The second chance of the uncrowned king - (Isekai)

The sight of my brother sitting there in the sunlight with no arm left me completely blank. Why haven't they healed him? What happened for him to end up like this? Does my family even know?

"Hello, Maki." His voice doesn't sound sad, and to my surprise he even looks cheerful. "This? It's nothing important." With his right hand, he points toward the empty space where his left arm should be. He's missing everything from midway between the shoulder and the elbow. Did he just say it's nothing? Is he insane?

I activate my Thundersnow to calm my nerves a little. "Nothing? What are you talking about? You're missing an arm. Do my parents or grandmother know about this?" I still can't fully process the situation. I knew he would be returning soon, but I never expected to see my brother missing an arm.

"Calm down a little, come sit and let's talk." He gestures toward a chair in front of him. I follow his advice and sit down, trying to settle myself enough to have a proper conversation. It won't help either of us if I stay this agitated.

"This happened during my final graduation exam at the academy." He touches his shoulder with his remaining hand. "The dungeon we entered had apparently been tampered with from outside, causing minor shifts in the test dungeon. The monsters inside had been strengthened and caught us by surprise." I stay silent, listening closely.

"At first, we managed to escape unharmed. The real problem came as the days went on. We slowly ran out of food, exhaustion built up, our teamwork faltered, and at times our morale sank to rock bottom." My brother lets out a sound of regret as he recounts his story.

"We had already lost one companion to the monsters' ambushes. They didn't care about their own survival; they only wanted to destroy us. That's the only reason we managed to survive nearly a month inside that dungeon, though each day that passed drained our hope further." A whole month trapped in a dungeon? That's a long time. Why didn't they use the platform?

He must have read my face. "We tried, we couldn't. The platform had been blocked. We concluded it could only be reactivated by killing the leader or by someone from outside. Around the tenth day, one of the two generals joined the attacks. We managed to survive and even injure him, but we didn't come out unscathed." His gaze falls to his missing arm. "My role as a tank is important. I lost my arm, and my cubo was injured in that battle."

"Fortunately, the wounds to my cubo weren't too serious and healed over time. The real problem was my arm, which couldn't regenerate because we lacked effective potions. It stayed that way until the very end." He pauses for a moment, giving me the chance to ask.

"Why didn't they heal it once you got out?" My question makes him smile faintly.

"Let me finish. You can ask everything at the end." My brother has changed so much. He used to be cheerful, carefree, focused only on fighting and training. These years—and this incident—have definitely matured him.

"We couldn't defeat the generals or the leader, but one day our scout managed to sneak out and discovered the platform had been reactivated. We planned a desperate assault on the monsters near the platform, broke through the encirclement, and barely escaped. A few others in my group also lost parts of their bodies." His voice grows heavier, slower with each word.

"To our surprise, outside only three days had passed. The academy staff found it strange that we hadn't returned after two days. When they checked the dungeon, they discovered the anomaly. It took them a full day to fix it and restart the platform." Just three days? Then it was one of those rare cases where time flowed differently inside.

"We were rushed to the infirmary. Most of my team fully recovered. Only my leader and I stayed like this. He lost an eye, and I lost an arm." Before I could ask why they hadn't healed them, he anticipated it.

"Our cubos were already fully healed by then. Healing an arm or an eye isn't that simple. The academy director is a Diamond-rank healer. He explained that in order to heal us, he would need to deliberately break our cubo in specific places, heal our bodies, and then perfectly heal our cubo so we wouldn't be left with permanent consequences." Even a Diamond-rank healer couldn't do it? Then neither I nor even Gase could…

"It's an extremely complicated procedure. If our bodies can't withstand the stress of breaking the cubo, or if the healer isn't skilled enough, we could end up in an even worse condition. So, we chose to live like this instead." His trademark confident smile is still there, though it carries a different weight now.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"I'm really sorry for your fallen comrade, for your wound, and for your leader's injury, brother." His smile widens at my words.

"Don't worry, brother. There's nothing for you to apologize for. It's not your fault. It's something already in the past." With his only arm, he pats my shoulder before pulling it back after a few seconds.

