Chương 65: Book 2 Chapter 17 - The Old Healer

"I uh… literally can't turn my magic defense off," Kiara clarified for Elaina, who gave her a look of confusion in response.

"It's outside of my control, apparently. Can I sign some kind of form, maybe, that indicates I'm refusing healing? If that would help?" A look of relief washed across Elaina's face.

"Ah, yes! That would be most helpful, actually. I'll be right back." She scurried from the room in search of the form. She was gone longer than Kiara expected, and when she returned she was accompanied by an older gentleman. True to her decision moments before, Kiara still had [Magical Sense 3] running, and she felt them approaching before they actually entered the small room. The man was a tier 4.

He had his aura reigned in, so she didn't feel any different physically than she did normally, and if not for [Magical Sense 3] she never would have known the man was so powerful. Someone of this caliber was pretty much non-existent back in Easton, except for that jerk Kane who had interrupted the Marsants' ball.

The newcomer was bald with a neatly trimmed white beard, and he walked with a cane, which Kiara found amusing on a number of levels, both because of his power tier and the fact that he was working in an infirmary with magical healers.

"Hello, Lady Yountal," he said kindly as he entered the room.

"My name is Arthur." He shut the door behind him, then raised his free hand in the air momentarily. The air around his hand visibly warped for a second, then the air in the room grew unnaturally still, like they had been stuffed into a giant bottle and someone had corked the lid. It felt vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place why.

"I have activated a simple sound isolation barrier around the room," he explained as he slowly settled into a chair facing Kiara's. He leaned the cane against the arm of the chair so his hands were free. Ah, that's where I felt this before: in the private booth at the Evening Star, when we met with Lord Grivalt. Arthur gestured to Elaina.

"Young Elaina here mentioned you were refusing healing, something about being unable to disable some kind of magical defense. It isn't in my nature to force anyone into anything they don't want, and if you truly refuse healing, then I'll leave it at that. If you are interested in being healed, however, and simply unable to be, then that's a different matter." He paused and studied her for a moment before continuing.

"I almost hesitate to ask, and I don't mean to pry, but… are you in any kind of trouble, young lady?" Kiara shook her head and smiled.

"Not that I know of!" He lowered his voice, probably instinctively, since the room had an active sound isolation ward on it.

"Is your inability to disable your magical defense due to an artifact of some kind?" She wasn't sure how much to share. She didn't want word getting out about her interaction with the World Engine, or her new class or abilities. That would likely garner more unwanted attention than anything, and paint a target on her back. There were certainly powerful people in the world who would want to capture, study, and dissect her to learn the secrets for themselves.

She had no intention of ending up as someone's magical experiment. She eventually shook her head.

"It's not an artifact. My apologies, but I prefer to leave it at that." Arthur nodded knowingly.

"Very well. I won't pry any more; I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I have one final question, and you should know that this is purely out of concern. You can answer however you wish, and I won't be offended." Kiara nodded for him to proceed.

"Would you permit me to do a deep scan of your body, to see if I can help in any way?" he asked. It was an interesting question. What did a deep scan entail? Why would he ask for permission? Would it even work, seeing as how mana-based magic failed on her? She hesitated, then decided she might as well ask those questions out loud. Her current ignorance was nothing to be ashamed about, and only remained a weakness if she didn't seek to learn more.

"What is a deep scan, exactly, and why do you ask for my permission?" Arthur nodded, as if he'd expected such a question.

"A surface scan reveals high level details about an individual: their power tier if they are a mage, their location relative to me, their action and movement, that sort of thing. It is very non-invasive, and reveals little to no personal details about them.

"For instance, a surface scan of you allows me to see that you are a non-magic user. Surface scans are the magical equivalent of looking at someone with your eyes. You don't need their permission, and you see what anyone else sees.

"A deep scan, on the other hand, is much more personal. It would allow me to sense more detail about your biology, such as your heart beat, or any foreign objects lodged inside you: which admittedly comes in handy for a healer. It allows me to detect what magic someone is attempting to perform with their mana."

He leaned forward slightly and watched her more closely as he continued, "I can even find evidence of brain damage from mind magic attacks, or the faint whispers of the soul ties that bind your body to your spirit. If you have something preventing you from being healed against your wishes, it would likely lie in one of those two places." You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. When she didn't react to his statement, he straightened back out.

"For those that can detect such a scan, it feels very invasive. It is the magical social equivalent of touching someone, sniffing their hair, and staring into their mouth. You learn a lot more about them, but it's very rude to try that without someone's consent. Those of us that hold ourselves to a high standard always ask permission, even from one such as yourself that would not know I was performing such a scan."

"Ah, I see," Kiara replied.

"Thank you for the explanation, that is very helpful." She considered the idea for a moment. Should she let him try? What if he could find a way to help her control when [Personal Spell Negation] was active? What if he could release her from the restrictions that prevented her from communicating properly with her family? Then again, what if he found more than she intended, and things went downhill?

