Hello Work – Volume 1 Chapter 13

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Volume 1 Chapter 13 – Ideal vs Reality

I drank too much. Had a hangover when I woke up. I try using [Heal (small)]. Not this, with this it won’t be cured.

What was it said? To erase the toxins inside the body? To make the remaining alcohol inside my body fly away. I surround the interior of my body with Magic Power and cast [Heal]. Yea, the pain disappeared.

Finally my head felt refreshed. I take out water from Items and drink it. I think of today’s schedule. First I go to the medical center and practice. Once finished I go to the trade guild to sell the huge wild boar. Get brand new armor with the money from the sale. It’ll be quite busy. As for the investigation team in two days, they’re making preparations. I couldn’t think I’d be this busy while I lived in Japan. I wonder what happened in the sequel to that manga? I haven’t bought it for 2 weeks. Also it’s halfway into that anime. I want to go online too. I want to post in that anonymous board…. Ahhh, no good. I got depressed thinking about that. Stop, stop. Let’s go meet Angela.

Arriving at the medical center there was a crowd present. What could have happened? I enter through the back entrance and Angela and the others were waiting.

“You’re late, Masaru!”
“Outside, there are a lot of people, did something happen?”
“That, you see? We specially gathered some practice partners just for Masaru’s sake. We want you to use your healing magic to your heart’s content.”

Once again I assess the situation. The waiting room is already filled with people, so it’s followed by a queue outside.

“Yesterday our children did some advertising for us, you know? When they said it was free on a first-come-first-served until your Magic Power is all exhausted, everyone said we’ll go, we’ll go.”
“I was really surprised!. Still this is too much, right? Should we send some away?”
“No, I’ll do it. Please wait a little moment. I need to prepare myself…”

I open the Skills List. First I take MP Consumption Reduction. Each level is 10%, I spend 7 Skills points to raise it to level 2. MP Recovery Up Level 1 is 50%, it increases to 100% at Level 2. This takes 7 skill points and I have 6 points remaining.

What? Without me noticing Healing Magic rose to Level 2? When did it?… For now I raise it to level 3. I have 3 points left and put them in MP Consumption Reduction after all. With this I used up all skill points.

[MP Consumption Reduction Level 3] 30% decrease in MP consumption
[MP Recovery Up Level 2] 100% increase in MP Recovery.
[Healing Magic Level 3] ① Heal (Small) ② Heal, Detoxification ③ Regeneration, Cure Disease

It’s total war! I won’t hold back.

“I’m ready. Please, proceed in order.”

The first to enter was a wrinkled grandma with a bent lower back.

“You know, my lower back aches. It’s the first thing every morning. If you could simply fix it, I’ll be thankful, really thankful.”

How do I treat it?… It’s not a disease, isn’t it just the aging process?

When you don’t know, first is casting [Heal] followed by [Detoxification] and [Cure Disease] too.

“Ohhhhhh, my back! My back has been healed! Thank you, thank you.”

She straightened her back and left right away. I drink the tea that Angela served.

“Is it alright like that?”
“Why not? She was really pleased.”

The opening old people, seems were accompanying each other. I hear they came together while it was still dark to get ahead of the queue.

I check my MP. I spent 7 MP just now, but it appears 2 MP have already been recovered. From calculations, I reckon I recover 1 MP every 2 minutes, however is that the effect from the tea? It’s faster than I thought. The next ones to enter are old people too. In a similar way I cast [Heal], [Detoxification] and [Cure Disease] and saying ‘My body feels so light!’ they leave pleased. Steadily people enter. 230 MP Remaining. It’s decreasing faster than I thought.

Angela serves me tea. Trying to drink it I notice. Somewhat it’s really thick.

“What is this?”
“Concentrated Magi Tea (Magic Recovery Tea). Come on, drink it in one go!”

I make up my mind and drink it. Apart from being thick, it is bitter. It’s really bad tasting. Hurriedly I wash down the tea.

“It’s incredibly bad…”
“But it’s really effective, isn’t it? By all means, time is the ultimate weapon”
“What about MP potions?”
“Those are expensive, you know?… Hey, the next patient is waiting.”

The number of old people doesn’t decrease. I clear my mind and cast Healing Magic. I drink concentrated magi tea.

“Eh? The next one?”

The wave of patients stopped. There was nobody when I peeked into the waiting room. Did it end? No, it shouldn’t be.

“Somewhat the number of people steadily increased, see. It couldn’t be helped that they started overflowing into the street, thus they were moved into the temple. Because the hall there is more spacious.”

I went to look and the temple was flooding with people. In the hall’s innermost part. In front of the huge statue they setup some desks and tables. It’s completely visible to everyone. You want me to give medical treatment there? I started to feel dizzy.

