06 — Growth and Departure

I passed my days as efficiently as possible, doing everything I could to work towards long-term survival in this world. It sounded strange when I put it like that. Never had I thought about needing to “survive” in my past life, but in this world any day could be my last.

Several of the adventurers who had come to me for healing had already been slain. I sometimes thought to myself, What if I’d been there? But my job, healer, was the weakest class one could be in this world. If I joined a party, I’d be nothing but dead weight.

I took this frustration out during my training matches with Brod. I attacked with everything I had. At the very least, I could rest easy knowing I wouldn’t die within the guild’s walls. Assuming I wasn’t cut down where I stood, that is.

Brod was as much of a demon as ever during our sessions. Once he got started, he would rain down blows on me one after another, holding back just enough to keep me from blacking out for as long as possible, until I finally did just that. Only when I woke up afterwards would he rediscover his humanity. I never stopped persevering, yet I couldn’t land a single hit. It irritated me to no end.

Half a year came and went at the Adventurer’s Guild. Nanaella’s tutoring ended a month after it began, so I used my free time to help Galba with butchering, assist the staff with chores, or simply train on my own.

Galba’s instruction was very informative. He taught me all kinds of things, like how dead monsters didn’t exude a miasma right away, so they were edible as long as you cooked them quickly enough. Also, if you skinned one right after defeating it, the hide would retain the properties of that creature.

The chores and odd jobs that I assisted with were mundane things like making lists of adventurers by rank or earnings. Interestingly, the top earners were a party of three beastmen that I was familiar with—the Lineage of the White Wolf. According to the rumor mill, they were A-rank now, and they’d made a deal with the receptionists. Apparently, the girls had agreed to go out to dinner with them once they made it to Rank A.

Mernell had laughed her head off, saying they were more than likely after Nanaella, the only beastwoman among the receptionists. Still, I wasn’t sure what her point was in telling me that. Sure, she was gorgeous, but I had my hands full already. I wasn’t prepared to start supporting someone else. And there was no point in crying over what-ifs—such as, “If only this were my past life”—either.

Speaking of which, I was getting along quite well with Nanaella and the other girls, although I had never grown past being the little brother of the group. Lately, however, Mernell and Melina had started getting awfully touchy-feely with me under the pretense of “skinship.” Nanaella would usually get red in the face and make them stop, but sometimes she let herself get pulled into the fray and hesitantly joined in.

As far as this world’s standards went, they were all of marrying age, so I couldn’t prevent certain thoughts from crossing my mind. I remembered one particular instance of poking and prodding.

“Luciel, your clothes’re looking a little tight there, big boy,” Melina teased.

“You’re looking a bit taller, too. And look at those new muscles,” chimed in Mernell.

“Mister Luciel, I think you ought to wear something a little more fitting,” Nanaella advised.

“I don’t have a mirror, but I guess it’s a bit sloppy just throwing on whatever’s lying around, isn’t it?” I admitted. “I don’t have any money to replace them, though. Maybe I should talk to Coach.”

So on one of my days off, I brought it up with Brod when he returned from business in the evening.

“Coach Brod, I wanted to ask you something, if you’ve got a little time to spare,” I said.

“What’s got you so formal?”

“I’ve grown a lot over the last few months, and I’d like to buy some new clothes. Would it be okay for me to spend some time outside to work for the money to replace them?”

“If it’s money you want, we’ve got it, so stay here.”

“I’d really like to get some new underwear, at least.”

“Just a sec. Nanaella,” he called.

She came trotting over. “Yes?”

“Luciel needs to buy some new clothes. I want you to take him.”

“Sure thing.” She looked at me and nodded. “I’ll just go change.”

Uh-oh, this was starting to feel like a date. My life (lives?) flashed before my eyes.

“Don’t bother. Treat it as guild work, otherwise you’ll put the kid’s life in danger,” my instructor laughed. His little joke undoubtedly saved me, because I could easily foresee the Nanaella Fanclub coming for my throat.

“Tell me where it is and I can go alone,” I offered.

