Bang!
A dull thud shattered the afternoon tranquility of the Benevolent Heart Clinic.
This was followed by the crisp sound of trees snapping and the noise of a heavy object rolling across the ground.
"Was that an earthquake?"
Elizabeth, who was currently "catching bugs" in the ledgers behind the counter (actually just dozing off), snapped her head up. Her long red hair frizzed slightly from static electricity.
"Doesn't feel like an earthquake."
Victor held a cup of freshly prepared "calcium-supplementing milk tea," about to feed it to Mia, who was still in her growing phase.
He frowned and looked out the window.
"From the sound of it, it seems like some large object collided with something hard at high speed... A traffic accident?"
Bang!!
Another loud crash echoed.
This time the sound was much closer, right outside the left perimeter wall of the clinic.
Even a few fragments of the solid obsidian wall were shaken loose.
"This is outrageous!"
Victor set down the cup, his expression darkening.
"I just had that wall repaired! It's not even out of the warranty period yet!"
"Roadhog! Come with me! Let's see which blind idiot dares to hit and run on my turf!"
"Roar—! (Coming right now!)"
Roadhog, the stitched abomination who was polishing his iron hook in the corner, let out a simple-minded roar.
He took heavy strides, making the floor tremble with every step as he trotted out behind Victor.
...
Outside the clinic, mist swirled.
As soon as Victor stepped out, he witnessed a scene that was both ridiculous and pitiable.
In the woods less than fifty meters from the gate, a knight clad in pitch-black heavy armor was riding a skeletal warhorse wreathed in ghost fire. In the forest, he was...
Playing bumper cars.
Literally, bumper cars.
The knight was tall and imposing, his armor finely crafted. He carried a long-handled great blade that radiated a bone-chilling aura of death, looking majestic and intimidating.
But that majesty lasted for less than three seconds.
"Hah!"
The knight jerked the reins. The skeletal horse let out a neigh, its four hooves catching the wind as it surged forward like a bolt of black lightning.
However.
Its sense of direction seemed to have a serious problem.
A wide road lay right in front of it, yet the knight suddenly yanked the reins at the last second, even giving the horse's belly a hard kick.
Caught off guard by this suicidal command, the skeletal horse let out a sorrowful cry and crashed head-on into a towering ancient tree.
Boom!
The tree, as thick as two men's embrace, snapped in half.
The knight and horse rolled across the ground three times, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"..."
Victor adjusted his non-existent glasses, staring in disbelief.
This maneuver...
Just how much fake liquor did he have to drink to ride like that?
"Roar? (Is he blind?)"
Beside him, Roadhog scratched his stitched-together head, posing a soul-searching question.
"No, that's not it."
Victor narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the knight as he climbed up from the ground.
Despite the nasty fall, the knight's physical constitution was clearly exceptional. He brushed the dirt off his armor as if nothing had happened, flipped back onto his horse, and prepared for the next round of "suicidal charges."
But most importantly...
Victor noticed a terrifying detail.
On the knight's shoulders...
There was nothing.
No head.
He was a literal "headless" rider.
There was a smooth cut at his neck, wreathed in a cluster of black mist, with no blood flowing out.
"Oh, so he's a person with a disability."
Realization dawned on Victor. Then, his occupational habit kicked in, and he habitually cast 【True Sight Eye】.
【Target: Headless Rider (Dullahan Race · Rare Elite)】
【Danger Level: A+ (Main danger stems from its unpredictable movement trajectories)】
【Pathological Diagnosis Report:】
1. Severe Orientation Disorder: Due to the lack of a head (absence of visual, auditory, and vestibular balance systems), the subject is unable to perceive the external environment. It can only move based on weak soul perception, frequently resulting in behaviors such as hitting trees, crashing into walls, or even falling into ditches.
2. Separation Anxiety Disorder (Severe): Has lost its most beloved head, leading to a state of extreme agitation, panic, and self-doubt.
3. Compulsive Searching Behavior: It is frantically searching for its head; any object blocking its path is viewed as an obstacle.
【Comprehensive Evaluation: A poor, lost child who can't find his way home because he lost his brain.】
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Looking at this diagnosis report, the wariness in Victor's eyes instantly turned into deep sympathy.
How tragic.
Truly tragic.
This was like someone forgetting their phone when they left the house, except this guy had forgotten his entire head.
How was he supposed to function?
Bang!!
While Victor was reading the medical record, the headless rider successfully embedded himself into a massive rock once again.
The skeletal warhorse had completely given up, lying on the ground foaming at the mouth (though it didn't actually have saliva), refusing to get up no matter what.
Too embarrassing for a horse.
Following such a master was simply the shame of its life.
The headless rider crawled out of the rock pile. Though his expression couldn't be seen, his actions—frantically spinning in place and even feeling the stones on the ground with his hands—still radiated a thick sense of despair and helplessness.
