A full day passed before I finally started to get over my symptoms and return to what I would call fighting shape. In the same time period, I ate like a horse and gained another several pounds back. I was still a bit sore, but nothing more than a bit of achiness that came from an intense training session.
‘I’ve still got 5 days before I can use healing magic again. I’ll wait till then to go on another hunt. For now…’ I lifted up my armor in front of me. ‘I should head home today and get this repaired… I’ll have to buy a new shirt to wear while it’s in the shop. I can’t believe the wargs did so much damage to it…’ I slowly rubbed a hand across my chest thinking about how lucky I was the claws didn’t go all the way through. ‘Well, I have the money for it at least.’
I threw it back on along with the rest of my gear and headed out for the teleporter, but before I could get there the traffic guided my eyes back to the medical tint.
‘It’s been a full day and there’s still a line? Even when they’re out of potions? How is it this bad?’After a few more steps I stopped in my tracks… “Fine…” I said with a sigh. “Hey, Plutia… You better be watching this. I fully expect this to count as a very handsome donation to the church.”
The warm glow of miracles enveloped me like a warm hug, and then focussed and contracted like a punch to the gut, nearly sending me to my knees. “Yeah well… You know what… I can’t even complain, I deserve that. I haven't gone to a shrine in quite a while…”
Taking a deep breath I approached the medical tint, walking in from the side entrance that the healers used.
They were completely exhausted, sitting around waiting for their mana to recover while the few apprentices who were still standing took care of everything from washing sheets to brewing whatever herbs they could, no matter how little the manna restorative effect was.
Even in the chaos, it was easy to find out who to talk to. The girl in the middle, holding a clipboard. The only one still fully composed, despite her hands starting to turn black. “Are you accepting volunteers?” I asked bluntly.
“Of course.” she said calmly “What do you do?”
“I have magic, I could cure one or two people, at least enough that they’ll live. After that, I can manage the sales of medical supplies. When I was here yesterday the apprentice was showing signs of severe mana deficiency. She could barely stand.”
“Yesterday…” She squinted at me and gritted her teeth. “The two closest to the door need help the most. Then come see me again, if I’m busy take over at the counter. Even if you are a thief it’s not like we have anything valuable left in stock.” she said quickly before briskly walking away.
‘Then why are there so many freaking people here…’ Letting out a sigh I went ahead and got to work. I healed the first one easily enough, quickly catching my balance after adjusting to the sudden massive loss of mana. ‘So that’s what it’s like… Using cure…’ I had said I could do it but it was my first time even attempting the spell, so it was a bit of a relief I could actually pull through. Still, of all the tier 2 spells I knew it wasn’t even close, that one was the most draining. It instantly gave me a new respect for healers.
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Ironically, “cure” was meant to be used on light sicknesses, things that were a little worse than small infections, but not as bad as something like lethal poison. Still, the spell got enough of it out of their system to let them live.
I turned to see the woman with the clipboard talking to a large man who was also wearing healer's robes, ones of a higher level. ‘I bet he’s the girl's master…’
Staggering over to the next person I slowly gathered myself, accomplishing the task just as quickly as the first, having to take a seat afterward as the world began to spin. It wasn’t at all like when I was “High” on my own mana… Instead of exited I felt like I wanted to die.
When I finally regained my sense of balance I looked up to see the same girl from the previous day. Her hands looked even worse, and her steps were so timid they looked like she would trip at any moment.
“Feeling better now?” She mumbled.
‘Really… You’re asking me that?’ As I regained focus in my vision I could see her taking her hand away from my head. ‘No… She wouldn’t be stupid enough to give me mana right?’
“I can take the counter,” I mumbled.
“No, please rest… You can help these people… so…” Her speech started to slow until it completely stopped. “Wait… I’m sorry, what was I saying?”
I slowly stood up. “You need to rest, I’ll be fine.”
“No… I’m a cleric… People could die… Teacher said that I…” Her balance only got worse until she started to fall, collapsing forward into my arms. ‘This idiot… Well, she’s still breathing, that’s a good sign at least.’
I caught her as best I could, but I was too weak to effectively move her. “Hey!” I yelled out. My voice quieted from exhaustion after only the one word. I couldn’t manage anymore. ‘It was bound to happen sooner or later.’ Her body felt ice cold, and she wasn’t opening her eyes. ‘This girl might be as stupid as I am…’
Another nearby apprentice ran over to us to help. “Posy!” She yelled.
My voice was weak, but I was rapidly regaining mana, and with it my strength. “She’s breathing, but it’s faint. Help me get her to a bed.” I muttered.
It felt weird giving orders when I was just a volunteer, but she didn’t object and followed my lead.
After we laid her down I checked her breath again. “It isn’t getting any worse, so she probably collapsed from exhaustion.” I let out a deep breath of relief. “That’s good. Still, we should make sure to keep her warm. Do you have any blankets or anything?”
She quickly handed me a couple and I spread them out, wrapping her up tightly.
“How is collapsing from exhaustion good?”
Finally regaining my full focus I noticed she was also just an apprentice, likely not even good enough to cast “cure” yet, since she still looked healthy. “If she collapsed from lack of mana then blood loss from the eyes and ears might be an issue, as well as a seizure, and in the worst case, her heart would just flat-out stop.
“Sh-shes’ going to be ok right?”
I felt my blood surge as my body regained enough mana to become fully functional again, taking in a deep breath as my head cleared. “She SHOULD be fine…” I grabbed her hand, pulling it up to get a better look at it.
‘Sparks… Maybe I’m just as stupid as her.’ I placed my hand over her forehead and channeled what little mana I had left into her body, making me fall to one knee. I felt short of breath, but her breathing seemed to relax and return to normal at least, which meant there was no risk for her anymore.
“Are you alright?”
“I’ll be fine…” I let out a chuckle. “Let's hope me and Posy here don’t start a new trend…”
She knelt down beside me grabbing my arm for support. “Don’t joke about things like that, are you really alright?”
I raised my hands. “Look, no black marks.”
She grabbed my left hand making me flinch in pain. “What are you talking about your whole hand is black?”
I shut my eyes, scrunching up my face before trying to refocus my eyes. ‘What? No way… But that doesn’t, oh.’ I tried to pull my hand back but it only made it hurt more. “That’s Just a bruise… It’s not from lack of mana so… Please let go…” My voice cracked.
She quickly ripped her hands away and placed them behind her back. “I’m so sorry.”
I let out another groan. “We should get back… There’s still plenty of work to do…”
Somehow she just completely forgot she was worried about me and ran out the door, back to whatever she was doing.
‘I know they're just rookies, but this doesn’t feel professional at all… It’s like no one even knows the most basic things…’
I slowly stood back up and walked out, taking the counter. The bright side was that the shock to my system seemed to have removed the last of the after-effects from the spider silk toxin. So… You know, that was nice I guess.