“Things have been noisy lately, so let Nanaella escort you. She knows the way. I’m heading out for a bit.”

Whatever he meant by “noisy,” it made me want to stay inside, but who knew how long I’d end up going without new underwear if I did that. I decided to accept.

“All right, then. Thanks, Nanaella.”

“Consider those clothes bought,” she grinned, putting a hand to her chest in pride.

Brod gave Nanaella the money, then headed upstairs. After watching him leave, we set out ourselves.

Sunset had dyed the sky a dark orange.

“The sky sure is beautiful, but we’d better hurry before it gets dark. Are you sure you don’t mind coming along?” I asked.

“Not at all. When I first came to Merratoni, I had people take me shopping too.”

“Really? I guess you’re from Yenice, aren’t you?”

“Nope. Grandol, born and raised.”

“Oh, sorry about that. That was presumptuous of me.”

“Don’t apologize; it’s all right.”

“Does that mean you used to be an adventurer?”

She smiled. “Maybe.”

The clothing store was a three-minute walk from the guild. Inside, garments were hung neatly on racks all around us. From what I’d heard, these kinds of stores were normally quite disorderly, so maybe this place was considered upscale.

I browsed through a number of items, but without a mirror on hand, I mainly relied on Nanaella’s input. Aside from the underwear, of course. With her help, my little outing was quite successful.

“I wonder why something this mundane makes me so happy.”

The store clerk gave me a sad look when Nanaella covered the bill, and then I remembered—it was my first time shopping in this world. I felt the tension drain from my body.

“I’m glad you’ve got some new clothes now,” my companion beamed.

“Thank you again for the help.” Her genuine happiness only made me feel embarrassed.

Our trip had lasted just twenty minutes or so, and the sun had yet to set completely. We started making our way home when fate suddenly intervened.

A woman’s blood-curdling shriek split the air nearby. With a haste that shocked even myself, my body sprang into action. The skills that I’d been honing these past six months took on a new purpose at that single scream—they were no longer skills with which to live my own peaceful life, but to save another’s life instead. Truthfully, that wasn’t all that spurred me on, but there was no time to focus on the second reason just then.

I ran down a side street and turned into an alley, where I spotted a girl on the ground, covered in blood. After checking the surroundings and confirming that no one else was around, I gently placed my hand on her. She was still alive.

“Let’s see the wound.”

I followed the trail of blood on her clothes, found the source, and cast Heal without a second thought. Once, twice, thrice, then four times. The skin finally closed up and the bleeding stopped, but her breath remained ragged.

“Why isn’t it working?” I wondered aloud.

I investigated her clothing for the cause and spied additional stains that weren’t blood. I immediately cast Cure on her as well. Unsure if the poison had been neutralized yet, I cast it a second time, then one last round of Heal for good measure.

I heaved a sigh. “I think she’ll be okay.”

“Did you save her?”

I turned to see Nanaella standing behind me along with two familiar faces.

“Yes, somehow. Healing magic can’t return the blood she’s lost, though, so we should move her somewhere safe.” I looked at the injured woman’s face and realized that I knew her.

“Let’s take her to the Adventurer’s Guild,” Nanaella suggested.

“Wait, I know her. Her name’s Monica. She’s a receptionist at the Healer’s Guild.”

“What would a Healer’s Guild receptionist be getting attacked for?” the male adventurer with Nanaella remarked.

“Receptionists aren’t healers. Maybe it’s a personal grudge or something,” offered the girl next to him.

I recalled what Monica had told me about the guild’s more unsavory members. “The culprit could be a mercenary hired by a healer. She’s against corruption within the healing community, so it’s possible that word got out,” I guessed.

“What are we going to do with her?” asked Nanaella.

“The Adventurer’s Guild might be the safest bet, but let’s stop at the Healer’s Guild first. We might learn more there.” I couldn’t say it in front of them, but the chance of her attacker being an adventurer was very real. Brod wasn’t around to keep the peace at the moment, either.

