Chapter Summaries

Grete challenged the necromancer’s Golden Skeleton and used forensic knowledge to identify its skull and pelvis as female, even concluding that the woman had given birth. The necromancer opened a passage to continue their discussion, then stopped and ordered the others not to leave.

• The temple guards watched as Grete questioned the necromancer about whether the Golden Skeleton was male or female.
• The Golden Skeleton removed its head, and Grete explained the skull’s features using his forensic medicine knowledge.
• Grete examined the pelvis and identified it as a woman’s, then said the woman had given birth.
• The necromancer made the Golden Skeleton dismantle and reassemble itself, but it toppled over and the Black Cat laughed.
• The necromancer opened a passage and invited Grete to talk inside, then ordered the others to stay.

Gret and his companions were imprisoned in bone cages after wrecking the necromancer’s hall, and the necromancer allowed Roman Knight to be treated. Gret warned Roman Knight that healing only the outside of his wrist wound would leave it ruined, but Roman Knight ignored him, and Gret ended the chapter confident that the knight would suffer the consequences.

• The necromancer trapped Gret’s team and the temple warriors in bone cages, restored the gargoyles, and said he would release the prisoners the next morning.
• Priest Donald begged the necromancer to treat the unconscious Roman Knight, who allowed a Healing Potion to be passed into his cage.
• Roman Knight woke and poured the potion onto his wrist despite Gret warning him to repair the injured tendon first.
• The necromancer offered to kill Roman Knight for Gret, but Gret declined.
• Black Cat revealed that it could talk and introduced itself as Mister Troca.
• Gret told Mister Troca that Roman Knight had ruined his own wrist by ignoring the warning.

Gret met the necromancer Andrew Lynn and used his forensic knowledge to explain how bones and teeth could help identify the dead. The chapter left Gret teaching Andrew while enjoying the food Andrew’s skeleton served him.

• Andrew Lynn introduced himself as a necromancer from Black Crow Marsh and asked Gret about identifying bones.
• Andrew’s Golden Skeleton brought food and offered its own skull for Gret to examine.
• Gret explained how tooth wear could help estimate a person’s age, using the skeleton’s teeth as an example.
• Andrew leaned in to inspect the teeth while Gret ate pancakes with honey and drank mint water.
• Gret continued teaching Andrew about estimating age from teeth and the pelvis.

Gret received a letter of recommendation from Necromancer Lynn to meet the Mage Tower, but Lynn then tried to force him to operate on the injured knight Roman. Gret refused, declaring that he would never use medicine to hurt anyone.

• Gret told Necromancer Lynn that he was interested in Elemental Magic, and Lynn wrote him a letter of recommendation to the Mage Tower.
• Lynn asked whether Gret could repair Roman's ruined hand, and Gret hesitated because he lacked the tools and expertise for the delicate surgery.
• Lynn sent his shapeshifting Black Cat to drag Roman into the chamber so Gret could demonstrate the procedure.
• Roman clung to the stone doorway as the Black Cat dragged him closer, while Priest Donald called for help.
• Gret stepped between Lynn and Roman and refused to operate, swearing never to use medicine to harm anyone.

Gret refused to use his medical skills to harm the Roman Knight, but demonstrated surgery to Lynn and received a valuable set of alchemy equipment in return. Lynn tried to recruit him into the Necromancer school, while Gret remained set on joining the Elemental Mages.

• Gret stood by his oath not to use medicine to hurt anyone, so Lynn returned the Roman Knight to the bone prison.
• Gret performed tendon repair surgery on a sheep while explaining his methods to Lynn.
• Lynn and Gret built a skeletal shadowless lamp, and Gret continued operating through the night before sharing mutton soup with Lynn and the Black Cat.
• Lynn gave Gret surgical tools and a complete set of basic alchemy equipment as thanks for sharing his knowledge.
• Lynn urged Gret to join the Necromancer school, but Gret told him he was interested in Elemental Mages.

Gret went to Hartland City's Mage Tower with a letter of recommendation from Andrew and met Magister German after an explosion sent Eliot flying from a window. German agreed to let Gret study at the tower despite his lack of magical knowledge, and Gret was left with permission to attend lessons and read books on the first floor.

• Gret left the Temple party and rode to the Mage Tower after reuniting with his companions and Captain Karen.
• An explosion shook the Mage Tower, and Eliot flew from a fourth-floor window before falling and twisting his ankle.
• Gret helped Eliot back to the tower and gave Magister German the necromancer's letter of recommendation.
• German questioned Gret about his magical studies and learned that Gret could not read Magic Script or cast spells, but could read Common Script and use healing magic.
• German waived the monthly tuition and allowed Gret to attend lessons, read books on the first floor, and seek help from willing students.

Gret worried about the cost of studying magic and the poverty he saw in Hartland City, then asked Knight Flynn not to dock his pay while he attended the Mage Tower. When Knight Xiluo was badly injured in a sparring accident, Gret recognized signs of tension pneumothorax.

