05 — Substance X and Something New

Adventurer’s Guild - Healer’s Guild - Luciel

Occupation: Offering free healing services to adventurers.

Hobbies: Training and sparring.

Personality: Mild-mannered, hard-working, masochistic, defective tongue, shut-in.

This was how the adventurers saw me three months into my life since joining the guild. My job was saving lives with the Heal spell and, more recently, Cure as well. As for my listed hobbies, those were based on how often I worked on combat with Coach Brod.

“Training and sparring? I’m sensing a misunderstanding here, but oh well.”

Working out and sparring were just parts of my daily routine at this point, and Brod was the one who decided on the schedule, so I couldn’t do much about how it looked from the outside.

My inability to land a single blow drove me mad. Motivation wasn’t an issue, since he’d started actually complimenting me lately, but still. Other things that kept me going during this time were my three meals a day, my bed, and the recent gifts of clothes and such that I’d been receiving. It was quite the positive work environment. I was getting along well enough to have conversations with women, but not so well that any of them offered their own presents. And my eyes were sweating again...

Now, about that “mild-mannered” part of my personality. There was something to this that they just weren’t getting. Think about it... Who in their right mind would go acting all pompous towards the bigger fish? Try it and see if you don’t get swallowed whole.

Thankfully, I passed my days in peace without any adventurers attempting to rough me up. There had actually been one who’d come at me saying that I needed to prioritize who I treated, before Brod and some others dragged him off somewhere. Needless to say, I had never expected that to happen. Still, many adventurers mistook me for an employee, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone jumping me within the guild’s walls. I’d once been spotted wearing a guild uniform for fun, which only added to the misunderstanding.

At any rate, I had healed plenty of adventurers. I wasn’t too worried about getting into trouble, and even if I did, I was sure that someone would come and save my hide. That was one less source of anxiety, at least.

“Apparently, they say I’m a hard worker because of how hard I train every day, but I’m only doing it to get stronger. Is that weird?”

I let that little bit of nerves take over, but only for a moment. There were mercenaries in this world, not just adventurers, who strutted around in full combat gear. If I didn’t learn how to defend myself, I’d be buying a one-way ticket to the afterlife should worst come to worst.

Training makes perfect sense, I convinced myself. “Still...”

“You say somethin’, Luciel?” Gulgar tilted his head at me.

“According to my reputation around the guild lately, I’m a ‘masochist with a defective tongue.’ And that ‘defective tongue’ part is one hundred percent thanks to that hideous stuff you make me drink with every meal.”

“I bet. You never cease to amaze me.” He shot me a thumbs-up and a grin, but I was not entertained.

“Rather than praise me, would you mind doing something about the taste?”

“I’ll think about it. But y’know, Luciel, you keep on drinkin’ the X, so you musta noticed the benefits, am I right?”

I grimaced. “You’ve got me there. What is it, even? What’s it made out of?”

Its effects were nothing to sneeze at. I couldn’t help but be curious about what sort of ingredients went into it.

“I dunno the details. Every Adventurer’s Guild’s got a supply, though. Heard the Sage of Time made it.”

“A sage... Wait, hold on, you mean you’ve been making me drink something you don’t know anything about?”

To say I was put off would be an understatement. This was not how trust was built in relationships.

“Yep. It’s not for everyone. Some pass out; beastfolk can’t stand the smell. By the way, every registered adventurer here’s had at least a sip.”

This absolute scoundrel, I thought. Gulgar, however, looked completely innocent and unfazed.

“So, how much do the guild’s stores have?”

“It’s unlimited. Every guild’s got a magical tool that the Sage of Time made. Put magic into it and Substance X comes out.”

Unlimited... I’d been praying and hoping his stock would somehow run dry. But I guess there was no hope of that.

“I get that it’s good for me, but what I don’t understand is why you make me drink it. Any normal person would outright hate you for putting this crap in front of them. Is there some reason I’m getting this very special treatment?”

“There is, but that’s what you call ‘classified.’” He smirked and vanished into the kitchen.

“Well, now I’m even more curious.” I looked at the purple, reeking ooze in the pitcher before me. Official name: Substance X (no, seriously). By some twist of fate, this absolutely rancid beverage held strange benefits. Drinking it, or rather continually drinking it, was practically cheating. It was pretty darn overpowered. You wouldn’t know this without the Assess Mastery skill, though, so I was the only one who’d regularly consumed it these last three months.

Gulgar surely had no idea. Blind belief truly was a double-edged sword. He’d hinted that drinking it would make me stronger, and with the way it heated you up, as if a fire had been lit inside of you, I could see why he would think that. The truth, however, was far more unbelievable.

