It wasn't a good feeling.
'I'm not certain that the player system will be able to predict future patient outbreaks either.'
At that moment, Lance asked again.
"What are you going to do? You can't say no..."
"I'll do it."
"...!"
Lance narrowed his eyes at the surprisingly honest acceptance.
"But there's a condition."
"What is it?"
Raymond thought to himself.
'Quest compensation is not enough.'
This being the case, Raymond decided to pull out as much as he could and eat it.
"Please give me the right to take the official healer qualification test shortly after the banquet."
"...!"
Official Healer Qualification Exam!
This was the only exam that recognized the competence among apprentices.
Only when you passed this test could you become independent as one honorable healer.
Even if Raymond was dirty and cheap, it was still the reason why he was at the Belland Healing Center.
"You don't even have F-grade healing powers, and you want to take the certification exam..."
"Didn't the Chief Healer just tell me to go to the Royal Palace? I have enough qualifications."
Lance's face turned red.
He said those things.
Pulled to his feet by his own words, Lance could only nod.
"Okay, but this is a conversation for when you come back after doing your best at the banquet."
He intended to do so even if he didn't say it.
Raymond clenched his fist inwardly when he got the consent anyway.
'I've finally qualified to take the healer's exam! This is just the beginning.'
An official healer!
It was a different status from the apprentice.
Because the difference was like the difference between a squire and a knight who joined the knighthood.
'As soon as I'm certified as a healer, I have to leave the Belland Clinic.'
He was forced to stay, but he didn't want to stay at the Belland Treatment Center for a long time.
'Before that.'
Raymond glared at Lance.
If he qualified as a healer.
He was going to call out Lance in the sight of others, punch him, and leave.
***
He made up his mind, but when it came time to go to the royal palace, Raymond closed his mind.
It was not the healers who despised and harassed him most viciously so far.
Compared to what had been done to him in the royal palace, the harassment of the healers was only at a cute level.
The healers treated him like a human being, even though he was a mess and pathetic.
In the palace, Raymond was a filthy piece of filth. He was nothing more, nothing less.
The nobles. Even the workers and hired hands, such as maids and servants, despised him.
The most overwhelming were the other royals.
His brilliant and precious relatives, who had the same father but were completely different from Raymond, tormented him in a truly brutal way.
If he attended the royal banquet, he would see them again.
'Do they want to bite me even now?'
At that moment, those worries came out of his heart. That's how traumatic the past was for him.
'Even if I, an apprentice, don't go, there will be no one to say anything. I'm sure Lance will try to bother me more, though.'
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to avoid it.
But.
He had this feeling.
'What if I don't go and there's a serious patient? They have healers, but there are many emergencies where heals don't work.'
A few healers would be on hand for the banquet.
However, as seen in previous cases, heals was a treatment with various limitations.
What if there was an emergency patient of a kind that heals could not work with? Then that patient would die.
'What should I do?'
Distressed, Raymond bit his lip tightly.
He suddenly felt stubborn.
'I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I avoid it?'
Raymond had suffered countless pains in his life, but he had such questions.
Why should I suffer?
It wasn't my fault.
It was the same this time.
He hadn't done anything wrong.
He wasn't born a "dirty filth" because he wanted to be.
Quite frankly, the mistake was made by his father, the king. He was just the victim.
'Let's not avoid it.'
So he was scared, frightened, but he decided to fight against it.
The petulant Raymond of the past would never have been able to make such a decision.
However, Raymond had changed.
His newfound ability gave him confidence and courage.
However, it was the moment when he made up his mind to do so.
[You have decided to confront your fears for the sake of your patients!]
[The 'Heart of Steel' reacts to the player's heart for the patients!]
[The Heart of Steel's proficiency is temporarily increased to A!]
[Heart of Steel]
Classification: Attribute Skill
Grade: Legendary
Proficiency: D → A
-Maintain a steel-like will and a solid core at all times.
-The increase in proficiency will be maintained until the end of the banquet period!
To his surprise, at that moment, Raymond's heart sank.
At the same time, he had a strong will and strong enthusiasm.
'Is this exactly what proficiency A does?'
It was not the imperfect Steel Heart he had experienced before.
He didn't feel the least bit scared.
Raymond's gaze flashed with the intensity of his intentions toward his patient.
'Yes, let's not wimp out on something where I didn't do anything wrong. I can do it!'
Raymond decided to stop thinking bad thoughts and only think good thoughts.
'If a high-ranking nobleman is brought back to life at the banquet, I may receive great compensation. It's a big opportunity if I think about it!'
Money!
Using those sweet words, Raymond clenched his fist.
He would surely help the patients as well and get great compensation.
'It's something I have to do.'
Raymond decided to buy some other skills as well.
Surely there would be skills that would be useful when he attended the banquet.
'Browse Skill Market.'
Then a message flashed into his mind.
[You can buy any skill you want with your skill points!]
[There are many restrictions on the skills you can purchase due to your low occupational grade!]
[The following skills are currently available for purchase!]
