NOVEL WEB Chapter 17
Thud!
―Grrrggh!
The goblin hit by my sword buried its head into the ground with a gurgling sound.
It landed solidly, but I couldn’t kill it outright. I was too weak for that.
“Ouch.”
It was my hand that really hurt instead.
I didn’t slice it with the sword but bludgeoned it like a club.
Indeed, wielding a sword doesn’t really hit as effectively.
I decided to hold out until the knights cleaned up the situation.
Huff!
This was at least some minimal trick I learned from Tanya.
Apparently, these low-level demons waste time sizing up if they seem big and tough, often getting too scared to charge in.
If I could buy time like this, I was told to swing my sword wildly for a while.
It’s a technique called “windmill attack.”
―Swish, swish, swish, lock on!
My wildly swinging sword made a whooshing sound as it slashed through the air, tearing up the ground.
Seeing this, the goblins took a step back, grinding their teeth, waiting to see when they would leap at me.
“Ouch, my arm hurts.”
The effect was there, but I couldn’t keep it up for long.
Still, it worked remarkably well, probably because it was a skill taught by Tanya.
“Young Master!”
As I spun my arm around like a child, Tanya swooped in and took care of the remaining monster in no time.
“Ow, my arm. Next time, do it a bit faster, will you?”
Tanya flashed me a bright smile.
“I knew you could fight well. You handled it brilliantly in the field.”
“Well, did you deliberately delay coming to help?”
“Hehe, not at all.”
Though she said that, it felt like there was a certain edge to her reply.
Look at her.
“Hey, thanks to you, I missed the chance to showcase my healing skills. There are already six healers from the territory attached, and the rest assisted the knights, and what about me?”
“Thanks to you, other healers could shine. Situational judgment is also crucial in actual combat, and I’m sure you know that, Young Master.”
I glanced over at my father, who was watching me intently.
“Oh, are you back to your senses?”
“Healing magic is at work!”
“We will come back to life!”
Seeing the healers bustling about, the territory residents must have regained consciousness.
“If it weren’t for you, Young Master, we wouldn’t even have known about the residents being abducted. You played a crucial role.”
“Then what do we do? This is the attending physician’s exam, not the adventurer’s exam.”
Tanya confidently replied to me.
“The raid by the goblin shaman isn’t over yet. From now on, please support our knights earnestly.”
Tanya patted my shoulder firmly and returned to her post.
Anyway, the rescue of the territory residents was successfully concluded. As the healers took their time, they quickly regained their wits.
“Thank you so much! Our farmland is to the north, and we came to look for fertilizer near the forest, only to be attacked.”
“I thought I was going to die… sniff I don’t even know how to express my gratitude.”
The two residents were a recently independent young couple.
They kept bowing their waists to my father.
“Lord Marquis! I can’t believe someone as esteemed as you would come all the way to such a place… It’s an honor.”
“Protecting the residents is the duty of a lord.”
“If it weren’t for the Marquis, the knights, and the healers, we would have met our end….”
“We almost missed noticing that you had been kidnapped. You should thank that gentleman too.”
Tanya interjected, sending a message to the couple.
“Pardon?”
“The first person to notice your danger was His Highness the Prince. Thanks to him, we could set up a rescue operation.”
“Prince Gothberg!”
“Thank you so much. You are our savior.”
The couple hurried over to me, grasping my hands with their heads bowed.
Haha, there’s no need to be that moved.
I was just fulfilling my duty as a doctor.
“Just don’t move around so much when you haven’t healed the wounds yet. You’ll collapse due to low blood pressure. Go back and roast some meat.”
“Low blood pressure…? Your Highness, you know so many refined terms.”
“Yes, I’ll listen closely to your words.”
It would be nice if at least basic medical knowledge could be widely spread among the general populace.
Folk remedies often have many mistakes, so it’s vital to spread correct information from the start.
I can’t help but feel a little proud when I see patients moving around lively.
Tanya ordered one knight to escort the residents back to the entrance.
The main unit moved forward. We returned to the fork in the road and headed left.
“The fact that we were ambushed means the goblins have caught on to our movements. We need to be even more cautious.”
“Hmm.”
My father was tense at Tanya’s words.
I added on.
“What’s more, it means there are small secret tunnels scattered about where we can’t see. We should assume an ambush could hit us at any moment.”
“Understood. We must protect everyone here.”
My father held his rosary and began to cast a spell. It wasn’t a healing spell.
As he recited the verses from the scripture, a gentle light emanated from his body. It was the process of his lifelong faith responding and transforming into a concrete spell.
“…May I seek help to pierce the dark veil. Please grant us your blessing.”
A small star twinkled over the knights.
It was a spell from the “Blessing” series, unlocked at the latter half of the healing skill tree, usable only by the highest-level healers.
“Ooh, you’ve used a blessing!”
“I feel so much lighter now.”
The knights happily raised their swords and shields. Even the healing practitioners taking the exam couldn’t hide their astonishment at my father’s ability.
“A blessing? Most healers, even with a lifetime of training, can hardly learn even one, right?”
“For him to impart it to so many knights… Truly remarkable, Marquis Gothberg.”
“Gothberg truly is the legendary house of healers. On the other hand, Young Master….”
I could feel the exam-taking healers sneaking glances at me.
“You weren’t healing anyone earlier, just swinging your sword like a madman.”
“Maybe it was just your habit kicking in?”
If you’re going to whisper, do it right. I can hear everything, you rascals.
