"Hmm." The middle-aged druid nodded slightly at Romon and silently squatted beside the wounded man to examine him. The leaf cloak he wore emitted a rustling friction, and two small birds flew off his shoulders.
"Carry him into my hut first." The druid silently inspected the man for a moment, then spoke to the two of them.
Hearing this, the two felt their spirits lift greatly. Since he was telling them to carry the man inside, there must be a strong hope of healing.
Romon and Fafier hurriedly hoisted the stretcher again and carried the man into the house.
As soon as the two had settled him down, the druid waved his hand directly to drive them out. "You two go outside first!"
Romon and Fafier looked at each other in dismay, but did not dare to disobey, so they simply had to keep watch outside the house.
After waiting like this for a little while, Fafier finally couldn't help himself. He leaned in close, half-covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "Romon, I wanted to ask you just now." He glanced at the large hound. "Can you speak its language?"
The large black hound Dake was also keeping watch outside, lying directly on the nearby lawn.
"What? Speak its language?" Romon didn't understand for a moment. He turned his head and followed the other's gaze, then said with sudden realization, "No, of course not!"
"Then what were you doing when we just came over?" Fafier was stunned, instantly breaking out in more sweat.
"Talking to it, of course!" Romon said strangely.
"You don't speak its language, how did you talk to it?" Fafier suddenly felt a strong urge to wipe away his sweat.
"But it understands our language..." Romon spread his hands.
Fafier was left speechless and awkward.
Druids generally had three modes. Although Romon's lineage of inheritance did not focus on communication with beasts and plants, he was not completely ignorant of it.
After a while, seeing that Fafier wasn't talking, Romon also closed his eyes to rest and preserve his energy.
The trees here, compared to those seen elsewhere, did not look different on the surface. But the inner nature of the plants here possessed a strong sense of budding vitality.
This budding, vigorous scent made Romon feel very comfortable. He felt as if his entire person was also following this intense intent of sprouting and growing healthily.
Before he knew it, Romon became intoxicated by this intoxicatingly comfortable feeling.
"The nature's aura inside the house is getting stronger." After a while, Romon slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the small hut.
"What's going on?" Fafier wore a blank and uncomprehending expression.
"Naturally, it's our druid's divine spell." Romon explained briefly. Although he didn't have any superhuman abilities right now, he was after all a druid in training. "Borrowing the power of the nearby nature's aura to achieve various goals—like right now, it's healing wounds."
"We're so far from there, and with a wall in between, you can still recognize what divine spell it is?" Fafier didn't think too deeply and asked directly.
"It has to be a healing spell, right!" Romon said helplessly. "Could it be making blueberries for breakfast?"
"Heh... heh!" Fafier chuckled. Now that his companion had hope of being healed, his mood had relaxed a lot.
With a creak, the wooden door of the hut was pushed open from inside.
"Let's go in!" Romon called out, walking straight toward it.
Fafier followed with a smile.
The two walked into the hut and saw that Nick was still laid out on the wooden bed, seeming to have fallen asleep, while the middle-aged druid was resting in a rattan chair off to the side. As the two approached the bed, they noticed his complexion was much more rosy and no longer as pale as before.
"Master, is he cured?" Romon asked.
"His life is no longer in danger!" The druid nodded.
"Thank you, Master!" Fafier said gratefully.
"...However, this young man's internal organs have suffered damage, his viscera were torn, and a large amount of blood poured into his body. Although it has been treated and mended, he should try to avoid engaging in high-intensity physical activities in the future." The druid continued, unable to hold back a cough. "To completely eliminate deeper-level wounds is not something a single treatment can accomplish right now."
"Master, what does high-intensity physical activity refer to?" Romon had some bad guesses in his heart.
Fafier also perked up his ears.
"Fast running, intense combat, and even speaking too loudly..." Every sentence the druid spoke made the two's complexions a bit uglier.
"How could it be like this..." Fafier's expression was very grim. He held his head in his hands with an incredulous look and muttered to himself, "Didn't Master confirm he was confident he could cure him completely before letting us carry him in?"
Jefa sat in the rattan chair and smiled helplessly. "I never said I had any certainty. It's just that this young man was injured far too severely. Even with the power of nature to pacify his wounds, he still needs to lie in bed to recuperate for a very long time. Moreover, it requires casting divine spells continuously, or inviting higher-level priests and druids—you know, even us druids must follow the rules."
The gods do not need money, but the Church and priests do.
Divine spells are a manifestation of divine grace; if given to people for free, they would appear very cheap and fail to make people comprehend divine grace. Therefore, whether for spreading the faith or for the realistic needs of the Church and priests, there must be a cost.
A druid's divine spells come from nature, but for a long time, nature deities have already permeated this profession, and druids cannot break the rules of the gods either.
Romon, being a druid himself, understood that out of the relationship between teacher and student, one free treatment was already the limit; it was impossible to constantly spend precious natural power on Nick.
At levels 1-2, a druid gains Cure Minor Wounds; levels 3-4 have no new healing spells; levels 5-6 can cast Cure Light Wounds. Jefa was a Fifth-Level Druid with junior healing divine spells. Therefore, as he stated, they either had to repeatedly use junior divine spells or invite a druid of level 9 or above who knew intermediate healing spells to treat him.