I’d discovered it purely by coincidence. After my first day of training, I had noticed all sorts of skill increases—including resistances to every status condition, aside from charm, and skills for increased stats growth. I had assumed that was simply because it was my first day, but it was strange how skills related to status conditions had been affected. Then, I remembered Substance X.

The next day, I checked my skills before and after drinking it and confirmed that they had indeed increased again. It was then that I’d decided to drink it after every meal.

“Calling me masochistic and saying that my tongue’s defective is still kind of harsh,” I said to Gulgar when he returned. All I was doing was trying to improve myself. Dubbing it “masochistic” was uncalled for.

“If you can drink that junk, you ain’t normal. And there’s that smile you sometimes crack while Brod’s puttin’ you through the wringer.”

“I do not smile. Anyone who can smile at that demon’s torture has got to have a couple screws loose.”

“Exactly. You’re just not noticing it. And you’re not the first Brod’s taught fightin’ to. There’ve been plenty, and the only ones who kept at it were partial to a certain fetish.” Gulgar looked off into the distance contemplatively.

If I didn’t deny this here and now, there’d be no turning back. “Nope, nu-uh, I’m perfectly normal, thank you. Insult and injury absolutely do not get my rocks off,” I vehemently protested.

“You’re young. I get it. You’re shy.” He gently patted my shoulder.

“You don’t get anything!” I shouted. “I’m going to train.”

“Work hard. And make sure you drink all of that.”

“Chugging this first thing in the morning really sucks, you know?”

“Hey, you’re used to it, ain’tcha?”

“Fair enough.”

I picked up the pitcher, put a hand on my hip, and gulped it all down at once. It was putrid, rank, sickening, yet I swallowed every last drop. A sense of fulfillment bubbled up inside of me.

“See? You’re smilin’,” Gulgar remarked.

I shot him a look, then headed downstairs where Coach Brod was waiting.

My three months with Brod had passed in the blink of an eye and I was finally beginning to feel the progress on some level. I could run for longer, had become more flexible, and could throw more accurately. I still couldn’t lay a finger on my instructor, but I’d built up quite the resistance to his counter-attacks, even if he was still holding back. My Martial Arts skill was now at level two, with Holy Magic sitting just below level four after a full month at level three.

Another thing that I’d noticed about my casting ability was how spell efficacy increased with each level, meaning my Heal casts were far more potent now, no doubt thanks to all of the patients I’d been tending to. No matter how vivid the image in one’s head when one casts a spell, nothing beats hands-on experience. It didn’t take much time at all for my room to turn into a small-scale clinic, what with my new and improved capabilities.

My Martial Arts skill had progressed slower than I’d hoped, but this came as no real shock, nor did it deter me. I wasn’t exactly an experienced fighter. The exceedingly normal rate at which my stats and skills were improving kept me grounded, made me understand that I wasn’t special, and for some reason brought a sense of relief. It made me happy.

Several days after I had returned from the Healer’s Guild, I’d asked some adventurers who’d come in for treatment what they did to get stronger. Most of them had stated, “Defeating monsters,” while others simply had said that “bodybuilding” was the way.

When I brought it up with Brod, he taught me that a person could indeed improve their stats through weight training, even without leveling up. The next day, I got to work, all fired up over the idea, but he immediately put a stop to it.

“Did you listen to a thing I told you? Bodybuilding makes you ‘stronger,’ but only in the most basic sense of the word. It completely throws off your balance. It’s ineffective. Didn’t I tell you to use the time to squeeze in as much combat training as you can?”

“I just wanted to verify it for myself. To see if it was really true.”

“Yeah? I thought you finally broke and got sick of losing. If that ever does happen, go up against some of the other adventurers,” he said with a vicious grin.

I couldn’t tell if that had been meant to rile me up or to pile on the pressure. Either way, a new curiosity—an interest in just how strong the others were—had sparked within me. My fear and the desire to test myself were in brutal conflict, but I suppressed the inner turmoil.

“It improves your stats, though, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right, but stuff like push-ups or sit-ups make it harder to improve flexibility. It’s better to build up that muscle in combat.”

“Understood.”

“Also, just say the word if you ever wanna try sparring with someone else.”

“I will, thanks.”

For several days after that, I continued to devote myself to training, the nervousness roiling inside me. But in the end, nobody came to the training grounds for anything other than healing. I had no options left. I mustered up my courage and petitioned the adventurers I had healed to join me for training, yet I received no positive replies. My utter lack of popularity devastated me, but Brod’s daily drills spared me from losing motivation.

