Another Perspective — An Innocent Healer Enters the Lion’s Den

I was working up a sweat in the training grounds of the Merratoni Adventurer’s Guild that day.

“Still not a single person’s showed up. They’re just gonna pass up the opportunity to train with the guildmaster? Maybe I’ll drag some of their asses down here.”

I’d become guildmaster for one reason: to foster future generations. That was why I’d shifted from adventuring to management at a young age. But adventurers these days would rather go chasing coin over committing to grueling instruction. They were looking only at their feet and not at the path ahead. No one even tried to understand that getting the basics down would make their lives easier in the long run. I sometimes forced them into lessons, but that only made them avoid the guild entirely.

“I need someone to pass all this on to.”

As I mumbled to myself, a sight rarely seen down in the training area came to interrupt my uneventful routine.

“Do you have a moment, Guildmaster?”

“Oh, it’s just you, Nanaella. What is it?”

“Words are hurtful, Guildmaster. Even if you don’t mean them to be,” she scolded.

“Sorry. So, what’s the problem? Monsters take over the town?”

I joked, but Nanaella never came to the training grounds during work hours unless she had a good reason. She didn’t seem to be in a panic, to my relief, although it’d be a lie to say I wasn’t hoping for a bit of excitement to break up the monotony.

“Also, stop calling me Guildmaster. I keep telling you to call me Brod.” I was still in my forties, way too young for people to be addressing me like some old hermit. “Now, what’s going on?”

“My apologies, Brod. There’s a fifteen-year-old boy at reception who’s just registered as an adventurer, and, well...”

Seeing Nanaella down here had gotten my hopes up for something special, but it couldn’t have been more mundane. She was eighteen, and including her probationary period, it had been just about a year since she’d arrived. Up until then, she’d been in a party. When it disbanded, she’d come in for an interview and the rest was history. She was good at her job and the adventurers loved her, so why was she bringing up some random kid to me?

“He’s a healer,” she continued.

“A healer? You mean...a healer?”

“The kind that heals, yes.”

Healers... One of a few occupations I despised. Everything made sense now. They sat on their high horses with their god-given powers, bleeding their patients dry with absurd prices. Money-grubbers, every last one of them.

Human supremacists weren’t rare among them either. They rarely recognized elves or beastfolk as people, and too many of them refused to heal other races altogether. A lot of adventurers loathed them, even if they weren’t outright at each other’s throats. And one had just waltzed up to an Adventurer’s Guild to register, which meant he was one of two things: a complete numbskull or a saint.

“Did you register him?”

“Yes, I completed the process a few minutes ago.”

I was starting to understand her troubled look. “So why come to me?”

“He says he wants to learn how to fight. He has no money, though, and wants to offer healing as compensation.”

“What are his combat skills?”

“Only level one Martial Arts.”

Okay, this was way too fishy. A normal healer would hire bodyguards. A normal healer wouldn’t be broke, for that matter. Hell, no sane healer would want to train in martial arts.

Wait, she said he was fifteen. Then maybe he wasn’t completely spoiled by reality just yet? “Have any idea what he’s after? How’d he seem to you?” I asked.

“I didn’t ask about what he might be after, but...” she trailed off.

“Spit it out. Say what you want to say.”

“He seemed different from normal healers. He looked at me and he didn’t recoil.”

There were some who did—human supremacists. Only, when those types of people waltzed into the guild, they usually ended up in a ditch somewhere in the slums the very next day, robbed of everything they owned. The guy Nanaella was talking about seemed like he would be avoiding that particular fate.

“Different, huh?” I thought for a moment. “This could be a good thing, as long as the guy’s not just nuts.”

It was often said that only humans could use Light or Holy magic, but that was a flat out lie. Maybe it was true for elves, who used Spirit magic, but beastfolk were fully capable of wielding both Holy and Light magic. They just weren’t that inclined to use magic in general and had small MP pools, so it was hard for them to learn if they weren’t brought up practicing it from childhood.

Spirit magic had healing abilities, too. Healers didn’t have a monopoly on such spells by any means. But elves looked down on excessive use of the spirits’ powers and avoided that type of magic outside of extenuating circumstances.

“Assuming he isn’t crazy, why not make him a proper adventurer?” Nanaella suggested.

I nodded, then decided that I’d see the kid for myself, but not before hammering something in one more time. “Oh, and make sure you don’t call me Guildmaster, got it?”

“Got it.”