Since I was no help in a fight, I carried Monica on my back and trusted our companions to protect us.

“You guys sure got here fast,” I commented to the two adventurers who had joined us. “Were you two my secret bodyguards?”

The second reason I had been able to jump into action so quickly was that I had assumed some sort of backup was following us. The man looked away, proving my assumption correct. I had misgivings about whether they were actually there to protect me or keep me under watch, but it didn’t matter.

“The outside world sure is scary,” I lamented. I would have been perfectly happy to just stay inside and never come out. “Do you think we’ll find the culprit?”

“We’ll know more once she wakes up,” Nanaella replied.

“Right...”

No one stopped our strange procession, despite there being many people along the road that evening, and we reached the Healer’s Guild safely.

Kururu stood at the counter. Thankful to see someone I knew, I carried Monica over, although the adventurers gave her pause before she realized that I was accompanying them. “Welcome to—wait, Luciel? And is that Monica?”

“Long time no see, Kururu. Have you been well?”

“Just fine, now can we please skip the pleasantries and get to the part where you explain why you’re carrying her?” she asked gently.

We must have looked pretty bad. A couple of adventurers, a rabbit-woman, a healer, and a nearly-dead receptionist.

“Long story short, we found her in an alley, covered with blood. She’d been attacked by someone, but the culprit wasn’t around when I got there. I healed her, then we brought her straight here,” I explained.

“What?!” Kururu froze up in shock.

“We only found her because we heard someone scream. We didn’t know who it was at first.”

“How...how is she?”

“She was unconscious and bleeding profusely when I got there. The blade that cut her must have been poisoned, too. I think I managed to fully heal her, thankfully.”

Kururu glanced at Monica on my back. “Thank goodness. I can’t thank you enough for saving her.” She looked back at me and lowered her head.

“Do you have any idea why she might’ve been attacked? Any at all?”

Kururu’s face turned grim and her silence told me everything I needed to know. My guess earlier hadn’t been far off.

“I take it you do but can’t give us the details?”

“What would you do with that information? You have no proof to charge anyone with.”

“The person who attacked Monica did so with the intent to kill her. Why else would she have been poisoned? Based on that alone, I can only guess this was the work of a professional. No adventurer would do something like that, so it must be a mercenary, and given enough money, a mercenary can become an assassin. The only candidate with that kind of wealth would be a healer.”

“You’re a smart kid, Luciel. I can’t believe he went this far. This wasn’t intimidation, it was attempted murder.”

“It sounds like someone has a grudge against Monica. You know who, don’t you?”

She paused. “This is just my guess, but it’s likely Bottaculli, the owner of the largest healing clinic in Merratoni. A friend of Monica’s went to him for treatment, but she couldn’t pay his fee, so she was sold into slavery, and Monica protested publicly. Bottaculli was furious. This was probably revenge.”

I’d never heard of the man, but this Bottaculli must have been the puppet master behind the hit. Why would he offer treatment that his patients couldn’t pay for? And wasn’t slavery illegal here? I had no end of questions that needed answering.

“You can’t enslave people in this country, can you?” As far as I knew, it was the one place in the world where such a thing was outlawed. Selling someone into slavery couldn’t be all that simple.

“No, but that’s not the case for selling them in other countries.”

Every law had its loopholes, but this was ridiculous. “Do you think we can prove he committed a crime?” I wasn’t holding my breath without any fancy DNA analyses. Identifying the criminal wouldn’t be an easy matter.

“Sorry, but I wouldn’t count on it. Not unless you were planning on storming the man’s clinic.”

That was too dangerous. Out of the question. Monica’s safety took first priority.

“Can you protect Monica from him here at the guild?”

“As long as she’s within these walls, he can’t openly touch her, but...”

“What about if, say, her food was poisoned?”

“I wouldn’t rule it out.”

So she wasn’t entirely safe here. And if this incident involved the head of the city’s largest clinic, there was a chance it went all the way up to the local guildmaster. To err on the side of caution, it would be best to let the Adventurer’s Guild protect her until the heat died down.

