Healing System

Lapis walked back into the church. Alongside him was a small girl—a child.

From a distance, it seemed like she had rashes all over her face, some of which even looked like cuts.

But from what Michael could tell, it was likely due to her scratching herself.

Her breaths were haggard, and from what he could see with his Eyes of the Great Sage, she had other ailments affecting her as well.

'This place must have pretty shit healers if they can't even cure the child's flu,' Michael thought with disdain before walking toward the little girl and stretching out his arms.

Immediately, he channeled the Aegis of Light skill's healing, meticulously controlling it in a way that would enhance it even further.

After his little Ascension, he was able to feel the direct channeling of skills, thereby enhancing them.

The mana consumption only slightly increased, barely even worth noting.

Michael's healing enveloped her, curing all her outer injuries in the blink of an eye as he focused on his other skill, Purify.

Its mana cost had decreased, and from what he could sense, increasing its efficiency past its current state was too difficult for the current him.

But nonetheless, it got the job done in an instant—a second golden light emerging from his body and enveloping hers.

Just like that, she was as good as new—flawless skin, with not a single disease left.

The scars that had riddled her body just moments ago disappeared as well.

Her skin now looked like that of a normal child's.

Lapis stared at the scene in shock before lifting up the little girl as he spoke. "A-Anna...?"

"Daddy, it doesn't hurt anymore..." Her frail voice rang out with a hint of cheerfulness.

'So that's his daughter, huh... I bet he was more frustrated with the healers than I was,' Michael thought, continuing to listen to their emotional conversation, which seemed to last a few minutes.

Lapis kept questioning her about the pain, even checking for the injuries she had mere moments ago, but alas, there was nothing.

He turned toward Michael, his eyes growing a bit red. "I don't know how I can repay you. Thank you..."

"Thank you, mister!" the girl's voice rang out from Lapis's arms as she waved at him, a wide smile on her face.

"No need to thank me, I'm just doing what I can." Michael put on a warm smile before continuing, "You can repay me by letting me stay in this church. I don't need anything else."

"I see... You can stay here," Lapis nodded. "But can you heal some others? There are a lot who are in as bad a shape as Anna."

"I don't mind. Bring them over," Michael replied, and immediately, Lapis dashed out along with his daughter.

Michael was once again left alone, even if just for a moment.

But he wanted to find out more about the pedestal before him—why it was even a thing.

And to do that, he would need to read the language—the same one that, by now, he had completely mastered.

The words that were flowing downward seemed to have meanings, all of which he quickly began connecting.

However, the more Michael tried to figure out what it was saying, the more he grew confused.

They had meanings, but most did not align—to the point where the text became completely unreadable.

It was as if the words were merely there to act as eye candy and not serve a purpose.

But Michael knew better than anyone that in a trial, every little thing counts. And the same applied to this pedestal.

His success, however, was nonexistent. 'Tree, Ant, Square... what in the fuck is it even trying to say?'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

'River, Fish, Net... Cloud, Bird Flock. I don't understand.' He held his head in exasperation as Lapis brought in another batch of people, most of whom were children.

They, too, were in equally bad condition, just as he described.

Michael did not waste any time and went around healing every single one. His mana capacity had grown to the point where he could use his healing skill with seemingly barely any cost, practically spamming them over and over again.

Just like that, 11 were healed and left after thanking him. The only person who remained was Lapis.

"I wish to thank you again; sorry for my earlier rudeness."

"Don't mind it. I can understand where you were coming from," Michael shrugged it off before deciding to change the topic, pointing toward the pedestal. "Do you have any idea what these words mean?"

"Words? What words?" Lapis tilted his head in confusion.

Michael inwardly facepalmed. "Right, sorry, the symbols. Do they remind you of anything?"

But he was once again met with an unexpected answer. "I don't understand what symbols you're talking about. The pedestal is only emitting a faint light—a blessing left behind by the gods."

'...Now I am getting even more confused.'

"I see... Forget what I said then. If you have anyone else you want to heal, please bring them over," Michael stated.

"But for now, could I be left alone? I'm quite tired after healing this many people."

Lapis nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Michael. I will bring the others to you tomorrow." With those parting words, he made his way out.

'Hmm... The citizens can't see the words; they only see some sort of light, interesting...' Michael remarked before crouching all around the pedestal, trying to find anything off.

However, just like before, except for the multitude of words that were popping up, nothing else was out of the ordinary.

'Hive, Bee, Comb. Same bullshit over and over again, what do you mean?' Michael looked on in frustration before slamming his hand down on the pedestal.

And for just a moment, the word "Hive" lit up before once again fading away.

Looking on with confusion, he tried hitting the pedestal again, but this time, nothing lit up. In fact, the words started replaying. 'Tree, Ant, Square again?'

He watched on patiently, observing it in detail.

And just as he thought, the words he had previously read began repeating themselves in the same order.

Eventually, the last words he had seen before he hit the pedestal appeared, but this time, the word Hive was missing, instead replaced with Mind.

The moment Michael saw that, his eyes widened as he brought his hand down, smacking the pedestal.

Immediately, the word "Mind" lit up before suddenly dispersing, just like before.

Like before, the words began repeating, but now they were in different sequences, as if mixed together with the others he had seen before.

'Tree, Fish, Flock. It keeps changing, huh...' He stared as it began cycling through all the combinations, even repeating itself a few times.

But if things were the same as last time, he was well-prepared.

Find more to read on empire

Michael steadily braced himself, waiting for the perfect moment as he noticed the combinations suddenly speeding up.

It was almost as if, to anyone but him, it would be impossible to press. Only with his constitution was he able to see something moving this fast.

Or maybe he just underestimated Tier 4s and above. Nonetheless, he awaited patiently until eventually, a pair of words appeared—the same ones he had been looking for.

But this time, they were perfectly in order, already lit up. However, he was not ready for the message that had been displayed, causing his eyes to widen even further.

'The Hive Mind...'