He was looking for his head.
He was groping around frantically, trying to find that head of his among the rubble and weeds.
But all he touched were cold stones and thorny brambles.
"Sigh..."
Victor let out a sigh.
A doctor must have a benevolent heart.
Seeing a patient with such physical tenacity, someone who was literally bashing himself bloody just to find himself, how could he stand by and do nothing?
"Roadhog, go. Stop him."
Victor instructed.
"Don't hurt him. This is a rare case."
"Roar! (Leave it to me!)"
Roadhog pounded his chest excitedly and charged out like a heavy tank.
Though the headless rider lacked a head, his combat instincts remained. Sensing a massive entity approaching, he immediately stopped his searching. The great blade in his hand swept out violently, carrying a crescent-shaped wave of black blade qi.
Clang—!
A massive boom echoed.
The blade struck Roadhog's metallic claws—fused from five longswords—sending sparks flying everywhere.
Roadhog didn't budge an inch. Instead, the headless rider was knocked back several steps by the recoil.
Before he could steady himself, Roadhog's massive left hand snatched his shoulder like grabbing a chick and pinned him firmly to the ground.
"Roar! (Don't move! The doctor is here!)"
Roadhog let out a loud roar, the sound making the headless rider tremble all over.
Victor walked up to the pinned headless rider with an elegant stride.
He crouched down, looking at the headless torso that was still struggling, trying to scratch at Roadhog with its hands.
"Hey, big guy, calm down."
Victor's voice was gentle and magnetic, carrying a convincing power.
"I am the doctor here."
"I see your foreh—oh, wait, I see your neck is looking a bit dark. Do you have something on your mind?"
The headless rider stopped struggling.
Though he had no ears, he could "hear" Victor's words through soul fluctuations.
He slowly raised a hand encased in a black iron gauntlet and pointed at his empty neck.
Then, he spread both hands in a gesture of extreme helplessness and profound sadness.
It meant: My head is lost.
"I know, I know."
Victor patted his shoulder, his tone full of understanding and sympathy.
"Your head fell off. It's not that big of a deal."
"In these chaotic times, who hasn't lost something? Some lose money, some lose their conscience. You've only lost a head; you're not the most pitiable one."
Headless Rider: "..."
He felt offended, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
"You want to find your head, right?"
Victor asked.
The headless rider nodded frantically (though it was just his neck swaying).
"However..."
Victor stood up and surveyed the vast forest and mist surrounding them, ruthlessly shattering the rider's fantasy.
"To be honest."
"In this forest, there are not only ghouls that eat carrion but also wild dogs that love gnawing on bones, along with all sorts of miscellaneous scavengers."
"Your head... unless it just fell off, I'm afraid it's already..."
Victor didn't finish the sentence.
But the meaning was clear.
If the head was made of flesh, it was likely already manure. If it was made of bone, it had probably been ground into powder.
The headless rider's body froze instantly.
An emotion called "despair" radiated from him, so thick it almost felt physical.
He knelt on the ground, hands clutching the air (pretending to hold his head), his entire body shaking violently as if he were weeping silently.
That was his most handsome head!
That was his glory as a knight!
Without a head, how was he supposed to see the road? How was he supposed to scare people? How was he supposed to make a living in the undead world?
Seeing this A-rank powerhouse crying like a two-hundred-pound child, Victor felt a bit bad for him.
"Ahem."
He cleared his throat, a mysterious smile appearing on his face—the kind a salesman wears right before pulling out his top-tier product.
"While the original can't be found..."
Victor leaned down and whispered into the headless rider's "ear" with a voice full of temptation:
"Since the old one is gone, why not consider... getting a new one?"
"A... new one?"
The headless rider stopped moving.
He seemed to have never considered this possibility.
A head... can be replaced?
"Of course."
Victor snapped his fingers, his eyes gleaming with the light of "science."
"Our Benevolent Heart Clinic recently brought in a batch of high-tech equipment specifically for prosthetic customization services."
"Not only can we make you a head..."
"But it will be a fully upgraded, more functional, and cooler-looking—"
"Mechanical head!"
Victor pulled a blueprint from his coat (it was actually a component diagram he had spotted in the system shop).
"It comes with built-in thermal imaging night vision, so you'll never have to worry about hitting trees at night again!"
"A built-in GPS navigation system, so your mother never has to worry about you getting lost!"
"And an all-around surround sound system, so you can have your own BGM when you make an appearance. It'll maximize your style!"
"Well?"
Victor looked at the completely stunned headless rider and reached out his hand.
"Want to... give it a try?"
"Though it's a paid service, seeing how miserable you are, I can give you a discount."
"Or..."
Victor glanced at Roadhog's massive frame and smiled like a devil.
"You could sign an 'indentured servitude contract' like him?"
Rate on N.U.