“Nanaella, does the Adventurer’s Guild have rooms for women to stay in?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m sure we can accommodate her,” she replied.

“Then let’s get back.” There was no reason to linger here any longer.

Kururu stopped us. “Luciel, she’s a staff member of the Healer’s Guild. You can’t be serious about taking her to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“It’s okay, Kururu. It’s not as dangerous as you might think. I’ve never run into trouble there, myself.”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to convince her. The two guilds had a rocky relationship, to say the least.

“I think it’d be best to have her stay at the clinic where you’re working,” she urged.

I had forgotten that she was unaware of my life at the Adventurer’s Guild, which worked out well for getting her permission.

“All right. I thought the adventurers I know might be able to keep her safe, but if you say so. I’ll take her to where I’m working right now.”

“Thank you. Where is it, exactly? I’d like to come visit her later.”

“I’m concerned about information leaks, and I don’t want to be a bother to my coworkers, so I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that. I hope you don’t mind considering this a sort of leave of absence for her.”

She took a breath. “Okay. Will do. She’s in your hands, Luciel.”

“We’ll keep her safe. I’ll see you again when I need to renew my membership.”

As we left, I heard a voice just behind me. “I’m so sorry for all of this, Mister Luciel.” It was Monica.

“I’m glad you’re back with us.”

“I woke up some time ago,” she whimpered. Her voice was feeble, but she was responsive. I decided to tell her the truth while I could.

“You may have heard all that just now, but we actually are going to the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s the safest place for you.” I felt her body stiffen. “Don’t worry, I’ve been training and working there this whole time, not at a clinic.”

“But healers and adventurers don’t get along,” she protested weakly.

Apparently, this was common knowledge, except that I hadn’t learned it until after becoming an adventurer myself.

I forced a wry smile. “I wish I’d known that half a year ago, before I became one,” I joked before shifting tones. “Still, like I said, I’ve never run into any trouble there. It’ll be okay. I promise.”

She exhaled and her body relaxed. “Okay. I’ll trust you.”

I felt the weight in my arms grow heavier.

“She passed out again,” Nanaella observed.

“Oh, okay.”

Upon reaching the Adventurer’s Guild, we ran into a wall—namely, a group of shocked adventurers that surrounded us as soon as we walked through the door. Once we had finished explaining, and they noticed Monica’s torn, blood-stained clothes, they started showering me with compliments.

Brod came down to investigate the fuss and gave us permission to shelter her after hearing what had happened. The other men were on cloud nine at the addition of a beautiful new girl to interact with. I, of course, had no intention of joining in on their nonsense, even if it meant that Monica and I would never end up becoming closer.

I handed Monica off to Nanaella and brought my new clothes back to my room. Staff and adventurers sent tepid yet sympathetic gazes my way... a combination of curiosity about my shopping trip with Nanaella, and pity over the fact that my first outing had ended in trouble, I imagined.

Figuring they’d go away if I just ignored them for a while, I made my way downstairs, where I ran into the two adventurers who had guarded me during my trip.

“Thanks again, guys. Do you need any healing?”

They looked at each other, smiled, then turned back to me. “Let us know if you ever need anything,” offered the man.

“Or if there’s anything you’ve got your eye on,” the woman added.

They said nothing more, simply looked at me with the sort of warm gaze one might give a younger sibling, then headed up the stairs.

I thought about the exchange for a moment. “I guess it still depends on the person, but I wasn’t afraid of those two at all.” Changes were happening inside of me, and I was starting to take notice of them.

I returned to my room and nearly dove into bed, until I remembered that my shirt was still covered in Monica’s blood. Changing seemed like a good idea.

Seeing the splotches on my clothes reminded me of the fragility of life in this world, and of the power that I had to protect it. I wasn’t a doctor. I had no technical knowledge. And yet I could heal people. I held the power to stave off unfair deaths. That fact made me happy.

Training was hard—really hard—but I was improving, my masteries were increasing, and they weren’t going to decline over time. Or at least they hadn’t so far, so I could only assume the skills in this world didn’t work that way. I got as much out of my training as I put into it, and that kept me going.