Normally, a person pushing themself to their absolute limit day after day would eventually break them down. Guild staff and adventurers had even voiced their concerns to me. At the same time, they’d seemed almost thankful that I could withstand the brunt of Brod’s whipping, evidently because, before I’d shown up, he’d made other adventurers his victims.

“I can’t believe you can stand it...” they’d say in awe.

As always, the reason for my determination was Assess Mastery. As slow as my progress was, being able to see the numbers rising along the way kept me going.

“Wait, is that why everyone says I’m a masochist? Because I haven’t called it quits yet?” I could not believe it had taken me so long to notice. Nevertheless, I descended the stairs to the practice grounds, where Brod stood menacingly, arms crossed as usual.

“Slow start today, huh?”

“I’m sorry. But do you not need breakfast, Coach?”

“I’m fine. Had a light one.”

“Then it’s back to throwing practice?”

“First, there’s something we need to talk about.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m about to get busy for a while. I was thinking about giving you a bit of a vacation for a change.”

“A vacation?”

I’d never had one before. Rather, I’d had no reason to take one. Pleasure was hard to come by in this world and I had no money for shopping or luxuries.

“What, that doesn’t make you happy? I’ll put together a schedule for you, but other than that, you’re free to do what you want. Or, if you’ve got nothing better to do, you can help out the staff with some butchering.”

“Er, butchering? You mean people bring in monster corpses to be butchered? Wait, you butcher monsters?” I’d never even considered it a possibility.

“You’re just now realizing that? What do you think you’ve been eating, kid? It’s all butchered here in the guild.”

“That was monster meat?”

I could not believe what I was hearing. That delicious food was from monsters? So, it wasn’t just Gulgar’s cooking ability that gave it such a...presence, for lack of a better word.

“And?” Brod prompted me.

“But...I’ve never even seen any monsters since coming here. Or any adventurers carrying any in.”

“Kid, what are you going on about? They’ve got magic satchels, obviously,” he replied in exasperation.

Magic satchels? The knowledge that God had given me included nothing about such items, so I was absolutely floored. “You mean like a bag that can hold things much bigger than the outside? Ones that nullify weight?” I questioned. “And time stops for the items inside in order to preserve them?”

“What? How are you supposed to stop time? But yes, they do fit items much bigger than the bags themselves are, up to a certain amount, so they’re pretty nifty.”

Aside from the use of magic, nothing about this world really screamed “fantasy,” so this had my heart racing. “They must be expensive.”

“They are. Three gold, at least, but they pay for themselves over time.”

That was about three hundred casts of Heal. A hardened adventurer or someone from a well-off family might have one, but I had no need for one myself at the moment. Still, I wanted to experience the magic of an item like that someday.

Now, the butchering... It felt like I was being tested here. I didn’t have anything better to do, and everything’s an experience, after all, so what was the harm? I wanted to get a peek at some monsters, too. How different were these life-threatening beasts from my old world’s animals?

I had to prepare myself mentally, or I might find myself frozen and trembling the moment I met my first monster. I had to see for myself whether I’d end up like I had on my first day in this world. I shared my interest with Brod, who looked shocked to hear me outright ask to help with the butchering, but he quickly acquiesced and my plans were set.

“All right. I’ll let the guy in charge know.”

“Please do. Also, I’m not sure when it’ll be relevant, but would you mind telling me where I could buy one of those magic satchels?”

“Sure, as long as you keep up with your training. Okay, that’s enough chatter. We’re fighting with these specially-made wooden swords today.”

I hesitated. “Um, do you think you could make sure to hold back a little more than usual? Or a lot, rather?”

“What a wimp.”

“I’m fairly certain these things can break bones.”

“Oh, I’ll hold back, but I won’t let up. Just do your best not to break anything and come at me.”

Sure, we’d used blades before, but this still looked pretty painful. And how was I supposed to “do my best not to break anything”? I looked at my instructor, who seemed ready to start swinging at any moment, and said a quiet prayer for my life before charging.

With yet another life expectancy-shortening day behind me, I returned to my room. It hadn’t begun as such and now doubled as a clinic to boot, but it was really starting to feel like my room now. Ever since returning from the Healer’s Guild several months earlier, it had been filling up with the new clothes and fancy bedding I received as gifts.

Whenever I thanked Brod or the staff, they always gave me the most pitiful looks, which I chose to ignore. I didn’t want to hear their answers and therefore didn’t ask why. Debts were debts. I threw myself into Brod’s training so as to meet his expectations. Then, after practicing my magic skills on my own, I drifted off to sleep. This was my daily routine.

Back when I had mentioned to Brod how cramped my room had been getting, I’d gotten an unexpected answer from him and a complete refurbishing of my quarters.