Standing at the counter was a tall, spindly kid who looked like he’d never lost his childhood innocence. I could tell at once that he wasn’t the scheming type. He stood there, stiffer than a board and red in the face.

While I debated calling out to him, Nanaella was barely managing to stifle her giggles. The other receptionists weren’t even trying.

So nervous that he’s got tunnel vision, I’ll bet. Let’s put the brat to the test.

“You the twerp that can use healing magic?” I asked sharply. A little intimidation would reveal his true colors.

The kid jumped and looked my way. “That’s right. I’m Luciel, a recently registered adventurer. I’m looking to improve both my healing magic and combat abilities, so I was hoping I could receive training in exchange for healing.”

“Do ya now? You’re a strange one, for a healer. What, you bored with your beloved money?”

Now the whole guild knew who he was. What now, kid?

“Money is important, but right now I need to boost my chances of survival as much as possible. To that end, like I said to the receptionist, I’d like to undergo training while working to cover the cost,” he explained.

Oh, yeah, he was terrified, but he kept his eyes locked on mine and they weren’t lying. Fundamentally, this kid thought in a completely different way from other healers.

Something occurred to me then. He was the type to judge himself and recognize his own weaknesses—the type of adventurer with the most potential. His lack of attachment to money was already unusual for a healer and this willing attitude only added to the mystery.

“Hm. I get the picture. And ya don’t seem like you’re talking out your ass,” I said. “All right. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Brod and I’m the instructor at this guild.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

He wasn’t lacking in courage, since he didn’t flinch. I could have some fun with this one, if he had the strength to last.

“So, kid, you’ve got the Martial Arts skill, but what would a healer want combat abilities for?”

“Because I’m useless in a fight. I’m not even remotely mentally prepared for it. If I ever went on a journey, even the weakest monster would be my last. I want to prevent that. I want to strive to get strong enough to defend myself.”

I made up my mind. I was not about to let this healer out of the lion’s den he’d stumbled into. We could save lives with his magic. That said, the recklessness of his request gave me pause.

“All right. I’ll hire you as an H-rank healer for our training grounds. You’ll be paid one silver an hour. You decide the training time and duration. When can you start?”

“In three days, if that’s okay.”

Prudent. That was good. He looked as broke as he said he was, so I wondered if he’d settle down at the guild if we squared away his room and meals. It was worth a shot.

Nanaella had a wide grin on her face.

“Got it. Nanaella, do me a favor and arrange everything,” I instructed her.

“Of course.” She looked at Luciel. “Oh, Nanaella would be me. It’s nice to meet you.”

The kid returned the greeting, bowed, then left the guild.

“I never thought I’d meet such a modest healer.”

As one could gather from Nanaella’s shock, healers were about as stuck up as people could be. Money was their passion. Everyone knew it. The man who ran the largest clinic in Merratoni was a demon disguised in human form.

“He’s a bold one, that’s for sure.”

“Brod, don’t tell me you were intimidating him like you always do?”

“Yep. Wanted to get a read on who he really is.”

“What is wrong with you? That boy could never be dishonest!” she snapped. Nanaella didn’t get angry often, which only spoke to how earnest the kid came off.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have. That’s my bad,” I apologized. “But anyway, that kid’s a blank canvas and I’m gonna make him into a work of art. I’m gonna get him to stay here, Nanaella.”

“You’re serious about this?”

“Yeah. Mind cleaning out the resting room for him? I’ll have Gulgar cook his meals.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

Huh, she wasn’t protesting for a change.

Ah, almost forgot something. “Anyone who roughs up that kid’s going to be punished. Hard. Pass it along to your friends,” I announced to the adventurers nearby.

I was probably grinning like an idiot. Things were finally about to get interesting again. Damn, I hope he’s got the drive!

And if he was as innocent as he seemed, having Gulgar pour him some of that disgusting shit wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. Even a healer could get at least a little stronger with enough of that stuff, as long as he could stomach it.

Three days came and went. I woke up that morning, unsure if he’d actually show up, and waited. He arrived earlier than expected.

“This place is huge,” he muttered to himself, completely unaware that I was standing behind him.

That lack of awareness worried me, but I was still smiling. I certainly had my work cut out for me. Maybe this obliviousness should be the first thing to go.

“Pretty nice training area, eh? Good on ya for not running, twerp.”

He managed to nod and reply, despite the aura of pressure I was crushing him with. I was right about him having the nerve.

