Chương 5: 1-4 Morning woes

Was he here just to suffer? Why did the universe conspire against him with such malice? Would the injustice never end?

"Someone looks like they're having an awful morning." Cana had just come down into the living area, Coco, as usual, in her arms. Did she even put her daughter down at night, or were they permanently glued together? Such were the muddled thoughts of Josef on his second day of Isekai. His mind was in a dark place this morning.

Not only had he barely caught any sleep at night, the feeling of mana flowing through his body being as constructive for that as a running faucet, he was also woken up at the crack of dawn by Dizzy, who insisted on giving him early lessons. He couldn't even blame her for that, as she was making time for him before her actual workload started. Josef was not prepared to digest all that information right after waking up, all while having to puzzle it together from the kobold's strange speech pattern.

Something that, as he now knows, was entirely on purpose. Kobolds practiced something like verbal minimalism. They removed all fluff to convey information with as few words as possible. But the worst part? No coffee. Dizzy had never even heard of it, even when he described it to her. All they had was tea. Sweaty plant water. Magic could make up for a lot of things, but not a life without coffee. Unless… maybe he could find a coffee affinity and coffee spells?

He could almost feel it, an instant caffeine boost at the snap of his finger!

"Morning," Josef finally grumbled, staring down at his teacup.

"How's the little one doing?"

"Better than before, thanks to you." There was a slight smile tugging at her face.

"But still far from good." The tension in her voice had eased since yesterday, but Josef could tell she wouldn't be able to truly calm down before her daughter was completely healthy.

"I spent some time last night thinking about how best to help her, and I think I have found a solution. I could get right to it, if you don't mind." Josef offered. While the most direct approach to healing Coco would likely be to remove the infection straight from her blood, he was somewhat afraid of what a 'purify' could do in that situation.

Sure, healing magic probably wasn't meant to harm anyone, but the very fact that it made him immediately think of blood turning into water was concerning for how mana could interpret his will. He would have to try it at some point, but not on someone he cared about. Especially not a kid. So instead, he would try a more biological approach. While his personal memories were almost blank, he did not seem to have many issues recalling more scientific information.

And he had learned about how bodies handled stuff like the flu during school. After having received permission from Cana, Josef put his hand on the little lycan and set his plan into motion. As the mana flowed through his body, he sent a silent prayer to a now forgotten biology teacher and his colorful projector slides. He wanted to heal her, to boost her recovery, and to strengthen her bone marrow.

His mind continued deeper into the matter, thinking of white blood cells as he imagined them swarming throughout her blood. Those little defenders would then take swings at the evil spikey looking intruders. In his mind, it was a grandiose battle, as the defenders of the body united to punch the shit out of the evil invaders. The mana drain abruptly stopped after a few seconds.

A quick check revealed that he had used barely half of his mana, and he knew he had done at least something right, as a system message appeared to him. ☆☆ Regeneration (Inferior) It only takes encouragement and a touch of magic, and the body will take care of itself. Channel your mana with the intent to improve the body's own regeneration. Improves the rate at which the body handles natural ailments. He created another spell, and it did pretty much exactly what he wanted it to do.

It only took one night, and he had already graduated from 'baby's first spell' to one of the second rank. He didn't expect magic to be this easy, but it probably had something to do with his heartstone carrying knowledge of healing spells. Whatever the reason, he wouldn't complain about the result. Coco was positively glowing. In a very literal way. It was almost imperceptible, but with the kid right in front of him he could not possibly miss it. Josef concluded that he had created an ongoing effect.

A heal over time. Or maybe even a buff. Depending on how well it worked, it might end up more cost effective than Minor Heal.

"There we go," he said, pulling his hand back.

"I don't know how long it will last, but it should help her chew through the fever."

"Glad to see you're holding up your side of the deal." Josef decidedly didn't make an undignified noise as Zassa spoke up behind him. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Had she come in through the front door? It looked like she got up even earlier than Josef and Dizzy, despite going to bed after him. Or maybe she had never gone to bed in the first place.

"It is time we talked about your plans." Zassa joined them at the table, wrapping around a chair.

"Your… abilities could be of great use to the people here." Josef could tell what she was alluding to.

"And with people you don't just mean the ones in this tavern, right?" He barely even waited for her to nod.

"You want me to pick up the slack where those Sanctum people have dropped the ball."

"I know that-" Josef immediately interrupted Zassa as he continued.

"You want me to stand against Sanctum and an entire city that doesn't seem to care about the fate of you and yours? Even though plenty of people will probably want me dead for even attempting to go against the status quo?" he deadpanned, looking at Zassa. She started sinking into herself as he spoke, no doubt understanding how ridiculous that notion was. Even Cana was looking sad, with her ears down. Dizzy had stopped stirring the food she was cooking.

It was obvious they wanted him to turn things around for the non-elven population of Highsend, to keep them safe from the Sanctum and help them heal. Which meant messing with an organization that probably had deeper roots and funding than he cared to think about. For no other reason than doing the right thing.

