To Hell with Being a Saint, I’m a Doctor

Ray’s sword was overwhelmingly large.

Merely holding the sword and standing there, it exuded an intimidation that was no ordinary feat.

No matter how dense Eil’s Sword Aura might have been, it wasn’t powerful enough to overcome such a significant reach difference.

“This guy… playing dirty…”

“Who started playing dirty first?”

Ray smirked and adjusted his grip on the sword.

Even though he merely adjusted the handle, the Sword Aura was so massive that it grazed past Eil’s nose.

“…Eil, surrender.”

“…”

Saein suggested.

But what would become of a man’s pride if he surrendered here?

Eil was a man who knew how to preserve his dignity.

“Ha, hahaha. Fine. Bring it on!”

“I’m really going for it!”

Ray took a step and raised his sword diagonally.

With just one more step, Eil had to take two steps back to block it.

Kagagang-

A loud noise echoed as Eil exhaled sharply.

“Ugh…”

It wasn’t just the size that had increased; the density of the Sword Aura had risen as well.

Of course, as a beginner Aura user, he couldn’t surpass his own Aura. However, it wasn’t as pitifully inadequate as it had been initially.

Despite the unexpectedly large size, Eil approached while parrying Ray’s attacks.

No matter how large it was, that was all there was to it.

All he had to do was avoid blocking it head-on.

However, Ray seemed to know this, as he refrained from slashing vertically or horizontally as much as possible.

He always sliced diagonally, and if Eil began parrying, Ray would withdraw his sword like a ghost.

It was clear he knew exactly when to unleash and withdraw his sword.

No matter how beginner-level he might have been as an Aura user, the size of his sword was unparalleled.

Even with a careless swing, Eil had to give his best to block or parry it.

However, flaws in swordsmanship are bound to be exposed.

Even though he had learned modern Kendo, it was significantly inferior compared to the swordsmanship in this world where people lived with their swords strapped to their waists.

The key was to determine the victor before Eil adapted to this unfamiliar swordsmanship.

Ray gritted his teeth.

‘The timing for counter attacking is starting to align. I need to hurry.’

Instead of parrying, Eil had begun to block more, indicating he was adapting to his swordsmanship.

Just as Ray was growing impatient, Eil closed the distance.

With the sword being so large, it was challenging to retrieve it immediately.

Ray had no option but to concede the distance to Eil.

Eil swiftly blocked the sword with the handle and attempted to create distance again, but at that moment, Eil’s foot shot out, striking his hand squarely.

Thump-

For a moment, Ray felt nothing in his hand.

Naturally, the sword soared high in the air before falling to the ground.

Staring blankly at the airborne sword, Ray eventually collapsed to the ground in significant pain.

“Ugh…”

“Hahahaha. I won.”

Eil laughed and casually strolled towards him, discarding his own sword to the side.

Then he started calling out loudly for Saein.

“Saein! Ray is hurt, please treat him.”

Saein had gone inside to do some housework in the middle of the story, so she rushed out when she heard Eil’s call.

“Who is hurt? Oh!”

She ran as if she was flying.

Having some medical knowledge, she briefly touched Ray’s hand.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

He screamed in pain, a sensation he had never experienced in his lifetime.

Having never been seriously injured before, he didn’t know that pain could feel this intense.

After briefly touching his hand, a thoughtful expression crossed her face.

“The bone, the bone is injured…”

Eil also stuttered in response.

“The bone is… injured?”

Honestly, Eil hadn’t considered what to do with his son’s hand at all.

During the duel, he had merely found a gap and momentarily put his foot in it.

Indeed, he had controlled his strength.

However, he should have remembered that Ray had not yet activated the mana in his body.

Engaged in combat and unable to shake off the sensation of fighting a novice aura user, he inadvertently treated him like a regular aura user.

This was undeniably his error.

Furthermore, when Saein noticed that Ray’s hand was torn from the clash with Eil, she glared at Eil fiercely.

Eil grimaced, pondering how he should apologize.

Sensing that his father might be severely reprimanded, Ray forced a smile.

Naturally, the pain was too intense to merely laugh away.

“It’s okay. I can heal it with magic.”

With that, he cast a spell on his arm.

“Heal.”

Mana flowed forth and instantly enveloped his hand.

Saein had seen a deer die due to Ray’s healing, so she was quite concerned.

However, she merely observed silently, believing that her intelligent son wouldn’t cause any issues.

In reality, Ray’s healing magic required a mana road that could endure his absurd mana density to be effective.

Naturally, the deer had to die because it lacked a mana rod to withstand Ray’s mana.

Mana gathered around Ray’s hand, emitting a bright light.

The overwhelming intensity of the light was enough to temporarily blind them.

“Ugh…”

“It’s dazzling…”

As the light gradually faded and they could discern their surroundings, Saein quickly looked at Ray’s hand.

She then froze in place.

Ray’s hand had returned to its normal, healthy state.

Observing the scene, Eil was speechless.

