When I eventually woke up, the sun had already gone down and I was inside a tent. As I struggled to move, I heard a bird’s caw. Not long after I heard someone walking over.
“You finally woke up.” Rapunzel commented as she entered my tent.
I ended up letting out a moan as I tried to look for her, despite my body’s protests.
“Don’t move.” she told me as she entered my blurry vision. My eyes burned as I struggled to keep them open. “You are currently suffering from mana poisoning right now. You should get some rest and calm your mana. You probably won’t be able to move for a while anyway.”
I had somehow forgotten about that. I checked my mana to see it bubbling excessively. As I activate my mana to calm it down, Rapunzel continued.
“Gregory tried to relieve your initial backlash, but apologies for not being able to actually help. You were just too exhausted and inexperienced.”
“Pleeas, tell im.” I struggled. “Tank, ou.” I eventually managed to kinda force out. My entire body felt sore, as if I had overworked every fiber of my being. Which, I guess I technically had, in a sense. Mana potions massively overclock your entire body’s mana generation. And, once your mana stops flowing, you are immediately hit with the almost unique feeling of total exhaustion it caused.
Luckily, the mana generation part of the potion, the part that really strains your body, is only active while you are actively generating mana. It also completely deactivates as soon as you stop your mana from flowing. That means that the less mana you use, the less overworked you become. While I don’t have any reference for how much I strained my body, I will probably stay sore for a few days.
“You should tell him that yourself once you recover.”
Sadly, regardless of how long you use the potion, the worst part of a mana potion was still the ‘poison’ that it contains though. Immediately after drinking it, your mana becomes energized, with your mana eventually becoming so full of energy, it effectively starts to bounce around inside you. This doesn’t cause any problems while your mana is actively flowing and you continue to use your mana. But, when you eventually stop, the energy continues to grow within your mana. And, as it no longer has anywhere to go, it becomes trapped inside your body.
This condition is called mana poisoning. And, if you leave it alone for too long, your mana eventually acquires so much energy it effectively starts to boil inside your mana veins. This becomes very uncomfortable very quickly, feeling akin to things crawling through your veins. It can eventually become outright painful, and even harmful, should you leave it ‘boiling’ for too long, as it even becomes visible while it bubbles under your skin. While one potion alone isn’t enough to cause anything worse than that, the effects stack with every potion.
The worst part of the mana poisoning, though, is widely agreed to be the fact that your mana is no longer usable. It becomes impossible to actively flow, the main requirement for utilizing mana for strengthening and casting, as your mana moves around randomly. All trying to activate your mana accomplishes then is to slowly dissipate some of the excess energy it holds. Adding how tiring it is to constantly generate the useless energy, you become effectively as powerful as a child for the upwards of two weeks it takes to completely remove the excess energy.
Sadly, the excessive energy generation appears to be an essential part of overclocking your body. If we could remove that, we would only have to rest for a few days at most after using a potion, making them far more useful.
“I’ll let you rest for now.” Repunzel told me. “Just tell us if you need anything. We are going to be here for a while, as harvesting everything is going to take some time.”
“Ah il” I struggled.
“Ah, sorry about that.” Rapunzel looked guilty as she apologized. “Well, just make some noise then. Someone will be right over.” She corrected as she left.
All I could do was spend the next hour or so calming my magic, before eventually falling asleep.
Even the next day, I still could barely move. All I could really do was keep on calming my magic. After an hour or two, I had finally dissipated most of the excess energy that had been generated while I slept. Sadly, while it is easy to keep your mana ‘flowing’ during the day, doing so while sleeping is impossible. So, that leaves me stuck with having to spend around an hour or so calming my mana back to a ‘normal’ level of energy for me to finally stop shaking and properly interact with the world.
At least the shaking is psychological though, as feeling things move under your skin really makes it difficult to really do, well, anything. I can’t help but feel scared, despite knowing that it’s harmless, at least for now. I can’t even bring myself to open my eyes until I’ve calmed it down, as the feeling of something moving INSIDE MY EYES makes me clench them shut in discomfort. I am honestly impressed that I could force my eyes to stay open while I was talking to Rapunzel. Hopefully I can get used to it soon, I’m kinda stuck with it for two weeks.
Since I finished dissipating most of the excess energy my mana generated while I slept, I eventually let my curiosity get the better of me. I got curious as to what the ‘something’ that was moving around under my skin could be compared to as I stumbled out of my tent, in search of food.