[5 Auxiliary Skills]
[3 Attribute Skills]
'Check the auxiliary skills available for purchase.'
Then an unexpected list came to mind.
[Purchasable Auxiliary Skills]
- Base (D level) Fire magic
- Base (D level) Water magic
- Base (D level) Wind magic
- Base (D level) Electricity magic
- Base (D level) Earth magic
"..."
Raymond was momentarily perplexed. It was something he hadn't thought about at all.
"Magic? I can learn magic with my skill points?"
As if to answer that question, a message came to mind.
[Magic is a tool of humanity with infinite possibilities! Wear your magic and use it as a tool to heal your patients!]
Raymond nodded at the explanation.
The uses of magic were not limited to combat. It was also used in a variety of real-life situations.
If applied well, it could be very useful in the treatment of patients.
'... But if I do this wrong(?), wouldn't it be possible to become stronger than ordinary wizards?'
Raymond was baffled.
The phrase "proficiency (D)" meant that he could increase his proficiency at a later date.
With increased proficiency, he might be able to use the magic better than a wizard who specialized in the relevant field.
'That's not what's important right now.'
Raymond flipped the spell.
Magic was always going to be something he learned when he saw a patient in need. His skill points were limited.
'View Purchasable Skills.'
[Purchasable Skills]
- Be a Kind Doctor! (General)
- Effective Medical Record Writing Method! (General)
-Cope With the Truth! (General)
There were no significant skills, probably because of the low level. He was disappointed that the skills were mainly related to a patient-doctor relationship.
'There's nothing, in particular, they can do.'
It would be nice, of course, to be kind and to be able to write better records. But they were not immediately necessary skills.
'Wait a minute, wouldn't a way to cope with the truth be helpful?'
The banquet hall was where the nobles gathered.
How many truths were there?
It would come in handy once he got used to it.
'Purchase.'
[ You have purchased skill "Cope With the Truth!"!]
[You've depleted 30 skill points!]
[Cope With the Truth]
Classification: Auxiliary Skill
Grade: General
Proficiency: D
-You will be able to cope better with facing the truth!
'All right, let's go.'
Raymond nodded as he finished his preparations.
A few days later, as the birthday approached, Raymond entered the royal palace for the first time in five years.
***
The "Kingdom of Houston," where Raymond was located, was one of the ten constituent countries of the "Cross Federation Empire," which divided the continent in two along with the "Iron Empire."
The ten countries that made up the Cross Federation Empire were classified as 3 strong, 3 medium, and 4 weak, and among them, the Houston Kingdom belonged to the "4 weak" category.
Originally, it was a powerful country belonging to the middle, but it experienced various difficulties that weakened its power.
Then, with the efforts of Odin, the Knight King of the time, the power of the kingdom had been restored and was on the rise.
"Enhance the name of His Highness the Great King!"
"Long live the Knight King!"
King of Knights.
That's what they called Odin, King of Houston.
Odin was a great king.
He was an excellent knight and commander on the battlefield, a statesman who cared for his people, and a monarch who was respected by the nobility.
He was such a great king that under his reign, the Kingdom of Houston grew tremendously, and the people and nobles raised his name and called him.
Although he was counted as one of the most honorable kings since the founding of the country, he also had one shameful part.
It was the illegitimate Raymond.
'How could that great king make such a mistake.'
If it were in another country, the existence of an illegitimate child would not have been such a big flaw. In the case of the Iron Empire, there were cases where inheritance rights were given to children born out of wedlock.
However, the Empire of the Cross Federation, especially the Kingdom of Houston, was strict about the existence of illegitimate children.
It was because the Kingdom of Houston revered chivalry, and considered bastards out of wedlock to be filthy figures who failed to uphold chivalry.
It was a fatal wound, especially when the king, the monarch of all knights, gave birth to a bastard out of wedlock.
Besides, unlike most other nobles, Odin did not hide the existence of his bastard child.
"If it wasn't for that bastard, he would be perfect without a scratch."
"That's what I think. I don't know how such a bastard could have been born."
They dare not insult the king.
So the people turned their blame on Raymond.
It was said that the birth of a mischievous and dirty son had damaged the king's integrity.
Thus, every time people discussed the greatness of the king, they belittled the only blemish, Raymond's existence.
"It's already been five years since the Shadow Prince came to the palace."
"It's a relief that he left on his own."
"That's right. It is said he left to become a healer somewhere... When I asked about him, they said he doesn't have enough healing power and he has already been an apprentice for five years..."
The people who were conversing naturally turned their attention to the healers waiting in the corner of the banquet hall.
Then they saw someone and their eyes rolled.
'Huh?'
He was a beautiful young man with a small physique.
'Is that young man?'
'He's not the Shadow Prince, is he?'
People thought with confused eyes.
The reason for their bewilderment was simple.
His atmosphere had completely changed from before.
He was a young man with a radiant air. His emerald eyes were sunken like a lake.
There was a gentle feeling about him that made people feel good, and his quiet eyes gave them an unshakable comfort.