Chapter 3 — The healer emerges
With the star nymph giving him the all-seeing jade eye, Keyaru managed to recall everything that had happened to him in the previous life. He was a slave, a mindless doll, aimlessly wandering with three other heroes just for a dose of opium tincture made with extract from the astum grass. A cruel and addictive potion, born in Tyrazohia’s ports, in the most eastern part of the continent. Either way, the boy had to do something, otherwise history would repeat itself. With only two days until his fourteenth birthday, the day when the lad would become a man with class, the day when, if Panakea, the lady of healing, wouldn’t change her mind, Keyaru were to become the legendary hero. He didn’t know her motives, yet the burden was too much to bear. Nobody remembered the redo, except for the gods, maybe. Some of the people Keyaru healed even met some of them in flesh. Although, the closer it was to the end, the fewer deities there would be.
Nevertheless, the young man knew exactly what to expect if he were to become the chosen one. The power of ultimate healing, the most broken ability to get, literally had nothing to do with its own progression of circles. Then there was an infinite level cap and double experience for him and his comrades, which stacked with other heroes. And finally, the hero was able to break the level cap of others with quite peculiar conditions. Also, his skills wouldn’t be limited to tending to others' wounds. This power was one of alteration, reshaping the flesh in the most unexpected ways, many of which were not even compatible with living, peeking into human minds in the process.
The infinite level cap, by the way, was quite a precious gift. Most humans couldn’t reach past the twenty-fifth level, while the hero could become godlike, and his accelerated growth would help them reach it even faster. If heroes were to form a party, their bonuses would multiply, reaching a total of sixteen times since the parties were limited by four.
Flare was supposed to arrive in a matter of a week, which meant the carriage would cross the road to Alban in just five days. Flare knew the spell to locate every hero except for one, but this seemingly immortal man was so elusive that some even wondered if there were only nine heroes who could exist at the same time instead of ten.
Either way, this was a great spell to gather a party of literal demigods. And if Keyaru were to become one, she would come for him no matter where he’d run, for each of their kind was worth thousands of regular grunts. The red-eyed boy was too weak to flee while being pursued, let alone fight his way to freedom. And the cruel princess wouldn’t hesitate to straight up murder him just to have another hero born later. Someone more cooperative.
"First I’ll need Flare neutralized." — Keyaru ruminated. Of course, escape was always an option, but losing an opportunity to heal dozens of warriors and get their experience and skills was not. In the previous world, the young man couldn’t muster his own power. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, he fled the palace only to end up imprisoned and sedated with those horrid drugs. This was the part when they started bringing him cripples. Soldiers, knights, mages, and the rich who couldn’t be healed, even with elixirs. Each and every time was atrociously painful, and yet this is what made defeating the demon queen possible.
Keyaru saw only one option — to have as many people healed as possible before taking on new challenges. And in order for that to happen, the boy had to solve another issue — teaching his body to resist drugs, so it wouldn’t take an unbearable three years to regain himself. After that, all that would be left is the matter of fleeing his cell, but at that point, the hero of healing would be strong enough to take down most of his foes. At least, if all goes according to plan.
On his way back, the young man started gathering poisonous plants and mushrooms. He’s come to the conclusion that eating them would drastically reduce the necessary time to get used to venoms and drugs. Although, even with all the power of divine healing, a week wouldn’t be enough to develop complete immunity. Just as overeating them would only present Keyaru as a fine meal to scavengers.
Either way, he did start gobbling down the poisonous ingredients. Some would just induce diarrhea, some would kick consciousness out of the boy. Each time, he had to make sure he was at least safe. And when he wasn't and his mind was clear, the hero thought about Flare. Previously, this woman made him into a toy; now he would do the same to her, and yet he wasn’t some kind of an obsessed fiend. If somehow she had managed to become better, if she had had a similar inner voice that would help her recognize the mistakes she made, then Keyaru would have no choice but to forgive her.
"After all, she hasn't done anything to me yet." But if not, the young man would stop at nothing to get his revenge. This woman would become his pet, with her rotten innards destroyed.
It’s been two days since Keyaru got his jade eye. His systems were much better at tolerating poisons, but still not good enough. And he was getting late. The lad was near a small river. He stopped to look at his own reflection. His eyes were bruised, his cheeks sunken. Maybe he went too far? No, it was for his future, and sparing himself now would backfire later.
Soon the sun sank behind the horizon and night came to power. When clouds revealed the bright moon, Keyaru’s right hand started to glow. He was branded, and it was just as agonizing as doing it with fire, although it only lasted for a couple of seconds and then the pain was gone. Panakea’s mark of a blue bird sealed his fate. And with this, the young man summoned his jade eye to look at his own reflection, where he finally peeked at his own statistics.