"So… you'll stay like this your whole life?" I can't help but imagine what my own life would be like with just one arm. I'd probably be in the same situation if I didn't have Vital Synthesis. And I didn't realize being a healer was so difficult… I've only ever treated myself, and the one time I tried to help someone else, they were already on the brink of death and couldn't be saved.

"Not necessarily." His words make my eyes widen. "If I reach at least Intermediate or Advanced Ruby rank and improve my estandarte…" He pauses for a moment, then laughs.

"If you understand, it means you've already obtained yours. Well… once I raise my rank and improve my estandarte, my cubo will strengthen and gain some regenerative power. Then the operation won't be as risky, and I might regain my arm."

"Intermediate Ruby rank at the very least. You'll get there, Sers, and you'll recover your arm." I put on my best smile to show him my support. If he needs anything in the future, I'll do everything I can to help.

"Yeah… for now I'm working on something to compensate." He forms an electric construct over his missing arm. After a few seconds, it solidifies into a rudimentary shield of condensed electricity, very close to his body. "It's rough and needs a lot of improvement. I never focused on this kind of construct before, so it'll take time. Maybe now I can dedicate myself to it while I'm here."

I nod at his answer. Sers always focused on using his axe like our father, infusing it with electricity to enhance his strikes, speed, and strength. His long-range attacks were nearly nonexistent, and his mid-range was mediocre. Now, with this new situation, he has a chance to develop something new.

"Now let's talk about you. Grandmother and our parents didn't want to tell me much about how your life's been going." His usual smile returns, as if his missing arm were no big deal. "I can see things are going well—you're already a Sapphire and even have an estandarte. Wouldn't surprise me if you're stronger than me." I answer with a confident smile and a playful wink.

"Maybe I am." I say jokingly, though Sers takes it seriously. Every word and gesture of his shows how much he's matured over these years, maybe because of that incident. "Just kidding. I've only just become Sapphire, and I still need to adapt to this new body and its functions."

"It's not a joke, Maki. You are stronger. I have a skill that has saved my life many times, because it lets me 'know' when an enemy is far stronger than me. When I activate it on you, I feel my chances of victory are nearly nonexistent." What a useful skill! It must be tied to his battle sense and experience. I'll ask him more about it later.

"Curious? I'll tell you later. First, tell me how things have been for you. I've heard you've got three girlfriends, you've been through Hero dungeons, you've won a tournament, and a lot more. Tell me everything." All of it's true, but who's spreading the three girlfriends part? Probably my grandmother.

I start from when I disappeared during the rookie tournament years ago. Since he's my brother, I tell him exactly what I told our parents and grandmother. I don't know how many hours passed. When I began, the sun wasn't even halfway across the sky, and now it's already night, with my whole family likely returning soon. Thanks to the cooks sending food and drinks, we kept talking without pause. I only stopped whenever I sensed my family approaching.

"And here I thought my life was exciting. Yours is on another level, Maki. I can't believe all of that has happened to you in just a few years, and how you've managed to overcome every challenge. You're playing this game on a whole different level—and winning it." Sers looks genuinely happy as he listens to my story. "Your ridiculously trained skills, mana and Imra control, and that massive mana pool are all far above mine. That's why my ability screams danger when I measure your strength." He strokes Glia with his one hand as she curls up and dozes off in his lap.

"And now you even have three girlfriends." No matter how many times I tell him nothing's official yet, he keeps insisting. "At least I'm not left behind in that. I'm seeing the daughter of a Knight who's also part of my team." That revelation from my brother surprises me.

His smile shines brighter than ever. "My arm was a small sacrifice for her. She should arrive any day now. I hope you get to meet her before you leave." That's when I suddenly realize—I never asked how long I'd been unconscious while advancing to Sapphire. Before that, I congratulate him on finding someone special.

"Sers, what day is it?" Classes are supposed to start on the first day of the first week of the eighth month.

"It's the sixteenth day of the seventh month. You were unconscious for a little over two weeks, if that's what you're asking." I let out a sigh of relief. "That's unusual. Normally advancing to Sapphire takes between five and ten days." I hadn't noticed either—it took me much longer than usual. Another thing I'll have to ask my parents or grandmother about later.

I kept talking with my brother until the rest of my family returned, joining the conversation. Everyone looked so happy to see me awake again after so many days of waiting.