“I know my training’s going to last a good while, but it still feels like cheating, being able to see my progress.”

My face relaxed into a smile. If only I’d had that Assess Mastery skill back on Earth.

“Eh, not like it would’ve changed much,” I muttered as I began my nightly magic training.

When I finished, I had my usual dinner at the mess, in the middle of which Nanaella showed up with Monica, who had also changed into fresh clothes.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked her.

“Yes. You saved my life, Mister Luciel. Thank you so much.”

Her face was rather pale. Why had Nanaella brought her here? I looked at my friend inquisitively but got only a nod in response for some reason. It was anyone’s guess what the heck that was supposed to mean, so I moved on.

“Please, it was nothing. I’m glad I was there to help you after you did the same for me when I was first learning magic.”

“So...” she said hesitantly, “how much will it cost me, do you think?”

Her poor complexion made perfect sense now. I still wasn’t fully in tune with how things worked in this world, but it occurred to me that if ever there was a time to extort a patient for money, it would be now.

“Monica, it may have been your job, but you were so kind to me during my days at the Healer’s Guild. Please consider this my repayment. Let’s just say that you paid my fee in advance.”

“What?” She looked utterly flabbergasted. I, however, had no intention of ever sinking low enough to demand payment in such a situation.

“If that’s not enough, then you can join me for a meal, if you like. Gulgar makes the best food.”

Monica burst into tears and bowed deeply. “Thank you. Thank you. So... so much.”

I’d never had someone thank me that vehemently before, and while crying no less, so I was at a total loss. Luckily, Gulgar arrived to save the day.

“Had a rough time of it, didn’tcha, little lady? Here, drink this and get that pep back in your step,” he said cheerfully, placing a cup of soup onto the counter.

“Thank you, sir.”

The four of us spent our meal chatting with each other. I explained that she wouldn’t be able to go home and would need to stay here for the time being. She would need to make one trip back with a group of adventurers to gather her clothes, though. Unsurprisingly, the party who ended up taking the job was composed entirely of women.

We were having fun shooting the breeze, but I had a head start on eating and Substance X was at hand, which would turn my breath rancid for half an hour. Out of consideration, I excused myself somewhat reluctantly.

Nanaella and Monica wished me goodnight on my way out, which kept my spirits high. How easy can I be? I thought to myself.

After some more magic practice, I drifted off to sleep.

One month later, the mercenary who had attacked Monica was captured. Rumor had it the guy was completely in the nude when they picked him up. No connection was found between him and any healers, though. With things as ambiguous as they were, Monica was faced with a difficult choice, and she chose to join the Adventurer’s Guild staff.

“I always heard adventurers were brutes and ruffians, but the ones in Merratoni have been wonderful,” she gushed. Unbeknownst to her, this comment would trigger the formation of her own fan club.

In contrast to this peacefulness was a building frustration in my training with Brod. I was still throwing all I had into landing a blow, any blow, against him, yet it was like bashing my head against a brick wall.

Then, nine months after my training had begun, an enormous earthquake shook the town. Monsters poured out of a mine to the southeast of Merratoni, deep within the forest. None were particularly dangerous on their own, but their numbers were overwhelming. Every single adventurer aside from myself was called out to help stem the tide. All I could do was sit tight and pray with the other staff.

I had assumed there would be many injured adventurers, but surely there would be no fatalities. I’d convinced myself of it somehow. But reality—the fragility of life in this world—was once more thrust into my face.

That day was the first time I lost friends, including the two bodyguards who had helped to rescue Monica. From what I heard, a miasma-amplifying monster had paired up with a beast that grew stronger the more it absorbed its partner’s toxin. Reports noted that the Lineage of the White Wolf were the ones to finally stop the lethal duo.

Before I had time to even let out a sigh of relief, Brod showed up, covered in monster blood, and grabbed my arm. “Every last one of the Lineage of the White Wolf is on death’s doorstep. I need your help to save them.”