“Guildmaster’s orders,” he’d stated. “I’d accept his kindness.”

“I’ve never even met this Guildmaster, but if you say so. In that case, I’d like to thank them. Where are they?”

Brod looked at me, not even trying to hide the annoyance on his face. Still, I had to at least try to offer my thanks to them for having personalized my room in this way.

“He’s not usually in. I’ll pass the message along.”

“Oh, I see. All right, if you don’t mind.”

We both let the tension in our expressions fade at the same time, then broke into awkward laughter. It would appear that Brod had a high enough status in the guild to speak with this guy. All I could do was offer a bow, although I wasn’t sure it was even necessary, seeing as they had remodeled my room without me even asking. I decided not to overthink it.

Three days later and my vacation had arrived. After the day’s grind, stretches, running, throwing practice, and so on, I stuffed myself with breakfast and Substance X.

“You sure got an appetite, huh?”

“Hey, it’s good. And if I didn’t drink that nasty stuff, you’d chase me down with it.”

He’d actually done it before, the one time I had forgotten. I remembered it like it was yesterday: Gulgar had parted crowds like the Red Sea, wielding the mug of horrific liquid like a mage’s staff. He had caught up and forced me to gulp it down right then and there. Consequently, this made the rumor that my tongue was defective gain even more traction.

“That was your fault for forgettin’.”

“Yeah, and I didn’t this time,” I sighed. “I’m off.”

“Enjoy your little break.”

“I’ll try.”

I placed my dirty dishes onto the counter and left the hall. Normally, this would be when I went off to train, but today, I made my way to a room next to the mess hall instead. I knocked on a door in the back and it promptly opened.

“Welcome to the butchering room. You can call me Galba. You’re Luciel, yeah? Thanks for coming to lend a hand today.”

“Thank you for having me. I don’t have any experience in this sort of thing, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes I make.”

Galba, who I pegged as another wolf-man, was tall and slender, yet well-built. Another name for the list of people I shouldn’t mess with. He looked awfully familiar, too. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why until he gave me the answer himself.

“Not a problem. And no need to be so formal. Speak freely like you do with my little brother.”

It suddenly hit me. Subtract a few pounds and they were the spitting images of each other. “You mean Gulgar?”

“That’s the guy,” he replied cheerfully.

“You two do look very similar,” I laughed.

“I’m happy to hear that.”

The pure joy on his face led me to believe they were extremely close. “Okay, I suppose I’ll take you up on that.”

“Please do. And no rush; act however makes you comfortable. Now, we don’t have much time, so let’s get right to it. Depending on the monster, the bodies can be pretty rigid or sometimes poisonous, even after death, so just observe at first.”

“All right,” I nodded.

Galba reached into a satchel and casually yanked out an enormous wild boar.

“M-Monsters get that big?”

“Hm? Oh, I’d say this one’s pretty average.”

My nervous question only served to provide me with knowledge I would rather have remained ignorant of. How was I supposed to survive in a world where giant boars generally ran the size of a small car?

Galba hoisted up the carcass and dropped it onto the table with a thud. “They got sloppy draining the blood here. That’ll be a deduction from their points. Okay, I’m going to get started, so watch closely.”

Despite how effortlessly he’d raised the beast, it had to have weighed close to a hundred kilos. If any of these guild staff members had lived on Earth, no one would have recognized them as anything resembling human, and Galba was no exception. Talk about superhuman (or maybe superbeastman) strength. I went ahead and bumped him up on the aforementioned “not-to-mess-with” list.

Meanwhile, he’d already started butchering the creature. He skinned it, dug out the organs, and then cut the meat into blocks, placing them into a separate satchel. It was all done so smoothly that I just stood there staring as the work flew by. Galba had a smile on his face throughout the process.

“And just like that, it’s over,” I remarked.

“Well, when you’ve done it hundreds of times...”

“Is all the meat used here at the guild?”

“Not all. We sell some of it to other guilds or butcher shops to help pay for expenses.”

Butchering seemed like an awfully plain job, but also a rather admirable one if it was directly related to the guild’s profits.

“Really? Then is it a bother for me to be helping out?”

“Not at all. Brod wanted you to get some hands-on experience, but that’s not the only reason he sent you here.”

“What’s the other?”

“We see monsters of all types come through here. He wanted you to train your eye to look for weak points, where you could slip in attacks.”

“What do you mean? You make it sound like I’m actually going to be fighting these things.”

I knew that Brod’s training was hellish, but did he really plan on putting me up against live monsters at some point? I was all for power-leveling, myself. Brod, however, wasn’t the kind of guy to let me use such an exploit.