“It’s a bit unreasonable. There’s so many people…”
“Let’s see. Shall we put a partitioning screen?”

The nun mentioning such arrangement went somewhere.

“I dislike standing out! I think I feel like vomiting!”
“Ah, wait a minute. I know something suitable.”

‘I’ll go fetch it!’ saying that, Angela too went somewhere. I’m shaking in one corner of the temple’s hall.

Suddenly the Menu opens.

[Emergency Quest: Give medical treatment with all you’ve got!] As long as you have strength left provide medical treatment! You’re not allowed to withdraw. Reward is 10 skill points.
Do you accept the Quest? YES/NO

The nun arrived and was putting the setup. Angela returned too.

“Hey, here.”

A cap, a mask and a loose white robe. I was given those to wear from Angela.

“Uh-huh, the cap and robe are the priest’s, but it does suit you, doesn’t it? If you put on the mask nobody inside will know who you are. Look, seems the setup over there is finished.”

The Quest was flashing. I chose NO. Doing it as long as I have strength left is impossible, impossible!
I was reluctantly dragged behind the partition screen by the nun and Angela like someone that has strayed from the right path. Ahhhh, Angela’s breasts are touching me! I’m a little bit happy!

“Well then, we’ll let people in soon, okay? Good luck.”

 

The first patient is entering. His finger is wrapped in a bandage. Because it’s a simple fracture I promptly cast [Heal]. The next patient has a sore throat. Opening his mouth to look, his tonsils are swollen. Is this the beginning of a cold? I cast [Heal] and [Cure Disease]. I drink tea whenever I have a spare moment. 150 MP Remaining.

Despite patients coming one after another, I keep casting Heal uninterested. In general they’re minor illnesses or chronic diseases. I don’t expect chronic diseases to be cured with a single Heal, although it seems to alleviate the symptoms and they leave satisfied. When a middle-aged woman who cut her finger with a kitchen knife came I was getting irritated, but I silently used [Heal (small)] and she left.

“When it comes to using Healing Magic for a minor injury, it still cost a lot of money. There are many people who have come that usually would get better from self-healing.”

Still, I can’t stand it when my precious MP is consumed on something like a scratch.

“Whatever, it’s still experience, experience.”

After giving medical treatment uneventfully to several people, a man came carrying a little kid. It appears the child was in very bad condition. The child was laid down on the examination table and I check his condition.

“In the last few days, his cough has gradually been getting worse…”

I didn’t ask why he neglected it till it got this bad. That’s because the father and child were extremely poorly dressed. The child was too skinny. The state of their nutrition seems really bad. I use Heal and Cure Disease, take out a wild rabbit meat from Items, wrap it and give it to them.

“Keep it a secret from the other people, ok? Please, give it to your child to eat.”

The man bowed down repeatedly and left.

“Wha…”
“I know what you want to say. However it’s impossible to save everyone unless it’s by a God. Still we already do it for a considerably cheap price and yet there are many people who can’t afford medical treatment. It shouldn’t be something Masaru has to worry about.”
“Then, at least bring in those who are in bad conditions, please.”
“I undertand.”

From there, everyone in a bad condition was carried in. They were all people that couldn’t walk on their own. For those in a extremely bad condition it was absolutely necessary to use Heal many times, but still there were people whose serious illnesses couldn’t be cured. No one did such a thing as reproach me even when informed it was impossible. In the end, the result was they were all pleased and grateful that a healer would use Healing Magic on them. No matter how many times I used Healing Magic, it’s a misfortune when I’ve to look after such patients who can’t completely be cured. I’m not even a doctor, you shouldn’t be letting an amateur who just learned magic do it…

I endure the concentrated magi tea and drink it, still my MP was decreasing very fast. Angela and the priest were also cooperating but it was only a drop in the bucket.

Finally I ran out of MP. I feel sleepy and sluggish.

“My Magic Power has been exhausted.”

The temple hall’s door is closed and stopped admitting any more people, however more than half are still left.

“Could you please leave those in bad condition and send the rest back? I’ll at least check on those after a break.”
“There’s no reason to try to force yourself, is it? Because they were all properly informed that it would end once you ran out of Magic Power!”
“It’s alright. I’m not doing anything unreasonable.”

Because everyone that came, I’d see they were destitute, skinny and had eyes that appeared to be imploring me. My heart isn’t hard enough to turn them away.

The people who were in the hall were dismissed without mouthing any discontent in particular. To begin with, that medical treatment was being given away for free was something like a miracle. In the middle of it we started giving priority to check those in bad condition, but the ones here mostly lived under similar circumstances. Tomorrow it might be me instead.

Given that I didn’t have an appetite, I only finished a vegetable soup that I received.