I immediately nodded and hurried after him. We arrived at an inn, if it could even be called that. How could the top earners at the guild be roughing it in such a pigsty? Before I could continue with that line of thought, we entered their room and I found myself frozen in shock.

They were dying.

“Luciel, these two were poisoned. Basura’s wounds are deep, but all other signs show that he’s otherwise normal.”

I prioritized Basura. My magic could rejuvenate skin and reset bones, but blood lost was lost for good. Even though it was too dark for me to be sure, my gut told me that he was in the most immediate danger.

Several casts of Heal later, his wounds had fully closed. I went to look for wounds on the other two and found none.

“They took in poisonous gas. Did ’em in quick, since they’ve got nearly no resistance to it,” Brod explained.

I cast Heal on each of them, then switched to Cure, covering their entire bodies—the head, ears, nose, mouth, heart—praying the toxin would vanish.

“What was the monster?” I asked.

“A Gastle. Likely mutated.”

A Gastle’s poison, if I recalled correctly, caused fever, vomiting, paralysis, and decreased immunity. Cure was for detoxification, so as long as it was poison causing the symptoms, the spell should be enough to alleviate them. I held on to that hope and continued casting until my magic was sapped dry and exhaustion overtook me.

Brod brought me two magic potions, which allowed me to quickly resume my work. I cast, and cast, and cast, until finally, just as fatigue was starting to hit me again, they seemed to stabilize.

Once I was sure of their recovery, I returned to Basura to let him know.

“They should be okay now. If anything else happens, please bring them...to the...guild...”

That was all I could force out before consciousness left me.

The next morning, I saw the list of those who had died, those I hadn’t been able to save. I cried for them. I was not all-powerful, I knew that, and still my weakness gnawed at me.

To stave off the sadness, even if only a little, I swore to the departed that I would push myself harder than ever before.

Progress began to pick up in response to the rekindled fire inside me.

“Martial Arts level three. Nice job, kid.”

It was the baseline for most F-rank adventurers. At this level, one could generally take several goblins at once in a fight, and goblins weren’t anything to sneeze at. About a quarter of fresh amateur adventurers ended up having to flee from encounters with them.

It put a smile on my face. I’d worked hard for it, even if it wasn’t an achievement I could go flaunting. Anyone with a high enough aptitude would’ve gone through life and reached level three naturally as an adult. And, according to a book I’d read, training in earnest for an extended period of time with a proper instructor would allow even a layman without a job to obtain such skills.

I had set an example, and as adventurers grew more interconnected after the mine incident, more of them started showing up at the training grounds. Brod and I continued to conduct our training among them, when one day a man complained about Coach’s preferential treatment and decided to test his luck.

My instructor promptly knocked him out cold, and we returned to sparring.

If I wanted to land a hit on Brod, I needed to move faster, be sharper, strategize. I couldn’t just rely on my body; I tried using my eyes or magic to feint, but to no avail. The man was a beast. Not even when the Lineage of the White Wolf joined up with me for a round did we put so much as a scratch on him.

My request to observe one of their own matches was met with a polite refusal, although they did compliment me on reaching a proper adventurer’s skill level in such a short time, which made me forget to press harder.

In regards to how the stats worked, frontline vocations and support classes were very different subjects. To put it simply, each one had certain attributes that were easier or harder to increase after a level-up. What this meant was that if a level ten swordsman fought a level twenty healer in close-combat, the healer would lose more often than not. That was just how job classes worked. I couldn’t change that, so I made my peace with it.

It had taken me ages just to get my Martial Arts skill to level three and I was curious about what a monster like Brod’s stats would be. I was afraid to hear the answer, though, and never asked.

“I couldn’t have made it this far without you, Coach,” I said.

“Keep your flattery. You’re the one who put in the effort...Luciel.”

“That means a lot to me.”

“Just don’t get soft,” he warned. “It’s gonna get even harder to level your skills from now on.”

I nodded. Each level took a significantly higher amount of experience to reach. Brod knew this firsthand.