• Gret told his companions that Magister German had allowed him to sit in on lectures, and they congratulated him on the opportunity.
• Gret rode through Hartland City with Captain Karen and saw widespread poverty, dirty streets, and poor housing.
• Gret entered the City Guard barracks and watched Commander Stephen Nolan and Knight Xiluo spar.
• Knight Flynn laughed when Gret asked him not to dock his pay while he attended the Mage Tower.
• Knight Xiluo was struck and collapsed, struggling to breathe as the warriors called for a priest.
• Gret examined Knight Xiluo's chest injuries and recognized the symptoms of tension pneumothorax.

Gret used an improvised chest decompression to keep a wounded man from suffocating while the others fetched help. The bishop arrived as the patient began to recover, and Gret insisted the bishop treat him before he removed the chicken-bone airway.

• Gret recognized that the wounded man had tension pneumothorax and called for a syringe, but nobody understood what he needed.
• Gret convinced Knight Flynn to help and asked for a hollow tube, so a warrior brought him a chicken leg bone.
• Gret stabbed the wounded man’s chest with a dagger, and Knight Flynn inserted the chicken bone as pressurized air hissed out.
• Gret manually controlled airflow through the bone as the man’s chest swelling subsided and his complexion improved.
• The bishop arrived with several priests, and Gret told him to treat the wounded man before Gret removed the bone.

Gret kept Knight Xiluo alive until the bald bishop could heal his severe chest injuries. After Xiluo thanked and invited him home, the bishop asked Gret to explain his lifesaving method.

• Gret described Xiluo’s broken ribs and punctured lung, then asked the bald bishop to heal him while he kept a chicken bone in place to maintain chest pressure.
• The bald bishop healed Xiluo, who recovered his breathing and thanked the God of War.
• The bishop told Xiluo to thank Gret, and Xiluo thanked him and repeatedly invited him to his home.
• The bald bishop asked John whether Gret was the young healer John had mentioned, and Gret realized John had sought protection for him.
• The bald bishop invited Gret to explain his method to the God of War’s priests, and Gret agreed.

Gret Nordmark taught the City Guard and priests battlefield first aid, explaining emergency treatment for chest injuries and bleeding. The lesson was interrupted when an emissary from the lord’s manor arrived with guards to summon Gret for questioning by order of the temple.

• Young Priest John told Gret that he had informed the bishop about the knight, and Gret thanked him.
• Gret persuaded the company commander and the bishop to move the lesson to the larger main hall so more soldiers could attend.
• Gret explained tension pneumothorax and battlefield first aid, then began teaching the soldiers how to stop bleeding.
• Two platoon commanders asked for paper and pens, and Knight Flynn brought Gret a board and large sheets so he could draw diagrams.
• The soldiers ate bread, cured meat, and vegetable soup while Gret continued the lesson.
• A City Guard soldier reported that the lord’s manor had come to arrest someone, and an emissary entered to summon Gret Nordmark for questioning by order of the temple.

The Spring Goddess's Temple came to take Gret Nordmark in for questioning over Knight Roman's accusation. Knight Nolan and the Temple of the God of War's bishop accompanied Gret, while the temple emissary quietly revealed that Roman's injuries had not healed well after he went untreated overnight.

• Gret identified himself to the Spring Goddess's Temple's emissary, who ordered two guards to take him away.
• Knight Nolan agreed to accompany Gret after Captain Flynn told him about Roman's abuse of authority, the necromancer, and Gret's role in the incident.
• The bald bishop of the Temple of the God of War joined the party, and the group walked from the City Guard barracks to the Spring Goddess's Temple.
• A temple guard told Knight Nolan that Roman had filed the complaint against Gret.
• The emissary explained that Priest Donald had testified for Gret and that Roman's injuries were healing slowly because he had been left untreated overnight.

Roman Knight discovered that his injured thumb still could not grip a sword despite Donald’s healing, and he blamed Gret for the damage. Gret arrived at the Temple of the Spring Goddess with Captain Nolan and a bishop, where the High Priest received them and Nolan introduced Gret as a promising new City Guard recruit.

• Roman Knight found that Donald’s healing had not restored strength to his right thumb and ordered a trainee knight to check whether Gret had been brought in.
• A guard told the trainee that Gret had entered through the temple’s main entrance alongside Captain Nolan and the God of War bishop.
• Gret examined the Spring Goddess temple’s fountain and noticed the High Priest’s glasses, wondering about their lenses and possible medical uses.
• The High Priest greeted the bishop and Nolan, while Gret tried to blend in with the guards.
• Nolan brought Gret before the High Priest and explained that Gret had recently awakened healing magic and that he had accompanied him to hear the temple’s questions.

Gret faced an inquiry at the Temple of the Spring Goddess after Roman Knight accused him of colluding with a necromancer and injuring him. The Bishop of the God of War confirmed Gret’s account through Priest Apprentice John, strengthening his defense.

• The High Priest arranged a hearing in the temple, where Gret stood in the criminal defendant’s dock and Roman Knight sat opposite him.
• Roman Knight accused Gret of causing his damaged hand, but his spirit visibly faltered when he saw Captain Nolan and the Bishop present.
• Priest Donald’s absence was explained as a period of seclusion, and Gret described how he and his squad had been knocked unconscious by the necromancer.
• The Bishop confirmed that Gret’s account matched Priest Apprentice John’s report of the search.

