Chapter 17
After completing the initiation, we were sent straight back to our respective rooms.
The three of us who had started together were housed far apart, so I had no way of knowing how the others were doing.
With injuries like those, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
――It would be unnatural for me to seem too unperturbed, either.
Holding my back, I slowly lay down on the bed.
I pretended I couldn't sleep, wincing at the faint pain.
The windows of the central watchtower faced this way.
The light reflected off them, making it impossible to see inside, but they were definitely watching me tonight.
If I used magic to heal my wounds, light would leak out and expose me immediately.
――Though Life Magic could heal me without letting any light escape.
But it would be a problem if all my wounds had disappeared by tomorrow.
I blocked the pain with magic once more, then checked my status.
【Name】Noah
【Rank】I
【Magic Power】A
【Skill】Appraisal Life Magic Mana Control Magic Imbuement
【Magic】Heal Cure Enhance Life Steal Resurrection Calm
――The pain-numbing spell had been named Calm.
After checking, I circulated mana throughout my body, as usual.
I didn't know how much stronger I would become.
But for now, it was time to expand my mana capacity and push its limits higher.
The next morning—or whatever one could call it.
This facility was kept at a constant brightness, perhaps by some magical device.
――It was probably a system designed to blur our sense of time.
In any case, I woke to the sound of the bell.
The trainees, whips in hand, silently lined up in the square.
I did the same, slipping into a spot at the end of the line.
Once everyone had assembled, the priest at the front spoke.
“Ishka, step forward.”
A boy of about ten, whose name had been called, stepped forward.
The priest held a hand over the kneeling boy's head and cast Heal.
His whole body was enveloped in pale light, and his wounds seemed to heal completely.
“The Lord's light heals; the Lord's light makes new.”
The priest intoned the scripture in a ringing voice.
“Ishka. You have been guided by the righteous light. From now on, join the training as a healer.”
With that, the priest hung a medal engraved with a halo-like symbol around the boy's neck.
Applause broke out all at once.
Tears welled in the boy's eyes as he looked up at the priest, his expression feverish.
――Ritual approval, reinforced by the group.
Inflict pain, heal it, then praise them.
That was how they instilled a sense of belonging to the Church.
“Now, begin today's training.”
After waiting for the quiet fervor to subside, the priest announced.
The trainees spread out at regular intervals and began whipping themselves.
Some did so hesitantly.
Others kept striking themselves without a hint of emotion.
Trainees wearing medals walked between the lines.
They cast Heal on each person who had suffered what seemed to be enough injuries.
As expected, they didn't heal them completely, leaving some pain behind.
The trainees who received Heal left the line and returned straight to their rooms.
I raised my whip, too.
I brought it down mercilessly on wounds that hadn't yet healed.
I didn't use Calm.
――So as not to arouse even the slightest suspicion.
――CRACK!
A particularly jarring sound rang out.
I couldn't raise my right arm. It felt as if my shoulder blade had shattered.
The air around me stirred.
A trainee assigned to heal hurried over.
With sweat beading on their forehead, they desperately cast the spell again and again, but the healing wasn't progressing as they hoped.
Eventually, perhaps when their mana ran out, they dropped to their knees.
One trainee after another cast Heal, and at last my arm recovered enough for me to lift it.
I bowed once, then withdrew to my room.
From my room, I looked down over the square.
I could see the trainees who hadn't finished their training yet.
This facility wasn't merely easy to monitor.
It was designed to make those who finished early feel special and those who fell behind feel anxious.
But today, something unexpected had happened.
The healing trainees had run out of mana.
Instead, the instructor priests were going around casting Heal one after another.
――At this rate, I might be able to take my place among the healers sooner than expected.
Watching the chaos in the square, I grinned to myself.
From then on, I suffered serious injuries every day during training.
Perhaps they couldn't very well let a healer trainee die, because everyone was desperately healing me.
The trainees seemed to improve little by little, but it was a drop in the bucket.
There was no way they could focus only on me and still get to the other trainees.
It had become routine for the priests to use Heal, too, but they were showing clear signs of exhaustion.
As I surveyed the square, I watched the healers closely.
Thanks to the layout, which gave me a full view of the square, I could tell everything at a glance—who still had strength left and who was nearing their limit.
◇
The temple, after Noah's departure.
“Father, a letter of inquiry has arrived from the cathedral.”
Johan visited the priest's room with the letter that had just arrived.
“Hmm... It seems they're asking about Noah's life here and his character.”
The priest said as he read the letter.
“Inquiries like this usually come when they're considering whether to advance a trainee to the next stage, but this is rather soon.”
“Perhaps Noah's devotion has reached them?”
Johan said with conviction, showing no sign of suspecting Noah.
“Perhaps it has, after all. In any case, there's nothing wrong with Noah's character. I'll draft a reply to that effect.”
With that, the priest picked up his quill.