Chapter 3

A full-time healer gradually becomes stronger.

(2)

A man with black hair, black eyes, and an exotic appearance soon reached the vicinity of the knights and mercenaries. From a distance, he didn’t seem particularly tall, but as he approached, it became clear that he was quite tall.

His steps weren’t particularly quick, yet the speed at which he closed the distance was strangely fast, Ramon thought.

“What a strange appearance.”

One of the knights commented.

Perhaps it was like the first time a medieval European saw an Asian. At least Ramon was relieved that he wasn’t a ‘Green Skin.’

A common characteristic of the creatures created by the evil god Ohgana, these monsters were known for their ferocious nature.

“If he were a Green Skin, I would have cut him down immediately. At least his body structure and appearance are similar to a human’s.”

Ramon’s observation was natural. After all, the other party was human.

“Come to think of it, orcs are only different in skin color and face; they have the same limbs as humans.”

“Haha, that’s true!”

But in their world, Asians were a rare sight.

Masi, or Eunho Lee in Korean, was well aware of this. Every time he thought about it, he felt that meeting his master and surviving in this alien world was truly a miracle.

“Is your name ‘Masi’?”

As Ramon approached and asked, Masi hesitated for a moment before nodding. He didn’t respond verbally.

“Can you understand us? Can you speak?”

It was a turning point. As expected, the other party was trying to assess him.

Masi had been observing people and analyzing the situation from the village entrance to here.

‘The village atmosphere is cold, so they’re not welcome guests… Judging by their attire, they seem to be medieval knights. There must be pressure from their status or rank. The village elder is here, so it must be an emergency. They haven’t drawn their weapons, so it’s not a confrontation, but the atmosphere is tense. What if I appear?’

To these strangers, he is an alien variable. He will undoubtedly attract excessive attention. How can he introduce himself to gain an advantage?

‘They didn’t seem surprised to see me, so they must already know about my existence. Did the village elder tell them? Still, they’re asking if I can communicate, so they haven’t heard detailed information. If they know I can understand them, they’ll keep interrogating me.

If I pretend not to understand, they’ll start prying into how I settled in the village… The longer the lie, the more likely it is to show a gap. I should go with the feeling of a Chinese international student who just entered a Korean university.’

Masi looked at Ramon, tilted his head, and answered innocently.

“Talk? A little. I don’t know. Can’t talk.”

He answered in a deliberately awkward tone, which could seem arrogant. Ramon stopped some of the knights from reaching for their swords.

“Leave it. Are you going to kill all the animals that can’t understand human speech? We just hoped for too much. An animal that understands human speech…”

Masi’s plan seemed to work. Ramon, who had lost interest, moved away. It meant they weren’t interested enough to force communication.

However, one of the knights burst out laughing at the sight.

“Haha! Sir Ramon, didn’t I tell you? Let’s just take the humans from the village!”

“This young master, it’s not the time to laugh. We’ve lost one of our guides.”

“So what? Consider it a hunting dog.”

From his casual words, three important pieces of information emerged.

‘I thought the one speaking was the leader, but there’s another power figure. This young master… a noble. He treats the lives of the villagers lightly. I mustn’t attract his attention or offend him.’

‘They’ve already marked me as a guide? Where are they going? No… the answer is obvious. The destination is the Forest of Resentment. If it’s the outer forest, there’s no need to insist on communication. They must have learned of my existence after entering the village to find a guide. And… the person most likely to reveal information about me is—’

Masi slowly turned his gaze to the village elder in the cart. The elder, who met his eyes, hesitated for a moment before gesturing with a smile.

‘It’s this man.’

The elder, who didn’t like him, was smiling and gesturing. But beside him was Uncle Reto. He was going to go there anyway.

“You’re here? It seems the hunt ended early today.”

Ignoring the elder’s words, Masi focused on Reto. The elder, who knew he had done something, cleared his throat and bowed. Reto eased the awkwardness.

“The situation is what it is. You probably already guessed…”

Masi nodded at his whispered explanation.

The woman holding Gaston looked at Masi, wondering what he was doing to this incomprehensible foreigner.

“There’s an urgent patient. I heard he was hit by an orc’s spear in the abdomen. Can you treat him? We’ve applied a lot of hemostatic herbs, but there’s no visible effect.”

Nodding, Masi examined Gaston while listening.

A clear hole was visible on the right side of the abdomen. The spear must have pierced through the subcutaneous fat and entered the abdominal cavity, causing internal injuries.

The more desperate part was that the idiots had pulled the spear out violently, tearing the wound and accelerating the bleeding.

It was understandable that the patient was in shock due to blood loss. It was impressive that he had held on this long.

“…Is this person named Masi? I didn’t hear that he couldn’t understand our language.”

“I understand.”

“Eh?”

“Please be quiet. Uncle Reto, if you have cold herbal water and clean cloths, bring a lot. I need to remove the feces and blood.”

“Understood.”

Reto quickly ran to his house. As Masi began to act, the elder looked relaxed, as if the situation was already resolved.

‘What is it, to trust this foreigner so much? But how did he…?’

Masi met the woman’s confused gaze and whispered quietly, so that it wouldn’t be heard outside the cart.

“I will treat him, but I need a few promises from you.”

“What… kind of promises?”