From then on, I trained the twerp hard. He had almost no physical strength, likely from his occupation, and he couldn’t maintain a sprint without dropping his pace after a short while. He was practically an infant. Well, he was level one.

We had to do something about that body of his or we’d get nowhere. For now, I made him run. It was a boring way to train, to say the least, but a good way to test how long he’d last. The adventurers I dragged down here tended to throw in the towel fast. In fairness, I’d usually have to force them into it in the first place, but all the same, they were a bunch of pansies.

The kid did as I told him (almost too readily sometimes). It was like looking at my old self. He was weak and slow, he looked just about ready to fall over and die, yet he followed my instructions like his life depended on it. I was starting to like him. My one worry was how long he’d hang in there for.

With only one day behind us, the kid looked like he’d gone through hell and back. I was relieved that he managed to finish off all his food, though.

The next morning, I asked Gulgar to add you-know-what to his meals.

“You sure that won’t scare the poor kid off?”

“I’m willing to bet he’ll down the whole glass.” I was more than certain of it, in fact. “Wanna make it official?”

“You’re on. If I win, I’ve got some rare ingredients I’d like to get my hands on.”

“And if I win, you let me drink here.”

And so began our silent battle. While the kid was eating breakfast, Gulgar drew a mug of Substance X and set it in front of him.

Son of a bitch, that stuff reeks.

It didn’t matter how far away you were. He’d even diluted it and it still smelled like absolute garbage. I pretended to leave the mess and hid for a bit. The kid looked disgusted, which was to be expected, but forced himself to drink it anyway.

Whoa, hold on, he chugged it all at once?!

Gulgar shared my utter disbelief, from the looks of it. Not once during my decades of being at the guild had I ever seen a chump chug that shit before. This kid—I was really starting to believe he was a diamond in the rough. He could become strong.

It was then that I resolved to train him for real, until he came at me with something so unexpected, it made me doubt my own ears.

“Coach Brod, yesterday’s session was definitely rough, but I’m not feeling any soreness. Do you think you could lay it on a bit more?”

“Hmph, you’re sturdier than I thought, for a healer.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was he the type to shine under pressure? The type to show results the more you drove him into a corner? From that day on, I started pushing him to his limit, one step away from breaking. Curiosity took hold of me. How would he turn out with enough training? His progress was slow but certain, building up his strength one step at a time.

With the excitement also came frustration. If only he’d shown up sooner. What a complete waste it was to find such a gem only after he’d become an adult. Carefully instructing him while minding his limits, so as not to totally break the guy, was a slow and somewhat aggravating process.

“How’s Luciel doin’, Brod?”

Gulgar, who’d never been the least bit interested in humans, had taken a shine to the kid...to Luciel. I couldn’t blame him after seeing the way the boy downed that liquid trash.

“To be honest, he’s no prodigy,” I admitted, “But he’s also not average. I mean, you’ve seen the way he’s adapted to all of this. He doesn’t complain, he doesn’t give up, he keeps at it. He’s a natural at working hard and putting in the effort.”

“Hear anything from the Healer’s Guild?”

“Not a word. He’s only G-rank.”

In the past, the healer’s guilds had sent their members to service adventurer’s guilds, up until a growing rift between the two groups reached the point of disrepair.

“Gotcha. Why not give ’im a book on magic? We had one lyin’ around, didn’t we?”

We sometimes held onto items from adventurers who’d failed their requests, as collateral. If they didn’t pay within a certain period, we put the items up for auction. If no one bought them, it became guild property, and we’d had a Holy Magic grimoire sitting in storage since before I was guildmaster.

Right now, Luciel only knew Heal and nothing else. Our grimoire had a spell for curing poison, as I recalled.

“Maybe I will, but he’s only here for the month.”

“So, is he strong yet?”

“Not even close,” I stated flatly.

“Then figure out what he wants to do, and if he wants to stay, send him to the Healer’s Guild with enough money to keep his rank.”

“Galba said the same thing.” I could always rely on those two. “You think he’ll stay?”

“It’s up to him, but I think he will. He’s logical and I get the feelin’ he’s not the type to leave things half-finished.”

“If he weren’t a healer, I probably would’ve made him my pupil at this point.”

These talks planted a little seed in me that sprouted into joy when Luciel made it back from the Healer’s Guild later that day. I didn’t think I’d be as glad as I was.

“All right, let’s kick things up a notch.”

I began to think up a new regimen for the boy, grateful to whatever god may have been out there for bringing something new to my once-boring life.