Jory spotted the bedraggled Jason, giving him an odd look as he passed, leading the woman to a middle-aged man quietly waiting in one of the seats. Jason couldn’t hear them talk, although he did hear the man say something about dinner as Jory’s arm, held rigidly at his side, clenched into a fist. Soon after, the pair were on their way and Jory came over to Jason.
“You showed up, then,” Jory said.
“Yeah,” Jason said. “These are my friends, by the way. Gary, Farrah, Rufus. Meet Jory.”
“This is a medical clinic?” Gary asked. “Just alchemy?”
“So far,” Jory said. “I met Jason the other day and he offered to help out.”
Jory led Jason into a back room, then started bringing patients in, one after the other. For each one, Jason chanted out his spell.
“Feed me your sins.”
Ability: [Feast of Absolution] (Sin)
Spell (recovery, cleanse)
Cost: Low mana.
Cooldown: 20 seconds.
Current rank: Iron 1 (19%)
Effect (iron): Cleanse all curses, diseases, poisons, holy afflictions and unholy afflictions from a single ally or enemy. Recover stamina and mana for each affliction cleansed. This ability circumvents any resistance or immunity to cleanse effects. This ability cannot be used on self.
Jason used his feast of absolution power to remove their diseases, along with a few other toxins like alcohol, which registered to his ability as a poison.
“That’s a good cleansing ability,” Gary observed between patients. “Good way to practice it, too. It really gives you stamina back?”
“Mana too,” Jason said. “Can’t use it on myself, though.”
“I knew there had to be a pretty rough restriction, with a power that good,” Gary said.
“I'm surprised people aren't a bit more wary, with an incantation like that,” Rufus said.
“These people don’t care what you chant,” Jory said. “If there’s free healing going, they’ll cheer you on as you praise the god of woe.”
With each patient, Jason’s mana and stamina were replenished, until he was back at full strength.
“You alright?” Gary asked. “You look a lot better, but a bit down.”
“It’s just…” Jason sighed. “My world doesn’t have magic. We don’t have a way to get rid of some of the diseases I’ve just casually taken away from people today. I cured a dozen people of cancer. Do you know what cancer does to a person?”
“Er, no,” Gary said.
“Exactly. I think about what I could do if I took this power home with me.”
“You’ll get there,” Gary said. “Maybe it’ll take a while, but you’ll get there.”
“You think?” Jason asked.
“When you have some time, go over to the temple district,” Gary said. “Maybe the goddess Knowledge will help you. She probably won’t straight-up tell you how to get home, but she might put you on the right path.”
“Really?”
“Probably,” Gary said. “She makes you work for it, but guiding people to knowledge is kind of her whole purpose for being.”
“Not today, though,” Rufus said. “Today is for training. You’re ready to get back to running, right?”
“If we’re done here,” Jason said.
“You are,” Jory said. “We’ve run out of sick people. There’ll be more tomorrow, once word starts getting around you’re doing this for free.”
“Not a problem,” Gary said. “I’ll be dragging him along every morning.”
Rufus and an exhausted Jason stood on a training field on the Adventure Society campus. At least Rufus was standing, with Jason sprawled out on the grass. Farrah was nearby, leaning against a tree as she read a book. There were other people around, sparring or practising martial arts forms. Gary had wandered off and was sparring against a pair of locals.
“I don’t suppose there’s a bunch of sick people around?” Jason asked, too weary to stand.
“Afraid not,” Rufus said.
“Should I eat a spirit coin?” Jason asked.
“No,” Rufus said, “Replenishing yourself is good when you need to keep pushing, but you also need to let your body restore itself naturally. Your recovery attribute needs training, just as much as your speed, power and spirit.”
“I don’t feel like I’m ready to learn martial arts right now,” Jason said.
“You’re not,” Rufus said. “Actual technique you can pick up from a skill book.”
“I can?” Jason asked, raising his head. “Great. Let’s do that.”
“Not yet. At my family’s academy…”
“Drink,” Jason said.
“What?”
“I’ve come up with a drinking game,” Jason said. “Every time you say ‘my family’s academy,’ everyone has to take a drink.”
Farrah burst out laughing.
“Is this the ‘fun’ you were talking about?” Rufus asked, disapproval wrinkling his brow.
“Sorry,” Jason said as he got to his feet. He dropped to a half-crouch, hands on his knees. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Good,” Rufus said. “It means you’ve been pushing yourself hard enough. At my family’s academy…”
Rufus glared at Farrah, who was looking innocently off into the distance.
“…we have been refining methods of combat training for centuries, including training with skill books.”
“Isn’t the whole point of skill books to just use them and you’re good?”
“It isn’t that simple,” Rufus said. “For a practice that is knowledge-based, that is more or less true.”
“No, it isn't,” Farrah chimed in. “Knowing isn't the same as understanding. You've used a ritual magic skill book, but knowing practical applications isn't the same as grasping the theory.”
“There’s a similar issue with physical skills,” Rufus said, “but even more exaggerated. The mind might know what to do, but the body still has to learn. First, I will teach you to be receptive to the skills you will learn. How to stand, how to move.”
“A solid house needs a solid foundation,” Jason said.
“Exactly,” Rufus said happily. “I'm glad you understand. Learning to fight through skill books is ultimately faster than training from nothing because you save yourself years of repetition to ingrain the skills. There is a danger, however, of not fully comprehending the techniques. By preparing well before using a skill book, then consolidating well after, you avoid developing flaws in your skillset.”
“Plus, I imagine there’s quite a gap between learning technique and learning to fight,” Jason said.
“It’s good you realise that,” Rufus said. “It’s the first thing we have to beat out of skill book users at my family’s academy.”
Rufus pressed his lips thinly together as he heard a snort of choked off laughter. Flashing a glare at Farrah, he let out a weary sigh.
“Stand up straight,” he said to Jason. “We begin with footwork.”
Jason had joined Farrah in reclining against a tree. Gary was still sparring against all comers, currently going one against three. Rufus had sat down to meditate.
“You did well with Rufus’s training,” Farrah told Jason. “I was amazed you didn’t complain when he just had you taking funny steps the whole time.”
“I’m not sure how my translation ability will handle the term ‘kung-fu movies,’ but we have these stories in my world. About learning to fight. You always start with what seems weird and pointless, but ends up being the most important of fundamentals. There’s usually a life lesson in there somewhere, as well.”
“Rufus is going to hate teaching you. You are nothing like the students at his academy.”
“Is his school actually that big deal?”
“It really is,” Farrah said. “Kings and queens have studied there. Some of the best adventurers in the world, too.”
“Did you and Gary train there?”
Farrah laughed.