Fafier's expression was extremely ugly. This meant Nick had been reduced to a cripple; how was he supposed to live from now on?
Romon thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and asked, "Master, if it's just the current treatment, how many times will it take to completely heal him?"
"At least ten times or so, and the cost is thirty silver coins each time!"
Romon thought it over and said through gritted teeth, "In that case, please go ahead and cast the spell. I'll pay the debt."
Upon hearing this, Fafier wanted to say something; his lips moved, but no words came out.
Three hundred silver coins were equivalent to the entire family property of a household in the town. It was impossible for Fafier's family to produce that much money. If Romon took it all upon himself, his debt would skyrocket to 400 silver coins.
Jefa glanced at him and could naturally see the green light on his body. A trace of surprise flashed in his pupils, and he inquired, "You are already a druid now?"
"Yes, look!" Romon was silent for a moment, and some green light spilled out.
"Mhm, it's indeed the innate spell exclusive to a Level 1 Druid—Plant Pacification."
Plant Pacification could grant injured plants a certain degree of healing and growth, or cause seeds to sprout. Jefa was a Fifth-Level Druid, just a hair away from advancing to the sixth level, so he was naturally very familiar with this.
Since Romon was a druid, these 300 silver coins could eventually be paid off. Jefa nodded and said, "Since you are a druid, I'll put this upfront—three months at most to pay it back. How about that?"
Three months to repay 300 silver coins—Romon hesitated for a moment, but then gritted his teeth and said, "Deal!"
"Then I can cast it three times a day, and the treatment will be completed within three days!" Jefa said.
"Many thanks, Master!" Fafier said. Seeing that the druid was about to cast a spell, the two of them retreated outside first.
The two stood on slightly higher ground, where the rolling, endless forest in the distance entered their visual field. This forest stretched along the base of the mountains far into the distance, and even under such bright sunlight, it still looked like a mass of gloomy, dark green... That was a place ordinary druids were unwilling to delve into.
Exhaling a long breath toward the direction of the forest, Fafier said, "After going back, I'll help you pay off your debt first. I'm preparing to officially become a warrior and undergo training. My foundation should be pretty good!"
"Is there a connection? Or should I introduce you to Captain Richard?" Romon didn't ask further and simply said this.
"Ha, you only got Captain Richard to teach you because Sub-leader Koirilo gave instructions to look after you; it wasn't your own ability. But it doesn't matter, no matter what, my family has been soldiers for generations, and I still have connections in the military camp." Fafier laughed heartily as he said to Romon. After a brief pause, he added out of nowhere, "Romon, this time I really owe it all to you."
Romon smiled inwardly, knowing that Fafier felt bad. After all, this adventure was undertaken by all three of them, and now that Romon was advancing all the money, Fafier felt some guilt. He merely replied indifferently, "What are you talking about? We're friends; we can't do things like that. Are we still friends if we do?"
Hearing this, Fafier nodded forcefully.
"We'll wait here for three days. Although the time is a bit long, it's still better than going back heavily injured. Nick suffered severe injuries this time, and even if he heals, he shouldn't go adventuring in the future. I want to have him open a shop. You know, I'm a druid now, so I can gather some herbs and make potions to sell," Romon said.
Within the territory, markets were divided into two categories: one consisted of workshops or handicraft shops exclusively operated by the lord, and the other was run by free citizens themselves, which required obtaining a permit. But since Romon was now a druid, this request should be granted.
"Alright then, but these three days shouldn't be wasted. I'll take the two elks and the goblin hide back first to report that we're safe and prevent them from rotting. Romon, you can gather some wild goods nearby; earn as much as you can." Fafier returned to his normal state. "When I come back with my family's heirloom weapon and leather armor, we'll consider how to make money!"
This suited Romon's intentions perfectly. He planned to gather some valuable plants during this period. Although he couldn't plant them in the space right now, he could collect seeds and simply store them in the space; once it upgraded in the future, naturally he could plant them. Such plants weren't easy to find, so perhaps he could ask Jefa. Being a Fifth-Level Druid, he should know.
The sun gradually climbed higher as the time approached noon. Fafier went ahead to cut off the tenderest parts of the elks to save. As it turned out, not only did Nick need nutrition, but even Jefa wasn't a vegetarian. Druids didn't refuse meat; on the contrary, emphasizing the law of the jungle was the principle of nature, only obeying natural laws and not slaying beasts beyond what was needed for food.
Slinging the two elks across his shoulders, Fafier walked toward the town.
Right at that moment, wave after wave of natural power drifted out from the wooden house. This was Jefa casting his spell, and a moment later, the work inside was finished.
Romon gently pushed open the wooden door, and before his leading foot even stepped inside, his ears caught Jefa speaking: "Today's portion is done, I'll continue tomorrow. Mhm, very nice venison, just right for boiling and eating!"
Author's Note: Some said Chapter 2 wasn't updated, but actually it was updated early on. I just modified the previous chapter moments ago, which caused it not to show up. I've modified it again now, don't say it's a fake update!!
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