What if he discovered her unique class, or her soul space, or something else that the World Engine had done to her, and turned her over to someone to be studied? Her mind flashed back to the fight with the bandits just a few hours ago. A few tier 2 fighters, supported by some tier 1s, was just about enough to overwhelm her right now. Despite his advanced age, if this old man decided to ramp up his aura and go all out, she wasn't sure she could defend herself properly.

What did that say about a healthy tier 4, like Kane? If powerful people wanted her dead or captured, she didn't have any measure of confidence right now that she could protect herself properly. No, it was best to avoid any kind of attention like that for now. Maybe when she was stronger, she could come back, and let the old man do a deep scan. She was very curious, after all, to see if he could discover anything helpful from it. After considering, she shook her head apologetically.

"I think I'd prefer not to undergo any kind of invasive scan today, if that's alright." Arthur nodded kindly.

"Quite alright, young lady. I won't press. Just know that the offer stands, if you change your mind." He grabbed his cane and stood, his legs shaking slightly from the effort. Kiara wondered how much of that was an act, versus how much his advanced age truly affected his Strength stat, or at least how it interacted with his physicality. Plus, didn't mages live longer? How old was this guy, anyway?

"I'll leave you in Elaina's capable hands, then," he said. He waved his hand, and the air pressure returned to normal as the sound isolation barrier dropped. Kiara realized that as a tier 4, Arthur might know the local secrets of the best enchanting shops where she could get her weapon's enchantment recharged.

"Hey, before you go," she asked suddenly, causing him to pause.

"Do you happen to know where I might get the enchantments on my sword recharged? The infused mana was exhausted during my fight with the bandits." A wry smile came over Arthur's face and he chuckled softly.

"I think I know just the place, actually. A young man by the name of Victor just opened an artificing shop here in Portish a few months ago. I doubt you'll find a better artificer in… well, probably most of The Central Kingdom, if I'm being honest. Here are the directions." He scribbled a quick map on a piece of parchment for her. He seemed utterly pleased with himself, chuckling the whole time at some inside joke that he only shared with himself. Kiara wondered what that was all about.

After that, he made his way to the door and left. Elaina had been listening intently throughout the conversation, while the form she had brought in lay forgotten on the table. Now, she turned to it and filled it out in quick motions. She handed it to Kiara to read through. It was simple, really, just an affidavit that she had refused to be healed. The reason for her refusal had been left blank. She signed it.

"I really appreciate this, Miss Yountal," Elaina said, holding up the form.

"Also, thanks for putting up with my boss. When I went to ask for the form, he insisted on meeting you himself. Now that he did, I'm not even sure I need this form anymore, but thanks for being willing!"

"Not at all," Kiara replied with a smile.

"He seemed nice." Elaina nodded.

"He is. He genuinely cares about the patients. And he's really good at healing magic too, I've already learned so much from him!" Elaina showed Kiara the way out, and thanked her one more time. After leaving, Kiara wondered what to do next. She decided to work her way towards the shop Arthur had drawn on the map, taking her time and taking in the sights. The infirmary was positioned fairly close to the center of the city, but the shop was closer to the east entrance she had come through, making her backtrack.

She had been in a bit of a hurry to get to the infirmary when she arrived, but now she walked slower. She didn't want to split her newly-scabbed-over leg wound open again, and it was fun immersing herself in the large city for the first time. She made her way through one of the market districts, stopping to buy food from some of the street vendors. She got some meat on a skewer from one vendor, and fruit covered in crusted honey from another.

They were both fantastic, and she actually doubled back for seconds after finishing the first round. Multiple stalls filled with brightly colored clothing called for attention, and she perused them idly as she walked. A stall packed with weapons and armor caught her attention next, and she stopped to check them out. She already had two swords, and after a few minutes of looking, she decided that was probably enough for now, so she moved on. A small booth had alchemy potions, which Kiara hadn't seen much of before.

The vendor showed her some health potions, which were exorbitantly priced. He promised they would heal wounds almost as effectively as the healers at the infirmary could. Curious, she purchased one to see if it would work where the healers had failed. She down it in a single draught. It was quite pleasant going down. It was thicker than she'd expected, but not unpleasantly so. It tasted of herbs and berries, but wasn't too medicinally flavored, which was nice.

The vendor told her it might take some time, but that she should feel a burning or itching sensation as the wound healed over. He also tried to sell her mana potions, but she knew those would be worthless for her. The endurance potions intrigued her, but she decided not to waste any money on them until she verified if the healing potion had any effect on her. She thanked the vendor and moved on. So far, her leg wound didn't itch or burn, so it looked like the potion might be a dead end as well.

She had expected as much, honestly, but figured it was worth experimenting with at least once. Near the end of the market district, she found a place offering carriage rides. She'd already been walking for twenty minutes, and after visiting the artificer shop she still needed to go find Dustin. Running in the city would draw attention, and travelling by carriage would be much quicker than walking, so she hired one.

The driver dropped her off in front of the artificing shop, and assured her he would be waiting outside when she returned.