Masi’s voice lowered, and the woman’s voice followed.

“First, keep my ability to communicate a secret from my companions, especially the knights.”

Nod. The woman responded, understanding the situation. The entity in front of her didn’t want to talk to them for long.

There was something to hide, something to worry about, some plan, or all three. The speculations kept coming, but the woman put them aside for now.

“And if I need your help in the future, you must help me without asking questions. That’s all.”

“Understood. I’ll do that. But do your kind usually trust others so easily? What if I change my mind?”

“No, we don’t. If you wish, I can go tell the knights now. After all, what they want is a reliable guide. They would prefer if I could speak. They might be upset to be deceived, but they won’t kill me. Why? They need a guide.”

It wasn’t a lie. He knew the knights had been trying hard to find a guide who knew the Forest of Resentment on their way here.

The elder’s mood seemed particularly good when he heard about the foreigner. The woman realized Masi was right.

“And I promise, if I survive and enter that forest as a guide, I will drive you and your companions to your deaths. Even this person who is surviving now.”

The quiet whisper, audible only to the woman, sent shivers down her spine. Even the elder, who heard it, changed his expression.

Just then, Reto returned with a lot of herbal water and clean cloths. Without waiting for the woman’s response, Masi began the treatment. The choice was obvious.

“Elder, Uncle Reto, please help. You need to spread the wound as wide as possible.”

“What, what? Even this old man?”

Masi looked at the elder without saying a word, and the elder, who had sinned, reluctantly extended his hand.

The three washed their hands with herbal water and, with all their strength, spread the wound. The blood-soaked interior was so mangled that it was impossible to see where the wound was.

“Let’s clean it first.”

Pouring the herbal water, Masi washed out all the blood and contaminants from the abdomen and removed them with cloths. The red cloths, increasingly dirty, piled up.

‘If I knew purification magic, this tedious process wouldn’t be necessary.’

Despite his thoughts, Masi’s hands were quick.

Just as he finished cleaning and was about to use a heal spell, the cart jolted, and someone climbed aboard.

“Hey, does this foreigner have some mysterious incantation? Can he treat this guy? Look, Boyle, the one I hired for a lot of money couldn’t even attempt it. What’s going on here?”

It was the young master. In his strong hand, a pale-faced healer was being dragged by the neck.

The healer kept shaking his head at Masi, clearly warning him not to treat the patient.

He must be worried that if his incompetence is revealed, he will suffer at the hands of this cruel young master.

‘Come on… let me treat him quickly.’

Masi found the knights climbing aboard annoying but didn’t show it on his face. Pretending not to understand the young master’s words, he didn’t react.

“That’s impossible! Only a master can heal such a wound!”

“Hey, that’s what he says. How can this foreigner heal it?”

The young master’s question was directed at Reto, knowing Masi wouldn’t answer.

“He uses a heal spell.”

“Heal? Can a foreigner use magic? Or… can you, Boyle, since you’re a healer?”

“Absolutely not! I swear. Heal is about infusing willpower into mana, young master! Of course, if you infuse the will to stop bleeding and mend wounds, the wound will heal according to the principles of heal! But there’s no guarantee that the internal structure will be the same as before! Heal only guarantees the result, not the process!”

In short, heal is like getting to Seoul as long as you go in the right direction.

For example, the injured organ might regenerate and heal, but it could also fuse with nearby organs, causing deformities.

In any case, the bleeding will stop.

However, if that happens, it’s unknown what kind of disability or side effects might occur. The form and internal structure can’t be the same as before.

“There’s a reason heal is only used for minor injuries and external wounds! Even swordsmen with injured arms don’t use heal lightly, for fear of deformities! Let alone muscles, the internal organs? This foreigner is crazy!”

“Even if that’s true, captain? Are you still going to let this foreigner treat your subordinates? They’re going to die anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to let me do it? I can make their deaths clean and quick.”

The young master tapped his sword at his waist and laughed slyly.

“You know our family’s sword technique. With our Ahental sword technique, they might not even know they’re dead. I’m offering a deal. Your subordinates get a clean death, and I get to kill someone after a long time. It’s a win-win, isn’t it?”

To consider it a win-win, he was more insane than expected.

But no one in the room showed it on their face, except for the trembling healer.

“I’ll leave it to this foreigner. I appreciate your kind offer, young master, but… I want to give my subordinates the best chance, even if it’s their last.”

The woman rejected the offer in a way that wouldn’t make the young master uncomfortable.

“Tch, fine. But since you’re denying me the taste of blood, I’ll take it from you tonight.”

“Ho ho, it’s an honor to serve you, young master.”

Was that the real purpose? Masi sighed inwardly.

“What are you doing? You insignificant thing. Why aren’t you treating him? He’s going to die anyway, but he’s trying to fight.”

“Haha, that’s true! Refusing the young master’s mercy and accepting the crazy actions of a lowly foreigner. These mercenaries are pitiful. In my 10 years as a healer, I’ve never seen such a tragic scene.”

Suddenly, the blame was directed at Masi. Masi pretended not to understand, pointing at himself, and Reto tapped him, gesturing ‘treat, treat.’

Only then did Masi pretend to understand, exaggeratedly nodding and laughing.

It was a good performance.

The End

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