Healing (Part Two)

"Mm." The middle-aged Druid gave Romon a slight nod, then silently crouched beside the wounded man to examine him. The leaf cloak draped over him rustled with a soft "shasha," and two little birds flew away from his body.

"Carry him into my hut first." After silently examining him for a while, the Druid spoke to the two of them.

The moment they heard this, both of them felt their spirits lift. Since he was letting them carry the man inside, there had to be great hope of healing him.

Romon and Fafier hurriedly lifted the stretcher again and carried the man into the hut.

The moment they had settled him down, the Druid waved his hand and directly drove them out. "You two, go outside first!"

Romon and Fafier looked at each other, but neither dared disobey. They could only stand guard outside the hut.

After waiting for a while, Fafier finally could not hold himself back. He leaned closer, half-covering his mouth with one hand as he whispered, "Romon, I wanted to ask earlier." He glanced at the big dog. "Can you speak its language?"

The large black dog, Dake, was also standing guard outside. It lay directly on the nearby grass.

"What? Speak its language?" Romon did not understand at first. Then he followed Fafier's gaze, and only then did realization dawn on him. "No, of course I can't!"

"Then what were you doing when we came over just now?" Fafier froze, suddenly feeling even more embarrassed.

"Talking to it, of course!" Romon said strangely.

"If you can't speak its language, how were you talking to it?" Fafier suddenly wanted to wipe away his sweat.

"But it understands our language..." Romon spread his hands.

Fafier was instantly left speechless in awkwardness.

Druids generally had three paths. Although the lineage Romon inherited did not focus on communicating with beasts and plants, it was not entirely ignorant of such matters either.

After a while, seeing that Fafier had fallen silent, Romon closed his eyes and rested as well.

The trees here did not appear any different from those elsewhere on the surface. Yet the plants here carried an intense inner sense of budding life.

That fresh, vigorous scent made Romon feel extremely comfortable. He felt as if his entire body were growing healthily along with that powerful urge to sprout.

Without realizing it, Romon became intoxicated by that warm, hazy feeling of comfort.

"The natural aura in the hut has grown denser." After some time, Romon slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the small hut.

"What's going on?" Fafier looked utterly confused.

"It's naturally our Druid divine magic." Romon offered a brief explanation. Though he did not yet possess any abilities beyond the mortal realm, he was still a Druid in training. "It borrows the power of the natural aura nearby to achieve various goals. Right now, it's healing injuries."

"We're so far away, with a wall between us, and you can still tell what divine spell it is?" Fafier did not think much of it and asked directly.

"It should be a healing spell, right?" Romon looked helpless. "Could it possibly be making blueberries for breakfast?"

"Heh... heh!" Fafier chuckled. Now that his companion had hope of recovery, he felt much more relaxed.

With a creak, the wooden door of the hut was pushed open from within.

"Let's go in!" Romon called out and walked straight over.

Fafier followed with a smile.

The two entered the hut and saw that Nick was still lying on the wooden bed, seemingly asleep. The middle-aged Druid was reclining in a vine chair nearby. When they approached the bed, they saw that Nick's complexion had become much rosier, no longer as pale as before.

"Teacher, is he healed?" Romon asked.

"He is no longer in danger of dying!" The Druid nodded.

"Thank you, Master!" Fafier said gratefully.

"...But this young man's organs were damaged. His internal organs were ruptured, and a great deal of blood had poured into his body. Though the treatment has repaired the damage, he should avoid strenuous physical activity as much as possible in the future." The Druid continued, unable to suppress a cough. "To completely eliminate the deeper injuries is not something a single treatment can accomplish."

"Teacher, what counts as strenuous physical activity?" Romon had a bad feeling.

Fafier pricked up his ears as well.

"Running quickly, intense combat, even speaking too loudly..." With every sentence the Druid spoke, the two men's faces darkened further.

"How could this be..." Fafier looked terrible. He clutched his head with both hands, disbelief written all over his face, muttering, "Didn't Master let us carry him inside only because you were confident you could completely heal him?"

Jefa sat in the vine chair and smiled helplessly. "I never said I was confident. It's simply that this young man's injuries were far too severe. Even by borrowing nature's power to soothe his wounds, he will still need to remain bedridden and recuperate for a long time. And he will need continuous divine treatments, or else you must seek out higher-level Priests or Druids—you know, even we Druids must follow the rules."

Gods did not need money, but churches and Priests did.

Divine magic was a manifestation of divine grace. If it were given freely, it would seem cheap and would not allow people to understand divine grace. Thus, whether for spreading the faith or for the practical needs of churches and Priests, there had to be a price.

Druid divine magic came from nature, but for a long time, nature deities had permeated this profession. Druids could not break the rules of the gods either.

Romon was a Druid himself, so he understood. Because of the relationship between teacher and student, one free treatment was already the limit. It was impossible for Jefa to keep spending precious natural power on Nick.