Galba chuckled. “I think it’s to boost your survivability in case you do ever find yourself on an adventure. There aren’t many rookies these days who bother with the diligent preparation you’re doing.”

“Frankly, I just don’t want to die.”

I’d completely forgotten the fact that I was, technically, an adventurer. In which case, that made me a sort of student studying at adventuring school.

Galba seemed to like my answer and beamed at me, but quickly stopped and shook his head regretfully. “No adventurer does...but too many of them want to play the hero.”

“I never got that impression. I’ve just been so focused on trying to land a hit on Coach Brod.”

“You’re important, Luciel. We need people like you.”

“I’m...important?” I parroted.

“Yes. There still aren’t many willing to study under Brod like you’re doing, but for many—and particularly the rookies—a weight’s been lifted from their shoulders. Fewer of them are dying, thanks to you.”

“Me?”

“That’s right. Fighting monsters is physically draining, make no mistake, but it’s mentally exhausting, too. Even more so if you’re injured.”

“That makes sense.” Where was he going with this? How was it related to me, specifically?

“Those ‘heroes’ I mentioned before... After their first scrapes with death, they realize they’re nothing special. Many realize too late. Many get injured so bad they can’t go on adventuring, ’cause of long-term problems.”

“So, you’re saying my healing helps them let go of these ideas of grandeur? But my magic isn’t all that effective.”

“Without you, a lot of these cases would go without any healing options whatsoever.”

Right, the poorer adventurers. The ones who just barely scraped by. “I’m happy to hear that, but doesn’t it also mean people might start acting recklessly, knowing they can be healed?”

“The guild’s rank system keeps that in check. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Admittedly, I hadn’t focused all that well on the introductory explanation I’d received when I first registered. I might have missed some points regarding the guild’s ranking and internal affairs. But if he said it was fine, I’d take his word for it. Still, if a measly healer like me was so valuable, why hadn’t they hired one sooner?

“Is there no system in place for adventurer’s guilds to borrow healers?”

He paused. “I hear there was in the past.”

“I see.”

Time goes on and things change. Amazingly, throughout our conversation, Galba had been pulling out monster after monster from the satchel and butchering them one by one. I did my best to pay attention to the things I would need to know when my turn came.

By lunchtime, the smell of blood had spoiled my appetite, but Gulgar cared little and fed me his usual mountain of food, including copious amounts of meat. Thankfully, one delicious bite was all it took to rekindle my motivation to eat.

That afternoon, I took a turn butchering a monster called a horned rabbit while watching Galba. I hesitated when it came to sticking the knife into the body, but telling myself that it was just like cooking helped to pull me through.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.

The sensation of meat and flesh splitting apart sent shivers through my body. But I had to do it to survive. I needed to make that clear in my mind.

“Come by next week, if you have the time.”

Galba’s voice pulled me back to reality. Once again, I’d lost myself in a whirlpool of thoughts.

“Thank you for today. I look forward to next week.”

“Oh, I might as well have you take this to Gulgar.” He handed me a magic satchel. It held the horned rabbit that I’d butchered, but was still exceptionally light.

“Got it.”

I bowed, left the room, and headed straight for the dining hall.

“Gulgar, this is from Galba.” I handed him the satchel.

“You didn’t have’ta go outta your way for that. So, how was the butcherin’?”

“I think I’ve found a new appreciation for the meals I eat.”

“Oh, yeah? Also, I’d get changed if I were you.”

I looked at myself and noticed blue blood stains all over my clothes. I felt the color drain from my face.

As I dashed to the well, Gulgar called out to me, “Be back for dinner, y’hear?”

The familiar remark calmed my nerves a bit. After stopping by my room to pick up some spare clothes, I made for the well where I washed my hands, threw off my clothes, and doused myself in water. Only after scrubbing every inch of my body did I fully relax.

“God, I’m pathetic. Someone had to have butchered all the meat I ate in my past life. One moment in their shoes and this is how I end up?”

I took a deep breath, two, three, then dried off and dressed myself. Just as I finished, Nanaella showed up. Her rabbit ears brought back images of the creature I had carved up.

“Mister Luciel, are you all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Were you worried? If so, I’m flattered.” A weak effort at banter was all I could manage. Every time I glanced at her face, that horned rabbit just kept popping into my head.

“Yes, you were so pale earlier. You helped with the butchering today, didn’t you?”

“You’re well-informed,” I answered.

“Was it your first time?”

Aside from gutting a few fish in my past life, it was. I wondered when people of this world usually slaughtered their first monster.

“Yeah, it was. I’d never even seen anything like it before.”