“Huh?”

He was surprised himself.

It was merely a simple 1st circle healing magic.

Casting it didn’t mean that the injury would instantly heal or revert to its previous state.

Yet Ray’s hand had completely healed.

Saein, seemingly in disbelief, grabbed Ray’s hand again.

“The bone has healed…”

“Even though he’s my son, it’s hard to believe…”

Ray clenched and unclenched his hand, moving it around for a moment.

“Does it feel any different from before?”

Upon gently touching it, there was no doubt that the bone had healed completely and returned to its original state. The torn flesh of the palm had also completely healed. I hadn’t known that the healing magic, which was supposed to take the life of the deer as its mission, could be this effective. I had thought it would just heal the wound a bit, but it was as if my hand was in a better state than before the sparring!

“Priests wouldn’t be able to heal it this fast either,” Eil joked.

But Saein nodded in agreement.

“That’s true.”

“Didn’t you fail to use Heal last time?”

“I failed that time. But why is it possible now?”

“I don’t know…”

Sensing it was time to explain as his parents murmured, Ray felt it was better to speak up before Eil and Saein asked.

“Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you about my magic. Can I talk about it over lunch? I’m a bit hungry right now…”

Although it was still early, Ray, hungry from the sparring, looked at Saein and spoke. Saein, seeing Ray rush for food in a way she hadn’t seen before, put a hand to her cheek and murmured.

“So, so cute.”

Eil’s expression softened as if he was looking at something pitiful.

“That’s an illness too.”

---

Eil apologized for what happened in the yard.

Despite it being their first sparring, he was proud of his son’s unexpected strength, and in the end, he made a mistake. But he wasn’t the only one trying to win; Saein felt the same way, so he was able to laugh it off.

All of it was his mistake, but Saein felt pride as well.

After apologizing, Eil told Ray what he needed to improve on, having felt it during their sparring. Using excessive mana to create a Sword Aura is inefficient, so be careful, but that was all he said.

However, Ray didn’t have any limitations on his mana.

So no matter how large he made it, it wouldn’t be a burden.

As they talked, soon, the table was filled with food.

Looking at the sumptuously set table, Ray swallowed his saliva.

For the first time since his birth, he had exerted his body so strenuously, so Saein had thoughtfully prepared a lot of food for Ray.

Upon seeing this, Eil’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It feels like we’re newlyweds again!”

Just after their marriage, Saein used to set the table with an extraordinary amount of care. She prepared so much food that it seemed impolite not to finish it all.

But after two years, the amount of food on the table began to decrease, and it became the norm.

Having grown accustomed to the usual table setting, Eil shed tears at the sight of that day’s meal.

“This is it. This is what care looks like.”

“After a long time, I wanted to showcase my cooking skills. Eat a lot, my son!”

Ray returned his mother’s smile.

“I will eat well.”

“Okay, let’s eat.”

After saying that, he brought the food to his mouth.

The moment the food entered his mouth, an indescribable emotion surged within him like a tidal wave.

The hunger that had been gnawing at his stomach disappeared in an instant.

“This is really delicious, Mom!”

Saein smiled contentedly at that.

“Eat a lot.”

Eil spoke as he put meat in his mouth and chewed.

“But you mentioned you had something to discuss, right?”

“Ah….”

The moment had finally arrived!

He didn’t expect them to understand everything about him.

Honestly, who would believe him if he claimed he had felt the energy of mana since he was a child?

And he had to explain about his unique mana path as well.

Ray took a small breath and looked at their faces before broaching the subject.

“Did you guys ever think I was odd when I was little?”

“You were odd.”

“Definitely odd.”

Ray was quite taken aback by his parents’ immediate and unanimous response.

No matter how much he anticipated that answer, he didn’t think they would respond so promptly.

“…In what ways was I odd?”

“Everything.”

“Yeah. The kid didn’t cry much either.”

“……”

He had nothing to say in response.

Although he was flustered to the point where his mind went blank, Ray took another deep breath and spoke.

“Truthfully, I had been feeling mana since I was a child.”

“But you are still a child, aren’t you?”

“You’re a child.”

“Ah, seriously! What I mean is, I began to feel mana when I was three months old!”

Ray had begun to feel mana when he was just three months old.

Of course, he couldn’t do anything with it; he could only literally feel it. But this was enough to captivate Saein and Eil’s attention.

As he had expected, this time Eil and Saein were also surprised.

“As expected, our son!”

“Yes. That’s my son.”

But it wasn’t the reaction he had wanted.

Ray sighed deeply.

“What Circle do you think I’m in now?”

Neither of them could answer this question hastily.

After a moment of thought, Saein answered first.

“Since you can cast 1st Circle spells without an incantation… maybe the 3rd Circle?”

“What are you talking about? Although I don’t know the specifics, Ray’s mana density is very high. Just by looking at that, you can say he’s at least in the 4th Circle.”

Ray quietly spoke amidst their debate.

“I have no Circle.”