“Say, why are there so many like them?”
“That’s because the poor don’t have any money, so they can’t get medical treatment.”
“Is it not enough to give them medical treatment?”
“It’s impossible, you know? There are not enough healing technique users. Even if you cure all the people there, there would still be sick people elsewhere. Masaru, you could see we are barely scraping by, don’t you? If you forcibly do it till your Magic Power runs out, you’ll only be shortening your lifespan.”
“Shouldn’t it be better to increase the number of healing magic users?”
“The number of magic users in itself are very few, among them, the ones with aptitude for healing magic are even fewer! The ones that can use Heal is reasonable, but once we talk about higher tier healing magic…”

Would the number of people that could be saved increase if Healing Magic is risen to level Level 4 or 5?

“There’s an effort to increase them. However, those talented are sent to the front lines. They are rather more needed there than in this peaceful city.”
“Front lines?”
“Here we are close to Fortress Golbus. Because this city would be in danger if that place is overtaken, if they say they need people we couldn’t refuse.”

Are they fighting against something?

“Is it that dangerous?”
“There’s no need to worry. That place is a really solid stronghold, ok? It couldn’t lose to the likes of monsters.”

I remember what Itoushin said. This world will be destroyed within 20 years. I wonder if that stronghold would also fall? Would this city even be safe? Itoushin told me to do anything I wanted, but this feels like I’m being forced by being posted so close to the front lines… Damn you, Itoushin.

Concentrated Magi Tea is really effective at recovering MP. It’s bitter and bad tasting though. Moreover it’s thick. The feeling of it going down my throat is the worst.

“The children made it for us, so drink it all.”

I’m thankful. But it tastes bad. It tastes terrible! But if I don’t do so I’d end running on fumes.

After the break the medical treatment was still full of hardships. Like even now, please don’t keep bringing children that appear to be on the verge of death! It’d be good if they could be saved even if I used up all my MP. However, I had to give up on at least two. Even Angela and the others silently shook their heads. I was about to cry. Maybe I was already crying. I’m glad I had the mask on…

Finally in the middle of the afternoon there were no more patients left in the hall.

“That was the last person.”
“Yes.”

I see. It’s finally finished? I feel sluggish and sleepy….

“Are you alright, Masaru?”

Angela appeared concerned while looking at me sitting exhausted on a chair.

“I’m sleepy.”
“You used up all your Magic Power, right? You did well holding up till now.”

I remove the suffocating mask. My mind is going around in circles.

Even though I’m not a doctor. Why I had to treat such seriously ill people?… O-Oh no. I’m gonna start crying again.

“Are you really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright.”

I’m not alright at all.

“It’s better you don’t worry about it. In that situation there’s nothing anyone could do anyways.”
“I see.”

These are the kind of situations where one is entrusted to a doctor. At least this shouldn’t be a role for me, a former NEET.

“Normally, you would only start treating those once you get more practice though…”

Ah, it’s because I ended up saying to give priority to those in bad conditions? I was reaping what I had sown.

“You did great for someone who just learned healing magic, really.”
“I see.”

Today, I really did my best.

Moreover, isn’t this unpaid work? Instead I feel like I ended up paying money. Yeah. Thinking about it I feel a bit irritated but I came to think that it’s not something I need to worry about.

“That’s right. Can you stand? Do you want to rest for now? If you like it’s okay if you stay overnight.”
“I’m going back.”

I want to return to the inn immediately and forget what happened today. I’m not suited to be a doctor. I’m a wild rabbit hunter and my job is to hunt wild rabbits.

I reject Angela’s offer to accompany me back. I staggered back to the inn and slept like a log that day.

The next morning, when I checked the Menu, Magic Power and MP had slightly risen.

 

Text stats from WN
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Yamano Masaru, Human, Magic Swordsman

[Titles] Wild Rabbit Hunter
The man who desperately fought with a wild rabbit.
Guild Rank E

Level 5
HP 208/104+104
MP 56/148+148
Strength 28+28
Stamina 29+29
Agility 18
Skill 22
Magic Power 43

Skill Points 0
Fencing Level 4, Physical Enhancement Level 2, Skill Reset, Razgrad World Standard Language
Life Magic, Clock, Fire Magic Level 3
Shield Level 2, Evasion Level 1, Spearmanship Level 1, Hand-to-Hand Combat Level 1, Stamina Recovery Enhancement, Guts
Archery Level 1, Throwing Technique Level 2, Stealth Level 2, Ninja-Walk Level 2, Presence Detection Level 2
Magic Power Sensing Level 1, Healing Magic Level 3, Common Magic, Magic Consumption Reduction Level 3
MP Recovery Up Level 2
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