BXBX NOVEL Chapter 3: Merc And Her Master
She was said to be so old that it was unusual for elves. She seems to have witnessed a country’s ascent to greatness and subsequent decline.
As a result, Rousseaurumu’s2 understanding of magic, alchemy, and other subjects was above normal.
At the age of eight, Merc, who knew nothing except swordsmanship, had succeeded in becoming her disciple.
When it came to swordsmanship, she was able to train herself since she still recalled the time when she was known as the strongest swordsman. However, when it came to magic or alchemy she was a total amateur. She had thought that if she were to study them, she should begin at square one and with a decent teacher.
But there had been just one problem. Rousseaurumu had only taught Merc about alchemy and nothing about magic or healing. Each day, Merc spent learning about different herbs and their applications. She was also advised not to use magic on her own. Which was truly vexing for her.
“Master! Isn’t it about time you teach me Healing?”
Merc inquired after arriving at Rousseaurumu’s residence and being assigned the chore of making medicine. Despite the fact that she had been her disciple for three years, she was still assigned menial tasks and felt as if her valuable training time was being wasted.
As a result, before coming here today, Merc had resolved to question her Master as soon as she was given her daily assignment.
“Healing? It’s still early for you.”
“You always say that! I want to be a full-fledged Healer and help as many people as I can. It’s not like I plan on becoming an Alchemist.”
Merc used to be a swordsman, slaying monsters and evil humans in her previous life. Even though she had done it to stay alive, she still felt compelled to repent.
Every day had been spent killing, killing, and killing some more, with no hopes or goals in sight. And before she knew it, she had risen to the position of the strongest swordsman. Her existence amounted to nothing more than killing others.
That’s why, now that she had the ability to use magic, she wanted to utilize it to help others.
It wasn’t as if she was looking down on Alchemists. After all, they were the first individuals to who ordinary people or the destitute would turn for help. It’s no exaggeration to state that Alchemists saved many lives.
However, now that she could use magic, she’d rather become one of those Healers who were famed for saving a large number of people.
As soon as Rousseaurumu heard Merc’s request, she placed her hand on her face. And after letting out a short sigh she looked straight at Merc.
“Ahh. Listen here, Merc. Have you ever seen me use Healing on anyone up until now?”
“Huh? Come to think of it… You haven’t.”
After being told, Merc realized that she had never seen Rousseaurumu use Healing on anyone before.
When an ill or injured person came to see her, Rousseaurumu would simply prepare some medicine for them and would never utilize Healing.
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Merc, on the other hand, believed that rather than having patients take regular doses of medicine over time, it would be quicker to simply use Healing to treat them immediately.
“People build resistance to Healing. The more you use it, the less effective it becomes. If you use it recklessly on little scrapes or fractures that will heal on their own, you’ll find yourself in trouble when faced with situations when you’ll really need it.”
“However, as long as they haven’t built a strong resistance to it, there won’t be a problem. And I don’t believe there are that many people with diseases or wounds who would require Healing to be applied repeatedly on them.”
“You might be right. However, you may also be wrong. Furthermore, rather than relying on your intuition, knowing the symptoms, as well as the type of medicine the patient is taking, makes it easier to determine which Healing spell to employ.
“Huh? But, Mr. Rezon told me that one could use Healing despite not knowing anything about medicine.”
As soon as the name of the village’s most touted Healer was mentioned, Merc’s Master furrowed her brows.
“… Well, he’s not wrong. Many Healers stroll the roads without knowing anything about medicine. That is how the majority of the young ones are.”
Rousseaurumu replied somberly, closing her eyes and shaking her head.
“However, Healing is not something that should be used irresponsibly. Sometimes Healing can even kill the Healer himself. That’s why, unless you’re dealing with a life-threatening illness or wound, it’s advisable to get into the habit of using the medicine.”
“… Kill the Healer? Why would the one using Healing die?”
There were instances when a person could die if he was not treated on time. However, this would only happen to the person receiving the spell, not the person performing it. The caster would at most have his Mana depleted.
There was no danger to the caster’s life.
“… I spoke too much. In any case, I have no plans to teach you Healing at this time. Now hurry up and make the medicine I told you about. You remember right? Use the plants in the garden to make a Blood-Stopping Medicine.”
“But…”
Merc still had a lot of questions, and she wasn’t thrilled about not hearing all about Healing.
However, if she pushed any further Rousseaurumu would get angry. Above all, she was enthusiastic about the Blood-Stopping Medicine.
For today, Merc gave up on being a Healer and braced herself to produce medicine.
“Master! How do you make the Blood-Stopping Medicine?”
“It’s quite simple. Make the most of what you’ve learned so far to make it by the end of the day and then bring it to me. If you can’t, you’ll be expelled.”
“… Understood.”
Rousseaurumu’s approach could be considered harsh, but that was how she taught. Merc had become accustomed to hearing those words day after day.
In other words, she only had to make the medicine and bring it before the end of the day. Rousseaurumu believed that Merc had the necessary knowledge to achieve that.
Although she was a harsh Master, she never gave her any unreasonable tasks.
“Master, do you use Chio Leaves in the Blood-Stopping Medicine?”
“Hmm… Why do you ask?”
“You previously informed me that consuming Chio Leaves through the mouth had a detrimental impact on the body. However, you also stated that they cause blood to coagulate.”
“You remembered? That’s right, that’s why you can’t make liquid medicine with them.”
Her Master stated this while smiling slyly at her, but Merc merely shook her head.
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“I wasn’t planning on that. Considering its use, the Blood-Stopping Medicine isn’t a liquid but rather a cream. There should be no problems as long as the Chio Leaves aren’t taken through the mouth.”
“Hmph. Nicely done. You’re right. The Blood-Stopping Medicine uses Chio Leaves. Now all you have to do is figure out how to make it.”
“Okay!”
Despite her severe demeanor, Rousseaurumu would always give Merc a hint. If what Merc was thinking was false, she would tell her so and steer her to the correct ingredients.
However, it also suggested that Merc shouldn’t expect any further hints. She’d have to use all of her knowledge to sort it out from now on.
“I’m heading for the garden!”
“Make sure to show me the medicine before you try it. You won’t get away unscathed if you make something poisonous and smear it on a wound.”
“Okay!”
Half of the day was still ahead of Merc. She’d have to finish the Blood-Stopping Medicine before then.
Robinxen: I’m so sorry translator-san this must have given you a stroke. Please accept our readerships heartfelt pity. Robinxen: Actually I take that back, this woman’s name was definitely meant to be Rosemary, wasn’t it? Readers what do you think? I think translator-san might be weak with names. But then again she’s an elf so maybe the fantasy spin fits? Or maybe I’m the one that’s horrendously wrong and translator-san did their best with gibberish.