So let's start with worms. Worms wiggle around lik-OH GODS, WHY. I FEEL THEM CRAWLING AROUND ME! HELP. THEY’RE EVERYWHERE. PLEASE. THE WORMS, OH GODS THE WORMS. THEY’RE EATING ME. THEY’RE TAKING OVER. I HEAR THEM, I HEAR THEM. Elizabeth! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE, I FEEL THEM. What’s wrong! THEY ARE SQUIRMING AROUND. I FEEL IT. Calm down! THEY ARE TRYING TO ESCAPE. THEY DESIRE FREEDOM. THEY HUNGER. THEY WON’T STOP. It’s okay, we’re here. I NEED SOMETHING, ANYTHING, TO STOP THEM. NOO! THEY’RE BEETLES, I’M FULL OF BEETLES. Tell us what's happening. NO WORMS. BEETLES. WORMS. THEY ARE FIGHTING. We are here to help you. THEY WANT CONTROL. THEY ARE DEVOURING EACH OTHER. WHY. WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? I NEED HELP. SOMEONE. ANYONE. PLEASE SAVE ME. SOMETHING ELSE IS HERE. IT’S WARM. IT’S FIGHTING, ITS WINNING. I-I’m starting to understand. They aren’t real, it’s fake. There’s no worms. WAIT WORMS. N-no t-there’s nothing. Nothing at all. Haa, it’s fine, I’m fine, everything, is, fine.
“Better now?” I’m asked, causing me to finally notice my surroundings.
I was currently sitting on the ground with my knees to my chest and arms covering my head. Melly is holding me from the left and Rapunzel is on my right rubbing my back. The Hero is squatting down in front of me, with Hansen standing next to him, looking around cautiously. Several summons are moving around the area, appearing to be searching for something. Gregory enters my vision from the side, probably having been behind me, and moves to sit down next to the Hero.
After staring at them for a bit without anyone saying anything, I eventually ask. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what we want to know. You suddenly started screaming and calling out for help. We rushed over and kept asking about what was wrong, but you just kept screaming. We eventually thought that maybe your mana was acting up somehow, but when Gregory checked, nothing seemed wrong." The Hero explained.
“You did, however, stop screaming afterwards, so it is likely I missed something. Would you happen to have any ideas?” Gregory added.
“If there’s anything wrong, please tell us. We will do our best to help you.” Melly comforted, still holding me in her arms.
“My…” I trailed off. “My mana became… worms.” I winced.
“What… may I ask what that even means?” Gregory inquired.
“Exactly what it sounds like.” I end up sighing, realizing that I would need more than that to let them understand. “Haa, even just the mere thought of what had happened sucks.”
“Then don’t tell us. If even just thinking about it hurts you that much, we don’t need to know. Just know that we are here for you.” Melly said.
“No, I really should tell you, it’s just gonna suck.” I persisted.
“Then take as long as you need.” Melly relented, pulling me even further into her embrace. I am now sitting on her lap, with my head in her chest because of how tall she is, as she rubs my back. She makes some gestures behind me, probably secretly telling everyone something.
“Haa, okay.” I take the time to organize my thoughts. “So, because of the mana potion, my mana is bubbling.”
“That’s right.” Melly confirms, her voice surprisingly calm and comforting.
“So it feels like.” I pause. “Like something is c-crawling around, under my skin, all throughout my body.” I say as my body starts to shake.
“So I’ve heard.” Melly confirms, her other hand now caressing my head.
“Haa.” I sigh again. “So, I got curious as to how to, to describe the s-sensation.”
“It’s okay, take your time.” Melly continued to comfort.
She’s right, It’s not like I’m in a rush. I should just relax in her arms for now. With a peaceful sigh, I’m reminded just how years it’s been since I’ve last been held like this. I used to be held like this. The nice priestess, Sarah, back at my church would comfort me similarly whenever I was crying, sick, lonely, or even just feeling down.
A bit after I turned ten, though, I had decided that I was now a big kid that didn’t need people to comfort me whenever I was feeling down. Well, my actual reason was mainly that there were many young or new kids that I knew needed help way more than I did. And, since I was already a ten year veteran orphan by that point, I’d long gotten used to my situation, so I shouldn’t be stealing the poor kids’ comfort for myself.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
So, as I was now a big kid, I wanted to become a proper ‘big sister’ to give back the comfort I’d received to others. Sadly, I lacked the proper mentality for that. Once I turned twelve though, I could test my talent with magic, specifically healing magic. And, after seeing my impressive talent, the priests even asked me if I wanted to be trained as a healer. I, of course, agreed, seeing this as my chance to finally help the other kids, just, in my own way. Even if I couldn’t help them mentally, at least I could still help them physically!