“I see.” She stepped closer. “It must have been quite distressing.”

She smiled, then gently took my hand. With all of my training, even given how deliberate her movements were, I couldn’t bring myself to dodge her touch.

“Your hands are cold.”

“Because of the water,” I replied casually. But she was standing right there, so close to me. The beating in my chest wouldn’t slow down.

“I think you’re exhausted, Mister Luciel. More than you’re aware of.”

“Exhausted?”

“It happens with some new adventurers. In the heat of their first battle, when the adrenaline’s flowing, they don’t hesitate to cut down the enemy.” She peered into my eyes. “But when the dust settles and they’re alone, it dawns on them. It tears at their mind, like it has yours.”

“Is that why you came after me?”

“Yes. The guild staff is incredibly grateful to you, and that includes me. We want to be there for you.”

I felt a burden lift from my chest. “Thank you, Nanaella. Would you mind holding my hand for just a little while longer?”

“Not at all.”

My face had to be redder than a tomato. I noticed that her cheeks had flushed slightly at my candidness as well. In this moment, however, I allowed myself to indulge in her kindness.

Afterwards, when we went back inside together, I was met with sharp glares from the other adventurers, but none of them took any action beyond that. I found it strange at first, until a wink from Melina and Mernell told me they must have said something to cool the crowd off.

What the two failed to realize was that their fluttering eyelashes usually fanned the flames even more. That the surrounding adventurers kept their reactions restricted to angry looks in spite of that must have been strictly out of consideration for the ordeal I had been through.

I spent the time before dinner training on my own while waiting for adventurers to return from their tasks in need of healing.

Gulgar spoke little that evening. My dinner made use of the very horned rabbit that I’d butchered, which admittedly shook me up a bit. Holding back my tears, I managed to eat every last bite of the stew with much more gusto and appreciation than usual. Not a single scrap remained.

“Doin’ all right?” Gulgar finally asked.

“Thanks to Nanaella. I’m not sure I could’ve picked myself up on my own.”

He stared at me for a moment. “Luciel, you sure you’re not half- or quarter-beast or somethin’?”

“Er, yes. Both my parents and my grandparents were human. No question. Why do you ask?”

“A feeling, I guess.”

“A feeling, huh?”

Our conversation died there. Gulgar brought out the usual pitcher of Substance X, then slipped back into the kitchen.

“It certainly seems like beastpeople are discriminated against here, especially based on the reactions of the ones I’ve healed,” I whispered to myself.

I quickly gulped down my least favorite drink.

After two days of training with Brod, I was given another holiday.

“I wonder where Coach Brod’s been getting off to? Come to think of it, I don’t know a thing about him.”

Yeah, it was a bit strange not knowing the first thing about someone who’d been taking care of me for three months. He never seemed to want to divulge much about himself, though.

He was out yet again today, apparently having left the night before. I mentioned my concerns to Gulgar and asked whether Brod had the time to be paying attention to someone like me.

“Do me a favor and don’t say that to his face,” he shot back.

I didn’t know how or why, but our training sessions seemed to be a sort of stress relief for him. Gulgar said to let him know if I ever got sick of running all those drills, but I told him that I was doing just fine.

“What am I supposed to do with this ‘vacation’ thing?” I exited the mess, deep in thought. I could practice magic, but at this point casting Heal by myself increased my mastery by a measly two points on a good day, whereas healing someone else increased it by three, sometimes four points. My solo magic training was therefore centered around Magic Handling and Magic Control, and that was starting to get old.

“I suppose learning more about butchery with Galba isn’t a bad idea.”

I was lost in thought when my arms were suddenly grabbed, snapping me back to reality. I tried to jump back, but my assailants read me like a book and held me in place.

“Nanaella, what are you doing?”

The receptionists Melina and Mernell were in on it, too.

“Listen, Luciel. Your knowledge of things is a bit spotty, to say the least,” Mernell said with a smug smile. “Lucky for you, Brod’s entrusted us with the job of fixing that. We’re going to help you study.”

“Study what? Am I that ignorant?”

“That you are. It’s honestly kind of amazing how you’ve managed to survive up to this point.”

“Um, thanks?”

I had a few things I would’ve liked to say in reply, but instead tried to make my escape and slip away. However, I’d completely forgotten about Nanaella clinging to my arm with a vice-like grip. There was no way out. My three wardens led me upstairs as my fight-or-flight response struggled to make a decision.

I was far too confused to resist, and this wasn’t such a bad opportunity anyway. I had never outright hated studying or learning new things, after all. There was but one fly in the ointment: these three were beautiful, had great personalities, and were the focus of groups not dissimilar to fan clubs, according to the grapevine. If they were to become my own private tutors... I broke out into a cold sweat.