“Luciel, you came here because you wanted to be able to survive, yeah?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right. Well, today we’re adding a new skill to your repertoire: Ambulation.”

“Ambulation? I’m going to practice walking?” I asked, slightly confused.

“That’s right. You can use it to muffle your footsteps and stay light on your feet. It’ll help you keep your stance low without wearing yourself out, too.”

Like a ninja. Neat. Now some kind of invisibility skill would really complete the look. Brod wouldn’t train me in anything that wasn’t immediately practical, though, so I gave up on the idea.

“I’m ready to get started when you are,” I said with gusto.

“Right. If you can get good at this technique, it’ll work your calves and thighs real well, even without the skill. Then your kicks’ll get sharper; no more of that clumsy shit you do now.”

Music to my ears. “Yes, sir!”

Ambulation training began and for the first time in a long while, Brod’s jeers echoed through the grounds once more.

“I can hear your every damn step! What’re you shuffling those feet for, practicing for a dance recital? Your stance is too high! Yeah, great work, if you feel like gettin’ charged by a wild boar!”

“Wild boar” conjured up memories of that car-sized monster Galba had taken apart on my first day of butchering. I broke out into a nervous sweat at the image of such a creature heading straight for me.

Fearing that he’d turn this practice session into a field exercise if I didn’t pick up the skill quickly, I poured my focus into getting it down fast.

My routine had become as follows: wake up, magic training, breakfast with a dose of Substance X, Throwing training, Martial Arts sparring, lunch with more Substance X, Throwing Training again, more Martial Arts sparring, dinner and yet more Substance X, then one last bit of magic training.

Every day, I would cast Heal at least ten times, sometimes more than fifty times on particularly busy days or for the uglier wounds, but everyone left my clinic satisfied.

I’d started spending more and more of my meals with Monica and Nanaella, and we would’ve been getting along swimmingly if it hadn’t been for Substance X, which Gulgar still forced on me like a madman.

All the same, my time with them provided at least some form of respite from all the training. It held me together. And thanks to that, I managed to squeeze in an extra hour in the mornings and nights to practice Ambulation.

After Brod caught me at it, he started giving up some of our sparring time for even more Ambulation drilling, although personally, I wasn’t too sure about cutting down sparring in favor of this new technique.

“Aren’t I doing a bit too much Ambulation work?” I asked him.

“That skill’s the most important one for you to learn right now. Got it? Good. Let’s get started.”

I wasn’t convinced, but I doubted he would explain further. Maybe he figured I was at the right age to start getting cocky and want to test out my newly developed Martial Arts. A reasonable concern, but I wasn’t that childish, nor was I so reckless. However, given my current physical age, there wasn’t much I could say about it.

Looking at things in a more positive light, maybe my body was too weak to build up my Martial Arts skill any higher and I needed to recondition myself first. Either way, all I could do was trust my coach. I may not have been able to read him well just yet, but I dreamed of the day his intentions would become clear to me.

Life went on, days passed, and before I knew it, it had been a year since I’d arrived in Merratoni.

Status open.

Name: Luciel

Job: Healer III

Age: 16

Level: 1

HP: 320 — MP: 100

STR: 34 — VIT: 38

DEX: 35 — AGI: 32

INT: 42 — MGI: 50

RMG: 48 — SP: 0

Magic Affinity: Holy

SKILLS

Assess Mastery I — Monster Luck I — Martial Arts IV

Magic Handling IV — Magic Control IV — Holy Magic V

Meditation IV — Focus IV — Life Recovery II

Magic Recovery IV — Strength Recovery IV — Throwing III

Butchery II — Detect Danger II — Ambulation II

HP Growth Rate Up II — MP Growth Rate Up II

STR Growth Rate Up II — VIT Growth Rate Up II

DEX Growth Rate Up II — AGI Growth Rate Up II

INT Growth Rate Up II — MGI Growth Rate Up II

RMG Growth Rate Up II

Poison Resist II — Paralysis Resist II — Petrify Resist II

Sleep Resist II — Charm Resist I — Curse Resist II

Enfeeble Resist II — Silence Resist II — Disease Resist II

Shock Resist I

TITLES

Shaper of Destiny (all stats +10)

Protection of the God of Fate (increased SP)

As a result of all the blood, sweat, and tears I’d poured into training throughout the year, my attributes had increased by about one and a half times across the board, some stats even more than that.