So, with my newfound goal (and passion), I completely devoted myself to learning healing and support magic. Eventually, because of my talent and hard work, I was even asked to attempt the upcoming saint candidate trial. After seeing everyone’s hopeful expressions, I agreed to participate. I still fondly remember how nervous everyone was as they waited for my results. I always found it funny how everyone was so much more nervous than I was.
That was mainly because I genuinely didn’t think I would pass, though. I mean, there would only be a few dozen total candidates at most, and since some of the other testers were the children of powerful healers, nobles, and even the descendant of a previous saint, I felt that my odds of passing were slim. So, when my results finally arrived, no one was more surprised when I passed than I was. The party the whole church then threw in celebration was fun at least.
Afterwards, I had to go to the main temple to be officially assigned my candidacy and receive my training. Surprisingly, I didn’t actually have to stay there for the entirety of my training, I only had to be there once a month or so during our progress testing period. So, despite everyone desperately trying to convince me to stay there for lessons, I decided to return to my church.
All I wanted to do was help the people at my church, becoming the saintess, or even just a candidate, weren’t needed to accomplish that simple wish. While I could tell that the higher ups of the church were secretly disappointed, most of the priests were touched by how much I cared about them, being willing to even miss out on potential saintesshood in order to help them out. Not that that actually mattered, it seems…
So, while I did continue my training and kept regularly checking in at the temple, I never actually expected to actually be chosen as the saintess, much less by being directly chosen and blessed by the Gods.
Funnily enough, the moment I actually received said blessings wasn’t even special. I was just doing my usual morning prayer, when I suddenly felt like I was healed. After looking around in confusion, I figured one of the kids was just pranking me, so I just finished my prayer and went to work healing the sick and injured like usual. It wasn’t until several days later when every saint candidate was summoned to the temple that I eventually figured out what had happened.
At the temple, the Pope proclaimed to us that the Gods had already chosen a new saint, and had given them their full blessings so that they could assist the Hero that they would soon be summoning. He then asked us who was chosen. All he received in response was silence though.
As the silence continued, and everyone started to get concerned, the Pope asked a bishop if everyone was actually here, to which she confirmed that yes, every candidate was currently present. The Pope then decided to have everyone test their capabilities, just in case someone somehow missed that they had been blessed by the Gods. How could anyone miss something like that though, right?
So, it was just going to be a formality, a test to make sure that none of the candidates were chosen before they actually started searching for the missing saint. After waiting in line to cast some buffs on the retired paladin to test everyone’s power, my turn came up. I cast my buffs as usual, but when I turned to leave, I was interrupted by a shout.
“Why is it suddenly so powerful?”
“What do you mean?” The Pope asked.
“Her buffs are much more powerful than last time. She’s maximized them.”
As everyone turned towards me in astonishment, the Pope declared. “Let’s test her ability to heal.” So, with the Pope’s command, the paladin cut his arm and asked me to heal him. I blankly healed him the same way I always did, confused as to what was going on, only to be greeted with another astonished shout.
Okay, so normally when someone is healed with healing magic, they aren’t actually healed. The wound, while fully closed and usable, is still left more fragile than usual, usually taking a few hours before there is no longer a risk of reopening the wound just by straining the area. Saintesses, as well as some particularly high-leveled healers, completely restore the wound to its original state though. While it doesn’t usually matter in your everyday life, when in a battle there ends up being a decent chance that your previous wounds might reopen. If the healer isn’t prepared, or is currently occupied by something else, that can become detrimental.
As everyone was shocked, me more than anyone, I was asked why I didn’t say anything earlier. I could only respond that I just didn’t know. After several rounds of questions, we eventually figured out what had happened. You see, that random healing I received was apparently the Gods’ blessing, something that I somehow didn’t notice for an entire week.
While everyone was flabbergasted, I learned the main reason why everyone was so concerned about who the new saintess was. A saintess is needed, not to join the Hero, but to actually summon the Hero. As a bonus, I got to choose which country was to summon the Hero. It was highly recommended, though, to choose your home country, as choosing another one is a massive insult to your country. So, you should only do so if you truly hate your homeland.
That's why the Kingdom of Trimune was chosen to summon the Hero, as well as why all the party members are also from there.
Eventually I couldn't help but ask why I specifically was chosen. I didn’t expect to actually receive an answer, but, somehow, the church was actually able to find out.
First was that I wasn’t actually greedy for the position, The main reason I wanted more power was so I could help people better. Next was that I have a decently strong will and am quite determined to not give up and keep on improving. Finally, I’m a fairly calm, focused, and curious individual. So, because of those traits and my innate talent, the Gods chose me as the Saintess.