My mind was filled with worry. Later, though, I would discover that these anxieties were unneeded. To the staff and adventurers, I was just a training nut, completely harmless. Also, some of the poorer adventurers that I’d healed over the last few months were part of these “fan clubs,” so I wasn’t lacking in approval. All-out war with the fanatics wasn’t on the horizon just yet.

What’s more, most people saw the girls as shepherds, leading around a lost, ignorant lamb, which boosted their popularity. I was merely the lamb. No one cares about the lamb.

But I wasn’t aware of any of this at the moment, and so began my studying with trepidation.

I’d never been to the second floor of the guild before. At the top of the stairs was a sort of library, with bookshelves lining the walls. There were several other rooms as well, similar to those of the Healer’s Guild, perhaps used as lodging for staff or adventurers. Since I hadn’t really listened to Nanaella’s explanation when first registering, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her about it now.

We sat at a table, Nanaella across from me, Melina and Mernell to my right and left, respectively. I was just about as tense as anyone could be in this situation.

Nanaella smiled. “No need to be so nervous.”

Melina did the same. “Yeah, we won’t bite. You know how to read, so memorizing stuff’ll be easy!”

“Let’s begin,” Mernell said with a smirk, noticeably more devilish than the other two.

Nanaella was much more relaxed and casual now than when we’d first met. Although I knew Melina and Mernell were only teasing, escape was still not an option. My eyes wandered about, searching for some way to shatter the tension, several items on the table roused my interest.

They weren’t small booklets like the first grimoire I’d seen in this world, but large, hardcover books. Along with strips of parchment, each girl had three of them. I couldn’t help but feel excited. Finally, my eagerness overpowering my nervousness, I began to relax.

“Hey, guys, personal space. And what about your jobs? While I’m at it, what are those nine books?” I silently hoped they weren’t all identical texts.

Nanaella spoke first. “I have ‘An Illustrated Guide to Monsters,’ ‘Monsters and their Weaknesses Volume 1,’ and volume one of ‘Using Monster Parts to Craft Weapons and Armor.’”

Melina spoke next. “I brought ‘The Complete Guide to Wild Herbs,’ ‘The Complete Guide to Mushrooms and Fruits,’ and a beginner’s volume on medicine.”

“Mine are about the countries and laws, religions, and mythology,” Mernell finished off.

I was very grateful for the rundown, but Nanaella’s collection came off as the least relevant to me.

“Um, is all of that important?”

“Of course!” they all cried at once.

I was clearly going to have no say in this situation, so I cut my losses and decided to choose the topic that interested me the most.

“Then I’d like to start with Mernell’s books. I know the country names, but not a single town name.”

“Well, he’s in your hands, Nanaella!” said Mernell.

“I didn’t think you’d pick something so reasonable,” Melina remarked.

They left their books on the table and went downstairs. I looked at Nanaella. She smiled back.

“Brod asked us to teach you common knowledge, you see.”

“That, I don’t doubt.” If it had all been a lie just to mess around with me, I’d have felt pretty hurt.

“Melina and Mernell just wanted to have a bit of fun. They wanted to find out what you were interested in.”

“They did, huh? Well, I intend to look through the other books anyway. Do you have more?”

“We have lots. Do you like reading?”

“Yeah, I’d say I enjoy a good story.”

“Like the story of Reinstar?”

The story of what now? I couldn’t say that out loud, of course. The story was likely to be world-famous and I’d had enough of being rebuffed for my ignorance.

“I prefer novels, personally.”

“‘Novels’? Is that something you wrote?”

“Um, no, I’ve only heard of it.” I really hoped she didn’t push the matter any further.

“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime.”

“If there’s ever time,” I said offhandedly. “Let’s get to reading. Er, are you sure it’s all right for you to spend this much time here with me?”

“It’s a job that needs doing,” she beamed.

I really loved her smile. It soothed my soul as my studies began.

In the center of this world was a nation run by the Healer’s Guild called the Republic of Saint Shurule. At its heart stood the Holy City of Shurule. It was there that the Healer’s Guild headquarters was located, supposedly within a grand castle. Merratoni, where I was, lay within the nation’s borders but was far removed from the capital.

The Holy City’s guild was officially known as the Head Church Healer’s Guild. They had once operated an orphanage, but no longer did.

“Why did they stop running it?” I asked.

“There are many healers who value their wealth above anything else,” she answered sadly. Seeing the gloom in her expression, I couldn’t bring myself to ask more.

