The next morning, Lee had expected a visit from Lord Blight about his night-time activities, but surprisingly, that never happened. After breakfast, Lee informed his staff that he would not be taking any patients today, which caused a bit of a stir. His new security detail, people he had just taught the art of healing, would be filling in today. If they ran into something they weren’t capable of, he would come back later in the day to take care of them.
Lee left his hospital in normal, casual clothes instead of his Robe of the Genesis. Today, he was doing something that would be difficult.
He was going to talk to Hera’s family.
He walked down the bustling morning streets of Felispar as he made his way to Hera’s family home/shop. Like always, Regina was nearly attached at his hip, and this time Lee understood. Nowhere was safe against the Healer’s Sanctum now that he’d officially declared war.
Hera’s family were cobblers—shoe makers. But, they deserved to know about their daughter's demise from him, not some random employee or intermediary.
When he arrived near the outskirts of the city, where the cost of living was cheaper than elsewhere, he spotted his destination. It was a simple building, two stories, with the living space up above the shop. It wasn’t fancy, large, or eye-catching—It just was.
Lee motioned for Regina to wait outside, which earned him a frown, as he swung the small wooden door inwards, causing a small bell to ring out within the empty store.
Around the storeroom, several tables and shelves were lined up with shoes, boots, and even heels. There were large seats along the walls where one could get their shoes shined, fitted, or adjusted, and the entire space was lit by candles, not enchantments.
The sound of heavy footsteps predated the arrival of a man in his forties. He was tall, taller than Lee’s six foot by a few inches, and wiped his hands with a small towel thrown over his left shoulder. The man was gruff looking and mildly intimidating, but looks could be deceiving—he was a perfect example.
Niles Cross - Human - Level 2
“Looking for anything specific?” Niles asked as he inspected Lee from head to toe. Lee was obviously not the typical customer, even when he was wearing casual clothes to hide his class.
“Mr. Cross, my name is Lee Barnes, a healer. Is the rest of your family available for a meeting? I have news.” Lee tried to keep his voice neutral, but he must have let his emotions leak as Niles slowly stopped cleaning his hands as he zeroed in on Lee’s face.
Niles parted his lips, but closed them not a second later. “Ba—Bad news?”
When silence was Lee’s response, Niles walked off into the back of the shop. Lee took the opportunity to flip the small ‘open’ sign over to ‘closed’ as he stood in front of the door, waiting for Niles' return.
Niles soon returned with a woman by his side who looked between her husband and Lee with worry and confusion.
Mary Cross - Human - Level 2
Lee walked up to the counter, which they both stood behind, and nodded toward the two seats located nearby. Niles quickly took a seat, slamming his ass into it with frustration as he clenched his eyes closed and gripped his towel with white knuckles. Mary, noticing her husband's emotions and actions, began to tear up with worry and concern.
Not wanting to torture them and dangle the news on a hook, Lee spoke honestly and to the point. “I regret to inform you that Hera has passed away.”
The two parents sat there in silence, taking in the terrible news as Lee continued. “Hera, as you probably know, was appointed and hired as my receptionist. She worked diligently and was more than capable of continuing on as an employee. I’m not sure about how much you know of me, but I am the healer that heals for little to none and I am capable of teaching healing magic to others. The Healer’s Sanctum, in their idiocy, attempted to get at me by targeting Hera with poison. This was yesterday.”
Niles was bent forward in his chair, hands tearing at his head as he shook in a pool of conflicting emotions. Mary was sobbing as she leaned across her husband's back.
“I know that this is but a pittance of what you deserve, but I took it upon myself to collect some funds in a poor attempt to ease your loss. I know that it won’t bring her back, but I didn’t know what to do, and I hope this money can enable you to not have to worry about work as you grieve.” Lee took out a small pouch from his Hidden Cache, filled with ten gold pieces, and put it on the counter.
Then, with a not so caring and solemn voice, Lee spoke again. “I have avenged her. The two healers who brought the end to your daughter have been killed by my own hand. They suffered. Immensely.” Lee stood there silently listening to the parents sob, cry, and pour their heart and soul out, before turning for the door. “I’m sorry.”
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Lee left the building without another word as straightened his back as he walked back toward his hospital. Regina followed along, speaking up halfway through their walk. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“Perhaps not, but I take responsibility for it. Speaking of which… What happens when an orphan dies? Does anybody get notified about their death? Someone like Belgrate?”
“If they had a next of kin listed, then yes.” Regina replied.