At Druid levels one and two, one could obtain Heal Minor Wounds. Levels three and four had no new healing spells. At levels five and six, one could Heal Light Wounds. Jefa was a level-five Druid, possessing beginner healing divine magic. Therefore, as he had said, either they would have to repeatedly use beginner divine magic, or they would need to hire a Druid above levels nine or ten who knew intermediate healing divine magic.

Fafier's face was exceedingly grim. This meant Nick would become useless. How was he supposed to live from now on?

After thinking for a moment, Romon gritted his teeth and asked, "Teacher, if it's only your current treatment, how many times would it take to heal him completely?"

"At least around ten times. The price is thirty silver coins each time!"

Romon thought for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, "In that case, please cast it. I'll pay the debt."

Fafier opened his lips as if to say something, but nothing came out.

Three hundred silver coins equaled the entire property of a household in town. Fafier's family could not possibly produce that much money either. If Romon took it all on in one breath, then his debt would rise to four hundred silver coins.

Jefa glanced at him. Naturally, he could see the green light on Romon's body. A trace of surprise flickered in his eyes as he asked, "You're already a Druid now?"

"Yes, look!" After falling silent for a moment, Romon scattered some green light.

"Mm, it is indeed the spontaneous spell unique to a level-one Druid—Plant Pacification."

Plant Pacification could grant injured plants a certain degree of healing and growth, or make seeds sprout. Jefa was a level-five Druid, just one step away from advancing to level six, so naturally he was very familiar with it.

Since Romon was a Druid, he would eventually be able to repay those three hundred silver coins. Jefa nodded and said, "Though you are a Druid now, let's make this clear first—at most, you may owe it for three months. How about that?"

Three months to repay three hundred silver coins made Romon hesitate. But in the next instant, he gritted his teeth again. "All right!"

"Then I can cast it three times a day and finish the treatment within three days!" Jefa said.

"Thank you, Master!" Fafier said. Seeing that the Druid was about to cast his spell, the two withdrew outside first.

The two stood on a slightly higher spot. In the distance, an unbroken forest stretched into view. It extended along the mountains into the far distance. Even beneath such brilliant sunlight, it still looked like a mass of cold, ink-dark green... That was a place even ordinary Druids were unwilling to venture deep into.

Staring toward the forest, Fafier slowly exhaled a foul breath. "After we return, I'll help you repay your debt first. I'm preparing to officially become a warrior and undergo training. My foundation should be pretty good!"

"Do you have connections? Otherwise, should I introduce you to Captain Richard?" Romon did not ask further and merely said this.

"Haha, Captain Richard only taught you because Captain Koirilo told him to look after you. It wasn't because of your own ability. But it's fine. No matter what, my family has served in the military for generations, so we still have some connections in the camp." Fafier laughed and spoke to Romon. After pausing, he added abruptly, "Romon, this time, it was all thanks to you."

Romon smiled to himself. He knew Fafier felt bad about it. After all, the three of them had taken this risk together, yet now Romon was advancing all the money, so Fafier felt guilty. Romon merely replied lightly, "What are you saying? We're friends. If we act like this, can we still call ourselves friends?"

Fafier nodded hard.

"Let's wait three days. It's a little long, but it's better than returning badly wounded. Nick was seriously injured this time. Even if he recovers, he shouldn't go adventuring anymore. I want him to open a shop. You know, I'm a Druid now. I can gather medicinal herbs and make potions to sell." Romon said.

Within a territory, marketplaces were divided into two types. One was workshops or handicraft shops exclusively run by the lord, while the other was operated by free citizens themselves and required permission. But now that Romon had become a Druid, that request should be approved.

"All right, but we can't waste these three days. I'll take the two elk and the goblin skins back first, report that we're safe, and keep them from rotting. Romon, you can gather some wild goods nearby. Earn as much as you can." Fafier returned to normal. "Once I bring over my family weapons and leather armor, we can think about how to make money!"

This was exactly what Romon wanted. During this time, he intended to gather more valuable plants. Though he could not yet plant them in his space, he could collect seeds and store them there. Once he leveled up later, he naturally could plant them. Such things were not easy to find. Perhaps he could ask Jefa. As a level-five Druid, he should know.

The sun gradually climbed higher, and noon drew near. Fafier went to cut off the tenderest portions of the elk to leave behind. After all, not only did Nick need nourishment—even Jefa was not a vegetarian. Druids did not avoid meat. On the contrary, they emphasized that the strong preyed on the weak as a law of nature. They merely obeyed natural laws and did not kill beasts beyond what they needed for food.

Slung over his shoulders, the two elk were carried away as Fafier headed toward town.

Just then, waves of natural power came from the wooden hut. Jefa was casting his spell. A moment later, it was finished inside.

Romon gently pushed open the wooden door. Before his leading foot had even stepped inside, he heard Jefa speaking. "Today's portion is complete. I'll continue tomorrow. Mm, mm, very fine elk meat. Just right for cooking!"