Thanks to a barrier around the capital that weakened dangerous creatures who passed through it, that city wasn’t often threatened by monsters. But considering how many adventurers were harmed around here, the Holy City was likely the only place afforded such protection.

Shurule was, apparently, also the only nation to have outlawed slavery.

To the northwest lay the Illumasian Empire. Once a small nation, they had become the very model of militarism and eventually swallowed up the surrounding countries, making their nation the power that it was today. A mountain range marked the border between it and Saint Shurule, staving off war, but Illumasia had long been in conflict with its neighbor to the east, the Kingdom of Luburk. Slavery fueled Illumasia’s war machine, putting it entirely at odds with Shurule’s ideologies.

Moreover, Illumasia was directly connected to the Dark Land, the home of demons and devils. The region was sealed, however, so none of its evil inhabitants could pour out.

The Kingdom of Luburk, currently at war with Illumasia, was an ideal environment for fishing and logging. Evidently, elves inhabited some of the forests there. Their primary business had once been the performing of magic and production of magical items, but when the floating city-state Neldahl rose in prominence, they chose not to cling to the old ways but rather to push onwards with raw manpower.

“Have you ever seen an elf, Nanaella?”

“I have. They’re beautiful, like sculptures, but just as expressionless.”

“Interesting. Speaking of races, are rabbit-people rare? You’re the only one I’ve met.” Then again, I rarely left the premises.

“There aren’t many in Merratoni, but we’re around,” she replied. “They don’t leave Yenice very often, though, because we were once hunted down and captured as pets.”

“I’m sorry, it was rude of me to ask.”

“No, it’s okay. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I’m glad I didn’t offend you,” I said awkwardly, feeling relieved.

We quickly moved to the next topic.

Yenice was an independent city-state. The book described it as a melting pot of races, home to all kinds of beastfolk. It was ruled not by a king or queen, but by democratically elected representatives.

This land was the birthplace of nearly all beastpeople. Many who left their homes during their youth would later return to start families there. The spices that Gulgar used also seemed to be imported from Yenice.

The only country to lack a Healer’s Guild, its inhabitants were cared for by a Doctor’s Guild. The territory was vast and included much undeveloped land, three times the size of Saint Shurule. However, to my surprise, few other towns existed outside of its capital city.

I should ask Nanaella and Gulgar more about that later on.

Next was the labyrinthian city-state, Grandol. Located to the east of Shurule, and separated from Merratoni by mountains, they were the people who steered the adventurer’s guilds, much like Shurule operated the healer’s guilds. It was both the birthplace of the Adventurer’s Guild and the site of the first discovery of a labyrinth.

These famous crypts spawned monsters, who would turn into magical stones and vanish upon death. But stones weren’t the only thing to be collected there. Rumor had it there were weapons, magical items, and gold to be plundered as well, drawing powerful individuals from all over the world who were looking to take home a piece of the pie.

These days, things were relatively well-organized and overseen, so you wouldn’t simply be cut down in the streets, but it was still a rugged place to be.

To the south of Grandol and the east of Yenice was the dukedom of Blanche. Long ago, there existed a country that devised a kind of summoning magic used to call forth a hero to defeat the King of Darkness. They succeeded in unifying the world for a time, but their hero was eventually killed, the monarchy fell, and the aristocracy subsequently took control, giving birth to the Blanche duchy. With their hero-summoning abilities still acting as a useful shield that protected them from enemies, they touted human supremacy and implemented particularly harsh policies against beastpeople and elves.

Perhaps it wasn’t only Blanche that held these beliefs, but certain groups of healers as well. Then again, while the lack of a Healer’s Guild in Yenice certainly suggested a certain bias, there was no guarantee that the people of Yenice weren’t dishing out the same sort of discrimination towards humans. Here in Shurule, there was nothing religiously calling for human superiority, but the sentiment probably did persist, especially among healers. A lot of things were starting to make sense to me.

Surely no one would leave a patient to die when they were on death’s doorstep, solely on account of their race, right? You would have to be an utter failure of a healer to pull a heartless stunt like that.

“Do you know why there’s no Healer’s Guild in Yenice?”

“I don’t know the details,” she said hesitantly, “but I think there used to be. I did hear that the sages would keep their distance from any adventurers who visited the city.”

“Why is that?” I pressed.

“I’m sorry, I can’t say that I know.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m sorry for all the prodding.”

We apologized back and forth for a while in that vein. It felt like we were really starting to connect.

I borrowed the other books and decided I’d make sure to ask any questions I had during my next day off. Nanaella offered me parchment, a pen, and ink to keep track of my thoughts.

Activities like this would begin to fill my days off as my life as the Adventurer’s Guild shut-in continued.