"I'm… not against it." The surprise on everyone's faces was immediate.

"I am surprised, Josef. You appear to understand the stakes at play, yet you would still consider it? Why? What motivates you?" The elation in Zassa's voice was tangible, but marred by a side of caution. A part of him wanted to be convinced that it was actually logical to do this. To get as many patients as possible so that he could improve his craft. That any trouble he attracted was just an effective way to bring in experience.

That he was really just pushing out of his comfort zone so that he wouldn't get caught slacking on helping the dragons. But the honest truth was, he simply wanted to do it. He had the power to help people, and the thought of simply turning away when he could help disgusted him. That was no way to live.

"Because I want to live doing what I feel is right. Turning away when I could conceivably make a difference? I wouldn't be able to stand myself if I did." This was the answer he settled on giving.

"Besides, the hard questions of how to do this lie with you. I'm not going to pretend that I have much of an idea of how we're going to accomplish this. So if you really want me on board, convince me with a plan." Zassa actually laughed at that.

"I almost hadn't dared to plan for that, didn't believe I would get this far. Almost." She settled into a more relaxed position as she started to explain. Meanwhile, they were eating breakfast after Dizzy served them eggs and something that looked similar to bacon. Josef was going to ask if reptiles took issue with eating eggs, but just as he opened his mouth, Dizzy glared at him. Apparently, she could read thoughts or anticipate stupid questions. He decided not to ask.

The longer Josef listened to Zassa's plan, the more convinced he was that he might be joining a local mafia. Acquiring new property with no paper trail, as to not compromise this location. Disseminating information about his healing services through her private contacts. Escape tunnels and emergency protocols. She must have really been up all night planning that. Suddenly, a notification startled Josef. Level 4 -> 5 Skill choice unlocked. 4 Free attribute points.

1 Intelligence, 1 Wisdom, 1 Endurance and 1 Charisma gained. How did he suddenly level up while doing nothing? It couldn't have been Dusty as he was just vibing on a cupboard, being his usual unblinking self. He hadn't come down from there since Dizzy caught him with a glare first thing in the morning. They had clearly established a food chain. At this point, Josef expected that he had to kill monsters to increase his levels, as healing hadn't done anything so far.

Then again, it's not like he actually accomplished anything noteworthy in that regard either. Until now. A quick glance at Coco confirmed that the glow on her body had disappeared.

'Coco': Lycan - Level 2 Conditions: Mana poisoning"The fever's gone." He interrupted Zassa, who was currently explaining in a roundabout way how she wanted to have a patsy take the fall for him in a worst case scenario. That threw everyone for a loop, as they looked at Coco.

"Hwungwry…" the little girl mumbled. For the first time since Josef saw her, she actually had her eyes open and alert. Cana was genuinely tearing up and even Zassa lost her composure as she rushed over to check on the girl. Dizzy wasted no time and started preparing small pieces of meat. Josef felt warm and fuzzy watching this scene unfold. This is what he wanted. Why he wanted to help. A single spell ended up making all the difference. Something he couldn't have accomplished in his old life.

Out in the city, there were probably thousands more who could use some help. Who were fearing for their own lives or that of their loved ones. And a bunch of assholes who would watch them suffer for stupid reasons. He had already made his decision.

"Fuck it, I'm in." That one brought a big, genuine smile to Zassa's face.

"Thank you, truly. I can assure you, you will not come to regret this," she promised him.

"Don't thank me too early. You have no idea what kinda headaches I'll end up causing you. Besides, I still have to figure out how to deal with mana poisoning. Can't plan to heal the whole town if I can't even finish healing Coco."

"I am sure you will figure it out." Their confidence in Josef was nice and well, but he truly had no idea how to tackle that one. It sounded like it was common knowledge what that condition was, so not knowing about it put him in an awkward spot. But he had already decided to throw his lot in with these people, so he might as well risk fishing for information, even if it made him stick out.

"Well, I have trouble picturing a way in which my healing magic could deal with mana poisoning. Maybe you could explain to me how you perceive it, what it feels like to you. Does that make sense?" Surprisingly, it was Dizzy who spoke up first, just as she came over to hand Cana a plate with little pieces of meat.

"It like hot oil in pot. Pot boil over. Big mess," was her nugget of wisdom. Josef was even more confused than before.

"Heartburn." Cana came to his rescue.

"It just… gurgles around inside of you. And the spills hurt." Now that was something he could work with. With mana literally coming from his heart, the wording was even more adequate.

"And if you are on your own, how do you handle it?" he probed. Cana shrugged.

"I just use up my mana. Gonna burn the bad stuff till it's gone." So it was like food poisoning, but with mana. And Coco couldn't get rid of hers. He just had to figure out a way to pump out her magical stomach. At least he had an idea of what to do now. But first, it was time for his level up.