Race: Human
Name: Keyaru
Class: The Healer; The Hero
Level: 1
Mana: 12/12
Physical attack: 5
Physical defense: 6
Magic attack: 7
Magic defense: 8
Speed: 7
Abilities:
Magic of Healing: 1-st circle
Skills:
Boost to Mana regen; 1-st level. The skill of the Healer, boosts mana regen by 10%.
Boost to Magic of Healing; 1-st level. The skill of the Healer boosts Magic of Healing.
Boost to EXP: 2x. The skill of the Hero, doubles all the incoming EXP for the Hero and their party members.
Level cap break (on yourself): The skill exclusive to the Hero, releases level cap.
Level cap break (on others): The skill exclusive to the Hero, allows raising others' level caps by +1 by consuming magic energy contained in the Hero’s body fluids.
The jade eye proved once again useful, for only an appraisal scroll would let someone glance at this. But it was much more, for the green vision showed another tablet:
Level cap: ∞
Potential:
Mana: 110
Physical attack: 50
Physical defense: 50
Magic attack: 103
Magic defense: 125
Speed: 120
Summary: 560
Every living being has a level cap and potential of their own. Strangely enough, Keyaru even heard of gods having one, about which he had a hypothesis or two, but they didn’t matter at the moment. Either way, these numbers were somewhat alien to human physiology, and yet it was limited by them. Some were more lucky than others, and some found themselves in more pitiful states. Some had a potential summary of over five hundred, with no high level cap to live up to their potential. Some, on the other hand, may have a high level with only thirty potential. In the case of a young man, he was supposed to be a weak fighter with promising magic capabilities. But, once again, the healing power was broken, so it could redistribute those numbers. But even so, Keyaru knew all too well — his power alone wouldn’t be enough. He needed allies. Allies strong enough to stand against the entire world if needed. Either way, the boy had done what he could. Now he only had to get back to the village and wait for Flare to make a move of her own.
"Please, be sure to remain the same scumbag I know and love, Flare." — dreamily murmured Keyaru, briefly resting under the tree. He wanted his last shackles of morality to fall, which he expected with maniacal laughter. All that was left now was to stand up and take the first step toward his vengeance.
Chapter 3 — The healer emerges
With the star nymph giving him the all-seeing jade eye, Keyaru managed to recall everything that had happened to him in the previous life. He was a slave, a mindless doll, aimlessly wandering with three other heroes just for a dose of opium tincture made with extract from the astum grass. A cruel and addictive potion, born in Tyrazohia’s ports, in the most eastern part of the continent. Either way, the boy had to do something, otherwise history would repeat itself. With only two days until his fourteenth birthday, the day when the lad would become a man with class, the day when, if Panakea, the lady of healing, wouldn’t change her mind, Keyaru were to become the legendary hero. He didn’t know her motives, yet the burden was too much to bear. Nobody remembered the redo, except for the gods, maybe. Some of the people Keyaru healed even met some of them in flesh. Although, the closer it was to the end, the fewer deities there would be.
Nevertheless, the young man knew exactly what to expect if he were to become the chosen one. The power of ultimate healing, the most broken ability to get, literally had nothing to do with its own progression of circles. Then there was an infinite level cap and double experience for him and his comrades, which stacked with other heroes. And finally, the hero was able to break the level cap of others with quite peculiar conditions. Also, his skills wouldn’t be limited to tending to others' wounds. This power was one of alteration, reshaping the flesh in the most unexpected ways, many of which were not even compatible with living, peeking into human minds in the process.
The infinite level cap, by the way, was quite a precious gift. Most humans couldn’t reach past the twenty-fifth level, while the hero could become godlike, and his accelerated growth would help them reach it even faster. If heroes were to form a party, their bonuses would multiply, reaching a total of sixteen times since the parties were limited by four.
Flare was supposed to arrive in a matter of a week, which meant the carriage would cross the road to Alban in just five days. Flare knew the spell to locate every hero except for one, but this seemingly immortal man was so elusive that some even wondered if there were only nine heroes who could exist at the same time instead of ten.
Either way, this was a great spell to gather a party of literal demigods. And if Keyaru were to become one, she would come for him no matter where he’d run, for each of their kind was worth thousands of regular grunts. The red-eyed boy was too weak to flee while being pursued, let alone fight his way to freedom. And the cruel princess wouldn’t hesitate to straight up murder him just to have another hero born later. Someone more cooperative.
