The Doctor Who Wants to Be a Knight

The pitiful young man wore tattered noble robes, clearly a captive of pirates.

Upon seeing Li Ang, he let out a long sigh and whispered a prayer to the Creation Goddess, "Damia be praised! Sir! Thank you for saving me..."

Li Ang was a bit confused. He had been on this continent for half a year, and the arena had people from all sorts of countries. He considered himself somewhat knowledgeable about the deities worshipped in various nations. Damia wasn't a faith of Fieltzwe or the Lionheart Kingdom.

"You worship the Creation Goddess Damia? Then you must be Baxian—but that would place you at the southernmost tip of the continent. How did you end up on the west coast?"

The young man nodded repeatedly, a smile finally appearing on his face. "Thanks to Damia... I didn't expect anyone on the west coast to know of the Creation God! Sir, your friend seems to be injured? I think I can help..."

"Are you a doctor?"

Kloze also dropped his flippant demeanor. "That would be wonderful. I have a clumsy fellow here with a foot injury..."

With that, he shoved aside the trembling, legless pirate lying in the cave, clearing the bed. He then turned and shouted, "Karn, help Sammer in..."

The pitiful legless pirate was unceremoniously dumped onto the ground, letting out a pig-like shriek.

The young man frowned. "Sir! You shouldn't treat an unarmed injured person like that!"

Kloze turned back, his gaze sharp. "Child, you must understand, he is still our enemy..."

Li Ang waved his hands in between them. "Alright, alright, Kloze, take this poor fellow out for interrogation first. See if we can get any important intel... You don't mind looking at my friend's foot injury first, do you, young doctor?"

The young man glanced uneasily at the pirate on the ground, then at Kloze and Li Ang, and nodded hesitantly.

Kloze grabbed the pirate on the ground like a chick and carried him out of the cave, tossing him near the campfire.

Before any interrogation could begin, the pirate wailed, "What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything, just don't hurt me..."

Li Ang slowly sipped his soup, found a clean spot in the cave, and sat down, watching the young man wrap the injured foot of the Meitengheim swordsman named Sammer.

"What's your name, doctor?"

The young man was focused on his task, his movements quite professional. He answered without looking back, "My name is Ansen. I'm a student at the Theological Seminary in Erudition City, not a doctor..."

Ansen?

Li Ang finally managed to recall the name. He had spent over half a year in the arena, a long period filled only with training and matches. He had almost forgotten many things.

Ansen was from Aishikeman, a large city in the south. Furthermore, he was the son of a minor noble.

However, after losing his fief, his father had become a merchant.

His family desperately wished for him to become a noble priest—they were all devout followers of the Creation Goddess Damia.

Thus, Ansen was sent to the Theological Seminary in Erudition City.

But like all families, his parents hadn't asked about the young man's own dreams...

Ansen couldn't stand the monotonous chanting and copying at the seminary. He had also witnessed firsthand the lack of compassion the clergy had for the common folk, how they appeared righteous in public but were debauched in private.

He didn't want to associate with such clergy, so he ran away to pursue his own dream.

He still believed in and respected Goddess Damia, but he longed to become a knight, a true knight embodying the eight virtues of knighthood. He felt that the Radiant Cross Knights of Erudition City would likely fulfill his dream.

Unfortunately, in Erudition City, he boarded the wrong ship... a ship flying the flag of the Radiant Cross. That ship took him along the Sava River across half the continent to the west coast—it was a group of pirates, and the cross flag was merely a successful disguise.

Fortunately, Ansen had learned a good deal of medical skills during his years at the seminary, so he became the pirates' temporary doctor—at least until his father paid a sufficient ransom.

According to Ansen, this camp originally had about fifty pirates, but Li Ang and his companions had only encountered a little more than half—because the rest of the pirates had gone to Erudition City again.

Ansen didn't know what they were going back and forth to Erudition City for, but it didn't seem like they were sending letters home for ransom—these pirates hadn't asked him to write for help, and sending a letter wouldn't require so many people.

It was precisely because the pirate leader wasn't here that they attacked any strangers on sight...

"What are you going to do now? Planning to go home?"

Li Ang asked. He was getting along well with Ansen; he was a polite, kind, and upright young man.

Moreover, in Li Ang's somewhat hazy memory, this Ansen should be a companion he had recruited in the game before.

However, reality was clearly different from the game—Ansen's face was completely unlike the rough modeling in the game. His youthful appearance, with a few pimples, made him look like a high school student.

And in the game, these companions were only encountered in taverns, but Ansen was found in a pirate den...

Ansen shook his head. "If I go home, I'll have to go back to the seminary. I don't want to go back to the seminary... Mr. Li Ang."

Li Ang gave him a thumbs-up of approval. "Persevering in one's ideals is a virtue. If you're willing, my team is short on a doctor."

Ansen sighed. "If possible, I'd rather be a knight than a doctor... Thank you for taking me in, Lord Li Ang."

Li Ang smiled, his expression a little strange. "The Radiant Cross Knights are known for their medical skills, but I heard they don't treat commoners anymore? Do you intend to become that kind of knight?"

Ansen blinked, then shook his head. "No, treating commoners should also be a knight's duty. Regardless of what others do, I want to become a true knight."

Li Ang looked at Ansen, who was still meticulously bandaging the injured man, and finally nodded seriously. "A true knight... You will have your wish."

With that, he downed the soup in his hand, threw down his helmet, and rummaged through a corner of the cave for a piece of wire, starting to pick the lock on the shackles binding Ansen's feet.

For a modern person, such a simple single-pin lock was very easy to open. Moreover, this was also a signature skill of 'Lyon Griffin' from his days roaming the streets as a youth.

Click. A crisp spring sound echoed. Ansen rubbed his ankle and thanked him, "Thank you, Mr. Li Ang..."

Li Ang, however, stood up with a look of surprise.

Because his "Riding and Swordplay System" had not given any prompt at all.

The long-awaited message, 'Ansen has joined your party,' had never appeared.

The team roster still only listed one Great Swordsman and twelve Meitengheim adventurers.

Ansen looked at the small piece of wire in Li Ang's hand with a complex expression, his gaze towards Li Ang filled with disbelief.

"Sir, that pirate outside seems to know some strange things, but he's only willing to tell the doctor..."

Kloze entered and saw his subordinate, who had already been bandaged. His gaze towards Ansen held a hint of warmth.

Li Ang looked at Ansen, his own gaze somewhat complex.

Ansen walked out of the cave and squatted in front of the pirate. The pirate whispered something in his ear, then looked at him eagerly, his eyes full of a desire to survive.

Ansen was silent for a moment, then nodded at the pirate and stood up. He turned back to Li Ang and said, "He hopes you'll spare his life..."

Li Ang grinned strangely and asked the pirate on the ground, "You clearly know I'm the boss here, so why negotiate with Ansen? He can't make the decision."

The pirate bared his teeth, forming what was probably meant to be a smile. "Because I know he'll definitely keep his word... If you kill me, he won't tell you anything."

No one in Pendor was a fool; even a pirate understood how to act in his own best interest.

Li Ang looked at Ansen. "You decide, future Radiant Knight."

Ansen was stunned for a moment, then bowed his head and saluted. "Then, please spare him. He's already crippled and can no longer do evil."

Li Ang nodded and smiled.

He heard the long-awaited prompt—'Ansen has joined your party'.