Lee spared her a glance as he continued walking down the street. “I’m going to say this once, and only once. Never hide anything big like this from me again or you will be replaced. I don’t care if you’re Fatalina’s right hand or not. Am I understood?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, I think I need to make some plans about going through the portal. I think it’s time we speed up the plan of toppling the sanctum. I’m done being passive,” Lee said as they approached his hospital.
After entering and making their way to his room, Lee sat at his desk and he flipped open some notebooks and shuffled through until he got to a blank page. “I assume you’ve been in regular contact with Fatalina and she is aware that the portal leads to the warfront. Have they sighted a portal anywhere? My potential exit point?”
Regina sat down on his bed and stared at the wall, similar to the night before, giving Lee an icky feeling. “There’s no sight of a portal, but she’s aware of the details.”
Lee nodded as he tapped his quill on his blank page. “You’re going to have to hold down the hospital. I know I wasn’t on board for the additional security, but now I’m very concerned. I want this place to be a fortress. How long would that take to set-up?”
Regina shook her head minutely. “Easily done. I can have those you’ve taught heal the patients here. There should be next to nothing that requires your attention.”
“I’ll need to tell Jeremiah as well. I told him I'd let him know.”
“I’ll do that. You really shouldn’t be doing all of your meetings yourself. How many meetings do you think Fatalina personally attends?” Regina asked.
Lee snorted. “You’re probably right. Let’s make some plans, set a time, and prepare. As much as I’d like to dismantle the sanctum myself, I think Fatalina may be slightly better at planning a war. And believe me—This is a war.”
Regina stood and patted down her clothes as she left for the door. “I’ll start preparations… And Lee, I’m sorry.”
Without looking up from his notes, Lee responded. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Your job may be to protect me and gather information, but I expect you to protect the others as well. If another one of my employees gets murdered, I’m putting the fault at your feet. I’m not dumb enough to accept every ounce of responsibility.”
Regina left, leaving Lee alone in his room.
He released a massive sigh as he flicked his eyes toward the notification that had been dangling in his peripheral vision for hours.
Congratulations! You are level 30! You have 3 stat points available.
Killing the two healers from the sanctum had given him enough experience to level once again. After a night of rest, Lee had some time to reflect upon his actions. He’d expected to feel terrible about taking the life of another. At least, once his fury and anger had faded away, but he just felt… normal. It was jarring, knowing that he didn’t feel the slightest bit off about what he did. He was sure that if he had killed two people on Earth, that he’d probably be wracked with unending guilt.
He dumped three free points into his intelligence, bringing the stat up to forty-three. He needed sixty-five to seventy-five intelligence to be able to fly, and he’d be damned if he didn’t get sent to a magical world and couldn’t fly.
With the three extra points, his mana raised past five hundred to five-hundred and fifteen. Not a large jump, but enough to cast Mend Wounds twice more if needed.
Taking a look at his full status page really brought the level gap into perspective.
Name: Lee Barnes
HP: 350/350
MP: 515/515
Level: 30
XP 152/10000
Titles:
Genesis of Healing*
Miracle Worker*
Class: Miracle Worker.
Profession: Otherworldly Academic
Anointed of Arcani.
STATS:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 20
Constitution: 30
Wisdom: 30
Intelligence: 43
Luck: 10
Unused Points: 0
Skills:
Spells:
Abilities:
Skills:
Identify, Mana Sense, Stealth, Mana Manipulation, Speed Reading, Mana Dispersion, Medical Attention, Miraculous Return, Healer’s Beacon, Hidden Miracle, Alter Status, Dauntless Will, Antithesis of Healing, Life’s Guidance, Mana Infusion, Teaching, Spacial Spell.
Spells:
Basic: Earthen Strike, Gale burst, Wall of Winds, Orb of Light, Darken, Conjure Water, Blind, Swiftness, Water Wave Wall, Wall of Earth*, Aquavista, Musical Melodious Memory, Words of the Wind, Homing Light, Sonic Boom, Howling Cyclone, Depth Pressure, Water Walking, Minor Telekinesis.
Advanced: Mend Wounds, Icicle Spear, Touch of Remission, Purifying Light, Void Sphere, Bulwark of Ice, Death bolt, End of the Unwanted, Anesthesilosurge, Create Ice, Weave of Reflection, Renewal, Widespread Renewal, False Data - Life, False Data - Death, Air Conditioning, Strengthening, Reaping Field, Manual Blinking.
Expert: Glacial Cascade, Spear of Eternity. Mortality’s Embrace, Armaments of Eternity
Master:Synthesized 3/5: Drop of Life, Sphere of Annihilation, Hailstorm Blizzard.
Abilities:
Language Comprehension, Healer’s Touch, Hidden Cache, Arcane Synthesis, Chromatic Intuition.
What level would those on the front lines of an on-going war be?