Gret faced Knight Roman’s renewed accusation after Roman was caught framing him, and the High Priest ordered Roman confined in the temple’s ascetic chamber. Knight Nolan warned Gret that Roman might seek revenge after his release, but Gret said he only needed a few months to become a Mage Apprentice.

• Knight Roman accused Gret of preventing his healing and having a Black Cat drag him into the temple, while Gret asked what would happen if the accusation were believed.
• Gret challenged Roman’s credibility by pointing out that Roman had already falsely accused him, and Knight Nolan showed his approval.
• The High Priest silenced Roman with Divine Arts and ordered him confined in the temple’s ascetic chamber until he made a breakthrough.
• Knight Nolan and the bald bishop discussed Roman’s damaged hand and the possibility that only a high-ranking priest could heal it.
• Knight Nolan warned Gret that Roman might seek revenge after leaving the temple, but Gret said a few months would be enough time for him to become a Mage Apprentice.

Gret returned to Uncle Karen’s home, where Auntie Irene and the family welcomed him with a meal and Avril shared her malt candy with him. When Gret noticed cyanosis in Avril’s toenails and recalled her history of weakness and coughing, he worried she might have a serious condition and asked to examine her.

• Gret wandered through the dark streets, unsure which house was his and hungry after his patrol.
• Auntie Irene spotted Gret and brought him inside, where she served him meat soup, bread, and cured meat.
• Avril offered Gret a piece of malt candy to thank him for saving her father, Uncle Karen.
• Avril began coughing, and Gret noticed that her toenails were purplish while her lips and fingernails remained pink.
• Gret recalled Avril’s long history of frailty and coughing, suspected differential cyanosis, and asked Auntie Irene for a tube to listen to her breathing.

Gret diagnosed Avril with patent ductus arteriosus and realized that treating her would require medical technology unavailable in this world. He left determined to learn magic and find a way to save her within ten years.

• Gret listened to Avril's heart with a fire bellows and heard a continuous murmur consistent with patent ductus arteriosus.
• Auntie Irene told Gret that the Bishop had dismissed Avril's condition as weakness and said he could not treat her with Divine Arts.
• Gret saw that Avril's cyanosis had faded after her coughing stopped and took comfort that her condition seemed mild.
• Gret considered the modern tests and surgery that could repair Avril's heart, then recognized that none of the necessary equipment existed in this world.
• Gret resolved to begin learning magic the next day and save Avril within ten years.

Gret prepared for his first day of studying magic at the Mage Tower, then received unexpected help from Auntie Irene. He healed her injured hands before setting out.

• Gret searched his father's chest and packed a little paper, a Feather Pen, and ink for taking notes at the Mage Tower.
• Gret woke after a long night, washed up, and struggled to choose between his two shirts.
• Auntie Irene arrived with new clothes made by Brother Raymond and a packed lunch, and insisted Gret change into them.
• Gret noticed the cuts on Auntie Irene's hands and used healing magic to mend them and warm her hands.

Gret began his first day studying in the Mage Tower’s library, only to discover he could not read the books and had to haul them down one by one to identify them. After finding that at least one was a novel, he heard an unknown voice tell him he could not continue this way.

• Gret found the first-floor library empty and learned he was forbidden from going upstairs.
• Gret searched the shelves for the basic magic books Magister German had named but could not read their titles or contents.
• Gret struggled to carry the heavy books, worrying that future spell-copying materials would be expensive.
• Gret finally read the title of one book, The Archmage's Journey of Miracles, and discovered it was an adventure novel.
• As Gret reached for another book, a voice behind him said he could not go on like this.

Gretel treated Eliot’s injured ankle and asked him to recommend a reading order for learning magic. Eliot selected a set of introductory books for Gretel, whose magical studies finally began.

• Gretel recognized Eliot as the mage who had been blasted from the Mage Tower and examined his swollen ankle.
• Eliot tried to escape as Gretel tested the injury, but Gretel diagnosed and healed his sprained ligaments.
• Gretel asked Eliot what order he should read the magic books in, hoping to receive guidance in exchange for treatment.
• Eliot used magic to sort the library books and chose Magic Script Studies and Basic Meditation as Gretel’s starting texts.
• Eliot said Gretel could study books on runes, incantations, elements, and potions in any order, and read several other books for fun.

Gret struggled to learn Magic Script so he could study magic, turning a confusing textbook into a handwritten vocabulary list. After running out of paper, he went home to search for money and supplies, then pulled a small box from under his bed.

• Gret found that the magic textbooks were written in Magic Script and began studying the language from its reference book.
• Gret cataloged the script's letters and copied words with their Common Tongue definitions into a homemade dictionary.
• After working for most of the day, Gret ran out of paper and left the library rather than risk asking Magister German for supplies.
• Gret retrieved the original owner's purse, counted two Silver Coins and seven Copper Coins, and worried that it would not cover paper.
• Gret crawled under his bed, moved the book chest, and dug out a small box.