"First I’ll need Flare neutralized." — Keyaru ruminated. Of course, escape was always an option, but losing an opportunity to heal dozens of warriors and get their experience and skills was not. In the previous world, the young man couldn’t muster his own power. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, he fled the palace only to end up imprisoned and sedated with those horrid drugs. This was the part when they started bringing him cripples. Soldiers, knights, mages, and the rich who couldn’t be healed, even with elixirs. Each and every time was atrociously painful, and yet this is what made defeating the demon queen possible.
Keyaru saw only one option — to have as many people healed as possible before taking on new challenges. And in order for that to happen, the boy had to solve another issue — teaching his body to resist drugs, so it wouldn’t take an unbearable three years to regain himself. After that, all that would be left is the matter of fleeing his cell, but at that point, the hero of healing would be strong enough to take down most of his foes. At least, if all goes according to plan.
On his way back, the young man started gathering poisonous plants and mushrooms. He’s come to the conclusion that eating them would drastically reduce the necessary time to get used to venoms and drugs. Although, even with all the power of divine healing, a week wouldn’t be enough to develop complete immunity. Just as overeating them would only present Keyaru as a fine meal to scavengers.
Either way, he did start gobbling down the poisonous ingredients. Some would just induce diarrhea, some would kick consciousness out of the boy. Each time, he had to make sure he was at least safe. And when he wasn't and his mind was clear, the hero thought about Flare. Previously, this woman made him into a toy; now he would do the same to her, and yet he wasn’t some kind of an obsessed fiend. If somehow she had managed to become better, if she had had a similar inner voice that would help her recognize the mistakes she made, then Keyaru would have no choice but to forgive her.
"After all, she hasn't done anything to me yet." But if not, the young man would stop at nothing to get his revenge. This woman would become his pet, with her rotten innards destroyed.
It’s been two days since Keyaru got his jade eye. His systems were much better at tolerating poisons, but still not good enough. And he was getting late. The lad was near a small river. He stopped to look at his own reflection. His eyes were bruised, his cheeks sunken. Maybe he went too far? No, it was for his future, and sparing himself now would backfire later.
Soon the sun sank behind the horizon and night came to power. When clouds revealed the bright moon, Keyaru’s right hand started to glow. He was branded, and it was just as agonizing as doing it with fire, although it only lasted for a couple of seconds and then the pain was gone. Panakea’s mark of a blue bird sealed his fate. And with this, the young man summoned his jade eye to look at his own reflection, where he finally peeked at his own statistics.
Race: Human
Name: Keyaru
Class: The Healer; The Hero
Level: 1
Mana: 12/12
Physical attack: 5
Physical defense: 6
Magic attack: 7
Magic defense: 8
Speed: 7
Abilities:
Magic of Healing: 1-st circle
Skills:
Boost to Mana regen; 1-st level. The skill of the Healer, boosts mana regen by 10%.
Boost to Magic of Healing; 1-st level. The skill of the Healer boosts Magic of Healing.
Boost to EXP: 2x. The skill of the Hero, doubles all the incoming EXP for the Hero and their party members.
Level cap break (on yourself): The skill exclusive to the Hero, releases level cap.
Level cap break (on others): The skill exclusive to the Hero, allows raising others' level caps by +1 by consuming magic energy contained in the Hero’s body fluids.
The jade eye proved once again useful, for only an appraisal scroll would let someone glance at this. But it was much more, for the green vision showed another tablet:
Level cap: ∞
Potential:
Mana: 110
Physical attack: 50
Physical defense: 50
Magic attack: 103
Magic defense: 125
Speed: 120
Summary: 560
Every living being has a level cap and potential of their own. Strangely enough, Keyaru even heard of gods having one, about which he had a hypothesis or two, but they didn’t matter at the moment. Either way, these numbers were somewhat alien to human physiology, and yet it was limited by them. Some were more lucky than others, and some found themselves in more pitiful states. Some had a potential summary of over five hundred, with no high level cap to live up to their potential. Some, on the other hand, may have a high level with only thirty potential. In the case of a young man, he was supposed to be a weak fighter with promising magic capabilities. But, once again, the healing power was broken, so it could redistribute those numbers. But even so, Keyaru knew all too well — his power alone wouldn’t be enough. He needed allies. Allies strong enough to stand against the entire world if needed. Either way, the boy had done what he could. Now he only had to get back to the village and wait for Flare to make a move of her own.
"Please, be sure to remain the same scumbag I know and love, Flare." — dreamily murmured Keyaru, briefly resting under the tree. He wanted his last shackles of morality to fall, which he expected with maniacal laughter. All that was left now was to stand up and take the first step toward his vengeance.