I had no point of reference to know whether this was good or subpar. But despite that, I was proud. I was unquestionably stronger than I had been one year ago; I had weathered so much in that time. I’d been punched, kicked, thrown at, cut, blown away, and utterly beaten into the ground, and yet here I was. Alive.

“What’re you mumbling about over there?”

“Oh, good morning, Coach. Nothing, really. Just thinking about how it’s been a whole year, but I can’t really tell if I’ve grown all that much.”

“Well, stop worrying. You’re improving,” he said gruffly.

“You think so? I still can’t see your attacks sometimes, I can’t lay a finger on you, and the only spells I can use are Heal and Cure.”

When I listed it like that, it almost sounded like I hadn’t moved an inch.

“You and I are in entirely different leagues when it comes to our experience and stats. I’d die of shock if you did manage to land a blow on me.”

“That’s very true.” Going up against even a mid-level enemy while at level one in a video game would result in a “game over” faster than you could blink.

“Come on, keep your damn chin up.” He smacked me on the back.

“Ow! That hurts, you know?” I grumbled. “Well, I do think I did all right, buckling down and seeing this out for a whole year. Thank you for everything, Coach. I feel like I could at least manage to run away now if I came across a monster.”

“Nah, you could take one outright, I’d say. Wouldn’t you? You really held in there. Good work not ditching halfway through.”

“I really wanted to at times, to be honest, but I’m the one who started it. I was the one who decided I needed to go through with it in order to survive.”

That, and I had nowhere to go, I thought, but kept that part to myself.

“Say, Luciel, why not stay here? Make it official? Look at Monica, she’s makin’ her way just fine.”

Did he really have to put me on the spot? Here? Where all these adventurers, including Monica herself, were watching?

“Oh, well, I dunno. I mean, I’m a pragmatic sort of person. I’d like to make some money and learn whatever new magic I can.”

Brod paused for a moment. “Makes sense.”

“And you paid for my dues last year. Plus, I can’t buy new grimoires unless I start saving up. The more I learn, the more lives I might be able to save.”

No one had yet to die while I was treating them, but some people I knew were gone forever and it hurt. Dying when one’s time came was one thing, but I couldn’t stand deaths of any other kind—untimely, unfair, or otherwise. I really needed to learn new spells.

“Well, it seems like your mind’s made up,” Brod yielded. “Still, consider working here like I offered. Keep it in mind.”

“I will. Either way, I intend to stay in town, so I’ll be back for more training. And you can give me a call any time you need a healer. I’ll cut you a good deal.” I never imagined the day would come where I’d chat with Brod so casually.

“So, what’s your plan now?”

“I’m off to the Healer’s Guild to find a clinic, where I hope to save up enough money to buy some new spell books.”

“And then what?”

“Study and work hard until I can cast them perfectly, save up to pay my dues, then someday open a clinic of my own that’s easy on the people’s wallets.” The number one thing I had learned this year was the importance of living a quiet life.

“Huh. Sounds like you,” Brod chuckled.

“I still have some things in my room, so I’ll be back to clean it out.”

“Gotcha. And hey, it’s been fun, Luciel.” He smiled at me.

“Thank you so much for everything.” I grinned back and we traded a firm handshake.

I made my rounds, thanking the staff and saying my goodbyes to the adventurers. No one tried to stop me. On the contrary, they all saw me off with a smile. My life at the Adventurer’s Guild had reached its bittersweet end.

I stepped outside and looked up at the clear, blue sky. “Perfect weather.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I held them back. As long as we all kept on living, we’d meet again. I faced forward and took my first steps back to the Healer’s Guild.