I might just have sensitive ears. I’ve been always alert at night to avoid monster ambush.
“If you have a moment to relax, check your surroundings again.”
Tanya snapped at the healers. They followed the knights quietly.
We resumed our search along the path through the cave.
I stayed at the forefront with Tanya, who was still commanding the entire operation.
“Goblins ahead!”
Quick-witted Boris shouted, and the battle began.
Bigger goblins than the ones I saw earlier wielding clubs charged at us.
“So they want to go all out in open warfare now!”
Clash went swords against clubs, and the sound of heavy bodies crashing into the cave walls filled the air.
With the combat escalating, injuries on our side were inevitable.
Even if they were knights of the Marquis family, it was only natural a few attacks would get through when goblins attacked in groups.
I had cuts on my arms from clubs and bruises on my legs. I fell and dislocated my shoulder.
It was up to the healers to immediately heal them and support the fight.
“Ugh…!”
Some healers were trembling, barely holding on, and couldn’t cast their healing spells correctly.
When healers are frightened, their faith built on knowledge diminishes according to their level of belief.
Healing spells, influenced by faith and divine power, naturally weaken.
This is where the practical scoring begins.
“When the ancient land splits, may the goddess descend, leaving three scriptures behind!”
At least Gis was managing to cast spells properly, but he was aiming at the wrong targets.
“Diagnosis.”
He scanned over the knights.
He focused mainly on those who had taken heavy damage or were lacking in skill.
[Injury Status: Bleeding]
[Injury Status: Fracture]
[Injury Status: Contusion]
……
Diagnosis windows stacked up multiple times.
They were the diagnosis results for each fighting knight.
‘Tanya is… fine.’
The friend with the fracture was the most urgent.
I patted Gis on the shoulder.
“Hey! Young Master? Don’t interrupt me!”
“Over there, cast a spell on the knight with the red bandage on his arm first.”
“What?”
“Tanya is fine. We need to treat the patients; why are you casting spells on someone healthy?”
“Armor makes it hard to see, how am I supposed to know? In a situation like this, any injured person will be treated somehow!”
That’s one of the inconvenient aspects of healing in battle.
Since they can’t predict when the front lines will take damage, healers must continuously cast spells.
That way, they can have the effect as quickly as possible from the moment someone gets injured.
As the healing area is random, the best tactic in the field is to blindly cast spells.
“Just do it. That knight has a hairline fracture on his toe. Let it go too long, and it’ll turn into a complete fracture, which will take more time to fix.”
“Then why don’t you do it yourself!”
“I have something better.”
After saying that, I pulled a flask out of my pocket.
Inside, a shiny red liquid glimmered.
“What is that?”
“Never seen it? It’s an all-purpose healing potion.”
―――――――――――
Enhanced Red Potion (Property Changed)
Effect: When applied to a fresh wound, it disinfects.
Special Effect: When used on soldiers, it additionally provides injury healing.
―――――――――――
The army’s all-purpose healing potion.
It’s the famous red potion.
To be precise, it’s a disinfectant known as Povidone Iodine.
Originally a chemical compound that would be difficult to make without the ingredients, it couldn’t just be conjured up.
However, the red potion we are familiar with has been upgraded to the second generation.
The first generation of the red potion was made from mercury compounds.
‘Mercury is surprisingly common as a magical ingredient.’
Mercury was easily obtainable in the mansion.
By using the Property Change skill, I managed to create it.
Since it’s based on my medical knowledge, it also has healing effects limited to soldiers.
It’s aimed at those fulfilling their defense duty, but you could broadly say the knight’s situation is a bit similar.
After the battle, the knights begin to regroup.
I used diagnosis to check on the knights.
Boris, who was standing guard, seemed a suitable candidate.
―――――――――――
Diagnosis activated.
Injury status: Abrasion
Injury location: Left Shoulder
―――――――――――
“Boris, you hurt your shoulder, right? Let me see.”
“Y-yes? Ah, yes.”
I soaked the brush in the red potion and started applying it to the affected area.
Boris flinched at the unfamiliar sensation.
“Ouch, that surprised me! What is this?”
“Hey, just wait a second.”
After a moment, the red color that had been spread like body paint started to shimmer orange.
That meant the healing effect was occurring.
“Ho, what’s this…?”
The supervising high-level healer, who probably gained interest, came over to see me.
“Ooh, it looks like it’s definitely healing. I’ve never seen this method before. Knight, how does it feel?”
“I feel my wound is cooling down. The pain is subsiding.”
I explained.
“The main advantage of this potion is that the wound doesn’t worsen. Since the color is vivid, we can immediately check the treated wounds, saving us time too.”
“Indeed. Is this holy water?”
“It’s an alchemy-made potion.”
“Alchemy, eh. Oh my……”
The high-level healer looked amazed, having never encountered such a thing. Of course, that would be so.
He went back to converse with the other evaluators, clearly taken aback by this new method of treatment.
However, my father looked at me with satisfaction, as if he had expected it.
“Next knight, he also has an abrasion. You too should apply the red potion. Next, fracture. You too apply the red potion. That one has a cold. Apply it to his throat.”
While other healers took time to treat one knight, I managed to treat five.
That’s considerable efficiency.
In reality, the disinfectant was only effective for three of them, but scoring a lot wouldn’t hurt.
The more, the merrier.
“We’re all set to move out. Let’s proceed.”
Following Tanya’s order, the unit moved forward again.
I had the sense that the cave’s leader was right ahead.