Yeah, that's right! I am the Saintess personally chosen by the Gods! I can overcome anything as long as I don’t give up. I’m not gonna let some stupid… You know, stop me. Besides, I don’t have to do this alone. Let’s overcome my fear! Together!
“Thank you Melly.” I say as I turn to face everyone, still in Melly’s lap and holding her hand. I don’t know why they look so surprised, but that’s not important right now.
“So, in my curiosity, I decided to compare my bubbling mana with whatever I could imagine might feel similar.” I pause, squeezing Melly’s hand. “The first thing I thought of was…” I sighed. “Worms.” I flinched, I felt them appear for a brief moment, almost causing me to throw up. I can’t even bring myself to mention their name.
“It’s okay.” Melly comforted. “We’re here.”
“Haa.” I sigh in an attempt to ease some of my tension. “When I started to wonder how it would feel to have… them, squirming around under your skin, I, haa, I felt it.” I pause, finally realizing what had happened. “My, mana, started to act like… them, it mostly stopped randomly bubbling, and started grouping up into, thousands, of individual, them like things instead. Then, they started moving around just how I imagine they would, should they ever somehow enter someone’s body.”
I hear several shocked gasps and shouts, as everyone looks at me while imagining the horror I had gone through. Even the Hero looked pained, seeming surprisingly guilty that he couldn’t help me.
“By the Gods Elizabeth! Are you okay!” Melly asked with concern.
“That explains why she was screaming. I would too, in her situation.” Rapunzel commented. Her face containing the most emotion I’ve ever seen her have by far.
“Indeed.” Hansen agreed. “Anyone would react in the same way.”
“That also explains why calming her mana helped.” Gregory added in realization.
“Haa, sadly, that’s not everything.” I interrupt.
“What!” They shout.
“In order to deal with them.” I sigh, pulling Melly’s arms around me. “I accidentally turned them into, well, haa, beetles.” I shiver. Not as bad, but I still want to avoid mentioning them for now..
“Oh no!” “Poor Elizabeth.”
“As I freaked out, my mana continuously swapped between them and um, the others, until finally my mana split sides. Some were them, some were others.”
“Man, she can’t ever catch a break, can she.”
“That’s when things got even worse.”
“How can things possibly get worse?” I was asked, too distracted to tell who was talking anymore.
“The them and others, started to, well, attack each other.” I answer, starting to sweat.
“How in the world did that happen?!”
“I wanted them gone, apparently they decided to obey.” I joked with a weak smile. Ah, no one laughed. “Eventually a third force appeared and started to destroy the them and others. Before I could freak out even more, if that was even possible, I started to calm down and realize that everything was fake. Not before giving me one last scare as I tried to figure out what had happened.” I finish. “Before I forget. Thank you, Gregory, for both this time and last time.” I thankfully bowed my head, not able to move the rest of my body because of how tightly Melly was holding me.
“G-glad to be of assistance.” Gregory stutters, too shocked to say anything else.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Eli!” Melly hugged, tears falling as she cried for me.
“I-I’m fine now! You don’t need to worry anymore!” I tried to comfort, but all that did was make her cry more.
As I turned to everyone else for help, I noticed tears welling up in everyone’s eyes. Hansen had his face in the side of one of his summons. Gregory was covering his face with his hand. Rapunzel was staring at the ground with her hands on her knees, struggling to keep calm as shock paints her face. Even the Hero had shed some tears as he looked apologetic.
“What’s wrong with everyone?” I ask in confusion.(I was the one that was hurt)
The Hero, noticing my confusion, explained. “We feel bad about what happened to you.”
“I see.” I nod, remembering having seen things similar happen. After giving it some thought, I realized. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone cry for me before.” I indifferently stated. The Hero flinched at that. Everyone else was equally shocked and started to react even more. Even Rapunzel couldn’t stop herself from crying at that.
Hansen came over to give me a hug. Noticing this, everyone else soon followed suit. They then started telling me words of comfort.
Soon, even I couldn’t help crying about what I went through. Though, sadness wasn’t all I felt. While I do feel bad about it, I couldn’t help but feel a bit happy about how much everyone cares about me. I felt a sort of comfort and sense of belonging unlike anything else I have ever felt before. I hadn’t even realized how closed off and distant I was, even at my church, never letting myself get too close as I subconsciously felt that everyone would eventually have to leave, myself included.
This feeling almost made me feel that the worms were worth it. Almost.