Chapter 78: His Healer’s Trial

Raziel spent the next seventy-two hours in the library.

He didn’t sleep or eat right, he just studied.

Lucian tried to convince him to rest, but Raziel refused.

“There’s no time,” was all he said.

Lara showed up once, bringing him bread and water. Raziel thanked her with a nod and went back to the books.

[TIME REMAINING: 4 HOURS]

[WARNING: CRITICAL MENTAL FATIGUE DETECTED.]

[MENTAL STABILITY: 41%]

Raziel closed the last book.

He had read everything he could about energy anatomy, vital circuits, and the unorthodox healing techniques that the ancient texts barely mentioned.

But there was a problem, Raziel didn’t have a Healing Gift.

He hadn’t even managed to activate the basic skill that all novice healers had innately, not even once.

’It doesn’t matter,’ he muttered.

He got up.

He left the library.

The Great Hall was packed.

All the novices of the Healer’s Path were lined up in front of the evaluation tables.

Raziel got in at the end of the line.

Lucian was three places ahead, looking tense.

Lara was at the front, calm.

Father Marius entered, followed by Exarch Caelum and three Sisters of Saint Sophia, all dressed in white and gold robes.

Marius stepped up to the podium.

“Good morning, novices.” His voice echoed in the hall. “Today, we will evaluate your ability to heal.”

He paused.

“Each of you will receive a wounded lamb. Your task is simple: heal the wound using only your Healing Gift.”

He raised a finger.

“No bandages, herbs, or alchemy are allowed, only your innate ability.”

The novices murmured nervously.

Raziel clenched his fists.

’Of course. He designed the test for me to fail.’

[ALERT: TEST SPECIFICALLY TARGETED AGAINST YOU.]

[WARNING: YOU DO NOT POSSESS [HEALING GIFT].]

[PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 0.3%]

Marius smiled coldly. “You may begin.”

The acolytes brought in the lambs.

Each animal had an open wound on its flank, bleeding slowly.

Raziel received his.

The lamb bleated weakly, its blood staining the table and Raziel took a deep breath.

He placed his hands over the wound but nothing happened.

He tried to channel energy.

Nothing.

Around him, the other novices were already working.

Lara placed her hands on her lamb and a warm, golden light flowed from them. The animal’s wound slowly closed, the skin regenerating.

Lucian was sweating, his light was dimmer, but it was working.

Raziel looked at Father Marius.

Marius was watching him with a smirk.

’He wants me to fail here. In front of everyone.’ Raziel closed his eyes.

He remembered something from a previous cycle.

He had seen a renegade healer at work in the slums of Phaedra. The man had no Gift, but he understood energy anatomy better than any priest.

He didn’t heal.

He reconnected.

Raziel opened his eyes.

He activated [Guardian of Forbidden Knowledge].

[SKILL ACTIVATED: GUARDIAN OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE (LVL 2)]

[COST: -3% MENTAL STABILITY]

[ACCESS TO UNORTHODOX TECHNIQUES UNLOCKED.]

Raziel looked at the lamb’s wound.

He could see the animal’s vital circuits, lines of broken energy where the flesh had been cut.

He didn’t need to heal.

He just needed to reconnect.

Raziel placed his fingers on the wound.

He channeled raw, unfiltered energy directly into the broken circuits.

The lamb shrieked and the blood gushed faster.

The nearby novices backed away.

Raziel didn’t stop.

He pushed more energy, forcing the circuits to realign.

It was brutal, it was ugly, but it was working.

The edges of the wound began to move, not regenerating but stitching themselves together as if invisible threads were pulling the flesh.

SHHHHK!

The skin closed and the lamb stopped bleeding.

Raziel pulled his hands away.

They were covered in blood but at least the lamb was breathing, it was alive.

The hall fell silent and everyone was staring at Raziel.

Father Marius slowly stepped down from the podium.

He walked to Raziel’s table.

He looked at the lamb.

His left eye twitched. “That…” he said slowly. “is not healing.”

Raziel wiped his bloody hands on his tunic.

“No.” He looked him straight in the eye. “It’s something better.”

Marius gritted his teeth.

Exarch Caelum came closer, observing the lamb with interest.

“Fascinating.” He touched the animal. “The wound is closed, the vital circuits reconnected, but the technique is… crude.”

Caelum looked at Raziel.

“Where did you learn this?”

Raziel held his gaze. “I read it in an ancient text in the Forbidden Section.”

Caelum smiled. “And what text was that?”

Raziel didn’t blink. “The Codex of Lost Techniques.”

Caelum laughed. “Interesting.”

He turned to Marius. “He passes.”

Marius stared at him. “What?”

Caelum gave him a cold look. “I said he passes, Father Marius. The task was to heal the lamb. The lamb is healed.”

Marius opened his mouth, but said nothing.

Caelum walked away. “Continue.”

Raziel stood at his table.

[EVENT COMPLETED: HEALER’S EVALUATION]

[RESULT: PASSED (UNORTHODOX TECHNIQUE).]

[REWARD: +1 INTELLIGENCE]

[REWARD: GUARANTEED ACCESS TO THE SAINT SOPHIA DELEGATION.]

[WARNING: YOUR TECHNIQUE HAS ATTRACTED UNWANTED ATTENTION.]

Lara was watching him from her table.

Her eyes were filled with confusion and something like fear.

Raziel knew what she was thinking.

’What I did is impossible without decades of study.’

Lucian finished his evaluation and came over.

“That was…” Lucian searched for the words. “what the hell was that?”

Raziel looked at him. “Survival.”

Lucian frowned, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

Raziel left the Great Hall two hours later and he was exhausted.

He walked down the empty corridor toward his room.

But before he got there, someone intercepted him.

Gideon.

The novice was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and a smug grin on his face.

“Alright, heretic.” Gideon pushed himself off the wall. “You impressed the old man.”

Raziel stopped. “Get out of my way, Gideon.”

Gideon laughed. “Relax, I didn’t come here to fight.”

He paused.

“But someone else wants to talk to you.”

Raziel frowned. “Who?”

Gideon pointed behind him.

Raziel turned.

A man appeared from the shadows, wearing silver armor engraved with symbols of Zhalyr, his cape was crimson and his eyes burned with an intense golden light.

Raziel recognized him immediately.

An Inquisitor or worse.

A representative of the Exarch of the Inquisitors.

The man stopped in front of Raziel.

“Novice Raziel Celeste.” His voice was full of authority. “My name is Ser Thaddeus, Right Hand of Exarch Aldric.”

He paused.

“The Exarch wishes to see you, immediately.”

[ALERT: FORCED EVENT ACTIVATED.]

[NAME: THE INQUISITOR’S SUMMONS]

[DESCRIPTION: YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED BY EXARCH ALDRIC. REFUSAL IS NOT AN OPTION.]

[WARNING: SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: UNKNOWN.]

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