were stable—heart rate, blood pressure, all good—but consciousness wouldn't return. Not just his lover Tori, but the whole party waited outside his room, praying.
Just as they sat there hopelessly...
"Ugh... ungh..."
"Paul? Paul!"
A sound from Paul, silent for a week. Tori bolted to him first. As the team hugged him and filled the room with tears, Amon slipped out to handle discharge paperwork.
Checking the receipt, he froze on the spot.
'Billions...'
'Aigoo...' He'd braced for high costs saving four lives, but facing it was daunting. Payment wasn't the issue—he had savings, and his passive income covered basics without breathing hard. But paying this would mortgage his future. If he or Sonia ever ended up here? Instant bankruptcy. No savings alone bred anxiety. Plus, no upgrades or essences for months.
'Fuck. Pouring my life savings into strangers?'
Even for charity-driven, conviction-fueled Amon, swiping that card again felt too much.
'This ain't right... ain't right...'
He rubbed his brow, lost in thought. The billing clerk eyed him suspiciously.
"Um, sir? Payment issues?"
"Got the money. Just thinking. Gimme a sec."
He snapped sharper than intended, then kept agonizing. Finally, he handed over his card, voice strained.
"Installments... possible?"
"Yes, guardian. Full or half?"
"...Half."
"Got it. Thanks. Pay tomorrow at discharge."
"Yeah..."
Face twisted, he turned and trudged back, hollow and self-loathing.
'You gullible idiot. Give it all away. Your own nose is crumbling and you're playing saint. Dumbass!!'
On the way, he headbanged solo, trembled in the elevator, even debated turning back.
'Tell 'em to cover their own.'
But he didn't. Might as well keep the pose now. He spent five minutes kneading his cheeks into a neutral expression before entering Paul's room.
"Phew... congrats, Paul. Told billing—discharge tomorrow."
"Huh...? The bill?"
"I paid."
"You called D4C too?"
"Yeah. Covered that."
"No... that's..."
The room grew heavier. The party hung their heads in shame. Even the mood-maker yellow-hair knew the sum and stayed quiet. No jokes from emotionless blue-hair Hail or hearty Tori. No one could meet Amon's eyes.
In the silence, Paul furrowed his brow briefly, then relaxed.
"Amon. Sorry, but can we talk alone? Step out a bit?"
Perfect timing—Amon hated the vibe anyway. He gratefully exited.
Ten minutes of pacing later, the door opened.
"Talk's done. Come in."
Amon re-entered through Tori's held door. First thing he saw: a purple orb in Paul's hand.
"??"
No way. This vibe...
"Here."
Paul offered the essence. Amon blinked blankly. Tori shoved his back to make him take it gingerly.
"This is..."
"Unique-grade essence. From the mid-boss we dropped."
"No... but..."
Amon stammered. He'd been half-blind in the boss room, never dreamed they'd score it. True gamer that he was, holding it made his heart race.
'No, calm down, idiot. Don't know the effect yet.'
Effect mattered over rank. Legendary Snooze Fest? Pass. Normal First hit shocks enemy? Premium price. Variables over raw power.
Thus, this Unique was...
"It's Sky Step."
"!!!!"
Amon's eyes bulged. Sky Step? His jaw dropped.
Simple effect: [Step in midair.]
Double jump, basically.
'What the...'
Horror lit his face. Seemed basic, but versatility crushed all. Reach unreachable spots, dodge undodgeables, ambush from nowhere. No hovering like flight, recharges on ground contact—but still top-tier. Flight detectable; double jumps? Nah. Tier list? Zero-tier. Human right.
Normal double-jump beat legendaries. And this? Unique-grade.
"Insane..."
A curse slipped out. Sky Step scaled: shorter cooldowns, more steps per rank. Normal: 10s double. Above Normal: 5s. Rare: ground reset. Unique...
'Triple jump...!'
His hands shook. Auction this? Five times his hospital bill easy.
'Charity coin mooning!!!'
He got crypto addicts now. Dopamine unmatched.
"Lord...!!"
Overwhelmed, it burst out. The room erupted in laughter.
"Calling the Goddess even now?!"
"Got it. We'll tithe at church later."
"Aigoo. Can't with you."
Amon realized his greed-fest. Essence in hand, reason fled.
"Uh... sorry..."
"It's fine. Yours now. We're retiring from adventuring anyway."
"...Huh?"
"We look okay, but implants hit tolerance limit post-this mess. Push more? Implant schizo incoming."
"Ah..."
Implant schizo. Amon shut up. Body mods had mental limits; exceed and you snap—like the mad gorilla he'd fought. Each member's replacements teetered on the edge.
Greed here? Gorilla 2.0. Tolerance was gut-feel, but they had experience.
"You feel it?"
"Meditation, introspection, experience."
Unexplainable hunch. Amon's eyes flicked between essence and Paul. Wanted to say "retirement fund," but handing back triple jump? Heartbreak.
Paul read his face and shoved.
"We're going merc gear supply anyway. Guilty? Use it and shill our stuff."
Amon leaned on the kindness.
"Thanks."
He crushed the essence. Purple particles absorbed into his feet.
'???'
Should've gone to gear, but body ate it.
'What gives?'
Still, triple jump manual loaded in his head fine. Party missed his fluster, assuming gear absorb, and cheered.
"Go legendary!"
Even's cheer snapped him back. Body absorb beat gear anyway. Good enough—he dropped it.
Then it hit him.
"Right. Be back."
"Why?"
"Pizza."
"Uh... okay..."
They let him go. Before pizza run, detour to billing.
"Love ya, guardian. Help?"
"That installment? Change to lump sum?"
"Yep. No payment yet."
"Lump sum, please."
Card out eagerly now. Zero-tier essence? This bill's chump change. Clerk tilted head at his grin.
'Lotto win?'
Not wrong. She swiped. Billions gone—Amon still beaming. Card back, he asked,
"Pizza in rooms okay?"
"Patient rooms, yes."
"Thanks a bunch."
Straight to pizza. Hour later,
"Party time!"
The impromptu pizza fest raged till discharge next day.