Born in Another World With Two E Rank Skills!?

Kael awoke to a deep, throbbing pain radiating from his shoulder. His body ached in every direction, and his mind was foggy with exhaustion. Every breath felt heavy. As his vision cleared, he realized he was being carried, a soft golden light cradling his body.

Mira.

Her expression was tight with worry, sweat beading on her forehead as she used her lightweave magic to lift and stabilize him. Erion walked beside her, guiding them through the forest trail with the steady confidence of someone who knew the land well.

"You're awake," Mira said, glancing down at him. Relief touched her voice, but her eyes quickly darted to his shoulder. "You need to stay still. That wound... it's not normal."

Kael turned his head and winced. A jagged fragment of the shadow cultist's blade was still lodged in his shoulder, tendrils of inky blackness pulsing outward from it. The surrounding skin was bruised and veined with dark magic.

"I thought killing him would end it," Kael muttered. "But it's still... alive."

Erion glanced over. "Shadow magic doesn't work like others. It doesn't die with its caster. It clings, consumes... corrupts."

Kael grimaced. He could feel it now. The fragment wasn't just hurting him—it was feeding on his own magic, trying to twist it. He couldn't let it spread.

"I need it out," he said, his voice sharp with urgency.

"We need a healer," Mira insisted, but Kael shook his head.

"No time. Mira... I need a branch."

She hesitated, confused. But when she saw the look in his eyes, she nodded and broke off a sturdy limb from a nearby tree. Kael took it with trembling hands and bit down hard.

Then, with one arm, he dug his fingers into the torn flesh around the wound.

Pain screamed through him. The branch cracked between his teeth.

He felt the fragment resist, as if it were trying to root deeper, clawing at his mana as he pulled.

"It's stealing my magic," he choked out.

With a final surge of will, Kael yanked the shard free.

A rush of corrupted energy spilled out. The fragment dissolved into smoke the moment it touched the ground. Kael's body convulsed, and the world spun wildly.

He passed out again.

---

When Kael next opened his eyes, he knew instantly where he was.

A clean white ceiling. The sterile smell of alchemical herbs and antiseptics.

He was in a place he'd hoped never to see again.

He was in the infirmary.

Painfully familiar.